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| Mark Twain |
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| Steamboat |
Mark Twain was the pseudonym of American author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1815-1910. The two words “mark twain” were a Mississippi River phrase for two fathoms deep! Clemens had, at one time, been a steam boat river pilot.
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| Tom Sawyer |
The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer is still to be found in libraries and some book stores. I recently encouraged
a high school learner to read it. Then used passages from the story as
comprehension exercises. At first many
frowns and sighs were heard but eventually Tom’s cheeky escapades won the day. To make things more interesting references
were made to a couple of the author’s other books: The Innocent Abroad and The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. To increase interest in the reading process
we discussed Twain’s visit to South
Africa.
The author, during a world tour, visited this country. He reached Durban on 6 May 1896, accompanied by his wife
and daughter. His stay here was spent
travelling around giving talks and taking an interest in political issues of
the time. When questioned as to his
local knowledge he referred to his acquaintance with the Jameson Raid member (
Decembr 1895), John Hays Hammond and his intention of visiting the individual
then being held in the Pretoria
jail. Dr Leander Starr Jameson had been the leader of a group of men trying to
overthrow the Transvaal government. Cecil John
Rhodes having been the instigator.
Unfortunately for Jameson and the other men, the attempt backfired and
they found themselves in the Pretoria
prison. Twain also made a point of
stating that he read newspapers to keep abreast of topical affairs. He was keen to meet Rhodes whom he had been
told was an “extraordinary man.”
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| Olive Schreiner |
When questioned about local authors particularly Olive
Schreiner his reply indicated a dash of chauvinism. He had read her book Story of
an African Farm and examined the book for its workmanship and thought the
greater part was “written crudely” and then stated….”it was a plenty
good-enough book for a girl of her age…” One wonders whether this statement was due to
the author’s views on feminism ? Perhaps
feeling he had made a social blunder he said she had “a gift beyond the
ordinary…gave large promise…which was not fulfilled in her first effort.”
When he arrived in Cape
Town he gave talks at the old Opera House in the city
– this building, no longer exists but at the time was approximately in the
vicinity of Adderley, Parliament and Darling Streets. When this venue was not available for further
bookings the Claremont
Town Hall was used.
It is obvious from newspaper clippings of the time that the American
author and humorist was very well
received. His audiences were
appreciative of his style and the content of the talks. They drew, apart from the general population,
well placed government members, a number of military officers and “intelligent
members of the community.”
His presentation was simple and held the attention of the
people present. He would walk slowly
onto the stage, take up a position before the footlights, fold his arms and
begin talking. It was if he was speaking
to a few friends and not the many people filling the halls. During his time
here Twain was able to attend a debate in the Cape House
of Assembly and is reported to have stated that “they quarrelled in two
languages while I was there and agreed in none.” As a visitor he admired the Cape’s scenery
and the architecture of the Cape
Dutch houses. He left Cape
Town on 15 July 1896.
