“I CAN FEEL THE TWINKLE of his eye in his handshake,” a 14-year-old Helen Keller proclaimed in the first of many touching meetings she had with the instantly enchanted Samuel L. Clemens, aka Mark Twain. The transformative occasion was a luncheon in honor of the young marvel, who had just arrived as a scholarship student at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City. Twain was so impressed by “this miraculous creature, this wonder of all the ages” that he became her lifelong mentor. Though himself a bankrupt benefactor, he successfully implored his wealthy friends and fans to support Helen’s education, including tuition at Harvard.
It was an unbroken mutual admiration society from the day they met. They shared a lifelong love of learning, wicked sense of humor, and confidence in their belief systems, which often ran counter to conventional wisdom. Literally and figuratively, they touched each other’s souls.
