MARK TWAIN’S MARRIAGE AND FIRST NEWSPAPER CONNECTION.

Evening Star, Issue 3513, 27 May 1874, Page 3

MARK TWAIN’S MARRIAGE AND FIRST NEWSPAPER CONNECTION.

Buffalo has many reminiscences of Mark Twain, and of his remarkable attempt at publishing a newspaper on an entirely new plan. After his return from the Holy Laud (per Quaker City), Mark took a wife, and purchased the third interest in the ‘ Buffalo Express,’ owned by A. M. Clapp, public printer. They saw that Mark’s style of newspaper work was unique. He is not an early riser, and is as slow of movement as of speech, consequently he didn’t get to the office very early in the morning. And when there, his movements were not characterised by nervous haste. Seating himself in a capacious pivot chair, his first move was to deposit his boots in the waste basket, and replace them with roemy silippers. Then elevating his slippered feet to a comfortable cushion of the exchange papers—thenonly legitimate use in his opinion—it was his wont to lay back in his chair, swinging lazily on its pivot, and tell stories of wit and wisdom by the hour to the associate editors. This was vastly pleasant to all concerned, but somehow it did not work in the way of making a newspaper, and at the end of six weeks Mark came to the conclusion that publishing a newspaper was not his forte. He, however, retaiued-his interest in the ‘Express’ for about a year aud a-half, tlrougb, as aforesaid, he did not take ‘part in the “active” management for more than six weeks. Mark married the daughter of Jarvis Langdon, of Elmira, New -York, the heaviest coal operator of the West. His property was. valued as . high as 10,000,000 dollars in’his life,; and Had: he lived to get all his irons out of the fire, perhaps , that amount might have been realised; but leaving everything by the ends, there has been great “shrinkage” (the word I believe) in the value of assets. Still there is enough left to divide a trifle of a few millions between Mark’s wife and her brother, Charles Langdon. It was through this brother, by tbe way, that Mark got his wife. “Charley”: was one of the famous “ Innocents Abroad ” who accompanied Clemens on his famous trip in the Quaker City, and wrote home so enthusiastically about Mark Twain that Mr Langdon, sen., sent him a cordial invitation to visit him at Elmira, The result was the meeting of Mark and Miss Laugdon—a case of love at first sight, and the twain became one.