The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-07-25
MARK rwAIN,s TRIBUTE TO GRANT


In Harper's for August, Albert Bigelow
Paine tells of Mark Twains now forgot
ten speech at the great Grant dinner In
Chicago in 1872. He had been asked to
respond to 1.-THE Ladies'" but changed
his toast to 1.-The Babies"
MARK Twain declared afterward that
he listened to four speeches that night
which he would remember as long as
he lived One of them was by Emory
storrs, another by General Villas, another
by Logan, and the last and greatest by
Robert Ingersor, whose eloquence swept
the house like flame.
elements own speech came last. He
had been placed at the end to hold the
house. He was preceded by a dull speak
err. and his heart sank, for 1t was
o'clock and the diners were weary and
sleepy and the dreary speech had made
them unresponsve.
"They gave him a round of applause
when he stepped up upon the table in
front of hm-a tribute to his name. Then
he began the opening words of that MEM
orable, delightful fancy.
1--WE haven't all had the good fortune
to be ladies; we haven't all been gem
erals, or poets, or statesmen; but when
the toast works down to the babies
we stand on common ground
1.-THE tired audience had listened in re-
spectful silence through the first half
of the sentence He made one of his eff
fective pauses on the word babies and
when he added. in that slow, rich meas
ure of his we stand on common ground,
they let go a storm of applause. There
was no WEAKNESS and inattention after
that AT the end of each sentence he
had to stop to let the tornado roar itself
out and sweep by. When he reached the
beginning of the final paragraph, Among
the 100000 or 100000 cradles now rock
ing in the land are some which this ma
ton would. preserve for ages as sacred
things IL we could know which ones they
are the vast audience waited GREATNESS
for his conclusion. Step by step he led
toward some unseen climax-some sur
prise, of course, for that would be his
way. Then steadily. and almost with
out emphasis, he delivered the opening Of
his final sentence:
And now in his cradle, somewhere
under the flag. the future iilustrions COM
mander In chief of the American armies
is so little burdened with his approaching
grandeurs and responsibilities as to be
giving his whose strategic mind at this
moment to trying to find out some way to
get his own big toe into his mouth. an
achievement which (meaning no disre-
specD the illustrious guest of this even
ing also turned his attention to some Sc
years ago.
He paused, and the vast crowd had
chill of fear. After all, he seemed likely
to overdo ito spoil ey'rything with
cheap joke at the end.
mo one ever knew BETTE. than Mark
Twain the value of pause waited
now long enough to let the silence be-
come absolute. until the tension was pain
said. with all that dramatic power OF
which he was master:
And IL the child is but the father OF
the man. there are mighty few who will
doubt that he succeeded
THE house came down with a crash.
The inklng of their hero's great military
triumphs with that earliest OF all con-
quests seemed to them SO grand figure
that they went mad with the joy of 1t.
Even Grants iron serenity broke; he
rocked and laughed while the tears
streamed down his cheeks"