Mark Twain.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XL, Issue 13, 28 March 1908, Page 13

Mark Twain.

Interviewing a celebrity without seeing him is perhaps not an entirely new phase of the new journalism. In the case of Mark Twain, however, the result is fairly satisfactory (remarks an American paper). A small buffer meets you on the threshold in the form of a gracious, diplomatic, and silver-voieed young lady, Miss J. V. Lyon (Mr. Clemen’s private secretary), who tells you how the great man spends his time. If you should open the door to his bedroom at 8 o’clock you would probably find him smoking a cheap cigar, and waiting for his coffee and rolls. More cigars and pipes follow, and he slowly and surely dictates chapters of his autobiography. After dictation, Mark Twain may read—not fiction, but scientific tomes and biography. His lunch is a glass of milk, after which he will take' a drive, and at 7 o’clock dine, this being his first square meal. ' The evening he will spend with his friends and acquaintances. He takes little exercise, using his vigorous mental faculties to such an extent that physical exercise is unnecessary. He does not indulge in games or sports, though there was a time when four aces would have caused his face to brighten. Although not particularly fond of animals, he “rents” a kitten for the summer, but, not being able to keep kittens in his New York home, he always returns it to the owner when the winter season begins. <&<s><?>