MARK TWAIN ON COPYRIGHT.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IX, Issue 468, 31 March 1882, Page 20

MARK TWAIN ON COPYRIGHT.

Mb. Samuel L. Clemens, better known as " Mark Twain, " who is on a -visit to Canada, hie been entertained at Montreal at a banquet, at which a number of distinguished representatives of politics, literature and art in the Dominion were present. In response to the toast of his health Mr. Clemens said that be had come to Canada to place himself under the protection of the Canadian law and to secure a copyright. He had complied with the requirements of the law which were, however, rather cumbersome, and he hoped and believed that a day would come when, in the eye of the law literary property would be as sacred as whisky, or any other of the necessaries of life. In this age of ours, if you stole another man's label to advertise your own brand of whisky with, you would be heavily fined and otherwise punished. If you stole the whisky without the trademark you would have to go to gaol, but if you could prove the whisky was literature you could steal them both and the law would not say a word. It grieved him to think how far more profound and reverend a respect the law would have for literature if the body could only get drunk on it. Referring to the sights he bad witnessed in Canada. Mr. Clemens remarked that he had seen the Plains of Abraham and the spot where the lamented Wolfe stood when he made the memorable remark that he would rather be the author of " Gray's Elegy than take Quebec." But why did he say so rash a thing ? It was because he supposed there was going to be an international copyright, " Where so many of the guests are French, " continued Mr. Clemens " the propriety will be recognised of my making a portion of my speech in that beautiful language, in order that I may be understood I speak French with timidity and not flowingly, except when excited. When using that language I have often noticed that I have hardly ever been mistaken for a Frenchman. I had hoped that mere French construction, with English words, would answer ; but this is not the case. I tried it at a gentleman's house in Qaebec, and it would not work. The maid-servant asked, ' What would Monsieur 1 ' I said ' Monsieur so-and-so, is he with himself 1 ' She did not understand. I said, ' Is it that he is still not returned from his house of merchandise 1 ' She did not understand that either. I said, 'He will desolate himself when he learns that his friend American was arrived here, and he not with himself to shake him at the hand. ' She did not even understand that. I don't know why, but she didn't, and she lost her temper besides. Somebody in the rear cilled out , ' Quiest done la ? or words to that effect. She said, ' C'est un fou, ' and shut the door on me. perhaps she was right, but how did t-he ever find that cut, for she had never seen me before till that moment. But as I have already intimated I will close this oration with a few sentences in the French language. I have not ornamented them. I have not burdened them with flowers of rhetoric, for to my mind that literature is best and most endearing which is characterised by a noble simplicity. J'aime beau bouton dor de mon oncle, mais je n'ai pas celui dv charpentier. Si vous avez le f romage dv brave menmsier c'est bon, mais si vous ne l'avez pas, cela ne me desole pas, Prenez lecbapeaude drapnoir de son beau frere. Malade tout a Theure eavoir faire, quest cc que vous dites, pate de foie gras, levenons a nos moutons. Pardon, messieurs, pardonnez moi ; essayant de parler la belle langue d'OUendorff strains memjrj than you can possibly imagine. But I mean well, and I've done the best I could. "