MARK TWAIN AND THE SAVAGE CLUB.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLI, Issue 223, 20 September 1907, Page 6

MARK TWAIN AND THE SAVAGE CLUB.

The Lord Mayor of London gave ;a dinner at . the Mansion House p to .the members of the Savage Club, of whic,li he is himself a member. The guests ircluded Mr §.. L, Clemen?. (Mark Twain)—-who met with an enthusiastic reception on entering the Egyptian Hall just before the speech-making began. , . . Mark Twain, who, on rising, was greeted with loud and prolonged cheering, said he was not there^ to make a speech. He had had no time to make any sort of preparation. He had been very busy since he landed in England a few days ago trying to rehabilitate his character. The charge which had been made against him of carrying off the Ascot Cup was not true; he had never seen the cup. It w.as many years since he would have carried it off if he had had a chance. (Laughter.) He had had to meet the gentle slander everywhere." The undergraduates of, Oxford showed greater interest in the cup than in the honour conferred upon him by their University. He assured them that he had not taken it, dishonest as he looked. (Laughter.) He began years ago to frame for himself a_ moral constitution which should impress the world. He was not as honest then as now, but he was reasonably honest. (Laughter.) He had climbed step by step to the degree of honesty which he now possessed. There was a great difference between the Mark Twain of years ago and the Dr. Clemens of today. The change had been brought about by different incidents in his career. He' was once at a meeting at which the hat was passed round for subscriptions. A pathetic appeal had been made, and the place was drowned with tears. It was the dampest place he had ever seen on shore. (Laughter.) That was the time to pass round the hat. He had $400 in his pocket which he wanted to contribute, and, not only that, but he wanted to borrow a blank cheque from somebody and fill it up. He was full of generosity—he had never been so full of it before or since. (Laughter.) But another speaker was allowed to address the assemblage, and he cast such a. chill upon tie proceedings! that by the time he had finished his subscription had been reduced, by $200. The | next man got up and swept away the rest of it.- The inspiration of a cheque was gone—everything was gone. He was sorry to see his generous feeling departing from him, but he knew that that would happen if they allowed the right moment to pass, as they did. When at last the hat came-round he put in 10c. and took out 25c. His moral character had by that time degenerated. But the experience was a lesson to him always to avoid temptation, and from that day to this he had never been in a place where they were going to take a collection. -(Laughter.) He was going home in a week or two. He came here to get the Oxford degree, and he would have crossed the seven seas for such an honour. (Cheers). It was the greatest honour which had ever fallen to his lot. He could not be too grateful to the University and to Lord Curzon for conferring it upon him, and he was sure that his country must appreciate it because the honour was, first and foremost, an

honour to his country. While he was ir- the spirit young; he was in the flesh old, — so it was unlikely that when he went away he would ever see England again. But he went away with the recollectioH of what he had experienced here in the way of generous welcome.' He took note of the welcome which they gave him when he entered the dining-hall that evening, and he was grateful for it. So he, said "goodbye,"aridV- in saying " g<J6d-bye T' he said it not only with his lips but with his heart. (Cheers).