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Mark Twain in German-Language Newspapers and Periodicals

Hayes, Lucy Webb

Lucy Hayes was born Lucy Ware Webb on 28th August 1831 in Chillicothe, OH. She married Rutherford B. Hayes in December 1852 and he was elected US president in 1877. Lucy Hayes was the first woman to be addressed as the "First Lady" in formal settings. She died on 25th June 1889 in Fremont, OH.
Throughout her life, Lucy Hayes showed interest in a number of charitable causes and political activities which supported her husbands social standing and political career. She was applauded by some - and ridiculed by others - for her decision to stop serving alcohol in the White House and countless temperance groups nation-wide saw her as an ally in their fight for abstinence and even prohibition, even though Lucy Hayes repeatedly distanced herself from the more extreme sentiments of the temperance movement.

Sources:
Caroli, Betty Boyd. "Lucy Hayes". Encyclopedia Britannica.
Geer, Emily Apt. "Lucy Webb Hayes and Her Influence Upon Her Era." Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum.

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This page is referenced by:

[Temperance Movement comments on MT] | 21 June 1881

Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa), 21 June 1881. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84027101/1881-06-21/ed-1/seq-6/ >

Transcription	English Translation
Die Temperenzlerinnen in Illinois sind wütend auf den Humoristen Mark Twain. Sie hatten ihn eingeladen, in das Autographen-Album, welches sie der Expräsidentin Hayes zum Lohn für ihre im Weißen Hause getriebene Wassersimpelei verehren, auch etwas hineinzuschreiben. Natürlich hatten sie gehofft, er werde nichts schreiben, was irgendwie gegen Zweck, Absicht und Geist des Geschenkes verstoße. Aber jetzt stellt es sich heraus, daß er folgendes hineingeschrieben hat: „Vollständige Enthaltsamkeit ist eine so ausgezeichnete Sache, daß sie nie zu weit getrieben werden kann. In meiner Leidenschaft für sie gehe ich so weit, daß ich mich sogar vollständig enthalte - der Enthaltsamkeit.“	The temperance women of Illinois are furious with the humorist Mark Twain. They had invited him to write something in the autograph album they were presenting to ex-president Hayes as a reward for her White House [activities?]. Of course, they had hoped he would not write anything that would somehow violate the purpose, intent and spirit of the gift. But now it turns out that he wrote the following: “Complete abstinence is such an excellent thing that it can never be carried too far. In my passion for it, I go so far as to abstain even completely - from abstinence.”

Transcription

English Translation

Die Temperenzlerinnen in Illinois sind wütend auf den Humoristen Mark Twain. Sie hatten ihn eingeladen, in das Autographen-Album, welches sie der Expräsidentin Hayes zum Lohn für ihre im Weißen Hause getriebene Wassersimpelei verehren, auch etwas hineinzuschreiben. Natürlich hatten sie gehofft, er werde nichts schreiben, was irgendwie gegen Zweck, Absicht und Geist des Geschenkes verstoße. Aber jetzt stellt es sich heraus, daß er folgendes hineingeschrieben hat: „Vollständige Enthaltsamkeit ist eine so ausgezeichnete Sache, daß sie nie zu weit getrieben werden kann. In meiner Leidenschaft für sie gehe ich so weit, daß ich mich sogar vollständig enthalte - der Enthaltsamkeit.“

The temperance women of Illinois are furious with the humorist Mark Twain. They had invited him to write something in the autograph album they were presenting to ex-president Hayes as a reward for her White House [activities?]. Of course, they had hoped he would not write anything that would somehow violate the purpose, intent and spirit of the gift. But now it turns out that he wrote the following: “Complete abstinence is such an excellent thing that it can never be carried too far. In my passion for it, I go so far as to abstain even completely - from abstinence.”