February 22 Thursday – In Fairhaven Mass., Sam was up at 9 a.m. had breakfast, and “superintended a while” in the setup for the dedication ceremony. He then rested until noon while H.H. Rogers worked to complete the preparations.
At 1 o’clock he [Rogers] went to his mother’s house (she is in her 84th year, & took her to the hall ahead of the crowd; the family left here for the hall at 1.30, & Mr. Rogers & I walked down at near 2. The place was crammed, of course.
After the Governor, Frederic T. Greenhalge (1842-1896), arrived at 3:15 p.m. the ceremony took place, lasting about two hours, with Sam giving his remarks at the close. The auditorium sat 800 and was filled. Besides Sam, speakers included the Governor, Congressman William Wallace Crapo, Fairhaven selectmen John I. Bryant and James L. Gillingham, and the ministers Dorrall Lee and H.L. Buzzell of the Congregational and Unitarian churches respectively. Dias writes:
“Immediately after the dedication ceremony, Twain crossed over to the other side of Center Street to pay his first visit to the Millicent Library. Entering the Library proper, he viewed, in the North wall, the handsome stained-glass window which depicts the youthful Millicent as the Muse of Poetry” [MT Letters to Rogers Family 73].
After the ceremony the Governor held a reception. After the reception a smaller group, including H.H. Rogers, the Governor, the speaker of the Mass. Senate and House, John L. Bates (1859-1946), Charles P. Clark (1836-1901), president (1887-1899) of Consolidated Road (N.Y., New Haven & Hartford R.R. Co.) gathered in a railroad drawing-room car and a dining car, where toasts were made.
I came forward into sight & was just going to begin with the Governor, who is as bald as Theodore Crane, raised a laugh by bowing in a courtly way & saying —
“But before you begin, Mr. Clemens, I shall have to ask you to take off your wig.”
I said — “All right, I will, when you put yours on.”
Which bowled his Excellency out & turned the laugh the other way. Clark whispered to Rogers —
“The Governor forgot that the wise man doesn’t monkey with the buzz-saw.’
…
Then the train pulled out & we drove home, arriving in time for dinner.
After dinner they returned to the hall where a “band from Boston” played for dancing. Sam left the hall “about 11 or midnight…sat up & talked a half hour in the parlor here, then broke up & went to bed” [From Feb. 23 to Livy; part of this letter is in LLMT 296].
The Boston Daily Globe, Feb. 23, 1894, p.5 “Fairhaven’s Day” ran a long article covering the dedication which names a few additional dignitaries present, and which quoted Sam’s speech:
NEW BEDFORD, Feb 22 — Fairhaven dedicated the elegant town hall given by Mrs Henry H. Rogers today, and the occasion was made noteworthy by the presence of Gov. Greenhalge, with Gen. Dalton and staff; Mayor Matthews of Boston, Pres. Butler of the senate, Speaker Meyer of the house, Dist Atty. Knowlton, Mark Twain, Pres. Clark of the N Y, N H & H railroad, Samuel Winslow of the republican state committee, Pres. Sanford of the Boston board of aldermen and many other distinguished guests.
Sam’s dedication speech, “Advice” is published in MT Speaking, p.271-3 and is slightly longer than the Globe reported.
Sam wrote a letter of thanks to the Officers of the Millicent Library, calling it the “ideal library” [MTP].