Samuel Clemons, better known by his pen name, Mark Twain, was often asked to be a speaker at public events. He lived between 1835-1910. His books, Tom Sawyer, and Huckleberry Finn, are still good reading today. I loved Tom Sawyer as a youngster. I especially liked Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland!

Once Mark was asked to speak at a banquet being held to honor several bankers. On the same program was Chauncey Depew, 1834-1928. Depew was the lawyer for the Vanderbilt railroad empire. He was also a U.S. Senator at one time (I don’t know if it was before or after this particular speech).

Mark Twain spoke first at this banquet and he spoke for about 20 minutes. He was received with great enthusiasm, as usual. When Depew’s turn came to speak, immediately after Twain had returned to his seat at the head table, he made the following remark:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, before this dinner Mr. Twain and I made an agreement to trade speeches. He has just delivered mine and I’m grateful for the reception you have accorded it. I regret that I have lost his speech and cannot remember a thing he had to say.”

With that Depew sat down to much applause!