Notes

In the notes that follow, the reference numbers denote page and line of this volume (the line count includes chapter headings). No note is made for material included in standard desk-reference books, such as Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary or Webster’s Biographical Dictionary. Footnotes within the text are Mark Twain’s own. Quotations from Shakespeare are keyed to The Riverside Shakespeare, edited by G. Blakemore Evans (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974). Quotations from the Bible are keyed to the King James Version. For more detailed notes and references to other studies, see the explanatory notes in the two volumes of Early Tales & Sketches (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979 & 1981), edited by Edgar Marquess Branch and Robert H. Hirst, What Is Man? and Other Philosophical Essays (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973), edited by Paul Baender, and Mark Twain Speaking (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1976), edited by Paul Fatout.

1.3–4 “wood-yard”] A place where cut wood for steamboat fuel was sold.

1.21 guards] The part of the main deck of a steamboat that extends beyond the line of the hull and curves out over the paddle wheels to protect against collisions.

3.7–8 Curts & Lockwood] A dry goods and grocery store in Hannibal, Missouri.

3.14 “saw the elephant,”] “To see the elephant” meant to gain worldly experience usually at some personal cost or pain.

5.35 “seeker . . . difficulties.”] Cf. chapter 33 of Charles Dickens’ Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club for “pursuit of knowledge under difficulties.” The Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties (1830) was a book by George Lillie Craik (1798–1866).

7.8 editor of the ——] Joseph P. Ament was editor of the Missouri Courier, where Mark Twain had been apprenticed before going to work for his brother Orion Clemens’ Hannibal Journal in January 1851.

7.10 Pierce and King] In the campaign of 1852, Ament’s Courier supported the Democratic presidential candidate, Franklin Pierce, and vice-presidential candidate, William King, while Orion Clemens’ Journal supported Winfield Scott and William Graham, the Whig party nominees. On September 9, 1852, the date in question, an animated meeting about railroad matters was held in Benton Hall, although there is no record of a fire having occurred.

9.8–9 my surname] The previous week’s Hannibal Journal (September 9, 1852) contained an article (“Family Muss”) by Mark Twain signed “W. Epaminondas Adrastus Perkins.”

9.13 Gov. King] Austin A. King (1802–70), a Democrat, was governor of Missouri from 1848 to 1853.

9.26 Lord Derby] Prime minister of Great Britain in 1852.

10.15–16 Ensign Jehiel Stebbings] A satirical “war hero” and candidate for president in 1852, created by the Carpet-Bag, a humorous literary journal published weekly in Boston from 1851 to 1853.

11.2 Sergeant Fathom] Based on Isaiah Sellers, famous pilot and captain on the Mississippi River from 1825 to 1864, who often contributed “river intelligence” to the newspapers. Twain later recalled the circumstances of this episode in Life on the Mississippi, chapter 50.

11.11 ‘close,’] Skillful in navigating without allowing over-large distances for safety.

11.19 bank full] When the water was at the top of the riverbank, there would be more than enough draft for steamboats in all normal channels, and landmarks along the river would not be hidden underwater, as in a flood.

11.24 “Old Hen,”] To go up to the right of Old Hen Island in the lower Mississippi was to follow the safe channel.

14.23 “Texas,”] A structure that provided cabins for the captain and some of the passengers of a steamboat.

15.15 Egyptian darkness] Cf. Exodus 10:21–22.

19.1 Petrified Man] See also pages 389–92 in this volume.

19.16 Justice Sewell or Sowell] G. T. Sewall had been judge of Humboldt County in the Territory of Nevada since December 1861. He had been a partner in the Silver City Washoe Times and had quarreled with Orion Clemens in November 1861 over their contract to print the journals and laws of the first territorial legislature.

20.10 Joseph T. Goodman] Goodman (1838–1917) had been owner and editor of the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise since March 1861.

20.33–34 Governor . . . Johnson’s] John Neely Johnson (1825–72) was fourth governor of California from 1856 to 1858. He had moved to Nevada in 1860, practiced law in Carson City, and later served on the Nevada supreme court from 1867 to 1871.

21.8 Horace Smith] Former mayor of Sacramento, California, Smith was a successful lawyer in Carson City. He died in December 1863 of gunshot wounds received in a quarrel over payment for the sale of shares in the Yellow Jacket mine.

21.17 the Unreliable] Clement T. Rice, reporter for the Virginia City Union, with whom Twain carried on a mock-feud in his columns.

21.22 Col. Musser] John J. Musser had settled in Carson City in 1858, and took part in early efforts to organize the Nevada Territory.

21.27 repeater] Watch that strikes the hours or briefer intervals.

21.40 “half-a-man-left,”] That is, “allemande left,” a step in the quadrille or square dance in which the man turns his partner on the left.

22.30–31 five thousand . . . Scriptural] Cf. Matthew 14:15–21.

22.39–40 “I’m sitting . . . Mary,”] First line of “Irish Emigrant’s Lament,” music by William R. Dempster and words by Helen S. Sheridan (Helen Selina Sheridan Blackwood, 4th baroness of Duffrin and Ava, 1807–67); this is also the first line of a humorous song titled “Yankee Sarah-nade” by “Samuel Slocum of Goslin Run” that is pasted in one of Twain’s scrapbooks.

23.2 “From . . . Mountains”] Missionary hymn, with music by Lowell Mason (1792–1872) and words by Reginald Heber (1783–1826).

23.5 “Meet . . . alone”] Song (1826) by Joseph Augustine Wade.

23.5 Judge Dixson] E. C. Dixson was at various times justice of the peace and probate judge in Carson City, commissioner of Ormsby County, and a representative in the territorial legislature.

23.7 Joe . . . Clayton] Joseph Winters had migrated from Illinois to California in 1848 and made a fortune in mining and freight. P. H. Clayton was an early settler in Carson City who became prosecuting attorney there in 1860 and helped organize the Democratic party in Nevada.

23.7 the Marseilles Hymn] The French national anthem, composed in 1792 by Captain Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.

23.8 Mr. Wasson] Warren H. Wasson had settled in Nevada in 1857 and was a rancher, miner, organizer of the provisional territorial government, United States marshal, Indian agent, and delegate to the Nevada constitutional convention of 1863.

23.8–9 “Call . . . names”] Music by Charles Jarvis (1837–95) and words by Frances Mary Osgood.

23.10 Judge Brumfield] W. H. Brumfield was a prominent attorney in Carson City and assemblyman in the territorial legislature.

23.14 “Rock . . mother;”] A poem by Florence Percy (Elizabeth Akers, later Allen, 1832–1911) that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, June 9, 1860, dated from Rome, May 1860. It was set to music by Ernest Leslie and became a popular song.

23.14 Wm. M. Gillespie] William Martin Gillespie (1838–85) came to Virginia City from New York in 1861 and was clerk of the territorial legislature, deputy clerk of Storey County, and secretary of the constitutional conventions of 1863 and 1864.

23.14–15 “Thou . . . thee,”] By Mrs. David Porter (fl. 1860).

23.19–20 my prophetic soul] Cf. Hamlet, I.v.40.

23.25–31 “would not . . . us here.”] “I would not live alway” is from Job 7:16. “I Would Not Live Always” (1834) is a song with music by George Kingsley (1811–84) and words by the Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg (1796–1877), the last line of which reads “the few lurid mornings that dawn on us here.”

23.38–39 graceful . . . horse opera] “I Had an Old Horse Whose Name Was Methusalem” was a piano routine that Twain was fond of singing and eventually used to open some of his lectures.

24.8 MARK TWAIN] This is the earliest surviving article with this signature.

25.5 cap] Foolscap.

28.2–37 A LADY . . . is!] This introductory letter was written (by Mark Twain) for the Golden Era of September 27, 1863, three months after the following sketch first appeared in the Territorial Enterprise.

28.2 LICK HOUSE] Fashionable San Francisco hotel, built in 1863.

28.4 Mr. Barron’s] William E. Barron was a wealthy stockholder in the Gould and Curry Mine.

28.5 Washoe widow] A woman whose husband was away prospecting. Florence Fane (see note 28.16–17) had invented the “Washoe and Reese River Widows’ Association” in her Golden Em weekly columns “to provide for the entertainment of widows during desertion.”

28.5–6 Sarah Smith] By-line of the fashion correspondent for the California Magazine and Mountaineer, published by the proprietors of the Golden Era.

28.7 Brigham & Co.] Store in San Francisco that housed the branch office of Madame Demorest’s Emporium of Fashion of New York City.

28.8 ‘Robergh’] A fashionable local couturier.

28.9 Reese River] Mining district in Lander County, Nevada, scene of a mining rush in 1862.

28.16–17 Florence Fane] Pseudonym of Mrs. Frances Fuller Victor (1826–1902), novelist, poet, travel writer, and contributor to the San Francisco Evening Herald and the Golden Era.

28.21 special . . . him.] This party in honor of Mark Twain is described in “The Lick House Ball,” pages 43–48 in this volume.

28.22–23 how . . . cold.] See pages 37–42 in this volume.

30.21 Mrs. J. B. W.] Mrs. John B. Winters and her husband were friends of Twain’s. Winters, brother of Joseph Winters (see note 23.7), was a Nevada businessman active in mining and milling. Winters also figures in Appendix C of Roughing It.

31.28–31 Mr. Lawlor’s . . . McDonald’s] William B. Lawlor was a Carson City schoolteacher. Mr. Ridgeway has not been identified. Herman Camp was a Nevada businessman active in mining and stocks. John A. Paxton, from Marysville, California, had opened a bank in Virginia City in 1863. Jerry Long was the Carson County surveyor. S. F. Gilchrist was a Carson City attorney. Mark L. McDonald built and operated a road between Carson City and Virginia City.

35.16–17 “the servants of the lamp,”] In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Santa Filomena,” Florence Nightingale is referred to as “the servant of the lamp.”

36.5 Palmer] W. A. Palmer was a Wells Fargo agent in Folsom, California, in 1862 and 1863.

36.17 young Wilson] Adair Wilson (b. 1841), junior local editor of the Virginia City Union.

36.31 the Reverend Jack Holmes] John Holmes was co-manager (with A. W. Stowe) of the Steamboat Springs Hotel.

37.21 White House . . . Virginia] On July 26, 1863, a fire in the White House, a recently completed boardinghouse where Mark Twain lived in Virginia City, consumed most of his belongings.

37.34 Gould and Curry] Stock certificates in the valuable Gould and Curry mine.

40.6 Lake Bigler] Now Lake Tahoe; originally named in 1852 for California governor John Bigler, a Democrat whose Southern sympathies during the Civil War led Union supporters to suggest another name: “Tahoe,” from the Washoe Indian dialect, means “big water.”

40.27–28 Columbiad] A large cannon developed for coastal defense.

43.31–32 Messrs. . . . Pease] Jerome Rice, who lived at the Lick House, was a San Francisco real-estate dealer and auctioneer. For John B. Winters, see note 30.21. Thaddeus R. Brooks was a resident of the Lick House and secretary to the San Francisco board of engineers. Frederick Mason was a resident of the Lick House and a San Francisco real-estate agent. Charley Creed may have been the brother of Mollie Creed Low, wife of California governor F. F. Low. E. T. Pease was a resident of the Lick House and a San Francisco broker of stocks and real estate.

44.11–12 Benicia] Settlement on the northern shore of Carquinez Strait; it had been the capital of California in 1853–54.

44.15 Emperor Norton] Joshua A. Norton (1818–80), a San Francisco merchant and real-estate speculator since 1849, lost his fortune in 1853, disappeared, and returned in 1857 in uniform, calling himself “Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico”; he was supported for the remainder of his life by sympathetic townspeople.

44.27 Messrs. Barron] See note 28.4.

44.37 Goat Island] Now known as Yerba Buena Island, in San Francisco Bay.

45.15 Billy Birch’s] William Birch (“Brudder Bones”) was a member of the famous San Francisco Minstrel Troupe. He had performed in California and Nevada since 1851.

45.22 Mrs. F. F. L.] Wife of Governor F. F. Low (see note 49.6).

45.40 Mrs. Wm. M. S.] Wife of William M. Stewart (1827–1909), former attorney general of California, member of the Nevada territorial legislature, and later United States senator (1864–75 and 1887–1905) from Nevada.

46.8 arastras] An “arrastra” was a mechanism for grinding quartz ore.

46.15 Mrs. A. W. B.] Wife of Alexander W. (Sandy) Baldwin (1840–69) of Virginia City, an attorney and law partner of William M. Stewart.

46.27 Mrs. J. B. W.] See note 30.21.

48.18–27 U. S. Grant . . . works!”] Grant’s message to Brigadier General Simon Bolivar Buckner, the Confederate commander of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, sent on February 16, 1862, read, in part: “No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.” Buckner quickly accepted Grant’s terms.

49.6 F. F. LOW] Governor-elect Frederick Ferdinand Low (1828–94), banker, congressman 1862–63, and collector of the port of San Francisco, had defeated incumbent governor Leland Stanford (1824–93) for the Union (Republican) party nomination.

49.19 Judge Field] Stephen Johnson Field (1816–99), California state supreme court judge 1857–63, had been named to the U.S. Supreme Court on March 10, 1863.

49.31 Mission] The mission of San Francisco de Asís, founded in 1776, had been secularized in 1834, and its buildings were eventually taken over for hotels and taverns. Its church is located near the intersection of Sixteenth and Dolores streets in San Francisco.

51.8 Barry and Patten’s] Theodore Augustus Barry and B. A. Patten kept a well-known saloon on Montgomery Street in San Francisco.

51.33 J. Belvidere Jackson] Captain A. Jones Jackson was provost marshal of the Southern District of California during the Civil War.

52.4 the Greek Slave] Hiram Powers’ marble sculpture (1843) of a nude Greek girl captured by the Turks, one of the most admired and controversial works of the mid-nineteenth century.

52.7 Cliff House] Local resort near Point Lobos and Seal Rocks, built in 1863.

52.12 Brigadier General Wright] George Wright (1801–65) was commander of the U.S. Army’s Military Department of the Pacific.

52.22–23 “Bell’s . . . London”] Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, a popular British sporting weekly.

52.29 Marysville Infant] F. F. Low had settled in Marysville, California, in the early 1850s.

55.6 Frank Lawler] In 1863, Frank Lawlor was bookkeeper at the Lick House and perhaps later its manager; he also had a career as an actor.

55.40 John B. Winters] Winters (see note 30.21) was a candidate for Congress during Nevada’s first attempt at statehood, but the proposed state constitution was rejected in a January 1864 referendum.

57.1 A Bloody . . . Carson] See the later explanation of this hoax in “A Couple of Sad Experiences,” pages 392–95 in this volume.

57.26 Sheriff Gasherie] D. J. Gasherie, Ormsby County sheriff 1862–64.

58.21 Spring Valley Water Company] Main supplier of water to San Francisco. It had recently failed to supply adequate water to some districts and its stock had fallen in value following criticism in the press.

58.25 Daney Mining Company] Operators of a gold and silver mine located on the Comstock Lode in Nevada. The San Francisco Evening Bulletin had criticized the company’ for “dividend cooking”—borrowing money to pay shareholder dividends and inflate the price of the stock.

59.1 “Ingomar”] Ingomar the Barbarian was a romantic play adapted by Maria Anne Lovell from the German drama Der Sohn der Wildnis (1843) by Friedrich Halm (1806–71), who wrote under the name Eligius von Münch-Bellinghausen. It was first produced in 1851 and frequently revived.

59.3 Mr. Maguire’s] Thomas Maguire, leading impresario of the San Francisco theater, opened the Opera House in Virginia City in 1863.

59.31–32 Gift Entertainment] A benefit performance, usually for an actor.

60.6 Benkert boots] Mining boots manufactured by L. and C. Benkert Company of Philadelphia and widely advertised and used in California and Washoe mining camps.

61.2 American Flat] Mining camp near Virginia City, Nevada Territory; there was another by the same name in El Dorado County, California.

61.8–10 “Two souls . . . one.”] The play Ingomar was famous for this couplet, which closed the second act.

62.1 Miss Clapp’s School] A private school in Carson City, Nevada.

63.11–14 “The boy . . . dead.”] Cf. “Casabianca” by Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1793–1835).

63.30–31 Gov. Nye’s] James W. Nye (1814–76), district attorney in 1839 and judge from 1844 to 1851 in New York State and first president of the New York City Metropolitan Police Board from 1857 to 1860, was appointed by Lincoln in 1861 to be the first governor of the Nevada Territory. He left the governorship in 1864 to become a senator from Nevada and served from 1864 to 1873.

67.4 Editor T. T.] Twain’s letter was published in the “Table-Talk” column of the New York Sunday Mercury.

72.6 Charley Creed] See note 43.31–32.

72.15 the “Willows”] Popular resort at Mission and Eighteenth streets in San Francisco, featuring a hotel, restaurants, gardens, aquarium, zoo, bowling, dancing, and theater. It was badly damaged by fire in January 1864.

74.3 Flora Low] The only child of California governor Frederick F. Low.

74.5 Florence Hillyer] Daughter of Mitchell C. Hillyer of Virginia City and San Francisco, president of the Choller Gold and Silver Mining Company.

75.30 Solferino] Purplish-red color, named after a dye discovered in 1859, the year of the French victory over the Austrians at the Italian village of Solferino.

76.11–13 “Time was . . . boy!”] Cf. Macbeth, III.iv.78–82.

76.25–26 Zeb. Leavenworth] Zebulon Leavenworth (1830–77) was a pilot on the Mississippi River and a friend of Twain’s.

80.17 Mr. Rising] The Reverend Franklin S. Rising (c. 1833–68) had been rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Virginia City since April 1862.

80.40–81.1 Scriptures . . . paper] Some local newspapers ran a daily text from the Bible.

84.7 Kanakas] A derogatory term for South Sea Islanders.

88.20 slung-shot] Blackjack.

89.31–32 noblest . . . God] Alexander Pope’s “Essay on Man” (line 237) and Robert Burns’s “The Cotter’s Saturday Night” (stanza 19) both contain the line: “An honest man’s the noblest work of God.”

91.2 Love’s Bakery] William Love operated a bakery in San Francisco in 1864.

93.18 Heuston & Hastings’] A men’s clothing store.

97.17 “Old Dan Tucker,”] Song by Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815–1904), written by 1831 and performed in minstrel shows since the 1840s.

97.23 “Sweet Home”] “Home Sweet Home” by Sir Henry Rowley Bishop (1786–1855), words by John Howard Payne (1791–1852), from their operetta Clari: or, The Maid of Milan (1823).

98.30 “Auld Lang Syne”] Traditional Scottish melody, words adapted from Robert Burns, first published in 1711.

104.27–28 hinted . . . Shakspeare] Cf. Julius Caesar, act III.

108.11 Roman . . . Bancroft] Two leading West Coast publishers that maintained bookstores.

108.12 Jomini’s . . . War] Baron Antoine Henri Jomini’s Précis de l’art de la guerre (1836). A translation was published in New York in 1854 as Summary of the Art of War.

108.12–13 Message . . . Documents] President Lincoln’s fourth annual message was sent to Congress three days after this piece was published.

112.35 Such . . . serpent] The novels Such Is Life and The Trail of the Serpent, by British writer Pierce Egan, Jr. (1814–80), had been serialized recently in the Golden Era.

113.3–5 HAWKS . . . CUMMINS] Francis Lister Hawks (1798–1866), Phillips Brooks (1835–93), and George David Cummins (1822–76) were eminent Episcopal clergymen.

116.21 laborers . . . vineyard] Cf. Matthew 20:1–16.

116.37 young ravens] Cf. Psalm 147:9.

117.23–24 sparrows . . . unnoted] Cf. Matthew 10:29.

122.33–34 “Yes, . . . thee.”] First line of the song “Missionary’s Farewell,” words by the Rev. Samuel F. Smith (1808–95).

123.13 “Quarter-less twain,”] Leadsman’s call meaning one and three-quarters fathoms.

123.18–25 Dan Setchell . . . Phillips] Setchell (1831–66) was a comedian and monologuist whom Twain admired; Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829–69) was a concert pianist and composer; Adelaide Phillips (1833–82) was an internationally known contralto. All were then performing in the area.

123.37 votre . . . porte-il?”] “How is your dog?”

124.12 Signorina Sconcia] Olivia Sconcia was the prima donna soprano of the local opera company.

124.13 “The Last . . . Summer,”] Thomas Moore set his poem “Tis the Last Rose of Summer” (1813) to a traditional Irish melody.

125.16 “Lilly Dale”] Sentimental ballad (1852) by H. S. Thompson.

127.4–5 “‘What . . . fair”—] From a poem “For the Ladies,” in the Dramatic Chronicle of June 3, 1865.

128.9 ‘Sic semper tyrannis,’] “Thus ever to tyrants.” The state motto of Virginia, shouted by John Wilkes Booth from the stage of Ford’s Theatre after his assassination of President Lincoln on April 14, 1865.

128.19 5-scent shop] A saloon selling cheap whiskey—at five cents.

128.23–26 “The Assyrian . . . Galilee.”] Lord Byron, “The Destruction of Sennacherib” (1815).

128.31 “Johnny . . . home.”] “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” (originally published as “Johnny Fill Up the Bowl” in 1863), words and music by Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (Louis Lambert).

131.2 “kings-and,”] The player at draw-poker evidently hoped to convert his hand into a full house.

132.13 “old soldiers”] Cigar or cigarette butts.

133.9–10 “Love’s Bakery,”] See “Whereas,” pages 91–96 in this volume.

133.35 Stockton] The state insane asylum was in Stockton, California.

134.9–10 Dutch Nix] A “nix” is a hoax; see “A Bloody Massacre Near Carson,” pages 57–58 in this volume.

134.31 Flag] The San Francisco American Flag.

134.37–38 ‘Let dogs . . . so!’ ”] Isaac Watts, “Against Quarrelling and Fighting” (1720).

135.10 Tupper] Martin Farquhar Tupper (1810–89); see page 118 in this volume.

135.29–30 just before . . . Root] “Just Before the Battle, Mother” (1863) was George F. Root’s popular Civil War ballad.

135.32–33 graveyard . . . Wolfe] Probably Irish poet Charles Wolfe, known to Twain for his “The Burial of Sir John Moore,” but see also page 778 and note in this volume.

136.24 extract . . . dailies] The letter had appeared in the San Francisco Morning Call, June 18, 1865.

139.20 Academy] The Academy of Music, where the local opera company was performing.

143.1 “O, wad . . . us.”] “O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us, / To see oursels as others see us!” Robert Burns, “To a Louse.”

143.17–22 DISCOURAGING . . . Chronicle.] This comment appeared in the San Francisco Dramatic Chronicle on June 20, 1865.

147.21 Jacob Little] New York financier and stockbroker who died March 28, 1865.

149.5–10 “The horse . . . Mazeppa.] Twain’s example from “Mazeppa” is spurious.

149.11–19 Sir Hilary . . . Praed.] From “Good-Night to the Season.”

149.28–30 Copperheads . . . BROWN] Beriah Brown was a leader of the California Democratic party and a critic of Lincoln; he expressed his views through his pro-slavery San Francisco Democratic Press.

150.1 General Halleck] Major General Henry W. Halleck (1815–72) had recently been appointed commander of the Military Division of the Pacific.

150.34–35 misquote . . . italic] See page 143.1 and note. The first quotation in the Golden Era had italicized the word wad.

153.35 coat-of-arms of California] The Great Seal of California bears the goddess Minerva; at her feet a crouching bear feeds on a cluster of grapes.

155.34 the Alta] The San Francisco daily Alta California.

166.1 “One More Unfortunate”] Cf. Thomas Hood, “The Bridge of Sighs” (1844), line 1.

166.22 Industrial School] A city reformatory for juveniles.

166.26 O, . . . humbug!] Cf. Hamlet, I.ii.146.

168.3 MY KINGDOM.] This poem ran in the San Francisco Evening Bulletin on October 20, 1865.

171.2 A. WARD] Artemus Ward (Charles Farrar Browne) had invited Twain to write a sketch for Ward’s book of travels in the Nevada Territory. Twain sent the following tale, but it arrived in New York too late to be included in Ward’s book and was given to the New York Saturday Review, where it was first published.

178.3 MUFF NICKERSON] Mulford Nickerson was a prominent local bon vivant.

181.26–27 “Oh, . . . home!”] See note 128.31.

182.5–6 “Oh, . . . deep!”] From the popular song “A Life on the Ocean Wave” (1838), music by Henry Russell (1812–1900) and words by Epes Sargent (1813–80).

182.29–30 “Come . . . me!”] From “Willie Reilly,” an Irish folksong.

184.7 Colfax party] A farewell banquet and ball held the preceding August in honor of Schuyler Colfax, congressman from Indiana from 1855 to 1869 and Speaker of the House from 1863 to 1869, when he toured the West.

184.30–31 sozodont-sweetened] “Sozodont” was the brand name of a widely advertised red dental liquid.

186.4 Dan] Dan De Quille, pen name of William Wright (1829–98).

186.8 “bit house”] A saloon selling beer at twelve and a half cents (“one bit”).

186.20–21 Diggers] Indians of southwestern Utah and California who dug roots for food.

187.6 Reeseriv’] See note 28.9.

188.2–4 Tom Maguire . . . Macdougall] A highly publicized brawl had recently occurred between Maguire (see note to 59.3) and W. J. Macdougall, composer and pianist.

188.16 Vestvali] Maguire, a few months earlier, had threatened bodily harm to actress Felicita Vestvali (1839–80) during a dispute over a contract.

196.32 Dr. Rowell] Dr. Isaac Rowell, prominent San Francisco physician and professor of chemistry, was a member of the city’s Board of Supervisors and president of the City Railroad Company.

196.32 Ziele] Robert Ziele owned the Pacific Street Flour Mills.

197.33 Captain Lees] Isaiah W. Lees, captain of detectives of the San Francisco police.

208.11–12 Michael Reese] Reese (1815–78) was a real-estate broker and capitalist in San Francisco.

208.25 Dr. Wadsworth’s] The Reverend Dr. Charles Wadsworth (1814–82) was pastor of the Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco from 1862 to 1869. He was later known for his friendship with Emily Dickinson, which began with their meeting in Philadelphia in 1855 as she was returning to Amherst from Washington, D.C.

210.1 Barnum’s . . . Congress] Phineas T. Barnum was running as the Republican candidate for Congress in the Fourth District of Connecticut. He was defeated by Democrat William H. Barnum (no relation) on April 1, 1867. (The election was held in the spring of 1867 in the expectation that the new Congress would meet for the first time in December; in fact, the Fortieth Congress convened on March 4, 1867, in order to enact Reconstruction legislation.)

211.8 Gordon Cumming] Rowaleyn Gordon Cumming (c. 1820–66), hunter in South Africa whose trophies were being exhibited by Barnum. He is mentioned in chapter 47 of Following the Equator (1897).

211.16 Miller’s] Probably a reference to Ferdinand von Miller (or Müller) of Munich, who cast many celebrated bronzes for American clients. Barnum advertised “entertaining brass portraits of all the celebrated Union generals.”

212.6 Amendment] The Southern states were resisting ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, which had been proposed to the states by Congress on June 13, 1866. It granted national and state citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and prohibited states from making or enforcing laws that abridged their privileges or immunities as national citizens, deprived them of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, or denied them the equal protection of the laws. The amendment also stated that the congressional representation of states that denied any of their male citizens the right to vote would be reduced, specified the conditions under which former Confederates could be barred from holding office, guaranteed the repayment of Union Civil War debts, repudiated Confederate war debts, and invalidated claims against the government for the loss or emancipation of slaves. A final section gave Congress the power to enforce the amendment by appropriate legislation.

212.26 fires] Barnum’s museums had suffered a series of devastating fires, most recently on July 13, 1865, and March 2, 1868.

214.4 list . . . petitioners] The St. Louis Missouri Democrat of March 11, 1867, carried the names of more than 300 signers of a petition to the Missouri legislature asking that the word “male” be struck from the state constitution. Twain had recently arrived in St. Louis to visit his sister and mother.

214.11 Dorcas society] Women’s group that carried both charity and religious teachings to the sick and poor; the societies took their name from Acts 9:36.

214.34 waterfalls] Ladies’ hairpieces worn at the back of the head.

218.3 MRS. ZEB. LEAVENWORTH] See note 76.25–26.

219.31 COUSIN JENNIE] The Missouri Democrat of March 14, 1867, carried two replies to Twain’s initial column, one signed “COUSIN JENNIE” and the other signed “A.L.”

220.6 Poland . . . ago] In January 1863, Napoleon III of France had unsuccessfully sought the support of Great Britain and the United States in assisting Poles rebelling against Russian rule.

221.27–28 election tickets] In many instances, parties distributed a ballot that the voter could present at the polls.

222.1 new fashion] Detailed registration of voters, especially in cities, had begun as a remedy for fraud and turmoil at the polls.

224.2 ED. T. T.] See note 67.4.

224.38 slimpsey] Frail or weak, primarily referring to cloth.

228.26–27 “good in everything”] Cf. As You Like It, II.i.17.

228.27 whatever . . . right] Alexander Pope, “An Essay on Man,” Epistle 1, line 294.

228.31 highest . . . State] In 1866, the New York State Assembly created the Metropolitan Board of Health for New York City and empowered the governor to appoint its four members. Governor Reuben E. Fenton appointed three allopathists.

231.8 Hingston] Theatrical agent Edward Peron Hingston (c. 1823–76) had managed Artemus Ward’s lecture tour of 1863–65.

232.31 drifts] Galleries opened along the course of the main vein of ore.

232.32–33 sulphurets] Sulphuret is one kind of silver-bearing ore.

235.22 hoss-bills] Handbills advertising the qualities of a horse or stallion available for breeding.

236.22 Washn’ton Bower vines] Or matrimony vine: Lycium halimifolium, formerly known as L. vulgare.

237.3 gormed] Also “gaumed”: smeared with a sticky substance.

238.4 Government . . . purchase] A treaty for the purchase of the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas) was concluded by Secretary of State William H. Seward in October 1867, but in 1870 the Senate refused to ratify it. The islands were eventually sold to the United States in 1916. Seward was said to be interested in acquiring naval and coaling stations in the Caribbean.

238.10 attaché] In “Washington Letter to the Alta California,” December 14, 1867, Twain referred to an episode in which, allegedly, Seward’s son “was sent down to pay” for the islands, and “the sailors stole all the money while he was ashore.”

238.27 great storm] In November and early December 1867, St. Thomas suffered from a hurricane, earthquake, tidal wave, and tornado.

239.23–24 Walrussia] Derisive term for Alaska among opponents of the treaty of purchase that Seward had arranged with Russia. The treaty was ratified by the Senate in October 1867, but the House of Representatives did not appropriate the purchase money until July 1868.

240.23–24 Admiral Farragut . . . Europe] David G. Farragut, appointed in 1867 to command the European squadron of the U.S. Navy, was making official calls on heads of state.

241.11 Secretary of War] Ulysses S. Grant was ad interim secretary of war at the time. Edwin M. Stanton had been suspended from the office by President Andrew Johnson on August 2, 1867, for supporting Congressional Reconstruction policy. Stanton was restored to office by the Senate on January 13, 1868.

245.1 I had . . . service] Cf. Othello, Vii.338.

245.4 Dr.] Standard abbreviation for “debit.”

245.18 Repudiation] Term used by hard-money advocates opposed to paying off Union war bonds in greenbacks instead of gold. Many Republicans also feared that the Civil War debt incurred by the Union would be repudiated by a future Democratic Congress; section IV of the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified in 1868) prevented this.

245.24–25 Alabama claims] The United States was demanding that Great Britain pay claims covering losses to Union shipping caused by several Confederate commerce raiders built and fitted out in British territory, of which the Alabama was the most famous. The claims were finally arbitrated in 1872.

247.27 Desdemona] Of Othello.

247.30 Joyce Heth] Joice Heth was a Negro slave who attracted public attention in 1835 when her owners claimed she was the 160-year-old nurse of George Washington. She was purchased and exhibited by P. T. Barnum until her death in 1836.

247.33–34 Widow Machree] Song (1842), words and music by Samuel Lover, first published in his novel Handy Andy: A Tale of Irish Life.

253.24 shining] Shoe-shining.

253.25 lush] Cash, money.

258.5 James W. Nye] Nye (1815–76), senator from Nevada, was known to Mark Twain since 1862 (see note 63.30–31). Twain worked briefly in November and December 1867 as a private secretary for the other senator from Nevada, William M. Stewart (see note 45.40).

258.22 John Halifax] Cf. John Halifax, Gentleman (1856), by Mrs. Craik (Dinah Maria Mulock), a British novel that was a best-seller in the United States in 1856.

259.7 water-lots] A tangle of land claims was enveloping the San Francisco waterfront, because the standard of an “ordinary high water mark” was disputable and because federal and local rights conflicted.

262.1–2 Mamie . . . Child-Missionary] Loosely based on the popular novel The Gates Ajar (1868), by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, later Ward, (1844–1911).

262.36 Knock . . . you.] Matthew 7:7.

265.27–28 Lay up . . . steal.] Matthew 6:19–20.

267.17–18 junk bottle] Type of bottle used for porter or rum.

267.22 Gough] John B. Gough (1817–86), Anglo-American orator and prominent temperance lecturer.

270.2 Weldon] Halfway between St. Louis and Chicago, though not on a major railroad line.

270.4 Jubilee Settlements] Jubilee College, founded in 1839 by the Protestant Episcopal Church.

272.13–17 Daniel . . . Van Nostrand] Friends of Mark Twain’s: Daniel Slote (c. 1828–82) of New York, a stationery manufacturer and companion on the Quaker City; Charles J. Langdon, Twain’s future brother-in-law; Samuel Adams Bowen (c. 1838–78), a Hannibal playmate and a steamboat pilot; and John A. Van Nostrand (c. 1847–79), of Greenville, New Jersey, also from the Quaker City tour.

273.12 R. M. Howland] Robert Muir Howland (1838–90) of Aurora, Nevada, a friend of Twain’s since 1861. He was a mine superintendent, local marshal, warden of the territorial prison at Carson City, and later United States deputy marshal for California.

278.13–14 their voices . . . Henry] Joseph Addison, Cato, II, i: “My voice is still for war.” Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775 (used in the McGuffey readers): “The war is inevitable; and let it come!”

278.14 peace . . . Greeley] Greeley had proposed foreign mediation of the Civil War in 1863, and in 1864 tried to persuade Lincoln to negotiate a compromise peace with the South. In 1867, he called for a general amnesty for ex-Confederates and signed the bond for releasing Jefferson Davis from prison.

278.25–26 “Early . . . wise,”] Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack (1735), October.

279.3 Old Hundred] A favorite hymn tune dating back to the sixteenth century; it was early associated with Psalm 100; in Protestant services it is now best known as the musical setting for the Doxology.

279.10 model garden] Greeley’s interest in improving American agriculture was well known; in 1853 he had moved to a farm.

279.25–26 Young . . . myself] John Russell Young (1840–99) had become managing editor of the Tribune in 1866. Clarence Cook (1828–1900) was art critic, and John Rose Greene Hassard (1836–88) was music and literary critic for the Tribune. Twain’s occasional sketches for the Tribune carried his own by-line.

279.34 penmanship] Greeley’s handwriting was notoriously bad; Roughing It, chapter 70, would print a supposed facsimile of a Greeley letter about raising turnips.

280.7 spar off] Here the term means to push a steamboat through shallow water with poles.

280.12–13 Mr. Chapin’s church] The Universalist congregation of the Reverend Edwin Hubble Chapin (1814–80).

280.34 Toodles] Title character in a popular one-act farce (1848) by William E. Burton.

282.1 Concerning . . . Intentions] Ulysses S. Grant was elected president in November 1868 and had not yet assumed office.

282.15 Associated Press] At this time a working coalition of seven New York City newspapers.

282.31–32 specie basis] Debates continued over retiring the legal tender notes (“greenbacks”), irredeemable in gold, that were issued during the Civil War and resuming specie payments upon demand.

282.33 whisky frauds] Various schemes for evading the excise taxes on whiskey had been exposed recently.

283.3 “Let . . . peace.”] The conclusion of Grant’s letter of May 29, 1868, accepting the Republican nomination for the presidency; it became the party’s main slogan during the ensuing campaign.

283.4–5 bloodshed . . . South.] During the election campaign of 1868, the Republicans had emphasized continuing Southern violence against Republicans and freedmen.

283.16–17 ‘Interviews . . . World,] President Andrew Johnson had been criticized for presenting his opinions through exclusive interviews with Joseph B. McCullagh (1842–96), “Mack” of the Cincinnati Enquirer, and with Jerome Bonaparte Stillson (1841–80), “J.B.S.” of the New York World.

283.25 spike down] A Congressional committee inspection of the Pacific Railroad had reported that, in order to collect the subsidies on completed track and to get as far west as possible, construction was often shoddy.

283.30 Blairs] Francis P. Blair, Jr. (1821–75), of Missouri, elected to Congress as a Free-Soiler in 1856, supported Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and was a Republican during the Civil War, serving as a division commander under Grant during the 1863 Vicksburg campaign. Blair returned to the Democratic party after the war and was its nominee for vice-president in 1868, when he toured the country bitterly attacking Republican Reconstruction policy. His brother, Montgomery Blair (1813–88), postmaster general under Lincoln from 1861 to 1864, and their father, Francis Preston Blair, Sr. (1791–1876), were also prominent Andrew Johnson supporters who had returned to the Democratic party.

283.35 Nasby’s Post-Office] “Petroleum Vesuvius Nasby” was a character created by David R. Locke (1833–88) as a parody of Southern sympathizers; he was was purportedly postmaster at “Confederate x roads, kentucky.”

283.38 Fitch] Late on Sunday, November 29, 1868, in the midst of legal battles with Cornelius Vanderbilt and others over control of the Erie Railroad, financier James Fisk was served with legal papers upon leaving the company offices. Followed by detectives, he took a carriage and ferry to the Jersey City railroad terminal, from where an engine with a single director’s car was seen to speed away into the night. The following day, New York newspapers announced that Fisk and Gould had fled to Canada with millions of dollars in company funds. Fisk immediately issued a denial, explained his departure as a visit to Binghamton, New York, on business connected with the Erie Railroad rolling-mill, and commenced lawsuits for defamation against the newspapers.

286.4 Erie dodge] Vanderbilt was several times involved in brazen manipulation of the stock of the Erie Railroad.

286.34 Isthmus] The Isthmus of Panama, where steamer passengers between New York City and San Francisco often crossed Central America.

291.1 Mr. Beecher] The Reverend Thomas Kinnicut Beecher (1824–1900), pastor since 1854 of the Park Congregational Church in Elmira, New York, son of Lyman Beecher, half-brother of Henry Ward Beecher, Catharine Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, and friend of the Langdon family, Twain’s future in-laws. For over a year, he had been conducting Sunday evening services at the Elmira Opera House, drawing crowds of 1300 or more. Twain had attended on February 21, 1869.

292.6–7 “Go . . . creature.”] Mark 16:15.

297.3 Seven Oaks] The Civil War battle at Seven Pines and Fair Oaks, Virginia, on May 31 and June 1, 1862, proved indecisive.

298.35 Good Templars] The Independent Order of Good Templars organized fraternal temperance lodges.

301.29 Forty per cent.] A sweeping set of protective tariffs was enacted after the Reciprocity Treaty with Canada ended in 1866.

302.17–18 “All signs . . . time.”] Common British and American proverb, recorded as early as Ames’ Almanack for 1729.

303.21 Terrapin Tower] Modern guidebooks name a Terrapin Point and Terrapin Rocks.

304.20 forty-rod whisky] Folk term describing whiskey so potent that one could not walk more than forty rods after drinking it.

304.26 Uncas! . . . Red Jacket!] Uncas was a chief of the Mohegans who sided with the English during the Pequot War; he was the subject of a biography (1842) by W. L. Stone. Uncas was also the name of a noble Indian warrior in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans (1826) and The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish (1829). Red Jacket (c. 1756–1830) was a celebrated Seneca chief.

304.27 Hole-in-the-Day] Ben Holladay (1819–87), who organized mail and freight lines in the West, was reputed to have staged Indian attacks on rival stagecoaches.

307.15 Rhode Island veteran] The last surviving pensioner from the Revolutionary War, Daniel F. Bakeman, had died in April 1869 at the age of 109 years and 6 months.

308.2 Memphis Avalanche] The name of an actual newspaper.

308.7 Exchange] Postal laws permitted newspapers to send copies to one another free of charge, and it was common for columnists to quote passages from “Exchange,” meaning from another newspaper.

308.16–17 “old soldiers,”] See note 132.13.

309.11–13 Nicholson . . . pay for it.] Samuel Nicholson (1791–1868), of Boston, author and inventor, devised a new type of pavement—wood blocks on a base of asphalt or hard-packed sand. In the summer of 1869, Twain tried to help his future father-in-law, Jervis Langdon, collect a bill for this pavement due from the city of Memphis.

311.12 forty-rod whisky] See note at 304.20.

315.2 Marshal Neil’s] Adolphe Niel (1802–69), marshal of France under Napoleon III and later minister of war.

317.15 “Virtue . . . reward;”] Matthew Prior (1662–1721), Imitations of Horace, Book III, ode 2. Originally a Latin proverb, recorded in Plautus, Cicero, Ovid, Diogenes Laertius, Silius Italicus, and Claudius Claudianus; various English forms are recorded in, among others, Sir Thomas Browne’s Religio Medici, Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler, Barclay’s Ship of Fools, Dryden’s Tyrannic Love, and Emerson’s “Friendship.”

317.15–16 “Procrastination . . . time;”] Edward Young, Night Thoughts (1742), line 393.

317.16 “Time . . . man,”] Versions of this proverb are found in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Prologue to The Clerk’s Tale” (c. 1386), Everyman (1520), and John Heywood’s Proverbs (1546).

317.17 “Necessity . . . invention;”] Originally a Latin proverb, recorded in English in Horman’s Vulgaria (1519); George Farquhar (1678–1707), The Twin Rivals, I; Richard Franck, Northern Memoirs (1694); Wycherly, Love in a Wood (1672), III.iii; and Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (1726), iv, among others.

317.18 Josh Billings] Pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818–85), humorist, lecturer, publisher of the annual Farmer’s Allminax (1869–80), and a friend of Twain’s.

317.23 “None . . . fair,”] Cf. John Dryden, “Alexander’s Feast, or, The Power of Music; An Ode in Honour of St. Cecelia’s Day” (1697), line 15.

317.28 Stowe] Harriet Beecher Stowe’s article “The True Story of Lady Byron’s Life” (Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan’s Magazine, London, September 1869) charged that Lord Byron (1788–1824) had had incestuous relations with his half-sister, Augusta. It was immediately criticized in American, English, French, and German periodicals, and in a number of biographies and recollections written in defense of the poet.

317.29–30 “England . . . duty!”] Message composed by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson and sent by flag signal to his fleet at the battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805.

317.33–34 “Tramp, . . . marching.”] Civil War song, words and music by George Frederick Root (1820–95).

317.39–40 “The Old . . . surrenders!”] Comte Pierre Jacques Étienne Cambronne (1770–1842) at Waterloo, June 18, 1815, according to tradition.

318.3 “Alas . . . race!”] J. C. F. Schiller, Wilhelm Tell (1804), act II.

318.17 Garret Davis] Garrett Davis (1801–72) was congressman (1839–47) and senator (1861–72) from Kentucky. Elected to the Senate as a Unionist Whig in 1861, he joined the Democratic party in 1867, and his enemies complained that only his fluent oratory saved his career and his person.

318.19 H. G.] Horace Greeley.

318.21 Bergh] Henry Bergh (1811–88) of New York City had founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1866. He was a familiar figure in the streets of New York, frequently interfering with streetcar drivers and others who abused their horses.

324.7–8 Petrified . . . Syracuse] This hoax, also called the Cardiff giant after a small town near Syracuse, had brief fame in October 1869. A buried piece of sculptured gypsum was claimed to be the petrified body of a giant.

326.21–22 Brown . . . Pike] On May 7, 1868, Thomas Brown and his wife, of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, were killed with an axe during a robbery by their former hired hand, Josiah L. Pike. Pike’s plea of insanity owing to dipsomania was rejected, and he was hanged in November 1869, but he attracted increasing sympathy as his execution approached.

330.18 Canova] Though best known as a sculptor, Antonio Canova (1757–1822) also did about a hundred paintings.

330.26 Beaumarchais] Bon Marché in Paris was one of the first modern department stores.

340.4–5 Internal Revenue Department] Federal income tax was levied as a war measure in 1862 and survived until 1872. Taxpayers were required to “hand in” a return, and assessors had the legal right to call on individuals and inspect their accounting. Twain had been assessed for income tax at least as early as 1864.

341.27–28 ninety-five thousand copies] Around 55,000 copies of The Innocents Abroad had been sold by March 15, 1870.

341.30 half] Twain received five percent of the retail or subscription price.

343.2 most modest] Probably a reference to the fourteenth, catch-all item: “From all sources not above enumerated.”

343.20 revenue returns] Until April 1870, lists of actual returns were published to prevent fraud.

345.14 General Buncombe] Benjamin B. Bunker (b. 1815) was appointed United States Attorney General for the Nevada Territory by President Lincoln in 1861 and removed from office in June 1863.

345.24 Dick Sides] Richard D. Sides was a pioneer and leading landholder in Carson City, Nevada.

347.2 Hal Brayton] P. H. (Hal) Clayton was a prominent attorney in Carson City; see note 23.7. William Brayton was Humbolt County recorder in 1862.

347.4 Roop] Isaac Roop (1822–69), early settler, former head of the provisional territorial government, and prominent political figure in Nevada and northeastern California, was the acknowledged expert in land claims in the Washoe Valley.

353.17 Lady Mordaunt] Sir Charles Mordaunt (1836–1906) petitioned in February 1870 for divorce on grounds of adultery from his 21-year-old wife of four years, the former Harriet Sarah Moncreiffe. He testified that, following the recent birth of their first child and distraught over its possible blindness, his wife had confessed to him that Viscount Cole was the baby’s father and that she had been “very wicked” with Cole, Sir Frederick Johnstone, the Prince of Wales, and “others.” A series of witnesses provided circumstantial evidence corroborating his accusation. Sir Thomas Moncrieffe filed a counter-petition, declaring that his daughter had been hopelessly insane since giving birth, and several doctors testified that she was suffering from “puerperal mania.” Although not named as a corespondent, Edward, the Prince of Wales, was called as a witness; he denied any impropriety. The petition was dismissed on the grounds of Lady Mordaunt’s insanity, but Sir Charles was granted a divorce in 1875, when he successfully named Viscount Cole as corespondent.

354.19–20 Gen. Coleses . . . McFarlands] On June 4, 1867, in Albany, New York, General George Washington Cole (d. 1875) shot and killed his longtime neighbor and friend, L. Harris Hiscock, a Syracuse lawyer and politician, whom he suspected of adultery with his wife. Cole’s first trial ended in a hung jury on May 7, 1868, and his second trial resulted in acquittal on December 7, 1868, when the jury professed to be in doubt as to his sanity at the instant of the homicide. In 1859, Daniel E. Sickles (1819–1914), then a member of Congress from New York, shot and killed Philip Barton Key, U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., and son of Francis Scott Key, because Key was having an affair with Mrs. Sickles; he was acquitted on grounds of temporary mental aberration. Sickles later served in the U.S. Army (1861–67), lost a leg at Gettysburg, and achieved the rank of major general; he was Grant’s appointee as minister to Spain, where he served 1869–75. On November 25, 1869, Daniel McFarland, a Fenian and a Tammany supporter, shot and fatally wounded Albert D. Richardson, a journalist and author and acquaintance of Twain’s, in the offices of the New York Tribune following a dispute concerning McFarland’s divorced wife, Abby Sage McFarland, who was at that time engaged to marry Richardson. The former Mrs. McFarland married Richardson on his deathbed (in a service performed by Henry Ward Beecher and O. B. Frothingham). McFarland was charged with murder and pled temporary insanity. After a highly publicized trial that lasted from April 8 to May 11, 1870, the jury rendered a verdict of not guilty.

357.1–2 os frontis . . . maxillary] Frontal bone or forehead, and jawbone.

360.17 ‘gallus’] A slang term for “fine” or even “gallant.”

360.19 queensware] Wedgewood china of a distinctive cream color, or any earthenware of such a color, especially if glazed.

365.2 “Independent,”] Weekly religious magazine published in New York City.

365.2–3 Rev. T. De Witt Talmage] The Reverend Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832–1902) was the popular minister of the Central Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn.

366.27–28 “Son . . . mine?”] First two lines of the Charles Wesley hymn “To Be Sung at Work” (1739).

367.11 Chemung county] Elmira, the home of Olivia Langdon’s family, was in Chemung County, New York.

373.17–18 Circumlocution Office] Government bureau in Charles Dickens’ Little Dorrit (1855–57).

374.8 EDITOR MEMORANDA] “Memoranda” was Mark Twain’s monthly column in the Galaxy.

379.2 the other day,] The incident was reported in the San Francisco Bulletin on March 7, 1870.

379.19 mining tax] From the mid-1850s California levied a foreign miners’ tax, usually $4.00 monthly, which in practice bore most heavily on the Chinese.

379.37–38 “Let . . . fall,”] Latin proverb.

380.32 vaccinated] The city of San Francisco adopted such an ordinance in 1870 because epidemics of smallpox were allegedly traced to newly arrived Chinese immigrants.

381.38–39 employ . . . journal] Twain worked for the San Francisco Call from June to October 1864.

384.3 Richardson-McFarland jury] See note 354.19–20.

384.15 foreman . . . said:] In fact, the foreman of the jury simply reported “Not guilty.”

384.26 great-grandfather’s step-father] McFarland’s defense had cited a deranged male first cousin on the side of McFarland’s father.

386.1 John W. Galen, M. D.] A former surgeon general of the U.S. Army issued a long statement favorable to the defense; the name Galen, however, is that of a Greek physician of second-century Rome.

386.4 Charles A. Dana] Editor of the New York Sun, which supported McFarland’s defense out of loyalty to Tammany Hall and rivalry with the New York Tribune, where Richardson had worked and had many friends.

388.2–3 squib . . . Agricultural Department] In the Buffalo Express of April 12, 1870, Twain had published his letter to the editor of the Galaxy, accepting a contract to conduct a monthly “department” of his choice for that magazine.

389.25 THE PETRIFIED MAN] See page 19 in this volume.

391.36 “London Lancet”] Prestigious medical weekly, where no mention of Twain’s hoax has been found.

392.11 MY FAMOUS “BLOODY MASSACRE.”] See pages 57–58 in this volume.

393.38 the Truckee] The Truckee River area in western Nevada and eastern California, where farming was practicable.

396.2–3 Pierre Bonaparte trial] In 1870, Pierre Bonaparte (1815–81), nephew of Napoleon I, was acquitted of the murder of French journalist Victor Noir, whom he had killed in a quarrel.

396.9 Jouvins] “In Paris you pay twelve dollars a dozen for Jouvin’s best kid gloves.” The Innocents Abroad, chapter 30.

397.28 ‘navy’] A Model 1851 Colt revolver, originally produced for the U.S. Navy.

405.30 With . . . called him.] Cf. I Samuel 3:1–10.

408.1 Report . . . Academy] Delivered at commencement exercises in June 1870.

418.4–5 telegraph . . . Eden.] Kurna, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers join to form the Shatt-al-Arab channel, was often identified as the site of Eden. In 1864 the British laid a series of submarine cables westward from Karachi to Fao, where the Shatt-al-Arab flows into the Persian Gulf. By early 1865 the Fao cable had been connected to a land line that ran through Basra and Kurna to Baghdad, where it joined an existing Turkish system linked to Europe, creating the first England-to-India telegraph connection.

418.8 Brooklyn . . . tournament] Two afternoon sessions of a “tournament” were held at a park on the outskirts of Brooklyn in May 1870. The tournament was both a fund-raiser and a gesture of North-South amity; many of the riders came from southern states.

418.19 “tournament” in Lynchburg] A tournament had been held in Lynchburg, Virginia, in October 1869.

419.3–4 Disinherited . . . Maryland] The first four “knights” appeared in newspaper accounts.

419.21–22 suffering . . . blood] Though one “knight” fell ill during the tournament, newspaper accounts did not describe him as wounded.

419.37 Ashby de la Zouch] Site of a tournament in Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe (1819).

420.1–2 Bois-Guilbert . . . Front-de-Bœuf] Villains in Ivanhoe.

421.5 “Byron Scandal”] See note 317.28. Stowe upheld her views, and claimed that Byron was the father of Augusta’s child (born 1814) in Lady Byron Vindicated: a History of the Byron Controversy from its Beginning in 1816 to the Present Time (1869–70). Twain wrote, but did not publish, a relevant burlesque.

421.16–17 “Peace . . . Boston] A music festival celebrating the end of the Civil War, held in June 1869.

421.22 Cruikshank] George Cruikshank (1792–1878), eminent British illustrator and caricaturist, did a number of satirical drawings about the “Jubilee” of August 1, 1814, which was held to celebrate the general peace and the 100th anniversary of the accession of the Brunswick family.

421.27 Train] George Francis Train (1829–1904), Fenian (see note 423.10), flamboyant shipping and railroad promoter, world traveler, pamphleteer, lecturer, and political agitator.

421.27 Henri Rochefort] Victor Henri, Marquis de Rochefort-Lucay (1830–1913), radical editor of Le Figaro, La Lanterne, La Marseillaise, and Le Mot d’ordre, supported the Commune of Paris and was arrested and imprisoned in 1873. He was arrested by a squad rather than a single policeman.

421.33 McFarland trial] See pages 384–87 and notes.

422.1 Recorder] The presiding judge at the trial.

422.18 Graham] John Graham (1821–94) was a well-known attorney who directed McFarland’s defense. He had earlier defended Daniel Sickles (see note 354.19–20) in 1859, and he later represented William Tweed in 1873.

423.10 Fenian “invasion.”] In April 1866 members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, also known as Fenians, had attempted to seize Campo Bello, New Brunswick, for Ireland, but were prevented by British and U.S. forces. On June 1, 1866, dissident members of the Fenians crossed the Canadian border at Fort Erie, defeated Canadian troops, and returned to Buffalo, New York, where they were arrested and later released. Later invasions of Canada from Frankfort, Vermont, and Malone, New York, were halted by U.S. and Canadian troops May 25–27, 1870.

423.22–23 get by the ears] Quarrel.

423.28 “World”] The New York World warmly supported the Fenians.

423.29 “Ridgway,”] Also known as “Limeridge,” Ontario, where the Fenians had scored a small victory in 1866.

425.5–6 two different houses] Franklin’s family moved soon after his birth, and so two houses in Boston could claim to have cradled his infancy.

426.6–7 Early . . . wise.] See note 278.25–26.

428.25–26 my father’s . . . “Hiawatha.”] Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha was first published in 1855; John Marshall Clemens died in 1847.

432.8 Cohocton] About one hundred miles from Buffalo, in Steuben County, New York.

432.10 letter . . . Bath correspondent] Bath was the county seat of Steuben County. Twain took his detail from this letter, quoting it correctly except for the surname of Judge G. H. McMaster, who had in fact already started to conduct the trial.

436.9 dephlogistic] Phlogiston was thought by early chemists to be the material substance of inflammability.

441.14 find meself;] The opposite of “and found,” which meant food and lodging in addition to wages.

443.36 “gallusly”] See note 360.17.

445.4–6 Fenians . . . Canada] See note 423.10.

445.36 Dr. Keim’s excellent book] De B. Randolph Keim’s Sheridan’s Troopers on the Borders: A Winter Campaign on the Plains (1870).

446.8 Pi-Ute war] The Piute War in eastern Oregon and western Idaho during 1866–68.

450.2 Don Cæsar de Bazan] In Victor Hugo’s Ruy Blas (1838), drama set in seventeenth-century Spain.

450.19–20 North Adams Chinaman] In 1870 a group of Chinese were brought to a North Adams, Massachusetts, shoe factory to replace strikers.

451.7 Marshal Serrano] Francisco Serrano y Domínguez (1810–85), Spanish general and statesman, participated in the overthrow of Isabella II in 1868 and was named regent. He was premier under King Amadeo 1870–71.

452.2–3 Hon. Mr. Knott, M. C.] James Proctor Knott (1830–1911) of Kentucky served as a Democrat in the House of Representatives from 1867 to 1871 and from 1875 to 1883.

455.1 Goldsmith’s] Cf. Oliver Goldsmith’s The Citizen of the World (“Chinese Letters,” 1762). In 1861, Twain had written his brother Orion that he considered this and Don Quixote his “beau ideals of fine writing.”

462.31 Mother Leonard’s] Twain mentioned a Haidee Leonard as well known for her drunkenness and her stays in jail in the San Francisco Call in 1864.

467.10–11 the law . . . Irishman.] A California statute of 1850 prohibiting testimony from Negroes and Indians in court cases involving whites was interpreted in 1854 to apply to Chinese as well. This law remained in force until 1873.

468.30 Chinese-speaking Spaniard] The interpreter was Charles T. Carvalho, a native of Batavia, Java.

470.22 Stiggers] Pen name of Albert S. Evans, a rival reporter in San Francisco.

471.14 siege of Paris] During the Franco-Prussian War, Paris was besieged by the German army from September 15, 1870, until its capitulation on January 28, 1871.

471.18 King William’s] William I was king of Prussia from 1861 until his death in 1888; he was proclaimed emperor of Germany at Versailles on January 18, 1871.

471.19 Napoleon’s] Napoleon III (Louis Napoleon Bonaparte), the emperor of France, with 80,000 troops, surrendered to the German army at Sedan on September 2, 1870; he was deposed by a revolution in Paris on September 4.

473.33 BAZAINE.] Since mid-August 1870, a French army of about 130,000 troops commanded by Marshal Achille François Bazaine had been surrounded at Metz, where they surrendered on October 27.

476.3 TROCHU.] General Louis Jules Trochu, appointed military governor of Paris on August 18, 1870, accepted the presidency of the provisional government of national defense formed September 4, 1870, after news reached Paris of the defeat at Sedan and the surrender of Napoleon III.

476.10 WILLIAM III.] William I of Prussia; see note 471.18. Twain referred to him as “William III, King of Prussia” in a burlesque portrait published in the January 1871 issue of the Galaxy. His son was the crown-prince, Frederick William.

477.3–4 RILEY . . . dailies.] John Henry Riley (1823–72), a friend and associate of Twain’s from San Francisco days until his death. Riley’s leading western outlet had been the Alta California.

480.22 ‘Well . . . servant!’] Cf. Matthew 25:21.

480.24 printed . . . before] Twain had published a version of the story in the Chicago Republican in April 1868.

486.39 Sylvanus Cobb] Prolific author (1823–87) of pulp fiction.

487.4–5 “Marble Faun”] Novel (1860) by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

490.3–4 Woodford . . . Hoffman] Stewart Lyndon Woodford (1835– 1913) was lieutenant governor 1867–69. A former brigadier general, he was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor in 1870. John T. Hoffman (1828–88), the Democratic incumbent candidate, was former mayor of New York City and an ally of Tweed’s Tammany Hall political machine.

491.31 the Five Points] A slum district surrounding the intersection of three streets (corresponding to present-day Baxter, Park, and Worth streets) and two alleys in the center of the most densely populated part of Manhattan; it was a Tammany stronghold.

491.32 Water street] On the waterfront of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

493.28 BEHOLD THE MAN!] Cf. John 19:5.

495.1 Dogberry] Loquacious, self-satisfied constable in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

495.34 the law itself] Twain was protesting against the regulations that proof-sheets containing material other than typographical corrections could not pass as third-class matter, which cost one-twelfth of letter postage. The crux lay in sections 159 and 166 of The Statutes Relating to the Postal Service (1869) and in the difference between a “book” and “author’s manuscript.” Twain’s direct quotation near the end of his opening paragraph may come from oral restatement by a local postmaster.

501.30 Attorney-General Toucey] Isaac Toucey (1792–1869), U.S. attorney general in 1848–49.

502.14 “right . . . place”] Attributed to Thomas Jefferson.

505.35 Garrett Davis] See note 318.17.

517.2 George Holland] Respected comic actor (1791–1870).

517.2 Rev. Mr. Sabine] William Tufnell Sabine (1838–1913) was rector of the Episcopal Church of the Atonement in New York City.

517.6–7 Cardiff giant] See note 324.7–8.

518.23–24 five hundred . . . stages] James Sheridan Knowles’s William Tell had been a favorite on the American stage for 45 years.

519.39 Black Crooks] The Black Crook, a popular but controversial musical extravaganza with libretto by Charles Barras (1820–73), featuring dancing girls in tights and introducing the French can-can to American audiences, opened at Niblo’s Garden in New York on September 12, 1866. It ran for 475 performances through 1868, and was successfully revived in 1871.

520.1 Cooks, and Kallochs] Horace Cook (fl. 1870), a former pastor of the Seventh Street Methodist Episcopal Church in Manhattan, had recently lost his church because he seduced a parishioner’s daughter. Isaac Smith Kalloch (1831–87), a former Baptist pastor at Tremont Temple in Boston, had been tried for adultery in 1857.

522.1 Rulloff] Edward H. Rulloff (c. 1820–71) was convicted of murdering a clerk during the August 17, 1870, burglary of a general store in Binghamton, New York, and was sentenced to death. Rulloff had a long record as a burglar and confidence-man, had been in prison, and at various times had posed as a doctor, lawyer, or teacher of languages. Several appeals for clemency addressed to Governor Hoffman were denied, and Rulloff was hanged May 18, 1871. In a private letter to the managing editor of the New York Tribune, Twain stated that he hoped to arouse public interest in the idea of commuting Rulloff’s death sentence.

522.2 SYDNEY CARTON] Character in Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, who is guillotined in place of Charles Darnay.

522.27–28 Mather, . . . Richmond] Rulloff claimed to be a genius and an expert in philology. He had developed a new comprehensive theory of ancient languages set forth in a manuscript, “Method in the Formation of Language,” left unfinished at his death. Richard Henry Mather, professor of Greek and German at Amherst College, visited Rulloff in prison and reported on Rulloff’s knowledge of the Greek classics in a published account of his interview in late April 1871. William Lawton Richmond, a prominent attorney, former medical student, and trustee of Allegheny College, was also impressed by Rulloff’s knowledge of scientific terms.

528.5 the Nathan murder] Benjamin Nathan, a wealthy stockbroker, was brutally murdered in his mansion at 12 West 23rd Street on the night of July 28, 1870, evidently during a burglary. A large reward was offered, but no one was ever charged with the crime.

528.9 “dog”] The murder weapon was a carpenter’s “dog”—an iron bar about 18 inches long turned down and sharpened at each end.

530.10–11 I quote . . . authorities.] The essay quotes intermittently from an anonymous article, “Our Earliest Ancestors,” in Chambers’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Arts, 4th Series, number 7 (August 13, 1870).

534.33–34 Byron-scandal case] See notes 317.28 and 421.5.

535.32 “cave of Aurignac”] In 1860 relics of prehistoric men were found in caves near Aurignac, a village in southern France.

539.10–11 William Tweed] William Marcy Tweed (1823–78) controlled the Democratic political machine of New York, through which he held a variety of state and city offices. Cartoonist Thomas Nast had attacked the “Tweed Ring” for corruption in 1869 and The New York Times had begun its crusade in 1870. Evidence provided by county bookkeeper Matthew J. O’Rourke in July 1871 led to sensational disclosures of corruption and Tweed’s eventual arrest and conviction.

539.13 St. Ass’s Colt Hall] Abraham Oakey Hall (1826–98), mayor of New York 1868–72. For “ass’s colt” see Matthew 21:1–7.

539.14 St. Connolly] Richard B. (“Slippery Dick”) Connolly (1810–80) was New York City controller; on September 18, 1871, he had deserted Tweed and resigned his office. He later fled the country.

539.14–15 St. Matthew Carnochan] Dr. John Murray Carnochan (1817–87) was quarantine health officer of New York City; he was accused of amassing a fortune through illegal charges.

539.15 sitteth . . . customs] Cf. Matthew 9:9.

539.15–16 St. Peter Fisk] James Fisk, Jr. (1834–72), financier and a director of the Erie Railroad, along with Gould, Daniel Drew, and Tweed.

539.16 St. Paul Gould] Jay Gould (1836–92), partner of James Fisk.

539.16–17 suffereth . . . them;] Cf. II Corinthians 11:23–25.

539.17 St. Iscariot Winans] Orange S. Winans, Republican assemblyman from Chautauqua County, had been accused of accepting a large bribe to betray his party and vote in favor of the Democratic tax bill.

539.18 St. Jacob Vanderbilt] Captain Jacob Hand Vanderbilt (1807–93), younger brother of Cornelius Vanderbilt, was president of the steamship company that operated the Staten Island ferryboat Westfield, which exploded on July 30, 1871, killing over 100 people. He was indicted September 7, 1871, for homicide in connection with the deaths, but the case was never prosecuted.

539.18 St. Garvey] Andrew J. Garvey was the city contractor for plastering.

539.19 St. Ingersoll] James H. Ingersoll supplied carpets and furniture to the city.

539.19–20 N. Y. Printing Co.] Supplier of stationery and printing to the city; its controlling interest was held by Tweed.

539.20–21 letteth . . . taketh] Cf. Matthew 6:3.

539.21 St. Peter Hoffman] Governor John T. Hoffman (see note 490.3–4) had been mayor of New York 1865–68.

539.22–23 denied . . . times;] Cf. Mark 14:30 and 66–72.

539.23 St. Barnard] George G. Barnard (c. 1824–79) was elected judge of the New York State supreme court on the Tammany ticket in 1861. He had issued many injunctions favorable to the Tweed Ring, but on September 15, 1871, he granted an injunction stopping any further payments from the city treasury. He was removed from office by a committee of the legislature August 19, 1872.

541.4 Herald Expedition] The New York Herald had sent Henry M. Stanley (1840–1904) to find the Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone (1813–73), who had last been heard from in 1867; Stanley found him in November 1871, but Livingstone chose to stay in Central Africa.

542.18 UJIJIJI UNYEMBEMBE] Stanley’s account in the New York Herald reported he had found Livingstone at the settlement of Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika, in an area known as Unyanyembe.

543.17 a Mr. Lord] James L. Laird, owner of the Virginia City Union.

549.3 Foster petitions] On April 27, 1871, William D. Foster (1838–73), a former streetcar conductor, was riding on the front platform of the Broadway streetcar while intoxicated and became involved in a dispute with Avery D. Putnam, a New York City merchant, when he repeatedly opened the car door to direct insulting looks and remarks at a young lady passenger. When Putnam, the young lady, and her mother got off the streetcar at 46th Street and Seventh Avenue, Foster struck Putnam over the head with an iron car-hook, killing him. Foster was tried and convicted of murder on May 24, 1871. He was sentenced to death, but a series of stays and appeals prolonged his case until 1873. The delays led to charges that Foster, son of a minor New York politician, was being shielded by city authorities. The petitions on Foster’s behalf, which filled more than a page of the New York Tribune for March 6, 1873, asked the governor to reduce Foster’s sentence to life imprisonment; some former members of the jury were among the signers. Foster was hanged March 21, 1873.

551.10 additional wages] The U.S. Congress had recently passed a bill (signed by President Grant March 3, 1873) granting its members a salary increase (from $5,000 to $7,500 annually) that was made retroactive for two years. It became widely known as the “salary grab” act.

551.24–25 Charles Reade . . . verdicts] The popular British novelist was often censured for his “immoral” plots; in early 1873 he won £200 in damages from the London Morning Advertiser.

552.20 Mr. Colfax] Schuyler Colfax (1823–85), congressman from Indiana from 1855 to 1869, Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1863 to 1869, and vice-president from 1869 to 1873, was implicated in the growing scandal involving the favorable sale of stock to senators and congressmen in 1867 by Crédit Mobilier, the finance company organized to pay for the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad. The New York Sun made accusations in late 1872, and a House and Senate investigation in 1873 injured the reputations of Colfax and others.

552.24 the “Black Crook”] See note 519.39.

552.26 Days Doings] The Day’s Doings (1868–76) was an illustrated periodical that featured sensational scandal stories. It was bought by Frank Leslie in 1873 and made into a family paper.

552.34 Rozensweigs] Jacob Rosenzweig, a Polish immigrant and abortionist in New York City, was convicted of manslaughter October 28, 1871, in the death of Alice Bowlsby, whose body was found in a trunk at the Hudson River Railroad Depot. Rosenzweig was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, but was released on a technicality November 13, 1873.

552.37 Foster murder case] See note 549.3.

554.6 heathen Chinee] Bret Harte’s ballad “Plain Language from Truthful James,” which became popularly known as “The Heathen Chinee,” was first published in the September 1870 issue of Overland Monthly, and without authorization was immediately reprinted in newspapers and broadsides throughout the country.

554.15 ruined] Although Harte drew some small audiences, he had enough success to justify further lecture tours.

554.19–20 starving . . . guild] The episode involved W. A. Kendall (d. 1876), a minor San Francisco poet and journalist who had contributed to the Californian and the Golden Era in the 1860s. Kendall used the pseudonym “Comet Quids” and was author of The Voice My Soul Heard (San Francisco, 1868). In January 1872, Twain, Harte, and Howells had helped pay for his passage from New York to San Francisco. In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle of December 15, 1872, Kendall made allegations concerning Harte’s defalcations and bad behavior.

556.13–14 misunderstandings . . . arbitration] The Treaty of Washington between Great Britain and the United States was concluded May 8, 1871. It provided for resolution of the Alabama claims (see note 245.24–25), the disputed water boundary between Washington Territory and British Columbia, and the Canadian fisheries question.

556.29 Motley] John Lothrop Motley (1814–77), historian and diplomat who served as U.S. Minister to Austria and later (1869–70) to Great Britain. He had been removed following a dispute with the Grant administration over the handling of the Alabama claims (see note 245.24–25).

556.29 Samuel C. Pomeroy] Pomeroy (1816–91), U.S. senator from Kansas from 1861 to 1873, was charged with bribing state legislators in pursuit of a third term; he is considered the model for Senator Dilworthy in The Gilded Age (1873).

557.33 General Schenck] Robert Cumming Schenck (1809–90), former Union general in the Civil War and a participant in the Treaty of Washington negotiations, was U.S. Minister to Great Britain from 1871 to 1876.

559.19 Princess of Wales] Alexandra (1844–1925), daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, became Princess of Wales in 1863 when she married Victoria’s son Albert Edward, Prince of Wales.

560.31–32 Let dogs . . . so.] See note 134.37–38.

560.35–36 Ben Nevis] Mountain in western Scotland and the highest peak in Great Britain.

560.36 Ben Lomond] Mountain on the east side of Loch Lomond.

560.37 Ben Disraeli] Benjamin Disraeli had recently become lord rector of Glasgow University.

561.2 Sairey Gamp] Sarah (Sairey) Gamp, a comic character in Charles Dickens’ Martin Chuzzlewit (1843–44), is a disreputable old Cockney midwife, rotund, red-nosed, and very fond of liquor.

561.8 Grace Darling] The daughter of a lighthouse keeper, Grace Darling (1815–42) helped her father rescue five survivors from the wreck of the Forfarshire off the coast of England on September 6, 1838.

562.1 Those Annual Bills] A parody of Thomas Moore’s poem “Those Evening Bells.”

563.5 Ohio village] The Woman’s Temperance Crusade (1873–74) began in Hillsboro, Ohio, following an address there in December 1873 by health advocate Dr. Dio Lewis.

566.38 15 honest . . . kind] Fifteen members of the 42nd Congress at various times identified themselves with the Liberal Republicans, who accused the Grant administration of tolerating widespread corruption.

572.31–32 “Earl of Ramsgate.”] Ramsgate was a popular resort on the Kent coast of England.

573.9 the comet] In the spring and summer of 1874 a comet was visible in the northern skies over New York.

573.17 looking glass] In seventeenth-century British slang, the term also meant a chamber pot.

573.25–26 the 20th inst.] Astronomers predicted July 20, 1874, to be the date on which the comet would pass closest to the earth and begin to “leave.”

573.30–32 No dogs . . . animals] In the summer of 1874, New York City newspapers were debating the merits of a dog-muzzling law because of many cases of rabies.

574.8 Mr. Hale] Eugene Hale (1836–1918), congressman from Maine from 1869 to 1879, had declined the position of postmaster general in Grant’s Cabinet in 1874.

574.40 District of Columbia] During the spring of 1874 a committee of the House of Representatives investigated corruption in public expenditures in the District of Columbia.

576.17 Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Richardson] Alexander Robey (“Boss”) Shepherd (1835–1902), territorial governor of the District of Columbia, was accused of extravagant spending on public improvements for the city of Washington. Although he was found innocent of personal dishonesty, Congress abolished his office June 20, 1874. William A. Richardson (1821–96) was replaced by Grant as secretary of the treasury in early June 1874, after a House committee issued a “severe condemnation” of his arrangement with John D. Sanborn, an associate of Benjamin Butler’s, for the recovery of unpaid taxes.

576.24 back pay members] Congress had made its last pay raise retroactive. See note 551.10.

576.31 Mr. Coggia] Jerome Coggia of the Marseilles Observatory had first discovered the comet visible in 1874.

578.1–2 A True . . . It] Twain had heard a similar account from a cook with the Crane family at Quarry Farm, where he and his family usually spent the summer.

579.7–8 Blue Hen’s Chickens] Nickname of the Delaware 1st Regiment in the Revolutionary War, who carried with them gamecocks renowned for their fighting qualities bred from a famous blue hen of Kent County. It was later applied to all natives of Delaware.

588.11 the writer] The essay was signed “Th. Bentzon,” the pen name of Marie-Thérèse Blanc (1840–1908), who had recently begun a long, prolific career as a literary critic.

615.31 transit of Venus] The transit of Venus across the face of the sun, last seen in 1769, was due to occur in 1882. Plans by astronomers to observe the event were already making news in 1873–74.

623.14 BRANDRETHS PILLS] Benjamin Brandreth’s (1808–80) popular purgative Vegetable Universal Pills and Life Addition Pills.

624.3 “S. T.—1860—X;”] A common advertisement, meant to be intriguingly cryptic, for P. H. Drake’s Plantation Bitters, a patent medicine.

627.7–8 scientists . . . inscription] Around this time, translations were being attempted of 34 lines of Phoenician-Hebraic characters on the Moabite Stone, erected in 850 B.C. to celebrate a victory in King Mesha of Moab’s revolt against Israel. The stone, discovered in 1868 at Dibon, Jordan, by German clergyman P. A. Klein, is now in the Louvre.

633.8 Catholics . . . Armagh] In August 1873, when Twain was touring Ireland, newspapers reported the incident described here.

639.4–12 “Conductor, . . . passenjare!”] Isaac Bromley of the New York Herald and Noah Brooks of the Times began a craze for doggerel verse with their jingle based on a notice in a horsecar of the Fourth Avenue line, which read “The conductor, when he receives a fare, will immediately punch in the presence of the passenger.”

640.6 Talcott Tower] Talcott’s Tower was a wooden structure about five miles from Hartford, Connecticut.

663.37–38 boke . . . Montaine] Cf. Michel de Montaigne, “On Some Verses of Virgil.”

665.2 bollocks] Testicles.

665.36 Nicholas Throgmorton] Sir Nicholas Throgmorton (1515–71, also spelled Throckmorton) was acquitted in 1554 of complicity in the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyatt.

665.40–666.1 Sr. Walter . . . wince] In 1592, Raleigh secretly married Throgmorton’s daughter Elizabeth, maid of honor to Queen Elizabeth, after making her pregnant. When the queen learned of the marriage, she imprisoned Raleigh in the Tower of London.

666.17–20 Lille . . . Euphuists] Elizabethan author and dramatist John Lyly (c. 1554–1606) wrote Euphues, The Anatomy of Wit (1578) and Euphues and his England (1580). The style and diction he developed in these works became fashionable in the literature and conversation of cultured society in the late 1500s; later “euphuism” came to mean affectedly refined, high-flown, periphrastic language. Historian John Richard Green, in his Short History of the English People (1874), called Elizabeth I “the most affected and detestable of euphuists.”

666.32 Margrette of Navarre] Marguerite of Navarre (1492–1549), author of 72 tales mixing erotica and the code of courtly love; they were collected and published after her death as the Heptameron.

669.38 Koh-i-noor] A large diamond that became part of the British crown jewels after the British annexation of the Punjab in 1849. It weighed 108 carats after its 1852 resetting in England.

673.4–6 Who . . . Twain] Cf. Merchant of Venice, III.ii.327.

674.9 Probabilities] Common heading for weather forecasts in newspapers.

674.17 how many Presidents] Both Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden claimed victory in the 1876 presidential election. Disputed returns from South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, and the controversy over the eligibility of an Oregon elector were referred in January 1877 to a 15-man electoral commission; in a series of 8–7 votes, it ruled in Hayes’s favor, leading to his election by a single electoral vote.

676.7 go . . . more] Cf. John 5:14.

678.7 four years] Lee served in the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1758 to 1775, except for a short period in 1769.

679.28 General Tom Harris’s army] Harris, a prominent resident and political figure in Hannibal, was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Missouri State Guard in 1861.

679.30 Colonel Ralls] John Ralls served as colonel of a volunteer regiment he organized for service against Mexico in 1847.

683.2–3 Captain “Hurricane” Jones,] Based on the eccentric Captain Edgar (Ned) Wakeman (1818–75), who commanded the steamer America when Twain sailed on it from San Francisco to Nicaragua in December 1866.

684.27 business . . . Baal] In I Kings 18.

685.1 Isaac*] Properly, Elijah.

689.18–19 “Sweet By and By,”] Hymn (1868) by Joseph P. Webster (1819–75), with words by Sanford Fillmore Bennett (1836–98).

690.35–36 Man . . . between,] Cf. Job 14:1.

691.3–5 “and next . . . forever,] Cf. Psalm 103:15–16.

696.7–10 Through . . . Soul!] From Holmes’s “The Chambered Nautilus.”

696.16–19 Give . . . latitudes.] From Emerson’s “Mithridates.”

696.25–26 Honor . . . Pau-Puk-Kee-wis—] From Cantos II and XI of Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha.”

696.33–34 Flash . . . days.] From Holmes’s “Mare Rubrum.”

697.12 This . . . primeval.] From the opening of Longfellow’s “Evangeline.”

697.14–15 Here . . . world.] From Emerson’s “Concord Hymn.”

697.22 I am . . . doubt—] From Emerson’s “Brahma.”

697.25–27 They . . . again!] Combines lines from different stanzas of “Brahma”; the original reads “I keep, and pass, and turn again.”

697.34–35 I tire . . . played!] From Emerson’s “Song of Nature,” which reads “I tire of globes and races, . . .”

698.1 right bower] The jack of trumps and the highest card in the game of euchre.

698.3–4 Thanks, . . . taught.] From “The Village Blacksmith.”

698.8–9 God . . . palm!] From “A Voice of the Loyal North.”

698.16 All quiet . . . Potomac] “All quiet along the Potomac tonight”—from the Civil War poem “The Picket Guard,” by Ethel Lynn Beers (1827–79).

698.19–20 “Barbara Frietchie” . . . “Thanatopsis”] “Barbara Frietchie,” by Whittier, the guest of honor; “Biglow Papers,” by James Russell Lowell; “Thanatopsis,” by William Cullen Bryant.

698.24–25 Is . . . breed?] From Emerson’s “Monadnoc.”

698.36–699.2 Lives . . . Time.] From Longfellow’s “A Psalm of Life.”

703.4 Fabulist] George T. Lanigan (1845–86) had recently collected his Fables by G. Washington Aesop (1878), written originally for the New York World.

708.16–17 Noah Brooks . . . Monthly:—] “Personal Recollections of Lincoln” appeared in the February and March 1878 numbers of Scribner’s Monthly.

711.20–22 de Horsey . . . report] The London Times of December 4, 1878, announced the publication of the report of a recent visit to Pitcairn Island by Admiral Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey (1874–1922), commander-in-chief of the Royal Navy in the Pacific 1876–79.

712.24–25 “One . . . acquisition.”] This sentence appears, without the dash and italics, in de Horsey’s report. One American had arrived in 1864, and had established a respected family, but de Horsey may have referred to a shipwrecked sailor who settled briefly on Pitcairn Island in 1875.

720.9–13 Social Democrat . . . unprecision] Two socialist organizations, the General German Workers’ Union and the League of Workers’ Club, united in 1875 to form the German Social Democratic party. In 1878 Chancellor Bismarck sought to link the Social Democrats with two recent unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Emperor William I, although no evidence connected the party with either attack.

722.2 Stomach Club] An informal group of artists and writers that left no written record.

722.30–33 Mr. Brown . . . praise.”] Cf. Fitz-Greene Halleck, “On the Death of Joseph Rodman Drake”: “None knew thee but to love thee, / Nor named thee but to praise.”

724.8 Vendome Column] Bronze column at the center of the Place Vendôme in Paris, 143 feet high and roughly 12 feet in diameter, surmounted by a statue of Napoleon; it was reconstructed in 1873 after being toppled by a group of Communards in 1871.

725.30–31 bubble . . . mouth.] As You Like It, II.ii.152–53: “Seeking the bubble reputation / Even in the cannon’s mouth.”

728.25 fight . . . night] In a May 11, 1864, dispatch to his superiors during the battle of Spotsylvania, Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant wrote: “I . . . propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer.”

729.3 Great Eastern] From 1860 to 1899, the largest steamship of its day, at 18,914 tons.

729.29 illustrious guest] Ulysses S. Grant (1822–85) was the guest of honor.

730.4 new postal regulation] A clarifying order of September 1879 declared unmailable, under the revised Postal Laws and Regulations, all matter that did not use the officially recognized names of post-offices.

731.8 Mr. James] Thomas Lemuel James (1831–1916), postmaster of New York City 1873–81, and postmaster general of the U.S. 1881–82, was noted for his efficiency.

736.36 know] Italicized in the original document, the U.S. Official Postal Guide.

745.7–11 Bingen . . . etc.] Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton’s (1808–77) poem “Bingen on the Rhine” reads “a soft moon,” and “On the red sands of the battlefield.”

745.20 this Club] The Contributors’ Club of the Atlantic Monthly was a department that printed unsigned commentary or brief essays.

748.26 penny missionary affairs] Meetings at which children were encouraged to contribute pennies toward the support of foreign religious missions.

752.23 “He has . . . fight.”] Cf. II Timothy 4:7.

754.36 Dollymount] The Dollymount Long Range Challenge Cup, for which Irish and American rifle marksmen eventually competed at Dollymount, near Dublin.

758.4–8 ‘Während . . . u. dgl.’] Twain quotes a serious warning that during a thunderstorm one should remove metals such as rings, watches, keys, etc. from oneself and not stay in such places where many metals are lying together or are connected to bodies such as a hearth, stove, iron fences, and similar things.

758.29–32 ‘Das . . . könnten.’] Twain quotes a serious warning that ringing (the alarm) for a thunderstorm is very dangerous, since the clock itself as well as the draft created by the ringing and the height of the tower can attract lightning.

758.37 Luftzug] Draft.

761.5 EVENING POST] Twain was citing a news story from the New York Evening Post of September 11, 1880.

762.13 Calistoga] Calistoga Springs, north of San Francisco, had become a resort area.

762.17 Hancock veterans] Major General Winfield Scott Hancock (1824–86), who had been a Union corps commander in the Civil War, was Democratic candidate for president in 1880, running against James Garfield.

765.31–32 Few . . . again.] Cf. Hamlet, I.ii.188.

770.1–2 Rollo’s . . . “Franconia Series”] Jacob Abbott (1803–79) wrote the Rollo series for children (28 volumes beginning 1835) and the Franconia Stories (10 volumes); Olivia read Abbott’s works with the Clemens daughters.

775.10–11 “terrible . . . bummers.”] Cf. Song of Solomon 6:4—“terrible as an army with banners.” General Sherman’s “bummers” foraged for food and supplies for his army during its marches through Georgia and the Carolinas.

776.30–31 a Boston publisher] James R. Osgood, to whose firm Twain was transferring his books.

777.25 a fellow craftsman] Louis Honoré Fréchette (1839–1908), Canadian poet and husband of William Dean Howells’ sister.

778.26 Plains of Abraham] Field adjoining the upper part of the city of Quebec, site of a decisive British victory over the French in 1759 during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63).

778.26–27 spot . . . Wolfe stood] General James Wolfe was the British commander who was killed in the battle. Most accounts relate that he was in a boat crossing the river when he made this famous remark.

779.26 “Qui est donc la?”] “Who’s there?”

779.27 “C’est un fou,”] “Some fool.”

780.1 langue d’Ollendorf] Heinrich Gottfried Ollendorf (1803–65) developed a method of learning languages without a teacher.

783.3–4 William Robinson, Marmaduke Stephenson] William Robinson and Marmaduke Stephenson were Quakers who came to Boston in June 1659 to preach in defiance of a Massachusetts Bay Colony law passed in October 1658 that made such actions punishable by death. They were imprisoned, Robinson was whipped, and they were banished from the colony. Ignoring the order, they preached in Salem and Piscattaway, and then returned to Boston and were arrested. They were condemned by the General Court and hanged in Boston September 27, 1659. Two other Quakers were executed in the colony in 1660 and 1661 under the 1658 law.

783.21 Elizabeth Hooton] Elizabeth Hooton (c. 1600–71), a Quaker and follower of George Fox, began preaching in 1650 in England. She came to Massachusetts in 1661, and twice was imprisoned at Boston and expelled from the colony. She returned a third time in 1662, with a license from the king permitting her to settle. She was imprisoned at Hampton, Dover, and Cambridge for preaching, whipped, and expelled from Massachusetts. She returned a fourth time from Rhode Island and was arrested, whipped, and expelled again. She returned to Massachusetts at least seven more times, and was imprisoned, punished, and expelled on each occasion.

792.38 Social . . . New York] By Mrs. Abby Buchanan Longstreet, first published in 1879.

793.24 The Tombs] Common name for the New York City jail.

794.7 laws . . . Persians] Meaning that a decree issued under such a law could not be revoked; cf. Daniel 6:10 and Esther 1:18 and 8:8.

796.36 Lady Portsmouth] Louise de Kéroulle, Duchess of Portsmouth (1649–1734), was a mistress of Charles II; her son was the ancestor of the dukes of Richmond.

802.17 “Truth . . . prevail”] First recorded in John Gower, Confessio Amantis (c. 1390).

802.22 monument . . . anesthesia] The Ether Monument by John Quincy Adams Ward honored Dr. William Thomas Green Morton (1819–68), who demonstrated the use of ether anesthesia during an operation in 1846. Williamson Crawford Long (1815–78) of Georgia had used the method as early as 1842, but his work was not made public until after Morton’s demonstration.

803.30–31 Robertson’s . . . Rest] Several series of sermons by the English divine Frederick William Robertson (1816–53) were published between 1855 and 1870. Richard Baxter (1615–91), an English Nonconformist, wrote The Saint’s Everlasting Rest (1650).

804.1 The Stolen White Elephant] Many details of this story are borrowed from newspaper accounts of the search for the body of wealthy New York merchant Alexander T. Stewart, which was buried April 13, 1878, and stolen from a vault in Weehawken Cemetery on November 7, 1878. Efforts by police and private detectives failed to recover the body, and the family attempted to stop further publicity by issuing a false statement in January 1879 that a ransom of $50,000 had been paid and the body returned. In July 1880, an undisclosed sum was paid and Stewart’s body was recovered.

806.6 Jumbo] Name of the African male elephant acquired by P. T. Barnum from the London Zoological Society in 1882.

808.21 Doré Bibles] Gustave Doré (1832–83) lavishly illustrated many books, including the Bible (1866).

818.30 repeaters] Persons voting more than once at the same election.

820.9–11 badge . . . SLEEP.”] The Pinkerton Dectective Agency had adopted the “staring, unblinking eye” as its logo for constant vigilance. The motto commonly appeared beneath a large eye on the cover of Allan Pinkerton’s books.

825.3 Mr. Per—] Charles E. Perkins was a Hartford attorney, who often acted as Twain’s business agent, and a member of the Monday Evening Club, where Twain read this essay.

827.10 Pinafore’s time] Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore was first produced in the United States in 1878; it contains the famed “What, never? / Hardly ever!” refrain.

832.11 Mr. Bernand] Probably British playwright William Bayle Bernard (1807–75).

835.10–11 touches . . . kin.] Cf. Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, III..iii.175.

841.29 Pond’s Extract] Pond’s “Universal Pain Extractor” or liniment had been sold widely since 1848.

845.27–28 Years . . . him,] Twain had instigated a petition for erecting a monument to Adam in 1879, but political allies suspected a hoax or feared the ridicule of newspaper wits.

847.4–5 Bartholdi Pedestal Fund] “The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World” by French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904) was formally presented to the American people on July 4, 1884; it was erected on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor on a pedestal paid for by public contributions, and was unveiled on October 28, 1886.

847.29 6,000 years] Some editions of the King James Version of the Bible used a biblical chronology developed by Irish bishop James Ussher (1581–1656) that set the year of creation at 4004 B.C. The chronology underwent various refinements over time.

849.5–6 Mugwumps] A derisive term, defiantly embraced by the reform faction of the Republican party that in 1884 abandoned presidential candidate James G. Blaine and supported the Democratic nominee, Grover Cleveland.

849.22 1876] The Republican nominating convention in June 1876 had swung away from Blaine, previously considered the front-runner and the leader after the initial ballot, because of charges of corruption.

851.3 Mulligan letters] James Mulligan, a bookkeeper for Warren Fisher, Jr., of Boston, had acquired letters written by James G. Blaine to Fisher between 1864 and 1876. The letters suggested that Blaine, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, had accepted favors for legislation aiding the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad. Blaine read the letters on the floor of the House and defended himself against the allegations in June 1876.

856.2 one . . . man] Henry Leavitt Goodwin (1821–99), of Hartford, for many years protested against irregularities in the Hartford transit system and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company.

856.7 Asylum street] A major downtown street in Hartford.

856.17 Mrs. Grundy] Self-conscious embodiment of respectability in the comedy Speed the Plough (1798), by British dramatist Thomas Morton (1764–1838).

857.1–2 Hartford clergyman] Probably Matthew Brown Riddle (1836–1916), minister of the Dutch Reformed Church and professor at Hartford Theological Seminary.

857.13 Great-heart] In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Part II (1684), Great-heart is the servant of Christian’s wise Interpreter who overcomes monsters and escorts Christiana and her children to their destination.

857.36 Beecher . . . crime,] Theodore Tilton, a former member of Plymouth Church, sued Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) for $100,000 damages on August 20, 1874, charging that Beecher had committed adultery with his wife. Most of the members of Plymouth Church supported Beecher; the widely publicized trial ended in a hung jury, and hearings conducted by a council of Congregational churches later concluded that Beecher was innocent of the charges. After endorsing Grover Cleveland in 1884, however, Beecher suffered ridicule in the press, heckling at his speeches, and threats from church members.

857.40 Hammond Trumbull] James Hammond Trumbull (1821–97), noted historian, bibliographer, and philologist, was a member of Twain’s circle in Hartford.

859.2 Tile Club] An informal group of artists in New York City who conducted meetings and dinners in their studios on Wednesday evenings from 1877 to 1884.

861.9–10 Eli . . . idols] Ephraim was joined to his idols in Hosea 4:17.

867.38 Colonel Ralls’s] See note 679.30.

868.13 Colonel Brown] Hanceford Brown, an early settler in Ralls County, served as county treasurer from 1844 until 1862.

868.14 Buena Vista and Molina del Rey] In the Mexican War, General Zachary Taylor and his army defeated Santa Anna and a larger Mexican force at Buena Vista, February 22–23, 1847. At Molino del Rey, outside Mexico City, U.S. troops under General William J. Worth suffered heavy casualties while capturing Mexican fortifications on September 8, 1847.

870.36 out West . . . ago] Referring to his visit to Hannibal in 1882.

876.27 citizen colonel’s] An officer without a regular army background, sometimes elected by a local militia or volunteer regiment.

881.1 Ab Grimes] Grimes left a memoir, published as Absalom Grimes, Confederate Mail Runner (1926).

882.28 Bull Run] Unseasoned Union volunteers had fled after their defeat at the first battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861.

883.11–12 King of Dahomey] Dahomey in West Africa was ruled by King Gelele from 1858 to 1889; his reign was marked by aggression toward his neighbors, vigorous encouragement of the slave trade, and persecution of Dahomian Christians.

883.15–16 high priest . . . Emperor,] Peter the Great had replaced the patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church with a synod headed by a procurator, or lay official, under control of the czar in 1721. Alexander III, czar 1881–94, instituted many repressive measures including the persecution of religious nonconformists and minorities, especially Jews.

883.25–26 Richard II . . . slaves] During the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 in England, King Richard II (1367–1400) met with the insurgents and made major concessions that were immediately revoked after the slaying of their leader, Wat Tyler.

886.3–5 Lowell . . . Senate] In January 1886, Lowell (and Twain) had testified before a committee of the U.S. Senate.

886.5 sixty years] In 1826–27, James Fenimore Cooper and others had worked unsuccessfully to revise the copyright law.

886.9 foreman . . . office] Speaking for the Typographical Union, he testified in favor of a bill prohibiting the sale of books not printed in the United States; but Twain invented the speech given here.

886.28 NOT do] The foreman insisted that no books copyrighted elsewhere should be sold in the United States.

887.5–6 Manifesto of demands] The Knights of Labor adopted a Manifesto of Wrongs and Demands in 1878.

892.4 Pond’s Extract] See note 841.29.

897.24 spirit-level] A “level,” or device (with a bubble in non-freezing liquid) for determining a horizontal plane.

900.4 Andrew Langdon] Andrew Langdon (1835–1919) was Olivia Langdon Clemens’ first cousin, but he had little contact with the Clemens family. His businesses included coal, banking, and metals.

903.22 John Wanamaker] In August 1886, Twain had lost a suit to enjoin Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia from selling copies of Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant (2 vols., 1885–86) below the subscription price. Grant’s Memoirs was published by Mark Twain’s publishing firm, Charles L. Webster & Co.

906.6–8 Matthew Arnold . . . English.] In a review of Grant’s Memoirs published in Murray’s Magazine for January-February 1887, Arnold had criticized Grant’s improper use of “shall,” “will,” “should,” and “would.”

907.30 General Fry] Former Union general James Barnet Fry (1827–94) had been involved in publishing Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, in which excerpts from Grant’s Memoirs had appeared. He immediately responded in the North American Review by criticizing Arnold’s own prose.

908.21 “Let . . . peace.”] See note 283.3.

911.5 Well . . . servant.] Cf. Matthew 25:21.

913.15 my daily paper] The Hartford Courant.

913.38 Mulligan letters] See note 851.3.

915.31 Kanaka] See note 84.7.

918.31 Mr. Depew] Chauncy Mitchell Depew (1834–1928), politician, attorney for Cornelius Vanderbilt, and popular after-dinner speaker, was considered one of Twain’s leading competitors as a wit and raconteur; they often sparred at banquets.

922.14–15 General Hawley] Joseph Roswell Hawley (1826–1905) of Hartford, a general in the Civil War, was governor of Connecticut in 1866, and then served in the House of Representatives (1872–75, 1879–81) and the Senate (1881–1905).

922.22 Prince of Wales] Albert Edward (1841–1910), later Edward VII, was well-known for his high standards of dress.

923.17 Sloane of Princeton] William Milligan Sloane (1850–1928) had been professor of history and political science at Princeton University since 1883.

927.3 MATTHEWS] Brander Matthews (1852–1929), a literary and dramatic critic, author, and playwright, was active in literary circles, a founder of the Authors’ Club in New York, and prominently associated with its offshoot organization, the American Copyright League (founded 1883 and later called the Authors’ League). Twain’s essay followed Matthews’ article in the September 1887 issue of the New Princeton Review.

928.29 “Brander Matthews, lawyer,] Matthews had received a bachelor of law degree from Columbia in 1873, but had devoted himself to literary pursuits since the mid-70s.

929.5 E. H. House] Edward Howard House (1836–1901) was a journalist, Civil War correspondent, musician, and editor and publisher in Japan; Twain had known him since 1867.

932.6–7 John Habberton] Author and editor for the New York Herald, Habberton (1842–1921) had written the popular Helen’s Babies (1876), a humorous sentimental novel, and fifteen other books by 1888.

933.36 Charleston earthquake] The earthquake in Charleston, South Carolina, on August 31, 1886, destroyed many homes and took sixty lives.

934.1–4 Why, . . . now.] Habberton had published most of his work serially in a magazine before arranging first publication as a book in England.

937.25 Rochester] Presumably Rochester, New York, home of the Institute of Technology and a university and a center for the manufacture of precision instruments.

942.2 Max O’Rell] Pen name of French humorist and author Leon Paul Blouet (1848–1903).

942.7–11 Sir Lepel Griffin . . . Russia.”] Sir Lepel Henry Griffin (1840–1908) was a British colonial official and the author of several books on India. He wrote about the United States in The Great Republic (1884), from which Twain’s quotation is taken.

943.22 Tom . . . Western] Characters in Henry Fielding’s History of Tom Jones, A Foundling (1749).

944.8 Mr. Arnold] Referring to Matthew Arnold’s recent essay “Civilisation in the United States” (April 1888).

945.3 Your inquiry] Twain had responded to an inquiry that would result in George Bainton’s compilation The Art of Authorship: Literary Reminiscences, Methods of Work, and Advice to Young Beginners (1890).

947.3 THE SUN] A New York daily newspaper.