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Mark Twain in German-Language Newspapers and Periodicals

Newspaper | North American Review

The North American Review - founded in 1815 - is the oldest literary magazine in the USA and is still published today (see NAR, "History"). In addition to "To the Person Sitting in Darkness," this periodical also published Mark Twain’s "Chapters from My Autobiography," a collection of autobiographical dictations. The texts were collected and re-published later in different formats, and ultimately contributed to the extensive Mark Twain biography edited by The Mark Twain Project at the University of California more than 100 years later (see Smith et al., eds. Autobiography of Mark Twain, vol. 1, 2010).

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[Short notice on "To the Person Sitting in Darkness"] | 18 Apr. 1901

Süd=Dakota Nachrichten und Herold (Sioux Falls, SD), 18 Apr. 1901, p. 2. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn98069095/1901-04-18/ed-1/seq-2/>

Transcription		English Translation
Mark Twain, der berühmte am[e]rikanische Schriftsteller, hat in dem „North American Review” einen höchst interessanten Artikel unter dem Titel „To the Person sitting in Darkneß” publizirt, der gegen den Imperialismus gerichtet ist. Jedermann, gleichviel was seine Ansichten über diesen Gegenstand sind, sollte den Artikel lesen. Die „Anti-Imperialistic League” von New York hat den Artikel in der Form einer kleinen Broschüre veröffentlicht und schickt dieselbe frei an Jedermann, der Postgeld einschickt. Man adressire: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.		Mark Twain, the famous American writer, has published a most interesting article in the "North American Review" under the title "To the Person Sitting in Darkness," which is directed against imperialism. Everyone, whatever their views on this subject might be, should read the article. The "Anti-Imperialist League" of New York has published the article in the form of a small pamphlet and will mail it for free to anyone who sends in the required postage. Address requests to: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.

Alternative Format

Transcription: Mark Twain, der berühmte am[e]rikanische Schriftsteller, hat in dem „North American Review” einen höchst interessanten Artikel unter dem Titel „To the Person sitting in Darkneß” publizirt, der gegen den Imperialismus gerichtet ist. Jedermann, gleichviel was seine Ansichten über diesen Gegenstand sind, sollte den Artikel lesen. Die „Anti-Imperialistic League” von New York hat den Artikel in der Form einer kleinen Broschüre veröffentlicht und schickt dieselbe frei an Jedermann, der Postgeld einschickt. Man adressire: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.

English Translation: Mark Twain, the famous American writer, has published a most interesting article in the "North American Review" under the title "To the Person Sitting in Darkness," which is directed against imperialism. Everyone, whatever their views on this subject might be, should read the article. The "Anti-Imperialist League" of New York has published the article in the form of a small pamphlet and will mail it for free to anyone who sends in the required postage. Address requests to: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.

Writing | To the Person Sitting in Darkness 9 annotation main plain 2024-10-25T02:11:30-07:00
Mark Twain's "To the Person Sitting in Darkness" is a polemical article which appeared in the February 1901 issue of the North American Review (161-176). The first half of it is made up of satirical comments on the recent dealings of England, Germany, Russia, and the United States for their invasion of smaller undeveloped countries. The second half has specific references to the conduct of the United States in the Philippines. According to his biographer Albert Bigelow Paine "Mark Twain never wrote anything more scorching, more penetrating in its sarcasm, more fearful in its revelation of injustice and hypocrisy" (MTB III, 1129) The article received a lot attention in the American press and divided the country into two camps. "It was really as if he had thrown a great missile into the human hive, one half of which regarded it as a ball of honey and the remainder as a cobblestone" (MTB III, 1129).

Selected Contemporary Reactions:
- "Mark Twain and Ex-President Harrison on the Philippine Policy." The Literary Digest, Vol. XXII, No. 8 (February 23, 1901): 217-219.
- "Among the Periodicals." The International Socialist Review, Vol.1 (1900-01): 581-582. Calls it "one of the most scathing and sarcastic reviews of capitalism that has appeared in many a day."
- "Mark Twain on the Philippine Problem." The American Monthly Review of Reviews, Vol. 23 (Jan-Jun. 1901): 339-340.
Related Items:
- Mark Twain. "To My Missionary Critics." The North American Review, Vol. 172, no. 533 (Apr. 1901): 520-534.
- "Mark Twain and His Critics." The American Monthly Review of Reviews, Vol, 23 (Jan-Jun. 1901): 622.

[Publication of “To the Person Sitting in Darkness”] | 18 April 1901

Süd=Dakota Nachrichten und Herold. (Sioux Falls, Süd=Dakota), 18 April 1901. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn98069095/1901-04-18/ed-1/seq-2/>

Transcription	English Translation
Mark Twain, der berühmte am[e]rikanische Schriftsteller, hat in dem „North American Review" einen höchst interessanten Artikel unter dem Titel „To the Person sitting in Darkneß" publizirt, der gegen den Imperialismus gerichtet ist. Jedermann, gleichviel was seine Ansichten über diesen Gegenstand sind, sollte den Artikel lesen. Die „Anti-Imperialistic-League" von New York hat den Artikel in der Form einer kleinen Broschüre veröffentlicht und schickt dieselbe frei an Jedermann, der Postgeld ein schickt. Man adressire: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.	Mark Twain, the famous American writer, has published a most interesting article in the "North American Review" under the title "To the Person Sitting in Darkness," which is directed against imperialism. Everyone, whatever their views on this subject might be, should read the article. The "Anti-Imperialist League" of New York has published the article in the form of a small pamphlet and will mail it for free to anyone who sends in the required postage. Address requests to: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.

Transcription

English Translation

Mark Twain, der berühmte am[e]rikanische Schriftsteller, hat in dem „North American Review" einen höchst interessanten Artikel unter dem Titel „To the Person sitting in Darkneß" publizirt, der gegen den Imperialismus gerichtet ist. Jedermann, gleichviel was seine Ansichten über diesen Gegenstand sind, sollte den Artikel lesen. Die „Anti-Imperialistic-League" von New York hat den Artikel in der Form einer kleinen Broschüre veröffentlicht und schickt dieselbe frei an Jedermann, der Postgeld ein schickt. Man adressire: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.

Mark Twain, the famous American writer, has published a most interesting article in the "North American Review" under the title "To the Person Sitting in Darkness," which is directed against imperialism. Everyone, whatever their views on this subject might be, should read the article. The "Anti-Imperialist League" of New York has published the article in the form of a small pamphlet and will mail it for free to anyone who sends in the required postage. Address requests to: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.

Writing | Chapters from My Autobiography Mark Twain's "Chapters from My Autobiography" appeared between September 1906 and December 1907 as a series of 25 articles in the North American Review. They are available as scanned reproductions of the original pages (installment I) at the HathiTrust Digital Library.

The complete set of articles is accessible in a Project Gutenberg version. A published version edited by Michael J. Kiskis (Mark Twain's Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review, 1990) can be found at the Internet Archive.

[Publication of “To the Person Sitting in Darkness”] | 18 April 1901

Der Deutsche beobachter. [volume] (New Philadelphia, Ohio), 18 April 1901. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86063815/1901-04-18/ed-1/seq-3/>

Transcription	English Translation
Mark Twain, der berühmte am[e]rikanische Schriftsteller, hat in dem „North American Review“ einen höchst interessanten Artikel unter dem Titel „To the Person sitting in Darkneß“ publizirt, der gegen den Imperialismus gerichtet ist. Jedermann, gleichviel was seine Ansichten über diesen Gegenstand sind, sollte den Artikel lesen. Die „Anti-Imperialistic-League“ von New York hat den Artikel in der Form einer kleinen Broschüre veröffentlicht und schickt dieselbe frei an Jedermann, der Postgeld ein schickt. Man adressire: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.	Mark Twain, the famous American writer, has published a most interesting article in the "North American Review" under the title "To the Person Sitting in Darkness," which is directed against imperialism. Everyone, whatever their views on this subject might be, should read the article. The "Anti-Imperialist League" of New York has published the article in the form of a small pamphlet and will mail it for free to anyone who sends in the required postage. Address requests to: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.

Transcription

English Translation

Mark Twain, der berühmte am[e]rikanische Schriftsteller, hat in dem „North American Review“ einen höchst interessanten Artikel unter dem Titel „To the Person sitting in Darkneß“ publizirt, der gegen den Imperialismus gerichtet ist. Jedermann, gleichviel was seine Ansichten über diesen Gegenstand sind, sollte den Artikel lesen. Die „Anti-Imperialistic-League“ von New York hat den Artikel in der Form einer kleinen Broschüre veröffentlicht und schickt dieselbe frei an Jedermann, der Postgeld ein schickt. Man adressire: Edward W. Ordway, Secretary, 150 Nassau Street, Room 1520, New York.

An identical article: [Publication of “To the Person Sitting in Darkness”] | 18 April 1901

Kaiser Wilhelm und Mark Twain | 03 Sept. 1907

Luxemburger gazette. [volume] (Dubuque, Iowa), 03 Sept. 1907. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84027101/1907-09-03/ed-1/seq-7/>

Transcription	English Translation
Kaiser Wilhelm und Mark Twain.	Emperor Wilhelm and Mark Twain.
In seiner Biographie, die gegenwärtig in der „North American Review“ veröffentlicht wird, erzählt Mark Twain eine merkwürdige Geschichte von seinem ersten und einzigen Zusammentreffen mit Kaiser Wilhelm den Zweiten; da man bei uns von einem solchen Zusammentreffen bisher nichts gewußt hat, dürfte es sich auch hier vielleicht um einen der bekannten „Scherze“ des amerikanischen Humoristen handeln. Als Scherz wäre die Geschichte zwar recht plump, aber nach erzählt soll sie doch werden. Mark Twain beginnt mit der bekannten Anekdote von jenem Ehemann, dem ein Freund einmal wegen seines Verhaltens in der Ehe heftige Vorwürfe machte: „Es ist eine Schandel“ sagte der Freund. „Vierzehn Tage lang hast Du zu Deiner Frau kein Wort gesprochen. Was kannst Du zu Deiner Entschuldigung anführen?“ - „Ich wollte sie nicht unterbrechen“, erwiderte der Ehemann geknickt. Mark Twain erzählt nun, wie er bei seiner Ankunft in Berlin vom Kaiser eine Einladung zum Essen erhalten habe, eine Einladung, die sich wie ein Befehl ausgenommen habe. Er sei trotzdem hingegangen und habe gefunden, daß Kaiser Wilhelm ihm in zwei Dingen gleiche: er spreche sehr correkt Englisch und pflege bei Tisch die Unterhaltung allein zu führen. Der Kaiser habe fortwährend gesprochen und sich fast keinmal unterbrechen lassen, hin und wieder nur richtete er an einen seiner Tischgäste eine Frage, und der Gast beeilte sich, respektvoll zu antworten; wenn er sich seiner Antwort entledigt hatte, sah er aus wie ein Mensch, dem ein Stein vom Herzen gefagen war. Mark Twain erklärt offen, daß auch er kein Vergnügen daran finde, lange still zu sitzen er müsse daher dem Kaiser das Recht zuerkennen, in seinem Hause allein das Wort zu führen wenn aber der Kaiser einmal nach Amerika kommen und von ihm eine Einladung zum Essen annehmen sollte, werde er ihn bei Tisch dieselbe stumme Rolle spielen lassen, die er - Mark Twain - in Berlin habe spielen müssen. Am meisten überrascht aber habe es ihn, daß er bei seiner Rückkehr nach Amerika ein Schreiben vorfand, in welchem der Kaiser in gefragt habe, weshalb er denn bei Tisch so wenig gesprochen hätte. „Ja, mein Gott!“ ruft Mark Twain mit komischem Staunen aus, „wenn „Er“ immer allein spricht..!“	In his biography, which is at present published in the “North American Review”, Mark Twain tells a strange story of his first and only meeting with Emperor Wilhelm the Second; since we did not know anything about such a meeting up until now, it might be one of the well-known “jokes” of the American humorist. As a joke, the story would be rather clumsy, but it should be retold nonetheless. Mark Twain begins with the well-known anecdote of the husband who was once strongly reproached by a friend for his behavior in marriage: “It's a shame” said the friend. “For fourteen days you have not spoken a word to your wife. What can you give as your excuse?” - “I did not mean to interrupt her”, replied the husband dejectedly. Mark Twain now goes on to tell how, on his arrival in Berlin, he received an invitation to dinner from the emperor, an invitation that felt like an order. He went anyway and found that the emperor resembled him in two things: he spoke very correct English and he was used to conduct the conversation at the table alone. The emperor spoke continuously and almost never allowed himself to be interrupted; only now and then he addressed a question to one of his dinner guests, and the guest would hurry to answer respectfully. When he had disposed of his answer, he would look like a man who had a load lifted off his mind. Mark Twain openly declared that he, too, found no pleasure in sitting still for long periods of time, and that he therefore had to grant the emperor the right to speak freely in his own house, but if the emperor should ever come to America and accept an invitation to dinner from him, he would let him play the same silent role at the table that he - Mark Twain - had had to play in Berlin. What surprised him most was that on his return to America he found a letter in which the emperor asked him why he had spoken so little at the table. “My God!” exclaimed Mark Twain with comic amazement, “if “He” is always speaking alone...!”

Transcription

English Translation

Kaiser Wilhelm und Mark Twain.

Emperor Wilhelm and Mark Twain.

In seiner Biographie, die gegenwärtig in der „North American Review“ veröffentlicht wird, erzählt Mark Twain eine merkwürdige Geschichte von seinem ersten und einzigen Zusammentreffen mit Kaiser Wilhelm den Zweiten; da man bei uns von einem solchen Zusammentreffen bisher nichts gewußt hat, dürfte es sich auch hier vielleicht um einen der bekannten „Scherze“ des amerikanischen Humoristen handeln. Als Scherz wäre die Geschichte zwar recht plump, aber nach erzählt soll sie doch werden. Mark Twain beginnt mit der bekannten Anekdote von jenem Ehemann, dem ein Freund einmal wegen seines Verhaltens in der Ehe heftige Vorwürfe machte: „Es ist eine Schandel“ sagte der Freund. „Vierzehn Tage lang hast Du zu Deiner Frau kein Wort gesprochen. Was kannst Du zu Deiner Entschuldigung anführen?“ - „Ich wollte sie nicht unterbrechen“, erwiderte der Ehemann geknickt. Mark Twain erzählt nun, wie er bei seiner Ankunft in Berlin vom Kaiser eine Einladung zum Essen erhalten habe, eine Einladung, die sich wie ein Befehl ausgenommen habe. Er sei trotzdem hingegangen und habe gefunden, daß Kaiser Wilhelm ihm in zwei Dingen gleiche: er spreche sehr correkt Englisch und pflege bei Tisch die Unterhaltung allein zu führen. Der Kaiser habe fortwährend gesprochen und sich fast keinmal unterbrechen lassen, hin und wieder nur richtete er an einen seiner Tischgäste eine Frage, und der Gast beeilte sich, respektvoll zu antworten; wenn er sich seiner Antwort entledigt hatte, sah er aus wie ein Mensch, dem ein Stein vom Herzen gefagen war. Mark Twain erklärt offen, daß auch er kein Vergnügen daran finde, lange still zu sitzen er müsse daher dem Kaiser das Recht zuerkennen, in seinem Hause allein das Wort zu führen wenn aber der Kaiser einmal nach Amerika kommen und von ihm eine Einladung zum Essen annehmen sollte, werde er ihn bei Tisch dieselbe stumme Rolle spielen lassen, die er - Mark Twain - in Berlin habe spielen müssen. Am meisten überrascht aber habe es ihn, daß er bei seiner Rückkehr nach Amerika ein Schreiben vorfand, in welchem der Kaiser in gefragt habe, weshalb er denn bei Tisch so wenig gesprochen hätte. „Ja, mein Gott!“ ruft Mark Twain mit komischem Staunen aus, „wenn „Er“ immer allein spricht..!“

In his biography, which is at present published in the “North American Review”, Mark Twain tells a strange story of his first and only meeting with Emperor Wilhelm the Second; since we did not know anything about such a meeting up until now, it might be one of the well-known “jokes” of the American humorist. As a joke, the story would be rather clumsy, but it should be retold nonetheless. Mark Twain begins with the well-known anecdote of the husband who was once strongly reproached by a friend for his behavior in marriage: “It's a shame” said the friend. “For fourteen days you have not spoken a word to your wife. What can you give as your excuse?” - “I did not mean to interrupt her”, replied the husband dejectedly. Mark Twain now goes on to tell how, on his arrival in Berlin, he received an invitation to dinner from the emperor, an invitation that felt like an order. He went anyway and found that the emperor resembled him in two things: he spoke very correct English and he was used to conduct the conversation at the table alone. The emperor spoke continuously and almost never allowed himself to be interrupted; only now and then he addressed a question to one of his dinner guests, and the guest would hurry to answer respectfully. When he had disposed of his answer, he would look like a man who had a load lifted off his mind. Mark Twain openly declared that he, too, found no pleasure in sitting still for long periods of time, and that he therefore had to grant the emperor the right to speak freely in his own house, but if the emperor should ever come to America and accept an invitation to dinner from him, he would let him play the same silent role at the table that he - Mark Twain - had had to play in Berlin. What surprised him most was that on his return to America he found a letter in which the emperor asked him why he had spoken so little at the table. “My God!” exclaimed Mark Twain with comic amazement, “if “He” is always speaking alone...!”

This page references:

Writing | Chapters from My Autobiography