Embarrassing

Mark Twain tells thus the story of his 8rst great London banquet, at which, by ;he way, there were 800 or 900 guests. He ftdmits that, not haring been used to that kind of dinner, he feit souiewhat lonesome. The lord mayor or somebody read out a list of the chief guests before we began to eat. When he came to prominent names, the other guests would applaud. I found the man next me rather a good talker. Just as we got up an interesting subject there was a tremendous clapping of hands. I had hardly ever heard such applause before. I straightened up and set to clapping with the rest, and I noticed a good many people round about me fixing their attention on me and some of them laughing in a friendly and encouraging way. I moved about in niy chair and clapped louder than ever. "Whoisit?"I asked the gentleman on my right. "Samuel Clemens, better known in England as Mark Twain," he replied. I stopped clapping. The life seemed to go out of me. I never was in such a flx in all my