Maggie Humberston of the Springfield Museums was of great help to me by
locating and sending me material from the Springfield Republican,
notices from November 2nd and 5th and a review of the show from the
November 8 edition. The announcements are jpg and the review is a pdf.
It is not of the best quality but I've made an attempt at transcribing
it. As has been demonstrated previously, I am capable of making
mistakes in transcription so by all means go to my Springfield page and
download your own copies of these documents.
Springfield Republican, Nov. 8, 1884 page 4.
>
The Twain-Cable Evening
>
"The joint venture of Mr. Cable and Mr. Clemens at the Opera House last
evening was greeted by a very considerable audience, and bothered by the
very considerable noise on the streets, to a degree. But it was a
successful entertainment, the principal regret felt being that Mr. Cable
did not appear in such variety of effects as [??] previous visits here,
and as the program [promised?]. He presented himself first and impressed
every one as a romantic figure, a sort of knightly ideal, with his broad
and over[bear?]ing forehead, his brilliant eyes and his long moustache
over his full [brown?] beard. He was warmly cheered, and after
gracefully [???]ing the "[???] of Place Congo" in deference to the
superabundant music outside, he [re?lied] the story of "Possou June." It
was done with far greater elocutionary effect than when he first read it
here, but he has introduced into the text certain little variations (to
make it more intelligible to his audience, perhaps,) which hurt the
artistic quality. Mr. Cable's voice has strengthened by practice, and he
is now able to fill the house with his slenderest tone, and to produce
what effect he will by a development of his dramatic power. After he had
concluded the narrative of the Florida parson he gave the specimen of
the music of "Place Congo", and sang it with such fine expression and so
good a voice that the audience felt defrauded to hear no more of it.
When "Mark Twain" appeared there was a hearty welcoming applause, as
there must always be for one whose humor has delighted more people than
that of any other man. Mr. Clemens, in evening dress rather more
pronounced than Mr. Cable's, and with a fine exaggerated air of fluidity
at his entrance upon the stage, was a great contrast to his associate.
He can hardly be described, with his head of roughened curling hair, his
vigorous nose, his sardonic moustache and cleft chin, - but he looked
the humorist, as he no doubt he intended to. He at once informed the
audience that the programs which had been distributed at great cost for
their convenience were of no particular use, and he explained why they
were not, at some length. Then he proceeded to prove that he was right
about it by giving a number of readings not one of which was mentioned
on the program. He gave a discussion between "Huckleberry Finn" and the
negro boy Joe (in the new book): he narrated and illustrated his
struggles with the German language and its unreasonable genders; he
related one of Col Sellers[?] projects--there were millions in it--and
slightly adapted it to the immediate exigencies of the political
situation; he described his adventure with the young woman whom he
pretended to know and didn't, and who came up with him so [handsomely],
and he wound up with telling a ghost story after the manner of an old
negro. He positively convulsed his hearers with the deliberate fashion
of his speech and the peculiar ways in which he indicated their proper
emotions by the inflections of his voice. Mr. Clemens is undoubtedly as
much a humorist in the reading as in the writing of his extraordinary
contributions to our literature, and he gave to the familiar narratives
an added touch of character."
http://bscottholmes.com/content/gilmores-opera-house-springfield-ma
http://bscottholmes.com/content/promoting-huck-finn-twain-cable-tour-188485
--
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of
in your philosophy.
http://bscottholmes.com
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