OXFORD DEGREE FOR TWAIN.
University Will Make Humorist a Bachelor of Letter.
Special to The New York Times.
ANNAPOLIS, May 10. - Samuel L. Clemens, Mark Twain, who is a guest here of Gov. Warfield, announced today that he was going to England to be honored by a degree.
"I got a cablegram from the other side telling me that if I went over to Oxford University, the degree of Bachelor of Letters would be conferred on me," he said. I wrote a telegram accepting the honor, and saying that I would said in the latter part of June."
The humorist visited the Naval Academy today in company with Mrs. Warfield and a party of friends.
The party went through the hall to where the body of Paul Jones lies flanked on one side by a pointing of the Revolutionary hero by Miss Cecilia Beaux.
"That," said Commander Dayton, "is the body of Paul Jones."
"Is it possible?" exclaimed Twain innocently. I know Miss Beaux, who made the painting, very well, and remember perfectly the day Jones sat for this picture. I met here later in London, and on the other side of the table - I was always eating in those days - was Whistler, the great painter. I was talking thirteen words to the dozen and Whistler was talking fourteen. Finally I got tired of his interruptions, and, turning to Miss Beaux, I said, 'Who is that noisy person over there?' 'That's funny,' she replied, 'he just asked me the same thing about you."
While puffing a cigar and looking at two cannons captured from the French, the guard warned the humorist of rules against smoking.
"Arrested again!" Twain exclaimed, but he clung to his cigar behind his back. "Constituted constabulary will run this country yet." Then, as he thought it over, he said: "Still, that's right. I might set fire to this place, smoking around this stone and cannon and inflammable stuff."
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