Vol 3 Section 0244

principal address by Lt. Col. Manfred von Egidy, “who had been cashiered from the Prussian army for his antiwar pamphlet Ernste Gedanken (Serious Thoughts) and was making the rounds of peace groups in the Germanic World” [Dolmetsch 189].

Dolmetsch writes of Sam’s address on disarmament at the peace rally:

This florid rhetoric was a hard act to follow, but Mark Twain rose to the challenge. He excused himself for using English in his talk, pointing out that, as the czar’s manifesto had been issued in Russian and had been understood by people of every culture, he had no fears he would not likewise be perfectly understood. He noted thankfully that the war between his homeland and Spain was over, that it had cost much in money and human suffering on both sides and had achieved nothing that could not have been done without a war. Although he personally had had doubts about the idea of world peace, thinking it was just so many words, the fact that the czar of Russia was issuing such a call and was ready to disarm was now enough for him. He had only a penknife with him, but he was ready to disarm, too! [189-90].

October 19 Wednesday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Edmund Kloieda.

“I am sorry that I am not able to comply, but I shall lecture only once during the next twelvemonth, & for that lecture I have already engaged myself. When I was younger I had no distaste for lecturing, but now that I am old it is to me an almost unendurable distress & discomfort.”

Sam apologized for delay in answering, which he wrote he should have done the day before [MTP]. Note:

Kloieda has not been identified.

October 20 Thursday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote a letter of introduction for Herr Van Dyke to Laurence Hutton: “any kindness you & Mrs. Hutton may show him is a kindness shown to me.” Sam requested that Hutton introduce Van Dyke to the Players Club and also the Century magazine staff

[MTP]. Note: could this have been Henry Van Dyke, later professor of literature at Princeton?

Sam also wrote a postcard to Siegmund Schlesinger in Vienna: “November 1. Schon gut. Dass ist wie ich’s verstanden habe. / Mark Twain” [MTP].

About this day Sam also wrote to Franklin G. Whitmore (only the envelope survives) [MTP].

J.L. Campbell wrote to Sam from Manchester, N.H., enclosing a newspaper clipping of a poem by a grieving widow: “Knowing your weakness for touching obituaries…I enclose …a pathetic little poem by a heart-broken widow” [MTP].

The New York Times, Oct. 20, p.7 ran an article datelined London of this date:

Mark Twain on Universal Peace.

LONDON, Oct. 20.—The Vienna correspondent of The Daily News says: “Samuel L. Clemens, (Mark Twain,) who has addressed a meeting of the Society of the Friends of Peace here, told them that he formerly doubted whether the world would ever be able to put a stop to war, but that the Czar had convinced and converted him. He spoke in English. The speech was not interpreted to the assembly, because the Government representative doubted that all Mr. Clemens said would bear translation.”

Note: Sam spoke to the group on Feb. 17, 1898. See entry.

Sam’s notebook:

SLC used mourning border for most letters from Susy’s death on, then from Livy’s death on.