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176 MARK TWAIN SPEAKING· 50· When George W. Cable gave a program ofreadings in Hartford, it was a tryout for a newcomer to the platform. Mark Twain, who had a low opinion of unresponsive Hartford audiences, gave the visitor valuable support by assembling the added attraction of a "menagerie" of well-known literary men from New York and Boston. Introducing George W. Cable Unity Hall, Hartford, April 4, 1883 A complete stranger myself to Mr. Cable personally, though a great admirer of his books, I appear before you as his sponsor tonight, if he needs one. The original idea was that Mr. William Dean Howells of New York was to introduce Mr. Cable of New Orleans to-the Hartford audience, when it occurred to the committee that Mr. Howells was himself a stranger to Hartford and did not know Hartford, nor did Hartford know him. So Mr. Thomas Bailey Aldrich of Boston was brought from Boston to introduce Mr. Howells of New York, who was to introduce Mr. Cable of New Orleans. But someone was necessary to introduce Mr. Aldrich of Boston, so Mr. Gilder ofNew York was asked to introduce Mr. Aldrich of Boston, who was to introduce Mr. Howells of New York, who was to introduce Mr. Cable of New Orleans. Then the same objection arose. No one knew Mr. Gilder of New York, so Mr. John Boyle O'Reilly of Boston was asked to introduce Mr. Gilder of New York who was to introduce Mr. Aldrich of Boston, who was to introduce Mr. Howells of New York, who was to introduce Mr. Cable of New Orleans. Once more an awful problem arose in the minds of the committee. Mr. John B. O'Reilly of Boston had never been in Hartford before, and only knew it as a place of five minutes for refreshments on the New Haven Railroad. The question once more arose, who would introduce Mr. O'Reilly of Boston? And for a time no proper person appeared on the horizon. After some deliberation-for the matter was getting serious-we decid€d to dispense with an introduction altogether , which would occupy another evening at least, and to let MARK TWAIN SPEAKING 177 Cable speak for himself. I have, however, here present on the platform all these distinguished gentlemen from our suburban cities, which will account for the menagerie behind me. And this, ladies and gentleman of Hartford, is Mr. Cable of New Orleans. Text / Laurence Hutton, Talks in a Library (1911):416-18. Mr. Cable / George Washington Cable (1844--1925). American writer . A Confederate cavalryman, then reporter for the New Orleans Picayune (1865-79), he made a reputation as local colorist in Old Creole Days (1879), The Grandissimes (1880), Madame Delphine (1881), and others. His strong humanitarianism appears in The Silent South (1885) and The Negro Question (1890). Taking to the platform in the early 1880s, he made a long speaking tour with Mark Twain (1884--85). William Dean Howells / (1837-1920). American author, editor and critic. Howells's achievements need not be restated. Suffice to say that he shared with the Reverend Joseph H. Twichell the privilege of being the most intimate friend of Mark Twain. Thomas Bailey Aldrich / (1836-1907). American writer and editor. In Boston he edited Every Saturday (1866-74) and succeeded Howells as editor of the Atlantic Monthly (1881-90). He published eight volumes of verse serious and light, and a number of prose works, of which the best known are The Story ofa Bad Boy (1870), Marjorie Daw and Other People (1873), and Ponkapog Papers (1903). Gilder / Richard Watson Gilder (1844--1909). American writer and editor. As an editor for more than forty years-of Hours at Home, Scribner's Monthly, and the Century Magazine-he was an influential advisor, often censor, of American writers. He published sixteen volumes ofverse, also biographies ofLincoln and Cleveland. He was a tireless worker on behalf of civic improvement, civil service reform, and international copyright. John Boyle O'Reilly / (1844--90). Irish-American poet. His turbulent career was involved with the Fenians, the British Army, and a court-martial that sentenced him to twenty years in Australia, from which he escaped to the United States (1869). He edited the Boston Pilot (1874), and organized an expedition to rescue Irish political prisoners from western Australia (1876). He published Songs From the Southern Seas (1874), and Songs, Legends, and Ballads (1878). ...

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