The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1915-05-20
BY A LAUGH
1t Was a Hearty One and Better
Than a Dose Of Medicine.
A STORY ABOUT A LECTURE.

seemed at the lime 70 6e Funny and
Yet Afterward There Was Grave
Doubt as to Whether II Was or Not.
What's your book?' Squire Dumont
asked Of a neighbor as they sat wait
ing their turn In the village barber
shop. .
.1nnocents Abroad BY Mark TWAIN"
was the reply. 81 just got it out of
the library. I suppose you would call
it pretty light reading.'''
You needn't be bit ashamed of 1T,
Mr.. Pinkham," said the squire, heart
ily. It's a book that has done q lot
Of good. It has made thousands Of peo-
pie laugh, and good laugh is often
better than dose Of incidence.
eve seen that proved" said Mr..
Pinkham. II went to hear Mark
Twain lecture once" he added. with
a reminiscent chuckle.
You don't say soy' exclaimed the
squire II never had that pleasure
myself. 1t must have been great
treat"
Eyes, it was. I'm d great admirer
of Mark Twain and have been for
years. had always wanted to See and
hear him, and when l saw in a Port
land paper that he was to lecture there
on a certain evening it came over me
that that was my time to go and hear
him.
II had just lost lawsuit, and my
wife was away from home with sick
sister. was pretty blue and lone
some and felt the need Of being cheer
ed up.
II took the afternoon train, calculat-
ing to get to my cousin Jim's in time
for supper and then go to the lecture.
But, as luck would have 1t, freight
train had been wrecked near Bruins
wick, and we never got into Portland
until o'clock. However; hurried to
the hall and paid my way in and got
good seat right up in front: l had
missed some Of the lecture, but was
thankful to get what was left It
wasn't so much what he said, though,
as the way he said it that tickled me.
I laughed more that night than had
for year.
"Well, after the lecture was over l
made my way to my cousin Jim's. He
has means, and they live in some style,
but I got a cordial welcome Clara,
his wife, told me that couldn't see
Jim that night. He was poorly, and
she was good deal worried about him.
But while we were talking he found
out I was there and sent for me to
come to his room. never saw any
one more in the dumps than he was. ]
guess he complained steady for as much
as half an hour. He was very sick
man. He didn't relish his victuals, and
what he did eat distressed him. Night
after night be got hardly wink Of
sleep, and nothing interested him any
more. Moreover, what the doctor gave
him didn't do a mite of good 1t was.
pitiful to hear him go on Finally he
asked me how happened to be in
Portland.
$50 you came up to hear Mark
TwainY says he, and his face bright
ened up. Did you like him?. says he.
and said, OF course did,
NOW tell me honestly, says he,
was that lecture as funny as you ex-
pected?'
"sWell,' says l, 1T was funny, Of
course, and guess when l have had
a chance to think 1t over it will seem
funnier. But there were parts Of it
that didn't seem so dreadful funny :.
Then all at once Jim fell back in
his chair and began to choke, and for
minute was scared AS soon as he
could speak he says: That wasn't Mark
Twain that you heard. He lectured
here last week. What you heard,' says
he, was alecture on the poetry of
Robert Browning by Professor
forget now what Jim called his name.
Then be took to laughing again. and
. thought he'd never stop.
After that Jim wanted to know how