At a banquet in New York, writer Mark Twain was seated next to the guest of honour, who decided to test on him some of the stories he intended to use in his speech. "I hope you haven’t heard this one," he would begin and then rashly barge on without waiting for Twain’s courteous but increasingly faint, "No, I don’t think I have." As the 14th story began, Twain lost his celebrated temper.
"Sir," he declared angrily, "your previous 13 stories were old and very badly told, but at this one I positively draw the line. Not only have I heard it 13 times earlier, but I invented it."
The guest of honour, crushed, declared wanely: "I was afraid of addressing this hypocritical audience before I came here, but you’ve now destroyed the last vestiges of my self-esteem!"
"Don’t lose heart," counselled Twain, "and remember, they expect very little of you."
A businessman once boasted to Twain, " Before I die, I plan to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I shall climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud."
Full report
here Tribune
No comments:
Post a Comment