Ohio History Journal

MARK TWAIN IN OBERLIN

 

 

By RUSSEL B. NYE

 

 

On the night of February II, 1885, the Union Library As-

sociation of Oberlin, Ohio, presented readings by Samuel L.

Clemens and George W. Cable as the third number of its annual

lecture series. The Twain-Cable lecture took place in the First

Congregational Church of Oberlin, where Clemens, according to

a program of the entertainment now in the Oberlin College Li-

brary, gave as his part of the evening readings of "King Soller-

mun," "The Tragic Tale of a Fishwife," "A Trying Situation,"

and a few shorter selections. Cable gave four readings from his

novel, Dr. Sevier. The Oberlin appearance was but one of many

for the two men, since they were on an extended tour which took

them through the Middle West.

No reference to Twain's experiences during his short stay

in Oberlin occurs in any of the published work concerning him or

his life. Albert Bigelow Paine's edition of the Letters shows no

correspondence concerning his lecture, nor does his Mark Twain,

the most complete biography. The reviews published in the Ober-

lin newspapers disclose an hitherto unknown and unrecorded in-

cident in an otherwise widely known career, an incident interest-

ing in itself for the light it sheds on our knowledge of Clemens,

and for the connection that it may establish between the Ohio

town and one of Twain's major short stories, The Man That Cor-

rupted Hadleyburg.

Two days after the Twain-Cable lecture, a review of the en-

tertainment appeared in the Oberlin Weekly News of February 13,

1885. Cautiously worded, the review nevertheless makes it plain

that the reaction of the Oberlin audience to Twain's humorous

(69)

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readings was not as favorable as it might have been, and that

Cable had received the greater share of the applause.

Cable, though not as universally known as Mark Twain, proved him-

self the peer of his companion in the humourous, while he also excelled in

the pathetic, at which Twain made no attempt. Twain added the peculiar

force of his recitation to the humour of his compositions.

The Oberlin Review, a college publication, took the same

stand in regard to the respective merits of the two lecturers in its

issue of February 21, 1885, phrasing its remarks in slightly

stronger language.

While Mr. Clemens' writings lose nothing by being presented by the

author, they hardly gain so much as do Mr. Cable's. Some of Mr. Cable's

selections were as humourous as Twain's, and his rendition decidedly better.

Although many, to whom Twain's humour was distasteful, were disap-

pointed, the younger part of the audience enjoyed the entertainment im-

mensely.

Both of these reviews show a decided coldness on the part

of the Oberlin audience toward Clemens' part of the program. An

even more conclusive lack of response is shown in an open letter

sent to the Oberlin Weekly News, and published February 20,

1885.

 

DEAR EDITOR:

Now that the people of this city have been so thoroughly humbugged,

why not frankly own up and so possibly save other communities the morti-

fication of being swindled? No doubt there are but few persons who do not

admire Mark Twain's writings, but as a lecturer, I think that at least four-

fifths of the people who heard him in Oberlin will agree with me in saying

that he is not a success. I believe that I express the mind of the large and

intelligent audience that he undertook to entertain. I like to laugh, but I am

provoked to think that so many laughed when there was nothing to laugh at.

M. V. R.

The sender of the letter was undoubtedly M. V. Rowley, a

local merchant and a member of the town council, since his initials

are the only ones appearing in a city directory of that year which

agree.

To this frankly hostile letter the program director of the

Union Library Association replied in the next issue of the same

paper.

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MARK TWAIN IN OBERLIN                    71

 

EDITOR:

Since some dissatisfaction has been shown concerning the Twain-Cable

lecture, it is necessary to remind those disgruntled members of the audience

who have publicly expressed their disapproval that the program was offered

primarily as an entertainment, in which we believe it was worthwhile.

Although he proved to be not exactly what was expected, nevertheless Mr.

Clemens is fully entitled to a just judgment.

It is obvious from the above newspaper quotations that Twain

was not well received by his Oberlin audience, either because he

did not give the type of recitation which was expected of him, or

else because the audience did not appreciate his type of humor.

Furthermore, they did enjoy the sentimental readings of Cable,

and expressed their preference publicly. It must have been evi-

dent to Twain during the program, as it probably was after, from

the reviews, that he was not a success in Oberlin. To Clemens,

whose pride was easily touched, this must have been humiliating.

The readings which he gave required his audience to be whole-

heartedly with him, and any of those listed would be tremendous

failures if the audience were not in the spirit of the evening,

which they obviously were not. There can be little doubt that

the people of Oberlin expected and desired something of the

sentimental-didactic which Cable supplied and Clemens did not.

The fact that the program took place in a church might have

caused some to take offense at the exuberant humor of Twain.

Whatever the reasons, it is clear that Clemens' experience in Ober-

lin was not a happy one, but rather one which could leave bitter-

ness in the mind of the one offended.

At the time of the publication of Mark Twain's short story,

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (1899) the rumor began

that the town of Hadleyburg was Oberlin, and that the story was

Twain's way of taking revenge for his unhappy experience there

of fourteen years before. The belief still exists in Oberlin. Ex-

actly how and where it began is difficult to determine, but the story

is coexistent with the publication of Twain's tale of exposed hy-

pocrisy, the townspeople remembering his visit and noting the

parallel situations. There are some interesting and provocative

parallels between Twain's Oberlin experiences and the Hadley-

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72     OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

burg of the story. The beginning reminds one at once of Twain's

feelings at his cold reception, and of his probable reaction:

But at last, in the drift of time, Hadleyburg had the ill-luck to offend

a passing stranger, possibly without knowing it, certainly without caring, for

Hadleyburg was sufficient unto itself, and cared not a rap for strangers or

their opinions.

Then, too, the description of Hadleyburg is highly reminis-

cent of the Oberlin of the 'eighties:

Hadleyburg was the most honest and upright town in all the region

round about. It had kept that reputation unsmirched during three genera-

tions, and was prouder of it than of any other of its possessions. It was

so proud of it, and so anxious to insure its perpetuation, that it began to

teach the principles of honest dealing to the babes.... Also, through the

formative years, temptations were kept out of the way of the young people.

The town of Oberlin had been founded as a religious and

educational settlement in 1833, or approximately three genera-

tions before the writing of the story, and since that time had had

a wide reputation, which is still held, as an educational and re-

ligious center. It is quite probable that Twain knew these things;

it would have been difficult for him to have visited Oberlin with

its reputation escaping his knowledge. Again, it is important to

note that the humiliation of the good people of Hadleyburg took

place, ironically enough, in the village church, the scene of Twain's

own experiences some years before.

Except for the internal evidence noted above, there seems

to exist no more definite evidences of a connection between Oberlin

and Hadleyburg. The fact that at the time of the publication of

the story a connection was believed to exist, and that the belief

still persists, serves as some evidence in itself. Then, too, if the

story had been written with Oberlin in mind, could one expect to

find any closer parallels than those already noted? To the people

of Oberlin, for whom it was intended, the similarities were

enough, as results show. Also, rabid anti-slavery agitation of

some forty years before had made the town a highly-publicized

community in the Middle West and East, and this fact, plus the

town's fame as a religious and educational center, would have

made the intended connection even more apparent. As revenge

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MARK TWAIN IN OBERLIN                 73

 

on Twain's part for Oberlin's lack of appreciation of his talents,

if such was his intention, the story has been successful enough.

The conclusion to be drawn is no doubt this: That Twain, in

writing his story, remembered his experiences in Oberlin, and

consciously or unconsciously allowed them to color his description

of Hadleyburg. Beginning with the idea of a hypocritical, smugly

conceited, and reputedly virtuous body of people as a basis for a

story in which those people were to be exposed, his thoughts must

have turned to Oberlin, as it had seemed to him fourteen years

before, for a living example of what he wished to attack.

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