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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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An Analytical-Historical Study Of The Factors Contributing To The Successof Mark Twain As An Oral Interpreter
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An Analytical-Historical Study Of The Factors Contributing To The Successof Mark Twain As An Oral Interpreter
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T h is d isse r ta tio n has been 62— 6089 m ic r o film e d e x a ctly as r e c e iv e d W ALLACE, Robert D aw son, 1 9 0 7 - AN ANALYTICAL— HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUCCESS OF MARK TWAIN AS AN ORAL IN T E R PR E T E R . U n iv ersity of Southern C aliforn ia, P h .D ., 1962 Speech — theater University Microtiims, Inc., Ann Arboi, MuJnyan AN ANALYTICAL-HISTORICAL STUDY OP THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUCCESS OP MARK TWAIN AS AN ORAL INTERPRETER by Robert Dawson Wallace A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OP THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OP SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY (Speech) June 1962 UNIVERSITY O F S O U T H E R N C A LIFO R N IA GRADUATE SCH O O L UNIVERSITY PARK LOS A N G ELES 7. CA LIFO R N IA This dissertation, written by ......... Robs.r.t. Daw.s.q»..W.aUace........ under the direction of his.....Dissertation C o m mittee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Dean of the Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y Dean Date. June, 1962 .......... SERTATION COMMITTEE TABLE OP CONTENTS Page LIST OP TABLES........................................ v Chapter I. THE PROBLEM, DEFINITION AND PROCEDURES....... 1 The Problem........................... 1 Statement of the Problem........ . • . • . 1 Importance of the Study................ 2 Review of the Literature................... 3 Definitions of the Terms Used............ o Lectures............................... 6 Readings .................................. 7 Speeches . . • . . ....................... 8 Visual Techniques ......................... 9 Organization of the Remainder of the Disser tation........................... . . • . . 9 II. A BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY............ 11 III. THE DEVELOPMENT OP MARK TWAIN AS AN INTER PRETER.......................................21 The Formative Years ..... 21 Influence of the Home . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Influence of the School.................26 Influence of the Sunday School. ...... 28 Influence of the Theatre ................ 29 Influence of MacFarlane and the River . . . 30 Influence of the West . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Influence of Charles Dickens............. 39 Prom Social Storyteller to Platform Artist. . *+1 ii Chapter Page IV. AN ANALYSIS OF THE PREPARATION TECHNIQUES OF MARK TWAIN..................................50 Revision of the Written Materials for the Platform..................................50 Evidences of Revision from the Autobiographical Sources................... 51 Evidence of Revision from the Spoken Materials............................5*+ Methods of Revision............................55 Methods of Revision from the Autobiographical Sources................56 Methods of Revision from the Spoken Materials........................ 57 Purposes of Revision. ....................... 85 Purposes of Revision as Stated in the Autobiographical Sources................85 Purposes of Revision as Stated in tha Biographical Sources....................88 Purposes of Revision in the Spoken Selections............................. .. 88 Mark Twain’s Preparation Techniques for Platform Presentation . ................... 10^ Selection of Materials for the Platfom . . 105 Memorization of Materials ................Ill Rehearsal and Practice of Platform Materials..............................115 Emotional and Physical Problems of Preparation and Presentation...........122 Introduction Techniques ........... .....129 Influence of Audiences on Mark Twain's Preparation and Presentation.............l*+0 V. THE VISUAL AND VOCAL TECHNIQUES OF MARK TWAIN'S DELIVERY ....................... 158 Reports Concerning the Visual Aspects • . . .158 iii Chapter Page Appearance .................158 Bodily Action........................... 172 Gestures............................... 186 Facial Expressions ....................... 189 Presence and Manner.....................198 Use of Scripts and Properties...........201 Reports Concerning the Vocal Aspects «... 205 Loudness.............. 206 Pitch....................................208 Quality................................. 211 Tempo ............................... 216 Mark Twain*s Comments on Delivery.........228 Twain*s Own Delivery...................229 The Delivery of Other Readers and Speakers 2*fl How to Tell a Story.....................25*+ General Audience Comments.................261 Technique of Penciled Notations to Guide Delivery and Interpretation.............285 Observations Based on a Recorded Excerpt • • 3^6 VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS..................... 39+ Suggestions for Further Study.............367 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................... 370 APPENDIXES..........................................385 Appendix A. "His Grandfather’s Old Ram" . • 387 Appendix B. "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".................395 Appendix C. The Recorded and Printed Excerpts of "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"* • *+06 Appendix D. Examples of Mark Twain’s Intro ductions to His Lectures • • *f08 iv LIST OP TABLES Table Page 1. Size of Audiences ............................ 262 2* Receipts from Certain Speaking Engagements Indicate Size of Audience.....................276 v CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM, DEFINITION AND PROCEDURES In the field of oral interpretation of literature, two men have been unique in their brilliant successes in presenting their written works from the platform. These men were Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. The unusual com bination of attributes— of being highly successful writers, speakers, and readers— offered an uncommonly interesting incentive for study to one interested in the oral interpre tation of literature. Because the records of Mark Twain’s successful reading tours are available in America, it seemed especially appropriate that he be the subject of this study. The Problem Statement of the problem The successful interpreter is faced with the task of understanding the written word and returning it to speech. The result of this transition from the written word to the spoken word depends on three interrelated fac tors: (1) the reader— his backgrounds of experience and education, as well as his personality, speaking ability, 1 2 appearance, and purpose; (2) the nature of the literature to be interpreted; and (3) the audience situation. The problem was, then, to study available records in an attempt to determine from them how these factors contributed to the success of Mark Twain as an interpreter. More specifi cally, what were the influences of his environment— his religious training, his education, his travels, his contact with influential personalities, his acquaintance with other speakers and readers, and his familiarity with drama and theatrics? What influential factors were present in the transition from a social storyteller to a successful pro fessional platform artist? What were the purposes of these preparational techniques? What type of audiences heard him and how did they influence his preparation? What did he read? What vocal and visual techniques of delivery did he use? How did these techniques of delivery support or differ from generally accepted ideas of delivery in oral interpretation? Importance of the study Mark Twain continuously and successfully presented oral interpretations of hie writings from the platform over a period of sixty-one years. During this lengthy career, he became adept in transferring written literature into spoken literature before audiences all over the world. Since the ultimate goal of speech is to achieve communication, it waB thought that an investigation of the interpretative activities of a man who attained that goal might reveal interesting and significant information on functional components of that art. Since no one has given special attention to Mark Twain as a brilliantly successful interpreter, it was believed that such a study would have special interest and value for students in speech and, in addition, make a contribution to students of Mark Twain in general. Review of the Literature Many phases of Mark Twain’s remarkable life and career have been extensively studied and reported, but the investigation of the literature on Mark Twain failed to reveal any extensive studies devoted to his career as an oral interpreter of the printed page. Dixon Wecter more than adequately reviewed and discussed Mark Twain's boyhood in Sam Clemens of Hannibal.^ Minnie Brashear established the frontier and colloquial influence on his life and writings in Mark Twain. Son of 2 Missouri. Albert Bigelow Paine recorded the chronological ^■(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1953). 2(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 193*0. events of his existence in Mark Twain: A Biography.3 Van Wyck Brooks developed the theory that the humorist had L . frustrated the artist in him in The Ordeal of Mark Twain. Bernard DeVoto presented the sociological and economical backgrounds of his life in Mark Twain 'a America. Edward Wagenkneckt provided a general descriptive study in Mark Twain: The Man and His Works Walter DeLancey Ferguson discussed the literary works in Mark Twain Man 7 and Legend. Samuel Charles Webster described the business g ventures in Mark Twain Business Man. Walter Francis Frear recorded the history of one lecture ("The Sandwich Islands") 9 in Mark Twain in Hawaii. In Twins of Genius. Guy A, Cardwell made an excellent and revealing comparative study of the personal qualities and platform techniques of Twain and his co-reader, George W. Cable, of the I881 f-l885 read- 10 ing tour. 3(New York: Harper and Brothers, 1912). ^(New York: E. P. Button and Company, 1932). ^(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1932). 6(New Haven: Yale University Press, 193 5). ^( Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merril Company, 19*+3) • Q (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 19^6). ^(Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 19^7). •^(Lansing: Michigan State College Press, 1953). In a brief article called "Mark Twain as a Reader," Stanley T. Conner sketched the reading tours and named some of the selections read on them.^ Ruth A. Burnett made a general report of the 1895 world tour in "Mark Twain in the 12 Northwest." Herbert H. Hoeltje, in "Mark Twain Spoke in Portland," reported more of the off-stage incidents of the visit than the on-stage activitiesFred Lorch has reported various Mark Twain speech activities in "Lecture iL. Trips and Visits of Mark Twain in Iowa" and "Mark Twain*s ’Morals Lecture* during the American Phase of His World Tour in 1895-1896." Wallace B. Moffett reported one lec- 16 ture in "Mark Twain's Lansing Lecture on Roughing It." Leon T. Dickinson, in "Mark Twain's Revisions in Writing The Innocents Abroad." compared the original newspaper letters which provided moat of the subject matter of The 17 Innocents Abroad with the initial printing of that book. l^The Quarterly Journal of Speech. XXXIII (October, 19*+7), 308-311. ~*~^The Pacific Northwest Quarterly. XLII (July, 1951), 187-202. -^The Oregon Historical Quarterly. LV (March, 195*+). i^The Iowa Journal of History and Politics. XXVII (March, 195*0, 509. 1 ^American Literature, XXVI (March, 195*0, 52. ^ The Michigan Historical Quarterly. XXXIV (June, 1950), iM+^T7o: ^American Literature. XIX (March-January, 195*+), 139-157. Arthur L. Scott has made a continuum of the Dickinson study, comparing the initial printing of The Innocents Abroad with the first British edition of the same book in "Mark Twain’s Revision of The Innocents Abroad for the British Edition of 1872."l8 Definitions of the Terms Used The investigation of the platform presentations of Mark Twain revealed that the speech materials used by him were variously referred to in the literature as "lectures," "readings," and "speeches." It became evident during the investigation that although the performances might be referred to as "lectures," "readings," and "speeches," they were all prepared and delivered in much the same way. Therefore, although in modern writing the three words might be considered as designating three rather different activi ties, in Twain’s day they were used interchangeably. It must be remembered that his speaking career embraced a period of sixty-one years, during which the attitudes toward the platform and its art were in a state of transi tion. Lectures Just nine years before Mark Twain was bom, 18 American Literature. XXV (March-January, 1953~ 199*), b3-FT. Josiah Holbrook had founded the lyceum, known nationally as 19 the "lecture course," Because of this lyceum movement and its nomenclature, all speaking presentations on the platform up through the mid-point of Twain’s speaking career were designated as "lectures," Since Twain himself, following the patterns of the time, referred to his pre- 20 sentations as "lectures," his platform presentations from the year 1866 through the year 1880 will be designated in this study as "lectures," unless otherwise specified (such as: toasts, after-dinner speeches, selections from other authors, etc.). Readings As the lyceum movement gathered momentum, other types of entertainment were gradually added and in 1880 21 the institution became known as the Chautauqua, During the nineteenth century, there was fanatical opposition in the churches of the nation to the theatre. The public could, however, without religious censure, hear selections from drama read from the platform by chautauqua and lyceum -^Mary Margaret Robb, Oral Interpretation of Liter ature in American Colleges and Universities (New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 192^), p. 5 7 ~ * 20 Mark Twain, Mark Twain's Autobiography II (New York: Harper and Brothers, 19240, p. 57. Robb, loc. cit. 8 artists. Gay McLaren proposed, in her excellent history of the Chautauqua, that the term "reading" as a platform art 22 had its origin in this phase of the Chautauqua movement. In time, all excerpts read from the printed page became known as "readings." True to the prevailing vogue, after 1880, Mark Twain called his platform presentations "read- ings." J The platform presentations of Mark Twain from the year 1880 through the year 1896 (including those selections from authors other than himself) will be designated in this study as "readings." Speeches As Twain*s speaking career stretched into the twentieth century, standards governing platform procedures continued to change. There was, according to Robb, "a noticeable tendency to spend less time on training in voice and gesture and more ways of finding the full implications 2*+- of the material to be read." Twain continued to adhere to the pattern. In later life, while he still read from his famous writings, most of his platform activities were of the special-occasion type, and speech materials were 22Gay McLaren, Morally We Roll Along (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1938), p. 13*+ • 2^Twain, op. cit.. p. 59. ^Robb, op. cit.. p. 202. designated as "speeches," Therefore, Twain*s platform pre sentations from the year 1896 through the year 1910, other than those repeated from lectures and readings or from other authors, will be referred to in this study as "speeches •" Visual techniques The visual techniques that this study sought to investigate as reported by viewers were: Twain's appear ance on the platform, his bodily action on the platform, and the use of scripts and properties on the platform. Organization of the Remainder of the Dissertation The remainder of the dissertation will be developed according to the following plan: first, a selective biographical summary will be provided as orientation (Chapter II). Second, the developmental influences on Twain's success as an interpreter and his progress from a social speaker to a professional speaker will be reported (Chapter III). Third, the result of the investigation and analysis of the procedure involved in Twain's returning his written words to speech will be presented (Chapter IV), Fourth, the results of the investigation of the vocal and visual aspects of the oral presentation after preparation had been completed will be analyzed and reported (Chapter 10 V). Fifth and finally, a summary of the factors that con tributed to the success of Mark Twain as an interpreter will be presented with conclusions and implications (Chap ter VI). CHAPTER II * A BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY Mark Twain and Hailey’s comet arrived in and over Florida, Missouri, at the same time. And in some ways Twain’s earthly passage emulated the comet’s brilliantly hurtling passage over America, Twain (bom Samuel Langhome Clemens, November 30, 1835) was bom into a rest less, expanding, and adventuresome America; and these attributes of his nation were to characterize his life for the seventy-five years he lived it. Mark Twain was a part of this restless expansion even before he became a reality. His father, John Marshall Clemens, a native of Virginia, married Jane Lampton, from the eastern seaboard. They responded to the pulse of the nation and pushed west from their home in Kentucky, beyond the Mississippi, to the Missouri frontier. On this trek Samuel L. Clemens was conceived.^ The America Sam Clemens was about to be bom into waB in a hectic, formative stage. In 1829, Andrew "Old ^Dixon Wecter, Sam Clemens of Hannibal (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,1953)• 11 12 Hickory" Jackaon was its president. Martin Van Buren [1837] was next in line. Colonel David Crockett was still activating incidents to be set down in twentieth century ballads. The political air was being stirred by Clay, Webster, Calhoun, and the senator from Missouri, Thomas H. Benton• Traveling actor companies and small circuses were 2 fixtures on the frontier. Religion was in a state of chaotic ebulliency. The Shakerites, the Millerites, and the Mormons had founded themselves and organized. Spiritualism and Perfectionism were fads leading to forms of religious expression. The revival camp meeting was in its heyday on the frontier. As if in opposition to this new religious fervor, lawlessness, murder, and pillage were characteristics of the frontier. The nation’s borders were notorious for their criminal practices. Concentrated up and down the waterways, particularly the Mississippi, were confederacies i f of thugs and outlaws. Dr. Marcus Whitman and the Rev. Samuel Parker began p Bernard DeVoto, Mark Twain's America (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1932). 3Ibid. ^Walter Blair, Half Horse, Half Alligator (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1958). 13 their historic opening of the Northwest. New railroads were beginning to offer commercial and transportation com petition, which would destroy business traffic on the 5 rivers. America was a slave-holding union, and the Clemenses owned slaves.^* America of that era was incurably musical. Piddles, harmonicas, banjos, and accordians were as much a part of frontier equipment as bacon and beans. In this era, the real American musical folk art began. Along with the musi cal expression of folklore, this same era produced the great early American pastime, storytelling. A restless, traveling public had stories to tell; and they told them in the presence of listeners, developing a form of oral narration based on American scenes and told in American vernacular. Emerging in this oral tradition were such personalities as Davy Crockett, Sut Lovingud, Artemus Ward, 7 and Mark Twain. Sam Clemens was four when the family moved from Florida, Missouri, to Hannibal, Missouri. Hannibal was a typical river town of the fading frontier. It had mansions K 'DeVoto, Twain*s America. ^Wecter, Sam Clemens of Hannibal. ?DeVoto, Twain’s America. and substantial houses, churches and theaters, stores and saloons. It boasted a library which subscribed to all the fashionable periodicals. Debating societies flourished and concerts were held. The private dame-school and the advanced elementary school were the order of education of the day, and Sam Clemens attended them in Hannibal until his father died and left the family destitute. At the age of twelve, Clemens started as an errand boy and later became an apprentice on the Gazette, one of Hannibal's newspapers. The serving of an apprenticeship was the traditional method of learning a trade in early America, Sam, the young apprentice, found time to take advantage of play and sport in the surrounding hills and on the river g flowing past his door. The river was an important part of Hannibal. It furnished a livelihood, news, fun, and transportation. The river started Sam Clemens on the travels which were to lead him to New York, Philadelphia, and, in 185*+, to Muscatine, Iowa, where his brother Orion had gone to pub lish a newspaper. The river was to be a vital part in the 9 personal development of Mark Twain, The summer of 1857 brought financial panic to Q Wecter, Sam Clemens of Hannibal. ^Albert Bigelow Paine, Twain's Biography. America, and along with it heartbreak and suffering. Dur ing the year, oblivious to the economic straits of the country, Clemens took a boat from Cincinnati, bound for South America. On this trip he met Horace Bixby, a river pilot, who guided him towards the fulfillment of a child hood ambition. Sam Clemens became a pilot on the Mississippi River.^ Abraham Lincoln was now president [l86l] of the United States and the Civil War was a grim reality. For several weeks in 1861 Sam Clemens was a second Lieutenant in the irregulars of the Confederate Army. A sprained ankle, and as he expressed it, "a desire to live," plus the opportunity to serve as secretary to his brother Orion, the newly appointed Secretary of the Territory of Nevada, ended his military service.^ Ab the Civil War continued in the East, Sam Clemens rode overland by stage to Carson 12 City in Nevada Territory, and became an immediate part of the expanding and adventuresome America, America, during Clemens' lifetime, experienced four great gold rushes— the California gold rush, the Comstock Lode gold rush, the Colorado gold rush, and the Alaskan •^Albert Bigelow Paine, Twain's Biography 11Ibid. 12Ibid. 16 gold rash. The Comstock Lode country, with which Clemens was associated, was wild, rough, and almost inaccessible by foot, horse, or stage. Not much earlier it had been fought and bargained over by the United States and Mexico.^ Jim Bridger and Kit Carson were still active guides for govem- llf ment punitive expeditions within its boundaries. In this setting, Sam Clemens recorded the sessions of the Terri torial Legislature and had a hilariously good time. In the midst of it all, the discovery of gold and silver attracted the adventurous Sam to Virginia City, Nevada, in the heart of the Comstock. He helped rough and primitive miners blast a mineral epoch out of the barren hills of Nevada; at the same time, amid all the tumult, claiming, lawsuits, editorializing, hilarity, and Washoe weather, Sam Clemens 15 was fashioning a literary epoch for Mark Twain. It was in connection with one of these literary achievements in the Comstock that Sam Clemens first used the nom de plume, ''Mark Twain." On February 2, 1863, he even signed an official report of the Territorial Legisla ture with this signature. From this time forth he was 13Richard G. Lillard, Desert Challenge (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1912). -^Cecil J. Alter. James Bridger (Salt Lake City: Shepard Book Company, 192 57^ -^Effie Mona Mack, Mark Twain in Nevada (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 19^7)• 17 known more by his nom de plume' than by hia real name."^ Hereafter, in this study, he will be called "Mark Twain." Early in 1866, the restless soul of Mark Twain directed him to the Sandwich Islands. He had lately moved from Virginia City to San Francisco, California, and was on a reporting mission for a California newspaper. He returned to the mainland with low finances and resorted to lecturing to remedy the deplorable situation, as he was to do many times during his turbulent future. Exhilarated by the applause and laughter and editorial praise of his San Francisco audience, he hired a manager and toured the California and Comstock mining towns with his Sandwich Island lecture. He was to repeat the tour two years later, lecture-reporting the trip he had made to the Holy Land in 1867. Mark Twain, product of vigorous, expanding America, had ranged with its frontiers to the Pacific, crossed it, and then returned to the older frontier in the East, which 17 held new horizons for him. The East to which he came— the East of Holmes, Lowell, and Longfellow--attempted to absorb him. It did succeed in polishing the rough frontier edges from his conduct; but in his thinking, style, and emotions he l6Ibid., pp. 227-229. ■^Paine, Biography. 18 18 remained essentially a product of the West. This was the age of the lyceum in America.^ To paraphrase Twain’s own description of its development, lec turing in the United States was in the second stage of its incredibly successful history. It had burst the bonds of pre-Civil War days and spread over the country like wild fire. When it began the system was chiefly educational, ethical, and informational. By Twain's own time, however, the lyceum had become a resource of editors whose papers had failed, journalists who were weary of their trade, ministers needing more income, and writers with a reputa tion to support, and had been endowed by a vast middle- PO class seeking culture, information, and amusement. In February, 1870, Twain married Olivia Langdon of Elmira, New York; and they went to Buffalo, New York, to live. There Twain was editor of the newspaper, the Express. This venture was not adequately remunerative and Mark Twain again appeared on the platform to recoup his financial resources. In October, 1871, the Clemenses moved to -] Q Vain Wyck Brooks, The Ordeal of Mark Twain (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1920). -^Mary Margaret Robb, Oral Interpretation of Litera ture in American Colleges and Universities (ifew Ifork: 'FHe H. W. Wilson Company, 19^1)”! on ^Mark Twain, Mark Twain's Autobiography II (New York: P. P. Collier and Son Company, 192?!), pp. l*+7- 19 21 Hartford, Connecticut, where they remained until 1891. The Hartford of this era was "well bred." For twenty-one years in "well bred" Hartford, Twain, the humorist, the uneducated, the mobile, lived in a literary society neigh borhood with the William Dean Howells, the Harriet Beecher Stowes, the Charles D. Warners, and the Reverend Joe Twichells.^ From 1873 to 188*+, America saw very little of the man on the platform. It was his period of great pro ductivity in the literary field. The frontier genius in his Ne'.r England aura wrote Roughing It. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and others from whose pages he was to read to thousands of listeners. The promotion and sale of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn called for extra money. Characteristically, Mark Twain with George W. Cable, took to the platform to replenish the 23 Clemens' treasury. This was an age when great personal fortunes were made. Mark Twain, the adventuresome, joined the investors. He owned a publishing company, notable for the publishing of the Grant Memoirs. He became a part of many business ventures. He promoted the development and manufacture of PI Paine, Biography. op Kenneth R. Andrews, Nook Farm (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Harvard University Press, 1950). 2^Paine, Biography. 20 the Paige typesetting machine. The publishing company, the Paige machine, and the financial stability of the country all failed about the same time, Mark Twain was virtually bankrupt. He turned the management of his affairs over to Henry Rogers, the great Standard Oil financier, and forsook his America for Europe, because the family might live more cheaply there. In 1895, the platform and his readings came to the rescue again, and he made a reading tour of the world. The financial returns from his tour satisfied his 2b creditors in full. America chose to call this particular part of its history "The Gray Nineties." But there was more sadness than gaiety in it for Mark Twain. He was in poor health, his businesses had failed, his daughter Susy and his wife had died, and his literary productivity had begun to lag. During all these privations, however, when he chose to speak in public his wit was as brilliant and scintillating as ever. Oxford University honored him with a degree of Doctor of Letters, which Twain considered the crowning event of all the honors and achievements of his career. In 1910, Mark Twain, the personification of expand ing, adventuresome America, died, as Hailey’s comet again flashed its fiery light in the Western sky. ' ph. Paine, Biography. 2 ^Ibid # CHAPTER III THE DEVELOPMENT OP MARK TWAIN AS AN INTERPRETER The Formative Years The reports of Mark Twain*s early life revealed many tangible influences recognizable in the investigation of his career as an interpreter. Prominent among these influences were those provided by his mother and father in their home. Influence of the home Twain resembled his mother in many ways. Jane Clemens had a "certain grace of body and mind," "humorous eyes and mouth," and "luxuriant red hair."^ She was of a p "sunny disposition" with a "blithe and social spirit, charming, witty, impulsive."3 Her eldest son, Orion, wrote: "Her happy flow of spirits made her a favorite L . where she lived." So it was with Twain; indeed, these ^Dixon Wecter, Sam Clemens of Hannibal (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1953)? P» 17. ^Ibid.. p. 126. 3Ibid.. p. 17. ^Ibid. 21 22 same words have been used by observers to describe his likable personal qualities. Young Sam Clemens also absorbed and imitated many of his mother's qualities which contributed to his develop ment as a speaker. "She was very bright, and fond of ban- ter and playful duel of words," which she carried on with her "slow southern speech,"^ the drawl that Sam acquired. A classic example of the "bantering" and the "speech" has been related by a cousin of Twain's, Mr. Cyril Clemens: "Sam, why do you pull your words so?" teased his mother. "Why, Ma'am," Sam replied, very, very slowly, "I pull mine 7 because I guess you pull youm." The drawl, "Sammy's long Q talk," as his mother used to say, became the most men tioned characteristic of Twain's speaking and will be dis cussed later in this study (Chapter V). Jane Clemens was a Presbyterian and with the help of Mark's sister, Pamela, instructed Twain thoroughly in the Bible, a training which Ferguson said furnished him with the imagery he was to employ in his speaking and ^Ibid.. p. 126. 6Ibid.. p. 17. 7Cyril Clemens, Young Sam Clemens (Portland, Me.: Leon Tibbitts Edition, 19^2), p. 7. Q °Gladys Carmen Bellamy, Mark Twain as a Literary Artist (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, l9^0) , p. 23 9 writing, Samuel Charles Webster, a nephew of Twain's, said that Jane Clemens narrated story after stoiy from the Bible, as well as from her eventful youth, while the embryo storyteller listened at her feet.1* * * No doubt she told the incidents of her youth with verve and humor, and the Bible stories with dramatic fire, Jane Clemens had a faculty for the dramatic, and it was never more clearly impressed upon her young son than when she made him promise at the side of his father's coffin to be a better boy and not break her heart.1' 1 ' Twain often spoke of his mother's gift of an "unstudied and unconscious pathos" along with unschooled eloquence and the storyteller’s art by which she lived her 12 past. In a scrap of writing found among the Mark Twain papers he attested the influence of her personality and characteristics: I had been abroad in the world for twenty years and knew and listened to many of the best talkers before it dawned upon me that in the matter of mov ing and pathetic eloquence none of them was the ^DeLancey Ferguson, Mark Twain: Man and Legend (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 19*+3) , P* 26. ■^Samuel Charles Webster, Mark Twain, Businesaman (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 19^6), p. l-Wan Wyck Brooks, The Ordeal of Mark Twain (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1920), p. *+0. 12Wecter, op. cit., p. 127. 2b equal of that untrained and artless talker out there in the western village, that obscure little woman with the beautiful spirit and the great heart and the enchanted tongue. In 1897, Twain wrote in his autobiography of the profound impression his mother’s pathetic eloquence had had upon him: . . . she was the most eloquent person I have ever heard speak. It was seldom eloquence of the fiery sort, but gentle, pitying, persuasive, appeal ing; and so uttered, that many times I have seen it win the reluctant and splendid applause of tears. The temperament of Mark Twain’s father, John Clemens, was opposite to that of his mother. Critics have felt that because of John Clemens' retiring nature and early death he had very little influence on the life of Mark Twain. It is known, however, that he was prominent in his community, and that his intelligence was respected by his associates. He organized and participated in busi ness ventures in the areas in which he lived; most of them failed. He had political aspirations which never matured. John Clemens' life was characterized by a never-ending projection of ambitions, new hopes and ventures, and losing struggles. Nevertheless, he helped to promote successful projects of community improvement. He helped to organize 13Ibid., p. 130. ^Mark Twain, Mark Twain’s Autobiography. Volume I (New York: Harper and Brothers, 192*+), p. 117. 25 discussion groups that found great interest among the citi zens in his vicinity These undertakings called for speeches and oral reports on the part of John Clemens. Cyril Clemens stated that he made political speeches while seeking the office of clerk in Marion County, Missouri.^ Prom Twain*s descrip tion of his father's reading of the poem "Hiawatha," it can he assumed that his speaking was not very effective. Twain said that he read the poem "with the same inflectionless, judicial frigidity with which he always read his charge to 17 the jury." The fact that Twain remembered the manner in which his father read poetry and delivered his charges to juries may have nad an inverse influence on his own inter pretative practices. However, according to Minnie M. Brashear, the most significant influence of John Clemens on the future success of his son— and certainly related to Twain's career as an interpreter— was the "steady purpose to try for a finer 18 type of success than that which he saw about him." This possible influence was illustrated in Twain's great concern 15 'Wecter, op. cit.. pp. 66-79. •^Clemens, pp. cit.. p. ^9. 17 Minnie M. Brashear, Mark Twain. Son of Missouri (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 193*+), P. 92. l8Ibid., p. 97. for preparation and improvement in the interpretation of his lectures, readings, and speeches (Chapter IV). As a boy, Mark Twain spent a great deal of time on his Uncle John Quarles' farm near Florida, Missouri. In his autobiography Twain has extensively related the occa sions and the happiness of these visits.^ It was at the Quarles' farm that he heard the stories and the supersti tions of the Negro race from the lips of an aged Negro slave woman and other Negroes on the place. The youngster listened well, for in later years he was to become famous for his use of the melody of the Negro dialect in retelling the stories he had heard here. The most famous of these stories was "The Golden Arm," told him first by the old Negress. He used the same techniques to scare audiences that she had used to scare him in his impressionable child- 20 hood. Influence of the school Mark Twain started his education at the dame school 21 conducted by a Miss Horr. The dame school was trans planted into America from England. It was a private and local arrangement in which a woman taught young children ■^Twain, Autobiography I. pp. 96-115. 2QLoc. cit. 21 Cyril Clemens, My Cousin Mark Twain (Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Press, 1939)? p. 8. 27 in her home. The alphabet, the hornbook, elements of read ing, and moral and religious subjects were taught. The dame school prepared its students for the advanced town 22 schools. A tuition was charged. The dame school that Twain attended followed the pattern; Miss Horr opened the school day with prayer and reading from the Bible, instructed the students in rules of conduct, and then taught them the alphabet. The Clemenses paid twenty-five cents a week for Mark’s schooling. J Following the dame school, Twain entered the common school taught by William 0. oh Cross. The common school opened with prayer and the singing of a hymn; then arithmetic, grammar, and spelling followed each other as the order of the day. Twain was 25 the champion speller at the school. The champion speller of Hannibal was to be attracted by the construction, beauty, and expressiveness of words the rest of his life. Dixon Wecter reported that Twain attended another school conducted by J. D. Dawson, who emphasized grammar and 26 taught some Latin. On Friday of each week, Mr. Dawson 22Edgar W. Knight, Education in the United States (Boston: Ginn and Company, 193*+ P. 120. ^Clemens, My Cousin, p. 8. Wecter, op. cit.. p. 132. 2^Ibid. 26Ibid. conducted elocution classes. No mention was made of the procedure of these classes; but Cyril Clemens wrote that Mark would tell his mother how thrilled the classroom had been when he recited "The Assyrian Came Down Like a Wolf in the Fold," and "Abu Ben Adhem," or, "The Battle of the 27 Baltic." Unfortunately, for this study, no mention was made in these critiques of the extent of Mr. Dawson’s teaching of contemporary elocution techniques, or Mark’s application of them. However, Twain had begun to be aware of audience consideration and the materials which pleased people. Influence of the Sunday School The participation in Sunday School contests may have been another influence on the development of Twain as an interpreter, for it gave him additional opportunity for public appearance in a reciting capacity. Mr. Raymond, the Superintendent of the Methodist Sunday School, offered prizes for memorizing and reciting verses from the Bible. Mark attended the Methodist Sunday School, studied assidu- pQ ously, and won the prizes as long as they were offered. In appraising these early influences on Twain’s Clemens, Young Sam, p. k2, pO Clemens, My Counsin. p. 15 career as an interpreter, it was significant to note that during his successes in the spelling bee, the elocution classes, and the Bible-recitation sessions, the urge for nobler public expression had started for he entertained the idea of becoming a minister.At this time it was the only kind of eloquence to which he had been exposed; but it was not likely that any other of the virtues of the minis try attracted him. Influence of the theater Mark Twainfs devotion to the rewards of the Sunday School did not keep him from attending the local theatri cals and the performances of traveling dramatic troupes in Hannibal. Once Mark volunteered to become the subject and assistant of a mesmerist. After the performer had gone, Mark claimed that he had mesmeric powers, although he had merely learned the mesmerist's trick, and he reveled in ■}Q the glory and the notice that it brought him.“ In 1853? when he was eighteen years old, the influence of the theater evidenced itself in a more concrete way. He had gone to New York as a working sightseer and had witnessed a performance of Edwin Forrest in The Gladiators. Mark was so impressed by the acting of Forrest that he wrote his 29Ibid., p. *+1. •^Webster, op. cit.. p. *+6. 30 mother a lengthy critique of the play. Significant to his development as a lecturer-reader was the portion of the letter which stated, "The man's whole soul seems absorbed in the part he is playing."- Twain's characteristic of soul-absorption in his task will be discussed later in this study • Influence of MacFarlane and the river After the New York sojourn, at the age of twenty, Twain was in Cincinnati working to get enough money to start on a journey to South America. At his boarding house, he befriended a Scotsman named MacFarlane. Twain wrote in his autobiography that MacFarlane was a "tireless" and "diligent talker" to whom he listened in comfort 32 through the long winter evenings. In the same discussion of this Scot, Twain reported his futile attempt to "best, him" in a game of dictionary words which they carried on for weeks. According to Twain (and much to his admira tion) MacFarlane knew the dictionary from "beginning to 33 end." It was this same MacFarlane, Brasheers thought, who motivated Twain's doctrine on the general retrogression of man from his intended high estate, which Mark fumed ^Clemens, My Cousin. p. 19. ■^Twain, Autobiography I. p. lMf. 33lbid.. p. 1^5. about, spoke about, and wrote about all M s life.“ This observation by Brasheers seemed important to this study because it suggested that MacFarlane's philosophies and teachings remained with Twain over the years. In a like manner, MacFarlane's "talk-game" of words may have been the proving ground for Twain's ability to use the language expressively over the years. Certainly Hugh R. Walpole gave credence to the "think-talk the language" practice in 35 investigating the meanings of words. At any rate, critics were to exclaim about Twain's ability to use and interpret appropriate words to express his thoughts. Eventually, Twain got under way to South America on the steamer Paul Jones. But his purported trip to the Amazon ended when he talked Horace Bixby, pilot of the Paul Jones, into teaching him the trade. Bixby insisted on per fection from his student in matters of the river. Mealtime on the packet was storytelling time. Pilots, officers, and passengers vied with each other in telling tall tales. Twain was exposed to the individualism of exaggeration and the intricacies of its types of exposi- 36 tion. ^Brasheers, op. cit.. pp. 175-176. ^Hugh R. Walpole. Semantics (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 19*+1), pp. 2t>-35. ■^Clemens, Young Sam, p. 83. 32 On the river Twain heard another pilot, named George Ealer, read Shakespeare. Ealer read and discoursed aloud on Shakespeare to anyone who would listen. It has 37 „ been recorded that Twain was his constant audience. He was to use this same Ealer as the narrator when he wrote "Is Shakespeare Dead?" and there can be little doubt that he imitated Ealer when he read that selection in public. It would seem that his experience on the river aided him greatly in his ability to portray accurately different types of human beings. The proof was written by Twain himself: "In that brief, sharp schooling, I got personally acquainted with about all the different types of •30 human nature that are in fiction, biography and history." Again Twain said: "When I find a well-known character in fiction or biography, I generally take a warm personal interest in him, for the reason that I have known him 39 before on the river." Mark Twain described his four *4-0 years on the river as being a postgraduate course. Influence of the West Twain ended his career as a river pilot to become ^Bernard DeVoto, Mark Twain*s America (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1932), p. 105. J Ferguson, op. cit.. p. 50. 39Ibid. ^Clemens, My Cousin, p. 23. secretary to his brother Orion, Secretary of the Territory of Nevada. Historians of the West have been fond of telling how Mark Twain*s fertile imagination was nurtured in the l+l barren, rocky hills of the Comstock Lode country. Indeed, it has been conceded that the genesis of Mark Twain as a writer began there. Literary critics have agreed that the influence of the West was paramount in the development of Twain as a writer. To a lesser degree, some influences on Twain as an interpreter were manifested in his experiences and associations in the 'West. The West that caused him to strike both sparks of his genius was observed by William Dean Howells to have had a lasting quality in the man. Howells wrote: As time went on Clemens, the Southwesterner, was prone to lose his Southern but cleave to his Western heritage, finding his true affinities with the broader democracy of the frontier. ^ At any rate, in Nevada and California he had some practice in public speaking; he met excellent speakers, one of whom (Artemus ’ Ward) probably had more influence on his success as a lecturer-reader than any one else in the West. Before he came in contact with the famous Artemus Ward (Charles I&rrar Browne), Twain had made a burlesque 1+1 Kichard G. Lillard, Desert Challenger (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1912), p. 21^. i+p Dixon Wecter, "Mark Twain and the West," The Huntington Library quarterly. VIII (August, 19^8), p. 371. 3»f political speech before the Third House, which was a bur lesque organization of the Territorial Legislature of Nevada, composed of its members and staff. This speech was so successful that a group asked him to repeat it at a benefit for a local church. He had enjoyed doing it so much for the House that he readily consented to repeat it. One of the speakers with whom Twain came into con tact in Nevada was Tom Fitch. He was "a silver-tongued orator, student of the classics," who had been delighting audiences on the Comstock with his ready wit for the better part of a generation. Fitch shared the same boarding house 1 +1 + with Mark Twain. Fitch was a lawyer and a politician, and Mark Twain, as reporter for the Territorial Enterprise and recorder for the Territorial Legislature of Nevada, heard him speak on many occasions. Archibald Henderson reported Twain as saying: One night after a lecture in the early dayB, Tom Fitch, the * silver-tongued orator of Nevada, * said to me: 'Clemens, your lecture was magnifioent. It was eloquent, moving and sincere. Never in my life have I listened to such a magnificent piece of descrip tive narrative. But you committed one unpardonable sin— the unpardonable sin. It is a sin you must never commit again. You closed a most eloquent description, ^Effie Mona Mack, Mark Twain in Nevada (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 19*+/), p. 2??. i . i , Lucius Beebe, Comstock Commotion (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1 9 p. ^6. ^Mack, op. cit.. p. 22*+. 35 by which you had keyed your audience up to a pitch of intensest interest, with a piece of atrocious anti-climax which nullified all the really fine effort you had produced. My dear Clemens, what ever you do, never sell [sic] your audience*.* And that was my first really profitable lesson.^ It seemed that Mark Twain respected the opinion of Tom Fitch on a matter of style; it seems possible that Fitch influ enced Twain as a speaker in other ways not readily dis closed. Edgar M. Branch reported that Mark Twain heard J. Ross Browne, Lisle Lester, and Stephen C. Massett lec- U-7 ture, as well as Artemus Ward. However, for the two weeks Ward spent in Virginia City and vicinity, Twain was his constant companion; and the reports of this association have obscured any meeting he might have had with the other noted lecturers. Artemus Ward gave his lecture, "Babes in the Woods," several times during his sojourn in Virginia City. Mark Twain attended every presentation of the lecture. The Bulletin observed that at the first lecture, Mark Twain watched the proceedings with great solemnity, while the L . f l audience howled and shouted its delight. This seemed ^Archibald Henderson, Mark Twain (London: Duckworth and Company, 1911)» pp. 99-100. k? Edgar Marquess Branch, The Literary Apprentice ship of Mark Twain (Urbana: The University of Illinois, 1^50), p. 61. The Virginia City Evening Bulletin. December 28, 1863 • 36 unusual behavior for the Comstock Mark Twain, unless, per haps, he suddenly realized that a master of the art of speaking was before him and he was analyzing the lecture and lecturer and taking mental notes. At any rate, he was to report the lecture, according to the Bulletin (the files of his own paper, The Territorial Enterprise, for this event are not extant) thus: "There are perhaps fifty sub jects treated in it, and there is a possible point in every L lQ one of them, and a healthy laugh, also." 7 According to Ward’s biographer, Don C. Seitz, the "Babes in the Woods" lecture was a series of spoken obser vations, none of which were related to the title or to each 50 other. Twain used a similar style in reading "His Grand father’s Old Ram." According to Twain’s estimate of his own rate of delivery on the platform--about 100 words per minute— this reading required about eight minutes.^1 It consisted of twenty-one subjects, only two of which were related to the title, and none immediately to each other. Twain was impressed by Artemus Ward, for in 1871 he used his life and sayings as a basis for a lecture which, ^The Virginia City Evening Bulletin, ibid. ^Don C. Seitz, Artemus Ward (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1919). Mark Twain, The .$30.000 Bequest and Other Stories (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1872), p. l68. however, proved unsuccessful with audiences. The simi larities of Ward as he appeared in Virginia City, Nevada, and the later lecturer-reader Twain were many. Ward used a bare platform from which to deliver his readings— so Twain was to do. Ward assumed his character on the stage 53 with a solemn melancholy expression on his face — so Twain < L l was to do. Ward affected embarrassment and witlessness^— so Twain was to do. Ward's "adroit timing, changes of pace, and dead pan obliviousness to the point of his own wit" were all characteristics of the future lecturer- reader. v/ard put his "commonplace stuff across" by his delivery^— so reviewers were to say about Mark Twain. V/ard even contributed the Horace Greeley 3tory (the Hank 57 Monk-Greeley incident) to one of Twain's lectures. On the platform Twain reminded reviewers of the early lectures of Artemus Ward; but Twain's own qualities seemed to overshadow those of his predecessor. The 52 Dixon Wecter (ed.), The Love Letters of Mark Twain (New York: Harper and Brothers, 19^9) * P« 164-. ^Mack, op. cit.. p. 288. ^ Ibid. ^Wecter, Mark Twain and the Wests p. 268. ^Ferguson, pp. cit.. p. 88. 57 Irving McKee, "Artemus Ward in California and Nevada," The Pacific Historical Review. XX (February, 1951)* P. 20. 38 reviewer of the Chicago lecture on December 18, 1871, stated: "His style of oratorical delivery is like that of C O Artemus Ward," The reviewer of the San Francisco lecture on October 2, 1866, reported: Quote Artenrus Ward no more, our Pacific slopes can discount him. In original humor and the way of putting it, Artemus can hide his diminished Luminary [sic] under several bushels; he is as a penn'orth 1 sic 1 of tallow to a mammoth circus chandelier. Others with whom Twain came into contact on the Comstock who could have exerted influence upon him as an interpreter were Jospeh Goodman, Steve and Jim Gillis, and Ben Coon. Joseph Goodman, the owner of the Territorial Enterprise and Twain's first instructor in reportorial writing, was no mean storyteller himselfSteve and Jim Gillis were brothers at whose cabin in Angels Camp Twain heard the story of the blue jay and the acorn which he told many times on the platform. The Gillis brothers were polished artists at extemporizing tall tales while Mark was still an apprenticeThey took Twain to a friend's abode in-. Jack Ass Hill where he heard from old Ben Coon for the first time the story of the jumping frog and the "Burning ■^The Chicago Tribune, December 21, 1871. ^The Golden Era, October 7, 1866. 6°Ferguson, pp. cit.. p. 8*+. 61Ibid.. p. 102. 39 6 2 Shame." To use an expression which seemed to have been a favorite of critics, the sojourn at Angels Camp and Jack Ass Hill "was a postgraduate course in the fine art of oral humor." Ferguson called this folklore to which Twain had been subjected in the West, "the archetype of the large 6^ scale public leg pull." Twain just "kind of fixed it up and made more of it," as Katy Leary, the Clemens1 house maid, was to say many years later.^ It seems quite likely that the oral style of these master storytellers influenced Twain greatly when he came to be a master storyteller on the platform. Influence of Charles Dickens Not long after his association with the democratic individuals of the frontier, Mark Twain heard one perform ance of the famous lecture-readings of Charles Dickens, the visitor from England. Writers seemed to find a Dickensian influence on Twain in his literature. But all that the present investigation revealed of a possible Dickensian influence on Twain as an interpreter was contained in a brief paragraph dictated by Twain for his autobiography in 62Ibid., p. 103. 63lbid., p. 102. 6IfIbid., p. 80. ^Mary Lawton, A Lifetime with Mark Twain (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1925), p. 23. bQ 1907. In this paragraph Twain recorded his impressions. He remembered how Dickens was dressed. He remembered the stage setting. He remembered the selections that Dickens read. He remembered that Dickens had read "with great force and animation, in the lively passages, and with stir ring effectHe recalled that Dickens not only "read" but "acted." He was impressed that the "vivid" reading and 6*7 "energetic action" carried the audience "off its feet." f Critics and observers who have seen fit to compare Dickens and Twain felt that there was a great difference in the platform techniques of the two men rather than a simi larity. Stephen Leacock contrasted the two readers by say ing: Dickens was different; . . . what the audience saw was not Dickens but his characters. . . . What Mark Twain's audiences saw was Mark Twain; what the audience heard was Mark Twain— not Tom Sawyer or Hunk Finn, but Mark Twain. His thought and feeling, by the magic of his method, carried across, a Henry Seidel Canby, in comparing Mark Twain with Dickens, called both readers dramatic. Dickens, Canby related, pre sented his readings by acting out the characters of his stories; Mark Twain, he said, acted a little but achieved ^Twain, Autobiography I. p. 21*+. 67Ibid. / Q Stephen Leacock, Mark Twain (New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 193*+) * P • 92. *tl 69 his success by adding certain props and wisecracks. Whether the one time Twain heard Dickens read influenced the dramatic element in his delivery is a matter for conjecture; however, it is certain that he was directly exposed to the dramatic temperament of his mother, the dramatic reading of George Ealer*s Shakespeare, the dramatic infusions of the West— all before he had heard Charles Dickens. From Social Storyteller to Platform Artist The influences related in the foregoing portion of this chapter were in a large measure responsible for the success Twain achieved as a social storyteller. In a like manner, these influences were responsible for his progress from a social storyteller to the status of professional reader. Certain other experiences were also notable in aiding the progress. One of the qualities of Mark Twain's speaking was his expert use of exaggeration. This characteristic of flamboyant exaggeration was evident very early in Twain as a boy. Neighbors once inquired of Jane Clemens if she ever believed anything the child said. She replied quickly, "Ch, yes, I know his average. I discount him ninety percent. 70 The rest is pure gold." Historians and critics were to ^Heniy Seidel Canby, Turn West. Turn East (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 195ll, p. 3&. ^Clemens, My Cousin, p. 8. k-2 call attention repeatedly to this characteristic of exag geration which became an effective technique during his lecturing-reading career. Twain exercised this technique veiy early in an organized form when, in 18^-7, he told a schoolmate, named 71 Jimmie McDaniel, about Jim Wolfe and the cats. This incident was the first humorous story he ever told an audi ence. And Jimmie McDaniel set the pace for future audi- 72 ences when he ’ ’ laughed his remaining teeth out." In 1906 Twain said of this experience with his first audience, "I had never been so proud and happy before, I have seldom 73 been so proud and happy since." In 1856, Twain made a similar statement on the occasion of his first speech— so labeled by historians. It was actually Twain's first after-dinner speech. It was made at the Ivins House in Keokuk, Iowa on January 17 before a group of printers assembled in honor of Benjamin 7L. Franklin's birthday. Twain was called on unexpectedly to speak and made a flustered start, but finished admirably to 75 the applause of his fellow printers. Echoing his reaction 71 ^Mark Twain, Mark Twain's Autobiography II (New York: P. F. Collier and Son Company,1^25J , p. 213. ?2Ibid. ^Clemens, Young Sam, p. 81. ^ The Keokuk Gate City. January 19 * 1856. ^Clemens, Young Sam, p. 82. to Jimmie McDaniel*s response, Twain told C. C. Fry, who sat next to him at the dinner, that once he got started, he enjoyed it more than anything he had ever done.^ It would seem significant to Twain*s later professional career as a successful lecturer-reader that he had enjoyed immensely these first two social speeches. It has been mentioned that Twain was a pilot on the Mississippi River where he took part in the storytelling; and as he steamed up and down the river, he collected a great store of tall tales, some of which he used as mate rials for the platform. In Nevada, he was in constant association with Joseph Goodman, Steve and Jim Gillis, Ben Coon and Tom Fitch, already established as master storytellers. Twain was accepted in this verbose company, not because of his profession and theirs, but because he could furnish his entertaining share in the discourse of the social hour. Ferguson stated that in the friendly competition with the tellers of tall tales on the Comstock Lode he, . . . acquired the capacity for terse and pic turesque expression. . . . His drawling utterance was a joy to his friends . . . gently, slowly, with no profane inflections of voice— but irresistibly, as though they had heard the head waters of the Mississippi from their sources, would come the unholy adjectives and choice expletives.?” ?^Clemens, Young Sam, p. 82. ??Ferguson, op. cit.. p. 87. If If During this formative storytelling era, Twain made four speeches, the popularity of which, along with his reputation as a local wit, gave impetus to his success when he returned to the Comstock to lecture as a professional storyteller. The first speech was delivered before the Third House on December 13, 1863 It was Twain*s inaugural address as governor of the burlesque legisla- 79 ture. After his election to governorship, Twain made a few brief remarks and opened the session for "business." He recorded the proceedings, including his own remarks, in shorthand as the meeting progressed. Twain’s transcription oq was included in the book, Mark Twain of the Enterprise. The authors of this work said: The reader will recognize that Mark Twain is parodying the forensic mannerisms of prominent speakers in the Convention. He probably mimicked their voices and^gestures when he delivered his message orally.01 In the courtroom of the Ormsby County courthouse on January 27, l86*f, Twain delivered a revised version of the 82 Third House speech with repeated success. This was ^Henry Nash Smith and Frederick Anderson (eds.), Mark Twain of the Enterprise (Berkeley: The University of California Press, 195?), pp. lMf-l^. 79 7Mack, op. cit.. p. 273* ^Smith, loo, cit. 8lIbid.. p. 102. 82Ibid.. p. I*f5. ^5 Twain’s first speech for which admission was charged. How ever, the entire amount was given to the Presbyterian Church of Carson City, N e v a d a . The third speech, his second impromptu after-dinner speech, was delivered at a surprise dinner party given in his honor in Virginia City, Nevada. Twain learned of the surprise, and when called upon to speak, apologized and faltered, then delivered the Aif "impromptu" speech he had carefully prepared. The fourth speech was given before the Territorial Legislature in February, 186*+. It was a presentation speech during which Twain presented a Mr. Clagett with a "prodigious wooden Q C j comb." (A Mr. Fisher had on another occasion presented Mr. Clagett with a cane.) Twain wrote of his presentation speech: I had no speech prepared, and therefore I was obliged to infringe upon etiquette to some extent— that is to say, I had to take Mr. Fisher's speech (apologizing to that gentleman, of course) and read it to Mr. Clagett, merely saying "comb" where the word cane occurred, and "legislator" in the place of "parliamentarian," and sling in a few "as it weres," and "so to speaks," etc., to add grace and vigor to the composition. I think I must be a pretty good reader— the audience appeared to admire Fisher's speech more when I delivered it than they did when he delivered it himself ®^Mack, op. cit.. p. 277. Ibid.. p. 250. 8^Smith, op. cit.. p. 177. 86Ibid. 1*6 Twain wag learning the "tricks" and beginning the applica tion of a technique that became an obsession— preparation. His success with these speeches was still the talk of Virginia City when Artemus Ward came to that town; and Edgar Lee Masters has reported that Ward encouraged Mark Q ry to try to win fame and money on the lecture platform. Twain’s reaction to Ward’s encouragement has not been recorded, but two years later he was to make the start at professional lecturing. Mark Twain severed his connections with The Terri torial Enterprise rather suddenly in an effort to avoid the now famous duel, which he described many times from the platform. He escaped to San Francisco. He worked for six months on The Morning Call in that city. At the end of six months he went with Steve Gillis to Angels Camp, California, to prospect for gold. There he matched Gillis' QO Gold Rush yams with yams of the Mississippi. The gold he found was not of an earthy sort but was an ethereal sort in the fanciful spirit of Dick Stover and Ben Coon. The sojourn at Angels Camp was significant to this study because there, in an atmosphere of comradeship and story telling, he heard the tales he would later re-tell from ^Edgar Lee Masters, Mark Twain, A Portrait (New York; Charles Scribner’s Sons, 193h), p. *+6. 88 Clemens, My Cousin, p. ^9. the platform. Back in San Francisco from Angels Gamp, Twain con tinued hia news reporting for other newspapers and had a gay social life with his friends. An acquaintance of his, interviewed by Cyril Clemens, told of parties that she had 89 attended with Mark Twain. She said that he had been a great favorite because of the witty anecdotes he always told. On March 7, 1866, Mark Twain sailed for the Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands) on a reporting mission for the Alta Californian. The letters that he wrote for that newspaper were to form the basic content of his first professional speech. When he arrived back in San Francisco, he felt the desire to return East to visit his family. Being short of funds for such a trip, he cast about for means of providing them. Friends who knew of his successes in Virginia City urged him to give a lecture on his trip to the Sandwich Islands. It was interesting to note that at this time he was concerned with the effect such a ges ture would have on his writing. It has been recorded that as a result of his quandary, he consulted the editor of his paper on the matter. The editor asked him whether his present need was a literary reputation or money. Twain’s 89Ibid., p. b7 bQ 90 reply, of course, was "money." Perhaps, too, he remem bered Artemus Ward's encouragement of an earlier day. At any rate, on the stage of Maguire's Academy of Music, October 2, 1866, using the materials he had collected on the Sandwich Island trip, he took the first step into pro fessional lectureship. In summary, the possible early influences upon Mark Twain's development as an interpreter were: (1) the physical and spiritual grace of his mother, (2) the speech pattern of his mother, (3) bis early religious training, (b) the dramatic instinct of his mother, (5) the effica cious eloquence of his mother's Bible reading and story telling, (6) the personality of his mother, (7) the speak ing and oral reading activities of his father, (8) the integrity of his father, (9) the tenacity of his father to persevere in the face of repeated failures, (10) the story telling of the Negroes on the Quarles' farm, (11) the spelling bees at school, (12) the elocution classes at school, (13) the Bible memorization and recitation contests in the Sunday School, (1*+) the participation in and criti cal observation of theatricals, (15) the philosophies and word games of a man named MacParlane, (16) the required perfection of Horace Bixby in riverboat pilot schooling, 9°Ibid.. p. 63 b9 (17) the study of and the storytelling of the river people, (18) the Shakespearian reading of George Ealer, (19) the Western experiences and people, (20) the speaking of and the association with Artemus Ward and other speakers, and (21) the dramatic techniques of Charles Dickens. The possible influences of early speaking experi ences preceding his professional career were: (1) the effect of the use of exaggeration in natural speaking, (2) the exhilaration of his first speaking experiences, (3) the reaction of early audiences, (*+) the appeal of early river folk tales, (5) the early "give-and-take” association with such storytellers as Joseph Goodman, the Gillis brothers, Ben Coon, and Tom Pitch, (6) the reporting of the oratory of the Territorial Legislature of Nevada and the burlesque Third House, (7) the success of four early non-professional speeches in Nevada, and (8) the encouragement of Artemus Ward to speak on the platform professionally. CHAPTER IV AN ANALYSIS OP THE PREPARATION TECHNIQUES OP MARK TWAIN Luring the investigation of the preparational tech niques and procedures of Mark Twain, it was discovered that most of the references to them in the biographical and critical sources were derived from autobiographical data. The most significant sources were Mark Twain*s Autobiogra phy . Mark Twain's Notebook. Mark Twain's Letters, all edited by Albert Bigelow Paine, and Mark Twain*s Biography, also written by Paine. Since the printing of these volumes* and a decade or more later than the last significant pub lished critical study, two volumes of Mark Twain's personal letters have appeared. These are The Love Letters of Mark Twain and Mark Twain to Mrs. Fairbanks. both books edited by Dixon Wecter and both published in 19*+9. (These letters did not appear in Mark Twain's Letters.) Revision of the Written Materials for the Platform In the oral interpretation of literature the limi tations of the platform will often force the reader to revise the written materials for oral presentation. 50 Authorities in the area of Oral Interpretation have devoted considerable space in their pedagogical works to the revisional preparation of materials for oral reading, (See, for example: Oral Reading by Crocker and Eich, pp. 217“2 1 9 ) Because Mark Twain was confronted with this common interpretative problem of preparation in trans ferring the printed word to speech, this investigation sought to discover the evidences of his revising, the methods of his revision, and the purposes, if possible, thereof. A vast body of Twainiana was examined. This examination resulted in the selection of three groups of pertinent sources which were investigated. The first group consisted of autobiographical, biographical, and critical sources. The second group consisted of printed copies of spoken selections and their originally printed counter parts. The third source consisted of a recorded excerpt with its printed counterpart. Evidences of revision from the autobiographical sources In Mark Twain's autobiography there were three references citing his practice of revising his materials for the platform. They were as follows: We did not appear in Boston until we had rehearsed about a month in those towns and made ■^■Lionel Crocker and Louis M. Eich, Oral Reading (New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 19*+7). 52 o all the necessary corrections and revisings. My reading was ten minutes long. When I had selected it originally it was twelve minutes long, and it had taken me a good hour to find ways of^reducing it by two minutes without damag ing it. I was never able to teach him [William Dean Howells] to rehearse his proposed reading by the help of. a watch and to cut it down to a proper length. In Mark Twain’s Letters there was one reference to revising, which was as follows: Ifm going to read the passage in the "Yankee" in which Yankee’s West Point Cadets figure— and shall covertly work in a lecture on aristocracy to those boys.? In The Love Letters of Mark Twain there were four refer ences to the revising of materials. They were as follows: . • . — am patching at my lecture all the time— trying to weed Artemus out of it and work myself Livy, darling, the same old practicing on audiences still goes on— the same old feeling of pulses & [sic] and altering & [sic] matter to p Mark Twain, Mark Twain’s Autobiography I (New York: Harper and Brothers, 192*0, p. 151. ■ 3 JMark Twain, Mark Twain’s Autobiography II (New York: Harper and Brothers, 192*+), p. l*+8. ^Ibid. C y ^Albert Bigelow Paine (ed.), Mark Twain’s Letters (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1917)* p. 5^2. z Dixon Wecter (ed.), The Love Letters of Mark Twain (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 19^-8), p. 16jj'j 53 7 suit the symptoms. Last night I played my new hill, containing "The Jumping Prog of Calaveras,,County" (cut down and told in 13 minutes) [sic]. • . . Tom andgHuck setting Jim free— cut to 25 fsic 1 minutes.-^ In Mark Twain to Mrs. Fairbanks there were two references to the revision of materials. They were as follows: I am writing my next winter's lecture. It takes me every day to do it, and it isn't finished yet. I have written more than enough for the lec ture, but it must still be added to and then cut down.10 . . . didn't alter it (a great deal) [sic 1 because it always "took" on the platform in that shape. In Mark Twain in Eruption there was one reference to the revising of materials. It was as follows: After I had memorized it it began to undergo changes on the platform and it continued to edit and revise itself, night after night. . • . 2 In summary, listed above are eleven statements from autobiographical sources showing that Mark Twain revised ^Ibid., p. 162. 8Ibid.. p. 231. ^Ibid. 10Wecter Dixon, Mark Twain to Mrs. Fairbanks (San Marino: The Huntington Library, 19^9)» P* 99. 11Ibid., p. l*+6. 12 Bernard DeVoto (ed.), Mark Twain in Eruption (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1922), p. 217. his materials for the platform. Evidence of revision from the spoken materials There were two selections extant resembling approx imately the form in which Mark Twain delivered them from the platform. The first was "His Grandfather’s Old Ram" which originally appeared in the book, Roughing It, The second was "The Jumping Prog of Calaveras County," first printed in separate newspapers and later included in Sketches New and Old. In 1907, three years before his death, Mark Twain dictated to Albert Bigelow Paine, his biographer, a version of "His Grandfather's Old Ram" as he remembered having spoken it many times from the platform. This dictated ver sion was found among the residue materials Paine did not use in the biography of Mark Twain. Bernard DeVoto has 13 included it in Mark Twain in Eruption. In this version "His Grandfather’s Old Ram" was shortened from 1667 words as it appeared in Roughing It to 1556 words. Revision of the selection was substantiated by the difference in the number of words in the two selections. On July 19, 1895, the Cleveland Plain Dealer printed a version of "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" 13Ibid., pp. 218-225. 55 from a shorthand transcription of the "Morals Lecture" that Twain delivered in Cleveland, Ohio on July 16. This ver sion of the selection was reduced from 2,073 words as it appeared in Sketches New and Old to 1,05*+ words* The great difference in the number of words contained in each version seemed to indicate revision of the spoken version. Not long after the phonograph was invented Mark Twain made a recording of a portion of "The Jumping Prog of Calaveras County." This portion of the selection was not included in the "Morals Lecture" as it was reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer* July 19, 1895. This recorded ver sion was enlarged to 201 words, while the corresponding excerpt in its printed form consisted of 110 words. The difference in the number of words in these two excerpts indicated revision. In summary, specific statements by Mark Twain con tained in the autobiographical sources indicated that he revised his printed materials for the platform. A word comparison of two spoken selections with their printed counterparts revealed that Mark Twain had revised these selections. A word comparison of a recorded excerpt with its printed counterpart indicated that Mark Twain had made a revision for recording purposes. Methods of .Revision Heretofore in this report the term "revise" in its 56 various forms has been used simply to denote the evidence of some change made in Mark Twain’s printed materials in preparing them for the platform. In analyzing the auto biographical, biographical, and critical sources and the three spoken selections available for comparison for methods of revision, the term "revise" approached a more a definite connotation. Methods of revision from the autobiographical sources There were three methods indicated in Mark Twain’s Autobiography that were used by Twain to revise his printed materials for the platform. The three methods were "cor rections," "reducing it by two minutes," and "cut down to llf its proper length." In Mark Twain's Letters the one statement of method of revision was "shall covertly work in 15 a lecture on aristocracy." In the Love Letters of Mark Twain the five methods of revision were: "trying to weed Artemus out," "work myself in," "altering manner & matter," r* 3 ^ "cut down and told in 13 minutes," and "cut to 25 minutes." In Mark Twain to Mrs. Fairbanks the three statements of methods of revision were "it still must be added to," "then ^Twain, Autobiography I. pp. 151, 1^8. ^Paine, Letters, p. 532. •^Wecter, Love Letters, pp. 163, 162, 231 57 cut down," and "didn’t alter it (a great deal) [8ic1. ^ In summary, the twelve references to methods of revision indicated that Mark Twain used five general methods to revise his written works for oral reading: (1) making the necessary corrections, (2) reducing, which indicated abridgement, (3) cutting, which indicated dele tion and omission, (*+) expanding, which indicated addition to the printed materials, and (5) altering, which indicated the changing of order of words and sequences. Methods of revision from the spoken selections The first selection that was compared to its printed counterpart was "His Grandfather's Old Ram" as it l8 appeared in Mark Twain in Eruption with the same anecdote as it appeared in Roughing It.~^ Henceforth, the former will be referred to as the spoken version; the latter, as the printed version. There was a total of 1,556 words in the spoken ver sion. The printed version contained 1,667 words. Mark Twain reduced the spoken version by 111 words for the plat form. The spoken version contained forty-one sentences. 17 Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks, pp. 99? 1^6. -^DeVoto, op. cit. ■^Mark Twain, Roughing It (New York: P. P. Collier and Son Company, 1913)? pp. 262-266. The printed version contained sixty—one sentences. The spoken version was twenty sentences shorter than the printed version. However, the spoken version contained, for the most part, the longer sentences. For example, the spoken version contained one sentence which consisted of 106 words, while the longest sentence in the printed ver sion consisted of 90 words. The shortest sentence in both versions contained five words each. The average number of words in the spoken version was 37.95 words per sentence. The average number of words in the printed version was 27.33 words per sentence. In the spoken version there was one exclamatory interjection of one word. In the printed version there were six exclamatory interjections totaling thirteen words. This report will present the spoken version and the printed version of "His Grandfather's Old Ram" in con cordance style. The methods of revision will be inter jected into the concordance of the anecdote. HIS GRANDFATHER’S OLD RAM The Spoken Version The Printed Version Well, as I was sayin', I don't reckon them he bought that old ram from a times will ever come again, feller up in Siskiyou County There never was a more and fetched him home and bullier old ram than what turned him loose in the medder, he was. Grandfather fetched and next morning he went down him from Illinois— got him to have a look at him, and from a man by the name of accident'ly dropped a tencent Yates— Bill Yates— maybe piece in the grass and stooped you might have heard of him; 59 down— so— said was fumblin' his father was a deacon— around in the grass to git Baptist— and he was a rustler, it, and the ram he was a- too; a man had to get up standin* up the slope taking ruther early to get the start notice; but my grandfather of ole Thankful Yates; it was wasn’t taking notice, because him that put the Greens up to he had his back to the ram j'ining teams with my grand- and was inf rested about the father when he moved West, dime. Well, there he was, as I was a-sayin', down at the foot of the slope, and the ram he was up there at the top of the slope, and Smith— Smith was a-standin* there— no not just there, a little further away— fifteen foot perhaps— well, my grandfather was a stoopin' away down— so— and the old ram was up there observing, you know, and Smith he . . . (musing) . . • the ram he bent his head down, so . . . Smith of Calaveras • . . no, no it couldn't ben Smith of Calaveras— I remem ber now that he— b'George it was Smith of Tulare County— course it was, I remember it now perfectly plain. Well, Smith he stood just there, and my grandfather he stood just here, you know, and he was a-bendin' down just so, fumblin', in the grass, and when the old ram see him in that attitude he took it fur an invitation— and here he come I down the slope thirty mile an hour and his eye full of busi ness. You see my grandfather's back being to him, and him stooping down like that, of course he— why sho! it wam't Smith of Tulare at all, it was Smith of Sacramento— my good ness, how did I ever come to get them Smiths mixed like that— why, Smith of Tulare was jest a nobody, but Smith of Sacramento— 60 why the Smiths of Sacramento come of the best Southern blood in the United States; there wara't ever any better blood south of the line than the Sacramento Smiths• In the opening paragraph of the spoken version Mark Twain had Jim Blaine, the narrator of the tale, describe the old ram as "Old Ram." In the printed version Jim Blaine commented in description that "there never was a bullier old Ram." This reduction in words was an exam ple of omitting extraneous material for the platform early in the revision procedure. Mark Twain substituted an unidentified "Siskiyou County" in the spoken version for "Illinois" in the printed version as the locale of the anecdote. Continuing the tale, Jim Blaine, in the spoken version, delayed the exposition of the humorous life inci dents of the eleven characters to paint a word picture of Grandfather stooping over to pick up a dime, while the old Ram races down hill toward his stooped-over form. In the printed version, Jim Blaine proceeded immediately into the incidents in the life of the first of twenty-one characters in the tale. The portion about the stooping target for the charging old Ram was added in the spoken version. In this addition, Mark Twain has indicated a pause, added the inter jection "so," and indicated another pause immediately following it, reflecting the necessity for adapting the written materials for the platform. The posture picture 61 was then repeated with the expectancy of a conclusion, hut, instead, Jim Blaine launches into the first of his many- character sketches with the geographical and genealogical origin of Smith, an observer of the Grandfather-Ram scene. Seth Green was probably the pick of the lot; he married a Wilkerson— Sarah Wilkerson — good cretur, she was— one of the likeliest heifers that was ever raised in old Stoddard, everybody said that knowed her. She could heft a bar'l of flour as easy as I can flirt a flap-Jack. And spin? Don't mention it I Independent? Humph! When Sile Hawkins come a-browsing around her, she let him know that for all his tin he couldn't trot in harness along-side of her. You see, Sile Hawkins was— no, it wasn't Sile Hawkins, after all— it was a galoot by the name of Filkins— I disremem- ber his first name; but, he was a stump— come into pra'r- meeting drunk, one night, hooraying for Nixon^ becuz he thought it was a primary; and old Deacon Ferguson up and scooted him through the win dow and he lit on old Miss Jefferson’s head, poor old filly. In the spoken version, Twain omitted a character named Bill Yates from whom Grandfather obtained the old Ram, and who married a girl named Sarah Wilkerson in the printed version. Instead, Smith was married to Mariar Why look here, one of them married a Whitaker! I reckon that gives you an idea of the kind of society the Sacramento Smiths could 'sociate around in: there ain't no better blood than that Whitaker blood; I reckon anybody'll tell you that. Look at Mariar Whitaker--there was a girl for you! Why, yes, she was little, but what of that? Look at the heart of her— had a heart like a bullock— just as good and sweet and lovely and generous as the day is long; if she had a thing and you wanted it, you could have it— have it and welcome; why Mariar Whitaker couldn't have a thing and another person need it and not get it— get it and welcome• Whitaker. Thus, one character was omitted and the name of 62 the first woman in the tale was changed. In the spoken version there was an interesting dissimilarity in the development of Mariar Whitaker as compared to Sarah Wilkerson in the printed version. Sarah Wilkerson was described as hefty, stout, and lively. She was an inde pendent "filly" who gave a suitor named Wilkins, who turned out to be a Filkins, a tempestuous courtship. In the spo ken version, Mariar Whitaker charitable person. She had a glass eye, and she used to lend it to Flora Ann Baxter that hadn’t any, to receive company with; well, she was pretty large, and it didn't fit; it was a number seven, and she was excavated for a fourteen, and so that eye wouldn't lay still; every time she winked it would turn over. It was a beautiful eye and set her off admirable, because it was a lovely pale blue on the front side— the side you look out of— and it was gilded on the backside; didn't match the other eye, which was one of the browny-yallery eyes and tranquil and quiet, you know, the way that kind of eyes are; but that warn't any matter— they worked together all right and plenty pic turesque. When Flora Ann winked, that blue giled eye would whirl over, and the other one stand still, and as soon as she begun to get excited that hand-made eye would give a whirl and then go on a-whirlin' and a-whirUn' was a quiet, diminutive, She was a good soul— had a glass eye and used to lend it to old Miss Wagner, that hadn't any, to receive com pany in; it wam't big enough, and when Miss Wagner wam't noticing, it would get twisted around in the socket, and look up, maybe, or out to one side, and every which way, while t'other one was looking as straight ahead as a spy glass. Grown people didn't mind it, but it 'most always made the children cry; it was so sort of scary. She tried packing it in raw cotton, but it wouldn't work, somehow— the cotton would get loose and stick out and look so kind of awful that children couldn't stand it no way. She was always dropping it out, and turning up her old deadlight in company empty, and making them uncomfortable, becuz she [sic] never could tell when it hopped out, being blind on that side, you see. So somebody would have to hunch her and say, 'Your game eye has fetched loose, 63 faster and faster; and a- Miss Wagner, dear*— and then flashin* first blue and then all of them would have to sit yaller and then blue and and wait till she Jammed it then yaller, and when it got in again— wrong side before, to whizzing and flashin* as a general thing, and green like that, the oldest man in as a bird’s egg, being a the world couldn't keep up bashful cretur and easy sot with the expression on that back before company. But side of her face. being wrong side before wam’t much difference, any way, becuz her own eye was sky-blue and the glass one was yaller on the front side, so whichever way she turned it it didn't match nohow. The glass-eye episode then followed in both ver sions. In the spoken version, Jim Blaine had Mariar Whitaker the possessor of a glass eye which she loaned to Flora Ann Baxter. In the printed version, Jim Blaine had Sarah Wilkerson*s suitor, Filkins, thrown out of a church window by Beacon Ferguson on top of Miss Jefferson who lent her glass eye to old Miss Wagner. The recipient of the glass eye was changed from old. Miss V.'agner in the printed version to Flora Ann Baxter in the spoken version. Mark Twain used 165 words to get from the introduction of Sarah Wilkerson to the glass eye in the printed version. In the spoken version, by deleting characters and words, Twain used 130 words to arrive from Mariar Whitaker to the glass eye. In the spoken version, the "blue and yaller" glass eye was described with six phrases containing 215 words. In the printed version, the description of the "green and yaller" glass eye contained sixteen phrases consisting of 6*f 256 words* In the spoken version, one action— the whirling of the eye in Flora Ann Baxter's eyesocket— was repeatedly described. In the printed version a varied description of the eye and its antics was used. This abridgement exempli fied the changing of matter and manner referred to in the autobiographical statements of evidence of revision. Flora Ann Baxter married a Old Miss Wagner was consider- Hogadom, I reckon that able on the borrow, she was. lets you understand what kind When she had a quiltin', or of blood she was— old Maryland Eastern blood; not a better family in the United States than the Hogadoms. Dorcas S'iety at her house : she gen'ally borrowed Miss Higgins's wooden leg to stump around in; it was consider able shorter than her other pin, but much she [sic! minded that. She said she couldn't abide crutches when she had company and things had to be done, she wanted to get up and hump herself. She was as bald as a jug, and so she used to borrow Miss Jacop's wig— Miss Jacop was the coffin peddler's wife— a ratty old buzzard he was, that used to go roosting around where people was sick, waiting for 'em; and that there old rip would sit all day, in the shade, on a coffin that he judged would fit the can'idate; and if it was a slow customer and kind of uncertain, he'd fetch his rations and a blanket along and sleep in the coffin nights. He was anchored out that way, in frosty weather, for about three weeks, once, before old Robbin's place, waiting for him; and after that, for as much as two years, Jacops was not on speaking terms with the old 65 man, on account of his dis appointing him. He got one of his feet froze, and lost money, too, becuz Old Robbins took a favorable turn and got well. The next time Robbins got sick, Jacops tried to make up with him, and var nished the same old coffin and fetched it along; but old Robbins was too many for him; he had him in, and 'peared to be powerful weak; he bought the coffin for ten dollars and Jacops was to pay it back and twenty-five more besides if Robbins didn't like the coffin after he's tried it. And then Robbins died, and at the funeral he bursted off the lid and riz up in his shroud and told the parson to let up on the performance, becuz he could not stand such a coffin as that. You see he had been in a trance once before, when he was young, and he took chances on another, cal'lat- ing that if he made the trip it was money in his pocket, and if he missed fire he couldn't lose a cent. And, by George, he sued Jacops for the rhino and got judgement; and he set up the coffin in his back parlor and said he 'lowed to take his time now. It was always an aggravation to Jacops, the way that miserable thing acted. He moved back to Indiany pretty soon— went to Wellsville— Jellsville was the place the Hogadoms was from. Mighty fine family. Old Maryland stock. Old 3quire Hogadorn could carry around more mixed licker, and cuss better than 'most any man I ever see. 66 His second wife was the Widder Billings— she that was Becky Martin; her dam was Beacon Bunlap's first wife • At this point in the tale, the spoken version omitted the additional state of decrepitude of old Miss Wagner, which, in the printed version, allowed the narrator to delineate the episode of Undertaker Jacop, with his coffin, waiting on the stoop for Old Man Robbins to die. The spoken version, instead, cannibal episode contained in Sally— that's Sally Hogadom— Sally married a missionary, and they went off carrying the good news to the cannibals out in one of them way-off islands round the world in the middle of the ocean sommers, and they et her; et him too, which was irregular; it wam't the custom to eat the mission ary, but only the family, and when they see what they had done they were dreadful sorry about it, and when the relations sent down there to fetch away the things they said so--said so right out-- said they was sorry, and 'pologized, and said it shouldn't happen again; said *twas an accident. Accident! now that's foolishness; there ain't no such thing as an accident; there ain't nothing happens in the world but what's ordered just so by a wiser Power than us, and it's :ontinued with the missionary- both versions. Her oldest child, Maria, married a mis sionary and died in grace— et up by the savages. They et him I sic], too, poor feller— bile a him. It wam't the custom, so they say, but they explained to friends of his'n that went down there to bring away his things, that they'd tried missionaries every other way and never could get any good out of 'em --and so it annoyed all his relations to find out that that man's life was fooled away just out of a dera'd experiment, so to speak. But mind you, there ain't any thing ever really lost; everything that people can't understand and don't see the reason of does good if you only hold on and give it a fair shake; Providence don't fire no blank ca'tridges, boys. That there missionary's substance, unbeknowns to him self, actu'ly converted every last one of them heathens 67 always fur a good purpose; we don't know what the good purpose was, sometimes— and it was the same with the families that was short a that took a chance at the barbecue• Nothing ever fetched them but that. Don't tell me [sic] it was an acci dent ^Hat he was biled. missionary and his wife. But There ain't no such thing as that ain't no matter, and it an accident. ain't any of our business; all that concerns us is that it was a special providence sind it had a good intention. No, sir, there ain't no such thing as an accident. When ever a thing happens that you think is sin accident you make up your mind it ain't no accident at all— it's special providence. The substance and some of the phrasing of the missionary-cannibal episode was the same in both versions, although the spoken version was reduced to 107 words from the 157 words in the printed version. Thus far in the tale, with the exception of Grandfather, the names of all the characters were changed. The Hogadom missionaries, who were eaten by the cannibals, retained their names in both versions. In the two versions the missionary-cannibal episode introduced a discussion about "accidents don't just happen." You look at my Uncle Lem— what do you say to that? That's all I ask you— you just look at my Uncle Lem and talk to me about accidents 1 It was like this: one day Uncle Lem and his dog was down town, and he was leanin* up agains a scaffolding— sick, or drunk, or somethin'— and 'When ray Uncle Lem was leaning up again a scaffolding once, sick, or drink, or suthin' an Irishman with a hod full of bricks fell on him out of a third story and broke the old man's back in two places. People said it was an acci dent. Much a accident there was about that. He didn't know what he was there for, 68 there was an Irshman with a hod of bricks up the ladder along about the third story, and his foot slipped and down he come, bricks and all, and him a stranger fair and square and knocked the everlasting aspirations out of him; he was ready for the coroner in two minutes. Now then people said it was an accident. Accidents there wam't no accident about it; 'twas a special providence, and had a mysterious, noble intention back of it. The idea was to save that Irish man. If the stranger hadn’t been there that Irishman would have been killed. The people said 'special provi dence— shol the dog was there— why didn't the Irish man fall on the dog? Why wam't the dog app'inted? Per a mighty good reason— the dog would'a seen him a-comin'; you can't depend on no dog to carry out a special provi dence. You couldn't hit a dog with an Irishman because — lemme see, what was that dog's name . . . (musing) • . • oh, yes, Jasper--and a mighty good dog too; he wam't no common dog, he wam't no mongrel; he was a composite. A composite dog is a dog that's made up of all the valuable qualities that's in the dog breed— kind of a syndicate; and a mongrel is made up of the riffraff that's left over. That Jasper was one of the most wonderful dogs you ever see• Uncle Lem got him from the Wheelers. I reckon but he was there for a good object. If he hadn't been there the Irishman would have been killed. Nobody can ever make me believe any thing different from that. Uncle Lem's dog was there. . Why didn't the Irishman fall on the dog? Becuz the dog would 'a seen him a-coming and stood from under. That's the reason the dog wam't app'inted. A dog can't be depended on to carry out a special prov*- dence. Mark my words, it was a put-up thing. Acci dents don't happen, boys. Uncle Lem's dog--I wish you could'a seen that dog. He was a reg'lar shepherd— or ruther he was part bull and part shepherd— splendid animal; belonged to Parson Hagar before Uncle Lem got him. Parson Hager belonged to the Western Reserve Hagars; prime family; his mother was a Watson; one of her sisters married a Wheeler. 69 you've heard of the Wheelers; ain't no better blood south of the line than the Wheelers. To prove the theory that "accidents just don't happen" Uncle Lem and his dog were introduced in both ver sions, They were standing near a building construction. An Irishman with a hod full of bricks fell from the con struction. In the spoken version, a stranger was killed by the falling Irishman. In the printed version Uncle Lem was killed by the falling Irishman. This was the first example in the revising of the tale for the platform wherein the number of words was increased. The spoken revision added 6l words to the 170 words retained from the printed version. The major addition in the spoken version concerned the dog, named Jasper. The description of Jasper was accorded 77 words. In the printed version the dog was described in 36 words. The dog in both versions served to introduce the Wheelers. Well, one day Wheeler They settled in Morgan was a-meditating and dreaming County, and he got nipped around the carpet factory and by the machinery in a carpet the machinery made a snatch factory and went through in at him and first you know he less than a quarter of a was a-meandering all over that minute; his widder bought factory, from the garret to the piece of carpet that had the cellar, and everywhere, his remains wove in, and at such another gait as— why people come a hundred mile you couldn't even see him; to 'tend the funeral. There you could only hear him whiz was fourteen yards in the when he went by. Well, you piece. She wouldn't let know a person can't go through them roll him up, but an experience like that and planted him just so— full arrive back home the way he length. The church was 70 middling small where they preached the funeral, and they had to let one end of the coffin stick out of the window. They didn’t bury him— they planted one end, and let him stand up. same as a monument. And they nailed a sign on it and put — put on— put on it— sacred to--the m-e-m-o-r-y— of fourteen y-a-r-d-s— of three-ply— car— pet— con taining all that was— m-o-r- t-a-i— of— W-i-l-l-i-a-m— Wh-e— • was when he went. No, Wheeler got wove up into thirty-nine yards of best three-ply carpeting. The widder was sorry, she was uncommon sorry, and loved him and done the best she could fur him in the circum stances, which was unusual. She took the whole piece— thirty-nine yards— and she wanted to give him proper and honorable burial, but she couldn't bear to roll him up; she took and spread him out full length, and said she wouldn't have it any other way. She wanted to buy a tunnel for him but there wasn't any tunnel for sale, so she boxed him in a beauti ful box and stood it on the hill on a pedestal twenty-one feet high, and so it was monument and grave together, and economical— sixty feet high--you could see it from everywhere. And she painted on it 'To the loving memory of thirty-nine yards of the best three-ply carpeting containing the mortal remain ders of Wellington G. Wheeler, go thou and do likewise•' The sketch about the Wheelers closed the narrative in both versions. Wheeler was accidentally caught in the machinery of a carpet factory and woven into a piece of expensive carpet. In the spoken version, the weaving of Wheeler into the carpet and the funeral that his wife gave him were told in greater detail. The incidents were enlarged from 96 words in the printed version to 2*f8 words in the spoken version. In the printed version the gradual 71 diminishing of sleepy Jim Blaine’s voice was indicated by dashes and the words were lengthened by separating the letters in them with hyphens, finally his discourse ending with an incomplete word. In the spoken version, there was no constructional evidence that Jim Blaine’s voice faded away. Instead, Mark Twain concluded the discourse by beginning the first sentence of the final paragraph with "Jim Blaine had been gradually growing drowsy, , . Jim Blaine had been At this point the gradually growing drowsy and historian’s voice began to drowsier— his head nodded, wobble and his eyelids to once, twice, three times— droop with weariness, and he dropped peacefully upon his fell asleep; and so from that breast, and he fell tranquilly day to this we are still in asleep. The tears were run- ignorance; we don't know ning down the boys’ cheeks— whether the old grandfather they were suffocating with ever got the ten-cent piece suppressed laughter--and had out of the grass; we haven't been from the start, though any idea what it was that I had never noticed it. I happened, or whether anything perceived that I was 'sold.* happened at all. I learned then that Jim Blaine’s peculiarity was that whenever he reached a certain stage of intoxica tion, no human power could keep him from setting out, with impressive unction, to tell about a wonderful adven ture which he had once had with his grandfather’s old ram— and the mention of the ram in the first sentence was as far as any man had ever heard him get, concerning it. In the printed version, Mark Twain concluded the tale, with a complex sentence consisting of 6k words. He concluded the spoken version with four sentences of 121 72 words. In the printed version Twain returned to the sus pense created in the first paragraph of the tale and stated simply that the outcome of the ten cent piece, Grandfather stooping over, and the Old Ram dead on the target would never he cleared up. In the spoken version Twain described the other auditors of Jim Blaine*s tale, explaining how he had been inveigled into listening to a story that Jim Blaine had never been known to finish. He explained the joke on himself to the listener and in conclusion referred to the one statement about the Old Ram that Jim Blaine had made at the beginning of the anecdote. In summary, in revising "His Grandfather's Old Ram" for the platform Mark Twain used six general methods of revision: (1) constructional revisions, (2) revision by abridgement, (3) revision by amplification, (^) revisions for audience appeal, (5) nominal revisions, and (6) revi sions by character exclusion. The second selection that was compared to its printed counterpart was "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," as it appeared in a transcription printed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. July 19, 1895 with the same selec- 20 tion as it was printed in Sketches New and Old. In pre senting "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" on the *^Mark Twain, Sketches New and Old (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 190^), p. 2 5. 73 platform Twain, with the exception of a brief introduction of Jim Smiley, used only the actual events of the frog con test. Because of the length of the tale as it was printed in Sketches New and Old only those portions directly com parable to the transcription of the tale as it was used on the platform will be included in this report. However, a complete copy of the printed tale will appear in the appen dix. In the report that follows, the shorthand transcrip tion will be referred to as the spoken version. The selec tion as it was printed in Sketches New and Old will be referred to as the printed version. The spoken version contained 105*+ words. The printed version contained 2073 words. Mark Twain reduced the spoken version by 1019 words for the use on the plat form. In both versions Simon Wheeler was the narrator of the tale'. The Spoken Version The Printed Version Now that brings me by ......... a natural and easy transition to Simon Wheeler, of I found Simon Wheeler California; a pioneer he was, dozing comfortably by the bar- and in a small way a philoso- room stove of the dilapidated pher. Simon Wheeler’s creed tavern in the decayed mining was that pretty nearly every- camp of Angel's, and I noticed thing that happens to a man that he was fat and bald- can be turned to moral headed, and had an expression account; every incident in of winning gentleness and his life, almost, can be made simplicity upon his tranquil to assist him, to project him countenance. He roused up, forward morally, if he knows and gave me good day. I told how to make use of the lesson him a friend of mine had com- which that episode teaches, missioned me to make some and he used— well he was a inquiries about a cherished 7^ good deal of a talker. He was an inordinate talker; in fact, he wore out three sets of false teeth, and I told about a friend of his one day— a man that he had known there formerly, and who he had a great admiration for, of one Jim Smiley, and he said it was worth a man's while to know Jim Smiley. companion of his boyhood named Leonidas W. [sin] Smiley— Rev. Leonidas [sic] Smiley, a young minister of the Gospel, who he had heard was at one time a resident of Angel's Camp. I added that if Mr. Wheeler could tell me anything about this Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, I would feel under many obligations to him. In the spoken version, Simon Wheeler came from California; in the printed version, Wheeler came from Angel's Camp, California. Thus the locale became general rather than specific. In the spoken version, Mark Twain used 130 words to introduce the tale as an example of the moral that a person should never put faith in a passing stranger. In the printed version, Mark Twain used 170 words to describe the appearance of Simon Wheeler and to analyze his ability as a speaker. Twain changed the format and reduced the introduction by fifty words in the spoken version. Jim Smiley was a man of gift; he was a man of parts; he was a man of learning; he was— well, he was the curiousest man about always betting on anything that turned up that you ever see, if he could get anybody to bet on the other side, and if he couldn't he would change sides. As soon as he got a bet he was satis fied. He prepared himself with all sorts of things— tomcats, rat terriers and all such things, and one day he ketched a frog; "Rev. Leonidas W. H'm, Reverend Le— well, there was a feller here once by the name of Jim [sic] Smiley, in the winter of '*+9— could be it was the spring of * 50— I don't recollect exactly, somehow, though, what makes me think it was one or the other is because I remember the big flume wam't finished when he first come to camp; but anyway he was the curios- est [sic] man about always betting on anything that 75 turned up you ever see, if he could get anybody to bet on the other side, and if he couldn’t he’d change sides. Any way that suited the other man would suit him [sic]— any way just so he got a bet, he [sic i was satisfied. Well, thish-yer [sic] Smiley had rat-tarriers 1 aid and chicken cocks, and tom cats and all them kind of things, till you couldn’t rest, and you couldn’t fetch nothing for him to bet on but he'd match you. He ketched a frog one day, In both versions Wheeler introduced Jim Smiley, the owner of the jumping frog by describing his mania for uncontrolled betting. Smiley's betting accomplishments were presented in *+6 words in the spoken version. Forty- one of the V6 words were retained from the printed version. In this version the narration most of 105V words, only nine content of the spoken version said he calculated to educate him. And he took him home and never done nothing but set in his back yard and learn that frog how to jump. Yes, sir, and he did learn him to— he did learn him to. When it came to jumping on a dead level there wasn’t no frog that could touch him at all. Come to jump on the dead level, why, he could lay over any frog in the profes sion, and Smiley broke all the camps around here betting on that frog. Bye and bye he of Smiley's betting involved words less than the entire and took him home, and said he cal'lated [sic] to edu cate him; and so he never done nothing for three months but set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump. And you bet he did [sic] learn him, too. ""He'd give him a little punch behind, and the next minute you'd see that frog whirling in the air like a doughnut— see him turn one summerset, or may be a couple, if he got a good start, and come down flat-footed and all 76 got misfortune• He used to keep his frog in a little lattice box. The frog's name was Daniel Webster, and he would bring that box down town and lay for a bet. right, like a cat. He got him up so in the matter of ketching flies, and kep* him in practice so constant, that he'd nail a fly every time as fur as he could see him. Smiley said all that frog wanted was education, and he could do 'most anything— and I believe him. Why, I've seen him set Dan'l Webster down here on this floor— Dan'l Webster was the name of the frog— and sing out, "Flies, Dan'l, flies!" and quicker'n you could wink he'd spring straight up and snake a fly off'n the counter there, and flop down on the floor ag'in as solid as a gob of mud, and fall to scratch ing the side of his head with his hind foot as indifferent as if he hadn't no idea he'd been doin' any more'n any frog might do. You never see a frog so modest and straight for'ard as he was, for all he was so gifted. And when it come to fair and square jump ing on a dead level, he could get over more ground at one straddle than any animal of his breed you ever see• Jumping on a dead level was his strong suit, you under stand; and when it come to that, Smiley would ante up money on him as long as he had a red. Smiley was mon strous proud of his frog, and well he might be, for fellers that had traveled and been everywhere all said he laid over any frog that ever they [sic] see. Well, Smiley kep' the beast in a little lattice box, and he used to fetch him down 77 town sometimes and lay for a bet. In the training of the frog portion of the tale there was 126 words used in the spoken version. In the printed version of the same episode there was 368 words used. Twain reduced the spoken version by 2^0 words for the platform. In the spoken version, the order of the words "one day" and "he took him home" was inverted; the sentence structure was changed and the word "and" was replaced by a semicolon; and the order of "said he calcu lated to take him home" was inverted. The time element, "three months," for training the frog was omitted in the spoken version. The colloquial expression "you bet you" was changed in the spoken version to "Yes, sir." In the spoken version the final phrase was repeated. The inter pretation of the final phrase of the spoken version was indicated in the change of spelling of "to" from "too" in the printed version. This analysis of the interpretation was conjectural, however, in view of the fact that the spoken version was a shorthand transcription. (Some vocal emphasis must have governed the choice of spelling in the transcription.) With this in mind, it was noted that in the spoken version the word "calculated" was written "cal culated" while in the printed version Mark Twain wrote "cal'lated" as Smiley^ use of the word. Nevertheless, the transcriber of the spoken version spelled "ketch" as 78 Mark Twain wrote it in the printed version. In a later portion of the story the transcriber used "kotched" where Mark Twain had used "ketched" in the printed version. In regard to the indication of dialect, Mark Twain was con sistent in both versions of "His Grandfather's Old Ram" in the use of apostrophized words. It can be assumed, there fore, that the use of the word "calculated" in the spoken version was a correct revision. In the spoken version, the training of the frog, included in the printed version, was omitted as extraneous material. In the spoken version, a ^6 word description in the printed version of Smiley's betting achievements with his frog in the mining camps was summarized in a sentence of eleven words. And one day a fellow came along, a stranger in the camp he was, he says, "What might it be that you have got in the box?" "Well," Smiley says, "It ain't anything par ticular, it's only a frog." "Well," he says, "What is he good for?" "Well," Smiley says,"I don't know, but I think he is good enough for one thing; he can out jump any frog in Calaveras County." The stranger took that box, turned it around this way and that way, and he examined Daniel Webster all over very critically, and handed it back, and he said, "I don't see any points about that frog that is any better than any other frog." "Oh," Smiley said, "It may be that you understand frogs and may One day a feller, a stranger in the camp, he was--come acrost him with his box, and says, "What might it be that you've got in the box?" And Smiley says, sorter indifference-like, "It might be a parrot, or it might be a canary, maybe, but it ain't— its [sic] only just a frog." And the feller took it, and looked at it careful, and turned it round this way and that, and says, "H'm— so 'tis. Well, what's he good for?" "Well," Smiley says, easy and careless, "he's good enough for one [sic.] thing, I should judge— he can out jump any frog in Calaveras County." 79 be you are only an amateur, so to speak; anyway I will risk P+0 that he can out jump any frog in Calaveras County," Well, that stranger looked mighty sad, mighty sorrowful-grieved, and he said, "I am only a stranger in camp and I ain't got no frog, but if I had a frog I would bet you, Smiley says, "That's all right, just you hold my frog a minute; I will go and get you a frog." So Smiley lit out to the swamp and that stranger took that box and he stood there— well, he stood, and stood and stood the longest time. At last he got Daniel Webster out of the box and pried his mouth open like that (indicating), took a teaspoonful and filled him full of quail shot, filled him full up to the chin and set him down [on] the floor. Daniel set there. Smiley he flopped around in the swamp for about half an hour, Finally he cotched a frog and fetched him to this fellow. They put up the money, and Smiley says: "Now, let the new frog down on the floor with his front paws just even with Daniel's, and I will give the word." He says, "One, two, three, scoot," and they touched up the frogs from behind to indi cate that time was called, and that new frog, he rose like a rocket and came down kerchunk a yard and a half from where he started, a per fectly elegant jump for a non-professional that way. But Smiley's frog gave a heave or two with his shoul ders- -his ambition was up, The feller took the box again, and took another long, particular look, and give it back to Smiley, and says, very deliberate, "Well," he says, "I don't see no p'ints about that frog that's any better'n any other frog." "Maybe you don't," Smiley says. "Maybe you understand frogs and maybe you don't understand 'em; maybe you've had experience, and maybe you ain't only a amature fsicl, as it were. Anyways, I've got my [sic] opinion, and 1*11 resk Lsic] forty dollars that he can outjump any frog in Calaveras County." And the feller studied a minute, and then says, kinder sad like, "Well, I'm only a stranger here, and I ain't got no frog; but if I had a frog, I'd bet you." And then Smiley says, "That's all right— that's all right— if you'll hold my box a minute, I'll go get you a frog." And so the feller took the box, and put up his forty dollars along with Smiley's, and set down to wait. So he set there a good while thinking and thinking to hisself, and then he got the frog out and prized Fsicl his mouth open and took a teaspoon and filled him full of quail shot— filled him pretty near up to his chin-- and set him on the floor. Smiley he went to the swamp and slopped around in the mud for a long time, and 80 but it was no use, he couldn't budge, he was anchored there as solid as an anvil • The fellow took the money, and finally, as he went over, he looked over his shoulder at Daniel, and he said: "Well, I don't see any points about that frog that is any better than any other frog." And Smiley looked down at Daniel Webster, I never see a man so puzzled. And he says: "I do wonder what that frog throwed off for? There must be something the matter with him, looks mighty baggy some how." He hefted him, and says, "Blame my cats, if he don't weigh five pounds." Turned him upside down and showered out a hatfull of shot. finally he ketched a frog, and fetched him in, and give him to this feller and says: "Now, if you*re ready, set him alongside of Dan’l, with his forepaws just even with Dan'l's, and I'll give the word." Then he says, "One— two— three— git Tsicll" and him and the feller touched up the frogs from behind, and the new frog hopped off lively, but Dan' 1 give a heave, and hysted up his shoulders— so— like a Frenchman, but it wam't no use, he couldn't budge; he was planted as solid as a church, and he couldn't no more stir than if he was anchored out. Smiley was a good deal surprised, and he was disgusted too, but he didn't have no idea what the matter was, of course. The feller took the money and started away; and when he was going out the door, he sorter jerked his thumb over his shoulder— so— at Dan'l, and says again, very deliberate, "Well," he says, "1^ [sic 1 don't see no p'ints about that frog that's any better*n any other frog." Smiley he stood scratching his head and look ing down at Dan'l a long time, and at last he says, "I do wonder what in the nation that frog throw'd off for--I wonder if there ain't something the matter with him— he 'pears to look mighty baggy, somehow." And he ketched Dan'l by the nap of the neck, and hefted him, and says, "Why blame my cats if he don't weigh five pound [sicll" and turned him 81 upside down and he belched out a double handful of shot. And then he see how it was, and he was the maddest man— he set the frog down and took out after that feller, but he never ketched him. And " In the next portion of both versions Mark Twain continued Jim Smiley's conversation with the stranger who challenged the feats of the jumping frog. In the spoken version, however, before continuing with this conversation Mark Twain added a statement that did not appear in the printed version. The statement read, "Bye and bye he got misfortune." In every case in the spoken version, the con versation of Smiley and the stranger was reduced. While the original content and many of the original words were retained from the printed version, the reduction was accom plished by omitting the explanation of some action. At the same time, however, in the spoken version words were added to describe the lack of action. After the frog, named Daniel in the spoken version only, had been filled with buckshot by the stranger, Jim Smiley "set him down on the floor," in both versions. But in the spoken version Mark Twain added, "Daniel set there." In the spoken ver sion Smiley tried to prod the weighted frog into action with, "One, two, three, scoot." In the printed version, Smiley said, "One, two, three, git." And Simon Wheeler said, "That has been a lesson to me." But, by your leave, I did And I say to you, let that be not think that continuation 82 a lesson to you. Don't you of the history of the enter- put too much faith in the prising vagabond Jim [sic 1 passing stranger. This life Smiley would be likely to is full of uncertainties, and afford me much information concerning the Rev. Leonidas W. [sic] Smiley, and so 3 1 started away. At the door I met the sociable Wheeler returning, and he buttonholed me and re-commenced [sic]: "Well, thish-yer [sic] Smiley had a yaller one-eyed cow that didn't have no tail, only just a short stump like a bannanner [sic.]* and " The ending of the actual frog story was much the same in both versions. In the spoken version Twain con cluded the reading by returning to Simon Wheeler and the "morals" theme of the complete lecture. In the printed version, Twain started Wheeler on another Smiley adventure that was to be concluded later. In summary, the methods of revision used by Mark Twain in "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" were: (1) omissions, (2) abridgement, (3) additions, (*+) inver sions, (5) changes in sentence structure, and (6) repeti tions of consecutive phrases. The third spoken selection to be compared with its printed counterpart was a recorded excerpt from "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." In the report of the comparison of the recorded excerpt with its corresponding printed excerpt, the recorded excerpt will be referred to every episode in life, fig uratively speaking, is just a frog. You want to watch every exigency as you would a frog, and don't you ever bet a cent on it until you know whether it is loaded or not. 33 as the spoken version* The printed excerpt which appeared in the book Sketches New and Old, from which the recorded excerpt was chosen, will be referred to as the printed version* The Spoken Version The Printed Version He was the most— worse man you ever saw about betting on anything* That is if he could get somebody to bet on the other side and if he couldn't he'd change sides* Anything what suited the other man would suit him; just so he got a bet he was satisfied* And he was lucky, too, uncommon lucky* They couldn't be no solitary thing mentioned but that fella*d offer to bet on it* If there was a dog fight, he'd bet on it* If there was a cat fight, he'd bet on it. Why if he seen two birds a-settin* on a fence he'd bet you which one would fly first. Parson, old parson Walker's wife laid very ill once and for a long time it looked as if they wam't go in* to save her; but one day the parson come in kinda lively like* And one of the boys said, 'Well, how's the wife, Parson?' And he said, 'Well, she's con siderably better-thank the Lord for his Infinite mercy— and with the help of Provi- dence— she*11 get well yet.' 'Well, I'll betcha two to one she don't anyhow,' said Mister Smiley, before he thought a word about it* Lots of the boys here has seen that Smiley and can tell you about him* Why, it never made no dif ference to him— he would bet on anything— ihe dangdest feller. Parson Walker's wife laid very sick, once for a good while, and it seemed as if they wam't going to save her; but one morning he come in and Smiley asked him how she was, and he said she was considerable better— thank the Lord for his inf*nit mercy— and coming on so smart that with the blessing of Providence she'd get well yet— and Smiley, before he thought says, 'Well, I'll resk two-and-a-half that she don't, anyway*' The spoken version was enlarged to 201 words from the 110 words in the printed version* Portions of the story were condensed and transposed, changing the order of sequence of events, in the spoken version. In the spoken version, Smiley's betting achievements were enlarged to seven sentences of 110 words from one sentence of 15 words in the printed version. In the spoken version, words were changed by substituting synonyms; for example, "ill" for "sick." In the spoken version, "parson" was repeated, and a descriptive adjective was added to the name, "Parson Walker," making the name read "parson, old Parson Walker." In the spoken version, the questions and answers attributed to Smiley and the stranger were more direct. Concerning dialectal spelling indicative of dialectal pronunciation in the spoken version, Mark Twain used the correct pronuncia tion of the word "providence" which he had spelled "prov'- dence" in the printed version. In the spoken version, the colloquial expressions "resk" and "two and a half" have been changed to "betcha" and "two to one,” respectively. In the spoken version, the word order of the final sentence has been changed. In summary, the methods used by Mark Twain to revise the excerpt from "The Jumping Prog of Calaveras County" for recording were: (1) omissions, (2) additions, (3) trans positions, 00 abridgement, (5) change of style, (6) change of word order, (7) repetition, (8) substitution of synonyms, and (9) change of colloquial expressions. 85 Purposes of Revision ► To establish the purposes governing Mark Twain's revision of his works for the platform, the autobiographi cal, biographical, and critical sources were analyzed and the available spoken selections were compared with their printed counterparts. Purposes of reviaion as stated in •fche autobiographical sources In Mark Twain's Autobiography there were three indirect references to the reasons for cutting a selection for delivery from the platform. These references were as follows: When I had selected it originally it was twelve minutes long, and it had taken me a good hour to find ways of reducing it by two minutes without damaging it. I was never able to teach him to rehearse his proposed reading by the help of a watch and to out it down to a proper length. We had to bring out a new lecture every season, now, and expose it in the "Star Course," Boston, for a first verdict, before an audience of 2,500 [sic] in the old Musio Hall; for it was by that verdict that all the lyceums in the country determined the lecture's commercial value. The campaign did not really begin [sic! in Boston, but in the towns around. We did not appear in Boston until we had rehearsed about a month in those towns and made all the necessary corrections and revisings.^l In these statements Mark Twain has indicated indirectly 21Twain, Autobiography I. pp. I*f8, 151 86 that he revised his materials for the platform to (1) con* form to the platform limitations of time, and (2) to enhance the selling appeal of a lyceum program. In Mark Twain*a Letters there was one reference to a specific purpose for revising a selection. The refer ence was: "• . • and shall covertly work in a lecture on 22 aristocracy to those hoys." In this statement Twain has indicated that he revised his materials to bring a particu lar message to a specific group. In The Love Letters of Mark Twain there were four references indicating the purposes of revision of materials for the platform. The four references were as follows: . . . trying to weed Artemus out of it and work myself in. . . . altering manner and matter to suit the symptoms. . • • (cut it down and told it in 13 minutes) [sic]. Tom & Huck setting Jim free— cut to 25 minutes.2^ In these statements Mark Twain has indicated that he revised for the purpose of (1) changing to a more appealing subject matter, (2) altering to comply with the demands and moods of audiences, and (3) reducing the length of a 22 Paine, Letters, p. 532. 23wecter, Love Letters, pp. 163* 230, 231. 87 selection to conform to a time limit* In Mark Twain to Mrs. Fairbanks there were two indirect references to pur poses for revising materials for the platform* They were as follows: * • • hut it still must he added to and then cut down. • • • didn't alter it (a great deal) [sio] because it always "took" on the platform in that shape. In these statements Mark Twain has indirectly indicated that he revised a selection (1) to conform to a time limit, and (2) to select appropriate content to appeal directly to audiences. In Mark Twain in Eruption there were two purposes stated for the necessity of revising of Mark Twain's materials for the platform. They were as follows: The l88*f audiences were "untrained squads" and materials had to he revised to train them. Written things aren't for speech; their form is literary • • • they have to he limbered up, oolloquialized, and turned into the common forms of unpremeditated talk.25 In these statements, DeVoto, quoting Mark Twain, has indi cated that materials were revised (1) to train audiences in the art of responsive listening, (2) to comply with a less formalized style of delivery, and (3) to comply with area ^Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks. pp. 99, 156. 2^DeVoto, Eruption, pp. 215, 216. 88 comprehension and experience. Purposes of revision as stated in the biographical sources In Mark Twain the Man and His Works there was one reference to the purpose of revision of the printed mate rials of Mark Twain for the platform. The reference was as follows: "... always taking great pains that whatever 26 he did should seem to the audience completely casual This statement indicated that Mark Twain revised his printed materials to conform to a casual style of conversa tional delivery. In summary, the thirteen references listed above indicated that Mark Twain revised his materials for the platform for four general purposes: (1) to conform to the time limitation of the platform, (2) to conform to a style of presentation, (3) to conform to audience response, and (**) to enhance the sale value of the selection in a pro gram. Purposes for revision in the spoken selections The first selection which was compared with its printed counterpart was "His Grandfather’s Old Ram" from the book Roughing It. In reporting the purposes for the ^Edward Wagenkneckt, Mark Twain the Man and His Works (New Haven: Yale University Press, 19^5), p. 57. 89 revisions found in this selection, the dictated version as it appeared in Mark Twain in Eruption will be referred to as the spoken version. The selection as it appeared in Roughing It will be referred to as the printed version. Some of the purposes for specific revisions in the spoken version were obvious, others conjectural, and some entirely elusive. In so far as possible, these categories will be indicated in the report that follows. The spoken version was reduced to 1556 words from 1667 words in the printed version. If Twain*s statement that his talking speed on the platform was one hundred 27 words per minute was accurate, he obviously reduced the reading time of the selection, "His Grandfather*s Old Ram," by a little more than a minute. This revision for the pur pose of reducing the reading time of the selection would seem hardly worth-while, except that it should be remem bered that the selection was usually read as a part of a program containing from ten to twelve other selections, and a minute or two gained from the revision of each selec tion would be important to the time element of the entire program. In the first paragraph in the printed version, the words "there never was a bullier old ram" were deleted to ^Mark Twain, The $*30.000 Bequest and Other Stories (New York: Harper and Brothers, lb^i;, p. 168. 90 "old ram" in the spoken version. The locale of the origin of the Old Sam was changed from Illinois in the printed version to an unidentified Siskiyou County in the spoken version. Conjecturally, there could have "been three legiti mate reasons for this change in the locale. In the first place, Scott in his study of Mark Twain's revision of The Innocents Abroad for British publication, deduced that 28 Twain sought to modify irreverences. During the years that Twain used "His Grandfather'a Old Ram" in his reading programs, he spoke in approximately nineteen Illinois localities. It could have occurred to him that the use of the name of the state in such a farcical tale would have been distasteful to Illinois auditors. In the second place, it could have occurred to Twain that a mythical Siskiyou County was more in character with Jim Blaine, the drunken narrator of the tale. In the third place, Mark Twain had a fondness for odd names. For instance, The Waterloo (Illinois) Advocate, of January 15, 1869, carried an article by Mark Twain on the confusion caused by names of places. The use of odd, funny, or rhythmical names was one of his humorous devices that always created a laugh. It could have been a combination of these reasons that 28Arthur L. Scott, "Mark Twain's Revisions of The Innocents Abroad for the British Edition of 1872," American Literature. jExT"(March-January. 1953~1951 t), *+3“6l. 91 caused Mark Twain to change the locale of the origin of the Old Bam. In conjectural conclusion, then, Mark Twain made thie revision for the purpose of (1) modifying a possible irreverence, (2) harmonizing with a characterization, and (3) vivifying the humor of the selection. Continuing the tale, Jim Blaine, in the spoken ver sion, delayed the introduction of the first of the eleven characters to elaborate a graphic picture of Grandfather stooping over to pick up a coin, while the Old Bam charged down hill toward him. In the printed version there was no such incident and Jim Blaine began immediately with the humorous incident in the life of the first of twenty-one characters. Since Jim Blaine never concluded the incident, it presumably was added to create an element of suspense for the purpose of capturing the attention of the audience early in the narrative. In this addition to the spoken version, Mark Twain has indicated by punctuation that he used a pause, after which he interjected a "so" set off by dashes, indicating another pause following this interjec tion. Since these interpretative devices were used in conjunction with the explanation of Grandfather's stooping over to pick up the coin, they unquestionably denoted an interpretative aid to bodily action. Jim Blaine repeated the picture as if to divulge the results of the incident; but his attention was drawn to Smith, an observer, the first of eleven characters in the spoken version, who was just "a-standing there." Mark Twain indicated a pause after the word "there" and added, presumably with a gesture for a laugh, "not just there, a little further away." In the spoken version, Mark Twain used a form of dialectal spelling which did not appear in the printed version. This use of dialectal spelling, combined with the change to conversa tional style which indicated bodily action designated the degree of impersonation of Jim Blaine, calling for the change of style in Twain's delivery. The spoken version continued with the geographical and genealogical origin of Smith— a laugh-stimulating device used repeatedly in the spoken version. The addition of "the Grandfather's stoop ing-over" incident to the spoken version was evidently for the purpose of (1) creating an element of suspense, (2) per mitting exposition of bodily action, (3) vivifying the humor by exaggeration, and OO changing the style to justUQr impersonation. In the spoken version, Mark Twain omitted Bill Yates and his genealogy of the printed version, changed the name of Sarah Wllkerson to Mariar Whitlker, and caused Mariar Whitiker to be married to Smith. Perhaps, in rationalizing on the added materials in the Grandfather-Old Bam incident, Mark Twain considered the Bill Yates material redundant. There seemed to be no apparent reason for changing the 93 names. Although the function that both Sarah and Mariar served to the story was the same, Mark Twain chose to pre sent Mariar In direct contrast to the original Sarah. To me the description and events concerning Sarah were more ♦ humorous than those concerning Mariar. It could have been that Mark Twain realized that the glass-eye episode that was to follow would be hilariously exhausting and he wished to spare his audience for the funnier episode. At any rate, contrast seemed to have motivated the change in this por tion of the spoken version; and if so, audience considera tion was the purposeful factor involved. While Mark Twain reduced the word content of the ludicrous glass-eye episode from 265 words in the printed version to 215 words in the spoken version, it was evident that he devoted more words directly to the antics of the eye than to the people involved with the eye as he had done in the printed version. This shift of emphasis from people to glass eye might have been a gradual one brought 29 about as the result of audience response. It could have been that when Twain first used the selection on the plat form, he followed the printed version closely. It was possible that audiences laughed less and less at the people and more and more at the antics of the eye until the eye ^Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks, p. ^3* was of greater Importance to the humor of the episode. If this were true, then Twain recognized the opportunity to employ his favorite device of exaggeration. It may have been that Hark Twain had observed during his years on the platform that words denoting action stimulated audiences to quicker and greater response— thus his many repetitions of the whirling of the eye in the spoken version. It could have been that this same word consciousness caused Twain to strengthen the imaginative possibilities of the scene by changing the color of the glass eye from green to blue in the spoken version. It seemed that Twain revised the glass eye episode to (1) allow greater use of exaggeration, (2) to stimulate quicker and greater audience response, and (3) to vivify the imaginative possibilities for audience response• Continuing the tale, Mark Twain omitted the entire Undertaker Jacop-Old Man Robbins scene from the spoken ver sion. It could have been that he considered the scene another redundancy that could be spared because of the time limitation. However, another probable reason for the omis sion might be deduced from the writings of Ferguson and Dickinson. DeLancey Ferguson devoted most of his book, Mark Twain: Man and Legend, to developing the theory that Mark Twain's success as a writer could be traced to his emergence from the crude frontier influence to the more refined Eastern literary Influence. The predominant char acteristic of the original editions of his early works was their crude frontier humor; they were written in the style of a mining camp storyteller. Later literary, works indl- cated a complete change to a more refined style. This evolution of style was in evidence as early as 1871 in the revisions of materials for the platform. The Chicago Tribune. December 2b, 1871, printed an excerpt from a lec ture delivered in Chicago on December 18, 1871, which con sisted of the Lake Tahoe portion of the book Roughing It. The excerpt had been so completely revised, its style so completely refined, that a basis for detailed comparison was impossible, except to note that the style and language of the former bespoke the frontier influence, while the style and language of the latter was more refined. Dickinson also noted this tendency of Twain's to delete broad frontier humor in his revision of The Innocents Abroad.^ Another factor might be that Twain's Eastern audiences were Victorian in the strictest sense and crude frontier humor, especially the ' ’ undertaker humor” prevalent in the frontier newspapers of the day, would be distasteful ^Walter DeLancey Ferguson, Mark Twain: Man and Legend (Indianapolis: The Robbs-Merril (Jompany, 1^3)” ^Leon T. Dickinson, "Mark Twain's Revisions in Writing The Innocents Abroad.” American Literature. XIX (March-J amiary »1$ 53-1$ 5*0, 139rT57:-------------- 96 to them* Therefore, it seemed probable that Mark Twain omitted the Undertaker Jacop-Old Man Robbins scene from the spoken version (1) to eliminate crude frontier humor, and (2) to eliminate a distasteful type of subject matter for refined audiences. As the tale progressed, the missionary-cannibal episode remained the same in both versions. It was inter esting to note that the missionary Hogadoms were the first characters in the spoken version to retain the name given them in the printed version. There seemed to be no appar ent reason for the retention of the name. The missionary- cannibal episode was more satirical than humorous. The missionary aspect of religion was a favorite theme of many of Mark Twain's tirades on society. He apparently felt the need, however, for modifying the severity of the satire for he added the ever-humorous description of the genealogy of the Hogadoms. To this point the tale was reduced in length; how ever the following episode proving that "accidents just don't happen" was increased in length for the platform. This increase seemed to be another example of Mark Twain's fondness for exaggeration and the purpose seemed solely to vivify the humor. The major change in the spoken version was the addition of a stranger who was killed instead of Uncle Lem; apparently Mark Twain concluded that audiences 97 enjoyed the likable Uncle Lem and, to spare their emotions, introduced a stranger to be killed instead. The purpose of the revisions in this portion were apparently for the pur pose of (1) vivifying the humor, and (2) eliminating the possibility of adverse emotional reaction in the audience. The sketch about the Wheelers closed both versions of the narrative. The enlargement of the sketch in the spoken version was apparently for the purpose of accen tuating the incongruity of the humor. The unusual conclu sion of the spoken version, wherein Mark Twain used a literary exposition rather than having Jim Blaine's voice fade to nothingness defied purposive analysis. In the closing paragraph of the spoken version the number of words was reduced and the content was changed. Twain returned to the suspense created in the early portion of the spoken version relieving, and, at the same time, disappointing the audience by stating that the result of "Grandfather's stooping over to pick up the coin" would never be revealed. This was a device of organization borrowed from the literary discipline of the speaker. Also in the spoken version Mark Twain concluded the tale as it fulfilled its function in the scheme of the "Morals Lec ture" of whioh it was a part; he said that the tale Itself and the moral explained at the beginning of it were the justifications for telling it. In the conclusion of the 98 printed version, however, Twain stressed that the motiva tion of the tale was the joke on him. The purposes for the revisions in the conclusion of the spoken version were (1) to fulfill an organisational demand, and (2) to comply with the change in sustaining a theme. In summary, the twenty purposes, obvious and proba ble, for the revisions of the printed version for the plat form were (1) to conform to a time limitation, (2) to omit extraneous materials, (3) to modify irreverences, (*f) to aid characterisation, (5) to vivify the humor, (6) to create suspense, (7) to permit bodily action, (8) to conform to a change in style to permit impersonation, (9) to omit redundancies, (10) to create contrast, (11) to comply with audiences* demands, (12) to take advantage of humorous devices, (13) to stimulate quicker and greater audience response, (1*0 to vivify the imaginative possibilities of the humor, (15) to delete frontier humor, (16) to modify distasteful subject matter, (17) to soften the severity of satire, (18) to eliminate the possibility of adverse emo tional reactions, (19) to comply with organizational demands, and (20) to sustain a change of theme and purpose. The second selection that was compared to its printed counterpart in an effort to discover the purposes for revision was "The Jumping Prog of Calaveras County." In the following report, the shorthand transcription as it 99 appeared in The Cleveland Plain Dealer will be referred to as the spoken version* Its printed counterpart as it appeared in Sketches New and Old will be referred to as the printed version. The spoken version was reduced by 1019 words. According to Mark Twain's statement that his speaking rate on the platform was one hundred words per minute, it should have taken him approximately ten and one-half minutes to deliver the selection after reduction. This was the second known shortening of the reading. In The Love Letters of Mark Twain there appeared a letter in which he wrote Mrs. Clemens that for a program in Chicago in 1885 he had 32 delivered the jumping frog story in thirteen minutes. This statement indicated that he reduced the reading time of the selection for the "Morals Lecture" of 1895 by two and one-half minutes. The purpose for the reduction in both cases was obviously that of complying with the time limitation. In the Introduction, the locale of the selection was changed from Angels Camp in the printed version to California in the spoken version. Conjeeturally, the reason for this change from a specific locale to a general locale was that forty-six years had elapsed since the uni versal popularity of the gold-rush mining town called 32Wecter, Love Letters, p. 230. 100 Angels Camp; twenty-three years had elapsed since the jump ing frog story had been republished as a part of the book, Sketches New and Old. Mark Twain apparently concluded that "Angels Camp" no longer served the selection by stimulating interest. The purpose for the revision could have been to modernize the locale of the story. Continuing the introduction, Mark Twain reduced the number of words and changed the thought content from a description of the appearance and the speaking ability of Simon Wheeler, the narrator, to an explanation of the func tion of the tale as a part of the "Morals Lecture." The two purposes for the revision were apparently (1) to explain the function of the selection as it related to the lecture, and (2) to emphasize the central theme. In both versions, Wheeler introduced Jim Smiley, the owner of*the jumping frog, by discussing his mania for uncontrolled betting. The exemplified description of this mania was reduced from 105*+ words in the printed version to *+6 words in the spoken version. ObviouBly, the change of emphasis from a charac ter sketch in the printed version to an illustration for a "morals" theme in the spoken version made the enumeration of Smiley's betting events extraneous materials. The actual frog story was reduced to 8^0 words in the spoken version from 1038 words in the printed version. Much of this portion of the spoken version was retained 101 from the printed version. The omission and addition of single, groups of words, and changes in sentence structure were the predominant methods of revision in the spoken ver sion. It was obvious that the revisions were made (1) to promote clarity for the platform presentation of the frog story, and (2) to strengthen and maintain the continuity of the story as it applied to the central theme. Inciden tal to these structural revisions were changes from collo quial slang of the frontier to the slang expressions of the times; changes were made in the dialogue, presumably to allow a more direct form of speech expression; changes were made in the conversational element to retain intimacy of impersonation required by the type of platform presenta tion. Conjeeturally, word forms were changed to allow the desired oral interpretation of the speaker; detailed changes were made to maintain dialectal consistency. In the next portion of the tale, which involved the conversation of Jim Smiley and the stranger, Mark Twain added one statement by Wheeler that did not appear in the printed version. Obviously, by having Wheeler say, "Bye and bye he got misfortune,” Twain sought to create suspense and at the same time remind the audience that the tale was an exemplification of a moral. In every case the conversa tion of Smiley and the stranger was reduced in the number of words. This revision omitted extraneous materials, 102 usually description of some action on the part of the char acters, and the conversation obviously became more direct and the impersonation of the two characters simplified* The addition of the phrase "Daniel set there" was obviously for the purpose of increasing the hilarity of the tale* There seemed to be no obvious reason for naming the frog in the spoken version. The changing of the word "git" in the printed version to "scoot" in the spoken version dramatically described the limited capabilities of the weighted frog, and, presumably, motivated the audience to a quicker response* The revision of the conclusion was necessitated by the change of central theme for the spoken version* In summary, the obvious and probable reasons for the revision of the printed version of "The Jumping Prog of Calaveras County" for the platform were (1) to conform to a time limit, (2) to modernize colloquial expressions, (3) to relate the selection to the general theme of the lecture, (**) to emphasize the central theme of the selec tion, (5) to delete extraneous materials, (6) to promote clarity, (7) to strengthen and maintain continuity, (8) to promote directness, (9) to supply intimacy required by the platform, (10) to permit a desired interpretation, (11) to maintain dialectal consistency, (12) to create suspense, (13) to revise the purpose of the story in the narration, 103 (1*+) to simplify impersonation problems, (15) to increase the humor, (16) to dramatise, and (17) to hasten audienoe stimulation. The third selection which was compared with its printed counterpart was a recorded excerpt of "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." In the report of the compari son, the recorded excerpt will be designated as the spoken version. The printed form of the excerpt as it appeared in Sketches New and Old will be designated as the printed ver sion. The spoken version was enlarged to 201 words from the 110 words of the printed version. Presumably, the increase in the number of words was for the purpose of filling the cylindrical disc upon whioh it was recorded. The time of delivery of the spoken selection, at seventy- eight rpm., was a fraction over a minute. Apparently, at his designated rate of speed for platform delivery, Mark Twain would have taken two minutes to deliver the same excerpt before an audience. The condensation and the changing of the order of events in the spoken version were for the purpose of maintaining the continuity of the excerpt for recording. The enlargement of the spoken ver sion was accomplished by the enumeration of Smiley's betting achievements. Because the excerpt was a specific example of a characteristic of Jim Smiley, the addition of this personal history was necessary for a full appreciation of IQb the enecdote. In substituting synonyms In the spoken ver sion, the commonest form of the word was used, presumably for clarity and effectiveness. The conversation of Smiley and the parson in the spoken version was more direct. The word order of the final sentence was changed, presumably to strengthen the humor. Frontier expressions were changed to modem forms of the same expressions. In summary, Mark Twain, presumably, revised the spoken version of a recorded excerpt of "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" for the purpose of (1) fulfilling a time and space limitation, (2) aiding the continuity of the excerpt, (3) supplying background for greater appreciation of the example, (*+) clarification, (5) heightening effec tiveness without sacrificing brevity, (6) insuring direct ness, (7) strengthening the humor, and (8) modernizing frontier humor. Mark Twain1 a Preparation Techniques for Platform ^Presentation Because the individual preparation of materials for the platform is the task and duty of those involved in the Oral Interpretation of Literature for public presentation, this study sought to discover the personal preparatory techniques of Mark Twain. These techniques will be reported as they were revealed in the examination of the literature concerning his speaking career. 105 Selection of materials for the platform The investigation revealed little concrete evidence regarding Mark Twain's method of selecting materials for the platform. His most recent experiences and the trend of his thinking at the time seemed to govern the choice of subject matter for his early lectures. Immediately preced ing his first professional lecture, he had made his Sandwich Island trip. The reports of the trip in the news papers had provided him great local prominence, which Twain said was good notoriety to lecture on.^ The expedition had been a novel experience for the times. For these rea sons it seemed logical that Twain should choose the Sandwich Islands for the subject of his first lecture. That his choice was governed by recent experience and recent thinking was substantiated by the fact that, except for occasional requests to repeat the lecture, he abandoned it for one concerning his next new experience, a trip to the Holy Land. After his return from the excursion to the Holy Land, his lectures were about the experiences of that trip. The fact that he was working on the book, The Innocents Abroad. which reported the journey, indicated that it was uppermost in his mind. It seemed obvious that Twain should oo JJTwain, Autobiography II. p. 351. 106 choose from this material lectures entitled "Pilgrim ^k *15 Life," "Venice, Past and Present,""3 "Brother Johnathan Abroad,and "The American Vandals Abroad"^ for the lec ture season from 1867 to 1870. At the start of the 1871-1872 lecture season, Twain began with a new lecture called "Reminiscences of Some Uncommonplace Characters I Have Chanced to Meet." This lecture contained, in addition to Holy Land experiences, four Western experiences and one Sandwich Island experience, Twain had not been confident that materials from experi ences in his native land would be acceptable to audiences, for he was reluctant to abandon the tested materials com pletely. On the other hand, Twain had a personal delight in this type of narration. In a letter to Mrs. Fairbanks, he wrote, "You know what a fascination there is in personal [sic] matters, & what a charm the narrative form carries with it."^® But the fascination and the charm were not lasting. On the second day of the tour he wrote to 3^The San Francisco Evening Bulletin. April 15, 1868. ----- ^^Walter Francis Freer, Mark Twain in Hawaii (Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1^-7), p. 3il. 3^The Newark Daily Advertiser. Thursday, December 10, 1868. 37, The Detroit Free Press. December 18, 1868. 3®Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks, p. 156. 107 39 Mrs. Clemens, "The lecture will never do." As he wrote the letter he was blocking out a lecture on Artem.us Ward, planning to use it a week later. He delivered the lecture 1+0 "Artemus Ward" only eleven times. He wrote to Mrs. Clemons concerning this lecture, "... — trying to weed Artemus out of it & work myself in [sic]. What I say 1+1 fetches 'em— but what he says don't." Apparently, Twain had not been getting the desired reactions from audiences with the Artemus material. He finished this season with a lecture called "Roughing It" based on his Western experi- b2 ences. During the tour he was writing a book, which he eventually called after the title of this lecture; that fact may have been responsible for his dissatisfaction with the other materials. However, audiences' response seemed to have been the governing factor in the change of mate rials in the lecture. In the twenty intermittent speeches examined for this study, which Twain delivered between 1873 and 1881+, the choice of subject seemed to be governed by the occasion and requests. This period of Twain's life was devoted ^Wecter, Love Letters, p. l6l. ^Don C. Seitz, Artemus Ward (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1919)9 p* 150. ^Wecter, Love Letters, pp. l63~l61+. 1+2 The Lansing State Republican. December 21, 1871• 108 mainly to writing, and DeVoto indicated that, aa he wrote, he was impressed that portions of his work would make good platform material. As he wrote The Adventures of Huokleberry Jinn he Jotted down in his notebook parts that he thought would make good readings. DeVoto gave the exam ples "1 & 2 of Huck Finn very good for reading aloud. Ditto— waking Jim. Raftsmen fight— Trouble conscious and Small Pox. Art and Bible. . . .*, l f 3 Presumably, the M1 & kli 2 of Huck Finn" referred to Chapters One and Two. There were no records that Twain ever used them as readings, although he used "King Sollerman" and "Setting Jim Free" from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*'* for the 1881 +-1885 reading tour. Apparently Twain experimented with materials during the first week of the 188*+ tour. He revived the old Artemus Ward materials that he had discarded in 1872; retold his dueling experience in Nevada from the 1871-1872 lecture season; and added two selections for which there was no record of his having used before. ("The Captain Explains a Difficult Point" and "The College Student Sailor"It ^Bernard DeVoto, Mark Twain at Work (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 19^2), p. 60^ 1 +lfMark: Twain, The Adventures of Huokleberry Finn (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1B84-), pp. 1-1^. ^Ibid.. pp. 322-383. ^The Springfield, Massachusetts, Republican. November 7, 188m-. 109 would be interesting to know why he repeated the Ward mate rial. Perhaps, he wanted to redeem himself or the material because of his early failure with that material. However, within the week he had cancelled Artemus Ward again as well as the two new selections, and had relegated the dueling story to substitute position. In 1885, after the Christmas holiday, Twain added the Huck Finn selections to the pro gram, presumably to aid the advanced sales of the forth- k-7 coming book. Thus, commercialism was added to audience response as a motive for choice of selections. Neverthe less, in spite of Twain's mercenary instinct, he had, at the same time, a nobler motivation for the choice of sub jects. Cable wrote during the tour that, in spite of the immense applause that had greeted Twain, he sedulously applied himself to choose selections for his next reading which would be justified not only as humorous but as art 1 + 8 and literature as well. In 1886, Mrs. Clemens' Browning Club asked Twain to read from the works of Robert Browning at their meetings. Presumably he selected the poems he was to read because they appealed to him personally, although he wrote Mrs. Fairbanks at the time that he was reading the "easy 1+ 7 ^'DeVoto, op. cit.. p. 86. ^Van Wyck Brooks, The Ordeal of Mark Twain (New York: E. P. Button and Company, 1920), p. 8*+. 110 ones."**^ Notations in the books from which Twain chose the selections he read for the Browning Club revealed that readings continued for over a period of two years. During that time Twain read nearly all of the poems in a set of seven books. For the Authors' Readings of 1888, Twain chose selections that could readily be edited to correspond to 50 the time that he had been allotted on the program. In twenty speeches, examined in this investigation, which Twain made in addition to the Browning readings and the Authors' readings from 1886 to 1895, the occasion seemed to govern the choice of subject matter. For the world reading tour, in 1895, physically ill, and weary of mind from his financial misfortunes, Twain chose selections for the program that he had used before. The subjects for the after-dinner speeches of his later years were usually suggested by the occasion. In summary, Twain's selection of materials for the platform seemed to be governed by (1) recent experiences, (2) literary works in progress of writing, (3) audience response, (*f) personal enjoyment of a specific type of sub ject matter, (5) the nature of the speeoh occasion, (6) the ^irfecter, Mrs. Fairbanks. p. 259, ^°Twain, Autobiography II. p. 1M3. Ill possible sale value to the booh from which the selection was chosen, (7) the particular adaptability to the plat form, (8) the fact that the selections were art, literature, and humor combined, (9) readability, (10) success on pre vious programs, and (11) familiarity. Memorization of materials The materials for the platform having been chosen and revised, Twain's next step was memorization of the lec ture, reading, or speech. With the exception of his first after-dinner speech delivered in Keokuk, January l*f, 1856, 51 which was genuinely impromptu, and, possibly, the first rendition of the Third House speech delivered in Carson City, on December 13, 1863, this seemed to be the pattern of Mark Twain's preparation. As he delivered the Third House speech for the first time he made a shorthand tran scription of what he was saying as he spoke, which indi cated that he did not use a speech manuscript; implying on the other hand, that the remarks could have been 52 impromptu. However, when he repeated the speech at the 53 Ormsby County Courthouse on January 27, 186V, he had 5lcyril Clemens, Young Sam Clemens (Portland, Maine: Leon Tibbitts Edition, 19*+2), p. 82. 'Henry Nash Smith and Frederick Anderson (eds.), Mark Twain of the Enterprise (Berkeley: The University of California Press, 195"?), p. 102. 53ibid.. p. 1^5. 112 memorized his shorthand transcription. At least it has been recorded that during the speech he noticed the absence of a girl friend from the audience for whom he had for gotten to send a carriage. While speaking, he gestured and motioned to the girl's father, implying that he was not 5*+ bound to a manuscript. His second after-dinner speech on record, delivered at Virginia City, Nevada, in 186^, was 55 a prepared speech, and presumably, memorized. Suffering from stagefright, Twain's lack of confi dence in his memory caused him to carry his manuscript upon the stage at the first lecture in San Francisco, on October 2, 1866. In a speech delivered in 1906, Twain said of this occasion that he tucked the manuscript under the American flag, which draped the lecture stand, in case he should need 56 it. A month later, the manuscript had become a prop, for, as an eye witness in Virginia City related, he unfolded a gigantic roll of brown paper containing his lecture notes written in huge letters.His confidence in his memory had returned with his success. ^Smith and Anderson (eds.), loo, cit. 55 Effie Mona Mack, Mark Twain in Nevada (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 19^7), p« 250. ^Mark Twain, Mark Twain's Speeches (New York: Harper and Brothers, 192^)j p. 303. ^Clemens, Young Sam, p. 250. 113 During the emotional pressure of his romance In 1868, Twain evidently failed to memorize his "Vandals" lec ture adequately. For in a letter to Mrs. Clemens he said, Therefore, I resolved to go deliberately through that lecture, without notes & so impress it upon my memory & my understanding, as to secure myself against any such lame delivery of it in the future as I thought characterized it in Elmira.50 This statement indicated that Twain considered memory an aid to understanding the selection, as well as an aid to delivery. Even though he committed his lectures to memory, Twain kept them flexible by adding impromptu bits now and again, especially when motivated to do so by an exception ally responsive audience. Frear stated that one of the reasons Twain memorized was that he felt he was able to maintain a closer rapport with his audience, allowing him 59 greater freedom for impromptu remarks. The difficulty Twain had in finding a lecture that suited him in 1872 has already been reported. He wrote in a letter to Mrs. Fairbanks towards the end of the lecture season: "I think I built & delivered 6 different lectures during the season— & as I lectured 6 nights in the week & never used notes. • • ."^ In. a letter to Mrs. Clemens he 7°Wecter, Love Letters, p. 23. ^Frear, op. oit.. p. 180. ^Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks, p. 158. ll*f said that he studied one of the six lectures on the train after the night's lecture until midnight. He slept a half day after arriving in the next town, studied the rest of the lecture and delivered it that night.^ Later, when he had finally completed the "Houghing It" lecture with which he finished the season, he wrote of memorizing a fourth of the lecture in one evening and another fourth or more the . , 62 next day. However, in spite of his early conviction about preparing, he, unaccountably, believed that when he began the l88*f reading tour with Cable all he needed to do was to step out on the platform and read from the book as he 63 P thought he remembered Charles Dickens had done. [Dickens, however, according to his biographer, Edgar Johnson, followed much the same procedure of preparation as Mark Twain; and although he carried his reading copy onto the 61+ stage, it became merely a prop.] Twain's reading from the book turned out to be a failure in his own estimation. After a week of experimenting, he put the book aside and 65 delivered his selections from memory. He continued this 6^-Wecter, Love Letters, p. 171 • 62Ibid. ^3])eVoto, Eruption, p. 216. ^Edgar Johnson, Charles Dickens (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1952), pp. 936-937. ^^DeVoto, Eruption, p. 217. 115 practice whenever he added new materials to the program* He wrote to Mrs. Clemens, after adding an excerpt from The Adventures of Huokleberry Finn midway in the tour: "It took me if5 minutes to recite it (didn't use any notes) and it hadn't a doubtful place in it or a silent spot."^ For the most part, the after-dinner speeches of his later years were memorized as was his custom. Writing for his autobiography, two years before his death, Twain summarized his philosophy on memorization: A person who is to make a speech at any time or anywhere, upon any topic what ever, owes it to himself and to his audience to write the speech out and memorize it, if he can find the time for it. In the days when I was still able to memorize a speech I was always faithful to that duty— for my own sake, not the hearers*. A speech that is well memorized can, by trick and art, be made to deceive the hearer completely and make him rever ently marvel at the talent that can enable a man to stand up unprepared and pour out perfectly phrased felicities as easily and as comfortably and as confidently as less gifted people talk lusterless commonplaces. I am not talking morals now, I am merely talking sense. This excerpt from Twain's writing seemed to be a logical summary for the investigation of his memorizing procedures. Rehearsal and practice of Platform materials Wagenkneckt wrote that during Mark Twain's earlier 66 Wecter, Love Letters, p. 223. ^DeVoto, Eruption. p. 301. 116 life, he Bade the most careful and elaborate preparation. Private practice and trying out hi a materials on one per son or groups of people were the methods of his rehear- sal.68 There was no record available of Twain*s practioe activities in connection with the first lecture in San Francisco in 1866. The next year, however, Twain wrote to Mrs. Fairbanks that he had started to write his toast "To Women," delivered in Washington, D. C., on January 11, 69 1868, a month in advance. Apparently, he used the month to revise and practice his speech. The "Sandwich Island" lecture, as it was given in I869“l370, was considerably furbished up from the original 70 lecture, according to Frear. The rewriting of the lec ture undoubtedly required additional practice on Twain's part to make it orally presentable. In 1869, when Twain joined the Redpath Iyceum man agement, he wrote that a part of his preparation before appearing before the first large audience in Boston was a month's rehearsal period before audiences in small neigh boring towns. Twain's criterion for these rehearsals wast ^Wagenkneckt, o p . cit.. p. 57. ^Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks. p. 8. ^°Frear, op. cit.. p. 21*f. 117 "A fair success in the country means a triumph in the city.”71 During the Redpath tryout before speaking in Boston Twain had an opportunity to hear and study many contempor ary speakers. His greatest criticism of these people, particularly of new lecturers, was that they had failed to 72 "try their material out on the dog.” Before the Christmas break in the 188M—1885 tour, Twain wrote to his family that he did not want any company at home because he wished to use the time for study and practice. J Twain's preparation and rehearsal for the Browning readings which he gave once a week for about two years seemed exhaustive. According to Paine, as quoted by Bellamy, "• • .he studied the poems line by line, even word by word; dug out its last syllable of meaning. . • As he studied the poems he marked them with "graduated under scorings” indicating the exact emphatic value he 75 wished to give the words and phrases. Twain reported that he studied and rehearsed thirty or forty pages of new ^Twain, Autobiography I. p. 151. ?2Ibid. ,JWecter, Love Letters, p. 367. 7k Bellamy, o p . cit.. p. *t6. ^Twain, Letters, p. *f90. 118 76 material for each new reading hour' and that it took three 77 days to study and rehearse for an hour's reading. An interesting note on the Browning preparation was furnished by Twain in his statement to Mrs. Fairbanks, "It takes much longer to learn how to read a page of Browning than a page 78 of Shakespeare." A speaking event in which Twain participated was the Authors' Readings of 1888. He was somewhat vitupera tive in his denunciation of them, calling them "devilish inventions," "witches' Sabbaths," and "travelling afflic tions." According to his autobiography, this abuse was due to the fact that he had been unhappy with the preparation of the other authors. Twain once undertook to help William Bean Howells prepare for one of these events, and his major task was to teach Howells to rehearse by the help of a watch. Twain also Indicated in the report of the tutoring of Howells that allowances should be made during the practice of a selection for interruptions, such as 79 applause• Twain was uneasy when he felt that his preparation ^Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks, p. 261. ^Bellamy, loc. cit. 78 Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks, p. 259* ^Twain, Autobiography II. pp. 119 had been Inadequate. Before starting on the 1895 world tour, Twain wrote in a letter to Mr. Rogers, "I shan't have a single chance to practice my readings; but will have to appear in Cleveland without essential preparation. Nothing in the world can save it from being a shabby, poor, dis- 80 gusting performanceTwain had been ill for several months and started the tour with a painful carbuncle which kept him from his customary preparation and practice• After he arrived home from the world tour, Twain attended a performance in New fork of the dramatisation of his book, Puddin' Head Wilson. At the close of the play, he was asked to speak. During his brief remarks he said, "Never in my life have I been able to make a speech without preparation • Mark Twain's procedure of memorizing and rehearsing his platform materials might lead to the supposition that, like Nasby, he delivered the lecture or reading from the first word to the last without deviation. On the contrary, one of the reasons he memorized and rehearsed was to allow for deviations. His composition pattern which permitted him to do this without destroying the continuity of the lecture was related in a letter to Mrs. Clemens: ®°Twain, Letters, p. 627. ®^Twain, Speeches, p. 78. 120 Any [ital] lecture of mine ought to be a running narrative-plank, with square holes in it, six Inches apart, all the length of it, & then in ay mental shop I ought to have plugs (half marked "serious & the other marked "humorous") to select from & jam into these holes according to the temper of the audience. In a like manner, Mark Twain has passed on to us exactly what he carefully rehearsed and, at the same time, what he accomplished by diligent practice. The quotation is as follows: By reciting I mean, of course, delivery from memory; neither version can be read effectively from the book. There are plenty of good reasons why this should be so, but there is one good reason which is sufficient by itself, perhaps; in reading from the book you are telling another person's tale at second hand; you are a mimic, and not the person involved; you are an artificiality, not a reality; whereas in telling the tale without the book you absorb the character and presently become the man himself, just as in the case with the actor. The greatest actor would not be able to carry his audience by storm with a book in his hand; reading from the book renders the nicest shadings of delivery impossible. I mean those studied fic tions which seem to be the impulse of the moment and which are so effective: such as, for instance, fictitious hesitancies for the right word, ficti tious unconscious pauses, fictitious unconscious side remarks, fictitious unconscious embarrass ments, fictitious unconscious emphases placed upon the wrong word with deep intention back of it— these and all the other artful fictive shades which give to the recited tale the captivating natural ness of an impromptu narration can be attempted by a book reader and are attempted, but they are easily detectable as artifice, and although the audience may admire their cleverness and their ingenuity as artifice, they only get at the intel lect of the house, they don't get at its heart; Op Wecter, Love Letters, p. 165. 121 and so the reader's success lacks a good deal of being complete*°3 These were Twain's precepts of good oral interpre tation, It was significant to note that they applied to all of his platform presentations. In summary, Mark Twain's rehearsal and practice methods were as follows: (1) He tried out his speech and reading materials before listeners, (2) He allowed time for adequate rehear sal. (3) He carefully analyzed a selection for oral pre sentation. (*+) He used penciled underscorings to indicate emphatic values. (5) He planned his materials for the time limit of a particular speaking or reading session. (6) He made allowances during practice for possible interruptions, such as applause during the speaking. (7) He held the value of adequate preparation paramount to excellent oral presentation. (8) He composed his speeches and readings in such a manner that they permitted impromptu and/or extemporaneous materials to be interjected if the occasion demanded. (9) He attempted the practice of impersonation. (10) He practiced the use of brief hesitancies, pauses, side remarks, embarrassments, and intentional mistakes in emphasis• ^DeVoto, Eruption, pp. 22^-225. 122 Emotional and physical problems of preparation and presentation The available material gave reason to believe that Twain*s emotional preparation was concurrent with the phys ical preparation. Twain*s convictions of the necessity of good preparation were so strong and so deep that the ful fillment of them gave him an emotional confidence in his speaking. There was only one time in his career that he admitted suffering from stagefright, which he described as 8k a "tumult in his heart and brain," This emotional upset occurred before his first audience in San Francisco, when, in spite of adequate preparation, he was doubtful of the outcome of the lecture. Success early in the speech restored his confidence, and the experience became a stabil izing influence upon his emotions for future platform appearances. On the occasion of his last speech in San Francisco on December 10, 1866, before sailing to the East, Twain concluded his lecture with an advertised farewell. The Alta California of December 15, reported that immediately before he delivered the farewell his whole manner changed and "the words were evidently the language of his heart and convictions of his judgment," Here was an obvious note of sincerity. Paine thought such sincerity was the secret of Frear, op. cit., p. 90. 123 85 his charm and success* His devotion to preparation tes tified to this desire to be sincere with his audiences and himself^ the accomplishment of which gave him emotional control on the platform* That this control was easily agitated was indicated by his annoyance at late arrivals in the audience, stand ees) and other disturbances* To alleviate interruptions, Twain even designed a small program sheet that would not 86 rustle and could not be used as a fan. He was mentally disturbed by laok of rest and the rigors of travel more than by any other upsetting influence* Twain blamed the failure of unsatisfactory lectures on these physical dis comforts which disturbed him emotionally* The fact that suoh seemingly petty annoyances bothered him seemed to indicate that he may have had some psychological pattern of preparing himself for the platform. Certainly, he expected his lectures and readings to go well; when dis turbances occurred, he was greatly distressed. At Ottawa, Illinois, on January 13, 1869 the presi dent of a local lecture society insisted on introducing him before the audience was assembled* As a result, Twain was never able to command their attention; and in exasperation 8 5 /Twain, Letters, p. 16* 86 °°Wagenkneckt, op* cit*. p. 90. 12*f he shouted for the doorkeeper to close the doors* On the same occasion, he found the church auditorium harder to apeak in "than an empty barrel." He was also weary from travel. These multiple disturbances destroyed his emo tional calm to the extent that a poor lecture resulted and on caused unusual abruptness toward his audience. Poor health upset him emotionally, too. Later in the same season he complained to Mrs. Clemens: "I have such a cold that I did not thoroughly please myself tonight, op though the audience seemed to like it." Rest seemed vital as a preparational procedure for Twain. When travel made rest impossible, "lifeless lethargy" destroyed his physical and mental alertness and 89 made lecturing difficult. y In Erie, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 1871 he reported another poor lecture because he was "floored by fatigue & exhaustion of body and mind."90 When his time schedule allowed it, Twain apparently made a practice of resting before going on the platform. 91 Sleep, he said, gave him a clear head. On one occasion 8?Wecter, Love Letters, pp. l f9~?0. 88Ibid., p. 128. 89Ibid.. p. 137. 90vfecter, Mrs. Fairbanks. p. 157. tweeter, Love Letters, p. 52. when a group of young men appointed themselves to enter tain him from the time he arrived in the town until lec ture time, he begged off going sleigh-riding because he 92 wanted to rest an hour before going to the leoture hall* Another time, he bitterly assailed the custom of being driven around the town by the lecture committee, when that "infliction’ ' deprived him of his rest.9^ In all the letters extant to Mrs. Clemens and to Mrs* Fairbanks during the 188J+-1885 tour, there was no men tion of his having been disturbed to the extent of giving a poor performance. In fact, he assured Mrs* Clemens that he was getting his rest and had never felt better physi- cally and mentally in his life. He continued, however, to be annoyed at late arrivals in the audience* But he remedied the situation by having Cable speak first to an assembling house, thus preserving his mental calm. He fumed at Cable for using the same readings during the whole tour and he grew to hate one of Cable's selections, but he eased his mental ire by cutting down Cable's time on the 96 program and eliminating the objectionable piece.^ During 92Ibid.t P. 73. 93Ibid.. P. 121. Ibid.. P. 236. 95lbid*. P. 231. 96Ibid.. P. 236. 126 the entire tour the only unhappiness he experienced seemed to have Its source In the failure of the audlenoe to respond to his efforts on the platform. But he substituted and revised his selections and as he wrote Mrs, Clemens: "I have been three months learning my trade, but I have learned it at last, • • .',97 During the Authors' Readings, Twain was continually disturbed by the fact that the other readers did not pre pare their readings to conform with the limitations of the time; but he did not allow it to upset his reading. He was confident that his own material did not exceed the time limitations and, being famous, was able to request a favor able position on the program, which was usually third place. This procedure relieved him of wearisome waiting 98 and allowed him to leave the auditorium at his pleasure. It has already been cited in Chapter III that he was ill when he started the 1895 tour; this, together with lack of preparation, made his confidence in his success a little uncertain. In spite of this, Twain reported that he began the first reading magnificently. But, he con tinued, "Inside of a half an hour the scuffling boys [on the stage behind him] had the audience's maddened attention 97Ibid.. p. 235. 98Ibid.. p. 235. 127 and I saw It was a gone case; so I skipped & third of my QQ program and quit." ^ Perhaps, If he had not been physi cally In pain and mentally oppressed, he would have risen to the occasion and quieted the souffllng little Huck Finns and Tom Sawyers. Twain was always annoyed by late-comers. He wrote in his notebook that in Victoria, B. C., the program could not begin until the Governor-General and Lady Aberdeen had arrived and were seated. They were late, and he wished that they could be present for every performance and be 100 late— then all the stragglers would be in their places. In the same notebook, Twain wrote that on one occasion a kitten had crossed the stage when he was reading, and "plenty of dogs attended my performances."^^ But he was amused rather than annoyed at these disturbances; he liked cats and dogs and he was feeling better. Pond, the manager of the American portion of the world tour, reported daily in his diary on Twain*s schedule of rest and his condition of health, the gradual improve ment of which was reflected in his regained confidence and ^Twain, Letters, p. 628. HO^Twain, Notebook, p. 2^8. 101Ibid.. p. 2^9. 128 102 his enjoyment of the readings. So great had been Twain's recovery of his emotional control that oats and dogs failed to annoy him; only the "damned human race" did that. Suc cess proved a physical and mental catharsis for Twain and he wrote In verification: "Lecturing is gymnastics, chest- expander, medicine, mind healer, blues destroyer, all in 103 one. I am twice as well as I was when I started out." In his declining years there was no evidence that anything connected with his speaking ever disturbed him emotionally or otherwise. He was even able to countenance "villainous introducers" with good grace. He enjoyed speaking in these later years, and rest was no problem. He once said, "Unless I get a great deal of rest a ghastly dullness settles down upon me on the platform, and turns my performance into work, and hard work, whereas it ought to IQlf be pastime recreation, solid enjoyment." In this state ment, Twain advanced the real philosophy of his emotional failures. When some disturbance caused him to cease momen tarily to enjoy his work, lecturing and reading and speak ing became unbearable• In summary, the emotional and physical problems 102 J. B. Pond, The Eccentricities of Genius (New York: G. W. Dillingham and Company, 1^6o;, p. 200. 1Q3lbid.. p. 225. 10lfBrooks, on. cit.. p. 172. 129 encountered by Mark Twain in hie preparation and presenta tion were: (1) stagefright due to the doubtful outcome of his first professional lecture, (2) emotions accompanying a sincere farewell, (3) annoyances of late arrivals, (*0 fatigue due to lack of rest, (5) premature introduc tions, (6) inadequate auditoriums, (7) poor health upset ting his control, (8) civic committees and their welcoming and entertaining, (9) objection to Cable's selection, (10) failure of audience to respond, (11) failure of fellow readers to time their selections, (12) boredom of waiting appointed place on program, (13) interruptions in audience, (Ilf) cats and dogs in the audience, and (15) the foibles of people in general. Introduction Techniques For most people the problem of the introduction to their platform presentation would be of little concern. However, early in his career Mark Twain chose to dispense with the custom of being introduced by another person, preferring to introduce himself. This departure from tradition called for a new method of beginning a platform presentation. When he introduced his first lecture in San Francisco, Mark Twain began* Ladies and Gentlemen: Julius Caesar is dead, Mark Antony is dead, Cromwell is dead, George 130 Washington Is dead, Daniel Webster is dead, too, alas, and— I-I-I an very, very far from veil myself. This is the very first time 1 have attempted to speak in public, and if I know my self as well when I have finished as I do now it will certainly be my last.105 Undoubtedly Twain had planned the first part of this intro duction. But the latter part sounded as if he had inter jected it as the result of the severe case of stage fright that he had experienced. Immediately following his threat, Twain apologized for having no orchestra. He explained that he had hired a trombonist; the trombonist wanted another musician to help him; since Twain had hired the trombonist to do all the work, he had discharged him on the spot.^^ The critic on the Golden Era thought that 107 the apology had been very clever. At any rate, the introduction, semi-Impromptu or not, and the apology for having no orchestra had carried him through the first five minutes of his speech, bringing him an uproarious audience response that relieved his fright and revived his confi dence • In Keokuk the following April, Twain was introduced by Robert F. Bowers, President of the Library Association which sponsored the lecture. Twain responded to the 10 5 'Clemens, Young Sam, p. 2*+6. 10^Frear, pp. cit.. p. 37. lQ7The Golden Era, October 7, 1866. 131 introduction: "If I were as grand a speoiman of mankind as the gentleman who has just introduced me, you might expect 1 a Q a magnificent lecture." It has already been related above how, when General Nye failed to appear to introduce him to the Cooper Union audience in New York, Twain walked on the stage peering intently at the floor claiming he was looking for Nye and began: "I was looking for General Nye, who had promised to introduce me, but I see nothing of him and as there are no other Generals in town just now we'll 109 have to worry along without him." In Virginia City, on the second western tour, Twain wanted Joe Goodman, his friend on the Enterprise« to introduce him. Goodman thought that Twain was so well known in Virginia City that an introduction would be unnecessary. Therefore, at Goodman's suggestion, when the curtain went up, Twain was discovered seated at the piano playing and singing, "I had an old horse whose name was Methuselem."^^ At Ottawa, Illinois, in 1869 Twain's lecture was ruined when he was introduced before the audience was assembled.On another occasion, Twain became irritated 108The Keokuk Daily Constitution. May 18, 1867. IQ^Samuel Charles Webster, Mark Twain. Business Man (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 19*+b)» P* £3* 110Clemens, Young Sam, p. 2^9* ■^•^Wecter, Love Letters, p. **9. 132 with having the beginning of his lectures "botched” by the introductory speeches of local dignitaries. He solved the problem by introducing himself whenever possible. This departure from the accustomed platform procedure of the times was a startling innovation. The critic of the Albany Argus observed: "His first thing was a novelty. He introduced himself, and his delightfully comic way of doing it at once produced a sympathy between himself and his hearers. The method Twain usually used in introducing him self was to appear in the guise of an introducer, saying that the duty had befallen him. to introduce the speaker. He then did a burlesque of the stereotyped introducer with whom he was so familiar. This procedure gradually devel oped into his coming out on the platform, saying that he was the lecturer, and delivering a stock introduction (Appendix D, page ^08). In 1871, because of travel delays, Twain arrived late in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on November 16. The audience had already assembled and was waiting for him. Twain passed down through the auditorium with hie overcoat and overshoes on and carrying his carpet-bag in his hand. On the platform, he removed his outer clothing and started his lecture by saying: ^^■2prear? op. cit.. p. M+!f. 133 I know you are indignant with aie and righteously so— & that if any aggrieved gentleman would rise in his place & abuse me for 15 minutes, 1 would feel better, would take it as a great kindness & would dp as much for him [ital] sometime*13 On January 2, 1872, the critio of the Indianapolis Journal reported the procedure of his stock introduction: Mark Twain introduced himself, as is his usual custom, with a touching encomium on his high morals, intellectual and social qualities, being anxious, as he said, "to get in all the facts," which a stranger might not be able to do, however good his inten tions might be. After reciting the cardinal and other virtues to which he laid claim, the lecturer proceeded to introduce his subject. In 1873, on a stormy night in Brooklyn, Twain used the weather as his only introduction to his lecture. The critic of the Brooklyn Eagle reported that Mark Twain said: Ladies and gentlemen: There doesn't seem to be anybody here to introduce me, and so we will let it go by default. But I am the person who is here to deliver the lecture, and I shall try to get along just the same as if I had been formally introduced. I suppose I should apologize for the weather, but I can't hold myself altogether, respon sible for it, so will let it go as it is.1!4- Twain wrote of his struggles with introductions in his autobiography: There was always a committee, . . . and in the earliest days their chief used to Introduce me to the audience; but these introductions were so grossly flattering that they made me ashamed, and so I began to talk at a heavy disadvantage. It was a stupid custom. There was no occasion for H^Wecter, Love Letters, p. 163. ^^Frear, pp. oit.. p. *f31« 13^ the Introduction; the introducer was almost always an ass, and his prepared speech a jumble of vulgar compliments and dreary efforts to be funny; there fore, after the first season I always introduced myself— using, of course, a burlesque of the time worn introduction. This change was not popular with committee ohairmen. To stand up grandly before a great audience of his townsmen and make his little devilish speech was the joy of his life, and to have that joy taken from him was almost more than he could bear. My introduction of myself was a most effi cient "starter" for a while, then it failed. It had to be carefully and painstakingly worded, and very earnestly spoken, in order that all strangers present might be deceived into the supposition that I was only the introducer and not the lec turer; also that the flow of overdone compliments might sicken those strangers; then, when the end was reached and the remark casually dropped that I was the lecturer and had been talking about myself, the effect was vexy satisfactory. But it was a good card for only a little while, as I have said; for the newspapers printed it, ana after that I could not make it go, since the house knew what was coming and retained its emotions. Next I tried an introduction taken from my California experiences. It was gravely made by a slouching and awkward big miner in the village of Red Dog. The house, vexy much against his will, forced him to ascend the platform and introduce me. He stood thinking a moment, then said: "I don’t know anything about this man. At least I know only two things; one is, he hasn’t been in the penitentiary, and the other is (after a pause, and almost sadly), I don’t know why." That worked well for a while, then the news papers printed it and took the juice out of it, and after that I gave up introductions altogether. During the 188^-1885 tour with Cable, the critic of The Cleveland Leader of December 18, l88*f, reported: 115 Twain, Autobiography I. pp. 161-162. They appeared on the platform together at the outset, were greeted by cordial applause, and then Mark Twain briefly Introduced Mr. Cable, who recited a chapter from his new novel Dr. Sievers. Then Mr. Cable retired and presently returned with Mark Twain whom he introduced. Twain often included a few introductory remarks before reading his first selection. For instance, in Cleveland, Ohio, on the same occasion, Twain began by telling of an incident that happened when he spoke there in 1870. It seemed that on the former occasion he had for gotten a passage in his lecture and had called on the audi ence to help him out. The crowd thought he was joking, of course. He repeated the request a second time. According to the newspaper reporter Twain said: Finally, a gentleman arose and said that if I was really in earnest he would remind me what lie I was telling when the interruption occurred. That gentleman was Mr. Solomon Severance, and I have been very grateful to him ever since.116 In Keokuk, Iowa, later in the season, before he began his reading Twain humorously complimented the large audience for leaving their cheerful firesides to brave a 117 blizzard to hear him speak. In New York City, Twain opened with remarks on his determination to give up lecturing, having bade farewell forever to the platform in the same hall eight or nine 11^The Cleveland Leader. December 18, 188^. 117xhe Daily Gate City. January 15, 1885. 136 years earlier. But he said that lecturers never reform, and he added: "There comes in time an over powering temptation to come out on the platform and give truth and morality one more lift."11® In addition to such remarks, the New York Sun indicated that Twain introduced each reading by some explanation. In the readings which concerned his own experiences, in the introduction of them, he always poked fun at himself.11^ After the Christmas holidays, when Twain added selections from The Adventures of Huckleberry jHnn -to the program, he was reported to have introduced these selections by saying: Ladies and gentlemen, — you find me appointed to read something entitled "King Sollermun," if it may strictly be called reading where you don't use any book, but it is from a book, an unpublished story of mine called The Adventures of Baoklefrerry TM-nw. It is a sort of continuation or sequel, if you please, to a former story of mine, Tom Sawyer. Buck Finn is an outoast, an uneducated, ragged boy, son of the town drunkard in a Mississippi River village, and he is running away from the brutali ties of his father, and with him is a negro man, Jim, who is fleeing from slavery, and these two are in concealment in a wood on an island in the Mississippi River. They can't venture to travel in the daytime, so they hide during the day and travel at night, and they entertain each other with conversations sometimes useful and sometimes otherwise. IblB story is written from the mouth of Buck Finn.120 11®The New York Sun. November 19, 188U-. W a n . 120The Toronto Globe, December 9, 188*+. 137 On the trip from Keokuk, to Burlington, Iowa on January l5» the train had broken down. Cable, who had gone on to Burlington the day before, had already started the 121 program when Twain arrived. Twain began by explaining his delayed arrival; and, as usual, turned the event into a funny episode to warm the feelings of his audience. He said of the accident: "It took forty-five minutes to decide the dispute over what was broken and five minutes to 122 repair the damage." Near the end of the 188^-1885 tour, Twain's intro duction to the "King Sollerman" reading began: "Ladies and gentlemen, a great many of you here present have had a good deal to do with boys, and the rest of you have been boys."12^ The introductions at the Authors* Readings of 1888 brought about another storm from Twain: There would be an introducer, and he wouldn't understand his business— this disastrous fact could be counted upon as a certainty. The intro ducer would be ignorant, windy, eloquent, and willing to hear himself talk. . . . And a good ten minutes of it, I think were devoted to the introduction of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who hadn't any.more need of an introduction than the Milky Way l^-Webster, op. cit.. p. 293* 122»phe Burlington Gazette. January 16, 1885. 12^Cardwell, op. cit.. p. 63. ^•^Twain, Autobiography II. pp. 1^7-150. 138 Apparently, for the moat part, Mark Twain followed hia custom of introducing himself on the 1895 world tour. At Cleveland, he began his readings by explaining that he had been ill and that he had only been out of bed for five 125 days before he arrived in Cleveland. Twain*a readings on this tour were combined into a presentation which was called a "Morals Lecture." Evidently Twain introduced each new incident [a separate reading] by explaining the moral that the story was intended to portray. The Helena, Montana Daily Independent of August b indicated that Mark Twain introduced the "Watermelon Story" by saying that he intended to write a sermon some day on the moral of this story; that "Hia Grandfather*s Old Ham" indicated a non concentrated mind; that Huck Finn's misgivings in aiding Jim to escape indicated that "a sound heart is better than a cross-grained conscious." The Missoula, Montana Daily Misaoulian two days later indicated that Mark Twain had introduced "The Jumping Frog" and the "Mexican Plug" to teach a person never to put faith in a passing stranger; "His Grandfather's Old Ram" was offered to teach one "never to be loose in conversation"; "The Blue Jay" was offered to teach that "what ever you do do with all your heart"; "The Christening" was offered as advice on "don't jump to yThe Cleveland Leader. July 16, 1895. 139 conclusions"; "The Corpse in His Father’s Office" was offered as a caution not to "gauge your courage"; "The Terrors of the German Language" was offered to teach patience; "Huck Finn Helps Jim Escape" was offered as an example of the "power of early training to mold conscience^; "The Small Pox" story concluded that "a fellow has to start early in life if he wants to do right and learn how," In Portland, Oregon, Twain departed from his rule and allowed R. W. Mitchell, an old friend of Virginia City 126 days, to introduce him. In Hew York in 1906, on the occasion of the Young Men's Christian Association speech, the chairman opened the meeting by rudely berating the police for mishandling the crowd seeking entrance to the auditorium. Before starting his lecture, Twain added his opinions by saying that the policies of police rule were the reflections of 127 the citizens. Twain's method of responding to the remarks of chairmen and the inescapable introducers at dinners became characteristic of his introductions to his own speeches. * In summary, Mark Twain concluded that the efforts ^■^Hubert H. Hoeltje, "When Mark Twain Spoke in Portland," The Oregon Historical Quarterly, LV (March, 195^), 76. 127ihe New York Times. March *+, 1906. IhO of local Introducers placed the speaker at a great dis advantage. He therefore dispensed with lntroduoers when ever possible and introduced himself. This was a novelty in Twain's time. The Influence of Audiences on Mark Twain's Preparation and Presentation One of the most obvious characteristics of Twain, revealed in the literature reporting his extensive career, was his unbending efforts to please people. At the same time, the response of these audiences was an influential factor in the progress of his career as a speaker. In a lengthy career like Mark Twain's there were bound to be some unusual audiences and a few disappointing ones. Twain wrote that in Virginia City, where he spoke on April 27, 1868 attractions had been unable to fill the 1 28 theater there for over a year but that he had done so. Oddly, however, Twain had not been the only attraction in Virginia City on that occasion. In the afternoon the town was full of people to see John Milaine hanged for the murder of a popular prostitute named Julia Bulette, and that night they went to hear Mark Twain lecture on the 129 Holy Land. Thirty-three years later, Twain was second 12®Twain, Letters, p. 121. 12^Mack, op. cit.. p. 355. 1*+1 attraction for another huge crowd in Crookston, Minnesota. The opening of a new hotel had drawn hundreds of people to the city. Twain's name was first on the register, though hotels were no novelty to him. After the citizens had marvelled at their first electric lights and their first hot and cold running water and other conveniences of 130 plumbing, they went to hear Mark Twain read. Most notable among the disappointing audiences was the group before whom Twain delivered the speech in honor of Whittier's seventieth birthday. Longfellow, Emerson, Holmes, and a host of other dignitaries were present. Twain had written a speech in the form of a drama with a Brete Harte - Roaring Camp setting. He had pictured the famous authors as rough and tumble miners impersonating themselves. He recited some of their poetry, giving it the Comstock Lode flavor. But the "Brahmins" of Boston, apparently, were not amused. The audience, out of respect for the old gentlemen, failed Twain and maintained a deep silence. So disastrous was the effect that the remaining speeches were called off and the guests dismissed. And Twain was to have a "nettle in his side" for the rest of his life. He had misjudged an audience. Twain wrote each of the distinguished guests 130Pond, on. cit.. p. 207. Ib2 letters of apology and received in return very polite answers stating that he had not given offense, that they had really enjoyed the evening. Holmes and Emerson were deaf and probably had heard very little of what was said. Longfellow had never recovered from the accidental death of his wife in a household fire and seemed preoccupied during the dinner and speeches. As to the reaction of the assem bled guests, Brooks has analyzed it most carefully: This explains the notorious petrifaction of Boston, that petrifaction of its higher levels which was illustrated in so tragi-comic a way by the unhappy episode of Mark Twain's Whittier Birthday Speech. It was not the fault of those gently charming men, Emerson and Longfellow and Dr. Holmes, that he was made to feel, in his own phrase, "like a barkeep in heaven." They had no wish to be, or to appear, like graven idols; it was the subsidence of the flood of life beneath them that had left them high and dry as the ark on Ararat. . . . They were not offended by Mark Twain's unlucky wit; Boston was offended, Boston, which no longer open to the winds of impulse and desire, cherished these men as symbols of an extinct cause that had grown all the more sacro sanct in,their eyes the less they participated in it.131 In the volume of his speeches, it was recorded that Twain once told an audience that years later he had reviewed the Whittier speech and had found it to be as funny and clever as he had thought it was when he wrote it. Writing for his autobiography in 1906, he stated that he had reviewed the speech again and found it still funny and ^■^Brooks, op. cit.. p. 67. i**3 clever; but in epite of that, the nettle in hie side made 132 him conclude that the speech was gross and coarse* After all the years, Twain was still trying to analyze an adverse reaction in an audience. Mark Twain was able to enjoy speaking for a small audience with the same kind of elation that he spoke before a large audience* In St* Louis, Missouri on March 25f 1867 he consented to speak before a small Methodist Sunday School and he chose for the occasion two Western incidents with morals: "Telling the Truth" and "The Gun Powder 133 Incident*" Twain was also willing to appear before small charitable audiences during his career* He spoke in 13*+ infirmaries and reformatories and before church groups* He wrote that he had had a "most rattling high time" at a program in the Reverend Joe Twichell*s church. His program 135 included "The Tar Baby," the only specific title of an Uncle Remus selection read by Mark Twain found in all the literature about him* In 1871, he had written James Redpath that he had never had a successful lecture in a church. "People are afraid to laugh in a church," he ^^2Twain, Autobiography II* p. 5. ^^Webster, pp. cit*. p. 91. 131 +wecter, Love Letters* p. 22. 135*pwain, Letters, p. 395. lMf said.136 However, the newspaper reviews of programs held in churches, halls and theaters, in both large and small cities, consistently spoke of "cultural audiences” and "fashionable audiences" in attendance at Mark Twain's lec tures and readings. The governor's wife attended his first lecture in San Francisco. Local dignitaries were his much maligned introducers. Important personages as well as the 137 common people favored Mark Twain with their presence. On the reading tours, the eveiy-day citizens occupied the galleries and presidents, princes, governors, generals and their ladies occupied the dress circles.136 Only on one occasion was it reported that Twain's audience, though capacity, was second rate. That was when he read in 139 Detroit on the night of the Governor's Ball. Twain's lectures and readings were, for the most part, sponsored by Lyceum societies and other civic groups. Most notably among the latter were the Library Associa tions. Curiously enough, the last readings Twain gave before his death were at a semi-public appearance at his 136Charles F. Homer, The Life of James Whitcomb Riley (New York: Barse and Hopkins t^blishers, 1926), P. lo7. 13^Pond, op. cit.. p. 197. 1 Ibid. ■^^Cardwell, op. cit.. p. 59• home for the benefit of the Bedding (Connecticut) Public Library, He read some of hie old favorites. The rural neighbors in the audience remained stoic and sober during the readings. But Twain, ever the audience analyst, assured his perturbed house guests after the audience had gone that he knew that they had enjoyed it and that for them to have laughed would have been an affront to him whom they respected. It was noticed that young people on the fringes of that audienoe laughed and applauded as uproariously as audiences had done for nearly sixty-one 1*4-0 years• Twain*s consciousness of the approval of audiences began early. Before his first lecture in San Francisco, Mark Twain had his first case of stagefright. Apparently his lack of confidence was caused by his uncertainty of audience appeal and audience response. He told in one of his later speeches that he had hired a claque to laugh on 1*4-1 signal if the audience failed him. But he had mis judged this audience. The San Francisco Bulletin of October 3, 1866, reported that he kept his audience '•pretty well interested and amused for an hour and a ^^Elizabeth Wallace, Mark Twain and the Happy Island (Chicago: M. C. McClurg and Company, 1911*-), pp.“116-120. ^^Twain, Speeches, p. 221. Ib6 half," and the lecture was a "brilliant success." As Twain continued lecturing, he appeared, with much misgiving, on May 6, 1867, before his first Eastern audience. He was distressed that his sponsor had failed to advertise the lecture. Dejected at the thought of hav ing no audience, he approached Cooper Institute in a low frame of mind. However, unknown to Twain, free tickets had been distributed to the schools of the city. When he saw the hall filled to overflowing his joy knew no bounds. He remembered the event in his autobiography: I was happy, and I was excited beyond expres sion. I poured the Sandwich Islands out on those people with a free hand, and they laughed and shouted to my entire content. For an hour and fifteen minutes I was in Paradise. Prom every pore I exuded divine delight. In 1867 and 1868, Twain was back on the West Coast with a new lecture on his recent trip to the Holy Land. He repeated his successes of 1866 and was away again to his first protracted tour of the East. But his elation with the audience response at Cooper Union in May had not con vinced him that his reception would be permanent. His audiences on the West Coast, he had realized, were audiences who had known him personally or by local reputation. He wrote to Mrs. Fairbanks: Mind I do not forget that I am right among personal friends, here, < S c that a lecture which lU-2fpwain, Autobiography II. pp. 351-356. l*+7 they would pronounce very fine, would be entirely likely to prove a shameful failure before an unbiased audience such as I would in an eastern city or on board the Quaker City. I only claim that these citizens here [ltal] call this a good lecture— I do not tital1 claim, myself [ital], that it is. 1 am satisfied it would l be» pretty roughly criticized in an eastern town.1^3 Twain's life-long striving to please audiences had begun. It was with the "American Vandals Abroad" lecture, to which he referred here, that he began to modify and revise his materials according to audience response, and such ^i| t , | changing became his custom. The techniques of the revision of materials were reported above. However, there was an outstanding example of adapting a speech to specific audiences which was reserved for this portion of the report. Mark Twain delivered his after-dinner speech "To Woman" on three different occasions before three distinctly different audiences. The speech was presented, first, before the Correspondents' Club in Washington, D. C., on November 21, 1867, an all male audience; second, before the same club on January 11, 1868, with ladies in attendance; third, at the Anniversary Festival in 1872, before the Scottish Corpora tion of London, with ladies and gentlemen present. History has been indebted to Andrew J. Marsh, a teacher of ■^■^Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks. p. 33 lMfIbid., p. *f3. Iif8 shorthand, for a copy of the first presentation. Marsh attended the dinner, made a copy, complete with audience reactions, and included it as an exercise in his textbook, 1**5 Reformed Phonic Shorthand. It remained hidden there until John Howell discovered it and made it public in 192l f.*if^ This copy of the speech indicated that it was intended, for the most part, to be a bawdy burlesque in praise of its subject for the stag audience. True to Victorian prescription, however, the last paragraph raised it above its base intent by a toast to mothers, although it still contained a frontier masculine touch. If Marsh*s indications of audience responses were correct, the speech was a howling success. Although the speech as it was delivered the second time before a mixed audience was easily recognizable as the same speech, the fun poked at women in the first delivery was obviously softened until it verged on the complimen tary. The bawdiness was subordinated to the praise, although mildly retained. The final paragraph to mothers was dignified and emphatic and eastemly feminist in its approach. Ilf 5 'Andrew J. Marsh, Reformed Phonic Shorthand (San Francisco: H. W. Bancroft and Company, ltibij). Iif6 John Howell, Sketches of the Sixties (San Francisco: John Howell, 1926}, p. 92. Ik9 The speech as it was presented before the Scottish ladies and gentlemen became literary, and sounded as if Emerson had written it in a lighter moment. It became a tribute to Scottish and English women, and instead of comical pokes, it depended on subterfuge for its humor. One classical bit of frontier humor that appeared in the first and second presentations was irresistible to Twain and it alone was retained in the speech, though expertly adapted to the nationality of the audience: "Mother Eve," he had said in the first two speeches, "was an ornament, sir, particularly before the fashions changed." This witticism became, in the third version, "the lowly mother l*+7 Eve arrayed in her modification of the Highland costume." With the exception of George Francis Train, an effeminate ikft contemporary lecturer whom Twain hated, no men were mentioned in the first two versions. In the Scottish ver sion, great Scotsmen were referred to in deference to the audience. The final paragraph became a prayer to wives and mothers. In this period of his career, Twain developed a sense of universality toward his audiences, and with it a sincere responsibility. It was the final step from the lit 7 Twain, Speeches, p. 96. 1^8 V/ecter, Love Letters, p. 351 *. 150 social storyteller* He wrote to Mrs. Fairbanks, while pre paring the "Vandals" lecture: I must not preach to a select few in my audi ence, lest I have only a select few to listen, next time, * so be required to preach no more. What the societies ask of me is to relieve the heaviness of their didactic courses— * in accept- ing the contract I am just the same as giving nv word that I will do as they ask*1 ^ By the middle of 1869, audiences were beginning to possess special characteristics by which he remembered them. St. Louis, San Francisco, San Jose, and Carson City, he recalled, were jolly audiences and would "snap up a joke 150 before you can fairly get it out of your mouth." His recollection of his first Cleveland audience was one "that took the responsibility of launching me upon this section 151 of the world as a lecturer." His feeling of responsi bility to audiences manifested itself in a financial way. In February, due to poor railway connections, a week's schedule was disrupted. In each town he repaid the expenses of postponement, and in one town at the personal cost of one hundred dollars, fulfilled the difficult date "to satis- 152 fy these people." l^^v/ecter, Mrs. Fairbanks. p. ^6. 1^°Frear, op. cit.. p. 175. l5lThe Cleveland Herald. January 12, 1869. l 52 Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks. p. 79• 151 When this supreme effort to please audiences suc ceeded, the buoyant effect on Mark Twain always provoked a comment In his letters. As, for example, from a letter he wrote from Hornersville, New York, on January 20, 1870: We did have a delightful audience In Fredonla, and I was just as happy as a lord from the first word of the lecture to the last. 'I thought it was about^^ good a lecture as I ever listened to. The impression of this delightful audience was so favorable that he persuaded his mother to go to Fredonia to live. The correspondence of Twain in 1871 was full of his constant preoccupation with the response of his audiences. From the first town in which he delivered the "Reminis- cense" lecture, he wrote to Mrs. Clemens, "I can’t even l51f handle these chuckleheaded Dutch with it." It has been reported above in the portion on preparation how Twain, on this tour, prepared six new lectures until he devised one that achieved the proper audience response. It was not always audience response directly that caused him to change his materials enroute; although indirectly audience consideration was the propelling moti vation. The Chicago Tribune published a synopsis of his lecture during his engagement there. Furious, he wrote to 1 '-’ Wecter, Love Letters, p. l*+0. 1^fIbid.. p. 161. 152 Mrs. Clemens that he would begin a new lecture the moment he was "out of range of the cursed Chicago Tribune that printed my new lecture & so made it impossible for me to talk it with any spirit in Illinois." Early in 1869* Twain had refused to provide a reporter with a copy of his lecture and, with his audience in mind, he gave his rea sons: I told him a synopsis of a humorous lecture holds up all the jokes, in a crippled condition for the world to remember & so remembering them hate them if ever they hear that lecturer repeat them in solemn & excruciating succession one after the other. And I said to take the points out of humorous lecture was the same as taking the raisins out of a fruit cake— it left it but a pretense of a some thing it was not. for such as came after. And further, the charm of a humorous remark or still more, an elaborate succession of humor ous remarks, cannot be put upon paper— & whoso ever reports a humorous lecture verbatim, neces sarily leaves the soul out of it, & no more pre sents that lecture to the reader than a person presentsJi. man to you when he ships you a corpse.15® To Twain the "raisins" for the audience had been taken out of it, and characteristically, he wrote a new lecture for them. Twain came to the conclusion during the extensive tours under the Redpath management that there was a marked 1^Ibid.. p. 171. Ibid., p. 116. 153 distinction in the reactions of a rural audience and an urban audience* He discovered that oftentimes a passage that would bring an embarrassed ripple from a country audience would bring an uninhibited roar from a city audi- 157 ence. He learned, also, in his analysis of audiences, that there were certain representative audiences, key audiences, upon whom he came to depend. While struggling with small New England audiences he was often doubtful of the response; but for an authentic verdict he was willing to "see what Boston is going to do.1,1 ^ His key audience at Boston did not fail him: "People say Boston audiences ain't responsive. People lie. Boston audiences get per fectly uproarious when they get started. I am satisfied 159 with tonight." He was off to Great Barrington and Bennington, secure in the knowledge that his lectures were all right. Twain had a peculiar audience situation to combat when he and Cable started the 188^-1885 reading tour. The readers were confronted with an audience problem forced upon them by the decline of interest in platform reading. Twain wrote for his autobiography: 157 y Twain, Autobiography I, p. 151. ^•^Wecter, Love Letters, p. 162. 1 Ibid. I5*f There had been a happy and holy silence for ten years, and a generation had come to the front who knew nothing about lectures and read ings and didn’t know how to take them nor what to make of them. They were difficult audiences, those untrained squads, and Cable and I had a hard time with them sometimes This situation resulted in the preparational difficulties of the first weeks of the tour, cited above. On this tour, Twain added another specific audience to the classification of audiences mentioned above. Southern audiences, he wrote: . . . laugh themselves to pieces. They catch the point before you can get it out— & then if you are not a muggins, you don*t [ital] get it out; you leave it unsaid. It is a great delight to talk to such folks.1®1 Twain’s listeners during the Browning readings were "captive" audiences; but audiences he continually strived to please. When he started his readings he explained the content of each poem before he read it. But his audience complained that his reading interpretation of the selection imparted a clearer comprehension of it than his introduc tory exposition. "So I’ve stopped being an expounder, & thrown my heft on the reading. Yes, & with vast results— l62 nearly unbelievable results," he wrote to a Mrs. Foote. ^-^DeVoto, Eruption, p. 215* ■^^Wecter, Love Letters, p. 22^. 1 A? - * - 0<;William Lyons Phelps, Autobiography with Letters (New York: Oxford University Press, 1939), p. 65* 155 The world tour in 1895 began at a slow, bothersome pace for Twain until he had recovered from his illness enough to "practice and refine his art of playing upon an audience, as with an instrument In this instance, the instrument with which he compared his 1895 audiences was not a musical one but Pratt and Whitney's ingenious machine which measured the five-millionth part of an inch: "An audience is that machine’s twin; it can measure a pause l6U down to that vanishing fraction•" Twain's analysis of the use of the pause will be presented hereafter (Chapter V) but his pleasure in audience response to the use of the pause, "when it was accurately measured" so delighted him that "that infinitesimal fraction of a moment," waiting for the audience to respond, became a part of his art,^^^ In the after-dinner speaking towards the end of his career, favorable audience response continued to be a requisite. But by his continual practice on audiences he had learned all the facets of human nature. He depended on the self-confidence he had grown to expect. He employed the sincerity that Paine thought was the secret of his charm. He exuded intentness which he boasted was the ^^Ferguson, pp. cit.. p. lMf. l^DeVoto, on. cit.. p. 226. l65M . 156 secret of holding 6111 audience Secure in the results of his practice upon all kinds and all sizes of audiences, Twain used the knowledge of the "great many secrets about audiences— secrets not to be got out of books but only a 167 acquirable by experience" to go on to continued success. In summary, typical audiences before whom Twain spoke were: (1) unusual audiences that aided his attendance, (2) disappointing audiences, that worried him for years, (3) small audiences, the response of which pleased him as much as that of large audiences, (**) large audiences that pleased immensely, (5) church audiences which were not responsive, (6) general audiences composed of cultured and fashionable people, as well as, common people, (7) collo quial audiences which were polite and respectfully con siderate • In addition, the knowledge and response of audi ences influenced his preparation and attitude in many ways. These influential factors were: (1) the misjudgement of his first audience through lack of confidence due to lack of experience, (2) the ela tion and encouragement to the response of his first Eastern Canby, op. cit.. p. lMf. xo'Wagenkneckt, op. cit.. p. 6. 157 audience, (3) the revision of materials due to response of audience, (*+) the revision of one speech to suit a mixed audience as compared to an homogeneous audience and the locale of an audience, (5) the development of a sense of universality which influenced his attitude towards audi ences, (6) the peculiarity of audiences began to form a classification of area audiences, (7) the development of financial responsibility towards audiences, (8) impressions of specific areas were gained from audiences before whom he spoke, (9) revision of materials when a newspaper quoted verbatim from a lecture because it would be ruined for audiences in locality, (10) the differentiation of country audiences and urban audiences, (11) additional preparation for audiences untrained in the art of listening, (12) explanation of material unnecessary for Browning reading audiences, (13) calculation of audiences response to certain passages became a motivating force, and (l1 *) confidence was gained for later years by early prac tice before all types of audiences. CHAPTER V THE VISUAL AND VOCAL ASPECTS OP MARK TWAIN’S DELIVERY Report8 Concerning the Visual Aspects In the oral interpretation of literature, vieual factors aid the effective transfer of the written words to speech. They include appearance, bodily actions, and also, in this case, the use of manuscript and stage proper ties. Appearance The reviews in the available newspapers reporting Mark Twain's first professional lecture in San Francisco, California, on October 2, 1866, made no mention of his stature. Baily Mallard, who attended the lecture, described him as "slim" and "awkward" appearing.^ Only one newspaper reviewing the San Francisoo lecture made a possible allusion to his dress. The Golden Era of October 7, 1866, described him as a "festive juve nile." It seemed quite likely that the description ^Baily Mallard, "Mark Twain in San Francisco," The Bookman. XXXI (June, 1910), 320. 158 159 referred to the manner in which Twain was dressed for the occasion. As Twain*s speaking tour in 1866 progressed through the California and Nevada mining towns, a relapse from the ''festive" attire to disheveled attire was noted. Philip Coloord, who was present at Twain's lecture in Virginia City, Nevada, on either October 31 or November 1, 1866 [Twain spoke on these respective dates] recalled that Twain's clothes looked as though they had been slept in; his coat was too small, and his trousers were excessively long and baggy. ^ In April, 1868 Twain was in San Francisco again on business. He lectured in that city on April lb and 15. A newspaper critic reported Twain said that he was "disguised for a masquerade last evening.Presumably, this remark alluded to his clothing. In the Fall of 1868 Twain lectured through the East under the Redpath Lecture Bureau management. On December 23, 1868 he lectured in Lansing, Michigan. An observer at that lecture described Twain as he appeared there: He is a young man, a little over thirty years of age [Twain was thirty-three], and looks as ^Cyril Clemens, Young Sam Clemens (Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Press, 1939), p# 250. ^The San Francisco Evening Bulletin. Anril 15. 1868. --------- 160 though he had never been a drawing room pet, but had been used to the rough and tumble, the ups and downs of life.^ Stephen Leacock, eminent educator, lecturer and writer, pictured him as he looked at the age of thirty- three as a Hman of medium height, about five feet ten, sparsely builtLeacock described him as appearing on the platform in 1868 dressed in scrupulous evening attire.^ Mark Twain spoke almost nightly from the time he opened the Winter season in Rockford, Illinois on January 6, 1869 until he closed the season in Lockport, New York on March 3, 1869. The review of Twain’s lecture in Chicago, Illinois on January 7, 1869 stated: Blessed with long legs, he is tall, reaching five feet ten inches in his boots, weighs 165 pounds, body lithe and muscular; head round and well set on considerable neck; and feet of-no size within the ken of a shoemaker. . . A Sacramento, California reporter named Hartley commenting on Twain as a lecturer in an article appearing early in the year of 1869* reported that he was a "rather Q seedy looking young man." ^he Lansing Republican. December 31 > 1868. ^Stephen Leacock, Mark Twain (Hew York: D. Apple ton-Century Company, 193l +^ 1 P« 50* 6Ibid., p. 51. ?The Chicago Tribune. January 8, 1869. ^Mallard, op. cit.. p. 320. 161 In late 1869, however, a Boston reporter thought Twain was "a very good looking man."' In addition, the same reporter described Twain as being of medium height, with a moderately slender build* Twain's customary costume for the platform on his 1869 spesking tour must have been formal attire, for upon losing his baggage enroute to Ottawa, Illinois, he wrote to Mrs* Clemens from that town on January 13, 1869• "• • • am lecturing in my bob-tail coat & that makes me feel awkward & uncomfortable before the audience*"10 Twain's concern for his appearance before audiences did not remain unnoticed in the newspapers in the East* For example, a review of his lecture in Albany, New York on January 10, 1870 devoting considerable space to his career as a newspaper man, concluded with the comments: . * * and his personal appearance does credit to the press. We consider this remark a grand compliment, for a cleaner, better looking, or In the fall of 1871, Twain began his tour with a lecture he called "Artemus Ward, the Humorist*" In a review of this lecture in Boston on November 1, 1871, a ^The Boston Daily Advertiser. November 11, 1869* 10Dixon Weeter, The Love Letters of Mark Twain (New York: Harper and Brothers, 19^9)9 P« 50. 11The Albany Argus. January 11, 1870. 162 reporter described Twain as a "tall well-made man."1^ Twain discarded the "Artemis Ward" lecture and finished the tour with a lecture called "Roughing I t A Chicago reporter in a review of this lecture has provided in an unusual profile of Twain*s platform appearance a picture of how he looked at this time. The reporter wrote: Mr. Clemens is a youngish looking man of per haps thirty-five [Twain was thirty-six], not handsome, but having a bright intelligent look. . . . There is nothing finical about his style of dress. His clothing, upon the platform, was, on Monday evening, a black suit, the upper garment being a black frock coat, closely buttoned.*3 Twain continued with the lecture, "Roughing It," opening the winter season in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 1, 1872. In Logansport, Indiana on January 2 a reporter thought Twain's personal appearance to have been "not very impressive, but looks thin and weazened fsic 1." In Dayton, Ohio on January he was described as, "a spare- looking [sic] man, of medium height."1' * On January 5 in Columbus, Ohio a reporter wrote: "In personal appearance he is not an Adonis. He has a slim altitude of about five feet nine. His legs are slim, and slightly inclined to 12The Boston Daily Advertiser. November 2, 1871. ^The Chicago Tribune. December 20, 1871. 1 1* The Logansport Sun. January h y 1872. ^The Dayton Daily Journal. January 5, 1872. 163 convexity."^ Another reporter in the same city said, "Mr, Clemens is a youngish looking man of perhaps thirty- 17 five [Twain was thirty-seven], not handsome," In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 10 he was described as ,, 18 a small man. Twain*s dress, in Columbus on January 1872 was described as "a short black frock coat, closely buttoned, 19 and dark pantaloons." In Pittsburgh, on January 10 a reporter wrote that Twain was "arrayed in a black dress 20 suit" and wore "a glittering diamond ring on one finger," Mark Twain ended his lecturing under the Redpath management in 1873• Although he spoke occasionally upon invitation, he did not resume the platform until l88*f. He was forty-nine when he started on a reading tour with George W. Cable on November 5, 188^. Cable was short in stature and when the two appeared together on the platform, Twain, though only five feet ten inches in height, seemed to tower over him. ~^The Columbus Dispatch. January 6, 1872. • ^The Columbus Journal. January 6, 1872. ^ The Pittsburgh Daily Gazette. Friday Morning, January 12, 1872. ■^The Columbus Dispatch. January 6, 1872. 20The Pittsburgh Daily Gazette. Friday Morning, January 12, 1872. l6h Therefore, most of the reviewers of this tour described the general appearance of Mark Twain in comparison with the general appearance of Cable, Characteristic of this comparison was a statement made by a reporter of the Washington, D. C. engagement of November 23, 1881 * quoted in the Chicago Times. The quotation stated: "Mark Twain was just as big and awkward as Cable ie small and graceful. As he, Twain, stood on the stage he reminded me of a 21 mammoth interrogation point." This statement of Twain's posture recalled the description of the Columbus reporter in 1872 that Twain's "legs were inclined to convexity." Again, comparing Twain with Cable, the reporter of the Cleveland engagement of December 17, 1881 * wrote: "Cable 22 is small and graceful, Twain tall and awkward." A Dayton reporter on December 31, 188^ thought Twain resembled the "Nast caricature of Whitelaw Reid, tall, gaunt. • . ,"23 A reviewer in Cincinnati on January 2, 1885 reported, "Mr. Clemens is a tall, angular 2*f sort of a man. ..." In St. Louis on January 10 Twain The Chicago Times. December 6, l88*f. 22The Cleveland Leader. Friday, December 18, 188^. 2^The Dayton Daily Journal. January 1, 1885. Ok The Cincinnati Star-Times. Saturday, January 3, 1885. 165 25 was pictured as "robust." In his place of former resi dence, Keokuk, on January 1*+ Twain was called a man of 26 "ungainly body." Once again in Burlington, on January 15 in comparison with the short, neatly appearing Cable, Twain 27 was called "large, awkward and inclined to be uncouth." Nevertheless, the reporter of Twain's appearance in Madison, Wisconsin, on January 21 said: "Mr. Clemens, or Mark Twain, is a finely constituted man, whose weight is about 160 lbs. 28 f aid. He is evenly proportioned. ..." According to the reviews of the Springfield, Massachusetts,^ the Detroit, Michigan,3° and the Dayton, Ohio,^ engagements, Twain wore conventional black evening dress for his appearances in 188*+-1885. The reporter in Dayton, on December 31, 188*+ described the dress suit as being "awfully wrinkled, and Mark looks as uneasy in it as pi? yThe St. Louis Globe Democrat. Sunday Morning, January 11, 1885. 26^he Keokuk Daily Gate City. January 15, 1885. ^ftrhe Burlington Hawkeye. January 16, 1885. 2^The Wisconsin State Journal. January 27, 1885. 2^The Springfield Republican. Saturday. November 8. 188*4-. 10 J The Detroit Post. Wednesday Morning, December 17, 188*+. ^1The Dayton Daily Journal. Janizary 1, 1885. 166 32 a young man from the country." Twain, in describing the circumstances of a late arrival, wrote in a letter to Mrs. Clemens that he "jumped into evening dress as the 3 3 audience waited." Twain and Cable closed their reading tour in Washington, D. C. on February 28, 1885* It was ten years before Mark Twain undertook another reading tour. In the meantime, he spoke on various occasions in the East. Only one of the newspapers reporting these events mentioned his appearance. A report of the speech he made before the Military Service Institute on Governor’s Island, New York on November 10, 1886 stated: "He was dressed in the height of fashion which made him tremble as he rose and bowed." Mark Twain was only sixty years old when he began his reading tour around the world on July 15* 1895. Under the burdens of bankruptcy and his daughter Susy’s death, he had grown prematurely old. Presumably, in deference to the circumstances under which he made this tour, the reviews made only slight mention of his appearance. The report of the engagement in Tacoma, Washington on August 12 stated that he "made a striking appearance on the Tacoma 32Ibid. 33wecter, Love Letters, p. 235. 3^The New York Herald. Friday, November 12, 1886. 167 theatre stage. • • When he was late in arriving in Duluth, Minnesota on July 22 it was reported that he came off the boat clothed in a dress suit ready for his per formance.^ la Tacoma on August 12 a reporter stated that 37 Twain was dressed in the conventional evening dress. In summary, at the beginning of his professional speaking career, Twain was a slim, rugged looking individ ual about five feet ten inches tall and weighed about 165 pounds. His big feet, his long neck, and his slouchy way of standing made him appear awkward on the platform. His clothes were untidy and often his coat was too small and his trousers were too long for him. He gave the appearance of a dishevelled young man. Nevertheless, reporters thought that this carelessness of dress suited him. Later in his speaking career his weight and height remained about the same, and, except when he was called "tall” and "awk ward” in comparison with the "short" and "dainty" Cable, he made a striking appearance on the platform, dressed in the height of formal fashion of the day. Continuing the report- of Mark Twain*s appearance on the platform, his head and facial features commanded atten tion among the reviewers who reported his platform ^The Tacoma Daily Ledger. August 13* 1895. ^ The Duluth News Tribune. Tuesday, July 23, 1895. 3?The Tacoma Daily Ledger. August 13, 1895. 168 activities. Philip Colcord, who heard Twain speak in Virginia City in 1866 remembered his great mass of "auburn hair" that "stood right up on his head."J In Davenport on January l*f, 1869 a reporter noted that Twain’s head was 39 "protected from the weather by dark curling hair." The review of Twain’s lecture appearance in Boston on November U.n 10, 1869 stated that his hair was light brown. A reporter in Chicago on December 18, 1872 stated* "... and the manner of wearing his hair, which is abundant, *fl shows that he is his own tonsorial artist." A Logansport reporter on January 2, 1872 was Impressed by Twain’s "bushy, 1+2 bristling hair." Twain’s hair was described as being 1+3 black in Dayton on January *+, 1872. In Columbus the next day, the reviewer said that Twain had "a plentitude of dark 1+1+ hair." After an absence of ten years from the platform Mark Twain undertook a six months’ reading tour, starting ^Clemens, Young Sam, p. 250. 39 The Davenport Daily Democrat. January 15, 1869. ^ The Boston Daily Advertiser. November 11, 1869. ■ ‘ •The Chicago Tribune. December 20, 1871. If 2 ^The Logansport Sun. Thursday, January If, 1872. ^ The Dayton Daily Journal. January 5, 1872. ^ The Columbus Daily Dispatch. January 6, 1872. 169 November 5, 1884. The reporter of the Springfield, Massachusetts, performance on November 7, 1884 mentioned 45 Twain1 b "roughened curling hair." A reviewer in New Toxic, on November 18 wrote that "his unruly hair" was like "a 46 halo around his head." Twain's hair was reported to be 47 tinged with gray in Brooklyn, on November 22, 1884. The reporter in Washington, D. C., on November 24 waxed poeti cal in a description of Twain’s hair: "Time had no mercy even upon a professional mirth provoker and had plentifully sifted his hair • • .with fine white powder." The reviewers in Detroit, on December 16 were inclined toward the comical in their descriptions of Twain's hair. One of the reviewers wrote: An extraordinary head of stiff hair of no particular color but inclining to a brick-dust shade, and which seemed to be perfectly independ ent of the large size cranium over which it hovered, and had evidently been gone over a few times with a harrow to make the stubborn crop of hersute delerium tremens [sic] stay down for an hour or two. 9 Another reporter wrote: ^The Springfield Republican. Saturday, November 8, 1884. ^The New York Sun. Sunday, November 19, 1884. ^ The Brooklyn Eagle. November 23, 1884. The Washington Post. November 25, 1884. **9The Detroit Post. Wednesday Morning, December 17, 1884. 170 His bristly, plentiful hair was brushed back ae if he had been bom that way* It looked as if it never could become toweled Tsicl up or come down over his eyes, and it was -binged with gray. It seems incredible that Mark Twain should have gray hair, but such are the indications.7 The review of the readings in Cleveland, on December 17 stated that Nhls great head of hair, once glossy black, is 51 now iron gray." In Dayton, on December 31 a reporter 52 observed that Twain had a "lot of hair." In Cincinnati, on January 2, 1885 the reviewer stated that Twain had "a great shock of iron gray hair." J The review of the Keokuk 5*+ engagement on January 1*+ referred to his "shaggy" head. In Janesville, Wisconsin on January 20 attention was drawn 55 to his "heavy, bushy, slightly tinged with gray hair." In a review of the Madison, Wisconsin readings on January 21 and 22 a distinctive profile of Twain1s features included: "... a thick mass of hair well tinged with age, crowns the head, dropping down somewhat over the forehead and right ear."^ 5°The Detroit Free Press. Wednesday. December 17. 188**. 5lThe Cleveland Leader, Friday, December 18, 188*+. ^«*The Dayton Daily Journal. January 1, 1885. 53ihe Cincinnati Star-Times. Saturday, January 3. 1885. 5Vrhe Keokuk Dally Gate City. January 15, 1885. Janesville Dally Recorder. January 21, 1885. ^The Wisconsin State Journal. January 27, 1885. 171 Mark Twain was sixty years old when he began the world reading tour on July 15* 1895* On August 13 in Tacoma a reporter noticed that he had a "tangled mop of 57 hair falling about his features• " After the 1895 world tour, Mark Twain's speaking engagements consisted of occasional invitational and after- dinner speeches* The first report of these to mention his hair was from New York on November 10, 1900* This review stated that before speaking he "pushed his bushy hair back CQ from his forehead." On November 15* 1900 in the same 59 city, a reporter mentioned Twain's "gray locks." 7 A reporter in New York on May 6, 1907 remarked that Twain's 60 „ white hair aided in making him a conspicuous figure. At the dedication of City College in New York on May 1*+, 1908 Twain's white hair marked him out among the dignitaries on the platform.^ In summary, a speaker's hair may not seem impor tant; but in Twain*8 case it commanded attention throughout his life time. The sight of his hair as he appeared on the ^The Tacoma Daily Ledger. August 13, 1895. 58 The New York Times. November 17, 1900. ^ The New York Times. November 16, 1900. 6oThe New York Times. May 7, 1907. ^ The New York Times. May 15, 1908. 172 platform seemed to Interest auditors and gave them enjoy ment. Early in his speaking career it was auburn. During the 188)+-1885 reading tour it was tinged with gray. By the time he made his world tour in 1895 it was all white. What ever the color, it was abundant and unruly. This condition caused reviewers to describe it as bristling, curly, 9tiff, stubborn, shaggy, and bushy. For the most part, except when a lock would fall over his forehead or his right ear, his hair was brushed back and up from his forehead, forming a halo around his intelligent countenanoe. Bodily action Mark Twain's bodily movements on the platform drew many comments from the newspapers and critical sources which reported his speaking engagements. In his first reported impromptu speech in Keokuk, on January l1 *-, 1856, Twain "rose to his feet slowly," 62 C. C. Pry, who was present, observed. Charles Webster, a nephew, remembered that, when reading a play for the 63 family, in St. Louis in i860 he acted it out as he read. [The actions were not described.] Cyril Clemens pictured him on his first profes sional appearance in San Francisco on October 2, 1866 as ^Clemens, Young Sam, p. 82. ^Samuel Charles Webster, Mark Twain. Business Man (Bostons Little, Brown and Company, 19*f6), p. 4-8. 173 limping slowly onto the center of the platform where he 6^ stood shaking and trembling before he began to speak, A reporter stated that on this occasion Twain "sauntered bashfully" onto the stage with "one hand in his pocket When Twain reached Virginia City for his lecture there on October 31, 1866 he found that his manager, Dennis McCarthy, had engaged someone to introduce him. But his friend, Joseph T. Goodman, editor of the Terri torial Enterprise, told him: 5cm, you do not need anybody to introduce you. There's a piano on the stage in the theatre. Have it brought out in sight, and when the curtain rises, you be seated at the piano, playing and singing that song of yours. 'Had an Old Horse Whose Name Was Methusalem,' and don't seem to notice that the curtain is up at first; then be surprised when you suddenly find out that it is up, and begin talking, without further preliminaries.^ Twain followed Goodman's suggestions which resulted in hilarious actions, motivating thunderous applause. In St. Louis on March 25, 1867 a reporter recorded that during the lecture, "... after this burst of elo quence, descriptive of the volcano, he [Twain] clapped his 67 hands and the audience joined him." At Cooper Union ^Clemens, Young Sam, p. 66. ^The Golden Era. October 7, 1866. ^^Effie Mona Mack, Mark Twain in Nevada (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 33*+. ^?The Daily Missouri Democrat. March 28, 1867. lA Institute in New York on May 6, 186? Twain’s first appear ance before an Eastern audience, he engaged in a bit of seemingly impromptu action. It had been advertised that General Nye would introduce him; but Nye failed to appear. Webster reported the following action: Mark walked on the stage and peered down as if hunting for a missing penny, and then remarked, *1 was looking for General Nye who had promised to introduce me, but I see nothing of him and as there are no other generals in town dust now we will have to worry along with out him, 0 An analyst of this same lecture noted, "He lounges com- 69 fortably around his platform. ..." It was reported that in Detroit on December 22, 70 1868 that, "while he spoke he sauntered about the stage." In Lansing, the next night, Twain was described as "walking up and down the stage at a pace that marked the time of 71 his words. ..." In Chicago on January 7, 1869 a reporter described Twain’s movement on the platform as "the marching and coun ter marching in the rear of it [reading desk], marking off 72 the ground by the yard with tremendous boots." In ^Webster, o p . cit.. p. 93* ^ The New York Daily Tribune. Saturday, May 11, 70The Detroit Post. December 23, 1868. ^■The State Republican. Lansing, December 31» 1868. 72The Chicago Tribune. January 8, 1869. 175 Portland, Maine, on December 31» 1869 an auditor observed: "He walks about the stage rubbing his hands together in a doleful way."^ On January 11, 1870 in Toledo, it was reported that "Mr. Clemens, at the hour of beginning came to the front 7h of the platform, • • In Hartford on November 8, 1871 a reported observed: Coming to the front of the stage, Mr. Clemens stood at the side of the reading desk for a number of minutes, looking over his audience, turning his head from side to side and rubbing his hands together, which singular demeanor drew forth fresh applause•'5 Twain was late arriving in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on November 16, 1871. The audience was assembled waiting for him. He came into the auditorium, passed through the audience to the stage and placed his carpet-bag near the reading desk, took off his overcoat and overshoes and 76 started the lecture. A reporter in Chicago on December 16, 1871 reported that Twain "cranes and cranes his long 77 neck at the house. ..." Continuing the winter lecture season in Logansport ^ The Portland Transcript. January 1, 1870. ^"The Toledo Blade, January 12, 1871. ^The Hartford Times. November 9* 1871. ^Wecter, Love Letters, p. 163* ??The Chicago Evening Post. December 17, 1871. 176 on January 2, 1872, Twain "made his appearance upon the stage walking with a loose, shambling, gait, and with an 78 inconceivably awkward manner," A reporter in Dayton on January *+ observed that he was "slightly awkward in his 79 movements." In Columbus the next day, Twain's actions were described as follows: He sways his body, and nods his head at cer tain times, and at others throws his left arm across the front of the body, places his right elbow in the palm of his hand, and raising his right hand to his face, which he places against his right cheek; then depressing the head, his eyes seek the floor, as if calculating the qual ity of his boots. This attitude lasts for two or three seconds, when he again faces the audi ence and proceeds to say something. ° In Wheeling, West Virginia on January 10, 1872 the reviewer conjectured: "He appeared to labor under some embarrass ment in not knowing just how to dispose of his arms and 8l hands, ..." Twain was about twenty minutes late in arriving at Liberty Hall for his lecture in Pittsburgh on January 12, 1872. The hall was so crowded that people were seated upon the stage. A reporter observed that Twain, . . . quickly edged his way through the crowd 7®The Logansport Sun. Thursday, January 1872. ^The Dayton Daily Journal. January 5, 1872. 80 The Columbus Daily Dispatch. January 6, 1872. Ol The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. Thursday Morn ing, January 11, 1872. 177 on the stage, and so quickly that he stood in the centre of the small space reserved for the lec- turer before the audience knew what the movement meant."2 Describing Twain*s lecture in Brooklyn on February 7, 13739 a reporter mentioned his "seemingly unconscious awkwardne ss."®^ At the twenty-seventh annual dinner of the New England Society in New York on December 21, 1882 a reporter wrote: Mark Twain rose very deliberately when his name was called by the toastmaster• He took a cigar from between his teeth and dropped his eye lids. . . A Springfield, Massachusetts, observer on November 7, 188** thought Twain entered upon the stage with "a fine exaggerated air of timidity."®'* In Melrose, Massachusetts on November 10 Twain "came slowly forward upon the stage, his shoulders lightly stooping, his head inclined forward. 86 , . Several reporters in New York on November 18 commented in their various newspapers on Mark Twain's bodily actions: one reporter remarked "his walk is the 8%he Pittsburgh Daily Gazette. January 12, 1872. ®^The Brooklyn Daily Union. February 8, 1873* ®^The New York Herald. December 22, 1882. ®^The Springfield Republican. Saturday. November 8. 188**. ------- The Boston Morning Journal. November 11, 1881*. 178 87 comedy of motion"; another said "he sauntered to the reading desk, felt for it with his right hand, found it, 88 and he began"; . . . The same reporter wrote that at the end of the reading of the "Golden Arm," "Mr. Twain at this point Jumped up two feet in the air and came down with a go bang. ..." In Philadelphia on November 21 the reviewer observed: "Mark Twain shambled across the stage as if he had Just been awakened from a sound sleep, groped 90 around the reading desk in an aimless sort of way. . • ." In Brooklyn the next day, an observer of the afternoon performance wrote: Twain has a peculiar way of looking sideways at his audience and at the same time gently lifting up his left hand by the agency of his right and scratch ing his well shaven chin meditatively.91 In reviewing the readings in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on December 13 the reporters of the two newspapers quoted from the comments on Twain*s bodily action contained in the New York Sun concerning the engagement in New York on November 18. However, one of the reporters noticed in 87 vFhe New York Commercial Advertiser. Wednesday Evening, November 19* lSB1 *• 88The New York Sun. November 19* 188V. 89Ibid. 90jhe Philadelphia North American. Saturday, November 22, 1884. 9^The Brooklyn Dally Eagle. November 23* 188V. 179 addition a slight twitching of his moustache, and that, "his left hand sought the old familiar pantaloons and staid fsiol there while he leaned against the reading desk, 92 with the other arm on it. ..." The reporters in Detroit on December 16 gave the most complete description of Twain's actions on the 188M- portion of his reading tour with Cable. One reporter wrote: Nothing could be more deliciously droll than his very movements towards that embroidered table cloth. He came in with his head forward and looked like a man who had lost something on the stage and wasn't exactly sure that he would be able to find it. His left hand sought his trou sers pocket, and slid in there leaving the thumb at liberty. When he got through he ambled off the stage with a little trot that was as funny as his altogether different diffident entrance. Another auditor of the same performance observed: When he entered his gait resembled the motion of a tall boy on stilts as he made his way around the table and approached the footlights. His arms are somewhat short of his ample length and these are apparently as unmanageable for him as his hair. They are sometimes swung in front of his person and then left to dangle around at his sides. • . . Again one of them is spasmodically jerked to his forehead, and the other follows halfway, giving the observer the impression that it is out of his power to move without effort of his will and crawl into his pockets, from whence they are summarily pulled when it comes to the knowledge of the proprietor. His legs are toler ably well under control, but even these are 92 The Grand Rapids Eagle. December 13, l88*f. ^The Detroit Free Press, of Wednesday. December 17, 1881+. ---------------------- restive under restraint and would gladly return to the old days when their owner gave them a larger allowance of liberty.'* This same reporter noticed that he had a "trick of throwing his head up." In Cleveland on December 17 a reporter described Twain, in comparison with the "graceful" Cable, as being "awkward."9^ "While his audience was roaring with laughter he simply pulled his moustache and scowled," the 97 same reporter wrote. Another reporter of the same pro gram observed: When Mark Twain came out on the stage he posed in what appeared to be a studied attitude of drollery. . . . In his hop, skip and jump, in may I , ng his exits, he is only the second edition of th^glate E. A. Southern's Lord Dundreary. * # * In Dayton on December 31 a reviewer noticed: "While speak ing he holds up his right arm, with his left hand, finger ing his chin with his right hand, in a nonchalant manner. He is droll and no mistake, but his trot off stage every 99 time seemed affected." ^The Detroit Post. Wednesday Morning, December 17, 188**. 9^Ibid. 9^The Cleveland Leader of Friday, December 18, 188**. 97Ibid. 9®The Cleveland Herald, November 19, l88*f. " The Dayton Daily Journal. January 1, 1885. 181 The review of the readings in Springfield, Illinois on January 8, 1885 mentioned, "Mark Twain’s first peek-a- boo at R. I. E. [sic] was greeted with laughter,"10° In St. Louis on January 10 a reporter, who was disturbed by Twain’s platform demeanor, objected to his "careless gait," in which "his feet get in the way at every tum."^01 In Keokuk on January 1*+ a reporter wrote: "Mark Twain in his shambling, awkward and quaint way, which must be seen to be 102 appreciated. ..." Because Twain was late in arriving in Keokuk, and had not been able to speak to his family before the readings, another reporter noticed that he paused slightly as he walked upon the stage and glanced for a moment at the box in which they were seated.In Janesville on January 20 the reviewer reported: He came onto the stage with his head protruded forward; one hand in his pocket, and his every movement was indicative of the droll humor that was fairly bubbling out of him. . He pulls his iron gray moustache and scowls.104- In Madison, on the following night, the reporter observed: While giving his readings, Twain, as he is ^■^The Daily Illinois State Journal. Friday. January 9, THF5.""------------------------ 101The St. Louis Globe-Dcmocrat« January 11, 1885. IQ^The Keokuk Daily Constitution. January 15, 1885. l°3The Daily Grate City. January 15, 1885. 10lfThe Daily Recorder. January 21, 1885. 182 better known, stands carelessly with his left hand in his pantaloon pocket, while his right has an ana zing habit of playing with his mouth, as in the case of some awkward overgrown boy,10- 7 In LaCrosse, Wisconsin, the next night. Twain followed the same pattern of action, as observed by a reporter: He came upon the stage as though looking for a pin on a floor covered with eggs. Commonly the right elbow is supported by the left hand, and when his arms fall to his side, volumes could not say more. He disappears with a canter. • • #luCl The reporter in Davenport on January 31 was amused by Twain's entranoes and exits, of which he wrote: The manner in which Mr. Clemens gets bn and off the stage is a sight to behold. He starts on a funny little jog, trot, half sideways, with his eyes up into the gallery, • . . .i0' At a dinner in New York on November 10, 1886 Twain ■ I a Q rose and bowed before he started to speak. When Twain read jointly with James Whitcomb Riley in New York on February 28, 189*+ his "apparent apologetic way of coming on the platform," was mentioned by the 109 press. In Seattle, Washington on August 13, 1895 Twain had 105rphe Wisconsin State Journal. January 21, 1885. 10^The Morning Chronicle. Friday, January 23, 1885. 1Q?The Davenport Sunday Dcmoorat. Pebruary 1, 1885. 108The New York Herald. Friday November 12, 1886. IQ^he New York Herald. February 29, 189^. 183 a swearing fit and stormed off the stage because the audi ence straggled in late*^^ At a Lotus Club dinner in New York on November 10, 1900 Twain was reported as "pushing his bushy hair back from his forehead. • . .w111 Of Twain*s appearance at a dinner of the Society of American Authors on November 15 a reporter wrote: Mark Twain rose slowly from his chair, ran his fingers thoughtfully through his gray looks and smiled one of those smiles which have won friends for him in all walks of life.112 On January *f, 1901 in New York Mark Twain recalled, to a dinner group he was addressing, a society that he had joined as a boy. "On entering it," Twain said, "a boy had to promise not to smoke." As he made this remark he removed his cigar from his mouth. On Pebruary 11 in the same city, Twain was chairman of a benefit recital. The newspaper review reported: "Mark Twain then walked with mincing steps and bent head, to the left wing of the Hlf stage to fetch in the soloist." Twain was not above a 110J. B. Pond, Eccentricities of Genius (New York: G. W. Dillingham and Company, 1906), p. 226. lilfhe New York Times. November 17, 1900. 112The New York Journal. November 16, 1900. 11^The New York Times. Saturday, January 5, 1901. li^+The New York Times. Tuesday, Pebruary 12, 1901. 18^ little planned action, for by pre-arrangement, at a dinner given by the Associate Alumnae of Normal College in New York on May 11, 1901, he thrust Miss Elizabeth Jarrett into a chair before she had finished introducing him and began his speech,1^ At a dinner in New York on December 21, 1905 the Society of Illustrators surprised Twain by having a model, Miss Jean Augersten, impersonate his favorite heroine of history, Joan of Arc. Twain was so impressed that he was lavish in his serious compliments to Miss Augersten. While praising the model, it was reported that he turned his head toward the door she had gone through when she left. Then, the report said, he turned back "to his audience and resumed the role of the humorist." Before beginning a speech at the Young Men's Christian Association in New York on March ^f, 1906 a reporter observed* He [Twain] reached down into his breeches' pocket for his spectacle case, polished up his steel-rimmed glasses, and drawing up to the117 footlights, . . . he beamed at the gallery. When Twain was guest of honor at the Women's University lx^The New York Herald, May 11, 1901. ll6The New York Times. December 22, 1905. H^The New York World, March 5, 1906. 185 Club, in New York on April 3, 1906 a small platform bad been provided on which he was to stand for his speech. Twain complained that the platform was too low; a chair was brought, placed upon the platform and he climbed upon the 118 chair to make his speeoh. At a dinner honoring the memory of Robert Polton, in New York on April 19 Twain began his speech, stammered, as if he had forgotten Fulton'8 name, walked over to General Fred D. Grant and whispered into his ear, returned to his plaoe and continued 119 his speech. At an Associated Press dinner in New York on September 19, 1906 Twain repeated an old speeoh on "Simplified Spelling." A reviewer commented that he made 120 the speech "without the twitching of a muscle." In summary, when Twain began speaking in public he moved freely about on the platform. This movement was described as walking, lounging, marching and counter marching. These descriptions did not indicate that he was ill at ease; in fact, it seemed just the opposite. During the I88i t‘ 'l885 tour he used a reading desk and confined himself to that area. However, there was still some brief marching and counter-marching around the reading desk. For ll8The New York Times. April *f, 1906. H 9 The New York Tines. April 20, 1906. 120rhe New York American. September 20, 1906. the 1895 tour and for the after-dinner speaking there was very little mention made of his bodily action In the reviews. During his entire speaking career, while his ges tures were few, Twain consistently used several mannerisms. For instance, he kept putting his left hand in his trousers pocket; he held his right elbow with his left hand while his right played with his ear or his moustache or scratched his chin; while pausing for audience reaction he pulled his moustache and scowled; he rubbed his hands together and frequently started the applause; he nodded and craned and turned his head from side to side; he developed a little jog-trot going on and off the stage. In addition, during the after-dinner phase of his career he pushed his fingers through his unruly hair, smoked his cigar and smiled engagingly while waiting on his audiences* reactions. Unfortunately, very few of these actions were related to the reading of his selections. However, they contributed to the over-all effect of his appearance. Gestures Twain had been asked by the members of the Presby terian Church of Carson City to repeat the "Third House" speech for the benefit of the church treasury. He agreed to do so and had invited Carrie Pixley to attend the lec ture, promising to send a back for her. In the excitement he forgot to send the promised conveyance. During the 187 speech he noticed that she was not In the seat reserved for her. Without pausing In his discourse, he made frantic 121 gestures of inquiry to her father in the audience. This incident took place in Carson City on January 27, l86*t. A reporter of Twain's speech in San Franoisoo on October 2, 1866 suggested: "Mark's gestures might be 122 improved•" It was reported that in St. Louis on March 28, 1867, during the description of the volcano in his lecture on the Sandwich Islands, Twain started the applause by 123 clapping his hands. In the same speech, at another point, the applause was so great that he offered to repeat the description that had motivated it. The audience enthusiastically asked him to do so. The reporter wrote that he "declined with such a comical gesture, that it IpU. sends the audience into convulsions." Begrettably, the "comic gesture" was not described. A reporter of the Brooklyn lecture on May 12, 1867 wrote, "... the original 125 gesticulation, produced a very droll effect indeed." x 1 PI * LHenry Nash Smith and Frederick Anderson, (eds.), Mark Twain of the Enterprise (Berkeley and Los Angeles: tfhe University of California Press, 1957), p. 1^6. 122jhe Golden Era. October 7, 1866. 123<rhe Daily Missouri Democrat. March 28, 1867. 12lfIbid. 125 The New York World. May 13, 1867. 188 A reviewer comparing hie appearance in Pittsburgh on November 18, 1868 with other platform artiste of the day declared: "... nor does he bring to bear • • • awk- 126 ward movements or gestures to impress his hearers. • • ." It was reported that in Detroit on December 22, "• • • when 127 occasion demanded, [he] gestured quietly and fitly• " Without describing specific gestures, the reporter of Twain*s New York lecture on Pebruary 5, 1873 stated that 128 they were “provocative of mirth." Eleven years later, in Boston, on November 13, 188^ a reporter, without being explicit, wrote, "... his . . • gestures, . . . are mirth-provoking [sic] to all who may be in his company."^29 ^ Cleveland on December 17 a reporter indicated that his gestures were "few and meaningless."1^0 On January 22, 1885 in LaCrosse a reviewer reported that Twain*e "gestures have a studied awkwardness."1^1 In the same review it was suggested that "Commonly the right elbow is supported by the left hand, and when his arms fall 126^6 Pittsburgh Gazette. Friday, November 20, 1868. 127»jhe Detroit Post. Wednesday, December 23, 1868. 128The New York Times. Thursday, February 6, 1873. 129The Boston Herald. Friday, November l*f, 1881 *. 130The Cleveland Leader. Friday, December 18, l88*f. 1^1The Morning Chronicle. Friday, January 23» 1885. 189 to his side, volumes could not say more.”132 An observer at the readings in Davenport on January 31 wrote i "His gestures are eloquent if not graceful, and would make an 133 audience laugh, even if Mark Twain had nothing to say." In New York on January *+, 1901 Twain removed a cigar from his mouth after making a pertinent statement. Because of the content of the remark, Twain may have planned this particular gesture. In summary, Twain used very few gestures to aid his interpretation. Those he did use were both comical and eloquent, although awkward. His most frequent gesture was to let his hands fall forcefully to his sides. His few gestures, executed in Twain's own silent way, complimented his style and material. Facial expressions In reviewing Mark Twain's platform art the report ers and critical sources constantly mentioned his facial expressions. Notwithstanding, the reviews of Twain's first professional lecture in San Francisco on October 2, 1866 failed to mention any facial expressions. Cyril Clemens, however, in a chapter describing this first lecture, included: 132Ibid. ^-33The Davenport Sunday Democrat, February 1, 1885. 190 The perturbed expression of his visage and above all the grateful, surprised look which spread over his face when they roared at a joke or rapturously, applauded some striking vivid description.l3^ Steve Gillis, who heard Twain speak in Virginia City on October 31 remembered that he gave his lecture "looking solemn as an owl."^'* Franklin Walker, in a general report of Twain’s 1867 lectures, described "his perturbed expression and surprised look following painful effort when his play took the trick. The reporter of Twain's lecture in Pittsburgh on November 18, 1868 commented: "Nor does he bring to bear 1-37 facial contortions, . . . to impress his hearers. . • • Another reporter of the same lecture observed: . . . features are comely— a broad, expansive brow, and a countenance lighted up with a pair of eyes sparkling with rich humor of which their,, owner is so extravagantly possessed. . . .13o In Chicago on January 7, 1869 an observer reported: 131+ Clemens, Young Sam, p. 2^-7. ^■^^William R. Gillis, Memories of Mark Twain and Steve Gillis (Sonora: The Banner, 192^), p. 68. •^^Franklin Walker, Washoe Giant (San Francisco: George Fields, 1938), P • I1 * - • 137ijhe Pittsburgh Gazette. Friday, November 20, 1868 • 138^ e Pittsburgh Post. November 20, 1868. 191 Pun lurks in the comer of his humorous mouth. The eyes are deep-set and twinkle like stars on a dark night. The face is eminently a good one, a laughing face, beaming with humor and genuine good nature .139 The reviewer of the lecture in Toledo on January 20 con cluded that "his serious face . . . was sufficient to make lU’ O one laugh." In Boston, where Twain wrote his sister ilfl that he would face two thousand critics on November 10, it was observed that he had, . . . a reddish-brown moustaohe and a fresh complexion; and he has a queer way of wrinkling up his nose and half closing his eyes when he speaks. The expression of his face is as calm and Imperturbable as that of the Sphinx. . . . and you might suppose him to be incapable of a joke if it were not for the peculiar twinkle in his merry eyes.l^2 In the same critique, the reviewer noted: "At one point, in lecture, • • . Mark Twain paused and said with an indescribable look; . . . In Boston on November 1, 1871 a reporter noticed, ". . .a serious and almost severe cast of countenance, -^^The Chicago Tribune. January 8, 1869. ^H^The Toledo Blade. January 21, 1869. li+1Albert Bigelow Paine (ed.), Mark Twain*s Letters (New York* Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1917), p. 168. ^ ^he Boston Daily Advertiser. November 11, 1869. llf3Ibid. 192 • • • after gazing at his listeners in an anxious, inquir- 1M+ ing sort of way, . . . ." During the two lectures Twain gave in Chicago on December 18 and 19 9 the reporters had ample opportunity to observe his facial features. One reporter said that he had: . . . a bright intelligent look, and an eye with a humorous twinkle that put him at once en rapport [sic] with an audience. . . . and his face, aside from the merry light in his eyes, is grave and solemn as the visage of an undertaker when screwing down a coffin-lid.1^5 Another auditor in Chicago reported that Twain had: . • eyes that penetrate like a new gimlet . . . who with melan choly expression • . • effects enormous surprise at the audience ' s laughter. "llf 8 An unhappy editor in Logansport on January 2, 1872 described Twain's face as being "ornamented with a peaked l*f 7 nose, and a pair of small twinkling eyes." A reviewer in Columbus on January 5 wrote of Twain's "having a bright intelligent look, and an eye with a humorous twinkle that Ikft puts him at once en rapport [sic] with an audience." 1 l i l i The Boston Daily Advertiser. Monday, November 2, 1871. l*»5*phe Chicago Tribune. December 20, 1871. l ^ The Atlantic Monthly. January, 19^8, P. 85. -^ftrhe Sun« January *t, 1872. llf8Thc Ohio State Journal. January 6, 1872. 193 Mark Twain's facial expressions In Pittsburgh on January 11 were described: "... with half shut, dreamy eyes, and a queer, comical expression of countenance, as if its li+9 possessor was In doubt whether to laugh or cry. ..." In New York on December 21, 1882 at the annual dinner of the New England Society, Twain was reported to have "dropped his eye-lids on his mischievously twinkling eyes."1^ On tour with Cable, Twain was in Melrose on November 10, l88*t when his facial expressions were described as follows: . • • and his face unwrinkled with any trace of a smile, but bearing exactly that semi-solemn expres sion which one would expect to see in a man who could so seriously be-fool a foreign guide intent on showing Christopher Columbus on a bust.1- ?1 The couple appeared in New York on November 18 and 19 for three performances. The reviewer for the New York Sun commented on Twain's "discouraged expression of counte nance" which continued to be "bored and somewhat lugubri- 152 ous" during his readings. In Brooklyn on November 22 Twain was described as having "a look of perfect innocence l ^ The Pittsburgh Daily Gazette. January 12, 1872. l50The New York Herald. December 22, 1882. 1 ^ Thc Boston Morning Journal. November 11, 188*+. 152ipke yev Yorfc Sun. November 19, 188^-. 19* on his sharp New England features" as hs entered upon the stage • During the readings the same reviewer noted that 15^ "never a snile was to be seen on his countenance." J The reporter of the Rochester engagement on December 6 wrote of 1 5* the "gravity of his features." ^ The reporter in Grand Rapids on December 15 echoed the New York reviewer in stat ing that Twain had a "bored and somewhat lugubrious expres sion" and added that he had an "unmoved countenance" as he 155 read. In the same city, a reporter for another news paper noted that Twain had "a very pleasant smile that 156 lingers with apparent fondness." In Detroit on December 16 an observer wrote that "he looked at the audience with a 157 puzzled half-careworn expression.” Another reviewer of the same performance stated: And then the face was Yorick come again with out a touch of paint but with added drollery of generations of Jesters. • • • the eyes half closed and wearing an expression of doubt, as though • . . balancing in his mind whether upon the whole he had better deliver the lecture or go to bed, made one of the oddest faces ever 153ijfte Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 23, 188*. ^^“ The Rochester (H. Y.) Morning Herald of December 8, 188^• l55*ihe Grand Rapids Eagle. December 15, 188*. 1 ^The Grand Rapids Daily Democrat. December 1*+. 188* . ----- l57The Detroit Free Press, of Wednesday. December 17, 188*. ----------------------- 195 worn by man. . • In Cleveland the next day, the reporter commented, "he does not smile when uttering jokes that almost put his audience 159 in convulsions." A little later this reviewer noted that while his audience was roaring with laughter, Twain "scowled."1^ In reviewing the Dayton engagement on December 31 a reporter related, "He keeps a sober face, with a rather anxious, earnest look. «l6l I t - e • e Opening the new year of 1885 in Baris, Kentucky on January 1 Twain was described as "wearing a benevolent, but ]_6 2 solemn countenance." The next day in Cincinnati a reporter wrote: "... and his face is that of a man who had seen a great deal of life and found it endurable through an abundance of common sense philosophy."^3 ^ St. Louis on January 10 Twain was described as "ludicrously l6lf solemn of visage." On January 1*+ in Keokuk Twain’s eyes 158 The Detroit Post. December 17, 188V. I88*f, ^^The Cleveland Leader of Friday, December 18, l6oIbid. l6lThe Dayton Daily Journal. January 1, 1885. ^ ^The Kentuckian. Paris. Ry.« January 3, 1885. l63The_ Cincinnati Star-Times. Saturday, January 3» 1885. 16^-rphe St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Sunday Morning, January 11, 1885. 196 were described as having an extra merry twinkle because his 165 eighty-two year old mother was in the audience. The Chicago performance of January 16 brought forth the comment: "The muscles of his face and mouth are rigid while he relates the aneodote, but his little twinkling eyes have a power of expression that is wonderful, making hie fun 166 irresistible." At Janesville on January 20 Twain's eyes were described as being half closed. "He never smiles," l6 * 7 wrote the reporter, "but on the contrary . . . scowls." In Madison the next day a reviewer observed: HIb face is an admirable one. His features are all strong and masculine. . . • the jaws are the embodiment of firmness; the eyes are somewhat sunken and seem to be on the constant alert to spring something surprising on his audience, end the forehead is high and full, with a few wrinkles extending across it. The mouth is partially hidden by a heavy gray-besprinkled moustache which droops over it. . . . The expression on his face scarcely changes, during the entertainment, though when the audience laughs loudest there is the greatest air of inquiry about it.1®6 At the recital in Davenport on January 31 the reporter noted: "He begins to deliver his humorous conceits with an 169 expression of placid and child-like innocence. ..." 7 ^•^The Keokuk Daily Constitution. January 15, 1885. l66The Chicago Tribune. January 21, 1885. l6?The Daily Recorder. Januaiy 21, 1885. ^-^The Wisconsin State Journal. January 27, 1885. l69>ptie Davenport Sunday Democrat. February 1, 1885. 197 In an evening of readings in New York on February 28, l89*f on which he shared the platform with James Whitcomb Riley, Twain was described as having a "faraway [sic] look" 170 while delivering his materials* Twain began the around-the-world speaking tour in Cleveland on July 15, 1895* In Duluth, Minnesota where he was to speak on July 22, the advanced notices carried the following comment: "The look on his features suggests he has mislaid his eyeglasses and returned to look for them."^7^ It seemed that Twain's own publicity featured his facial expressions as an attention-getting device* The newspaper review of a speech Twain made in New York on November 16, 1900 stated that he "smiled one of those smiles which have won friends for him in all walks of 172 life." In New York on December 21, 1905 at a dinner given in his honor, a model impersonating Joan of Arc, presented him with a scroll. The report of the presentation related: "The face of the humorist, which had been wearing its 'company' smile, all night changed. . . ,"173 170The New York Herald. February 29* 1885. l7^-The Duluth News Tribune. Sunday, July 21, 1885. 172jtie New York Journal. November 16, 1900. 173The New York Times. Friday, December 22, 1905. 198 During a speeoh in New York on March *t, 1906 at the Young Men*e Christian Association, before an audience 1714- re ported at 5,000, Twain "beamed at the gallery." In summary, as Twain spoke he used very few expres sions to aid his Interpretation. Generally speaking, his face was calm, serious, or solemn. As he waited for audi ence response to subside this solemnity changed to an expression of surprise, boredom, perturbation, or, he just looked at the audience and scowled— however his fanoy dic tated. Nevertheless, throughout his performances his audi tors were constantly aware of a pair of merry eyes, humor ously, mischievously, benevolently twinkling from half closed eye-lids. In later years, he maintained an expres sion of placid innocence when he spoke. But the merry light in his eyes was always present as he smiled or beamed or scowled at his audiences' reactions. Presence and manner In the commentaries on Twain's personal appearance, bodily actions, and facial expressions upon the platform there were many generalities. These generalities were frequently identified with the terms "presence" and "manner." These terms were interpreted to mean appearance, action and expressions. Because these comments seemed to 17*»The New York American. March 5, 1906. 199 suggest an immediate audience reaction to Twain's appear* ance and/or an Impression o f effectiveness, they will be included here. As early as November 17, 1868 in Cleveland a reporter stated: "Mr. Clemmen's [sic] manner very much 175 enhances the effects of his remarks. . . In Pittsburgh on November 19 bis manner "was of the winning 176 order." The reviewer in Lansing on December 23 reported: "... the force of his manner, which is natural, 177 and not affected, made it still more striking." " In Chicago on January 7, 1869 Twain's manner was 17ft noted as "peculiar." The review of the Davenport lec ture on January l1 * stated: "His first appearance on the stage put the audience in good humor and ready for any- 179 thing." A Philadelphia reporter, as he listened to Mark Twain on December 7, pondered over the problem of Twain, the wit, or, Twain, the humorist. He solved his perplexity by reporting: We are at a loss to know whether he is a wit 17^The Cleveland Herald. November 18, 1868. ^•^The Pittsburgh Post. November 21, 1868. ^^The State Republican. Lansing. December 31, 1868 17®The Chicago Tribune. January 8, 1869. 179The Davenport Daily Democrat. January 15, 1869. 200 or a humorist. . . . If it were not for Twain we should set him down as a wit, but the inevitable ig0 presence causes us to olassify him as a humorist. In Logans port on January 2, 1872 although the review was unfavorable to Mark Twain, the reporter wrote: "At his appearance upon the stage, • • • the audience, who l8l had come to be entertained, laughed heartily." When Twain read in Boston on November 13, 188** the 182 reporter wrote: "To see Mark Twain is to laugh. • • •" "Mark Twain, • • . began to amuse before he had uttered a 183 word," wrote a reporter in New York on November 18. The contrast of the appearance of Twain and Cable "had aroused a titter before they had fairly emerged from the tormen tors," reported a Grand Rapids newspaper editor on 18** December 13. review of the readings in Cleveland on December 17 stated: "The laughter that greeted his first -) Q C Z appearance attended him to the last." In Indianapolis on January 7, 1885 a reporter l80>rhe Philadelphia Press. December 8, 1869. l8l^S_Sun, January **, 1872. 182^3 Boston Daily Globe. Friday. November 1**. 188**. ------ ^ ^ The New York Commercial Advertiser. Wednesday Evening, November 19» 1881 *. 18*+The Grand Raoids Daily Democrat. December 1**. 188**. --------- ■^^The Cleveland Leader, of Pridav. December 18. 188**. ------ 201 stated: "The drollery of hie appearance and manner Invest the commonplace and wearisome with a freshness and comical- 186 ity that is irresistible •" In LaCrosse on January 22 the reviewer stated that, "had he not said a word there 187 still would be something to laugh at." The reviewer in Columbus on February 9 stated: Those who have never seen or heard Mark Twain were as delighted as they were surprised to see how perfectly and how naturally his presence, - . • gave expression end added force to his humor.10” In New York on February 11, 1901 an auditor reported that "it has been the habit to laugh whenever he ,,189 appears." In summary, Twain's manner was an effective intro duction to his remarks. His presence typified his humor, and his appearance put his hearers in a receptive frame of mind before he had uttered a word. Use of scripts and properties The report of the investigation of visual aspects of Mark Twain's platform appearances will be concluded with 186 The Indianapolis Daily Sentinel. Tuesday Moraine. January 8, 1555:------ --------- lS7xae Morning Chronicle. Friday, January 23, 1885. -| Q D - LOOThe Columbus Evening Dispatch. Tuesday. February 10, 1885. --------- !89The New York Sun. February 12, 1901. 202 a presentation of his use of manuscripts and stage proper ties. While the newspapers of the day made no mention of Twain's use of a manuscript during his first professional lecture in San Francisco on October 2, 1866 Twain mentioned that he had a manuscript on that occasion during a speech delivered in Norfolk, Connecticut on October 5, 1906. Twain said: "I had the manuscript tucked under a United States flag in front of me where I could get at it in case 190 of need." 7 Stephen Leacock, without citing authority, stated that on that occasion he had a huge manuscript in 191 his hands. In Virginia City on October 31, 1866 at the suggestion of Joe Goodman, Twain was seated at a piano, 192 playing and singing when the curtain arose. While speaking in Hartford on November 8, 1871 Twain produced a "most wretchedly tom handkerchief," which he shook out fully to display its state of delapidation, and remarked, "I didn't mean to bring that here; it belongs 193 to General Hawley." General Hawley was in the audience. ^■^Mark Twain, Mark Twain's Speeches (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1923)» P* 30*+. 191Stephen Leacock, Mark Twain (New York: D. Apple ton-Century Company, 1^3^)* P* ^2. op. cit.. p. 33^* 193ihe Hartford Times, November 9, 1871. 203 Before he began to speak in New York on December 21, 1882 1 Qlf Twain removed his cigar from his mouth. In spite of the fact that the newspapers made no mention of it. Twain recalled that for the first week of the 188*4- reading tour 195 he read his selections from a book. According to the review in the New York Commercial Advertiser Twain had the advanced sheets of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on the reading desk when he spoke in New York on November 18, 188*4-. However, the review stated that he did not refer to 196 the sheets during the reading. For the Browning readings in Hartford during the years of 1886 and 1887, Twain used a set of the works of Robert Browning in which he had marked the poems for read ing aloud. In New York on January * 4 - , 1901 Twain removed a cigar from his mouth when he alluded to the no smoking rule 198 of the anti-doughnut party to which he belonged as a boy. On October 17, 1901 Twain was asked to speak at a political 19t *The New York Tribune. December 23, 1882. ■^^Bemard DeVoto (ed.), Mark Twain in Eruption (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1^22), pp. 215-217. 196 7 The New York Commercial Advertiser. December 19. 188*4-. 197wiiiiam Lyons Phelps, Autobiography with Letters (New York: Oxford University Press, 1939)>PP* 65-66. •^^The New York Times. January 5, 1901. rally In New York. He had vowed that he would not make a political speech. To keep that vow and still contribute to the campaign, he read a political article he had written from the magazine in which it had been published. At the same meeting he read from a letter which he held up so that 199 the audience could see it. On November 7 of the same year in New York before a meeting of the Good Citizenship Association, Twain read, as part of his speech, a published article which he had written.Before the Society of Medicinal Jurisprudence in New York on March 8, 1902 Twain 201 read excerpts from a fifty-year-old medical treatise. On March V, 1906 in New York Twain read a letter he had received from William Dean Howells during a speech deliv- 202 ered at the Young Men*s Christian Association. As a part of his speech given at a dinner in his honor in New York on January 9» 1908 Twain said that he had been collecting compliments. He read some of his collection 203 from manuscript. At the dedication of the Thomas Bailey Aldrich Memorial, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on June 30, 199 The New York Times. October 18, 1901. 200The New York Times. November 8, 1901. 201The New York World. March 9* 1902. 202The New York Times. March 5, 1906. 203The New York Times. January 12, 1908. 205 1908 Twain introduced a bit of by-play with three different handkerchiefs to illustrate a pun he made during his remarks. In summary, as a rule, Twain did not rely upon manuscripts or stage properties during his speaking or reading. The unusual instances wherein he did resort to these aids are noteworthy. During his early speaking career and during the l88*f-l885 reading tour he carried along a manuscript to the platform, but did not refer to it. In other instances, as a bit of side-play for local humor ous effect, he used a piano, handkerchiefs, cigars, maga zines, books, and letters. During the Browning readings he used the collected works of the poet from which to read. Reports Concerning the Vocal Aspects In the oral interpretation of literature, vooal factors aid the effective transfer of the written words to speech. In this case, they include loudness, pitch, qual ity, tempo, rhythm, and pause. It will be remembered that Mark Twain served as an under-secretary to the Territorial Legislature of the Territory of Nevada from l862-l86*t. At the same time he contributed reports of the negotiations of the Legislature Cyril Clemens, Mark Twain*s Jest-Book (Kirkwood, Mo.* Mark Twain Journal, 1957), p. 12* 206 to various newspapers in the area. As secretary and reporter he was forced to listen to the political oratory of the legislative sessions. Frequently, during the ses sions, he was called upon to read the precedings from his transcribed notes. As a part of the social life of the legislators, a mock legislature was set up called the Third House. This organisation had no other purpose than fun and entertainment. Mark Twain was elected president of the Third House, and used his notes to form burlesques of the Territorial Legislature. In the capacity of president, Twain probably imitated the local politicos forensically 205 and vocally. Loudness Eventually, Twain was called upon to repeat a speech he had delivered before the Third House at a benefit for the First Presbyterian Church of Carson City on January 27, l86*f. In a letter concerning this speech written to the Territorial Enterprise on January 28 Twain said) I delivered that message last night, but I didn't talk loud enough— people in the far end of the hall could not hear me. They said "Louder— louder," occasionally, but I thought that was a way they had— a joke, as it were.206 Twain, still the neophyte, speaking at his first praffesBLczial 2^Smith and Anderson, op. cit.. p. 102. 2o6Ibid., pp. lMf-lif7. 207 venture in San Francisco on October 2, 1866 had his own analysis of his rocal shortcoming echoed in a report of the lecture: "Mark might have spoken louder," a reporter 207 wrote. Practicing in towns of former residence in the Mid-vest, before appearing before Eastern audiences, Twain spoke in Keokuk on April 8, 1867. A report of that event suggested, "... a little more voice • • • would not be objectionable, • , In Sacramento, California, on April 17, 1868 a critic reported, "... his voice is low and sometimes aggravating to listeners."2^ Apparently Twain did not take the advice of his critics in Sacramento and Keokuk, for, in Cleveland on November 17, 1868 the only negative criticism of his lecture there suggested: "He should speak louder, however; those in the rear of the hall 210 lost many good things," It was not until 1895, when Twain spoke in Vancouver, British Columbia, on August 15* that the loud ness of his voice was mentioned again in the data concern ing his speaking, J, B, Pond stated that because Twain had ai a bad cold, "it was a great effort to make himBelf heard," 207>phe Golden Era. October 7, 1866, 208The Keokuk Gate City, April 9» 1867, 209The Sacramento Daily Union, April 18, 1868, 210The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Wednesday, November 18, 1868, 2Hpond, op. cit.. p. 221. 208 In summary, when Twain began his professional speaking career he did not speak loud enough to be heard in the rear of some of the halls and theaters. He corrected this fault immediately• Pitch Visiting his relatires in the Mid-west, Twain spoke in Keokuk on April 8, 1867. The review of the lecture said, "• • . his style of speaking, . . . is a little too quiet. . . ." The reviewer suggested, ". . .a little more voice 212 • • • would not be objectionable*" The report of Twain's Sacramento lecture on April 17, 1868 stated, "... his 213 voice was low. ..." In Boston on November 10, 1869 Twain's voice for the first fifteen minutes of the lecture was "made inaudible by the rustling and creaking and tramp- 21 L ing of the regular crowd of the tardy." When Twain could be heard, the review stated that his voice "seems modulated in only two keys," and "knowing for the most part only the rising inflection at the beginning, middle and end 21 * 5 of his sentences." On November 23, 1869 in Hartford 21 ^he Keokuk Gate City. April 9, 1867. 213The Sacramento Daily Union. Saturday Morning, April 18, 1868• ^ ^ The Boston Daily Advertiser. November 11, 1869. 209 the reporter, Misspelling the word, noted his "rising inflation fifteen years later, on the reading tour with Cable, a Springfield, Massachusetts review of the engagement on November 7, 188*+ mentioned the "peculiar ways in which he indicated their proper emotions by the inflections of his voice.*'^-7 ^ New York on November 18, l88*f in a portion of a review concerning the reading of "The Golden Arm" it was stated that Twain used a "low steam-whistle [sic! 218 whisper" and a "soft steam-whistle [sic] whisper" effect. Crossing into Canada for a two-day engagement in Toronto, on December 8 and 9, it was reported of his voice: . . . when he is imitating Buck Pinn or the old negro, telling a ghost story, his utterance changes enough to produce the impression he wishes to produce, but it is always a Buck Finn or a negro who talks like Mark Twain.21“ In the same review the reporter mentioned "his deep voice."220 During the same tour, a reporter in Grand Rapids on December 13, 1881 * noted that "his voice is of a 2- L^The Hartford Daily Courant. Wednesday Morning, November 2*f, 1869* 217 The Springfield Republican. Saturday, November 8, l88*f. 218^0 New York Sun. November 19» l88*f. ^ ^ The Toronto Globe. December 9, 188**. 22QIbld. 210 221 low pitch.” A review of the readings in Paris, Kentucky on January 1, 1885 stated that Twain's voice was a "deep 222 base." Cardwell, reviewing an unidentified report of the Minneapolis engagement of January 2M-, 1885 stated, in regard to the reading of a variant of "The Golden Arm": The ghost of the old woman returned, walling, 'Who's got my money? I want my money•' As the story went on, the wind rose, and the moaning of the wind and the wailing of the ghost alternated until the audience was keyed to a high pitch. Twain moved to the footlights as he wailed and moaned. • • .223 Concerning the reading of the "Golden Arm," Katy Leary, the Clemens' household maid, said that Twain used to cry, "YOU'VE [sic] got my golden arm"— in the most blood curd- 22k ling tones,— "the kind he always used for that story•" Nothing more was said of the variation of pitch in Twain's voice until 1901. The review of a speech made in New York on February 11 a reporter wrote that the humorist lowered his voice to a "sepulchral stage whisper."^25 In 1905 at a dinner in New York in honor of his 221 The Grand Rapids Daily Democrat. Sunday Morning, December l*f, 188^. 222The Kentuckian. Paris, Kentucky, January 3, 1885* 2^Guy A. Cardwell, Twins of Genius (East Lansing: The Michigan State College Press, 1953)* P« 50. 22*+Majy Lawton, A Lifetime with Mark Twain (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1^55), P. 23* 225The New York Herald. February 12, 1901. 211 seventieth birthday, Twain's voice was described ae Mlow, yet resonant and clear."22^ In 1908 before a semi-private audience at Redding, Connecticut an auditor reported that 227 Twain read Hin a deep, solemn voice," Chronologically unidentifiable, W. H, Rideing, as quoted by Bellamy, described Twain's voice as ", , , deep and earnest like 228 one of the graver musical instruments," In summary, Twain's voice was pitched deep and low as he spoke from the platform. At first it was so low that he frequently could not be heard. He learned to project his voice, retaining its deepness. He modulated his voice between two degrees of pitch. Within this range there was a flexibility of voice that allowed effective changes in inflections. Quality During Twain's early lecture experiences, while he was struggling with the location of vocal volume and the modulations of pitch, many comments were made in the literature investigated on the quality of his voice. In St. Louis on March 25, 1867 a reporter stated, 226 The New York Herald. December 6, 1905, 227]giizabeth Wallace, Mark Twain and the Happy Island (Chicago* A, C, McClurg and Company, 191*0, p. 120, 228 Gladys Carmen Bellamy, Mark Twain as a Literary Artist (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, i$50). 212 "Mark . . . expresses his thoughts with no ordinary force. 229 . . ." A Boston reporter on November 10, 1869 elo quently described Twain*s voice as being, "remarkably light 230 and remarkably dry— like some German wines. • • ." The same reviewer added in his report, "... marking the high est waves of his thought only by a strong flavor of nasal ity. • • ."231 Then describing his rendition of a certain passage of his lecture, the reporter stated that he "said in the same passionless tone."232 Twain's speaking in Hartford on November 23 brought forth the comment, 233 "Mr. Clemens has a dry way of speaking. . . ." In Albany on January 10, 1870 an observer thought that "His 2^1 + voice even has a pleasant twang about it. . . ." J A year later in Toledo on January 11 another observer 235 announced that "Mr. Clemens has a • . . nasal voice. . . , r ^ In New York on December 21, 1882 a reporter stated 229ihe Missouri Republican. March 26, 1867. 230The Boston Daily Advertiser. November 12, 1869. 231ibid. 232lbid. 233j)ie Hartford Daily Courant. Wednesday Morning, November 2*f, 1869. 23^The Albany Argus, January 11, 1870. 23^The Toledo Blade. January 12, 1871. 213 that he spoke "with a funny nasal drawl," J On the read ing tour in 188k a Detroit observer of the December 16th engagement, reported that ", , • it is a good strong, steady voice. • • ,«237 A reporter in St. Louis on January 10, 1885 compared the resonance of his voice to a "cracked steamboat whistle."2^® Twain’s voice was described in Chicago on January 16 as ". . .a strong, 239 resonant voice." A reviewer reporting his vocal per formance in a speech delivered in New fork on November 10, 1886 wrote: "In a plaintive, pathetic, mournful voice which embraced everything from sixth century to plif) Hockettstown, New Jersey, . . . ,,,£rr^ Grace King, who was present at the Browning readings in 1887, was quoted by Kenneth H. Andrews as saying, "his full voice gave each sentence its quota of sound, and sense followed eagy and OLlI naturally." Eudyard Kipling firBt met Mark Twain in 1888 In 1889 he was quoted by Bellamy as saying that 2^ The New York Herald. December 22, 1882. 237ihe Detroit Post. December 17, 188*+. 23&The St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Saturday Morning, January 10, 1885. 239ihe Chicago Tribune. January 17, 1885. 2lfQThe New York Herald. Friday, November 12, 1886. 2*fl Kenneth E. Andrews, Nook Farm (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950), p. 1(55. ‘ ^Bernard DeVoto (ed.), Eruption, p. 309. 21h Mark Twain had the "slowest, calmest, loveliest voice In all the world." At the beginning of the world tour in 1895, even though Twain was in poor health, suffering from the debilitating effects of a carbuncle, a reporter in Missoula, Montana on August 5 found that "his tones were sympathetic and beautifully modulated. • • ." While in Seattle on August 13 Twain had contracted a bad cold, which made him hoarse. But J. B. Pond wrote that "the hoarseness oli ^ seemed to augment the volume of his voice." y Twain was in great demand for the banquet type of speaking after 1900. At such a meeting in New York on February 11, 1901 a reporter noticed: "Mark Twain began to oLA talk in a serious vein. His tone and manner changed." In another instance, in New York on December 5, 1905 on the occasion of his seventieth birthday celebration, a reviewer said that, "... the last words were spoken with a voice quivering with emotion."2^^ Another auditor at the same meeting stated that his voice was low, "yet resonant and 2l+8 clear." The Society of Illustrators in New York on o l+ 'i ■^Bellamy, op. cit.. p. 11. ‘^The Daily Missoulian. August 6, 1895. ^■^Pond, op. cit.. p. 220. ^ ^The New York Times. Tuesday, February 12, 1901. 2V7q»he New York Times. Wednesday, December 6, 1905. ^*8The New York Herald. December 6, 1905. 215 December 21, 1905 surprised Mark Twain by having an actress impersonate Joan of Arc at a dinner in his honor. When the actress (Jean Angersten) had presented him with a wreath she retired, a triumphant Joan of Arc. "Then Mark Twain spoke. His voice was broken, and his words came slowly," the reviewer wrote In 1908, Elizabeth Wallace described his reading of Kipling*s poems and from his own book, What Is Man? "We should always hear that dear, drawling, resonant voice. When Mr. Clemens read 'McAndrew's 250 Hymn* his voice rang out in triumph. . . . 1" Of his reading from Whht Is Man?. Miss Wallace reported: What ever may be their philosophical value to others, he, at least, believed them utterly, and when he read aloud to us the clear, trenchant dialogue, we, too, were convinced, for a time of their truth. He grew so earnest that he would often repeat a phrase, twice, in a deep solemn voice, and so utterly forgot his pipe that it went completely out.2^l TJnidentifiable as to time, W. H. Rideing described the quality of Twain’s voice as "deep and earnest like that 252 of one of the graver musical instruments, • ..." R. U. Johnson also noted that "his voice was peculiarly musical. • . ,»2^ 2*+9The New York Times. Friday, December 22, 1905. 2 ^Wallace, op. cit.. p. 100. 2^ Ibid.. p. 120. 252 J Bellamy, op. cit.. p. 12. 2 Ibid., p. 1+6. 216 In summary, the flexible voice of Mark Twain seemed capable of assuming almost any quality desired for the ful fillment of any interpretation. He had an underlying resonant nasal twang. But within one descriptive passage in his speaking or reading his command of his voice was so controlled that he could make it respond to his interpreta tive intent by being light, serious, passionless, cracked, pathetic, emotional or triumphant. Tempo The rate of Twain's speaking seemed to be one of the attractive peculiarities in the vocal aspect of his delivery. Twain once wrote that his average rate of speak ing upon the platform was about one hundred words per minute. Within this estimated rate of delivery there were aspects of tempo, rhythm and pausing alluded to in the literature investigated. Several of Twain's amateur attempts at public speaking have been reported in the critical sources of the data. On one of these occasions in 1856, C. C. Pry was an observer of Twain's speaking, and, according to Cyril Clemens, he reported, "stammering at first, he finally 255 rallied his powers, . . . ." 2^“ Mark Twain, The $30.000 Bequest and Other Stories (New York; Harper and Brothers, 1872), p. 16*+. ^^Clemens, Younx Sam, p. 8l. . 217 An eye witness of his first professional lecture in San Francisco on October 2, 1866 quoted by Cyril Clemens, said Twain "spoke in a leisurely drawl and at first the audience demanded * faster, faster1 but passed under the 256 spell of the speaker’s unique way of putting words. ..." As Twain moved on through the gold mining towns of California and Nevada, another gentleman, Phillip Colcord, who attended the lecture, was quoted by Cyril Clemens, as having indicated that the effect of Twain's lecture had been accomplished by the speaker’s "slow manner of speaking as though a period between words— a unique drawl that sim ply fascinated the audience."2-^ In the East and Midwest in the early spring of 1867, Twain delivered his address on the Sandwich Islands. In Georgetown, Pennsylvania, on February 22 a reporter present thought that "his peculiarly slow and inimitable drawl is the most amusing characteris tic of his remarks."2^ In St. Louis on March 25 a reviewer stated: For a while, Mark’s remarks were marked by a remarkable coolness, deliberation and sedateness; but all at once, when we were not looking for it, he came square out with ’one of his.’ thus unfairly taking^s by surprise; and away went the house. 256Ibid.. p. 2*4-7. 2 Ibid.. p. 250. 2^ The Washington Chronicle. February 2*4-, 1867. 2^ The Daily Missouri Democrat. March 28, 1867. 218 In New York on May 6 a review of his performance stated: "It suited that admirable lecturer's humor to exhibit a pin nervous quickness* • • •" At the close of the 1867 and the beginning of 1868, Mark Twain repeated his successes on the Pacific Slope, and his old friend, Steve Gillie, was present at his lecture in Virginia City on April 27. pii Gillis mentioned Twain's "drawling voice." Brete Harte, a contemporary of Twain's, quoted by Cyril Clemens, wrote of speaking at the time: He spoke in a slow, rather satirical drawl, which was in itself irresistible— extravagant. He told funny stories, and half unconsciously dropped into the lagX tone and manner of the original narrator.262 Twain began his Fall season of lecturing in 1868 under the management of James Redpath. In Cleveland on November 17 a reporter observed, "... there is a diy, comical drawl 26^ in his voice, that is irresistible in a funny story." 3 In Detroit on November 23 a reviewer observed that the "assumed drawl, though very taking and appropriate at 26k times, spoiled the effect of many fine sentences." 260^^ jjew York Daily Tribune. Saturday. May 11. 1867. ----------------- --------- 2^Gillis, op. cit.. p. 68. 2^2Clemens, Young Sam, p. 220. 263^6 Cleveland Plain Dealer. Wednesday, November 18, 1868. 26*»The Detroit Free Press. December 23, 1868. 219 Continuing the Winter season of 1869, Twain spoke in Chicago on January 7 when it was reported: "His voice is a long monotonous drawl, well adapted to his style of 265 speaking." He delivered his lecture in Davenport on 266 January lb with "an interesting drawl to his voice." In Toledo on January 20 it was judged that the "long drawn 267 words are, of themselves, sufficient to make one laugh." During the initial speech of the Pall season in 1869, in Boston on November 10 it was reported: "He delivers his sentences without haste • . • and knowing for the most part only the rising inflection at the beginning, middle and end 268 of his sentences." The same reporter stated that he ". . . paused for just an instant and said in the same 269 passionless tones. ..." In Hartford on November 23 a reviewer observed in Twain*s speaking, "a sort of drawl . . . but it is not assumed for effect . . . the rising 270 inflation [sic] and the slow deliberate utterance." In Portland, Maine, on December 29 he was reported as 265^6 Chicago Tribune. January 8, 1869. ?66 The Daily Davenport Democrat. January 15, 1869. 267>rtie Toledo Blade. January 21, 1869. 268^^ Boston Daily Advertiser. November 11, 1869. 269Ibid. 270^6 Daily Hartford C our ant. Wednesday Morning, November 2b, 1869. 220 "drawling out his sentences with many a hitch and repeti tion, as if he were uncertain of what he is going to say 271 and how to say it," Apparently this hesitation in delivery became his pattern, for in Toledo on January 11, 1871 a reporter said: "Mr, Clemens has a drawling, nasal voice, . , , He has an absent-minded manner, stopping now and then, seemingly as if making an effort to recall something he wishes to 272 say," Continuing the winter season in Indiana in 1872, Twain spoke in Logansport on January 2, The review of the lecture in that city stated: Some words he would drawl out, while he would jumble others together. • • . Whenever he said anything he thought was witty, he always stopped to give the audience a chance to laugh,2'3 In Dayton on January V he spoke in a "slow tongued and droll manner, which seemed rather natural with him than put 27b on for the occasion," In Columbus the next day his style of speaking was described: His manner of speaking reminds one of the hesitating style sometimes exhibited at dinner parties by some unfortunate wights who [are] ^ ^ The Portland Transcript, January 1, 1870. *^^The Toledo Blade, January 12, 1871. 273<jhe Logansport Sun. January *+, 1872. 27*+The Dayton Daily Journal, January 5, 1872. 221 275 suddenly called upon to make their first efforts. Another report of the same engagement stated: "He has the 2 % same dry, hesitating, stammering manner of Artemus Ward." A reporter in New York on February 5 indicated that Twain's 277 very silences were provocative of mirth. At the close of the 1873 lecture season, Twain retired temporarily from the lecture platform. His reputa tion as a speaker, however, won him many invitations to speak around the country. One of these which he accepted was from the Grand Army of Tennessee, holding a reunion in Chicago in 1879, honoring General Ulysses S. Grant. Of a portion of the delivery of his speech, "Babies," in which he observed premeditated pauses. Twain wrote, "I waited a ?7ft moment or two to let this silence sink well home; ..." In another speech he was invited to make in New York on December 21, 1882 it was reported that he spoke in a "most 279 deliberate manner." * In 188^—1885 Twain resumed the platform with George Cable as his assistant, each reading from his own works. The tour opened in New Haven on November 5. In Springfield Columbus Daily Dispatch. January 6, 1872. The Ohio State Journal. January 6, 1872. 2^The New York Times. February 6, 1872. 278Twain, Autobiography II. p. 18. 2^ The New York Herald. December 22, 1882. 222 Massachusetts, on November 7 a reporter observed: He positively convulsed his hearers with the deliberate fashion of his speech and the peculiar ways in which he indicated their proper emotions by the inflections of his voice.200 In New York on November 18 a reviewer reported that Twain pfil "proceeded in his conversational, slow, nasal drawl." "The husky drawl of Mark Twain*s" was noted in one account of the Philadelphia engagement on November 21; another account mentioned "that dreamy, drawling fashion of OQ o his." A Washington, D. C. reporter on November 2b described Twain*s rate: "He jerks out a sentence or two, follows it with a silence that is more suggestive than words." On December 8, l88*f Mark Twain spoke in Toronto, Canada. The Toronto Globe of December 9 quoted by Cardwell, gave an elaborately detailed description of Twain unique in newspaper reporting because of its subtlety of characteri zation. While the report may seem more appropriate to general delivery, because of the implications of tempo, rhythm and the pause, it will, nevertheless, be included here: 280The Springfield Republican. Saturday, November 8, 188*+. ^^The New York Sun. November 19, 188^. 2®2The Philadelphia Press, Saturday. November 22. 1881+. ’ 283jhe Philadelphia North American, Saturday, November 22, 188*+. 223 It [Mark Twain's drawling infirmity of speech] is not an infirmity bat a peculiarity. His deep voice and his pronunciations of many words are of Missouri, where he was brought up, his nasal twang is of New England, where he spent a good many years, and his drawl is of Mark Twain. Now and again he jerks a short sentence out with wonderful rapidity, but that over, he relapses into his regular gait. He reads, however, with more care than is at first noticeable, and when he is imitating Hack Finn or the old negro telling a ghost story, his utterance changes enough to produce the impression he wishes to produce, but it is always a Huck Finn or a negro who talks like Mark Twain. He is most at home when relating his personal adventures. When he is per sonating Mark Twain he does it to the life, and is an immense success. Every word almost is a joke, every modulation of his voice shows new and unsus pected fun in writings that may have been read over a dozen times. During his readings the house was convulsed with laughter. A review of the Grand Rapids engagement on December 13 stated: "He talks in a matter of fact way."2®^ In Detroit on December 16 it was reported: Twain finds his voice after a short search for it and when he impels it forward it is a good, strong voice in harness until the driver becomes absent winded, when it stops to rest, and.then the goad must be used to drive it on again. Another account of the same engagement stated: "He told stories with that inimitable Down East [sic.] drawl of pQ fj his." In Cleveland on December 18 his peculiar drawl I88*t. 2®** Cardwell, op. cit.. pp. 27-28. 2^The Grand Rapids Daily Democrat. December l*f, 2^The Detroit Post. .December 17, 188^. 287«rhe Detroit Free Press. December 17, 188^. 22* + 233 was mentioned in the reviews. In Paris, Kentucky on January 1, 1885 Twain was accused of "drawling like an old fashioned countxy 289 preacher." A St. Louis reporter on January 10 observed that Twain "enunciates slowly" and "talks in such a slow and unwilling way." The same reporter objected to this style by these comments: "... and his habit of nasal drawling is disagreeable, and there are moments when one wishes he did not find it necessary to do so much hesitat- 290 ing between words and phrases." In Chicago on January 291 16 the review said that "he drawled his words out." In Janesville on January 21 the reviewer echoed the Grand Rapids report with, ". . .he drawled his words out after 292 the style of a genuine 'down-eastern" 7 Mrs. Thomas Baily Aldrich, who had known Mark Twain for a long time, attended one of the readings of this lec ture season. She reported that he spoke, "with the same slow and lengthened utterance that made the old man at one 288The Cleveland Leader. December 18, 188^. 2^9The Kentuckian. Paris. Ky.. January 3, 1885. 290g>he St. Louis Globe “Democrat. January 11, 1885* 291»rhe Chicago Tribune, January 17, 1885. 292The Janesville Daily Recorder. January 21, 1885. 22? of his lectures ask, 'Be them your natural tones of elo- 293 quence?'" Speaking at a banquet in New York on November 10, 1886 Twain 1 1 • • • drawled and fired as if from a Gatling 29*t gun.'1 When he read from the works of Robert Browning during 1887, it was reported that he read "without a drawl 295 or marked cadence." But, it was observed of a Browning reading: "His slow, deliberate speech and full voice gave each sentence its full quota of sound, and sense followed 296 naturally and easy." An address made in Baltimore, Maryland in April, 1887 was delivered in "his inimitable, slow hesitating manner.In New York on February 28, 189*+ when Twain shared the platform with James Whitcomb Riley, a reporter observed that his "slow earnestness of manner enables him to obtain effects which invariably evoke 298 laughter." During the American portion of the world tour in 1895* an observer in St. Paul on July 2b- wrote: ^^Mrs. Thomas Baily Aldrich, Crowding Memories (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1920), p. 1M-2. ^**The New York Herald. Friday, November 12, 1886. 295 Andrews, op. cit.. p. 105. 296j2dward Wagenknecht, Mark Twain: The Man and His Works (New Haven: The Yale University Press, 1935), p. 3^. 297The Hartford Courant. April 11, 1887. 298^^ n€w York Herald. February 29, 189*+ • 226 His delivery is not so animated as it used to be, but it lacks none of its former charm on that account. Nor was it any lesB effective. Words follows words, phrases follows phrases with the slow drawl that had always been characteristic of the man until quick transition of sentiment, so characteristic of his humor, is reached, ana thepgg point is brought out with rapidity and emphasis. In Butte, Montana on August 1 a reporter called attention to " • • • his inimitable drawl . . . repeating over and over again in his fascinating way. . . ."3^ An Portland, Oregon observer on August 9 thought the "drawling manner was the acme of boredom. • . ,"3^* During a speech in honor of his seventieth birthday in New York on December 5, 1905 Twain "talked on in his 102 characteristic, inimitable drawl."In words which flowed as if to music far away," a reporter added.303 ^ being confronted with a facsimile of his favorite character in history, Joan of Arc, on December 21, "His voice was 3 Out broken, and his words came slowly." In 1908, at a semi public reading of the poetry of Rudyard Kipling, Wallace, 299ihe St. Paul Pioneer Press, Thursday, July 25, 1895. -------------------------- 3^The Butte Semi-Weekly Inter-Mountain. August *+, 1895. 301«Phe Portland Evening Telegram. August 10, 1895. 302iphe New York Times, December 6, 1905. 303The New York Herald. December 6, 1905. 3O^The New York Times, December 22, 1905. 227 who vaa present, reported, "He read slowly, with eloquent pauses. . • Through the years of his appearances on the plat form friends and strangers have commented on Twain's speak ing style. Geraldine Farrar, quoted by Cyril Clemens, said: "Mr. Clemens' inimitable drawl and easy manner drew us all to happy oblivion. Katy Leary, who served the Clemens family for many years, observed in her own quaint style: Mr. Clemens had an awful funny way of speak ing, too. He always drawled— drawled the words out— but 1 twas very interesting, and them pauses and drawls of his made a very deep impression when he talked— sort of emphasized the things,:tn_ as you might say— made you remember it better.™* The literature investigated contained an example of an attempt to demonstrate in writing "them pauses and drawls of his" alluded to by Katy Leary, the newspaper reporters and critical writers. Eli Perkins (Melvin D. Landon) transcribed Twain's speech "Our Children" in short hand. He indicated Twain's drawling and pausing, as well as audience reaction to the technique, in this manner: I didn't come all the way from Hartford to q-u-e-s-t-i-o-n Mr. Newton's honesty— (pause)— but when he was there in the man's orchard— ^Wallace, op. oit.. p. 87. ^^Clemens, Young Sam, p. 189* ^O^Lawton, op. cit.. p. 2^2. 228 (pause)— he_saw an apple fall and was a-t-t-r-acted toward it,3°8 In summary, Twain spoke in a slow, deliberate manner characterized by a drawl variously described as leisurely, unique, inimitable, satirical, comical, assumed, monotonous, interesting, conversational, slow, husky, and boring. It was interesting to note that he did not use this drawl during the Browning readings. There was much controversy in the literature concerning the genuineness of Twain*s drawl. Genuine or assumed, his ability to dis card it when reading certain types of literature indicated his complete command over the process of voice production. In his speeches and readings while delivering his humorous sallies and salient points he changed his slow, deliberate rate to a rapid rate, punctuated by many pauses. Mark Twain * s Comments on Delivery The newspapers, the biographical and the critical sources investigated revealed various observations concern ing the delivery aspects of Mark Twain*s speaking in pub lic. The autobiographical sources investigated contained some examples of Twain*s comments on the delivery of other speakers. The published writings of Twain investigated ^ Eli Perkins (Melville D. Landon), Kings of Pulpit and Platform (Chicago: P. C. Smedley ana Company, 1856), p. 356. 229 included one essay on his theory of how to tell a story• These data should he reported in a study of Twain's reading-speaking because, though the modulations of the voice are directly associated with words, delivery expres- 309 see in Oral Interpretation that which words cannot say. Twain's own delivery C. C. Pry, according to Cyril Clemens, heard Mark Twain speak at a banquet honoring Benjamin Franklin's birthday in Keokuk on January 17, 1856. Fry reported that M. • . when he sat down his talk was pronounced by all a remarkable production of pathos and wit. . • During Twain's activities on the West Coast prior to his first professional lecture in 1866, he had occasion to deliver some speeches and to hear the speeches of others. In San Francisco in December, 1863 he was called upon to make a presentation speech. Twain wrote his own review of the affair for a newspaper. A portion of it will be included here to indicate that he was aware of the impor tance of delivery to speaking before he was actively engaged in speechmaklng. Twain wrote of his own speaking: Afterwards Mark Twain being enthusiastically called upon, arose, and without previous prepara tion burst forth in a tide of eloquence so good, 3°9s. s. Curry, Foundations of Expression (Boston: The Expression Company, 1920), p. 9* 3.^0cyril Clemens, Young Sam, p. 81. 230 so luminous, so beautiful and so resplendent with the gorgeous fires of genius, that the audience were spell bond [sic].311 In a letter dated February 20, 186*+ he wrote about another presentation speech he made in Virginia City. Concerning this speech he reported that it was stolen from another speaker and delivered with certain embellishments of his own. A portion of the letter involving a statement on delivery is as follows: . . . an sling in a few . . . embellishments . . . to add grace and vigor. . . . I think I must be a pretty good reader— the audience appeared to admire Fisher*s speech more when I delivered.it than they did when he delivered it himself.^12 Reviews of his first professional lecture in San Francisco on October 2, 1866 described his delivery: "At times he would soar to the sublime and his description of the volcano of Kilauea was a graphic and magnificent a piece of word painting as we have listened to in many a 313 day." Another newspaper in San Francisco reported: True, he displayed not the polish of the finished lecturer— nor did he need it; the crude quaint delivery was infinitely preferable. Quote Artemus Ward no more, our Pacific slopes can dis count him. In original humor and the way of 31lThe San Francisco Golden Era. December 6, 1863. 312Smith and Anderson, op. cit., p. 177. ^^The San Francisco Alta California, October 3. 1866. 231 putting it, Artemus can hide his diminished Luminary [sic] under two bushels; he is as a penn-orth Telo 1 of tallow to a momoth Cslcl circus chandelier• 311 * An eye witness of the lecture, quoted by Cyril Clemens, said that "the audience • • • passed under the spell of 315 the speaker*8 unique way of putting words. . • ." Frear quoted another critic as saying: The lecture was superior to Artemus Ward’s "Babes in the Woods" in point of humor* It evinced none of that straining after effect that was manifested by the great Bhowman, and possessed some solid qualities to which Ward can make no pretensions.316 Mark Twain then set out on a tour of some eleven California and Nevada towns with his lecture on the Sandwich Islands before returning to San Francisco. In Sacramento on October 11 the reviewer complimented him for: . . . discoursing in an easy, colloquial style . . . seasoning a large dish of informa tion with spicy anecdotes, depicting the light and shades of Kanaka society with a freedom, vividness and humor quite delightful . • • sketching the magnificent scenery of the volcano mountain with peculiar force.31' Another reporter of the same lecture continued to praise with: "and the transitions were so sudden that before a 31*hphe San Francisco Golden Era. October 7, 1866. ^Clemens, Young Sam, p. 2**7. ^^Walter Francis Frear, Mark Twain in Hawaii (Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 19*+7) , p. | Mfl. 3l7The Sacramento Daily Union. October 12, 1866. 232 tear had time to gather head enough to fall, the laughing came in."^1® In Virginia City on October 31 a reviewer waxed eloquent with this report: Combining the most valuable statistical and general information with passages of drollest humor— all delivered in a peculiar and inimitable style of the author— and rising occasionally to lofty flights of descriptive eloquence • • • rare excellence and interest.319 On his way back to New York in 1867, Mark Twain spoke in four midwestem cities. In St. Louis on March 25 a reporter suggested that his delivery was "fair for a young lecturer."^^ In Keokuk on April 8 a reporter advised: ". • .a little more verve in his general delivery would 321 not be objectionable by way of variety •" In 1868 Twain was back on the West Coast and repeated his tour of the California and Nevada mining towns. Concerning his lecture in Virginia City on April 27 Twain’s friend Gillis wrote: His person, his pose, his manner of delivery, and his drawling voice was [sic] so perfectly in accord with his subject matter that from the first word to the last, the interest never flagged. He would at times have people in tears . . . then 3l8rj»he Sacramento Bee. October 12, 1866. 319The Territorial Enterprise. November 1, 1866. 320/phe St. Louis Missouri Republican. March 26. 1867. ------- 321 The Keokuk Gate City. April 9, 1867. 233 322 throw them Into convulsions of laughter. Twain began the eastern part of his 1868 tour in Cleveland on November 17. A reporter in that city said: "He had elevated the profession by his graceful delivery. • • ." Continuing the eastern tour into 1869, Twain spoke in Boston on November 10. A critic of that lecture reported* When Mr. Clemens has made a really fine period, or introduced a brilliant descriptive passage, he takes pains to turn the affair into a joke at the end. As, for instance, after a very graphic and well written description of a great volcano erup tion in the Sandwich Islands, delivered with per fect indifference and almost as an effort— he paused for just a moment, and then said in the same passionless tone, "ThereI I’m glad I got that volcano off my mind.'32^ In Philadelphia on December 7 a reviewer stated: "He has no elocution, but simply a style that knows no restraints 325 except those necessary to provoke mirth." On another lecture tour in 1872, Mark Twain spoke in Pittsburgh on January 11. A reviewer of the lecture reported, "... an apparently unconscientiously delivered. . . ." Another critic of the same engagement said: 322<Jillis, op. cit.. p. 68. 323The Cleveland Herald. November 18, 1868. 32>fThe Boston Daily Advertiser. November 11, 1869. 32!>The Philadelphia Press, December 8, 1869. 326?he Pittsburgh Commercial. January 12, 1872. 23>+ Twain'b delivery and manner largely differs from that of most lecturers, inasmuch as there is very little elocution ana no oratorical 'spirits' faid hut instead a quiet reserved manner without rant, or boistrousness and emi nently in keeping with his peculiar richly flavored humor.3*7 While this is primarily a study of Mark Twain's interpretative activities in America, Frear has quoted an interesting critique of Twain's delivery from a Liverpool, England, engagement in 1873. It will be included here: . . . delivered with the air of an improvisa tion by a whimsical wit. Elocution, it may be said, he has none. All he says is pronounoed with a strong American accent, in a low, rather droning monotone. He never, even in burlesque, raises his voice or gives himself any trouble to do more than talk, and does nothing for effect except to pause and deliver the real point of his jokes after the audience had stopped laughing at them. With no assistance from art— unless the absence of art be itself artistic— Mark Twain not only keeps his audience In uproarious laughter during the greater part of his lecture, but without the slightest change of demeanor, extorts from them unbounded admiration by the delivery of passages of exoeeding beauty and vividness. Almost every sly or venturesome piece of quaintness in which the lecturer indulged was increased in effect by the singularly unconscious manner in which he made his point and his after point, each a surprise; but perhaps the greater surprise after all was the sudden introduction at different points of the lecture with out any notice or change of manner of two of the most eloquent pieces of descriptive composition that ever fell from the lips of man.32o In 188^-188 5 Twain started out on a "reading 327 The Pittsburgh Daily Post. January 12, 1872. ^2®Frear, op. cit.. p. W*-. 235 pilgrimage"^2^ with Cable on November 5. In Springfield, Massachusetts, on November 7 a reporter said: He positively convulsed his hearers with the deliberate fashion of his speech and the peculiar ways in which he indicated their.proper emotions by the inflections of his voice In Lowell on November 11 a critic found his "enjoyment of the Twain characteristics much increased by the peculiar 331 delivery of the reader. In Boston on November 13 a reporter said that he repeated his story "in a dry, earnest manner."JJ Another reporter of the same engagement added, "he has a power of dramatic relation of no mean order, and 333 is an able exponent of the tragic, as well as the comic.* In New York on November l8 one reporter commented in a com parison of Twain and Cablet " • • • while Mr, Clemens is unavoidably droll in everything he does or says. Neither gentleman is an elocutionist according to the usual accep- 33L tion of the term."JJ In Brooklyn on November 22 a reviewer wrote: "His manner was inimitable, • . • He was apparently 329 Twain, Autobiography II. p. 57. •^^The Springfield Republican. November 8, 188* 4 -. 33lThe Lowell Daily Courier. November 12, 188* 4 -. 332^he B0s- f c 0n Daily Advertiser. November 1* 4 -, 188* 4 -. 333>rke Boston Herald. November 11, 188* 4 -. 33*»The New York Evening Telegram. November 19, 188* 4 - . 236 incapable of emotionA reporter in Rochester, New York on December 6 suggested that Twain*s "manner and speech on the platform, which are clearly unaffected, • . • His style is evidently an expression of himself."^36 ^ Twain's former place of residence, Buffalo on December 10 a reviewer spoke of his reading: "Grim, slow, solemn, not a smile or an apparent attempt to dress up his lines, yet doubtless as keenly alive to the effect as the other 337 [Cable]," In Grand Rapids on December 13 a reviewer said that "he talks in a matter of fact way."338 Another reviewer of the same program said that his speech was "con- 339 versationalA reporter of the Detroit engagement of December 16 wrote: Twain finds his voice after a short search for it and when he impels it forward it is a good, strong, steady voice in harness until the driver becomes absent minded, when it stops to rest, and.jthen the goad must be used to drive it on again.3^° In Cleveland on December 17 in a review entitled 33^The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 23» 1881 *. 336^6 Rochester (N. Y,) Morning Herald, December 8, 1881*. 337rphe Buffalo Express. December 11, 188**• 338rphe Grand Rapids Daily Democrat. December l1 *, 1881* • 339rpfre Gteuafl Rapids Eagle. December 15, 1881 *. 3ifQThe Detroit Post, December 17, 188**. 237 "Delightful Entertainment" a reporter wrote* "As a reader he is far outside of any conventional rule, but coming from his own lips his lines gather and convey many new and charming meanings." A Dayton reporter on December 31 said that Twain "tumbles along into his story in a hesi tating sort of way, very well imitating the character sup- 31*2 posed to be in conversation." In 1885, Twain made the first of two appearances south of the Ohio River in Paris, Kentucky on January 1. The reviewer of the performance said he spoke in "manner, quaint, easy and unctious [sic]; • • ."3^3 ^ Cincinnati the next day a reporter said: "There was not a sentence that was not droll and pointed."J In Indianapolis on January 7 a reviewer said, "The drollery of his . . . manner invests the commonplace and wearisome with a fresh- lli-5 ness and comicality that is irresistibleIn St. Louis on January 9 a critic who thought his deliveiy disagreeable wrote: . . . it is impossible to avoid wondering now and then if his disinterested stolid manner 3 ^ The Cleveland Leader. December 18, 188^. 3lf2The Dayton Daily Journal. January 1, 1885. 3*+3The Kentuckian. Paris. Ky.. January 3, 1885. 3^The Cincinnati Star-Times. January 3, 1885. 3^The Indianapolis Journal. January 9, 1885. 238 is entirely assumed. In general his air is that of a man who is fundamentally tired, . . . Bat it may be in this . . . lies the secret of per suading other people to laugh, • • • It is bold, distinct and imperative and deals in quick surprise s. A reporter in La Crosse on Januaxy 22 said "Speech falls from his lips as though against his will."^*^ Another reporter in the same city said: • • . in his hands the seemingly merest absurdities become a piece of deliberate sarcasm, and what seemed mere balderdash floats forth as bland, simple and natural Jokes brimfulpof good nature and without a spice of malice. In Columbus on February 9 a reviewer stated, "... his Imagination and his humor were transformed into reality and OkO life by the magic power of his voice. • . In Hartford on June *+ a review of his program stated: He sets it out so easily, naturally, and vividly that it is difficult to believe that he is repeating anything that has been told before, much less printed.3?° In New York on November 10, 1886 a review of his speech stated that he spoke in a "plaintive, pathetic, ol+A J The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, January 11, 1885. 3^7»phe LaCrosse Morning Chronicle. January 23, 188% Okft The LaCrosse Daily Republican and Leader. January 23, 1885. 3*»9Th. Columbus Evening Dispatch. February 10, 1885. 35C>The Hartford Courant. June 5, 1885. 239 351 mournful voice."*' At the beginning of the 1895 world tour in Cleveland on July 15 a reporter stated: "His matter of fact manner in reaching startling conclusions is one of 352 the chief powers of the humorist." In St. Baul on July 2*+ the review of his program stated: His delivery is not so animated as it used to be , but it lacks none of its former charm on that account. Nor was it any the less effective. Word follows word, phrase follows phrase with the slow drawl that has always been characteristic of the man until the quick transition of the sentiment, so characteristic of his humor, is reached, and then the point is brought out with rapidity and emphasis.3 In Helena on August 3 the critic enjoyed the "easy style and unaffected manner of the speaker quite as much as the 3 5*f stories he told." In Missoula on August 5 a reporter 355 said that "his tones were sympathetic."*' A reporter in Tacoma on August 12 thought that in the "manner of telling lay the chief amount of wit."^'^ In Columbia, Missouri, where he received an ^^*The New York Herald. November 12, 1886. 352rphe Cleveland Plain Dealer. July 16, 1895. ^ ^ The Saint Paul Pioneer Press. July 25, 1895. 3 ^ The Helena Daily Evening Herald, August 3, 1895. 355^he Daily Missoulian. August 6, 1895. 356>pke Tacoina Dally Ledger. August 13, 1895. 2*t0 honorary degree from the University of Missouri on June 1902 a New York reporter said: His speech was playful, satirical, and at times pathetic, • • . . He referred with much feeling to his recent visit to his old home, . • • Though he began his talk rather sadly, he was in a merry mood before he had completed. He finally launched into ^^ulogy on himself delivered so seriously. A reporter noticed that when Twain spoke before the Society of Illustrators, in New York on December 21, 1905 "his voice was broken, and his words came slowly."358 New York on March *f, 1906 a reporter said that "Mark Twain was in one of his merriest moods"; but noticed that his "voice broke with emotion when he told of going to Hartford to act as Patrick McAleer's, his coachman for many years, itate< ,,360 359 pallbearer." In New York on April 11 a reporter stated: "Mr. Clemens spoke rapidly and with deep earnestness. At a dinner in his honor in New York on January 9, 1908 an auditor said: "Mark Twain began in his drawling gentle way."361 In summary, Mark Twain’s style of delivery was his typical, quaint, charming conversational mode. It was 3^The New York Times. June 5, 1902. 3^6The New York Times. December 22, 1905. 359^he New York World. March 5, 1906, 360iphe New York Herald. April 12, 1906. 361^6 New York TimeB. January 12, 1908. 2*+l gently eloquent and graceful. Hie superb command of the language and the vocal processes made his delivery seem effortless and resplendent to his auditors. Many of his critics commented on the absence of art or elocution in his delivery. Undoubtedly this type of evaluation origi nated in a comparison of Twain's quiet, earnest style with the florid oratorical style prevalent among contemporary speakers and readers. Apparently, his obvious techniques of delivery were a quiet method of general presentation, with changes of rate, the use of the pause, and the use of inflections for emphasis. The delivery of other readers and sneakers The biographical, autobiographical and critical sources investigated contained comments by Mark Twain on the delivery of other readers and speakers. It was diffi cult to arrange these comments in chronological order because of the circumstances under which they were recorded. However, they will be reported as generally chronological as possible. When Mark Twain served as reporter for the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City he had opportuni ties to listen to many speakers in a critical capacity. Some of his critical efforts have been preserved in the form of letters to newspapers. In a letter dated December 2k2 5, 1863 Twain wrote that he attended a benefit performance for the First Presbyterian Church of Carson City, Nevada. One of the readers on the program was Mr. James Stark, a Shakespearian actor who was trying his luck in the Nevada gold fields. Twain wrote of Stark's readings: Mr. Stazk's readings were well selected and admirably delivered. His recital of the speech of Sergeant Buzfuz, in the great breach of promise case of Bardell vs. Pickwick, was a very miracle of declamation. If all men could read it like him, that speech would live after Cicero's very creditable efforts had been forgotten; yet hereto fore I had looked upon that.as the tamest of Mr. Dickens' performances.^*: In the same letter Twain reported that a speech delivered by Judge Cornelius M. Bronson, a Virginia City lawyer, before the Territorial Legislature, was spoken with "stately eloquence, adorned with beautiful Imagery and embellished with classical quotations. . . ."363 Another speaker, Mr. L. 0. Steams, an attorney from Aurora, Nevada delivered a speech on the same occasion which Twain included in this letter. Twain made no comments on the delivery but he prefaced the speech,with the following explanation: I hope he [Steams] will find the present report all right, though (albeit the chances are infernally against that result). I have got ^62 Smith and Anderson, op. cit.. p. 92. 363ibid.. p. 93. 2b3 his style, verbatim, whether I have the substance or not The presentation of the speech implies the florid, oratori cal style of delivery of the day. For this reason it will be included in this study. The speech, as reported by Mark Twain was as follows: Mr. STERNS [sic] said— Mr. President, I am opposed, I am hostile, I am uncompromisingly against this proposition to tax the mines. I will go further, sir, I will openly assert, sir, that I am not in favor of this proposition. It is wrong— entirely wrong, sir, (as the gentleman from Washoe has already said); I fully agree (with the gentleman who has just taken his seat) that it is unjust and unrighteous. I do think, Mr. President, that (as has been suggested by the gentleman from Ormsby) we owe it to our con stituents to defeat this pernicious measure. Incorporate it into your Constitution, sir. and (as was eloquently and beautifully set forth in the speech of the gentleman from Storey) the gaunt forms of want, and poverty, and starvation, and despair will shortly walk in the high places of this once happy and beautiful land. Add it to your fundamental law, sir, and (as was stated yesterday by the gentleman from Lander) God will cease to smile upon your labors. In the language (of my colleague), I entreat you, sir, and gentle men, inflict not this mighty iniquity upon genera tions yet unbornI Heed the prayers of the people and be merciful I Ah, sir, the quality of mercy is not strained, so to speak (as has been aptly sug gested heretofore), but droppeth like the gentle dew from Heaven, as it were. The gentleman from Douglas has said this law would be unconstitutional, and I cordially agree with him. Therefore, let its corse to the ramparts be hurried— let the flames that shook the battle’s wreck, shine round it o’er the dead— let it go hence to that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns (as 36**Ibid.. p. 9* + 2kb has been remarked by the gentleman from Washoe, Mr, Stamp), and thus guarding and protecting the poor miner, let us endeavor to do unto others as we would that others should do unto us (as was very justly and properly observed by Jesus Christ upon a former occasion),3o5 Twain reported in the Territorial Enterprise on December 30, 1863 that Judge Bronson had made another speech before the Legislature# Twain said Bronson "spoke eloquently and feelingly# . . #"366 On January, 1861 * Mark Twain accompanied the Honorable William M. Gillespie, a Territorial legislator, on an inspection of Miss Hannah K. Clapp’s Sierra Seminary in Carson City, Nevada. During the visit to the school the children were invited to read for the visitors. In a letter dated January 1*+, 186*+ Twain commented on the read ings as follows: * The fashion of reading selections of prose and poetry remains the same; and so does the youth ful manner of doing that sort of thing. Some pupils read poetry with graceful ease and correct expression, and others place the rising and falling inflection at measured intervals, as if they had learned the lesson on a 'see-saw*; but then they go undulating through a stanza with such an air of unctuous satisfaction, that it is a comfort to be around when they are at it. ’The boy— stoo— dawn— the bur— ning deck— When— swal— but him had fled— The flames— that shook— the battle— wreck— Shone round— him o’er— the dead.’ 36^Ibid., p. 9*f. 366md., p. Hi*. 2»+5 That is the old fashioned impressive style— stately, slow-moving and solemnT It is in vogue yet among scholars of tender age* It always will be. Ever since Mrs. Hemans wrote that verse, it has suited the pleasure of juveniles to emphasize the word 'him.1 and lay atrocious stress upon that other word •o'er*, whether she liked it or not; and I am prepared to believe that they will con tinue this practice unto, the end of time, and with the same indifference to Mrs. Hemans* opinions about it, or anybody’s else.367 In 1869, when Twain began lecturing under the Redpath management, the various artists would gather at Redpath’s headquarters in Boston at the beginning of the lecture season. They attended each other’s tryout lectures in and near Boston. One of these artists that Twain heard was named De Cordova. He was billed as a humorist. Twain reported the lecture as followsi But sometimes lecturers who were "new to the business" did not know the value of "trying it on the dog," and these were apt to come to the Music Hall with an untried product. There was one case of this kind which made some of us very anxious when we saw the advertisement. De Cordova — humorist— he was the man we were troubled about. I think he had another name, but I have forgotten what it was. . . . and now he suddenly came poaching on our preserve and took us by surprise. • • • When De Cordova came on he was received with what we regarded as a quite overdone and almost indecent volume of welcome. I think we were not jealous, nor even envious, but it made us sick, anyway. When I found he was going to read a humor ous story— from manuscript— I felt better and hope ful ,”bux still anxious. He had a Dickens arrange ment of tall gallows frame adorned with upholsteries, and he stood behind it under its overhead row of hidden lights. The whole thing had a quite stylish 367Ibid., p. 135. 2hS look and was rather Impressive, The audience was so sure that he was going to he funny that they took a dozen of his first utterances on trust and laughed cordially— so cordially, indeed, that it was hard for us to hear— and we felt vexy much disheartened. Still, I tried to helieve he would fail, for I saw that he didn't know how to read. Presently the laughter hegan to relax; then it hegan to shrink in area; and next to lose spon- tanlety; and next to show gaps between; the gaps widened; they widened more; more yet; still more. It was getting to he almost all gaps and silence, with that untrained and unlively voice droning through them. . . . He was laboring now. and dis tressed; he constantly mopped his face with his handkerchief, and his voice and his manner became a humble appeal for compassion, for help, for^o charity, and it was a pathetic thing to see. During this time Twain heard Petroleum V. Nasby (Locke) deliver his lecture ’ ’Cussed Be Canaan." Twain wrote of Nasby's performance: He had been on the platform with the same lecture— and no other— during two or three years, and it had passed his lips several hundred times, yet even now he could not deliver any sentence of it without his manuscript— except the opening one. . . . I was all curiosity to hear him begin. He did not keep me waiting. The moment he had crutched himself upon his left arm, lodged his right upon his back, and bent himself over his manuscript he raised his face slightly, flashed a glance upon the audience, and bellowed this remark in a thundering bull-voice: 'We are all descended from grandfathers I' Then he went right on roaring to the end, tearing his ruthless way through the continuous applause and laughter, and taking no sort of account of it. His lecture was a volleying and sustained discharge of bull's-eye hits, with the slave power and its Northern apologists for 368Twain, Autobiography I. p. 151. 2 if 7 target, and his success was due to his matter, not his manner; for his delivery was destitute of art, unless the tremendous and inspiring eame^e89 and energy may be called by that On the 1869 lecture tour Twain wrote Mrs, Clemens from Pittsburgh on October 31* I went to church & heard a man from a dis tance preach a sermon without notes— which was well— but in a frozen, monotonous, precise, & inflectionless way that showed that his discourse was a carefully memorized production. There was something exceedingly funny about this bald pre tense of delivering an off-hand speech— & some thing exceedingly funny, too in a full grown man 'speaking a.niece* after the manner of a little school boy.^7U At various times Twain commented on other contem porary platform speakers. He said Kate Field's "lecture ■371 was poor and her delivery was repellently artificial."-^ He dismissed Olive Logan with: Olive Logan's notoriety grew out of— only the initiated knew what. . . . On the strength of this oddly created notoriety Olive Logan went on the platform, and for at least two seasons the United States flocked to the lec ture halls to look at her. She was merely a name and some rich costly clothes, and neither of these properties had any lasting quality, though for a while they were able to command a fee of $100 a night,372 369Ibid., p. Ilf8. 3?°Wecter, Love Letters, p. 117. 371Twain, Autobiography I. p. 157. 372Ibid., p. 159. 2b8 Twain was invited to spesk in Chicago on November 13, 1879 at the Reunion of the Grand Army of Tennessee honoring General Grant. He was so thrilled with the occa sion that when he returned to his hotel at five o’clock in the morning on November l*f, he immediately wrote a letter to Mrs. Clemens describing his excitement. In this letter Twain wrote of the speakers and, particularly, Robert G. Ingersoll as follows: I heard four speakers which I can never forget. One by Emory Storrs, one by General Vilas (0, wasn’t it wonderful!), one by General Logan (mighty stir ring), one by somebody whose name escapes me, and one by that splendid old soul, Col. Bob Ingersoll,— oh, it was just the supremest combination of English words that was ever put together since the world began. My soul, how handsome he [Ingersoll] looked, as he stood on the table in the midst of those 500 shouting men, and poured the moulten silver from his lips! Lord, what an organ is human speech when it is played by a master! All these speeches may look dull in print, but how the light ning glared around them when they were uttered, and how the crowd roared in response! . . . and bless my life I was in an awful terror when No. I1 * rose, at 2 o’clock this morning, and killed all the enthusiasm by delivering the flattest [sic], insipidest, silliest of all responses to "Woman” that ever a weary multitude listened to.^'-^ On November 17, 1879 Twain described a sermon by a Mr. Spurgeon in his notebook: Went over to Tabernacle and heard Mr. Spurgeon. Sermon three quarters of an hour long. A fluent 373 Paine (ed.), Letters, p. 366. 2*f9 talk. Good sonorous voice. A wooden faced congregation. Spurgeon not at his best today, I judge. He was probably even at his worst. It was so cold I was freezing— the pouring rain made everything gloomy— the wooden congregation was not an inspiration— the music was depressing, so the man couldn*t preach well.37^ In a letter to Mrs. Fairbanks dated September 23, 1879 Twain made an implied comment on the delivery of Anna Dickenson (lecturer, playwright, actress), a contemporary speaker: "Talent is useless without training, thank God— as Anna Dickinson may yet discover before she gets done trying to skip to the top-round of tragedy at a bound."375 After 1900 Twain was active as an after-dinner speaker. He had many opportunities to hear a variety of speakers. He wrote of Brander Matthews* (educator, writer, critic) speaking: . .he opened the proceedings with an easy and comfortable and felicitous speech. Brander is always prepared and competent when he is going to make a ■ 3 76 speech." Richard Watson Gilder (writer), Twain said came on a certain occasion, "... empty, . . . whereas he struck a disappointment. He labored through and sat down, not entirely defeated, but a good deal crippled."377 of 37* fAlbert Bigelow Paine (ed.), Mark Twain* a Note - book (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers. 19^5). pTT5 5. 37^Dixon Wecter (ed.), Mark Twain to Mrs* Fairbanks (San Marino: Huntington Library, 19^-9), p. 2^k• 37^Twain, Autobiography I. p. 280. 377Ibid.. p. 280. 250 Frank Millet (painter, writer) Twain wrote: He struggled along through his remarks, exhibiting two things— one, that he had prepared and couldn’t remember the details of his prepara tion, and the other that his text was a poor text. In his talk the main sign of preparation was that he tried to recite two considerable batches of poetry— good poetry— but he lost con fidence and turned it into bad poetry by bad recitation.37o An unidentified speaker, substituting for the sculptor, Saint-G-audens, at a dinner event was described by Twain: He did not hit upon anything original or disturbing in his remarks, and, in fact, there were so tottering and hesitating and altogether commonplace that really he seemed to have hit upon something new and fresh when he finished by saying that he had not been expecting to be called upon to make a speech! I could have finished his speech for him, I had heard it so many times.379 Twain's critique of the speaking of Charles Dudley Warner (author) contained the following comments: He always spoke pleasingly, always smoothly, always choicely, never excitedly, never aggres sively, always kindly, gently, and always with a lambent and playful and inconspicuous thread of humor appearing and disappearing along through his talk, like the tinted lights of an opal. . . . Always his art was graceful and charming. The speaking of Colonel Greene (Civil War) was described by Twain in the following manner: 3?®Ibid#, p. 280. 379Ibid., pp. 280-281 380Ibld.. p. 298. 251 Colonel Greene discussed the dream question in his usual way— that is to say, he hegan a sentence and went on and on, dropping a comma in here and there at Intervals of eighteen inches, never hesi tating for a word, drifting straight along like a river at half bank with no reefs in it; the surface of his talk as smooth as a mirror; his construction perfect and fit for print without correction, as he went along. And when the hammer fell, at the end of ten minutes, he dumped in a period right where he was and stopped— and it was just as good there as it would have been anywhere else in that ten minutes* sentence. You could look back over that speech and you*d find it dimly mile stoned along with those commas which he had put in and which could have been left out just as well, because they merely staked out the march, and nothing more. They could not call attention to the scenery? because there wasn’t any. His speech was always like that— perfectly smooth, perfectly constructed; and when he finished, no listener could go to court and tell what it was he had said. It was a curious style. A gentleman called the elder Hammersley, Twain said, "took his appointed ten minutes, easily, comfortably, with good phrasing, and most entertainingly— . . . ,»382 Spe£Qj-_ ing of the elder Hammersley*s son, Will (Hartford lawyer), drew from Twain the following comments: And I can’t imagine anything more distressing than a talk from Will Hammersley. . . . He would hesitate and hesitate, get to the middle of a sentence and search around and around and around for a word, get the wrong word, search again, get another wrong one, search again and again— and so he would go on in that way till everybody was in misery on his account, hoping that he would arrive in the course of time, .... But, sure as a gun, 381Ibid.. pp. 299-300 382Ibid., p. 300. 252 before his ten minutes ended Will Hammersley would arrive at his point and fetch it out with such a round and complete and handsome and satis fying unostentatious crash that you would be lifted out of your chair with admiration and gratitude.3®3 Another unidentified speaker, who, according to Twain, "was the dullest white man in Connecticut," received the follow ing appraisal: • • •— would moon along, and moon along, and moon along, using the most commonplace, the most dreary, the most degraded English, with never an idea in it by any chance. Governor Henry C. Robinson, Twain said "was a brilllant man, a most polished and effective and eloquent speaker, an easy speaker who had no difficulties to encounter in deliv- OQ C ering himself." Rufus Choate, Twain said had "captured the whole nation with his fine and finished oratory."3®^ Twain said of Booker T. Washington, the negro educator, "he is a fervent and effective speaker on the platform."387 Twain was a friend of Andrew Carnegie, the financier. He said of his speaking on one occasion: He made a good speech— sound, sensible, to the point, not a minute too long; ana it had humor in 383Ibid., pp. 300-301. 38ifIbid.. pp. 301-302. 38^Ibid.. pp. 303. 386Twain, Autobiography II. p. 1. 387Ibid.. p. 3. 253 it and also quite distinct traces of modesty— but that was because it was a prepared speech and memorised; he had the typewritten manuscript on the table before him but I did not see him refer to it; he trusted to hie memory and it was not strictly faithful to him; it failed him a couple of times when he tried to quote poetical passages from Kipling. They were forced and would hare been very effective if he had reeled them off easily and comfortable Csic 1. but he was obliged to stop in the middle of them and stand and wait and think, their effectiveness oosed out and was lost-^ggt there was no other defect in his speech. • • • On another occasion Twain said of a speech Carnegie delivered: One or two of the speeches which Mr. Carnegie made to the Emperor were of the soaring, high- voiced, ornate, and thunderously oratorical sort, and in re-delivering them now he acted them out with fire, energy, and effective gesticulation. It was a fine and stirring thing to see .389 In summary, Mark Twain felt that excellent delivery was dependent upon adequate preparation. To him adequate preparation consisted of studious analyzing of the mate rials, complete memorizing of selections and speeches, and oral practice. He was quick to praise adequate preparation in other speakers and readers; he was as quick to censor the lack of it. Generally, he complimented the readers and speakers he heard on their dignity, grace and eloquence of delivery, their correct use of emphasis, rate, and rhythm, 3®®DeVoto, Eruption, p. 53• 389Ibid., p. lf6. 25^ their abilities to express the reflections of emotions with the voice, and their personal charm while speaking. He criticized their lack of adequate vocabulary, their failure to employ meaningful emphases through proper inflections and stress, their faulty timing, their lack of vocal and mental variety, their objectionable voice qualities, and their use of the contemporary artificial style of speaking. It was apparent that he used his own experiences and prac tices as bases for his compliments and censorship of other speakers and readers. How to tell a story Mark Twain revealed some of his theories and prac tices concerning delivery in his essay "How to Tell a Story."390 Twain began the essay with a definition of three types of stories: (1) the humorous story, an American product, may be "spun out" to great length, "gently bubbling along," a work of high and delicate art, depending on the manner of telling it for effect; (2) the comic story, English in origin, was brief, must end with a point, required no art in its telling and depended on matter for its effect; (3) the witty story, except for being French in 390 Mark Twain, How to Tell a Story (New York: Harper and Brothers, 189?), pp* 3”12. 255 origin, had the same basic pattern as the comic story. The humorous story, according to Twain, was the only difficult kind to tell and only artists were capable of telling it effectively. The techniques of telling a humorous story, as he related them, were: (1) the humorous story must be told gravely; (2) the nub or the finish of the humorous story must be "dropped" in a carefully casual and indifferent way — Twain called the technique "slurring the nub"; (3) inno cent incongruities and absurdities must be strung together and presented in a "purposeless" way; (*f) the point must be slurred; (5) studied remarks are dropped in, "as if one were thinking aloud"; (6) the pause must be used for effect. Twain included in this essay a short comic-witty story that had been in circulation for about twelve or fifteen hundred years. He explained how James Whitcomb Riley made a humorous story out of it by lengthening it to ten minutes telling time and applying the criteria that he had set down for the telling of a humorous story. Twain also explained the technique of "slurring the nub" as it was used by Artemus Ward in telling a humorous story. The author discussed his most effective interpretative device— the pause. Twain wrote concerning the use of this tech nique : The pause is an exceedingly important feature in any kind of story, and a frequently recurring feature, 256 too. It is a dainty thing, and delicate, and also uncertain and treacherous; for it must he exactly the right length— no more no less— or it fails of its purpose and makes trouble. If the pause is too short the impressive point is passed, and the audience have had time to divine that a surprise is intended— and then you can’t surprise them, of course. Writing for his autobiography, many years later, Twain enlarged upon his discussion of the pause by adding: When a man is reading from a book on the plat form. he soon realizes that there is one powerful gun in his battery of artifice that he can’t work with an effect proportionate to its caliber; that is the pause— that impressive silence, that elo quent silence, that geometrically progressive silence which often achieves a desired effect where no combination of words howsoever felici tous could accomplish it. The pause is not much use to the man who is reading from a book because he cannot know what the exact length of it ought to be; he is not the one to determine the measure ment— the audience must do that for him. He must perceive by their faces when the pause has reached the proper length, but his eyes are not on the faces, they are on the book; therefore he must determine the proper length of the pause by guess; he cannot guess with exactness and nothing but exactness, absolute exactness, will answer. The man who recites without the book has all the advantages; when he comes to an old familiar remark in his tale which he has uttered nightly for a hundred nights— a remark preceded or followed by a pause— the faces of the audience tell him when to end the pause. For one audience the pause will be short, for another a little longer, for another a shade longer still; the performer must vary the length of the pause to suit the shades of difference between audiences. These variations of measurement are so slight, so delicate, that they may almost be compared with the shadings achieved by Pratt and Whitney’s ingenious machine which measured the five-millionth part of an inch. An audience is that machine’s twin; it can measure a pause down to the vanishing fraction. 257 I used to play with the pause as other children play with a toy* In my recitals, when I went read ing around the world for the benefit of Mr* Webster’s creditors, I had three or four pieces in which the pauses performed an important part, and I used to lengthen them or shorten them according to the requirements of the case, and I got much pleasure out of the pause when it was accurately measured, and a certain discomfort when it wasn’t. In*How to Tell a Story” Twain repeated the ghost story, "The Golden Arm," which was one of the stories that he read on the platform. In discussing the reading of the story, Twain said that the pause was the most important thing in reading it. Because the interpretative explana tions have been parenthetically interpolated into the story as it appeared in the essay, it will be repeated here: Once 'pon a time dey wuz a monsus mean man, en he live 'way out in de prarie all 'lone by hisself, 'cep'n he had a wife. En bimeby she died, en he tuck en totted her way out dah in de praririe en buried her. Well, she had a golden arm— all solid gold, fum de shoulder down. He wuz pow'ful mean-- pow'ful; en dat night he couldn't sleep, caze he want dat golden arm so bad. When it come midnight he couldn't stan' it no mo*; so he git up, he did, en tuck his lantern en shoved out thoo de storm en dug her up en got de golden arm; en he bent his head down 'gin de win', en plowed en plowed en plowed thoo de snow. Den all on a sudden he stop (make a considerable pause here, and look startled, and take a listening atti tude) en say: "My lan*. what's datI" En he listen--en listen— en de win* say (set your teeth together and imitate the wailing and wheezing singsong of the wind.) "Bzzzz-z-zzzz"— en den way back yonder whah de grave is, he hear a voice I— he ^^DeVoto, Eruption, pp. 225-226 258 hear a voice all mix* up in de win*— cain*t hardly tell 'em 'part— "Bzzz-zzz— W-h-o— got— m-y— g-o-l-d-e-n arm?— zzz— zzz— W-h-o g-o-t m-y g-o-l-d- e-n arm? (You begin to shiver violently now*; En he begin to shiver an* shake, en say, "Oh, my! Oh, my Ian'" en de win' blow de lantern out, en de snow en sleet blow en his face en mos* choke him. en he start a-plowin* knee-deep towards home mos* dead, he so sk'yard— en pooty soon he hear de voice agin, en (pause) it 'us cornin' after him! "Bzzz— zzz--zzz W-h-o g-o-t m-y g-o-l-d-e-n arm?" When he git to de pasture he hear it agin— closter now, en a-comin'— a-comin' back dah in de dark in de storm— (repeat the wind and the voice). When he git to de house he rush up-stairs en jump in de bed en kiver up, head and years, en lay dah shiverin' en shakin*— en way out dah he hear it agin!— en a-comin' 1 En bimeby he hear (pause— awed, listening attitude)— pat— pat— pat— hit's a-comin' up stairs! Den he hear de latch, en he know it's in de room. Den pooty soon he know it's a-standin' by de bed! (pause; Den— he know it's a-bondin' down over him— en he cain't skasely git his breath! ien— den— he seem to feel somethi'n c-o-l-d, right down 'most agin his head! (Pause) Den de voice say, right at his year— "W-h-o— g-o-t— m-y— g-o-l-d-e-n arm?1 1 (You must wail it out plaintively and accusingly, then you stare steadily and impressively into the face of the farthest-gone-auditor— a girl, preferably— and let that awe-inspiring pause begin to build itself in the deep hush. When it had reached exactly the right length, jump suddenly at that girl and yell), "You've got it!" If you've got the pause right, she'll fetch a dear little yelp and spring right out of her shoes. But you must get the pause right; and you will find it the most troublesome and aggravating and uncer tain thing you ever undertook ^^Twain, How to Tell a Story, pp. 10-12. 259 DeVoto in reviewing the materials omitted by Paine in editing Mark Twain*a Autobiography found additional comments on the use of the pause in reading "The Golden Arm." These additional comments were: When ever I got the pause the right length, the remark that followed it was sure of a satisfactory startling effect, but if the pause was wrong by the five-millionth of an inch, the audience had had time in the infinitesimal fraotion of a moment to wake up from its deep concentration in the grisly tale and forsee the climax, and be prepared for it before it burst upon them— and so it fell flat. The reading, "The Golden Arm," as it appeared in "How to Tell a Story" was about like Twain used to tell it 1+0 3 from the platform. J Twain also indicated how he used the pause when reading "His Grandfather’s Old Ham" (Appendix, p. 387). His explanation of the pause as used in this reading was as follows: In "His Grandfather's Old Ram" a pause has a place: . . • When the pause was right, the effect was sure; when the pause was wrong in length, by the five millionth of an inch, the laughter was only mild, never a crash. That occurs in "His Grandfather's Old Ham" where the question under discussion is whether the falling of the Irishman on the stranger was an accident, or was a special providence. If it was a special providence, and if the sole purpose of it was to save the Irishman, why was it necessary to sacrifice the stranger? "The dog was there. Why didn't he fall on the dog? Becuz the dog would ' a' seen him a-comin *." A pause ^^DeVoto, Eruption, p. 226 ^^Twain, Letters. p. *+03. 260 after the remark was absolutely necessary with any and all the audiences because no man, how so ever Intelligent he may be, can instantly adjust his mind to a new and unfamiliar, and yet for a moment or two apparently plausible, logic which recognises in a dog an instrument too indifferent to pious restraints and too alert in looking out for his own personal interest to be safely depended upon in an emergency requiring self-sacrifice for the benefit of another, even when the command comes from on high. DeVoto cited an illustration of Twainfs use of the pause technique from the edited materials for the autobiography* The following citation was quoted from an after-dinner speech: It has a certain degree of merit— but I must be just, I must be sternly just, and I say to you this: your simplified spelling is well enough, but like chastity— (artful pause of a moment or two, here« to let the word sink in and give the audience a chance to guess out where the resem- blence lies)— it can be carried too far. In summary, Mark Twain in his essay on "How to Tell a Story" suggested the following techniques of delivery: (1) the humorous stoiy may be lengthy, (2) must be told in an artistic, gently effervescent manner on which it is dependent, (3) must be gravely told, (*+) must be care fully casual and indifferently told, (5) must be told in a "purposeless" way, (6) must slur the point of the story, (7) must be read as if thinking aloud, (8) the pause is important to effect, (9) "the pause must be dainty, delicate, the right length, impressive, eloquent, absolutely accurate, be varied according to audiences, be varied according to 261 desired effect, be varied according to meaning of the mate rial being read; (10) the comic story may be brief, (11) depends on matter for effect; (12) the witty story follows the same pattern as the comic story. General Audience Cnnm^ntH The newspapers, the biographical, the autobiograph ical and the critical sources investigated contained, for the most part, a minimum of information concerning Mark Twain’s audiences. At this late date, it was difficult to ascertain the exact number of people that attended his per formances. For the same reasons, the data on the amount of money grossed which might give an indication of the size of the audiences, were, for the most part, general rather than specific. These estimates and specific statements of the size of Twain’s audiences and the amount of money realized for his speaking engagements, along with critical comments, and Twain’s own remarks about audiences, will be reported in this study. This information is given in Table 1, Size of Audiences, beginning on the following page. 262 TABLE 1 SIZE OP AUDIENCES Cities Dates Size Hannibal*4 " 0* 4 ’ 181+7 1 ^ 05 Carson City January 27, 186*+ Larger than A. Ward had San Francisco*4 " 08 October 2, 1866 Densely packed Standing. jCftom crowded, Virginia City*4 " 08 October 31, 1866 One of the largest St. Louis**09 March 25, 186,7 Large New York1 4 " 10 May 6, 1867 2000 T* 1+11 Brooklyn May 10, 1867 2500 1+1? Washington, D. C. January 9, 1868 Tolerably good house 1x1 * 2 Georgetown ° February 22, 1868 Large ^^Twain, Autobiography II. p. 213. ^O^Smith and Anderson, op. cit.. p. 1^5. ^06rjie san Francisco Alta California, October 3. 1866. -------- ^O^The San Francisco News Letter. October 6, 1866. ^O^The Virginia City Daily Territorial Enterprise. November 1, 1866. ^ T h e St. Louis Missouri Republic. March 26, 1867. ^l°The New York Times. May 7, 1867. ^^The San Francisco Alta California. June 15, 1867. ^l^Tvain, Letters I. p. lM+. ^l^The Washington Chronicle. February 21 *, 1868. TABLE 1— Continued 263 Cities Date 8 Size San Franc i sc o^^ April l*t, 1868 April 15, 1868 1800 l+l 5 Sacramento y April 17, 1868 Crowded Marysville1 * -1® April 18, 1868 Fair house Virginia City1 * -1^ April 27, 1868 1000+ Cleveland1 * ’ 1® November 17, 1868 1200 Pittsburgh1 * " 1^ November 19, 1868 1500 Newark, N. J.**20 December 9, 1868 Unusually large Detroit1 * ' 21 December 22, 1868 1100 Lansing1 * ' 22 December 23, 1868 Well filled Rockford1 * ’ 2^ January 5, 1869 Good house ^l^The Chicago Republican. May 19, 1868. ^^The Sacramento Daily Union. April 18, 1868. Marysville Daily Appeal. April 18, 1868. ^l^DeLancey Ferguson, Mark Twain: Man and Legend (Indianapolis* The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 19*+3), p. 167. i+lfl Samuel Charles Webster, Mark Twain. Business Man (Boston* Little, Brown and Company, 19^6), p. 102. ^^Wecter, Love Letters, p. 30* lf2QThe Newark Daily Journal. December 10, 1868. M-2lThe Detroit Free Press. December 23, 1868. ^^The State Republican. Lansing. December 31, 1868. ^^v/ecter, Mrs. Fairbanks, p. 65. 26k TABLE 1— Contimiftd Cities Dates Size Decatur1 * ^ January 6, 1869 Large Chicago1 *2' * January 7, 1869 Large Peoria1 *2^ January 11, 1869 Big house Ottawa1 4 ” 27 January 13, 1869 Full church Davenport January 1*+, I869 Largest audience Toledo^29 January 20, 1869 Filled hall Freeport1 *3^ January 27, 1869 Good audience Ravenna1 *^ February 13, 1869 Largest Pittsburgh1 4 ” 32 November 1, 1869 Packed with people Boston1 4 ” 33 November 10, I869 if 000 Hart ford1 * 31 * November 23, 1869 Largest ^^The Decatur Republican. January l^f, 1869. ** 2^The Chicago Republican. January 8, 1869. 1+26 Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks« p. 66, ^27^ecter, Love Letters % p* *+9* K pft ^ The Daily Davenport Democrat, January 15* 1869. ^ ^ The Toledo Blade, January 21, 1869. ^B^The Freeport Journal. February 3, 1869. L.01 The Revenna Democrat. February 17, 1869. ^^The Pittsburgh Commercial. November 2, 1869. ^33Tv/ain, Letters I. p. 168. **3She Hartford Daily Courant. November 2*f, 1869. 265 TABLE 1— Continued Cities Dates Size Philadelphia**35 December 7, 1869 Overflowing New Haven December 27* 1869 Pair Albany**^ January 10, 1870 Good crowd. . Densely packed ^ Cambridge, N. Y.**^ January 13, 1870 Pull house t\ . MfO Boston November 1, 1871 Large Mil Hartford November 8, 1871 Vast audience Philadelphia****2 November 20, 1871 Overflowing Bennington, Vt.^^ November 27, 1871 Good house I i L i . 1 - 1 Toledo December 11, 1871 Well attended **35The Philadelphia Press. December 8, 1869* ^ T h e New Haven Journal-Courier. December 28, 1869. ^37<rhe Albany Express. January 11, 1870. **3^The Albany Argue, January 11, 1870. *+39>phe Hartford Courant. August 7, 1900. liiiQ The Boston Daily Advertiser. November 2, 1871. Mn The Hartford Courant. November 9» 1871. M+2 The Philadelphia American and Gazette, November 21, 1871. -'Wecter, Love Letters, p. 165* ifl>>>The Toledo Blade. December 12, 1871. 266 TABLE 1— Continued Cities Dates Size l | l f . j Ann Arbor December 13, 1871 Barely standing room LkA Grand Rapids December 15, 1871 Standing room occupied. 2000-f^7 ifif 8 Logansport January 2, 1872 Largest Dayton***^ January if, 1872 Pull house Columbus** January 5, 1872 Large ^ 51 Salem, Ohio January 8, 1872 Very large Stubenville, Ohio**^ January 9, 1872 Large Wheeling, W. Va.**53 January 10, 1872 Hall, crowded 1000^ ^Unpublished recollections of Henry Nelson, The University of Michigan Library. L lL.A The Grand Rapids Daily Democrat. December 15, 1871 lflf7Dwight Goss, The History of Grand Rapids (Chicago: C. P. Cooper and Company, 1906). ^ ^ The Logansport Weekly Journal. January 6, 1872. ^ T h e Dayton Daily Journal. January 5, 1872. ^ 0The Columbus Ohio State Journal. January 6, 1872. ^ ^ The Salem Republican. January 10, 1872. ^^%he Stubenville Gazette. January 12, 1872. - ' The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. January 11, 1872. * -^Charles A. Wintergarter, The History of Greater Wheeling (Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, l9i2), p. 3b0. 267 TABLE 1— Continued Cities Dates Size Pittsburgh*^ January 11, 1872 Crowded to reple tion New York1 * ^ February 5, 1873 Hall packed Brooklyn*^ February 7, 1873 Large Hartford1 * March 5, 1875 Largest New York1 * ^ March 29, 1876 Not so good Chicago1 *^0 November 13, 1879 600 Hartford***^ April 1, 1880 Large New York1 *^^ December 21, 1882 *+00 *4-63 New Haven November 5, 188*+ *+00 * 4 - 6 * 4 - Springfield, Mass. November 7, 188*4- Considerable audience ^^The Pittsburgh Commercial. January 12, 1872. ^ ^ The New York Times. February 6, 1873. ^^The New York Times. February 8, 1873. ^ ^ The Hartford Courant. March 6, 1875. ^ ^ The New York Herald. March 30, 1876. ^^Twain, Autobiography I. p. 15. ^^Webster, Buaineaa Man. p. l*+5. ^62The New York Herald. December 22, 1882. ^ T h e New Haven Palladium. November 6, 188*4-. The Springfield Republican. November 8, 188*+. TABLE 1— Continued 268 Cities Dates Size *4-65 Melrose November 10, 188*+ Large crowd *4-66 Lowell November 11, 188*+ Very large •a + ^ 7 Boston November 13, 188*4- Very large New York November 18, 188*+ Numerous Newburgh, Pa November 20, 188*+ Small Philadelphia1 *70 November 21, 188*+ Overflowing *+71 Brooklyn November 22, 188*+ Immense Albany** 7^ December 3, 188*+ Enormous Buffalo1 *73 December 10, 188*+ Very large * + 7 * 4 - C1eveland December 17, 188*+ Hall filled 1 4 -6*5 ^The Boston Morning Journal. November 11, 188*+. ^ ^ The Lowell Bally Courier. November 12, 188*4-. ^^The Boston Evening Transcript. November 1*4-, 188*4-. ^ ^ The New York Times. November 19, 188*4-. ^^Lucy Leffingwell Cable Bickle, George W. Cable: His Life and Letters (New York: Charles Scribners* Sons. r m r T T T i w : -------- ^^The Philadelphia Daily News. November 22, 188*4-. *4-7lThe Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 23, 188*4-. *4 -7? Wecter, Love Letters, p. 219. *4-73rjhe Buffalo Times. December 11, 188*4-. ^^The Cleveland Leader. December 18, 188*4-. 269 TABLE 1— Continued Cities Dates Size Dayton** 7 5 December 31? 1881 * Very large Paris, Ky.**76 January 1, 1885 House filled **77 Cincinnati January 2, 1885 Large Louisville** 7® January 5, 1885 Large Springfield, 111.^79 January 8, 1885 Largest St. Louis January 9, 1885 700 „ . . M-81 Keokuk January l1 *, 1885 Large Burlington**®2 January 15, 1885 Pair Chicago**^® January 16, 1885 800 T ,. **8** Janesville January 20, 1885 Grand audience ^^The Dayton Daily Journal. January 1, 1885. ^7^The Kentuckian. Paris. Ky.. January 3, 1885* **77rp^ Cincinnati Star-Times. January 3, 1885* **78^^ Louisville Courier-Journal, January 6, 1885* ^79The Daily Illinois State Journal, January 9. 1885. *+80 ^ 6 st, Louis Globe-Democrat. January 10, 1885. The Keokuk Daily Gate City. January 15, 1885. ^ ^ The Burlington Hawke-eye. January 16, 1885. ^ ^ The Chicago Tribune. January 17, 1885. The Janesville Daily Recorder, January 21, 1885. TABLE 1— Continued 270 Cities Dates Size 1*85 LaCrosse January 21, 1885 Fine audience Madison*4^ January 22, 1885 Church crowded Rockford*4®''7 January 30, 1885 Well filled > 8 8 Davenport January 31, 1885 1000 Indianapolis*4®9 February 7, 1885 Large 1+90 Columbus February 9, 1885 Immense Oberlin, Ohio*49^ February 11, 1885 Large Detroit^92 February 12, 1885 Large Philadelphia*4*^ February 26, 1885 3000 kQli. New York January 18, 1886 200 ^^The LaCrosse Morning Chronicle. January 23, 188% ^ ^ The Wisconain State Journal, January 23, 1885. ^Tjhe Rockford Daily Gazette. January 31, 1885. ^ 8 The Davenport Sunday Democrat. February 1, 1885. ^^The Indianapolis Sentinel, February 8, 1885. i+go The Columbus Ohio State Journal, February 10. 1885. ^•^The Qberlin Review. February 21, 1885. ^92The Detroit Free Press. February 13, 1885. ^^Arlin Turner, George W. Cable (Durham: The Duke University Press, 1956), p. 129. ^9^The New York Times. January 19, 1886. 271 TABLE 1— Continued Cities Dates Size New York**^5 November 28, 1887 Hall filled Hartford1 *^ September 12, 1888 130 Handals Island**^ July 13, 1895 700 Cleveland*4 ^ July 15, 1895 2600 Mackinac Island July 19, 1895 *+00 Petosky500 July 20, 1895 750 Duluth5°^ July 22, 1895 1250 Minneapolis 502 July 23, 1895 Big St. Paul503 July 2*+, 1895 Large Crookston July 29, 1895 Largest Great Palls505 July 31, 1895 Crowded house ^9^The New York Times. November 29, 1887. ^■^Paine, Notebook, p. 200. 1+97The san Prancisco Examiner. July 15, 1895. ^®Twain, Letters II. p. 628. 1+99p0nd, op. cit.. p. 203. ^Q^Ibid.. p. 20*+. 5Q1Ibid.. p. 205. 5Q2Ibid.. p. 206. ^°3The St. Paul Pioneer Press. July 25, 1895. * ^ QlfThe Crookston Daily Times. July 30, 1895. ^°^The Great Palls Leader. August 1, 1895. TABLE 1— Continued 272 Cities Dates Size Butte 5°^ August 1, 1895 filled house Anaconda50^ August 2, 1895 Small audience Helena508 August 3> 1896 Half filled Missoula50^ August 5, 1895 Large Spokane 5^° August 8, 1895 Poor house Portland 5^ August 9, 1895 Full house 512 Tacoma August 12, 1895 Crowded house Vancouver, B. C.5^ August 15, 1895 Crowded house 5lL Victoria, B. C. August 21, 1895 Full house 515 New York November 23, 1900 700 New York5^^ December 6, 1900 300 5Q£>The Anaconda Standard, August 2, 1895. 5°7p0nd, op. cit.. p. 211. 5°8The Helena Evening Herald. August 5, 1895. 509^6 Missoula Daily Miaeoulian. August 6, 1895. ^10Pond, op. cit.. p. 217. 5llPaine, Notebook, p. 2*+7. 5l2The_ Tacoma Daily News. August 13, 1895. ^^Pond, op# cit• y p* 221• 5lif Paine, Notebook, p. 261, 5l5The New York Times. November 23, 1900. 5l6The New York Times. December 7, 1900. TABLE 1— Continued 273 Cities Dates Size New York517 March 30* 1901 100 New York518 May 11, 1901 1500 New York519 October 17, 1901 300 New York520 November 28, 1902 53 New York521 December 5, 1905 170 New York522 February 7, 1906 150 New York52^ March *+, 1906 5000 New York52* * April 3* 1906 5oo New York525 April 7, 1906 302 New York528 April 19, 1906 2000 New York527 September 19> 1906 150 517lhe_ New York Time3. March 31, 1901. 5l8The New York Times. May 12, 1901. 5l9The New York Herald. October 18, 1901, 520^6 yew York Time a, November 29» 1902, 521The New York Times. December 6, 1905. 522The New York Sun. February 8, 1906. 52^The New York American. March 5» 1906. 52**The New York Times. April 1906. 525The Brooklyn Eagle. April 8, 1906. 526The New York Herald. April 20, 1906. 527The New York Times. September 20, 1906. 27*f TABLE 1— Continued Cities Dates Size New York-^2® April 1*+, 1907 800 New York-*29 December l+, 1907 1+00 New York^O December 22, 1907 200 New York^l April 18, 1908 150 New York'*^ May lb, 1908 1+00 ^Sphe New York Times. April 15, 1907. 529The New York Times. December 10, 1907. ^^The New York Times. December 23, 1907. 531phe New York Times. April 19, 1908. ^ 2Tiie New York Times, May 15, 1908. 275 The sources investigated revealed certain facts concerning the monetary receipts from specific speaking engagements and the admission charged. They will he included here in Table 2 on the following page, as an indi cation of the size of the audiences which attended Twain*s appearances. The newspaper advertisements of Twain*s appearances indicated that the admission price to Twain’s early western engagements was one dollar. In the midwest in 1867 the admission charge was fifty cents, seventy-five cents when reserved seats were offered. Prom 1868 to 1873 the price of admission varied from thirty-five cents to seventy-five cents. During the 188^-1885 tour prices were seventy-five cents and fifty cents, with reserved seats one dollar. In 1895 the admission was priced at one dollar, seventy-five cents, and fifty cents. In later years there were perform ances given for charity for which the admission prices were higher. During the years of his speaking upon the platform Twain made numerous comments on audiences. He delivered an address in the courtroom of the Ormsby County Courthouse in Carson City on January 27, l861 f. In a letter to his sister dated March 18 he wrote: I got my satisfaction out of it, though— a larger audience than Artemus Ward had— the com fort of knowing that the slow-going [sic], 276 TABLE 2 RECEIPTS PROM CERTAIN SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS INDICATE SIZE OP AUDIENCE Cities Dates Amount Carson City^^ January 27, 186*4- $ 200 San Franc isco October 2, 1866 1200 535 Sacramento October 11, 1866 1000 Keokuk April 8, 1867 3*4-.75 537 New York May 6, 1867 35.00 San Francisco April l*f, 15, 1868 1605 Pi tt sburgh November 17, 1868 750 Detroit December 22, 1868 225.75 Cleveland January 22, 1869 708 533The Virginia City Daily Union. January 29, 186*4-. ^^Prear, o p . cit.. p. 167. 535 Clipping number 6 in 1866 file (Morse Collec tion, Yale University Library). 536]?re(i ^ Lorch, "Lecture Trips and Visits of Mark Twain in Iowa," The Iowa Journal of History and Politics. XXXVII (1929), 510. 537],Jecter, Mrs. Fairbanks. p. xiv. ^^The Chicago Republican. May 19, 1868. 500 ^^Wecter, Love Letters, p. 30. ■^Collection of Reports, 1835-1871, Detroit Young Men*s Society (University of Michigan Library). 5*+l ^ xWecter, Mrs. Fairbanks, p. 68. 277 TABLE 2— Continued Cities Dates Amount Toledo January 11, 1871 $ 322 Lansing December 15, 1871 3M+ Cl,). Wheeling January 10, 1872 116.75 Hartford January 31, 1873 1500 Hartford March 5, 1875 1200 Hartford ^^ May 12, 1875 600 Philadelphia^*® November 21, 188*+ 5000 Davenport ^ January 31, 1885 760 ^^The Toledo Blade, January 12, 1871. ^~^The Lansing State Republican. December 21, 1871. -^"The Library Association Subscription Book (The Wheeling Public Library). ^■^The Hartford Times, February 1, 1873• •^^The Hartford Courant. March 6, 1875. ^ ^The Hartford Courant. May 13, 1875. 5L-8 -'^'The Morristown, True Democrat Banner, November 27, 188*+. ^^The Davenport Democrat, January 28, 1885. 278 TABLE 2— Continued Cities Dates Amount Oberlin550 February 11, 1885 $685.19 New York55^ November 28, 29, 1887 *+000 552 Mackinac Island July 19, 1895 IfOO !?50(jhe Minutes of the Union Library Association (Oberlin College Library). 55^The New York Times. November 28, 1887. 552pona, pp. cit.. p. 203. 279 careless population of Carson could [ital] be induced to fill a house once [ital],— the gratification of hearing good judges say it was the best thing ofc-the kind they had ever listened to— • • • .773 After finishing his tour of the California and Nevada min ing towns in 1866 and four lectures in the Midwest in 1867, Twain wrote: But if you want to know the places where audiences are jolly, and where they snap up a joke before you can fairly get it out of your mouth, they are St. Louis* San Francisco, Seoi Jose and Carson City.53*+ Twain recorded his reaction to his first New York audience, on May 6, 1867 as follows: I was happy, and I was excited beyond expres sion. I poured the Sandwich Islands out on to those people with a free hand, and they laughed and shouted to my entire content. ForjAn hour and fifteen minutes I was in Paradise. ->->5 Twain returned to the West Coast to lecture in 1868. After speaking in Virginia City on April 27 he wrote j to his mother: You know the flush times are past, and it has long been impossible to more than half fill the theatre here, with any sort of attraction, but they filled it for me, the night before last, full-dollar fsic 1 all over the h o u s e .75o ""-'Smith and Anderson, op. cit.. p. 1^5. ^^Frear, op. cit.. p. 176. 555*pwain, Autobiography II. p. 35^. ^^Mack, op. cit., p. 335. 280 Twain delivered his final lecture in San Francisco on July 3, 1868. In a letter to Mrs, Fairbanks, dated July 5 he wrotei I lectured on Venice night before last— large audience & fashionable— & gave so much satisfaction that I feel some inches taller, now. Mind, I do not forget that I am right among per sonal friends, here, & that a lecture which they would pronounce very fine, would be entirely likely to prove shameful failure before an unbiased audience such as I would find in an eastern city or on board the Quaker City. I only claim that these citizens here [ital] call this a good lec ture— I do not [ital] claim, myself [ital], that it is. I am satisfied it would Jaepretty roughly criticized in an eastern town. ' From Boston on November 1, 1869 Twain reported: People say Boston audiences ain’t responsive. People lie. Boston audiences get perfectly uproarious when they get started. I am satisfied with tonight.558 While trying out his material in the small towns around Boston in 1869 he wrote: The country audience is the difficult audience; a passage which it will approve with a ripple will bring a crash in the city. A fair sddg©ss in the country means a triumph in the city.559 After speaking in Paris, Kentucky, on January 1, 1885 Twain commented: When we strike a southern audience they laugh themselves all to pieces. They catch the point 55?Wecter (ed.), Mrs. Fairbanks, p. 33. 55®Wecter (ed.), Love Letters, p. 162. 559Twain, Autobiography I. p. 151. 281 before you can get it out— & then, if you're not a muggins, you don't [ital] get it out; you leave it unsaid. IVs a great delight to talk to such folk. Twain said of children audiences: "They were a difficult and exacting audience— those little creatures. Twain described the audience at an Authors' Reading in New York in 1888: "E(y half past five a third of the house was asleep; another third were dying; and the rest 562 were dead." At another Authors' Reading in Boston Twain said of the audience: "I could see that mass of people yet, opening and closing their mouths like fishes 56 ^ gasping for breath* It was intolerable." In a letter to an unidentified person in 1890 Twain wrote: And I was a lecturer on the public platform a number of seasons and was a responder to toasts at all the different kinds of banquets— and so I know a great many secrets about audiences— secrets not to be got out^of books but only acquirable by experience. In a letter dated January 25, 1900, to William Dean Howells, Twain stated: ^°Wecter (ed.), Love Letters, p. 22*+. ^^Twain, Autobiography II. p. 73- 562Ibid., p. Hf8. 563Ibid.. p. 150. '^“ Bernard DeVoto (ed.), The Portable Mark Twain (New York: The Viking Press, 19^6), p. 7’ ?5. 282 I knew the audience would come forward and shake hands with you— that one infallible sign of sincere approval. In all my life, wherever it failed me I left tha.hall sick ana ashamed, knowing what it meant, Twain said in a speech delivered in New York on April 18, 1908 s I never had the courage to talk across a long narrow room, I should be at the end of the room facing all the audience. If I attempt to talk across a room I find myself turning this way and that, and thus at alternate periods I have part of the audience behind me. You ought never to have any part of the audience behind you; you never can tell what they are going to do.?66 Twain often chose a selection to read because of the calculated effect it had on audiences. He said of the anecdote, "The Whistling Stammerer," "It was one which I have told some hundreds of times on the platform. And which I was always very fond of, because it worked the audience so hard." Mark Twain evaluated his early audi ences as follows: "They were critical speech trained audi ences. They compared present speakers with their favorites . . . they knew their abilities."^® In a letter to Mrs, Fairbanks dated October, 1868 ^Ibid.. p. 78O. -^Mark Twain, Speeches (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1910), p. 151. Twain, Autobiography II. p. M-7. ^®Twain, Notebook. 283 concerning his preparation for the forthcoming speaking tour, Twain made the following comment on his responsibil ity to audiences: But I think it will entertain an audience, this lecture, I must not preach"to a select few in my audience, lest I have only a select few to listen, next time, & so be required to preach no more. What the societies ask of me is to relieve the heaviness of their didactic courses— & in accepting the contract I atm just the same aa giving my word that I will do as they ask.-'*5? In summary, Mark Twain’s audiences were, for the most part, consistently reported to be large. The inter pretation of "large" was in proportion to the size of the halls, theaters, and churches in which he spoke, For instance, in Boston in the huge Music Hall he spoke before *+000 people. This was considered a large crowd in Boston, In another instance in Ravenna, Ohio, Twain’s audience was reported as "the largest of the season," The investigator visited the hall in which Twain spoke in Ravenna. It was known then as Bay’s Hall, The present owner pointed out the dimensions of the original hall and the position occu pied by the platform. It seated between three hundred and four hundred people. A comparison of the size of one of Twain’s audi ences with the size of the audience of other speakers on the same lecture course was given in The Collection of ^^Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks. p. **6. 281+ Reports, 1835-1871, of the Detroit Young Men*a Society* The report stated: The lecture course for 1868 consisted of the Reverend Rather I* T. Hecker of New York, Mark Twain of New York, the Reverend Boh Col Iyer of Chicago, Mr* Henry Vincent of England, Dr* Isaac J. Hayes, Arctic Explorer, Theodore Tilton of New York, Miss Olive Logan of New York, and Mr* Henry Nichols of England. The attendance of the season was: Bishop, 300, Hecker 1500, Twain 1100, Oollyer 900, Vincent 1200, Hayes 1200, Tilton 700, Logan 1500, Pitkins 1+50, and Nichols 500* (No reason was given for the omission of the names of Bishop and Pitkins in the lecture course list). It was assumed that the lecturers were listed in the order of their appearance. Then, in spite of the fact that the review of the Detroit engagement reported the audience as the "largest of the season," it was the second largest at the time Twain spoke and third largest of the season. The description "large" probably meant better than average sized audiences* In forty-two cities (l81 +7 through 1908), from which reports were given of the approximate number of people attending Twain’s lectures and readings, he spoke before a total of *+3,906 people. This was an average of about 10*+7 people per city. The gross monetary receipts from Twain's engage ments varied in proportion to the size of the halls, thea ters and churches in which he spoke and the prices of 285 admission thereto. Reports from twenty cities (186V through 1895) indicated that the total gross receipts were $20,686.00. This was an average of about $1035 per city. The prices of admission to Twain's speaking and reading engagements ranged from fifty cents to one dollar, except in speaking benefits for charity for which the prices were higher. Mark Twain's own comments on audiences were: they were jolly, alert, delightful, uproarious, responsive, and satisfactory; they were critical and good judges of speak ers; that country audiences were difficult; that southern audiences were alert; that bored audiences were intoler able. In addition he stated: audiences composed of chil dren were difficult and exacting; the secret of audience control was acquired by experience; he appreciated the sin cere approval of audiences which waited to shake hands with the speaker; audiences cannot be trusted; certain selec tions were calculated to have a desired effect upon audi ences; early audiences were intelligently critical and he assumed a positive responsibility toward audiences because of their critical astuteness. Technique of Penciled Notations to Guide delivery and Interpretation Mark Twain read aloud once a week for approximately two years, in his Hartford home, from the works of 286 Robert Browning, In a letter to Mrs. Fairbanks dated November 16, 1886 Twain wrote: Think of itI— I’ve been elected Reader to a Browning class— I who have never of my own Inclination, read a poem in my life. It con sists of Livy, S c Susie Warner <4 Lilly Warner, S c a New Haven lady S c a Farmington lady, S c meets in my billiard room every Wednesday morning. It is very enjoyable work: only it takes three days to prepare an hour's reading. It takes me much longer to learn how to read a page of Browning than a page of Shakespeare. And mind you, I'm on the ABC [sic] only— his easy [ital] poems. The other day 1 took a glance ax one of his mature pieces, to see how I am likely to fare when I get along over there. It was absolutely opaque In a letter to a Mrs. Foote dated December 2, 1887 Twain wrote: "I have been Browning-reader forty-two weeks now, ,,571 • •• a Excluding the summer months which the Clemens fam ily spent at Mrs. Theodore Crane's Quarry Farm in 572 New Tork, the above statement and the statements in the letter to Mrs. Fairbanks above would place the beginning of the Browning readings sometime in November, 1886. There were four penciled notations in a set of the works of 570 Wecter, Mrs. Fairbanks, p. 258. *571 William Iyons Phelps, Autobiography with Letters (New York: The Oxford University Press, 193v)» p. 65. ^^TwajLn, Autobiography II. p. 56. 287 573 Robert Browning from which Twain read: (1) "Begin here March 7/88 f aid” (Dramatis Personae, page *+65), (2) "Begin here Mch. 15/88 raid" (Dramatis Personae, page 506), (3) "Begin here May 2/88 faicl" (Dramatis Personae, page 360), and (*+) "Begin here May 23/88 [sic]" (Dramas. Volume II, page 185)• These notations indicated that Twain did not read the selections chronologically. However, because only sixty-two pages remained in the book after the last penciled notation, "A Soul's Tragedy," the last drama in the volume may well have been the last Browning reading. According to Phelps, on February 23, 1887, after finishing the reading of the poem "Easter Day," Twain stated: One*s glimpses & confusions, as one reads Browning, remind me of looking through a tele scope (the small sort which you must move with your hand, not clock-work): you toil across dark spaces which are (to your lens) empty; but every now dr then a splendor of stars & suns bursts„upon you & fills the whole field with flame 157$ The above statement revealed Twain's enthusiasm for Browning as material for oral interpretation and the chal lenge of analysis for oral presentation. In a letter to Mrs. Fairbanks dated March 22, 1887 573 ' -'The set of seven books are in the possession of the investigator. ^^Phelps, op. cit.. p. 65. 288 Twain wrote: I am pretty proud of my Browning class. It meets in ay billiard room every Wednesday morning, A one lady comes 9 miles A another 36 to attend it. I study A prepare 30 or ^0 pages of new matter for each sitting— along with a modest small lecture, usually— A then reread poems called for by the class. I suppose I have read Babbi Ben Ezra & Up in the Villa a couple of dozen times, & Abt Vogler, Caliban in Setebos, & some others nearly as often. Ben Ezra & Abt Vogler are called for oftenest— yes, A Up in a Villa. We should read Easter Bay just as often, but for its length. Polk ask permission to come,— as if it were a privi lege. When you consider that these folk. A the class, are women who are away above the intellec tual average,^it is no nickel-plated compliment for the poet.-"5 This letter indicated that after four months the Browning readings were still being held. It revealed Twain’s great pride in the reading sessions. Howells called this interest and pride his "Browning passion.It can be concluded from Twain's statements that he appreciated the attention of his audience and respected their listening abilities. Paine stated that Twain devoted three days a week to the 577 preparation of the readings for oral presentation. The letter above revealed that he prepared from thirty to forty pages of poetry for each reading session. At the start of ^^Wecter (ed.), Mrs. Fairbanks, pp. 260-261. -^William Bean Howells, Mv Mark Twain (New York: Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1910), p. 16. 57?Paine, Biography, p. 8^-6. 289 the readings he prepared brief lectures of explanation for the material to be read. Twain stated In the letter that the most popular readings were "Babbi Ben Ezra," "Up In a Villa," "Abt Vogler," and "Caliban in Setebos"; that he repeated the popular poems on request. An interesting insight into Twain's thinking was revealed in his statement that the popularity of the readings was due to the mate rials of the author rather than to his oral interpretation of them. On December 2, 1887 Twain discussed his reading of the poems of Robert Browning in a letter to a Mrs. Foote. The letter was as follows: Well people & things do swap places in most unexpected ways in this world. Twenty years ago I was platform-humorist & you a singer of plain tive Scotch ballads that were full of heart-break & tears. And now we have changed places. You are platform-humorist (among other things), & I am reader to a Browning class I I can't Imagine a com pleter reversal of roles than this. I hope you find your changes as pleasant as I do mine, and that you are as willing as I to let the thing to remain as it is; for I wouldn't trade back for any money• Now when you come to think of it, wasn't it a curious idea— I mean, for a dozen ladies of (apparently) rsicl high intelligence to elect me their Browning-reader? Of course you think I declined— at first; but I didn't. I'm not the declining sort. I would take charge of the con stellations if I were asked to do it. All you need in this life is ignorance & confidence; then success is sure. I've been Browning-reader forty two weeks, now, & my class has never lost a member by desertion. What do you think of that, for a man in a business he wasn't [ital] brought up to? 290 I wonder if— in one particular— your experi ence in your new avocation duplicates mine. For instance, I used to explain Mr. Browning— but the class won't stand that. They say that my reading imparts clear comprehension— ft that is a good deal of a compliment, you know, but they say the poetry never gets obscure till I begin to explain it— whioh is only frank. * that is the softest you can say about it. So I've stopped being expounder, ft thrown my heft on the reading. Yes, ft with vast results— nearly unbelievable results. I don't wish to flatter anybody, yet I will say this much: put me in the right condition & give me room accord ing to my strength, ft I can read Browning so Browning himself can understand it. It sounds like stretching, but it's the cold truth. Moral: don't explain your author; read him right ft he explains himself. • • #57o Twain's statements above revealed that the readings continued for over a year; that his interest and enthusiasm in the readings and his audience's interest and enthusiasm had not diminished. As the sessions continued, Twain omitted the introductory explanations and depended entirely upon the oral interpretation to convey the meaning of the selections. He moralized that an author, properly inter preted in oral presentation, needed no explanation. The literature investigated revealed additional comments on Twain's Browning readings. Kenneth R. Andrews quoted Grace King, who was present at the Browning readings, as saying: He read Browning without a drawl or marked cadence and made the text transparent by subtle "^Phelps, o p . cit.. pp. 65-66. 291 57Q emphases in the right places. ^ Paine, who could not understand Twainfs absorption in the poems of Robert Browning, said: It is one of the puzzling phases of Mark Twain's character that, notwithstanding his passion for direot and lucid expression, he should have found0 pieasure in the poems of Robert Browning.580 Van Wyck Brooks thought that he had found the answer to Paine's puzzlement when he wrote: "• • .we can perhaps attribute it to the fun he had in puzzling it all out. „ 58l • ft At any rate, seven volumes of the poems and poeti cal dramas of Robert Browning, from which Twain read to his Browning "class," contained page after page marked with penciled underscorings, in addition to penciled interjec tions, cancellations, substitutions and marginal notations. Twain wrote in the front of one of the books (Dramatis Personae): The pencilings in this book are inexplicable, except by this explanation, which is the true one: they were made, in order to give the eye instant help in placing & shading emphases— a very neces sary precaution when one reads Browning aloud. (This statement had been initialed S. L. C.) ^^Andrews, op. cit.. p. 105. 5®°Paine, Biography, p. 8*t7. 58lvan Wyck Brooks, The Ordeal of Mark Twain (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1^20), p. 153. 292 In spite of Twain's statement that the pencilings were inexplicable, the interjections, substitutions, can cellations and marginal notations indicated, in many instances, a plausible or possible oral interpretation within the poems and dramas. For instance, in the poem "Ivan Ivanovitch" (Agememnon. La Saisiaz. Dramatic Idyls and Joooseria. pages 300 through 325), Twain wrote on the title page "Reads 50 minutes." Immediately below Twain wrote "Reads b$ minutes." The figure forty-five was heavily written. This probably indicated that through practice Twain had decreased his reading time by five minutes. In the same volume, on page 306, line fourteen, Twain cancelled a comma after the words "way" and "guess." In the following line, he cancelled a comma after the word "chirrup." The lines as written by Browning were* No care to guide old Droug, he knows his way, by guess, Onoe start him on the road: but chirrup, none the less! The lines as Twain read them were: No care to guide old Droug, he knows his way by guess Once start him on the road: but chirrup none the less! Twain apparently cancelled these commas lest they beguile him into pausing and thus lengthen his reading time. It seemed to me that altering the phrasing by omitting a possible pause did not alter the meaning. 293 On page 311) line ten, Twain drew a heavy line under the words "a woman** and extended It far out Into the right margin. The complete phrase read: . . . a woman, After all, Contending with a wolf. The unusualness of a woman contending with a wolf probably caused Twain to lengthen the pronunciation of the word "woman." The extended line probably guided him in such an interpretation. On page 312, line six, Twain cancelled a comma after the word "bones." As the phrases in which this word appeared are printed, they read: • • . his neck keeps fast thy bag Of holy things, saints' bones, this Satan-face will drag, Forth, . . . The phrases were as Twain read them: . . . his neck keeps fast thy bag Of holy things, saints' bones this Satan-face will drag, Forth, . . . As the phrases were printed "saints* bones" seemed to be a part of the "holy things" contained in the bag. As Twain probably read them the "saints* bones" were the only items of the "holy things" Satan-face will drag forth from the bag. In lines thirteen and fourteen on the same page, Twain cancelled a dash in each line, respectively. Probably this was done to save reading time* On page 323, Twain drew a heavy line between lines eighteen and nineteen* This line was extended through the entire right margin* Although beyond this line there were two more pages of poetical summary in the poem, it could have logically ended at Twain's mark without loss of mean ing or effect. Perhaps his line indicated that he intended to end the poem after line eighteen. At any rate, there were no underscorings on the remaining two pages* In the following portion of this report the can cellations, interjections, substitutions and marginal nota tions will be listed without attempting analysis. The analysis of the possible interpretation of the underscor- inge of a complete poem will be included later. In the poem entitled "Ecletlos," on page 356, line one of stanza three, in the right margin, following the word , , de8cribed,, ' Twain wrote the word "decried," enclosed in parenthesis* In the poem "Clive" (pages 358 through 376), on page 362, Twain drew a heavy line extending into the left margin between the two stanzas. On the following page, at the bottom, there was a similar line extending into the right margin. There was a possibility that Twain omitted this section. Twain wrote "And he says"; on the right side of the top of page 365* This interjection preceded a 295 stanza enclosed In quotation marks. On page 366, Twain drew a caret and wrote "I said:" after the words ”1 rose . . ." at the beginning of stanza two, a new quotation. The words "I said": appeared before the next quotation at the beginning of the third stanza. HHe retorted": was placed at the beginning of the next line, a new quotation. At the beginning of the next new quotation Twain wrote "I said— ." At the end of line nine Twain wrote "& They said— ." After the second word in line four, on page 369, Twain placed a caret and inserted over the line "he cried." At the bottom of the same page, the last line was followed by "and they said— On page 370, line eleven, was pre ceded by a caret from which a line was drawn to the words "I said— ," above and to the right. At the beginning of line nine, on the same page, Twain wrote the word "No!" At the bottom of the page Twain printed the word "Over." A heavy line was drawn from this word upward and off the page, continuing on the next page from the beginning of the printing of the poem down the left margin and under line four. The next marked poem in this volume was "Muleykey." It has been photographed and will be presented later in this report. In the poem "Cristina and Monaldesoh," pages V65 through *+71, a comma was cancelled in line six on page **67. 296 On the same page, in line ten, a dash was cancelled. On page *f68, a vertical line was drawn paralleling the last four lines in stanza two and the first four lines in stanza three. In the left margin, opposite this vertical line, two question marks had been made. Between the vertical line opposite stanza three and the printing of the stanza an exclamation point was written. On page *f69> in the right margin opposite line four of the last stanza, Twain wrote "(but all other from which) [sio]." In the Table of Contents of this volume the titles of five poems were checked. Pour poems in the volume con tained penciled underscorings, interjections, cancella tions and marginal notations. In the volume entitled Men and Women and Sordello. in the poem "Any Wife to Any Husband," pages 58 through 6*f, a question mark appeared in the left margin at the beginning of line two, stanza fourteen. In the poem "The Last ride Together," pages 131 through 135, there was a vertical line in the left margin extending downward oppo site lines eight, nine and ten in stanza five. A similar vertical line was drawn in the left margin opposite lines two, three and four in stanza six. In the poetical drama "In a Balcony," second part, pages 231 through 2*+3* a vertical line was drawn opposite lines four through twelve of the Queen's first speech. On page 239 a similar line 297 was drawn in the left margin opposite lines fifteen, six teen and seventeen of the Queen's speech. In part three of the same poem, on page 2*+7, there was a vertical line drawn in the left margin opposite lines three through seven in Norbert's second speech. In the first word of line nine on page 256 an error in spelling was corrected by cancelling an "h" in the word "where." In the poem "One Word More," page 3*+6, stanza nine, a vertical line was drawn in the left margin opposite lines seven through ten. There were five poems marked in this volume. In the prologue to a group of poems entitled "Pacchiarotto and Other Poems," in the volume entitled Balaustion. Aristophanes and Other Poems, page ^73, line three, stanza three, Twain wrote the abbreviation of the word "and" over a dash and place a small dot under the dash. In the fourth line of the same stanza he cancelled a question mark and added an exclamation point. In the poem "A Forgiveness," pages 562 through 583, Twain placed parentheses around a parenthetical phrase in lines eighteen and nineteen on page 568. On page 570 there was a question mark in the left margin opposite lines ten and eleven. In the right margin on page 572, at the end of line eight, the abbreviation for "paragraph" appeared. A dash was cancelled in line nine on page 580. At the end of the first line on page 581 Twain wrote "(stop)[sic]." At the end of line ten on the some page he wrote "(turns out)[sic]," Two poems were checked in the Table of Contents but not marked; two poems were marked. In the poem "Under the Cliff," pages 26 through 30, in the volume entitled Dramatis Personae, a vertical line appeared in the left margin of page 28 opposite lines three, four and five in stanza eight. On page 28 a similar line appeared in the left margin opposite lines two and three in stanza fourteen. In the poem "Abt Vogler," pages 80 through 86, a caret between the words "them" and "and" indicated the addition of the words "(the laws)[sic]" written above. In the poem "Rabbi Ben Ezra," pages 89 through 99* the word "complete" in the last line of stanza ten was enclosed with quotation marks. On page 96, stanza twenty-one, a caret indicated the insertion of the words "whom" in lines four and five. Commas were cancelled in lines four and five, respectively, of stanza ninety-seven, page 96. In stanza twenty-seven, line one, page 98, a comma was cancelled. A symbol for "and" was placed in the left margin of page 98 opposite line one in stanza twenty- nine. In stanza thirty-one on page 99 a part of line four, all of line five and a part of line six were enclosed in parentheses. In the poem, "A Death in the Desert," pages 103 through 132, in line eleven on page 113» Twain marked out the word "would" and substituted the word "should*" On the same page In line thirteen Twain wrote the words "(of Christ) [sic]" in the right margin. On page ll1 *, lines three, four and five are joined by a series of circular lines in the left margin. After line twenty-one, on page ll1 *, Twain wrote "(canft tell it 2 days alike) [sic]." On page 119* above the words "out of him," Twain wrote the word "(side) [sic]." In line seventeen, on the same page, the word "ever" was changed to "always." At the top of page 121 Twain wrote the words "Pagan teaching: [sic]" and apparently crossed them out. He repeated the same words at the bottom of the page. On page 122 in line five a comma was cancelled. Another comma was cancelled in line sixteen on page 125. In line seven on page 125 a caret indicated the addition of the words "which would be." On page 126, six words in line fourteen were enclosed with parentheses. On the same page a comma was cancelled in line twenty-three. In line twelve on page 127, Twain underscored the words "that he can," the words "that" and "can" heavily, and joined the three words with hyphens. The first three words in line nine on page 128 were enclosed with parentheses. Five commas were cancelled on this page. On the same page a vertical line was drawn in the right margin opposite the lines sixteen through nine teen, after which Twain wrote the word "heaven." On page 300 130 commas were cancelled In lines one and nine, A comma was cancelled after line eighteen on page 131* Another comma was cancelled after line three, page 132, In the poem "Caliban upon Setebos," pages 135 through lM-7, at the top of page l*tl Twain wrote "joy <& grief," On page l*tl, Twain wrote the word "God" in the left margin at the beginning of line six. Twain crossed this word out and wrote the same word again immediately below it. Between the two words and the beginning of line six he wrote the letter "S." On the same page Twain joined lines eight and nine with a brace, in front of which appeared what seemed to be a figure "2." After line ten, on the same page, in the right margin, Twain wrote the word "God." Above the word "Dam" in line thirteen Twain wrote the word "Mother." In the same line between the words "quiet" and "made" Twain wrote the word "alone." Above a caret in line nineteen Twain wrote the letter "C." Twain inserted the letter "C," evidently meaning Caliban, eleven times in the next four pages. The word "is" was written by Twain in the right margin after line four on page l*+5. On the same page, after line seventeen, the words "(& can) [sic 1" were added. At the bottom of page l*+7 Twain wrote the word "fast." In the poem "Prospice," pages 161 and 162, a verti cal line has been drawn in the left margin opposite lines 301 seven through twelve. In the poem "In a Gondola," pages 271 through 280, the whole first stanza on page 275 was included in a ver tically circular line in the right margin. In the poem "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," pages 306 through 317, a slight pencil mark appeared at the beginning of stanza seven on page 310. In the same poem on page 311 a mark extended upward into the right margin from the end of line six. There was a similar mark at the beginning of stanza eight on page 312. After the poem "The Confessional" and before the poem "The Plight of the Duchess," on page 360, Twain pen ciled "Begin here May 2/88 [sic]." On page 506, before Act V of the poetical drama "Strafford" Twain wrote "To be read Mch. 15/88 [sic]." In the poem entitled "Christmas Eve," pages 525 through 573» opposite line seven in the right margin, Twain wrote the word "Punch" twice. [Twain wrote a humorous essay called "Punch, Brothers, Punch."] At the beginning of line eleven on page 53*+, Twain enclosed the phrase "Tis the taught already that profits by teaching" with two ver tical short lines. There was a large question mark in the right margin after line nineteen on page 537. Twain added a period and circled it after line eleven on page 538• At the end of the last line on page 5*+0 a period has been 302 changed to a comma. On page 5*+3* there was an "X" penciled in the right margin between stanzas nine and ten. Commas were cancelled at the end of lines seven and eight on page 5*+*+. In the next to the last line on page 9+5 the word "the" .was inserted. Two commas were cancelled in line six of stanza eleven, page 5*+6, changing the parenthetical con-* struction. The word "self" was added to the end of the next to the last line on page 5^8. Twain added the letter "o" to the laBt word in line eleven on page 9+9* making the word read "gusto." On page 550, Twain drew a line from the first two words in line three to the top of the page and wrote, "if she could have her way." In the left margin on the same page opposite five lines of a series all beginning with the word "On," Twain penciled the word "(These)." To the last line of this series in the right margin Twain added "in their breasts." Prom the middle of the first line on page 55l, Twain drew a line upward to a penciled phrase, "(produces these things)," and under this phrase, "Excersisers of these acts." Twain drew a line from the second word in line eight on page 557 into the left margin, above which he wrote "(taste shall)." At the end of line two, page 558* Twain made a dash followed by the penciled word "and." On page 559* Twain bracketed four words of line three. On the same page, Twain drew an arrow from line twenty-one to line fifteen above. A dash was 303 cancelled at the end of line eight in stanza seventeen, page 56l. On page 56*f, a comma was cancelled at the end of the twenty-sixth line. On page 565, a comma was cancelled at the end of line ten. On page 568, a comma was cancelled at the end of line six. In the poem "Easter Day," pages 57^ through 612, Twain cancelled a dash at the end of the third line from the bottom of page 575. Twain drew a line from the word "revulsion" in line two, page 585) to a penciled word "return" at the top of the page. In line twenty-one, on the same page, Twain underscored the word "wings" heavily and drew an arrow from it to the word "heart" in the line below, also heavily underscored. On page 586, line ten, in stanza twelve, Twain substituted the word "and" for the word "or." At the bottom of the same page Twain wrote "(That there is no rest in sincere faith?— can*t sleep.) [sic]." A comma was cancelled in the last line on page 590. Twain inserted the word "intending" into line sixteen on page 591. A comma was cancelled at the end of line twenty-two on page 595. The next to the last line on page 593 was enclosed in parentheses. The last two words in the first line on page 599 were enclosed in parentheses. In the next to the last line on the same page, a semicolon was added after the word "world." On page 601, lines five and six were bracketed and the word "Blend [sic]" was 3o*f written In the right margin after them. The commas in a parenthetical expression were cancelled in line seven, page 602. In the right margin on page 60*+ after line six Twain added "Now, he will & and can." On the same page, in the left margin opposite line eleven, Twain wrote the word "blind" and crossed it out. In the same line he placed a caret before and after the word "day," drew a line from each caret to the right margin where he wrote: "his new birth, his resurrection had enriched his senses with the thousand sounds, etc. [sic]." A comma was can celled in the second line of stanza thirty, on page 609. Twain added three exclamation points after line nine on page 610, Two words in line five, page 6ll, were enclosed in parentheses. A vertical line appeared in the left mar gin of page 6ll opposite all of stanza 32. At the bottom of page 612, the end of the poem, Twain wrote the figure "1*+ [sic]." This figure was written over several erasures. Because the literature revealed that this poem was very popular with the Browning group, this figure may have indi cated the number of times Twain read the poem to them. There were thirteen poems checked or marked in this volume. In the volume entitled Dramas. Volumes I and II, in the poetical drama "King Victor and King Charles," pages 233 through 302, Twain added a question mark at the end of 305 line two, page 272. At the beginning of D’Ormes* first speech on the same page Twain wrote the word "To." Commas were cancelled in lines six and seventeen, respectively, on page 273* A comma was cancelled in the third line from the bottom of page 275. A comma was cancelled in the first line of page 286. On page 298, one exclamation point was added after line three, two after line twelve and one after the words "To horse" in line thirteen. A dash was cancelled after line eighteen on page 299* Twain wrote the word "Dying [sic]" in the left margin of page 302. « Prom beneath this word he drew a Jagged vertical line opposite the entire last speech of Victor. He enclosed three words in line six of this speech with brackets. In the poetical drama "Columbine’s Birthday," pages 30 5 through 381* - , Twain cancelled a comma at the end of line eight, page 307. He changed a period to a comma in the fourth line from the bottom of page 359. In the poetical drama "Luria," in volume two, Twain wrote at the top of page 185, "Begin here May 23/88 [sic]." Three poetical dramas were marked in this volume. In the volume entitled The Ring and the Book, con sisting of two volumes, in the poem "Count Guido Pranceschini" Twain drew a horizontal line from line 1035, in the right margin of page 233? to the end of the page. At the top of the first page (page 265) of the poem "Giuseppe Caponsacchi" Twain wrote "Next (Nov. 16) [sic]*" In volume two of the same book, in the poem "Pompilia," pages one through sixty-three, Twain drew an horizontal line in the right margin after line *+71. In the poem "Hyacinthus De Archangelis," pages 6*f through 118, Twain drew a check mark after line l,2*+2, in the left margin, of page 102. In the left margin, page 132, after line **73 in the poem "Johannes-Baptista Bottinius," pages 119 through 167, Twain drew two slanting marks. On the last page of the poem "The Ring and the Book," pages 306 through 332, Twain wrote the figure "V7 [sic1." Six poems in this volume were marked by Mark Twain. The poem "Muleykeh," pages 277 through 386, in the volume entitled Agememnon. La Saisiaz. Dramatic Idyls, and Jocoseria, seemed to contain typical examples of the under scorings, cancellations, interjections and marginal nota tions used by Mark Twain in the seven volumes of the works of Robert Browning. Because of this observation, this poem was chosen for analysis in this study to illustrate the most typical underscorings, cancellations, interjections and marginal notations. It was hoped that such an analyti cal attempt might reveal the possible relationship of the penciled markings to Twain’s oral interpretation of the Browning selections. In the long run, however, because no explanations, except the one written by Twain in one of the MULEYKEH. I r a stranger passed the tent of Hdseyn, he cried " A churl's ! ” Or haply “ God help the man who has neither salt nor bread ! ” 308 books, have been found to date, it must be remembered that the conclusions drawn in the analytical report that follows are entirely conjectural, though logically possible• The first twelve lines of the poem will be pre sented line by line. The remaining lines of the poem will be presented as new and different underscorings, cancella tions, interjections and marginal notations occur. Line 1: If a 8tranger passed the tent of Hoseyn, he cried, "A churl's I" The marking under the proper name "Hoseyn" apparently indicated that Twain placed the accent on the "Hos" in the name. The slanting mark after the word "Hoseyn" could have indicated a slight pause. The single line under the word "churl," followed by a waved line with a distinct downward curve, apparently indicated that Twain wished to give slight stress to that particular word on a downward inflection. Line 2: Or haply "God help the man who has neither salt nor bread I" The words "Or haply" were very lightly underlined and followed by a slanting mark. The slight stress and pause were, presumably, to give emphasis to the exclamation which follows. 309 309 *r — “ Nay,” would a friend exclaim, “ he needs nor / ^ n pity nor scorn More than who spends small thought on the shore- sand/picking pearls, C^O 310 Line 3* — "Nay," would a friend exclaim, "he needs nor nor pity nor scorn A slanting mark after the word "Nay" seemed to indicate a slight pause. The light underscoring of the word "friend" seemed to stress, mildly, the contrast of the statement of the "stranger" in the first line. The word "he," presum ably, was given the same stress as the word "Hoseyn" in the first line. The words "pity" and "scorn," almost iden tically underscored, could have been read with the same stress that was placed on the word "churl's" which was sim ilarly underscored in the first line. The waved line after the word "scorn" evidently indicated a downward inflection to parallel the thought expressed in the words "A churl*st" in the first line. Line *+» More than who spends small thought on the shore- sand, picking pearls, There was a slight underscoring of the word "shore," evi dently indicating that the word was to be mildly stressed. The reason for this slight stress on the word "shore" was obscure, except, perhaps, for the beauty in the expression of the two words "shore-sand." The commas preceding and following the words "picking pearls" were canoelled. Twain apparently disagreed with the implied parenthetical con struction of the poet. In omitting the commas he ffr Holds but in light esteem the seed sort, bears in stead On his breast a moon-like prize, some orb which of night makes mom. 312 apparently gave the two worde "picking pearls" equal value in the thought of this and the following lines. These particular markings seemed to indicate that he felt that the thought must continue unbroken. Twain apparently sub stituted a subtle oral technique for the compositional punctuation; he apparently stressed the word "pearls," building the emphasis on an upward inflection which called for a slight sustained pause. This was indicated by a line that turned upward at the end of the line. Line 5* — Holds but in light esteem the seed-sort, bears in stead The dash was cancelled. This dash suggested a pause. Twain apparently felt that a pause was not necessary. The short underscorings of the words "esteem" and "seed-sort" seemed to indicate that each word received a slight stress. Line 6: On his breast a moon-like prize, some orb which of night makes mom. The words "bears instead" in line five above were under scored by a solid line extending into the margin and con tinuing under the words "On his breast a moon-like prize," in line six. These markings apparently indicated that Twain read the phrase with the same emphatic value, with the exception of the words "moon-like prize" which were heavily scored. This heavy stress could have been used to “ What j f no flocks and herds enrich the son of SinAn t They went when his tribe was mulct,^ten thousand camels the due, emphasize the comparison between the delicate, diminutive "pearls" and "seed-sort" of lines four and five, respec tively, and the glaring enormity of "moon-like prize" in line six. The meaning of the curved mark over the word "some" was obscure, unless Twain intended to start the phrase on a higher tone than he had used on the word "prize." If so, the waved mark he placed at the end of the sentence would have indicated a gradual lowering of tone to the downward inflection at the end of the phrase. In the process of the possible downward inflection the brilliance of the words "moon-like prize" could have been reflected in the stressing of the words "night" and "mom." Line 7: What if no flocks and herds enrich the son of SinfiLn? Twain underscored the word "if" rather heavily; apparently he intended to imply what does it matter that [ital mine] "no flocks and herds enrich the son of Sin&i?" Line 8: They went when his tribe was mulct, ten thousand camels the due, Twain placed a slanting mark after the word "mulct," evi dently indicating a pause. The parentheses with which he enclosed the phrase "ten thousand camels are due," could have indicated that the phrase was read parenthetically in a lower pitch. A slanting mark within the parentheses at the end of the phrase could have indicated a pause. 315 315 filood-value paid perforce for a murder done of old. (9) ‘ God gave them, let them go I But never since time began, (10) 378 m u l r y k e m. MuUfykeh, peerless mare, owned master the match of ( 11) you. 316 Line 9: Blood-value paid perforce for a murder done of old. Line nine Lad only the words "murder" and "old" under scored, apparently Indicating the use of slight stress for meaning* Line 10: * God gave them, let them go I But never since time began, The words "God" and "let" were lightly underscored; the words "gave" and "go" heavily underscored. These under scorings seemed to indicate that the equal stress on "God" and "let" and on "gave" and "go" were used to clarify the philosophy of the maxim. Twain underscored the word "time" with a mark extending into the margin, continuing with the same penciled shading under the word "began." This mark seemed to indicate that both words were read with an exact and sustained degree of force. A waved mark ending with a downward curve at the end of the line seemed to denote a downward inflection of the voice. Line 11: Mul^ykeh, peerless mare, owned master the match of you, In the above line, the underscoring of the middle syllable of the word "Mul^ykeh" seemed a reminder of how the word was to be accented. The slanting mark after the word "Muldykeh" seemed to indicate a slight pause. The 317 317 And you are my prize, my Pearl : I laugh at men * , - „ \ land and Q j d r ^ 318 underscoring of the word "mare" seemed for the purpose of stressing early in the reading that the mare was the focal point of the narrative of the poem. The slanting mark after the word “mare,” presumably, indicating another pause, added to the emphasis of this detail. The stress indicated by a moderately heavy underscoring of the word "you" seemed to give dramatic emphasis to the esteem in which the mare was held by her owner. Line 12: And you are my prize, my Pearl: I laugh at men's land and gold!' The underscoring of "you" indicated the same underlying quality as the marking for "you" in line eleven above. The stress mark under the first word "my" seemed to indicate that the word was read with a quality of possession. Twain made a deeply etched, indecipherable symbol which seemed to indicate that the second word "my" was read with great force in addition to a voice quality denoting pride and possessiveness. The upward waved and slanting mark, indi cating an upward inflection and a slight pause, after the word "Pearl" seemed to sustain the dramatic admiration of the owner of the mare. The words "I laugh at men's land and gold" were underlined by a continuous mark, with the words "land" and "gold" heavily underscored. These markings suggested that degrees of force were apparently applied to the reading of this phrase, emphasizing the feelings of 319 319 " So_ in the pride of hi* soul laughs Hdseyn— and (13) riyht, I say. Do the ten steeds run a race of glory? Outstripping (lb) i l l s ber M uKylttli stands first steed at the victor'jl. ( 1 ^ ) 7 staff. Who started/the owner's hoge, gets shamed and ( l 6 ) named, that day/ ' Silence,* or, last but ^jjc, is * The Cuffed,’ as we use (17) to call Whom the paddock's lord thrusts forth. Right, (i d ) Hdseyn, I say, to laugh.” “Boasts be Mutlykeh the Pearl?” the stranger re- (19) plies : " Be sure 320 Hoseyn for his mare, Muldykeh. The markInga exemplified in the above twelve lines of the poem "Muldykeh" were generally those consistently used throughout the entire poem, indeed, throughout the entire series of Browning readings. It seemed probable that these specific markings were consistent in purpose. To continue a line by line analysis seemed repetitious; however, there were additional features of Twain*s under- scorings and markings to aid his oral interpretation of the poems. These underscorings, cancellations, interjec tions and marginal notations in the poem "Muldykeh" will be presented in order and by line number. The first of these additional markings was found in line 13. Line 13 reads "So in the pride of his soul laughs Hoseyn— and right, I say. After the words "I say" Twain inserted the words "For instance— fsic!Presumably, because there were nine words inserted throughout this poem, and many throughout the other marked poems, Twain could have used the interjec tions for two purposes: (1) he could have actually read them orally into the poem to aid in the understending of the meaning he desired to convey, or, (2) he could have used them as cues to thought motivation to be expressed with Browning's words. Line 19* 321 321 On hiip £ waste nor acorn ngr pity, but lavish both ( 2 0 ) On Duhl the ton of SheybAn, who withers away in ( 2 1 ) heart For envy of Hdscyn's luck. Such sickness admits no SUf. (22) A certain poet has sung, and sealed the same with an oath^ ( 23) MULE YKEH. 379 1 fo r the vulgar.# flocks and herds I The P{|[l is a ( 2^+ ) prise agart.*" N (25) Loj DtiM the son of FheybAn comes nding to Hdseyn a \ s / tent. 322 "Boasts he Mul^ykeh the Pearl?" the stranger re plies: "Be sure In the left margin opposite line nineteen Twain wrote the word "Surprise, [sic]." It seemed improbable that Twain read the word into the line. It was probable, however, that the word was to reflect the meaning of the whole stanza which followed. Line 20: On him I waste nor scorn nor pity, but lavish both In this line, after the word "pity," Twain used the reverse of the slanting pause marks, referred to above. It seemed that this mark still indicated a slight pause, but with a downward inflection of finality without variation of the voice on the word "pity." Line 25: Lo, Duhl the son of Sheybdn comes riding to Hoseyn*s tent, In the left margin opposite this line Twain drew a par tially horizontal mark from the first word of the sentence extending to the edge of the page. Below this mark appeared the words "2 [sic] picture." It was at this point in the narrative of the poem that the villainy began to unfold. It seemed quite likely that the interpretation of this part of the poem called for a change in rate of delivery and a harsh quality of tone, hence the word "sur prise," beside line nineteen above. 323 32 3 And he cuts hi* saddle down' and enters and “ Peace " bid* he. ( 26 ) “ You are poor, 1 know the cause: my plenty shall mend the wrong. (27) T is said of your Pearl the price of i^h^tdon- ^ spent ( 28 ) In her purchase were scarce Ul paid : such prudence is {ay from me ( 2 9 ) Who proffer a thousand. Speak I Long parley may last Jgo long.” (30) Said Hdseyn " You feed young beasts a many, of fa mous breed, ( 3 1 ) Slit-eared, unblemished, fat, true offspring of Mdzen- (32) (3*0 (35) (36) There stumbles no weak-eyed she in the line as it climbs the hill. , ( 3 3 ) But I love Muldykeh’ s face : her forefront whitens in deed Like a yellowish wave’ s cream-crest. Your camels — y ' go gaze on them I Her fetlock is foam-splashed too. Myself am the richet still.” Line 26 s And he casts his saddle down, and enters and "Peace" bids he. At the end of the above line, after the words "bids he," Twain penciled "& goes on* [sic]." Evidently, because of Browning's style of breaking a continuous speech, Twain felt the listeners would be confused so he interjected clarifying words of his own to distinguish the proper speaker. Line 35* Like a yellowish wave's cream-crest. Your camels— go gaze on themI In the middle of the last sentence of the above line, after the words "Your camels," Twain inserted the interjection "Hmi" To understand the probable meaning of this insertion the narrative to this point must be reviewed. Briefly, Hoseyn owned a fast mare, Mul^ykeh, which he dearly loved. In fact, though he was once wealthy, the mare was Hoseyn*s sole cherished possession. Duhl, the villain, was covetous of Hoseyn's prized mare. Duhl came to Hoseyn and in scorn ful and slanderous terms, reminding him of his poverty, offered him a thousand camels for the mare. Hoseyn scorned the offer, eulogizing the mare in glamorous terms, told Duhl to go gaze on his camels. Thus, meaningfully, Twain added the interjection "Hmi" aiding the expression of the attitude in which Duhl's offer was refused. 325 325 jS o truLM rrtH. A year g o t b y : lo, back to the tent again ride* Duhl.' ( 3 7 ) “ You are open hearted, ay — moist-handed,' a very prince.' Why should I apeak of tale ? Be the mare your aim- pie gift I My ion l» pined to death for her beauty: my wife prompt* ' Fool, for hi* take' the Pearl I Be God the rewarder, tinea God pays debt* aeven for one: who squanders on Him ahowa thrift'" * Another year, and — Met I What craft ia it Duhl de- f aina f (38) (39) (>t0) (Vl) 0f2) (^3) (Mf) Said Hdaeyn “ God ghrea each man one life, like a lamp, then fives That lamp due meaaura of oil : lamp lighted — hold htrin way* wide . ~ * It* comfort for othera to there I once quench it, what / r help ie left I ^ 5 } The oil^q^ j g ^ ^ n p ia your ^ahine while Mu- ( ^ - 6 ) Would I beg your ton to cheer my dark if Muldykeh (U -7 ) died f It ia life against life : what good avail* to the life- ( I f 8 ) "bereft f" (>+9) Line 37* A year goes by: lo, back to the tent again rides Duhl. At the end of the above line Twain added the words "& says," apparently to avoid confusion in the minds of his listen ers. Line V3: Said Hoseyn "God gives each man one life, like a lamp, then gives In the left margin opposite line forty-three, Twain wrote the word "fierlich." Apparently, Twain misspelled this word. There was a German word spelled "frerlich," meaning "solemn." Certainly, the contents of line forty-three, as well as the content of the stanza in which it appeared, would be effective if solemnly read. Line M-9* Another year, and— hist. What craft is it Duhl de signs? In the left margin opposite line forty-nine, Twain wrote the words "3d [sic] picture." In this portion of the narrative the villainy began in the "second picture" was put into practice: namely, Duhl stole the mare from Hoseyn. The thought motivated by the words following Twain's notation seemed to call for a faster tempo and great excitement of voice in reading. Twain wrote "at: [sic]" above the word "hist." Perhaps he used this sound instead of the word. 327 327 MULMYJCSir. 3* I He slights not at the door of the toot ss ho did lsat_ ( 5 0 ) time,' ' Buy croeping bo hind, ho gropos his stealthy way by ( 5X ) the trench ^ Half-round till ho finds the Asp in the folding, (for ( 5 2 . ) night combines With the robber — snd such is he ^ Duhl, covetous ( 5 3 ) up to crime. Must wring from Hdeeyn’ s grssp the Pearl, by what- ever the wrenrh y ' * < T 2 -1 f my styp. — ■ And s gibe wss sll my thanks Is he generous like ( 5 6 ) Spring dyer / Account the fanh to a* who chaffered with ouch sn (. j f ) ooe I He has killed,' to least chance comers, the creature he ( 5 8 ) (5>0 For s couple of _sii^ifig-girls his robe has he torn in ( 5 9 ) two : . Lines % and 55: Must wring from Hoseyn1s grasp the Pearl, by what ever the vrenoh. "He was hunger-bitten, I heard: I tempted with half my store, Between lines fifty-four and fifty-five Twain wrote the words "Soliloquy of Duhl:." This interjection seemed to be for the purpose of identifying the speaker. In all probability Twain read them into the poem to aid audience awareness. Line 57: Account the fault to me who chaffered with such an one! At the end of line fifty-seven Twain added the word "Why!" It seemed that the addition of this word strengthened Duhl1 s self-appraisement in appealing for sympathy for his deed. Line 59: For a couple of singing-girls his robe has he torn in two: After line fifty-nine Twain wrote the word "So— fsic 1." preceded by an exclamation point. The exclamation point seemed to indicate the climax of a series of derogatory explanations in the vilification of Hoseyn by Duhl. The word "So" seemed to aid the interpretation of the thought that Duhl, after all considerations, had arrived at a definite conclusion to act. At the same time, the word "So" seemed to provide a vocal bridge to guide the 329 329 I will beg I AYet I nowise gained by the tale of my wife and son. / ' " I swear by the Holy House, my head wilt I never 1 wash y ■ TUI I filch his Pearl away. Fair dealing I triad, then I guile, • jta mrtamm. Ami m am I seeott te fgaa. He aaU we warn M siw **'■ . -SA./ Let M w i d k a , thee, — let aae Hee l)(Be bgfcl — h w t not tee rmk I - - f3 ^ y I ^ m a ^ A s s m J m a m ----- — ■ H M H M I PWj W f f f W I W W H Iwy jW h hraethtac w W la — (60) (61) (62) (63) (6b) (65) 330 listeners along two lines of thoughts Line 60: I will beg I Yet I nowise gained by the tale of my wife and son. In line sixty Twain placed an Mxn between the words "beg” and "Yet." The words "I will beg!" referred to the conclu sion reached by Duhl as a method to persuade Hoseyn to part with the mare. The following lines indicated that he had already tried this method on Hoseyn in the second picture of the poem. Undoubtedly, the symbol "x" indicated a long, thought-provoking pause and a change to a rhythm of futil ity. Lines 6l and 62: "I swear by the Holy House, my head will I never wash Till I filch his Pearl away. Pair dealing I tried, then guile, In the left margin opposite lines sixty-one and sixty-two Twain drew a huge exclamation point and an irregular verti cal mark. Evidently, he intended these lines to be read with great dramatic force. Line 6*f: Let him die, then— let me live I Be bold— but not too rash! In line sixty-four Twain added an "x" symbol before the phrase "Be bold— but not too rash!" Here again, Browning has made a sudden transition in thought and apparently 331 331 for Baa la how •boot W o wriet: ’ Tiat|B{fhreheeleapeeo Aa^'leeae M k b W l , **<>««>. haraietar bora Tbo winning tail’ sflmAaah -the m o b throagh too that known io o t ia aho yet over ■iared m b poat tbo tbnndcr- " Wo laao aha stands saddled and bridled, this append,' in caaa boom thief " Shonld rater and atiaa and fly with the first, aa J_ aaeaa to j a ' >t ^ / What than f The Prari ia the P u r l: once asrinnt her i tacajia." UVLMYKMM. 3*3 Throagh the aUrhfloU jn gUdaa Dnkt,— ao a aarpant dtetmbe no loaf ” In a buab aa be parts the twigs entwining a naat: clean through/ He la noiselessly at his work: aa he planned, ha par- forma the rape. He has set the tent-door wide,' baa bncklad the girth, has dipped The hiadatall away tnan tbo wrist ha laarae tbriea boaad aa before.'' i i L a ^b^^bn ^ ttH OOH • Up starts onr plundered n t » : froas Mb broaat thongh * the heart be ripped. Yet his bra the ■artery: behold, in a nriaate Ha ia i whoae worth we know I (66) (67) (68) (69) (70) (71) (72) (73) (7*0 (75) (76) (77) (78) (79) (80) (81) (82) (83) (8*0 332 Twain indicated a lengthy pause and a change of tempo. Over the word "bold” in this line Twain wrote the word f , Sh!" It seemed likely that in this case the word "Shi" was not read into the poem but reminded the reader to lower his voice, even to a determined whisper. Immediately following line sixty-four Twain wrote - - P. - - » The lines throughout this portion of the poem portrayed Duhl's stealthily preparing to enter Hoseyn'a tent to steal the mare. The symbol added at the end of line sixty-four seemed to indicate a prolonged pause, possibly, to create suspense and let the audience picture in their minds the action taking place. Line 66: I explore for myself ! Now breathe! He deceived me not, the spy! In the above line, before the word "Now" Twain placed the symbol "X." Above the same word he wrote the letter "P." After the same word he drew a heavy slanting mark. It seemed that Twain with these markings not only attempted to portray the excitement of Duhl, but, at the same time, to command his listeners to relieve their emotional sus pense • Lines 79 and 8W: He has set the tent-door wide, has buckled the girth, has clipped • • • 333 And H d N )n -h it blood turnsfla*e£he has learned loaf since to ride, And Bnbdyaeh dots her port,— they fain — they are gaining fast On the fugitive pair,''and Duhl has Ed-Dirraj to croas end <£tit,' And to ranch the ridge El-Sabin, — no safety till that be spied I ' A 384 UUUt YKRH. * / And fiuh^yseh jf, bound by bound, but a home-lenfth off at last,^ For the Pearl has eiiiasd the tgpof the heel the touch of the bit She shortens her stride, she chafes at her rider the strange and queer: Buhdyseh is with hope — beat sister she shall and must, Though Duhly of the hand and heel so clumsyy she has to thank. She ia near now,' nose by tail — they are neck by croup — joy ! fear I » ■ • Whatfajlfc makes Hdeeyn shout “ Damned ^sop of the Dust ! Touch thrriahlj y and press with your joot my Pearl’s left fljjjk I ’’ (85) (86) (87) (88) (89) (90) (91) (92) (93) (9*0 (95) (96) 33* * He le out and off and away on Buhlyaeh, whose worth we know! In the margin opposite lines seventy-nine through eighty- four Twain drew an irregular vertical mark. Outside of this Mark Twain added the interjection "Shi." Included in these lines was the scene of the accomplishment of the theft of the mare. Twain evidently intended the entire portrayal of the theft to be read in a very low voice. Line 93* Though Duhl, of the hand and heel so clumsy, she has to thank. In the left margin opposite line ninety-three, Twain added the word "Even." The addition of this line seemed to emphasize the comparison of the two horses in the race. Line 9*** She is near now, nose by tail— they are neck by croup— joy! fear! Immediately following the end of line ninety-four Twain wrote the word "Pause," which he underlined. It seemed that he intended a prolonged pause to create suspense for the outcome of the chase and provide a silent transition for the surprising exclamation that followed. Lines 95 and 96* What folly makes Hoseyn shout "Dog Duhl, Damned son of the Dust, Touch the right ear and press with your foot my Pearl’s left flank!" In the left margin opposite the above lines, Twain made 335 335 And Duhl was wine at the word.' and linldykeh aa prompt perceived Who waa urging redoubled pace^and to hear him waa toobejrp And a leap indeed gave a he, and evaniahed for ever more................................? \ ^ j And Hdaeyn looked one long laat look aa who. all be* > ■ reaved,'' MVLS YA'&H. 3*5 L ooks,' fain to follow the dead ao far aa the living atv Thaw he turned Buhtyaeh'a neck alow howiewaid, weeping sore. And, loC in the aunriac, atill aat Hdaeyn upon the ground Weeping : and neighbor* came, the tribesmen of Bfaiu-Atid In the vale of green Er-Raaa, and they questioned him of h is ^ ie f ; And he tpljj from first to laat how, serpent like, Duhl had wound H is way to the neat, and how Duhl rode like u ^ c . And how Buhdysch did wonders, yet 1 ‘carl remained with the thief. And they jeered him /one and all^: “ I’ oor lldscyn is erased paat jjjjpc I (97) (98) (99) (100) ( 101) ( 102) (103) ( 10*0 (105) ( 106) (107) (108) (109) 336 three heavy vertical marks• He completely underscored these two lines, with heavily added shadings for emphasis. It seemed that by these markings he intended to impersonate the shout of Hoseyn with great dramatic force. Lines 99 and 100: And a leap indeed gave she, and evanished for ever more. And Hoseyn looked one long last look as who, all be reaved , After line 99 Twain wrote the following: - - Preceding line 100 he drew a heavy bracket enclos ing the letter "P." In the symbols immediately following this line there were more dashes before and after the letter "P" than in any other instance in which these symbols were used in the poem. This line was the climax of the story of the poem. This symbol seemed to Indicate a long, elaborate pause. Evidently, Twain felt that his audience needed time to absorb the impact of the climactic exclama tion of this line. The symbol preceding line 100 seemed to indicate that he paused even longer to allow his listeners to recover emotionally and to prepare themselves for the rest of the narrative. Line 109: And they jeered him, one and all: "Poor Hoseya is crazed past hope! After the word "all" and before the word "Poor" in the above line, Twain inserted the words "& said.1 ' This was another 337 337 How else had he wrought himself his ruiiy in fortune's spite f To have simply held the tongue were a l:\>k f»r a 0 1 g i r l , And here were Mulevkeh again, the eyed tike an ante- Jelop, » 5 386 MUi.fiY/CEH. The child of his heart by day, the wife of his breast by night ! ” — / “ And the beaten in speed 1 ” wept Hdseyn : * * You never have loved my Pearl.” (110) (111) (112) (113) (!!»+) 338 instance of an interjection to clarify the beginning of a quotation and to indicate to the listeners who was speak ing. Line 113* The child of his heart by day, the wife of his breast by night!" At the end of the above line Twain placed the following symbol, "P — It seemed to indicate, from the context of the line, that he used a short "picture" pause to pre pare his listeners for the pitiful, final statement of the poem. In summary, the biographical, autobiographical and critical sources investigated revealed certain data con cerning Twain's reading aloud from the poems and poetical dramas of Robert Browning. A set of seven volumes of the poet's works which Twain used in the readings revealed a system of symbols, cancellations, substitutions, interjec tions and marginal notations. The data revealed by the biographical, autobiograph ical and critical data were as follows: (1) Twain began the readings before a select group in Hartford, Connecticut, on or before November 16, 1886. (2) The group met every Wednesday in the billiard room of his Hartford home. (3) It required three days to prepare for an hour's reading of the poems which Twain considered easy to read. (*+) On December 2, 1887 Twain had been 339 reading for forty-two weeks. (5) The readings were only held in the Winter months. (6) The readings took place over a period of approximately two years. (7) Twain’s enthusiasm for the works of Browning as oral interpreta tion material was indicated hy the challenge he accepted in the preparation of them for oral presentation. (8) Thirty or forty pages of material were prepared in advance for each reading session. (9) At the onset of the readings an explanatory lecture by Twain accompanied the readings. (10) The poems "Rabbi Ben Ezra," "Up in a Villa," "Abt Vogler" and "Caliban in Setebos" were requested to be repeated by the group oftenest. (11) Twain thought that the interest of his group of listeners were a compliment to Browning's material rather than a compliment to his reading of the material. (12) The interest of Twain and his listening group was as keen at the conclusion of the reading sessions as it was at the beginning of them. (13) Sometime during the first year Twain gave up the brief lectures of explanation and depended on his own oral interpretation of the thought and feeling of Browning's words for his meaning. (1*0 Twain concluded from his experiences of reading Browning aloud that an author, properly interpreted, needed no explanation. (15) Twain read the works of Browning without a drawl or marked cadence• 3^0 The pencilings in a set of seven volumes from which Twain read indicated that he used a system of symbols or markings to guide his oral interpretation of the material. Thirty-nine different symbols or markings were used throughout the books. A majority of the markings con sistently appeared in the poems in which the pencilings were used. The poem "Muleyhek" was chosen for analysis because it seemed to be a typical example of the use of the symbols or markings. Of the thirty-nine markings used, twenty-three appeared in this poem. The symbols or mark ings revealed in this poem, as well as those in the remain ing marked selections, and their possible meanings were as follows:582 Cl) This marking, in this instance, seemed to indicate a prolonged pronunciation of a particu lar word. (2) "------— [A long mark extending across the entire page.] This mark probably indicated the point where the reading of the poem was to be concluded. (3) A mark extended from the word upward and off the page to the next page to a specific line. This mark seemed to refer to the relationship in the meaning of the two lines. (*f) Vertical lines of varying lengths, some curved, some straight and some irregular or jagged, were written 582The examples of the symbols and markings are reasonable facsimiles of those made by Twain. opposite certain passages. For the most part, these lines seemed to indicate that several lines of the poem were to he included in the interpretation of a particular thought or meaning. (5) Question marks appeared opposite certain lines, phrases and stanzas, evidently indicating a confusion of meanings. (6) "I." Exclamation points of varying sizes and varying intensities of marking were placed opposite certain phrases, probably to indicate degree of vocal emphasis and/or dramatic force. (7) ." e This symbol was not decipherable. (8) "().H Words and phrases and entire sentences were enclosed in parentheses, evidently to be parenthetically read with lowered pitch, or to be omitted, or to be given some special emphasis. (9) " TT’ ." This symbol was not decipherable. (10) " H Quotation marks were used to apparently signify particular stress or parenthetical expression. (11) " £ ." This symbol probably indicated a continuous sustained thought from line to line. (12) "[word]-[word]-[word]." A series of words joined by penciled hyphens probably indicated a change of rate for emphasis. (13) " £ ." Lines joined by a single brace may have indioated a sustained thought. (I1 *) "/ /." Slanting marks setting off phrases and lines could have indicated agreement with a philosophy expressed by the author. (15) "[ ]•" Individual words were bracket- ted; they could have been omitted. (16) Arrows were drawn from words In one line to words in another line, evidently to indicate relationship and/or parallel stress. (17) Hor izontal marks extended into right and left margins, respec tively, at the beginning and ends of certain lines, possi bly, to indicate the sustained combination of thoughts. (18) M — ," **=,*• " Single, double and triple hori zontal lines in varying shades of heaviness under words and phrases evidently indicated degree of stress and/or force. (19) H ^ •" A slight vertical mark slanting toward the left margin seemed to indicate a short pause. (20) " ^ A waved mark ending with a downward curve apparently indicated a downward inflection. (21) " ." An upwardly curved mark ending in a downward stroke possi bly meant an upward inflection followed by a slight pause. (22) A long horizontal mark with heavily shaded portions evidently Indicated the degree of emphatic value of words within a stressed phrase. (23) " •H A small upwardly curved line over a word, probably meant that the word should be pronounced in a higher tone of voice. (2*0 " "I, ." A waved line slanting downward at the end of a sentence seemed to indicate a gradual lowering of tone. (25) "__•" A slight horizontal mark under a portion of a word could have guided the placing of accent in pronuncia tion. (26) " X ." The symbol was probably used to denote a long pause and a change of rhythm. (27) M P ." This 3^3 symbol| in comparison with other pause symbols, probably Indicated a longer pause* (28)"---P---.M This symbol seemed to signify a prolonged dramatic pause to let the audience picture the action talcing place and to create suspense. (29) ------p----." This extended com bination of markings and eymbol seemed to indicate a pro longed pause to allow the listeners time to absorb the value of the climax and prepare for the impact of the rest of the selection. (30) " 03 A combination of a bracket with the symbol "P" seemed to indicate not only interpreta tive techniques but an awareness of probable audience reac tion to the context of the lines and the oral interpreta tion of them. (31) M (ft Three vertical lines coupled with penciled shadings under words in the sentence seemed to indicate a possible impersonation of a shout. (32) " *M This marking seemed to be a prolonged inflec tion sign. Markings (33) " = i" (3*+) " =r;»" 3 1 1 ( 1 (35) ' * " f * " were not decipherable. (36) " N -'V." This marking seemed to be a variation of the inflection-pause combination described in (21) above. (37) ” This marking was not decipherable. (38) " F^y." The shaded horizontal mark above a word seemed to indicate a particular type of stress not readily discernible. (39) " s ." A slight mark slant ing toward the right margin seemed to indicate a pause with a downward inflection of finality. 3Mf The penciled markings included cancellations of punctuation. The following punctuation marks were can celled : (1) commas, (2) dashes and (3) question marks. Evidently Twain considered that a comma and a dash at the end or within a line signified a pause in reading. One of the marginal notations Indicated that he was concerned with the length of reading time of a selection. He could have cancelled the comma-pauses and dash-pauses to shorten reading time. Many commas enclosing parenthetical expres sions were cancelled. Evidently these particular cancella tions were time-saving devices, or Twain simply felt the techniques involved in reading parenthetical expressions were not necessaiy. In the cases of question mark can cellations, Twain must have decided that the materials pre ceding them were statements rather than interrogations. The substitutions in the pencil marked selections were as follows: (1) Browning*s words were marked out and Twain*s words were substituted; (2) exclamation points replaced periods. In each case these substitutions were for clarification of meaning and interpretation. Twain inserted the following interjections in the penciled poems: (1) Such Interjections as "he said" and "they said" and "and said" and "and goes on" were used to indicate the person or persons speaking. (2) The word "even" was inserted to heighten the emphasis of comparison. 3^5 The following additions were made In the penciled selections: (1) The word "No" was added to the beginning of a line for clarification of content. (2) The first letter of a character*s name was added to indicate who was speaking. (3) The word "(Stop)[sic]" was written into a line to aid interpretation. (*f) The words "(Turns out) [sic]" were added to a line for clarification of context. (5) The word "gust" was changed to "gusto" by adding the letter "o." The following marginal notations appeared in the pencil marked poems: (1) Twain wrote certain words at the top and bottom of various pages, evidently to indicate the theme of the content of the material on that particular page. (2) The word "over" was printed at the bottom of a pagej the meaning of which was not decipherable. (3) Cer tain dates on which the selections were read appeared at the tops of various pages. (**) The word "Ranch" was written in the margin of a page, evidently to indicate a familiarity. (5) Twain wrote "Next (Nov. 16) [sic]" at the top of a page to indicate the selection and time of a reading. (6) The figure , , l *7 [sic]" appeared at the bottom of the last page of a poem, probably indicating the number of times the poem had been read. (7) Descriptive words were written in the margins of various pages, supposedly to indicate the general thought to be expressed in that 3^6 portion of the selection. (8) Twain indicated the imagina tive development of the theme of a poem by such marginal notations as "2d picture [sic]" and "3d picture." (9) The letters "Shi" were written opposite lines and words, evi dently to indicate the lowering of the voice. (10) The word "pause" was evidently written to denote a long pause to create suspense and/or to provide a time for mental transition on the part of the reader and the listeners for the introduction of a surprising statement. Observations Based on a Recorded Excerpt Heretofore, the data, upon which this chapter has been based, were collected from autobiographical, biograph ical, and critical sources, and newspaper accounts of Twain*s performances. The investigation was dependent upon the printed reports of actual auditors of Twain*s lecturing, reading, and speaking. Also, the investigator was for tunate to be able to interview some twenty-five persons who had heard Mark Twain speak in his declining years. However, the impressions of these people were general rather than specific. They remembered Twain’s voice with its drawl, his humor, and his appearance, but little else. A single Bhort recording seemed to be the only audible representation of Mark Twain’s voice available fifty-one years after his death. This recording, a short excerpt from "The Jumping Prog of Calaveras County," 3*+7 consisted of 201 words (Appendix, page *+06). The investi gator felt that the most expedient method for report in this study was to analyze the selection sentence by sen tence as it was spoken by Mark Twain. The analysis attempted to discover (1) the vocal aspects of the deliv ery, and (2) the interpretative techniques employed by Twain. The investigator attempted to aid the understand ing by underscoring the words in the selection using Twain's system as found in the Browning books, presented above• In addition, Perkin's system of indicating the drawled words was added to Twain's method. The first sentence in the excerpt, as Twain read it, was: "He was the (uh) most (uh) worse man you ever saw about b-e-t-t-l-n-g on any thing j^hat is, if he could get somebody to bet on the o-t-h-e-r side and if he couldn*t he'd c-h-a-n-g-e sides." Evidently Mark Twain had forgotten the word he intended to use at the very beginning because he made a vocalized pause before and after "moat" then continued on to "worse." The word "man" was given equal emphasis with "saw," "other" and "couldn't." The word "b-e-t-t-i-n-g" and "side" were stressed equally, although greater than the first emphatic words mentioned. The word "c-h-a-n-g-e" was stressed greater than any other word in the sentence. The words "b-e-t-t-i-n-g," "side" 3**8 and "sides” were rendered with upward inflections. The words "b-e-t-t-i-n-g," "side" and "c-h-a-n-g-e" were lengthened by his characteristic drawl. There was a slight pause after "couldn't" before Twain continued with the adversity in Smiley's betting character. The background laughter of some auditors indicated the effectiveness of the technique. There was other incidental laughter during the reading but Twain talked on while his auditors were laugh ing. It seemed that the time limitations of the recording did not allow him much opportunity for audience considera tion. This enforced disrespect was contrary to his long established custom. In the literature, the reviewers reported again and again that Twain paused for the laughter to subside. The second statement as Twain read it was: "Anythin*"what suited the other man would suit him; just so he got a bet'"he was satisfied." The word "anything" was the most emphasized word in this sentence, and was uttered with abandon. The words "man" and "him" were stressed slightly. The word "bet" was stressed more than the words "man" and "him," although not as great as the word "any thing," There was a slight pause after the word "bet." Twain's voice on the word "anything" rose and fell, and ended with an upward inflection. There was no evidence of 3^9 the drawl on any word In this sentence* Twain apparently had not judged his breath supply adequately, for he stead* ily decreased in volume to the end of the sentence. This sentence and the preceding sentence established the central point of the excerpt. In establishing cen tralization Mark Twain gave each emphatic word, the words preceding the slight pauses, and the ends of meaning phrases an upward inflection. The third sentence as Mark Twain read it was: "And he was lucky tooT* un-c-o-mman lucky. In this sen tence the words "lucky" were given equal stress in each instance. The word "un-co-mmon" was given the greatest stress and it was drawled slightly. The inflections in the sentence were downward. The fourth sentence in the recorded excerpt was: "They couldn’t be no solitary thing a-e-n-tioned1 but^that fella’d offer to bet on it."'* The three important words to Twain in this sentence were "solitaiy," "thing," and "men tioned." The stress on them was graduated from slight on "solitary," to greater on "thing," to intense on "men tioned." The beginning of the word "mentioned" was drawled. There was a slight pause after "but." All the inflections in this sentence were downward. The fifth sentence as read by Twain was: "If there was a d-o-g fight he’d bet on it." The word "dog" was 350 emphasized in this sentence hoth by force and the applica tion of the drawl. The word "fight,H stressed to a lesser degree than "dog," was waved downward and followed by a pause. The inflection in this sentence was downward. The sixth sentence as read by Mark Twain was: "If ' N there was a "c-ar$H fight* he1d bet on it." This sentence was in perfect balance with the fifth sentence. The word "cat" was given the exact degree of emphasis, by both force and drawl, that "dog" had been given in the fifth sentence. The word "fight" was enunciated exactly as the word "fight" in both sentences. The inflections of the sixth sentence were downward. The timing and melody in both fifth and sixth sentences were precisely the same. The seventh sentence in the recording was: "Why if he seen two birds asettin' on the fence1 he'd bet you which one would/fly first." The words "birds" and "fly" were stressed equally in this sentence. The word "fly" had the drawl added to the stress. There was a pause after "would." The inflection in the sentence was downward in each case. The eighth sentence as it was read by Mark Twain in the recording was: "Parson, old parson Walker's first wife 1 'N laid very ill once and for a 1-o-n-g time it looked as if they wam't goin* to save her." In this sentence the words "ill" and "long" were given emphasis. The word "long" was drawled, presumably reflecting the meaning of the word. 351 There was a downward inflection after the words "once," "time" and "her." There were no pauses in this sentence. The ninth sentence in the recorded selection was: "But one day the parson oome in kinda livgly like.’ ^ The word "lively" received the stress in this sentence. There was a downward inflection at the end of the sentence. The tenth sentence was read by Twain as follows: "And one of the boys said, 'Well, how's the w-i-f-e Parson?1" The word "wife" was drawled slightly and stressed by a wave with a downward inflection. The whole phrase ended with a downward question inflection. In the eleventh sentence Twain had the parson answer: "And he said, 'Well, she's considerably better— / thank the Lord for his infinite mercy— and with the help of / Providence, she'll get well yet.'" In this conversational sentence Twain waved the interjection "well" with a down ward inflection. The word "better" was stressed and given a downward inflection. The phrase "thank the Lord for his infinite mercy" was spoken parenthetically in a lower pitch indicating reverence. The rest of the sentence was raised to the pitch level of the first part of the sentence, with the words "well" and "yet" emphasized. The word "yet" received the stronger stress with a downward inflection added. There was a pause after "mercy" and another after "yet." There was no marked drawl in the speech of the 352 parson. The twelfth and final sentence spoken in the excerpt was: "'Well. I'll betoha two to ong she don't anyhow.11 said Mister Smiley, before he thought a word about it." In this sentence, Twain gave equal stress to all the words in the conversation of Smiley. He gave the same stress to each word in the final phrase "before he thought a word about it." "Said Mister Smiley" was delivered parenthetically with a lowered pitch. There was a downward inflection on the word "anyhow" and "it." The subordination of the last ten sentences to the central point established in the first two sentences was accomplished by modulation of the voice, by changes in pitch, and the reverse of the upward inflections in the centralization to downward inflections in the subordina tion. The whole recorded excerpt was in conversational form, the conversation of the parson and Smiley distin guished by changes in pitch and melody. The tempo, except for the occasional drawl on specific words, was constant, due probably to the time limitation of the recording. The enunciation of the words was clear, consistent, and correct throughout the recording. There was evidence of a whis tling on every "e" sound made by Twain. Since no mention of this fault was made in the literature, it could have been due to mechanical recording techniques. In summary, the vocal aspects and interpretative techniques present in the recorded excerpt from "The Jump ing Prog of Calaveras County" were: (1) centralization, (2) subordination, (3) the drawl, (k) upward inflections, (5) downward inflections, (6) rhythmic emphasis, (7) the pause, (8) changes in rate, (9) vocal parallelisms, and (10) conversational mode. CHAPTER VI SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Mark Twain, for the most part, interpreted mate rials selected from his own writings. He spoke upon the platform intermittently over a period of sixty-one years. His long speaking career and his fame as a speaker confirm his success as an interpreter. Because of this achieve ment, this study investigated the possible factors that contributed to Twain’s success as an interpreter of the printed page. The available autobiographical, biographical, critiques and newspaper accounts of Twain’s speaking and reading were read. The specific factors studied which might have contributed to Twain’s success as an interpreter were* (1) his early home life, (2) his religious training, (3) his education, (*t) his travels, (5) his contact with influential personalities, (6) his acquaintance with other speakers and readers, (7) his transition from social story teller to professional platform artist, (8) his prepara- tional techniques, (9) his audiences, and (10) his visual and vocal techniques of delivery. The most influential environmental factors which 35^ contributed to his success were: Cl) his mother, (2) his father, (3) his religious training, and (*+) his education. Traits of his mother's personality, her physical charac teristics, her speech patterns, her emotional nature, her dramatic imagery and pathetic force of expression, par ticularly when she taught him the Bible stories, were all evidenced in Twain's platform personality and presenta tions. His father's integrity and tenacity, as well as his participation in speech activities, undoubtedly influ enced Twain's preparation for the platform. The Sunday School with its required memorization of scripture verses and the schools with their spelling bees and elocution programs contributed practice, elementary lessons in preparation, and emotional exhilaration to audience response. The experiences of Twain's early travels in New York, Cincinnati, on the river as a pilot, and in the West were also influential in his speaking career. New York provided literary explorations, background studies of the human race, and exposure to a high standard of theatrical performances. Cincinnati brought him into con tact with a man named MacFarlane who motivated his intense interest in the use of language. Twain's early travels on the river and in the West gave him a background for many facets of his speaking career. His training to become a 356 river pilot taught him the value of careful preparation; and the characters he met on the river gave him insight into the infinite variety of character delineation. The West exposed him to the exaggeration in the tall-tale type of storytelling. It also gave him an opportunity to prac tice this art before audiences and develop the confidence he needed when he made the transition from storyteller to professional lecturer. Twain's lectures and readings, for the most part, contained a mid-west and Western flavor. This quality gave them appeal in the East and abroad and special appreciation in the mid-west and West, While Twain met many personalities who exerted an influence upon him, there were four outstanding men who contributed to his success as an interpreter. They were: (1) MacFarlane, (2) Bixby, (3) Ealer, and (*+) Goodman. MacFarlane, Bixby, and Ealer motivated controlled study, and acquiring knowledge. They also contributed methods of discipline and philosophies he was to use later in his preparation and presentations of speeches and readings. Goodman, as editor of the Territorial Enterprise, encour aged him to develop an oral style of writing. In the capacity of news reporter Twain knew or heard most of the local and national speakers and readers of repute of his day. The most important of these to his success as an interpreter were: (1) George Ealer, 357 (2) Artemus Ward, and (3) Tom Fitch, He heard George Ealer read by the hour from the plays of Shakespeare; he was very much impressed by these readings. It was Artemus Ward who first encouraged him to appear on the platform, and in the early days there was much similarity in the platform tech niques and the style of material of the two men. Twain heard and admired the oratory of Tom Fitch, and he received many criticisms from Fitch on his own speaking efforts. Perhaps it should be said in passing that Twain did not know Charles Dickens, a contemporary reader. However, he heard him read on one occasion in New York. There seemed to be no Dickensian influence in Twain's success as an interpreter. Nevertheless, Twain did vividly recall in later life the details of Dickon's performance. Twain's early contacts with the theater were with local amateur theatrics, traveling dramatic troups, and a performance of Edwin Forrest in The Gladiators. Twain attended and participated in the local amateur theatricals at Hannibal. He attended and, when the opportunity afforded, became a part of the traveling troups that played Hannibal. He was singularly impressed by the dramatic techniques of the actor, Edwin Forrest. These early con tacts with the drama gave Twain an insight into the stand ards of platform performance. The transitional influences from storyteller to professional speaker and reader began early. The matter and manner of the old Negro storytellers he heard as a boy so impressed him that he used the same materials and tech niques of presentation in his professional speaking and reading on the platform* His exhilaration at the reaction of Jimmie McDaniel to the story about Jim Wolfe and the cats (told in l8*+7) remained with him always, and Jimmie's explosive response seemed to set Twain's standard of judg ment of future audiences. Twain's feeling of satisfaction and achievement after his early non-professional speech activities (his Franklin birthday dinner speech in Keokuk on January 17, 1856; his early speeches in Virginia City and Carson City; and his speech activities in the Third House) seemed to herald his entry into the professional speech field of endeavor. In his convivial associations with Goodman, Jim and Steve Gillis, and Ben Coon he heard the exaggerations of the tall tale and techniques of pre senting them. He retold many of these tales on the plat form in the style of the original narrators. His journey to the Sandwich Islands in 1866 furnished unusual materials for his first professional lecture. Though famous for his "oral style" of writing, Twain felt that it was necessary to adapt his printed mate rials for use on the platform by cutting; expanding; alter ing words or style; and even, on occasion, changing the 359 theme to suit a specific purpose. The specific purposes of his revisions were to fit time limitations, maintain continuity, eliminate redundan cies, exaggerate and vivify the humor, and to adjust to audience responses. Twain's revisions for his platform presentations followed the standard procedures for good preparation for oral reading. It must be remembered, how ever, that, with the exception of the data from the bio graphical and autobiographical sources, the conclusions for this study were drawn from a comparison of the printed version and the spoken version of two available selections. Of these two selections, one was dictated by Mark Twain after many years of reading it on the platform, the other was a shorthand transcription made by a newspaper reporter while Twain was speaking. He abridged, expanded, and even changed the theme of a selection without being accused of effrontery, mutilation, or any other criticisms of the revision process since for the most part he read from his own works. The unusual revelation, and, perhaps, the most important observation of this study, was the fact that Mark Twain was famed for his oral style of writing, felt that even this needed to be revised and adapted for effec tive presentation from the platform. Twain insisted upon complete memorization of 360 materials. His philosophy in regard to memorization was somewhat unique when compared to present philosophies. He claimed that memorizing aided in a freshness of delivery and in projecting the understanding of the content of a selection. Most speakers memorize in order to repeat a selection as it was prepared for presentation; hut Twain insisted that memorizing a selection allowed him more free dom to make impromptu interjections within the selection as the occasion arose. Twain's memorization involved not only the committing of words to memory but other factors of delivery. One of the special areas in Twain's preparational activities was his devotion to the writing and practice of introductory materials. Prom the many comments made in the newspaper reviews, it may be concluded that Twain was among the first, if not the first, platform artist to introduce himself to an audience. At any rate, according to the reviews, this procedure as presented by Twain was a novelty. Because he dispensed with a local introducer whenever possible (and because he was widely heard) he may have established many of the introductory techniques used by speakers that followed him. The impelling motive in Twain's preparation seemed to be audience consideration and audience response. It was difficult to locate data concerning Mark Twain's audiences. The reviews indicated that Twain's 361 audiences were Intelligent and dignified. The phrase most often used to describe them was that they were "the best people." Twain spoke in churches, halls, theaters, private homes and public-dining rooms. The reviews generally indi cated that large audiences attended his lectures and read ings in these meeting places. However, it must be remem bered that the day of the huge auditoriums had not arrived. The term "large" in a small town newspaper review may have meant two or three hundred people, or even less. Neverthe less, the reviews and reports also indicated that Twain spoke to audiences numbering from one to six thousand per sons. A total of those instances in which a report was made indicated that he spoke before approximately 75,000 people. This total involved only 59 of the 509 reported instances in which Twain spoke before audiences in America. In twenty-nine engagements in which the receipts were quoted in the 1881 +-1885 tour report, the figures indicated a gross of $V6,519*25. Considering the value of the dollar in Twain’s time and the depreciation of the dollar today this was a considerable amount of money. The admission prices for Twain’s appearances ranged from thirty-five cents to one dollar and a half, depending on the locality and the demand as time progressed. Twain’s critical comments on audiences were largely complimentary, indicating his enjoyment of them. He 362 cautioned, however, that audiences composed of children were difficult to oontrol and were more demanding* He also believed that audiences cannot be trusted and that the techniques of audience control can only be acquired through preparation and experience. The reportB of the visual aspects of Twain’s plat form presentations were, for the most part, obtained from newspaper reviews of his performances. Obvious contradic tions appeared. The reporters, for the most part, were not trained critics of the art of oral interpretation. They recorded their impressions as best they could. These seemed to have been governed by various factorst other speakers they had heard; the size and shape and background of the stages and platforms upon which Twain spoke; the abundance or absence of light contained on the stages and platforms; and, in the case of the reports of the 188M--1885 tour, the contrast in the stature and peculiar style of Cable, his co-reader. However, the reports agree that Twain was about five feet, ten inches tall, and was slender and graceful on the platform. At the onset of his speaking career, he was apparently careless in his dress, and appeared disheveled and slouchy on the platform. But, later, he was always immaculately dressed in the latest formal attire for his platform appearances. Twain’s hair was mentioned many times in the reviews. In the reports of 363 his early speaking it was referred to as being variously light, black and a majority said reddish-brown, the l88*f-l885 tour, it was tinged with gray. In his later years it was white. It was always abundant and conspicu ously unruly. During the early part of Twain’s speaking career, up through the 188^-1885 reading tour, he apparently moved about freely upon the platform. Most of this movement seemed to the reporters to be incidental though it was probably carefully planned. One reviewer stated that when he dropped his hands suddenly to his sides "volumes could not say more." Another reviewer mentioned that in "The Golden Arm" he ended the selection by jumping up in the air and coming down with a bang. Also it was observed that when making the speech on the evils of smoking he always smoked a cigar. Generally his actions were reported as mannerisms rather than gestures. However, those movements described as gestures were judged to be appropriate and eloquent, though sometimes awkward. Unfortunately, the movements reported, whether incidental or planned for effect, were not identified with any particular passage in the lectures or readings. Twain's facial expressions made a great impression on the critics and observers of his platform appearances. Nature had endowed him, as one reporter put it, with one of the oddest looking faces ever worn by man. His use of It on the platform was unique and added to the enjoyable impressions he made on audiences as he lectured or read. His facial expressions indicated that he was at once dis couraged, puzzled, doubtful, careworn, perturbed, embar rassed, anxious, and mournful to the point of lugubrious- ness. While he paused for effect or for the laughter of the audience these expressions gave way to one of surprise or inquisitiveness or anxiety. The merry, twinkling eyes that he Inherited from his mother were frequently mentioned. His countenance, as a whole, was conceded by his critics to have been intelligent, good-natured and benevolent. In later years, while retaining the surprised look at audience reactions, his facial expressions were governed by his sincerity, his good humor, and his smile that captivated the hearts and thoughts of his audiences. Twain apparently possessed a magnetic platform per sonality. The observers agreed that his presence and manner alone was attention commanding and perfectly suited his materials. Because Mark Twain memorized his materials he did not habitually use a manuscript while speaking. There were incidental occasions when he used magazines, letters, and certain written materials from which he read. Occasion ally, he used a prop such as a cigar or a handkerchief. 365 His vocal abilities and techniques were commented on in the reviews of his speaking and reading, and could be conjectured on from his pencilled notations, from a recording of his voice, and from his comments on the delivery of other speakers. Early in Twain's speaking career the reviews reported that he did not use enough volume when he spoke. There was no mention made of this shortcoming in any of the later reviews. Evidently he learned to project his voice for any speaking condition. According to his critics Twain's voice was deep and reso nant. It was also highly flexible. Within the pitch range of Twain's voice it was pleasantly forceful, slightly nasal, dry, and capable of reflecting emotional values, rehearsed or spontaneous. The speech characteristic most mentioned in the literature was the drawl, which he copied or inherited from his mother and used to good effect. It must be remembered, also, that auditors reported he did not use the drawl at all times. Sometimes on the platform he alternately spoke at a rapid rate and slow rate, both punctuated by pauses and hesitancies while he waited an expected audience response or held them in suspense for his next comment. Twain reviewed some of the salient points in the delivery of a comic story, particularly in the use of the 366 pause, in his essay "How to Tell a Story." Also several selections and portions of selections are extant on which he had marked the pauses as he intended them to be used. The most important feature concerning Twain's use of the pause was his accurate, split-second timing. Although Twain's advice on the use of the pause would be helpful to students of Interpretation, it was difficult to comprehend his actual application of the device even though he wrote more about the philosophy and use of the pause then any other interpretative technique. In addition to Twain's use of pathos and his elo quent and graceful and unaffected wit, the most notable comment in the reviews on his delivery was the lack of elocution. It must be remembered that in Twain's day the "mechanical" system of elocution was popular among speak ers and teachers of Oral Interpretation. Yet Twain's delivery as reported seemed to have every aspect of good elocution (or delivery as it is known today). Twain made the literature which he read seem real and spontaneous to his audience. A most interesting aspect is the fact that Mark Twain, the American author who was famed for writing in the "oral style" felt the need to further revise this style for the platform. Suggestions for Further Study This study investigated the American speaking and reading of Mark Twain. He spoke many times in England, on the Continent, in Africa, in Australia, and in Asia. This study could he extended to include his speaking in these other countries. As a youth Twain participated in theatricals and attended plays. He left written records of his reactions to some of these events. There is a notebook in the museum at Hannibal containing part of a play, comments on direct ing the play, and the towns in which it was or was to be presented. He wrote and acted in plays produced for his friends and neighbors and children in his home. He wrote and aided in the direction of some plays which were pro duced in New York and toured the country. A student of the Drama might profitably investigate the dramatic activi ties of Mark Twain. Walter Francis Freer has written a large book on the history of one of Twain’s speeches, "The Sandwich Islands." Such a study could be made on the history of "The American Vandals Abroad" speech and/or the "Roughing It" speech. Twain*s use of sarcasm without malice was fre quently mentioned in the reviews. An investigation of this technique would make an excellent study for a student of 368 public speaking, political science or oral interpretation. This study suggested that Twain was among the first, if not the first, to dispense with an introducer. Perhaps, a study should be made to establish if he was the first American speaker to introduce himself and how much he actually contributed to present techniques connected with the introduction of a speech. This study also briefly mentioned Twain*s audiences. Perhaps a detailed study of Twain's audiences during his lengthy career and his concern with pleasing them could be made • The advanced newspaper advertising that Twain used in the form of squibs interspersed among the news articles was unique, humorous, and sometimes shocking. He seemed to be the only one of his contemporaries who used such a method, A study to determine how much this typ« of adver tising affected attendance and appreciation might be of interest to students of journalism and speech. Finally, a detailed study of Twain's oral style of writing and his revision of this style for the platform should be of a matter of interest to both oral readers and writers. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Aldrich, Mrs. Thomas Baily. Crowding Memories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1920. Alter, Cecil J. James Bridger. Salt Lake City: Shepard Book Company, 1925. Andrews, Kenneth R. Rook Farm. Cambridge: The Harvard University Press, 19^0. Beebe, Lucius. Comstock Commotion. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 195^* Bellamy, Gladys Carmen. Mark Twain as a Literary Artist. Norman: The University of Oklahoma Press, 1950. Bickle, Lucy Leffingwell Cable. George W. Cable: His Life and Letters. New York: Charles Scribners' £ons. vm:-------- Blair, Walter. Half Horse. Half Alligator. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1956. Branch, Edgar Marquess. The Literary Apprenticeship of Mark Twain. Urbanal The Universltv of Illinois. I?w. ------- Brasher, Minnie. Mark Twain. Son of Missouri. Chapel Hill: The University of tforth Carolina Press, 193*+. Brooks, Van Wyck. The Ordeal of Mark Twain. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1932. Canby, Henry Seidel. Turn West. Turn East. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1951. Cardwell, Guy A. Twins of Genius. Lansing: The Michigan State College Press, 1953* 370 371 Clemens, Cyril. Mark Twain*a Jest-book. Kirkwood: The Mark Twain Jouraal, 19 57 • . My Cousin Mark Twain. Emmaus. Pa.: The Rodale Press, 1 $ 3 9 . --------- Youn* Sam Clemens. Portland. Me.: Leon Tibbits Edition7l<fc2.------- Crocker, Lionel and Louis M. Eich. Oral Reading. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 19*+?. Curry, S. S. Foundations of Expression. Boston: The Expression Company, 1920. DeVoto, Bernard. Mark Twain*s America. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1932. . Mark Twain in Eruption. New York: Harper and brothers, 1925. . Mark Twain at Work. Cambridge: The Harvard University Press, 19^2. (ed.). The Portable Mark Twain. New York: The Viking Press, 19*+6 • Ferguson, Walter Delancey. Mark Twain: Man and Legend. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 19^3. Frear, Walter Francis. Mark Twain in Hawaii. Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 19^7. Gillis, William R. Memories of Mark Twain and Steve Gillis. Sonora: The Banner, 192*+. Goss, Dwight. The History ot Grand Rapids. Chicago: C. F. Cooper and Company, 1906. Henderson, Archibald. Mark Twain. London: Duckworth and Company, 1911. Homer, Charles F. The Life of James Whitcomb Riley. New York: Barse and Hopkins Publishers, 1926. Howell, John. Sketches of the Sixties. San Francisco: John Howell, 1926. Howells, William Dean. My Mark Twain. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1910. 372 Johnson, Edgar. Charles Dickens. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1952. Knight, Edgar W. Education in the United States. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1934. Lawton, Mary. A Lifetime with Mark Twain. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1925. Leacock, Stephen. Mark Twain. New York: D. Appleton- Century Company, l93^. Lillard, Richard G. Desert Challenge. New York: Alfred A* Knopf, 1912. Mack, Effie Mona. Mark Twain in Nevada. New York: Charles Scribners* Sons, 19^7. Marsh, Andrew J. Reformed Phonic Shorthand. San Francisco! H. W. Bancroft and Company, 1868. Masters, Edgar Lee. Mark Twain, a Portrait. New York: Charles ScribnerT* Sons, 19^8• McLaren, Gay. Morally We Roll Along. Boston: Little. Broun and flompanj, 1938.---- Paine, Albert Bigelow. Mark Twain: A Biography. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1^12. ______ (ed.). Mark Twain's Letters. New York: Harper and Brothers, 192*+. ______ (ed.). Mark Twain's Letters. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1917. ______ (ed.). Mark Twain's Notebook. New York: Harper and Brothers, 193!?• Perkins, Eli Melville D. Landon. Kings of Pulpit and Platform. Chicago: F. C. Smedley and Company, 1890. Phelps, William Iyons. Autobiography with Letters. New York: The Oxford University Press, l£3£. Pond, J. B. Eccentricities of Genius. New York: G. W. Dillingham and Company, 1900. Robb, Mary Margaret. Oral Interpretation of Literature in American Colleges and Universities. New York: the H. W. Wilson Company, 192^-. 373 Seits, Don C# Artemus Ward. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1919* Smith, Henry Nash and Frederick Anderson. Mark Twain of The Enterprise. Berkeley: The University of California Press, 1957. Turner, Arlin. George W. Cable. Durham: The Duke Univer sity Press, 1956. Twain, Mark. The $30.000 Bequest and Other Stories. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1872. . The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1&8*+. . How to Tell a Story. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1897. . Sketches New and Old. New York: Harper and Brothers, 190*+• . Roughing It. New York: P. F. Collier and Son Company, 1913. . Mark TwainfB Speeches. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1923. . Mark Twain's Autobiography I and II. New York: Harper and Brothers, 192*f. . Mark Twain1s Autobiography II. New York: B. F. Collier and Son Company, 1925* Wagenkneckt, Edward. Mark Twain: The Man and His Works. New Haven: The Yale University Press, 1935. Walker, Franklin. Washoe Giant. San Francisco: George Fields, 1938. Wallace, Elizabeth. Mark Twain and the Happy Island. Chicago: M. C. McClurg and Company, 1911 *. Walpole, Hugh R. Semantics. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 19^1. Webster, Samuel Charles. Mark Twain Business Man. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 19*+6. Weeter, Dixon. The Love Letters of Mark Twain. New York: Harper and Brothers, 19*+9” 37*f Weeter, Dixon. Mark Twain to Mrs. Fairbanks. San Marino: The Huntington Library, 19^9. . Sam Clemens of Hannibal. Boston: Houghton Rifflin Company, 1953. Wintergarter, Charles A. The History of Greater Wheeling. Chicago: Lewis PublisKing Company, 1912. Newspapers The Albany Argus. January 11, 1870. The Albany Express. January 11, 1870. The Anaconda Standard. August 2, 1895. The Boston Daily Advertiser. November 11, 1869. ______ . November 12, 1869. ______ . November 2, 1871. ______• November 1*+, l88*t. The Boston Daily Globe. November 1*+, l88*f. The Boston Evening Transcript. November 1*+, 188*+. The Boston Herald. November 11, 188*+. ______. November l1 *, 188*+. The Boston Morning Journal. November 11, 188*+. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 23, 188^. The Brooklyn Daily Union. February 8, 1873. The Brooklyn Eagle. April 19, 1901. The Buffalo Express. December 11, 1881 *. The Buffalo Times. December 11, IBS1 *. The Burlington Gazette. January 16, 1885. The Burlington Hawkeye. January 16, 1885. 3 75 The Butte Semi-Weekly Inter-Mountain. August V, 1895* The Chicago Evening Post. December 17, 1871. The Chicago Republican. May 19, 1868. ______. January 8, 1869• The Chicago Times. December 6, 188V. The Chicago Tribune. January 8, 1869. ______• December 20, 1871. ______ . December 21, 1871. ______• January 17, 188V. ______. January 21, 188V. The Cincinnati Star-Times. January 3, 1885. The Cleveland Herald. November 18, 1868. ______• January 12, 1869. ______. November 18, 1869. ______. November 19, 188V. The Cleveland Leader. December 18, 188V. ______. July 16, 1895. The Cleveland Plain Dealer. November 18, 1868. ______. July 16, 1895. . July 19, 1895. The Columbus Dally Dispatch. January 6, 1872. The Columbus Evening Dispatch. February 10, 1885. The Columbus Ohio State Journal. January 6, 1872. ______ . February 10, 1885. The Crookston Daily Times. July 30, 1895. The Davenport Daily Democrat. January 15, 1869. ______• January 28, 1885. The Davenport Sunday Democrat. February 1, 1885. The Dayton Dally Journal. January 5, 1872. . January 1, 1885. The Decatur Republican. January 1**, 1869. The Detroit Free Press. December 18, 1868. ______ . December 23, 1868. ______ . December 17, 188**. ______ . February 13, 1885. The Detroit Post. December 23, 1868. ______• December 17, 188**. The Duluth News Tribune. July 21, 1895. . July 23, 1895. The Freeport Journal. February 3, 1869. The Grand Rapids Dally Democrat. December 5, 1871. ______• December l1 *, 1881 *. The Grand Rapid a Eagle. December 13, 188*+. ______ • December 15, 188**. The Great Falla Leader. August 1, 1895. The Hartford Courant. November 2*+, 1869. ______• November 9, 1871. . March 6, 1875. . May 13, 1875. . June 5, 1885. . April 11, 1887. 377 The Hartford Times. November 9, 1871. ______ • February 1, 1873 • The Helena Daily Evening Herald. August 3, 1895. • August 5» 1895- The Helena Daily Independent. August 1895. The Indianapolis Daily Sentinel. January 8, 1885. ______ . February 8, 1885. The Indianapolis Journal. January 2, 1872. ______ . January 9, 1885. The Janesville Daily Recorder. January 21, 1885. The Kentuckian. PariB. Ky. January 3, 1885. The Keokuk Daily Constitution. May 18, 1867. ______ . January 15, 1885. The Keokuk Daily Gate City. January 15, 1885. The Keokuk Gate City. January 19, 1856. . April 9, 1867. The LaCrosse Daily Republican and Leader. January 23» 1885 The LaCrosse Morning Chronicle. January 23, 1885. The Lansing State Republican. December 31, 1868. ______. December 21, 1371. The Logans port Sun. January *f, 1872. The Logansport Weekly Journal. January 6, 1872. The Louisville Courier-Journal. Januaiy 6, 1885. The Lowell Daily Courier. November 12, 1881 *. The Madison Wisconsin State Journal. January 21, 1885. The Madiaon Wisconsin State Journal. January 23, 1885. ______• January 27, 1885. The Maryeville Daily Appeal. April 19, 1868. The Missoula Daily Missoulian. August 6, 1895. The Morristown True Democrat Banner. November 27, 188V The Newark Daily Advertiser. December 10, 1868. The Newark Daily Journal. December 10, 1868. The New Haven Joumal-Courier. December 28, 1869. The New Haven Palladium. November 6, 188V. The New York American. March 5, 1906. ______. September 20, 1906. The New York Commercial Advertiser. November 19, 188V. _____ . December 19, 188V. The New York Daily Tribune. May 11, 1867. The New York Evening Telegram. November 19, 188V. The New York Herald. March 30, 1876. ______. December 22, 1882. ______ . February 29* 1885. ______. November 12, 1886. ______• February 29, 189V. ______. February 12, 1901. ______. May 11, 1901. ______. October 18, 1901. ______. December 6, 1905. . April 12, 1906. . April 20, 1906. — e Sew York Journal .. November 16, 1900. The New York Sin November 19, l88*t. * February 12, 1901. — . ----. February 8, 1906. The New York Timeq. February 6, 1872. .. February 6, 1873. — --- . • February 8, 1873. . November 19, 188*+. . January 19, 1886. November 28, 1887. ---- . November 29, 1887. — ---• November 16, 1900. _----• November 17, 1900. * November 23, 1900. ----. December 7, 1900. January 5, 1901. . February 12, 1901. --- .. March 31, 1901. May 12, 1901. October 18, 1901. —— November 8, 1901. . November 23, 1901. • December 6, 1901. . June 5, 1902. ---• November 29, 1902. 380 The New York Times. December 6, 1905* • December 22, 1905. ______. March ht 1906. . March 5, 1906 ______• April b , 1906. ______• April 20, 1906. —_____• September 20, 1906. . April 15, 1907. _____ • May 7, 1907. • December 10, 1907. _ _____• December 23, 1907. . January 12, 1908. — * April 19, 1908. —_____• May 15, 1908. The New York Tribune. December 23, 1882. The New York World. May 13, 1867. ______. March 9, 1902. ______. March 5, 1906. The Oberlin Review. February 21, 1885. The Biiladelphia American Gazette. November 21, 1871. The Philadelphia North American. November 22, 188*+. The Philadelphia Press. December 8, 1869. . November 22, 1881 *. The Pittsburgh Commercial. November 2, I869. ______. January 12, 1872. 381 The Pittsburgh Dally Gazette, January 12, 1872. The Pittsburgh Dally Post. January 12, 1872. The Pittsburgh Gazette. November 20, 1868. The Pittsburgh Post. November 20, 1868. . November 21, 1868. The Portland [Maine] Transcript. January 1, 1870. The Portland [Oregon] Evening Telegram. August 10, 1895. The Ravenna Democrat. February 17, 1869. The Rochester N. Y. Morning Herald. December 8, 188^. The Rockford Daily Gazette. January 31, 1885. The Sacramento Bee. October 12, 1866. The Sacramento Daily Union. October 12, 1866. ______. April 18, 1868. The St. Louis Dally Missouri Democrat. March 28, 1867. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat. January 10, 1885. ______. January 11, 1885. The St. Louis Missouri Republican. March 26, 1867. The St. Paul Pioneer Press. July 25, 1895. The Salem Republican. January 10, 1872. The San Francisco Alta California. October 3? 1866. ______ • December 15* 1866. . June 15, 1867. The San Francisco Bulletin. October 3, 1866. The San Francisco Evening Bulletin. April 15, 1868. The San Francisco Examiner. July 15, 1895. 382 The San Francisco Golden Era. December 6, 1863. ______ . October 7, 1866* The San Francisco News Letter* October 6, 1866. The Springfield Daily Illinois State Journal. January 9* The Springfield [Massachusetts] Bepublican* November 7, ______• November 8, 188*+. The Stubenville Gazette* January 12, 1872. The Tacoma Dally Ledger. August 13* 1895. The Tacoma Daily News* August 13* 1895. The Toledo Blade. January 21, 1869. ______• January 12, 1871. The Toronto Globe. December 9* 188^. The Virginia City Daily Union. January 29* l86*f. The Virginia City Evening Bulletin. December 28, I863. The Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. November 1, 1806. The Washington Chronicle. February 2*f, 1867. The Washington Post. November 25* 1881 *. The Waterloo Advocate. January 15, 1869. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. January 11, 1872. Periodicals Burnett, Ruth A. "Mark Twain in the Northwest," The Pacific Northwest Quarterly. XLII (July, 195TJ7 187- Dickinson, Leon T. "Mark Twain’s Revision in Writing Th*» Innocents Abroad." American Literature. XII (March- Jaiiuar^, 1953-19&), 139-li>7.--------- 383 Donner, Stanley T. "Mark Twain as a Reader," The Quarterly Journal of Speech. XXXIII (October, 19*+7), 308• Hoeltje, Herbert H. "When Mark Twain Spoke in Portland," The Oregon Historical Quarterly. LV (March, 195*0. Lorch, Fred. "Lecture Trips and Visits of Mark Twain'in Iowa." The Iowa Journal of History and Politics. xxxvii rHSo'h,"1955), 569.------------------------------ . "Lecture Trips and Visits of Mark Twain in Iowa," The Iowa Journal of History and Politics. XXVII (March, 195*0. . "Mark Twain*s 'Morals Lecture* during the American Phase of His World Tour in 1895-1896," American Literature. XXVI (March, 195*0, 52. Mallard, Baily. "Mark Twain in San Francisco," The Book man. XXXI (June, 1910). McKee, Irving. "Artemus Ward in California and Nevada," The Pacific Historical Review. XX (February, 1951;. Moffett, Wallace B. "Mark Twain's Lansing Lecture on 'Roughing It*," The Michigan Historical Quarterly, XXXIV (June, 1956'), lMt-ITCV ------ ----- Scott. Arthur L. "Mark Twain's Revision of The Innocents Abroad for The British Edition of 1872." American Literature . XXV (March-January, 1953“195*0, *+3-61. Wecter, Dixon. "Mark Twain and the West," The Huntington Library Quarterly. VIII (August, 19*+8), 359~37'5. Miscellaneous Clipping number six in 1866 file, Morse Collection, The Yale University Library. Collection of Reports, 1835-1871, The Detroit Young Men's Society, The University of Michigan Library. The Library Association Subscription Book, 1872, The Wheeling Public Library. The Minutes of the Union Library Association, Oberlin College Library. 38* + Nelson, Henry. Unpublished Recollections, The University of Michigan Library. A set of seven books of the works of Robert Browning in the possession of the investigator. APPENDIXES APPENDIX A "HIS GRANDFATHER'S OLD RAM" "HIS GRANDFATHER* S OLD RAH" The Spoken Version Well, as I was sayin', he bought that old ram from a feller up in Siskiyou County and fetched him home and turned him loose in the med- der, and next morning he went down to have a look at him, and accident*ly dropped a ten cent piece in the grass and stooped down— so— and was fumblin* around in the grass to git it. and the ram he was a-standin* up the slope tak ing notice; but my grand father wasn’t taking notice, because he had his back to the ram and was int*rested about the dime• Well, there he was, as I was a-sayin*, down at the foot of the slope, and the ram he was up there at the top of the slope, and Smith— Smith was a-standin* there— no not just there, a little further away — fifteen foot perhaps— well, my grandfather was a stoopin' away down— so— and the old ram was up there observing, you know, and Smith he • • • (musing) . . . the ram he bent his head down, so . . • Smith of Calaveras • . .no, no it couldn't ben Smith of Calaveras— I remember now that he— b*George it was Smith of Tulare County— course it was, I remember it now perfectly plain. The Printed Version I don't reckon them times will ever come again. There never was a more bullier old ram than what he was• Grandfather fetched him from Illinois— got him from a man by the name of Yates— Bill Yates— maybe you might have heard of him; his father was a deacon— Baptist — and he was a rustler, too; a man ljad to get up ruther early to get the start of ole Thankful Yates; it was him that put the Greens up to j'ining teams with my grandfather when he moved west. Seth Green was proba bly the pick of the lot; he married a Wilkerson— Sarah Wilkerson— good cretur, she was— one of the likeliest heifers that was ever raised in old Stoddard, everybody said that knowed her. She could heft a bar'l of flour as easy as I can flirt a flap-jack. And spin? Don't mention it! Independent? Humph I When Sile Hawkins come a-browsing around her, she let him know that for all his tin he couldn't trot in harness alongside her. You see, Sile Hawkins was— no. it wasn't Sile Hawkins, after all— it was a galoot by the name of Filkins— I disremember his first name; but he was a stump— come 387 388 Well, Smith he stood just there, and my grand father he stood just here, you know, and he was a'bend- ln* down just so. fumblin, in the grass, ana when the old ram see him in that atti tude he took it fur an invi tation— and here he cornel down the slope thirty mile an hour and his eye full of business. You see my grand father's back being to him, and him stooping down like that, of course he— why shol it wam't Smith of Tulare at allj it was Smith of Sacra mento— my goodness, how did I ever come to get them Smiths mixed like that— why, Smith of Tulare was jest a nobody, but Smith of Sacra mento— why, the Smiths of Sacramento come of the best Southern blood in the United States; there wam't ever any better blood south of the line than the Sacramento Smiths. Why look here, one of them married a Whitaker1 I reckon that gives you an idea of the kind of society the Sacramento Smiths could 'sociate around in: there ain't no better blood than that Whitaker blood; I rec kon anybody'll tell you that. Look at Mariar Whitaker— there was a girl for youl Little? Why, yes, she was little, but what of that? Look at the heart of her— had a heart like a bul lock— just as good and sweet and lovely and generous as the day is long; if she had a thing and you wanted it. you could have it— have it and welcome; why Mariar Whitaker couldn't have a into pra'r-meeting drunk, one night, hooraying for Nixon, becuz he thought it was a primary; and old Deacon Ferguson up and scooted him through the win dow and he lit on old Miss Mefferson's head, poor old filly. She was a good soul — had a glass eye and used to lend it to old Miss Wagner, that hadn't any, to receive company in; it wam't big enough, and when Miss Wagner wam't noticing, it would get twisted around in the socket, and look up, maybe, or out to one side, and every which way, while t'other one was looking as straight ahead as a spy glass. Grown people didn't mind it, but it 'most always made the children ciy; it was so sort of scary. She tried packing it in raw cot ton, but it wouldn't work, somehow— the cotton would get loose and stick out and look so kind of awful that children couldn't stand it no way. She was always dropping it out, and turning up her old deadlight in com pany empty, and making them uncomfortable, becuz she never could tell when it hopped out, being blind on that side, you see. So somebody would have to hunch her and say, 'Your game eye has fetched loose. Miss Wagner, dear'— ana then all of them would have to sit and wait till she jammed it in again— wrong side before, as a general thing, and green as a bird's egg, being a bashful cretur and easy sot back before company. But being wrong side before 389 thing and another person need it and not get it— get it and welcome. She had a glass eye, and she used to lend it to Flora Ann Baxter that hadn't any, to receive com pany with; well, she was pretty large, and it didn't fit; it was a number seven, and she was excavated for a fourteen, and so that eye wouldn't lay still; every time she winked it would turn over* It was a beautiful eye and set her off admirable, because it was a lovely pale blue on the front side— the side you look out of— and it was gilded on the backside; didn't match the other eye, which was one of the browny- yallery eyes and tranquil and quiet, you know, the way that kind of eyes are; but that wam't any matter— they worked together all right and plenty picturesque. When Flora Ann winked, that blue gilt eye would whirl over, and the other one stand still, and as soon as she begun to get excited that hand-made eye would give a whirl and then go on awhirlin* and a- whirlin' faster and faster; and a-flashin' first blue and then yaller and then blue and then yaller, and when it got to whizzing and flashin' like that, the oldest man in the world couldn't keep up with the expression on that side of her face* Flora Ann Baxter married a Hogadom* I recon that lets you under stand what kind of blood she was— old Maryland Eastern blood; not a better family in the United States than the Hogadoms* wam't much difference, any way, becuz her own eye was sky-blue and the glass one was yaller on the front side, so whichever way she turned it it didn't match nohow* Old Miss Wagner was considerable on the borrow, she was* When she had a quilting, or Dorcas S'iety at her house she gen'ally borrowed Miss Higgins's wooden leg to stump around on; it was considerable shorter than her other pin, but much she minded that* She said she coulcLrf't abide crutches when she had com pany, becuz they were so slow; said when she had com pany and things had to be done, she wanted to get up and hump herself* She was as bald as a jug, and so she used to borrow Miss Jacop's wig— Miss Jacop was the coffin-peddler's wife— a ratty old buzzard he was, that used to go roosting around where people was sick, waiting for 'em; and that there old rip would sit all day, in the shade, on a coffin that he judged would fit the can'idate; and if it was a slow customer and kind of uncertain, he'd fetch his rations and a blanket along and sleep in the coffin nights. He was anchored out that way, in frosty weather, for about three weeks, once, before old Robbin's place, waiting for him; and after that, for as much as two years, Jacops was not on speaking terms with the old man. on account of his dis appointing him. He got one of his feet froze, and lost 390 Sally— That's Sally Hogadora— Sally married a missionary, and they went off carrying the good news to the cannibals out in one of them way-off islands round the world in the middle of the ocean sommers, and they et her; et him too, which was irregular; it warn't the cus tom to eat the missionary, but only the family, and when they see what they had done they were dreadful sorry about it, and when the relations sent down there to fetch away the things they said so— said so right out— said they was sorry, and 'pologized, and said it shouldn't happen again; said 'twas an accident. Accident! now that's foolishness; there ain't no such thing as an accident; there ain't nothing happens in the world but what's ordered just so by a wiser Power than us, and it's always fur a good purpose; we don't know what the good purpose was, sometimes— and it was the same with the families that was short a missionary and his wife. But that ain't no matter, and it ain't.any of our business; all that con cerns us is that it was a special providence and it had a good intention. No, sir, there ain't no such thing as an accident. Whenever a thing happens that you think is an accident you make up your mind it ain't no accident at all— it's special providence. You look at my Uncle Lem— what do you say to that? That * s all I ask you— you just money, too, becux Old Bobbins took a favorable turn and got well. The next time Robbins got sick, Jacops tried to make up with him, and varnished the same old coffin and fetched it along; but old Robbins was too many for him; he had him in, and 'peared to be powerful weak; he bought the coffin for ten dollars and Jacops was to pay it back and twenty-five more besides if Robbins didn't like the coffin after he's tried it. And then Robbins died, and at the funeral he bursted off the lid and riz up in his shroud and told the parson to let up on the performance, becuz he could not stand such a coffin as that• You see he had been in a trance once before, when he was young, and he took chances on another, cal'latlng that if he made the trip it was money in his pocket, and if he missed fire he couldn't lose a cent. And, by George, he sued Jacops for the rhino and got judge ment; and he set up the coffin in his back parlor and said he 'lowed to take his time now. It was always an aggravation to Jacops, the way that miser able thing acted. He moved back to Indiany pretty soon— went to Wellsville- Wellsville was the place the Hogadoms was from. Mighty fine family. Old Maryland stock. Old Squire Hogadom could carry around more mixed licker, and cuss better than 'most any man 391 look at my Uncle Lem and talk to me about accidents! It was like this: one day Uncle Lem and his dog was downtown, and he was lean in* up against a scaffolding- sick, or drunk, or somethin' — and there was an Irishman with a hod of bricks up the ladder along about the third story, and his foot slipped and down he come, bricks and all, and hit a stranger fair and square and knocked the everlasting aspirations out of him; he was ready for the coroner in two minutes. Now then people said it was an accident • Accident! there warn't no accident about it; 'twas a special providence, and had a mysterious, noble intention back of it. The idea was to save that Irish man. If the stranger hadn't been there that Irishman would have been killed. The people said 'special provi dence— shol the dog was there— why didn't the Irish man fall on the dog? Why wam't the dog app'inted? Per a mighty good reason— the dog would 'a seen him a- comin'; you can't depend on no dog to carry out a special providence. You couldn't hit a dog with an Irishman because— lerame see, what was that dog's name . . . (mus ing) . . . oh, yes, Jasper— and a mighty good dog too; he wam't no common dog, he wam't no mongrel; he was a composite. A composite dog is a dog that's made up of all the valuable qualities that's in the dog breed— I ever see. His second wife was the Widder Billings — she that was Becky Martin; her dam was Beacon Dunlap's first wife. Her oldest child, Maria, married a mis sionary and died in grace— et up by the savages. They et him, too, poor feller— biled him. It wam't the custom, so they say, but they explained to friends of his'n that went down there to bring away his things, that they'd tried mission aries every other way and never could get any good out of 'em— and so it annoyed all his relations to find out that that man's life was fooled away just out of a dem'd experiment, so to speak. But mind you, there ain't anything ever really lost; everything that people can't understand and don't see the reason of does good if you only hold on and give it a fair shake; Prov'dence don't fire no blank ca'tridges, boys. That there missionary's sub stance, unbeknowns to him self, actu'ly converted every last one of them heathens that took a chance at the barbecue. Nothing ever fetched them but that. Don't tell me it was an accident that he was biled. There ain't no such thing as an accident. When my Uncle Lem was leaning up again a scaffolding once, sick, or drunk, or suthin' an Irishman with a hod full of bricks fell on him out of a third story and broke the old man's back in two places. People said it was 392 kind of a syndicate; and a mongrel is made up of the riffraff that's left over. That Jasper was one of the most wonderful dogs you ever see. Uncle Lem got him from the Wheelers. I recon you’ve heard of the Wheelers; ain’t no better blood south of the line than the Wheelers. Well, one day Wheeler was a-meditating and dreaming around the carpet factory and the machinery made a snatch at him and first you know he was a-meandering all over that factory, from the garret to the cellar, and everywhere, at such another gait as— why you couldn’t even see him; you could only hear him whiz when he went by• Well, you know a person can't go thrcwgh an experience like that and arrive back home the way he was when he went. No, heeler got wove up into thirty-nine yards of best three-ply carpeting. The widder was sorry, she was uncommon sorry, and loved him and done the best she could fur him in the circumstances, which was unusual. She took the whole piece— thirty-nine yards— and she wanted to give him proper and honorable burial, but she couldn’t bear to roll him up; she took and spread him out full length, and said she wouldn’t have it any other way. She wanted to buy a tunnel for him but there wasn't any tunnel for sale, so she boxed him in a beautiful box and stood it on the hill on a pedestal twenty- one feet high, and so it was monument and grave together, an accident. Much a acci dent there was about that. He didn't know what he was there for, but he was there for a good object. If he hadn't been there the Irish man would have been killed. Nobody can ever make me believe anything different from that. Uncle Lem's dog was there. Why didn't the Irishman fall on the dog? Becuz the dog would 'a seen him a-coming and stood from under. That's the reason the dog wam't app'inted. A dog can't be depended on to carry out a special prov' dence. Mark my words, it was a put-up thing. Acci dents don't happen boys. Uncle Lem's dog— I wish you could*a seen that dog. He was a reg'lar shepherd— or ruther he was part bull and part shepherd— splendid animal; belonged to Parson Hagar before Uncle Lem got him. Parson Hagar belonged to the Western Reserve Hagars; prime family; his mother was a Watson; one of his sisters married a Wheeler. They settled in Morgan County, and he got nipped by the machinery in a carpet factory and went through in less than a quar ter of a minute; his widder bought the piece of carpet that had his remains wove in, and people come a hun dred mile to 'tend the funeral. There was fourteen yards in the piece. She wouldn't let them roll him up, but planted him just so — full length. The church was middling small where they preached the funeral, 393 and economical— sixty feet high— you could see it from everywhere. And she painted on it 'To the loving memory of thirty-nine yards of the best three-ply carpeting containing the mortal remain ders of Wellington G. Wheeler, go thou and do likewise.' Jim Blaine had been gradually growing drowsy and drowsier— his head nodded, once, twice, three times— dropped peacefully upon his breast, and he fell tran quilly asleep. The tears were running down the boys* cheeks— they were suffocating with suppressed laughter— and had been from the start, though I had never noticed it. I perceived that I was 'sold.* I learned then that Jim Blaine's peculiarity was that whenever he reached a certain stage of intoxica tion, no human power could keep him from setting out, with impressive unction, to tell about a wonderful adven ture which he had once had with his grandfather*s old ram— and the mention of the ram in the first sentence was as far as any man had ever heard him get, concerning it. and they had to let one end of the coffin stick out of the window. They didn't bury him— they planted one end, and let him stand up, same as a monument. And they nailed a sign on it and put— put on— put on it — sacred to— the m-e-m-o-ry — of fourteen y-a-r-d-s— of three-ply— car— pet— containing all that was— m-o-r-t-a-1— of— of— W-i-l-l-i-a-m— Wh-e— • At this point the historian's voice began to wobble and his eyelids to droop with weariness, and he fell asleep; and so from that day to this we are still in ignorance; we don't know whether the old grand father ever got the ten-cent piece out of the grass; we haven't any idea what it was that happened, or whether anything happened at all. APPENDIX B "THE JUMPING PROG OP CALAVERAS COUNTY" "THE JUMPING PROG OP CALAVERAS COUNTY" The Spoken Version Now that brings me by a natural and easy transition to Simon Wheeler, of California; a pioneer he was, and in a small way a philoso pher; Simon Wheeler’s creed was that pretty nearly every thing that happens to a man can be turned to moral account; every incident in his life, almost, can be made to assist him, to project him forward morally, if he knows how to make use of the lesson which that episode teaches, and he used— well, he was a good deal of a talker. He was an inordinate talker; in fact, he wore out three sets of false teeth, and I told about a friend of his one day— a man that he had known there formerly, and who he had a great admiration for, of one Jim Smiley, and he said it was worth a man's while to know Jim Smiley. Jim Smiley was a man of gift; he was a man of parts; he was a man of learning; he was— well, he was the curiousest man about always betting on anything that turned up that you ever see, if he could get anybody to be on the other side, and if he could get anybody to bet on the other side, and if he couldn't he would change sides. As soon as he got a bet he was The Printed Version I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the barroom stove of the dilapidated tavern in the decayed mining camp of Angel's, and I noticed that he was fat and bald-headed, and had an expression of winning gentleness and sim plicity upon his tranquil countenance. He roused, up and gave me a good-day. I told him a friend of mine had commissioned me to make some inquiries about a cher ished companion of his boy hood named Leonidas W. Smiley— Rev. !Leonidas W. Smiley, a young minister of the Gospel, who he had heard was at one time a resident of Angel's Camp. I added that if Mr. Wheeler could tell me anything about this Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, I would feel under many obli gations to him. Simon Wheeler backed me into a comer and block aded me there with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the monotonous narrative which follows this para graph. He never smiled, he never frowned, he never changed his voice from the gentle-flowing key to which he tuned his initial sen tence, he never betrayed the 395 396 satisfied. He prepared him self with all sorts of things— tomcats, rat ter riers and all such things, and one day he ketched a frog; said he calculated to educate him. And he took him home and never done nothing but set in his back yard and learn that frog how to jump. Yes, sir, and he did learn him too— he did learn him to. When it came to jumping on a dead level there wasn’t no frog that could touch him at all. Come to jump on the dead level, why, he could lay over any frog in the profession, and Smiley broke all the camps around there betting on that frog. Bye and bye he got a misfortune. He used to keep his frog in a little lattice box. The frog’s name was Daniel Webster, and he would bring that box down town and lay for a bet. And one day a fellow came along, a stranger in the camp he was, he says, "What might it be that you have got in the box?' "Well," Smiley says, "It ain’t anything particular, it’s only just a frog." "Well," he says, "What is he good for?" "Well," Smiley says, "X don’t know, but I think he is good enough for one thing; he can outjump any frog in Calaveras County." The stranger took that box, turned it around this way and that way, and he examined Daniel Webster all over very critically, and he handed it back, and he said, "I don’t see any points about that frog that is any better than any other frog." "Oh," slightest suspicion of enthusiasm; but all through the interminable narrative there ran a vein of impres sive earnestness and sincer ity, which showed me plainly that, so far from his imag ining that there was any thing ridiculous or funny about his story, he regarded it as a really important matter, and admired its two heroes as men of transcend ent genius in finesse. I let him go on in his own way, and never interrupted him once • "Rev. Leonidas W. H’m, Reverend Le— well, there was a feller here once b£ the name of Jim Smiley, in the winter of '*+9j could be it was the spring of ' 50— I don’t recollect exactly, somehow, that’s what makes me think it was one or the other is because I remember the big flume wam’t finished when he first come to the camp; but anyway he was the cur- iosest man about always bet ting on anything that turned up you ever see, if he could get anybody to bet on the other side, and if he couldn't he’d change sides. Any way that suited the other man would suit him— any way just so’s he got a bet, he was satisfied. But still""Ee was lucky, uncom mon lucky; he most always come out winner. He was always ready and laying for a chance; there couldn't be no solit’ry thing mentioned but that feller*d offer to bet on it, and take ary side 397 Smiley said, "It may be that you understand frogs and may be that you are only an ama teur, so to speak; anyway I will risk $**0 that he can out- jump any frog in Calaveras County•" Well, that stranger looked mighty sad, mighty sorrowful-grieved, and he said, "I am only a stranger in camp and I ain*t got no frog, but if I had a frog I would bet you." Smiley says, "That’s all right, just you hold my frog a minute; I will go and get you a frog." So Smiley lit out to the swamp and that stranger took the box and he stood there— well, he stood, and stood and stood the longest time. At last he got Daniel Webster out of the box and pried his mouth open like that (indicating), took a teaspoonful and filled him full of quail shot, filled him full up to the chin and set him down on the floor. Daniel set there. Smiley he flopped around in the swamp about half an hour. Finally he cotched a frog and fetched him to this fellow. They put up the money, and Smiley says: "Now, let the new frog down on the floor with his front paws just even with Daniel’s, and I will give the word," He says, "One, two, three, scoot," and they touched up the frogs from behind to indi cate that time was called, and that new frog, he rose like a rocket and came down kerchunk a yard and a half from where he started, a per fectly elegant jump for a non-professional that way. you please, as I was just telling you. If there was a horse-race, you’d find him flush or you'd find him busted at the end of it; if there was a dog-fight, he’d bet on it; if there was a cat-fight, he'd bet on it; if there was a chicken- fight, he’d bet on it; why if there was two birds set ting on a fence, he would bet you which one would fly first; or if there was a camp-meeting, he would be there reg’lar to bet on Parson Walker, which he judged to be the best exhorter about here, and so he was too, and a good man. If he even see a straddle- bug start to go anywheres, he would bet you how long it would take him to get to— to wherever he was going to, and if you took him up, he would foller that straddle- bug to Mexico but what he would find out where he was bound and how long he was on the road. Lots of the boys here has seen that Smiley, and can tell you about him. Why, it never made no dif ference to him— he'd bet on anything— the dangdest fel ler. Parson Walker's wife laid very sick once, for a good while, and it seemed as if they w a m ’t going to save her; but one morning he come in, and Smiley up and asked him how she was, and he said she was considable better, thank the Lord for his infinite mercy— and coming on so smart that with the blessing of Prov'dence she’d get well yet; and Smiley, before he thought says, "Well, I'll resk two-and-a- 398 Bat Smiley’s frog gave a heave or two with hie shoul ders— his ambition was up, but it was no use, he couldn’t budge, he was anchored there as solid as an anvil. The'fellow took the money, and finally, as he went over, he looked over his shoulder at Daniel, and he said: "Well, I don’t see any points about that frog that is any better than any other frog." And Smiley looked down at Daniel Webster, I never see a man so puzzled. And he says: "I do wonder what that frog throwed off for? There must be something the matter with him, looks mighty baggy somehow. He hefted him, and says, "Blame my cats, if he don’t weigh five pounds." Turned him up side down and showered out a hatfull of shot. And Simon Wheeler said, "That has been a lesson to me." And I say to you, let that be a lesson to you. Don’t put too much faith in the passing stranger. This life is full of uncer tainties, and every episode in life, figuratively speak ing, is just a frog. You want to watch every exigency as you would a frog, and don’t you ever bet a cent on it until you know whether it is loaded or not. half she don’t anyway." This here Smiley had a mare— the boys called her the fifteen minute nag, but that was only in fun, you know, because of course she was faster than that— and he used to win money on that horse, for all she was so slow and always had the asthma, or distemper, or the consumption, or some thing of that kind. They used to give her two or three hundred yards start, and then pass her under way; but always at the fag end of the race she’d get excited and desperate like, and come cavorting and straddling up, and scatter ing her legs around limber, sometimes in the air, and sometimes out to one side among the fences, and kick ing up m-o-r-e dust and raising m-o-r-e racket with her coughing and sneezing and blowing her nose— and always fetch up at the stand just about a neck ahead, as near as you could cipher it down. And he had a little small bull-pup, that to look at him you’d think he w a m ’t worth a cent but to set around and look ornery and lay for a chance to steal something. But as soon as money was up on him he was a different dog; his under jaw *d begin to stick out like the fo*castle of a steamboat, and his teeth would uncover and shine like the furnaces. And a dog might tackle him and bully rag him, and throw him over 399 his shoulder two or three times, and Andrew Jackson— which was the name of the pup — Andrew Jackson would never let on hut what he was satis fied, and hadn't expected nothing else— and the bets being doubled and doubled on the other side all the time, till the money was all up; and then all of a sudden he would grab that other dog jest by the j’int of his hind leg and freeze to it— not chaw, you understand, but only just grip and hang on till they throwed up the sponge, if it was a year. Smiley always come out winner on that pup, till he harnessed a dog once that didn’t have no hind legs, because they’d been sawed off in a circular saw, and when the thing had gone along far enough, and the money was all up, and he come to make a snatch for his pet holt, he see in a minute how he'd been imposed on, and how the other dog had him in the door, so to speak, and he 'peared sur prised, and then he looked sorter discouraged-like, and didn’t try no more to win the fight, and so he got shucked out bad. He give Smiley a look, as much as to say his heart was broke, and it was his fault, for putting up a dog that hadn’t no hind legs for him to take holt of, which was his main dependence in a fight, and then he humped off a piece and laid down and died. It was a good pup, was that Andrew Jackson, and would have made a name for hisself if he'd lived, for the stuff was in him and he had genius— I know it, M-OO because he hadn't no opportun ities to speak of, and it don't stand to reason that a dog could make such a fight as he could under them circum stances if he hadn't no talent. It always makes me feel sorry when I think of that last fight of his'n, and the way it turned out. Well, thish-yer Smiley had rat-tarriers, and chicken cocks, and tom-cats and all them kind of things, till you couldn't rest, and you couldn't fetch nothing for him to bet on but he' d match you. He ketched a frog one day, and took him home, and said he cal'lated to educate him; and so he never done nothing for three months but set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump. And you bet he did learn him, too. He'd give him a little punch behind, and the next minute you'd see that frog whirling in the air like a doughnut— see him turn one summerset, or may be a couple, if he got a good start, and come down flat-footed and all right, like a cat. He got him up so in the matter of ketch- ing flies, and Kep* him in practice so constant, that he'd nail a fly every time as far as he could see him. Smiley said all a frog wanted was education, and he could do 'most anything— and I believe him. Why, I've seen him set Dan'l Webster down here on this floor— Dan'l Webster was the name of the frog— and sing out, "Flies, Dan'l, flies 1” and quicker*n you could wink he'd spring straight up and snake a fly off'n the counter there, and flop down on the tfOl floor ag'in as solid as a gob of mud, and fall to scratch ing the side of his head with his hind foot as indifferent as if he hadn't no idea he'd been doin' any more'n any frog might do. You never see a frog so modest and straight- for'ard as he was, for all he was so gifted. And when it come to fair and square jump ing on the dead level, he could get over more ground at one straddle than any animal of his breed you ever see. Jumping on a dead level was his strong suit, you under stand; and when it come to that, Smiley would ante up money on him as long as he had a red. Smiley was mon strous proud of his frog, and well he might be, for fellers that had traveled and been everywheres all said he laid over any frog that ever they see. Well, Smiley kep' the beast in a little lattice box, and he used to fetch him down town sometimes and lay for a bet. One day a feller, a stranger in the camp, he was— come acrost him with his box, and says: "What might it be that you've got in the box?" And Smiley says, sorter indifferent-like, "It might be a parrot, and it might be a canary, maybe, but it ain't— it's only just a frog•" And the feller took it, and looked at it careful, and turned it round this way and that, and says, "H'm--so 4-02 'tis. Well, what*a he good for?" "Well," Smiley says, easy and careless, "he’s good enough for one thing, I should judge— he can outjump any frog in Calaveras County." The feller took the box again, and took another long, particular look, and give it back to Smiley, and says, very deliberate, "Well," he says, "I don’t see no P'ints about that frog that’s any better*n any other frog." "Maybe you don’t," Smiley says. "Maybe you understand frogs and maybe you don’t understand 'em; maybe you've had experience, and maybe you ain’t only a amature, as it were. Anyways, I’ve got my opinion, and I’ll resk forty dollars that he caa outjump any frog in Calaveras County." And the feller studied a minute, and then says, kinder sad like, "Well, I'm only a stranger here, and I ain't got no frog; but if I had a frog, I'd bet you." And then Smiley says, "That's all right--that*s all right-jif you'll hold my box a minute, I’ll go get you a frog." And so the feller took the box, and put up his forty dollars along with Smiley's, and set down to wait. So he set there a good while thinking and thinking to hisself, and then he got the frog out and prized his mouth open and took a teaspoon and ^0 3 filled him fhll of quail shot — filled him pretty near up to his chin— and set him on the floor, Smiley he went to the swamp and slopped around in the mud for a long time, and finally he ketched a frog, and fetched him in, and give him to this feller and says: "Now, if you*re ready, set him along side of Dan'l, with his forepaws just even with Dan'l*s, and I'll give the word." Then he says, "One— two— three— git I" and him and the feller touched up the frogs from behind, and the new frog hopped off lively, but Dan'l give a heave, and hysted up his shoulders— so— like a Frenchman, but it wam't no use— he couldn't budge, he was planted as solid as a church, and he couldn't no more stir than if he was anchored out. Smiley was a good deal surprised, and he was disgusted too, but he didn't have no idea what the matter was, of course. The feller took the money and started away; and when he was going out at the door, he sorter jerked his thumb over his shoulder— so— at Dan'1, and says again, very deliberate, "Well," he says, "I don't see no P'ints about that frog that's better*n any other frog." Smiley he stood scratching his head and look ing down at Dan'l a long time, and at last he says, "I do wonder what in the nation that frog throw'd off for— I wonder if ther ain't something the matter with him— he 'pears to bob look mighty baggy, somehow.'* And he ketched Dan'l by the nap of the neck, and hefted him, and says, "Why blame my cats if he don't weigh five pound I" and turned him upside down and he belched out a double handful of shot. And then he see how it was, and he was the maddest man— he set the frog down and took after that feller, but he never ketched him. And--" [Here Simon Wheeler heard his name called from the front yard, and got up to see what was wanted.] And turning to me as he moved away, he said: "Just set where you are, stranger, and rest easy— I ain't going to be gone a second." But by you leave, I did not think that a continua tion of the histoiy of the enterprising vagabond Jim Smiley would be likely to afford me much information concerning the Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, and so I started away. At the door I met the sociable '//heeler returning, and he button-holed me and re commenced: "Well, thish-yer Smiley had a yaller one-eyed cow that didn't have no tail, only just a short stump like a bannanner, and— " However, lacking both time and inclination, I did not wait to hear about the afflicted cow, but took my leave. A P P E N D I X C "THE JUMPING PROG OP CALAVERAS COUNTY" THE RECORDED AND PRINTED EXCERPTS "THE JUMPING PROG OP CALAVERAS COUNTY" THE RECORDED AND PRINTED EXCERPTS The Spoken Version The Printed Version He was the most-- worse man you ever saw about betting on anything. That is if he could get somebody to bet on the other side and if he couldn't he'd change sides. Anything what suited the other man would suit him; just so he got a bet he was satisfied. And he was lucky, too, uncommon lucky. They couldn't be no solitary thing mentioned but that fella'd offer to bet on it. If there was a dog fight, he'd bet on it. If there was a cat fight, he'd bet on it. Why if he seen two birds a-settin' on a fence he'd bet you which one would fly first. Parson, old parson Walker's wife laid, very ill once and for a long time it looked as if they wam't goin' to save her; but one day the parson come in kinda lively like. And one of the boys said, 'Well, how's the wife, Parson?' And he said, 'Well, she's considerably better--thank the Lord for his infinite mercy— and with the help of Providence— she'll get well yet.' 'Well, I'll betcha two to one she don't anyhow,' said Mister Smiley, before he thought a word about it• Lots of the boys here seen that Smiley and can tell you about him. Why, it never made no dif ference to him--he would bet on anything— the dangdest feller. Parson Walker's wife laid very sick, once for a good while, and it seemed as if they wam't going to save her; but one morning he come in and Smiley asked him how she was, and he said she was considerable better— thank the Lord for his inf'nit mercy— and coming on so smart that with the blessing of Providence she'd get well yet— and Smiley, before he thought says, 'Well, I'll resk two-and-a-haIf that she don't, anyway.' b06 A P P E N D I X D EXAMPLES OP MARK TWAIN*S INTRODUCTIONS TO HIS LECTURES EXAMPLES OP MARK TWAIN'S INTRODUCTIONS TO HIS LECTURES Ladies and gentlemen, in the temporary and una,void able absence of both the president and the secretary of the Lecture Association, I am deputed to introduce the lecturer of the evening. The lecturer of the evening, ladies and gentlemen, is well known to me. His great his torical knowledge is equalled only by his vast and accur ate scientific, linguistic and geographical attainments. He comes of patriotic stock. His ancestors fit into the war of the Revolution. They were at the massacre of Bunker Hill. The ancesters of the lecturer of the evening, ladies and gentlemen, were not persons to stand fooling around when a massacre was going onI One of them was wounded. He drove a baggage wagon. He was kicked by a mule. By the way I am the man. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: By request of the Chairman of the Committee, who had been very busy, and is very tired I suppose, I ask leave to introduce to you the lecturer of the evening, Mr. Clemens, otherwise Mark Twain, a gentle man whose great learning, whose historical accuracy, whose devotion to science, and whose veneration for the truth (laughter) are only equalled by his moral character and his majestic presence. (Renewed laughter) I refer these vague, general terms to myself. (Giggling) I am a little opposed to the custom of ceremoniously introducing the lecturer to the audience, because it seems to me unneces sary where the man has been properly advertised (laughter), and besides it is very uncomfortable for the lecturer. But where it is the custom, an introduction ought to be made, and I had rather make it myself in my own case, and then I can rely on getting in all the facts. (Continued laughter) It is not a simple introduction that I mind. I don't really care for that at all, but it is the compli ments that sometimes go with it— that is what hurts. It would make anyone uncomfortable. You can fancy a young *f08 lady introduced to a parlor-full of company as the best conversationalist, the best model in every way in her sec tion of the country. You might just as well knock her in the head. She could not say a word the rest of the eve ning.
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Creator
Wallace, Robert Dawson
(author)
Core Title
An Analytical-Historical Study Of The Factors Contributing To The Successof Mark Twain As An Oral Interpreter
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree Program
Speech
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
OAI-PMH Harvest,Theater
Language
English
Contributor
Digitized by ProQuest
(provenance)
Advisor
McCoard, William B. (
committee chair
), Butler, James H. (
committee member
), Seal, Forrest L. (
committee member
)
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https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-272151
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UC11358729
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6206089.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-272151 (legacy record id)
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6206089.pdf
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272151
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Dissertation
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Wallace, Robert Dawson
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texts
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University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
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The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...
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