Autobiography Of Mark Twain, Volume 1

by Mark Twain

  423.30–31 Sunday before last the very learned and able Dr. Silverman was thus reported in the Times] Joseph Silverman (1860–1930) was the chief rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, at Fifth Avenue and Forty-third Street in New York. To provide the text of Silverman’s speech and the Bible passage following it, Clemens pasted clippings from the New York Times of 4 March 1906 into his manuscript letter (“Young Mr. Rockefeller and Joseph’s Corn ‘Corner,’ ” SM2).

  424.8 This is the Bible’s statement] Genesis 47:13–26.

  425.29 I have treated this matter in one of my books] Clemens alludes to “On the Decay of the Art of Lying” (SLC 1880b), which he read at the Hartford Monday Evening Club on 5 April 1880 and published in The Stolen White Elephant two years later (SLC 1882a; Howell Cheney 1954, 35).

  425.35–36 I can’t go . . . the doctor has forbidden it] On 20 March, Clemens wrote Rockefeller (per Isabel Lyon):

  I am very sorry that, after all, I cannot meet the honorary membership Thursday Evening. I am not sick—I have merely been sick, & the doctor requires me to keep my room three or four days longer. In answer to my protest, he says, “Risks which a younger person might venture are forbidden the Methuselah of American literature.” Do you suppose that that clumsy remark is meant as a compliment? If so, I shall find it where a doctor’s compliments are always to be found—in the bill. There should be a law against this kind of graft. (NN-BGC)

  Clemens also telephoned his regrets (see AD, 26 Mar 1906, 440.24).

  426.5 My first appearance . . . was forty years ago, in San Francisco] See “Notes on ‘Innocents Abroad,’ ” 226.41–227.1.

  426.13–15 General Fred Grant . . . Robert Fulton Memorial Association . . . and I Vice-President] Frederick D. Grant (son of Ulysses S. Grant) and Clemens were among the incorporators of the Robert Fulton Memorial Association, organized in January 1906, which intended to erect a monument in New York to the designer of the first commercially viable steamboat. Grant had agreed to serve as temporary president. Clemens was a member of the “Executive and General Committee” and served as first vice-president as well. He also contributed at least a thousand dollars to the monument fund. Although the Fulton Memorial Association envisioned a grandiose monument consisting of a tomb, boat landing, and exhibition hall on Riverside Drive from 114th Street to 116th Street, it was never constructed. Clemens’s appearance was initially planned for 10 April, but was postponed until 19 April (New York Times: “For a Monument to Fulton,” 18 Jan 1906, 8, and 18 Feb 1906, 20; “Fulton Watergate Designs Selected,” 10 Apr 1910, 6; “New York’s $3,000,000 Robert Fulton Memorial,” 22 May 1910, SM5; Miller to SLC, 28 Mar 1906, CU-MARK).

  426.20–21 I wrote the correspondence at once . . . and I here insert it] The concocted correspondence with Grant and with Hugh Gordon Miller, secretary of the Fulton Memorial Association, was in fact used to generate publicity. The New York Times, for example, paraphrased and excerpted the letters liberally on 15 April 1906 (“Mark Twain Tells How to Manage Audiences,” 9). On 19 April, at the benefit for the association, Clemens made a comical speech in which he credited Fulton with inventing the “electric telegraph” and the “dirigible balloon,” and then digressed into a few of his standard set pieces. Striking a serious note, he then appealed for charitable assistance for the victims of San Francisco’s devastating earthquake of 18 April (“Mark Twain Appeals for the ‘Smitten City,’ ” New York Times, 20 Apr 1906, 11; for a text of the speech, see Fatout 1976, 515–18).

  427.29–30 Paul Jones . . . Horace Porter] John Paul Jones (1747–92), the American naval hero, and Horace Porter (1837–1921), Union brigadier general, Congressional Medal of Honor winner, and former U.S. ambassador to France (1897–1905).

  427.32 gems of the very first water] At this point in his manuscript, Clemens deleted the following paragraph: “I am getting a lot of information about Fulton out of the Barnard students—mainly the freshmen. They tell me everything they know. Do you like freshmen?—that kind, I mean. I do.” Clemens had spoken at Barnard on 7 March (see AD, 8 Mar 1906).

  Autobiographical Dictation, 21 March 1906

  429.6 mental telegraphy] This was Clemens’s term for thought transference or mind-to-mind communication, the possibility of which had fascinated him at least since 1875, when he attributed it to “mesmeric sympathies” (29 Mar and 4 Apr 1875 to Wright, L6, 434). He had explored the phenomenon in two Harper’s Monthly articles: “Mental Telegraphy” in December 1891 and “Mental Telegraphy Again” in September 1895 (SLC 1891b; SLC 1895).

  429.7–8 A few weeks ago when I was dictating something about Dr. John Brown] See the Autobiographical Dictations of 2 and 5 February 1906.

  429.12–13 article about him and about Marjorie Fleming . . . and yesterday I began the article] “Marjorie Fleming, the Wonder Child,” published in the December 1909 number of Harper’s Bazar (SLC 1909d).

  429.14 his son Jock] John (“Jock”) Brown (b. 1846), whom Clemens had met in Scotland in 1873 (22 and 25 Sept 1873 to Brown, L5, 441 n. 4; John Brown 1907, 60).

  429.22–25 7 GREENHILL PLACE . . . Dear Mr Clemens] Hobby transcribed Brown’s original typed letter, now in the Mark Twain Papers, into the typescript of this dictation.

  429.27–29 Dr J. T. Brown . . . made no use of the letters] John Taylor Brown (1811–1901), a Scottish newspaper editor, was Dr. John Brown’s cousin and biographer. He wrote the entry on Brown for the Dictionary of National Biography and also Dr. John Brown: A Biography and a Criticism, published in 1903 (John Taylor Brown 1903).

  429.35–36 I enclose letters from yourself and Mrs Clemens which I should like to use] Brown included six letters from Samuel and Olivia Clemens, written between 1874 and 1882, in Letters of Dr. John Brown, published in 1907 (John Brown 1907, 351, 353–54, 357–58, 360–61). Elizabeth T. McLaren wrote the biographical introductions as well as the notes for the volume. She also wrote Dr. John Brown and His Sister Isabella, published in 1889, two copies of which Jock Brown sent to the Clemenses (McLaren 1889; Brown to SLC, 28 Dec 1889 and 25 Jan 1890, CU-MARK; Gribben 1980, 1:444).

  429.39 yours. . . .] Clemens omitted the rest of Brown’s letter, which mentioned his marriage to his cousin, “M. McKay,” and their two children, aged twelve and fourteen, whose photographs he enclosed (Brown to SLC, 8 Mar 1906, CU-MARK).

  430.4–6 During our ten years’ absence . . . we shall find them yet] In June 1891, partly as a result of Clemens’s losses on the Paige typesetter, which made upkeep of the family house in Hartford difficult, and partly to allow Olivia Clemens to seek treatment for heart strain, the Clemenses left for what became a nine-year exile in Europe (N&J3, 574). The letters from John Brown were found. Seventeen of them, dated between 1873 and 1879, survive in the Mark Twain Papers.

  430.9 Harmony, his wife] Twichell married Julia Harmony Cushman (1843–1910) in 1865 (18 Oct 1868 to OLL, L2, 269 n. 2).

  430.12 Magician of the North] While anonymously publishing the string of popular novels that began with Waverley in 1814, Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) was referred to as “the Wizard of the North” and “the Great Magician.” It was not until 1827 that Scott admitted his authorship.

  430.29–30 at Petersburg . . . in the Civil War] On 30 July 1864, while Petersburg, Virginia (which protected the southern approaches to Richmond), was under siege by Ulysses S. Grant’s forces, a large mine was exploded beneath the Confederate emplacements. Twichell, serving as a Union chaplain, was near Petersburg in June and July 1864, but finished his tour of duty about three weeks before the explosion (Twichell 2006, 306–9).

  430.40–431.7 Joe’s picture is different . . . the file . . . did not march away martially erect and stiff-legged] In a letter of 14 and 16 June 1863 to his stepmother, Jane Walkley Twichell, Twichell described one such execution, of a deserter to whom he had ministered:

  They seated him on his coffin, tied his elbows behind him, bound a handkerchief over his eyes and opened his shirt front so that his bosom was bared. . . . At a signal six muskets were raised, cocked and aim
ed—the distance was about 10 paces. Another signal and the dread suspense was broken. He swayed a little forwards, then with a single convulsive straitening of his body, fell back over the coffin. Then a Sergeant and one man stepped up and discharged their pieces through his head, although five bullets had already pierced his breast. This is a custom—dictated by humanity—in all military executions. They lifted the body into the coffin—a plain pine box. It was over. . . . The scene on the field now changed from one of utter stillness to one of noise and motion. Orders were shouted along the lines of troops, and the march was resumed as if nothing had happened. (CtY-BR, in Twichell 2006, 239, 241–42)

  431.12–28 Daly’s Theatre . . . vote in its favor was unanimous] Daly’s letter was transcribed into this dictation from his original manuscript, now in the Mark Twain Papers. In 1888 Daly’s Theatre, at Broadway and 30th Street, was one of New York’s leading theaters, featuring a resident company of well-known actors in elaborate productions of Shakespeare, as well as popular plays of the day (“Amusements,” New York Times, 1 Jan 1888, 3, 7). In Talks in a Library with Laurence Hutton, first published in 1905 and reprinted several times, Hutton gave this account of the naming of The Players:

  Booth had long desired to do something in a tangible and in an enduring way for the good of his profession; and various schemes were fully discussed during a fortnight’s cruise on the steam-yacht Oneida in the summer of 1886. The party consisted of Mr. E. C. Benedict, the owner of the beautiful vessel, Mr. Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Lawrence Barrett, Mr. William Bispham, Booth, and myself. . . . The notion of a club for actors was then proposed. Mr. Aldrich with a peculiarly happy inspiration suggested its name, “The Players,” and the general plan of the organisation was gradually outlined. (Hutton 1909, 86–87)

  Another account of Aldrich’s “happy inspiration” confirmed that it occurred aboard the Oneida, but put the date as 27 July 1887 (Lanier 1938, 18–19). Clemens replied to Daly’s invitation to the 6 January 1888 organizational luncheon, “Schon güt! I’ll be there”; it was probably on that occasion that he heard a reprise of the naming anecdote (3 Jan 1888 to Daly, TS in MH-H). For further discussion of The Players club see the Autobiographical Dictation of 10 January 1906 and notes.

  431.31–34 Magonigle . . . he retired from his position superannuated] John Henry Magonigle (1830–1919), Edwin Booth’s longtime friend and business manager, was the brother-in-law of Booth’s wife. He was the superintendent, but never the secretary, of The Players club, and also, from 1906 to 1919, a member. Letters from Magonigle to Clemens and to Franklin Whitmore dated 16 February 1891 and 6 May 1891, respectively, both attempting to collect unpaid dues, survive in the Mark Twain Papers. They were part of the dispute that Clemens describes in this dictation (“John Henry Magonigle Dies at 89,” New York Times, 23 Dec 1919, 9; Winter 1893, 47 n. 1; Lanier 1938, 358, 376).

  432.10–11 Robert Reid . . . put themselves in communication with me] Reid, for example, wrote to Clemens on 19 January 1903, a week after the expulsion: “Dont desert us on account of the dead-but-doesnt know-it-manager-& janiter of the office We need you—be good forgive & forget!” (CU-MARK).

  Autobiographical Dictation, 22 March 1906

  433.2 Our tripp to Vassar] See the Autobiographical Dictation of 7 March 1906.

  433.3–4 after Miss Emma Nigh died] See the Autobiographical Dictation of 15 February 1906, 362.21–28 and note.

  433.19–21 his trouble prooved to be diptheeria . . . burried . . . at Elmira, New York] Langdon Clemens, born prematurely, was never robust and was slow to develop. He died in Hartford from diphtheria, on 2 June 1872, at the age of nineteen months. After funeral services in Hartford, he was buried in the Langdon family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery, in Elmira, near Olivia’s father, Jervis Langdon. Clemens must have “confessed” more than once, for in 1911 his sister-in-law, Susan L. Crane, remarked that “Mr Clemens was often inclined to blame himself unjustly” (L5: Crane to Paine, 25 May 1911, photocopy in CU-MARK, in link note following 26 May 1872 to Bliss, 99–101; 13 Feb 1872 to Fairbanks, 44; 22 Apr 1872 to the Warners, 79; 15 May 1872 to OC and MEC, 86).

  433.21–23 After that . . . with a great deal of good care she recovered] Olivia had wished to accompany Langdon’s body to Elmira, but because of “her poor state of health,” and because she could not leave infant Susy, she stayed behind in Hartford. Clemens remained there with her, entrusting the body to Susan and Theodore Crane (Lilly Warner to George Warner, 3 and 5 June 1872, CU-MARK, in link note following 26 May 1872 to Bliss, L5, 98).

  433.27–35 Mr. Charles Kingsley . . . They are all dead except Sir Charles Dilke and Mr. Tom Hughes] Charles Kingsley (1819–75), minister, canon of Westminster, Cambridge history professor, novelist, poet, and essayist; Henry M. Stanley (1841–1904), journalist and explorer, whom Clemens first met in St. Louis in 1867; Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy (1804–78), deputy keeper of the Public Records, but not a descendant of Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (1769–1839), who witnessed Lord Nelson’s death at Trafalgar in October 1805; actor Sir Henry Irving (1838–1905); poet Robert Browning (1812–89); Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke (1843–1911), liberal member of Parliament and proprietor of the Athenaeum, a weekly journal of literary and artistic criticism; novelist and dramatist Charles Reade (1814–84); journalist and novelist William Black (1841–98); Richard Monckton Milnes (1809–85), first Baron Houghton, statesman, poet, and writer, and editor of Keats; Francis Trevelyan Buckland (1826–80), physician and prominent natural historian and pisciculturist; novelist Anthony Trollope (1815–82); Tom Hood (1835–74), poet, journalist, anthologist, and son of poet and humorist Thomas Hood (1799–1845); poet, novelist, and children’s author George MacDonald (1824–1905), his wife, Louisa (1822–1902), and their eleven children; and journalist and historical novelist William Harrison Ainsworth (1805–82). Clemens was unaware that novelist, biographer, journalist, and member of Parliament Thomas Hughes (1822–96), best known for Tom Brown’s School Days (1857), was also dead. When an excerpt from this dictation was published in the North American Review of 16 November 1906, his name had been removed from this sentence, presumably not by Clemens (NAR 6, 970). Presumably it was Olivia who furnished Susy with an account of the 1873 trip to Great Britain. For details of the Clemenses’ contacts with most of these individuals, see Clemens’s letters for 1872–73 (L5, passim).

  433.36–38 We met . . . Lewis Carroll, author of the immortal “Alice” . . . “Uncle Remus.”] The meeting with Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson, 1832–98) came at the home of George and Louisa MacDonald, the “Retreat” in Hammersmith, but on Saturday, 26 July 1879, not in 1873. Carroll noted in his diary that day: “Met Mr. Clements (Mark Twain), with whom I was pleased and interested.” The MacDonald family gave a dramatic performance, as they had also done when the Clemenses visited on 16 July 1873 (Dodgson 1993–2007, 194–95; 11 July 73 to Smith, L5, 414). Clemens had been familiar with the “Uncle Remus” stories by Joel Chandler Harris since 1880 (see “My Autobiography [Random Extracts from It],” note at 217.25–27).

  434.1 At a dinner at Smalley’s we met Herbert Spencer] George Washburn Smalley (1833–1916) was in charge of the New York Tribune’s European correspondence from 1867 to 1895 and was himself the paper’s London correspondent. From 1895 to 1905 he was U.S. correspondent of the London Times. Philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) and the Clemenses were among the dinner guests at Smalley’s home on 2 July 1873 (L5: 11 June 1873 to Miller, 377–78 n. 2; 1 and 2 July 1873 to Miller, 395–96 n. 1).

  434.2–3 we met Sir Arthur Helps . . . is quite forgotten now] Sir Arthur Helps (1813–75) was clerk of the privy council, a personal adviser to Queen Victoria, and a popular writer of the day, producing numerous volumes of fiction, history, and biography.

  434.3–4 Lord Elcho . . . was talking earnestly about Godalming] Francis Wemyss-Charteris-Douglas (1818–1914), eighth earl of Wemyss, sixth earl of March, and Lord Elcho, was a member of Parliament and a lord of the treasury. Godalming is an ancient town in Surrey,
thirty miles southwest of London.

  434.7 Lady Houghton] The former Annabella Hungerford Crewe (1814–74) married Richard Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton) in 1851.

  434.12–13 I will insert here one or two of the letters . . . copied into yesterday’s record] All three of the letters Clemens inserted below were included by Jock Brown in his edition of his father’s letters (John Brown 1907, 354, 357–58, 360–61). The texts were transcribed into this dictation from the typescripts Brown had sent from Scotland.

  434.14 June 22, 1876] The letter sent to Brown in 1876 was written by both of the Clemenses; in this dictation Clemens inserted only the part that Olivia had written, which followed his (for the full text see SLC and OLC to Brown, 22 June 1876, Letters 1876–1880).

  434.20–21 farm . . . where my sister spends her summers] Quarry Farm, near Elmira.

  434.23–24 Mr. J. T. Fields . . . we talked most affectionately of you] Author and retired Boston publisher James T. Fields and his wife, Annie, had visited the Clemenses in Hartford from 27 to 29 April 1876. Fields and Clemens were parties to the 1876 campaign to raise a retirement fund for Dr. John Brown (see 17 Mar 1876 to Redpath, n. 2, Letters 1876–1880, and the Introduction, p. 7). Annie Adams Fields (1834–1915), a poet, biographer, and social reformer, was known for her hospitality. She entertained a wide circle of literary acquaintances at her Boston home, recording personal anecdotes of famous authors in her diaries; some of them were published in Memories of a Hostess (Howe 1922).