Captain John Smith - Charles Dudley Warner

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Résumé :
There is a story of two smart Yankees, one named Hosea and the other Hezekiah, who met in an oyster shop in Boston. Said Hosea, As to opening oysters, why nothing's easier if you only know how. And how's how? asked Hezekiah. Scotch snuff, replied Hosea, very gravely-Scotch snuff. Bring a little of it ever so near their noses, and they'll sneeze their lids off. I know a man who knows a better plan, observed Hezekiah. He spreads the bivalves in a circle, seats himself in the centre, reads a chapter of Artemus Ward to them, and goes on until they get interested. One by one they gape with astonishment at A. Ward's whoppers, and as they gape my friend whips 'em out, peppers away, and swallows 'em....

Biographie:
Charles Dudley Warner (September 12, 1829 - October 20, 1900) was an American essayist, novelist, and friend of Mark Twain, with whom he co-authored the novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.
Warner was born of Puritan descent in Plainfield, Massachusetts. From the ages of six to fourteen he lived in Charlemont, Massachusetts, the place and time revisited in his book Being a Boy (1877). He then moved to Cazenovia, New York, and in 1851 graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. [1]
He worked with a surveying party in Missouri and then studied law at the University of Pennsylvania. He moved to Chicago, where he practiced law from 1856 to 1860, when he relocated to Connecticut to become assistant editor of The Hartford Press. By 1861 he had become editor, a position he held until 1867, when the paper merged into The Hartford Courant and he became co-editor with Joseph R. Hawley.
In 1884 he joined the editorial staff of Harper's Magazine, for which he conducted The Editor's Drawer until 1892, when he took charge of The Editor's Study. [1]
He died in Hartford on October 20, 1900, and was interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery, with Mark Twain as a pall bearer and Joseph Twichell officiating.[2][3]
Warner traveled widely, lectured frequently, and was actively interested in prison reform, city park supervision, and other movements for the public good. He was the first president of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and, at the time of his death, was president of the American Social Science Association.

Sommaire:
Charles Dudley Warner (1829-1900) was an American essayist, novelist, and editor known for his wit and insightful social commentary. He was born in Plainfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Hamilton College in 1851 before studying law at the University of Pennsylvania. Warner practiced law briefly but soon turned to journalism and writing, where he found his true calling. Some of his notable works include: My Summer in a Garden (1870): A humorous and reflective account of his experiences gardening, which also includes commentary on various social issues. Backlog Studies (1872): A collection of essays reflecting on everyday life. On Horseback (1888): A travel narrative of his journey through the Southern United States. Warner was also a prominent editor, serving as the co-editor of the Hartford Courant and later contributing to and editing the American Men of Letters series and Library of the World's Best Literature. At the time of his death, he was working on a biography of his friend, the artist Frederic Edwin Church. Warner's writing is characterized by its humor, insight, and elegant prose, and he remains an important figure in 19th-century American literature....