University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

A Critical Study Of Twain'S 'The Gilded Age'

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A Critical Study Of Twain'S 'The Gilded Age'

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Content A CRITICAL STUDY OF TWAIN'S THE GILDED AGE by B ryant M orey F re n c h A D is se rta tio n P re s e n te d to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In P a r tia l F u lfillm e n t of the R eq u irem en ts for the D egree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (English) June 1961 I I 72-6053 FRENCH, Bryant Morey, 1916- A CRITICAL STUDY OF TWAIN'S THE GILDED AGE. University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1961 Language and Literature, general University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED UNIVERSITY O F SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PARK LOS ANGELES 7 . CALIFORNIA p h . D £ 6 / FS'/'S This dissertation, written by ............JBx.y.ant.MQr.e.y. JFxanch............................... under the direction of hxs.....Dissertation Com mittee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Dean of the Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of D O C T O R OF P H IL O S O P H Y Dean Date. J.une,...1.9.6.1............................... ^ ......... DISSERTATION COMMITTEE Chairman PLEASE NOTE: Some Pages have i n d i s t i n c t p r i n t . Filmed as r e c e iv e d . UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS CONTENTS C hapter P age PA R T I THE NOVEL IS BORN I. THE E X PE C T A N T F A T H E R .................................................... . 2 II. A LITERARY B U R L E S Q U E .................................................... 35 III. THE C O L L A B O R A T IO N ........................................................... 79 PA R T II ROMAN A C L E F AND EXPOSE IV. SENATOR D IL W O R T H Y ............................................................ 113 V. L A U R A ............................................................................................ . 130 VI. OTHER PERSONS, EVENTS, AND T H IN G S ................... 157 PA R T III THE LARGER SATIRE VII. THE CLEM ENS B A C K G R O U N D .......................................... 193 VIII. THE HISTORICAL G E S T A L T ................................................. 274 EPILO G UE: THE PLA Y CO LO NEL S E L L E R S ........................... 338 A PPE N D IC ES A l: B ritis h C o p y r ig h t.......................................................................... 361 A2: The " F a k e " T i t l e - p a g e ............................................................. 364 A3: The Date of the B ritis h E d i t i o n ............................................. 367 B: The Gilded Age M a n u s c r i p t ................................................... 370 C: Colonel S e lle r s ’ R a ilro a d M a p ............................................. 376 D l: The C h ap ter M o tto e s .................................................................... 378 D2: The Outline of The G ilded A g e ............................................. 382 B IB L IO G R A P H Y ............................................................................................ 389 ii PA R T I THE NOVEL IS BORN C H A P T E R I THE E X PE C T A N T FA T H E R I co n sid e r it one of the m o st asto n ish in g novels th a t e v e r w as w ritten . . . . So w ro te M a rk Tw ain to the A m e ric a n people in the colum ns of the New Y ork D aily G ra p h ic , A pril 17, 1873.^ The novel w as The Gilded A ge, w ritte n by Tw ain in co llab o ratio n w ith C h arles Dudley W arn e r, the m a n u sc rip t of w hich they had ju s t com pleted. E a rly the next m onth C lem ens, acco m p an ied by his wife, Olivia, and h is fo u rte e n -m o n th -o ld daughter, Susy, left fo r England. He had planned the trip the p rev io u s y e a r as a pro lo n g ed second v is it to a country w ith w hich he had had as yet but s h o rt acquaintance; but a m o re p r a c tic a l p u rp o se w as a lso being serv ed . Having ru n the r is k of a le g ally invalid B ritish copyright for his la s t book, Roughing It, he had decided to take no chances w ith the new novel, w hich w as to be published sim u ltan e o u sly in the United L e tte r fro m M a rk Tw ain to the E d ito r of the Daily G rap h ic, in M erle Johnson, A B ibliography of the W orks of M a rk Tw ain, re v . and enl. (New Y ork and London, 1935), pp. 20-22; cf. M a rk T w ain's L e t te r s , a r r . A lb e rt Bigelow P ain e (New York, 1917) (h e re a fte r cited as L e t te r s ), I, 205. 2 D eL ancey F erg u so n , M ark Twain: M an and Legend (Indianapo lis and New York, 1943), pp. 171-172. C lem ens had r e g is te r e d Rough ing It in the U nited Kingdom thro u g h the E n g lish p u b lish e r Routledge, a p re c a u tio n th at su ccee d ed in d isco u rag in g the notorious London p ira te John C am den H otten fro m re p rin tin g it as he had The Innocents A b ro ad , though the copyright did not m e e t the re q u ire m e n ts of B ritis h law. 2 States and England, but be safely re sid in g in London w hen the book w as published; fo r in the days before the B ern e Convention sim ultaneous p ublication of an A m e ric a n book in the United Kingdom did not a s s u r e p ro te c tio n w ithout the p h y sical p re s e n c e of the author in a B ritis h r e s i- 3 dence on the publication date. C lem ens w as u n d er the im p re s s io n that The Gilded Age w as scheduled for e a rly fa ll publication and his plans for 4 the com bined p le a su re and b u sin e ss tr ip h ad b een m ad e accordingly. This supposition, how ever, p ro v e d to be little m o re than a hope. As la te as the end of S ep tem b er or the e a rly p a r t of O ctober, M rs . C le m ens, w ritin g hom e, re p o rte d , " T h e re h as not one sheet of M r. C le m e n s's p ro o f com e y et."^ At the suggestion of B ritis h frie n d s C lem ens m ade See le tte r fro m M rs. C lem ens fro m London [S eptem ber or O c to b e r] 1873, cited by A lb ert Bigelow P ain e , M a rk Twain: A B iography (New Y ork and London, 1912), II, 489: . . if he [C lem ens] goes hom e b efore the book is p u blished h e re he w ill lo se his c o p y rig h t.1 1 1 (F o r a d isc u ssio n of the B ritis h copyright of The G ilded Age see A ppendix Al.) “ ^T w ain's le tte r to the Daily G raphic said, "It w ill be p ublished e a rly in the F a ll . . . " (Johnson, p. 22). In a le tte r to his frie n d M rs. F a irb a n k s on A p ril 16, C lem ens said, "T he book w ill issu e in th e end of su m m e r (M ark Tw ain to M rs. F a irb a n k s , ed. Dixon W ecter [San M a r i no, Calif., 1949] [h e re a fte r cited as F a irb a n k s L e t te r s ], p. 171). The New Y ork T ribune said "about the end of the S u m m e r" (A pril 19, p. 6, col. 6). R eporting cancellatio n of M ark T w ain 's scheduled B elfast le c tu re p r io r to his d e p a rtu re fo r the United S tates, the B elfast N o rth e rn W hig, Ja n u a ry [8?, 1874], said: "H is v is it to England, we m a y m ention, w as not m ad e w ith the object of giving le c tu re s , but to se c u re , by p e r sonal re sid e n c e , the copyright of a new novel, 'T he Gilded A ge,' w hich h as ju st been iss u e d in London" (clipping d ated T hursday, Ja n u a ry - - [m issing] in the M a rk Tw ain P a p e rs , U n iv ersity of C alifo rn ia L ib ra ry , B erk eley [h e re a fte r cited as M T P l). C lem ens sailed for hom e on Ja n u a r y 13 (Paine, II, 500). ^ P aine, II, 489. In a letcer to the p u b lish e r fro m E dinburgh, July 27, C lem ens ask s: "Shall I look fo r G ilded Age sh eets p re tty soon?" (Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry ; ty p e s c rip t in M TP; copyright (jc) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Company). The delay is co n firm ed in a le tte r fro m C lem ens the sam e day to tha P h ila d elp h ia le c tu re agent T. B. Pugh: "I use of the extended w aiting p e rio d by le c tu rin g in London in o rd e r to build not only a " la rg e r but a m o re enviable rep u tatio n " before the book should appear.^* A fter a few nights of le c tu re s in m id -O c to b e r, he sa ile d for hom e w ith his fam ily on the tw e n ty -firs t but im m ed iately r e - 7 tu rn ed to London to continue the le c tu re s e r ie s and re a d proof sh eets. 0 His p ro o fread in g continued until the m iddle of D ecem ber. The book 9 w as finally published a few days before C h ristm a s . have got to re m a in in London till the 25th of O ctober to see m y book through the E nglish p r e s s . As this is b u sin ess & c a n 't be avoided, I thought I had b e tte r le t you know" (M orse Collection, Yale U n iv ersity L ib rary ; ty p e s c rip t in M TP; copyright (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain C om pany); cf. Chicago T rib u n e, O ctober 12, p. 10: "'T h e Gilded Age' . . . w ill p ro b ab ly be re a d y at the end of O ctober or e a rly in N o v em b er." T h ere is, b e sid e s, in tern al evidence th at fall publication had o rig in ally been planned, fo r the f ir s t edition had two is s u e s , the f ir s t w ith a p u b li cation date of 1873, the second w ith 1874, indicating a sudden postdating to accom m odate delayed publication. (See Jaco b Blanck, "The Gilded Age: A C ollation," P u b lis h e rs ' W eekly, 138:187, July 20, 1940.) The c o n tra c t w ith the p u b lish e r, the A m e ric a n Publishing C om pany, w as flexible on this sc o re : The p a rty of the second p a r t a g re e s to p ublish said book as soon as p ra c tic a b le fo r them to do so, com m encing upon the w ork w ith out [sic] u n n e c e ss a ry delay. . . . (Copy of c o n tra c t in M TP, signed by C lem ens, W arn e r, and E lish a B liss, J r ., [for the Company] and dated M ay 8, 1873.) ^P aine, II, 489, M rs. C lem en s' le tte r . The le c tu re s had been p ro m ise d the y e a r before: "M a rk Tw ain w rite s to a London p a p e r as follows: 'S ir--W ith your kind p e rm is sio n , I d e s ire d to say to those s o cie tie s in London and other cities of G reat B rita in u n d er w hose a u s pices I have p a rtly p ro m is e d to le c tu re , that I am called hom e by a cable te le g ra m . I shall spend, w ith m y fam ily, the g re a te s t p a r t of next y e a r h e re , and m a y be able to le c tu re a m onth during the autum n upon such scientific topics as I know le a s t about, and m ay consequently feel le ss tra m m e le d in dilating upon'" (undated clipping in C le m en s' s c r a p book for 1872-73 in M TP). ^Paine, II, 490. Q The Love L e tte rs of M a rk T w ain, ed. Dixon W ecter (New York, 1949) (h e re a fte r cited as Love L e t te r s ), p. 364. 9 P aine, II, 500. C opyright deposit copies w e re re c e iv e d at the The G ilded Age m ade its a p p ea ran ce in the United States in the m id st of the fin an cial c r is is of 1873. C lem ens, who had sailed fro m the U nited S tates during the initial panic in the A m e ric a n stock m a r k e t ^ and m u st have re a d of the se v e re S ep tem b er c r a s h and have w itn e ssed the te m p o ra ry London panic in N ovem ber, w as n a tu ra lly fearfu l of the ad v e rse effect of the b u sin ess c r is is upon s a l e s .^ N e v e rth e le ss, by the tim e he had re tu rn e d fro m London, at the end of Ja n u a ry 1874, the book w as in its th ird p rin tin g and 26,000 copies had been s o ld .^ in a le tte r to his re c e n tly a cq u ired frie n d Dr. John Brown, author of the engaging dog s to ry Rab and His F r ie n d s , dated fro m H artfo rd , F e b ru a ry 28, he w rote: The fe a rfu l financial panic h it the book heavily, fo r we pub lish e d it in the m id st of it. But n e v e rth e le s s in the 8 w eeks that have now elap se d since the day we published, we have sold 40,000 copies; w hich gives L 3,000 ro y alty to be divided betw een the au th o rs. This is re a lly the la rg e s t tw o -m o n th s' sale w hich any A m e ric a n book has L ib ra ry of C o n g ress, Ja n u a ry 6, 1874 (Blanck, p. 187). ^ I n the clippings of h eadlines fro m the new spaper of A p ril 16 w hich M ark Tw ain had in c o rp o ra te d into his Daily G raphic le tte r the next day the fifth and sixth item s a re "W all S tre e t P anicky" and "Two F a ilu re s , and M oney at 150 P e r Cent" (Johnson, p. 21). ^ F o r the financial c r is is of 1873 see C lem ent Ju g lar, A B rief H isto ry of P a n ic s . . . in the United S ta te s , 4th ed. (New Y ork and L on don, 1916), pp. 93-101; H. M. Hyndman, C o m m e rc ia l C ris e s of the N ineteenth C entury (London and New York, 1902), pp. 99-127. l^ P a in e , II, 500. The th re e p rin tin g s, or im p re s sio n s, of the f ir s t edition a re not to be confused w ith the two, differently dated issu e s of this edition. It is p o ssib le th at the second issu e (1874) coincided w ith the second prin tin g , B liss having by then re a liz e d th at d istrib u tio n to w e s te rn p a r ts of the United States would extend w ell into the new y e a r. A lm a B orth M a rtin (A V ocabulary Study of the "G ilded A ge" [W ebster G roves, M o., 1930], p. 15) is in a c c u ra te in speaking of "the re a l f ir s t edition of 1873" and "the second edition of 1873" in re fe rrin g to in te r m ed iate copies collated fro m differen t sta te s of the sam e edition. Cf. Blanck, p. 188. 6 e v e r achieved (unless one ex cep ts the c h e a p e r editions of Uncle T o m 's Cabin). The a v e ra g e p r ic e of our book is 16 sh illin g s a copy --U n c le Tom w as 2 sh illin g s a copy. But fo r the p an ic our sale w ould have been doubled, I v e rily believe. I do not b eliev e the sale w ill u ltim a te ly go o ver 100,000 copies. C onsidering the econom ic d e p re s s io n during w hich The G ilded Age w as p u b lis h e d ,^ sa le s w e re ex cep tio n ally good (as C lem en s h im s e lf ad m its above). Only a y e a r a fte r publication, indeed, 58,000 c o p ie s --o v e r half of C lem en s' e stim a te of u ltim a te s a le s - - r e p o r te d ly had b e e n sold, yielding him an e s tim a te d incom e to th a t point of n e a rly $ 2 5 ,0 0 0 .^ It m ay se e m s u rp ris in g in the light of m id -tw e n tie th cen tu ry m a rk e tin g p ro c e d u re s and shopping m o re s th a t a book p u b lish e d im m e d iate ly before C h ris tm a s , w hen p re s u m a b ly the C h ris tm a s buying ru s h w as p ra c tic a lly over, should have ach iev ed w hat w e re in th a t day r e c o r d sales in so s h o rt a tim e . To effect c o m p a ra b le s a le s in the book b u sin e ss to d a y -- s a le s n e c e ss ita tin g th re e p rin tin g s in the f ir s t m o n th --a hopefully p o p u la r novel such as The G ilded Age th at is in tended for the C h ris tm a s tra d e w ould have to be on d isp la y in the book s to re s , w ith the acc o m p an im en t of a d v e rtisin g fa n fa re , by m id -O c to b e r. The fact is th at a la rg e netw o rk of agents and th e ir s a le s m e n had fo r m onths been taking o rd e rs , p lacing a d v e rtis e m e n ts in s m a ll-to w n n ew sp ap ers in re m o te c o rn e rs of the U nited S tates, and seek in g out 1 ^L e t te r s , I, 215. ^ O u t of a to tal U nited S tates population of a little over 40,000, 000 the unem ployed w e re e s tim a te d at 3,000,000, and in d u stria l and c o m m e rc ia l stag n atio n p re v a ile d in both the E a s t and the W est (Hynd- m an, pp. 116-118). ^ P h i l i p S. F o n e r, M a rk Twain: Social C ritic (New York, 1958), p. 80. p ro sp e c tiv e c u s to m e rs am ong all c la s s e s of the population. F o r The Gilded Age w as a su b sc rip tio n book, and su b sc rip tio n bookselling w as in its heyday in A m e ric a . Not only that, but M ark T w ain's b e s t- s e lle r The Innocents A b ro ad , published a scan t four y e a rs before, and h is a l m o s t equally p o p u lar Roughing It, published only a y e a r b efore, had both b een su b sc rip tio n books and, to g e th er w ith T w ain's fa r-flu n g re p u ta tio n as a le c tu r e r and w rite r, had e sta b lish e d a re a d y m a rk e t in the c a n v a s s e r s ' te r r i to r ie s . S ubscription books, the tra d itio n a l backbone of c o m m e rc ia l book publishing e n te rp ris e , had been f i r s t sold, in N orth A m e ric a , in the e a rly Colonial perio d , and the developm ent of su b sc rip tio n publishing in th e E n g lish colonies and the p o st-R e v o lu tio n a ry United States had p a r a l le led th a t in G re a t B rita in and continental E urope. In the United States p ublishing by su b sc rip tio n had begun along two independent lin es, u n d e rw ritin g in advance by p atro n s (the e a r l ie r form ) and peddling fro m door to door a fte r publication. The la tte r p ra c tic e , w hich had begun w ith th e chapbook p e d d le rs of the Colonial perio d , w as, acco rd in g to F ra n k L u th er M ott, eventually a s s im ila te d into the s u b sc rip tio n p ro je c ts b ecau se tr a v e l ing agents becam e n e c e s s a r y to get the s u b sc rip tio n p le d g e s --a n d th e re w as little d ifferen ce betw een a book-agent selling books a l re a d y p rin te d and a s o lic ito r selling books fro m a p ro sp e c tu s in a d vance of publication. S u b scrip tio n bookselling developed rap id ly in the U nited States a fte r the Civil W ar and em ployed an a rm y of book agents n u m bering m an y thousands who s k irm ish e d through e v e ry city, town and h am let, a rm e d w ith th e ir p ro s p e c tu s e s ^ G o ld e n M ultitudes (New York, 1947), p. 156. showing v ario u s sty le s of binding and containing p e rs u a s iv e t e s t i m o n ials to b ack up the c are fu lly m e m o riz e d sales a rg u m e n ts of the so lic ito r s. F o r the m o st p a rt, the peddling of su b sc rip tio n books did not in te r f e r e se rio u s ly w ith the re ta il boo k sto re tra d e , for th e re w as a v a st te r r i to r y in the fro n tie r United S tates only scan tily se rv e d by re ta il book outlets and the title s c an v a ssed for w e re g en era lly not available in 1 Q b o o k sto res. "Gift books and se ts of co llected w orks of an author, textbooks of an encyclopedic c h a ra c te r, and c h ild re n 's publications 19 w e re the re g u la r s to c k -in -tra d e of su b sc rip tio n bookselling." A kind of black m a rk e t, how ever, did exist, and both the d istrib u tin g agent and the individual c a n v a s s e r em ployed by him would on occasio n m ake e x t r a c o m m issio n s by selling su b sc rip tio n books at a discount to 17 H e rb e rt H ungerford, How P u b lis h e rs Win (W ashington, D.C., 1931), p. 281. W riting a fte r the tu rn of the century, R o b ert S terling Y ard (The P u b lis h e r [Boston, 1913], p. 98) states: ". . . in th e se a m a z ing days the fa m ilia r c ru d ities of the old su b sc rip tio n b u sin ess a re to be w itn e ssed only in the back w a te rs of the sw ift c u rre n t of u n iv e rsa l cu ltiv atio n .1 1 "An advance s a le s m a n 's dum m y, or p ro sp e c tu s, c o n sists of a selectio n of re p re s e n ta tiv e pages fro m the book offered fo r sale, bound in a sam p le binding. It u su ally contains fro n tisp iece, title -p a g e , a group of w e ll-illu s tra te d pages, and, on the inner back cover, sp ecim en spines of the d iffere n t bindings available. A lso, blank pages w e re bound into the back of the p ro sp e c tu s fo r the ag en t's [c a n v a s s e r's ? ] conven ience in taking down the n am es, a d d re s s e s , and specifications of copies o rd e re d " (Denis Woodfield, "The 'F a k e ' T itle -p a g e of 'T he G ilded A ge': A S olution,1 1 P a p e rs of the B ibliographical Society of A m e ric a , 50:295, 3rd Q uar. 1956). 18 H ellm ut L ehm ann-H aupt, The Book in A m e ric a (New York, 1939), p. 202. A ccording to Donald Sheehan (This Was Publishing [Bloom ington, Ind., 1952], p. 152) F ra n k C om pton's a s s e rtio n that "probably ninety p e rc e n t of the book b u y ers of that tim e n e v e r en te re d a b o o k sto re" cannot be p ro v en sta tis tic a lly . Cf. F [rank] E. Compton, S ubscription Books (New York, 1939), p. 36. ^ L e h m a n n -H a u p t, p. 201; Compton, p. 23. 20 b o o k sto res in violation of c o n tra c ts w ith the p u b lish e rs. The two fo rm s of re ta ilin g w ere, n e v e rth e le s s , com petitive and m u tu ally p re d a to ry , p a rtic u la rly w hen publishing h ouses chose to u ti lize both m ethods sim ultaneously. P u b lis h e rs could not se ll thro u g h b o o k sto res w ithout handicapping the sa le s of th e ir own agents; con v e rs e ly , b o o k s e lle rs com plained w hen they could not c a r r y title s on th e ir sh elv es a dem and fo r w hich had b een c re a te d by the itin e ra n t can- 21 v a s s e r s . The fact th a t a num ber of p u b lish e rs, in o rd e r to obtain the fa r la r g e r m a rk e t re a c h e d through can v assin g , sold th e ir books exclu- 22 siv ely by the su b sc rip tio n m ethod m ade it difficult enough fo r the re g u la r b o o k s e lle rs. The fu rth e r fact th a t the w orks of som e of the m o s t p o p u lar living au th o rs w ere sold only by this m ethod heightened 20 Downing P a lm e r O 'H a rra , "S u b scrip tio n Books and T h eir P u b lis h e rs ," P u b lis h e rs ' Weekly, 115:2346, M ay 18, 1929. "The pub lis h e r s had no co n tro l over the sales m eth o d s a fte r the books left the shop. If u n fair m ethods w ere re p o rte d , the p u b lish e r w ould r e f e r the com plainant to the g e n e ra l-a g e n t, who could do as he thought b e s t" (ib id ., 115:2253, M ay 11, 1929)- F o r an in te re s tin g firs t-h a n d account of such m ethods see F a c ts by a W oman (Oakland, Calif., 1881), pp. 150- 154 et p a s s im . F o r th e ir effect upon the p ro b le m of collating e a rly e d i tions of The G ilded Age see Woodfield, pp. 292-296; F ra n k C. W illson, "T h at G ilded Age Again: An A ttem pt to Unmuddle the M y ste ry of the F ifty -S ev en V a ria n ts," P a p e rs of the Bibliog. Soc. of A m e r ., 37:141- 156, 2nd Q uar. 1943; and Blanck, p. 188. Cf. Johnson, p. 154. (F o r e v i dence of the bootlegging of The Gilded Age see Appendix A2.) 21 O 'H a rra , p. 2346. Cf. L ehm ann-H aupt, p. 202. A ccording to A llan N evins (The E m e rg e n c e of M odern A m e ric a , 1866-1878 [New Y ork, 1928], pp. 237-238) "even the o ld -e sta b lish e d p u b lish e rs, in o rd e r to re a c h the public in g re a t a re a s b are of b o o k sto re s, u sed the su b sc rip tio n p la n ." Appleton, for exam ple, had W illiam C ullen B ry an t edit P ic tu re s q u e A m e ric a , of w hich n e a rly a m illio n sets w e re sold; F o rd and Co. sold 80,000 copies of H orace G re e le y 's autobiography and B ry a n t's L ib ra ry of P o e try and Song. ^ L e h m a n n -H a u p t, p. 201. 10 23 th e ir a la rm . M a rk Tw ain w as one of th e se au th o rs. Sam uel C lem ens w as a convinced advocate of su b sc rip tio n book selling for the rig h t kind of book. Tw elve y e a rs a fte r The G ilded Age ap p e a re d he w as to p ro v e his point by his sp e c ta c u la r s u c c e s s in pub lishing, through his own firm , W e b ste r and Company, the tw o-volum e M em o irs of G en eral U ly sses G rant, a high point in the annals of the book t r a d e . ^ He re a liz e d , n e v e rth e le s s , that "m ighty few books" that can be c la ss ifie d "under the h ead of lite r a tu r e w ill se ll by s u b sc rip - 25 tio n ." A sam pling of su b sc rip tio n book title s of the tim e picked at random b e a rs this out: Cuba, w ith P e n and P e n c il, the Life of B a rn u m , W om an's P ilg rim a g e in the Holy L an d , G en eral M cC le llan 's Golden S tates, or W est of the Rocky M o u n tain s, Knots U ntied (a book by a New 26 Y ork detective), W illiam H. S ew ard 's Voyage A round the W o rld . His ^ O 'H a r r a , p. 2346. Cf. Johnson, p. 154. 24 In w ritin g of this publishing p ro je c t H enry Seidel Canby c h a r a c te riz e s its u se of s u b sc rip tio n bookselling as "au d acio u s" (T u rn W est, T u rn E a s t [Boston, 1951], p. 188). The te rm s e e m s u n w a rra n te d in view of the developm ent of s u b sc rip tio n publishing at the tim e. H isto ria n s of bookselling and publishing alm o st in v ariab ly m ention M ark Tw ain as one of the au th o rs who th e m se lv e s sold books in th e ir youth. T h ere is no evidence, how ever, th at C lem ens e v e r c a n v a s se d for su b sc rip tio n books as did som e other au th o rs. His single re fe re n c e to h is youthful job as a " b o o k se lle r's c le rk " (in Roughing I t) obviously denotes w o rk in a b o o k sto re, w hich m ay have been Jeff J e r - m a n 's bookshop, le s s than a block aw ay fro m the C lem ens hom e in H an nibal (Roughing It, II, 16, in The W ritings of M ark T w ain, A u th o r's N a tional E dition [New Y ork and London, 1907-1918], h e re a fte r cited as W ritings; Dixon W ecter, Sam C lem ens of H annibal [Boston, 1952], pp. 131, 208-209). ^ Letters, I, 402. 26 M rs. J. W. L ikins, Six Y ears E x p erien ce as a Book Agent in C alifo rn ia (San F ra n c is c o , 1874), pp. 108, 128, 130. S u b scrip tio n books often provoked indignant p ro n o u n cem en ts such as the following: "The o rd in a ry su b sc rip tio n book is m a n ife stly m ade to catch the eye of the 11 own v irtu a lly u n class if iable s a t i r e - tr a v e l books The Innocents A broad and Roughing It had been sold only by su b sc rip tio n w ith notable s u c c e ss , as a lre a d y m entioned. A novel, how ever, w as som ething e lse again. T h ere m a y be only slight ex ag g e ratio n in K enneth A n d rew s' s ta te m e n t that "only M ark could w rite as he p le a se d and find a m a rk e t am ong the 27 people who did not v is it b o o k sto re s." In fact, the re v ie w e r of The Gilded Age in the li te r a r y m a g azin e Old and New com m ented: This curious book is a novel in m o re se n s e s than one. It is a story; and it is, m o re o v e r, the f ir s t in stan ce, so fa r as we know, of a sto ry -b o o k issu e d "by s u b sc rip tio n ." T hat this m ode of publishing should be se le c te d by b u sin e ss m e n fo r a novel is an in te re s tin g in d i cation of the en o rm o u s extent to w hich read in g is now p r a c tis e d in this country; fo r the su b sc rip tio n p u b lish in g -b u sin e ss, m o re than the " re g u la rs ," m u st su it a w id e ly -d is p e rse d av e ra g e of c u s to m e rs , and it is a v e ry read in g public indeed th a t buys novels. E xcept to r e a d e rs , a novel is no g re a t lu x u ry .28 When C lem ens and W arn er drew $18,000 apiece fo r the novel, th e ir H a rtfo rd frien d s began to im agine the fo rtu n es to be m ade out of sub- 29 sc rip tio n books. ignorant, who can be fo rced to buy it by m e a n s of the volubility, ch ican ery , and p e rs is te n c e of an agent in te re ste d , not in books in g en era l, but in one book" (Book N ew s, 3:209, M ay 1885, quoted by D urant da Ponte, "A m erica n P e rio d ic a l C ritic ism of M ark Twain, 1869-1917," unpub. d iss. [Univ. of M aryland, 1953], p. 15). 27 K enneth R. A ndrew s, Nook F a rm , M ark T w ain 's H a rtfo rd C irc le (C am bridge, M ass., 1950), p. 122. 28"The Gilded A ge," Old and New, 9:386, M arch 1874. C lem ens w as w ell aw are of the b u sin e ss r i s k involved. In a le tte r to the pub lis h e r on M ay 3, 1873, ju st a few days b efo re he and W arn e r handed in the m a n u sc rip t, he advises: ". . . think it all o v e r--S h e ld o n & Co think we w ill m ake a s e rio u s and dam aging m ista k e if we tr y to se ll a novel by su b sc rip tio n " (ty p escrip t in M TP; copyright (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Company). 2^A ndrew s, p. 122. 12 D uring the 1860's, or roughly fro m ju st before the Civil W ar until s e v e ra l y e a r s a fte rw a rd , H artfo rd , C onnecticut, w as the publishing c e n te r of the United S tates. It w as also one of the four p rin c ip a l su b sc rip tio n publishing c e n te rs , the o th er th re e being P hiladelphia, Cin- 30 cinnati, and Chicago. A ccording to D. P . O 'H arra, F ro m 1861-68 about th irty s u b sc rip tio n sets w e re published by 14 H a rtfo rd f ir m s . T h ese y ield ed a r e tu r n of $5,000,000. About 10,000 book agents w e re u se d in sellin g 1,426,000 c o p i e s .^ It w as to H a rtfo rd th at C lem ens had m oved in 1871, s c a rc e ly m o re th an a y e a r and a half a fte r his m a rr ia g e to O livia Langdon, daughter of a w ealthy coal m e rc h a n t of E lm ira , New York, and it w as the offer of a H a rtfo rd su b sc rip tio n book p u b lish e r, E lish a B liss, J r ., to p u b lish The Innocents A broad th a t had in itia lly bro u g h t him to the city. D uring his co u rtsh ip of Livy, as O livia w as called by h e r fam ily and frie n d s, C lem ens had clo sed the c o n tra c t w ith B liss. The a ttra c tiv e n e s s of the city as a p lace of bou rg eo is re s id e n c e th a t m a in tain ed a sta n d a rd of living to w hich he fe lt h is wife w as en titled and to w hich he h im se lf *22 asp ire d , and the stim u latin g com pany of the frien d s he had a lre a d y m ade th e re , led C lem ens to leav e the hom e in Buffalo, New York, that h is fa th e r-in -la w had given as a m a rr ia g e p r e s e n t and his p a rtn e rs h ip in the Buffalo E x p r e s s , the e d ito rsh ip of w hich he had found uncongenial, and to m ove into the c h a rm e d c irc le of H a rtfo rd 's "Nook F a r m " colony of w r ite r s and in tellectu a ls, n u m b erin g am ong them H a r r ie t B eecher Stowe, C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r, the a c to r W illiam G illette, the m ilita n t ^ E d w i n V alentine M itchell, M orocco Bound (New York, 1929), p. 47; O 'H a rra , p. 2254. O 'H a rra , p. 2254. ^ S e e A ndrew s, pp. 18-20. 13 w o m an 's rig h ts advocate Isab ella B eec h er H ooker, and the R ev eren d Jo se p h H. Tw ichell. B esides M ark T w ain's books, the A m e ric a n P ublishing Company, of w hich E lish a B liss, J r ., w as the p re s id e n t and m a n a g e r, at th at tim e published, by su b sc rip tio n , the books of the then p o pular A lb ert D. R ichardson, as w ell as such m isc e lla n e o u s title s as H. S. O lcott's P e o ple fro m A nother W o rld , E dw ard K ing's The G reat South, and Jo el 33 T y ler H ead ley 's H isto ry of the R eb ellio n . E ven before publication of T w ain's b e s t-s e llin g Innocents A b ro ad , the com pany had had a la rg e su c c e ss w ith the w orks of R i c h a r d s o n . C l e m e n s ' confidence in the com pany w as ju stified not alone by the sa le s r e c o r d it m ade w ith his 35 books in the e a rly seventies; in 1883, th re e y e a rs a fte r he had cea se d publishing w ith the firm , in te rp re tin g as dish o n esty E lish a B lis s 's astu te p ro fit-m ak in g , he w ro te to his frie n d G eorge W. Cable, if I w e re going to advise you to issu e th ro u g h a H artfo rd house, I would say, e v e ry tim e, go to m y fo rm e r p u b lish e rs, The A m e ric a n P ublishing Company, 284 A sylum St. They sw indled m e out of huge sum s of m oney in the old days, but they do know how to push a book. O O O 'H a rra , p. 2345; E ncyclopedia of C onnecticut B iography, V (Boston, 1917), 71-72. ^ M o t t, Golden M u ltitu d es, p. 156. Up to the y e a r 1871,100,000 copies of R ic h a rd so n 's The S e c re t S e r v ic e - - Field, Dungeon and E scap e had been sold, 60,000 copies of The Innocents A broad (O 'H arra, p. 2344). 35W ithin five m onths a fte r publication, 31,000 copies of The In nocents A broad had been sold at a p ric e of $3.50 and up, and at the end of a y e a r sa le s had to taled 67,000. N early 40,000 copies of Roughing It w e re sold in the f ir s t th re e m onths (Paine, I, 382; II, 455; A m e ric a n Annual C yclopedia, VIII [1868], 408 ff.). W hen the stock of the com pany ro se in value as a re s u lt of publishing The Innocents A b ro ad , C lem ens h im se lf bought in and b ecam e a d ire c to r (A ndrew s, p. 121). •^G uy A. C ardw ell, Twins of Genius (Lansing, M ich., 1953), p. 95. A ndrew s (p. 122) sta te s that "M ark constantly reco m m en d ed his 14 The com pany had agents throughout the U nited S ta te s --B o sto n , New York, P hilad elp h ia, S y racu se, C incinnati, Chicago, San F ra n c is c o --w h o w e re shipped books b e a rin g th e ir own im p rin t below th a t of the p a re n t 37 firm . The c a n v a s s e rs , en ticed fro m the ran k s of d isab led S o ld ie rs, aged and other C lerg y m en having le is u re h o u rs, T e a c h e rs and students during v acatio n s, . . . Invalids unable to e n d ure h a rd p h y sic a l la b o r, Young m e n who w ish to tra v e l, and g ath er knowledge and experience,®® 39 and, apparently, w idows and m a r r i e d and u n m a rrie d w orking w om en, w e re given te r r i t o r i e s , books, and p ro s p e c tu s e s and sen t fo rth to s o lic it, fro m hom es of the w ealthy to te n e m e n ts, fro m b u sin e ss offices to 40 m ine shafts, fro m p a r is h h o u ses to b a rro o m s . frien d s to B lis s --A ld ric h , B re t H arte, Joel C handler H a r r is ." F o r C le m en s' g rie v a n c e s ag a in st The A m e ric a n P ublish in g Com pany see M a rk T w ain's A utobiography, ed. A lb e rt Bigelow P ain e (New York, 1925) ( h e re a fte r cited as A utobiography), I, 27; M a rk Tw ain in E ru p tio n , ed. B e rn a rd DeVoto (New Y ork and London, 1940), pp. 151- 155; The A utobiography of M a rk T w ain, ed. C h a rle s N eid er (New York, 1959) (h e re a fte r cited as A utobiography, N eider ed.), pp. 225-228, the fu lle st account of all. F o r the c irc u m s ta n c e s of the b re a k see F e r g u son, pp. 203-204. ^ B la n c k , p. 187. The v ario u s sta te s of collation in w hich the f ir s t edition a p p e a re d as a re s u lt of this p ra c tic e , com bined w ith the two se p a ra te ly dated is s u e s and the s e v e ra l p rin tin g s, p re s e n t a d iffi cult b ib lio g rap h ical p ro b le m --o n e not m ade e a s ie r by the in s e rtio n of "fake" title -p a g e s (see A ppendix A2). ®®Compton, pp. 34-36. ®^See, fo r exam ple, the m e m o irs of two w om en c a n v a s s e rs who sold, am ong o th er title s, w o rk s by Twain: F a c ts (see above, note 20), p a ss im , and L ikins (see above, note 26), p a s s im . ^ F a c ts and L ikins, p a s s im . M itchell (pp. 47-48) say s, "I have re a d a little p am p h let on how to s e ll books put out by a C onnecticut Yankee p u b lish e r m any y e a rs ago fo r the in stru c tio n of his agents. It te lls not only how to se ll books, but also how agents can get fre e m e a ls and a nig h t's lodging fro m c u s to m e rs w hen can v a ssin g in country d is tr ic ts . This set of in stru c tio n s p ro b ab ly kept m an y a p o o r bookm an fro m sleeping u n d er the s ta r s in a h a y sta c k w ith an em pty belly." 15 T ypical of the fro n tie r en v iro n m en t in w hich M a rk Tw ain had had his jo u rn a lis tic ap p re n tic e sh ip w as Anton Rom an, p ro p rie to r of A. R om an & Com pany, San F ra n c is c o agent fo r The A m e ric a n P ublishing Com pany. R om an, a native of B av aria, m ig ra te d in 1851 to S hasta, C alifo rn ia, w h e re he b eca m e a s u c c e s sfu l gold m in e r. W andering into a b o o k sto re one day, he w as induced to buy a la rg e sto ck of books, w hich he took b ack to S h asta to s e ll during the w in te r m onths. Liking book sellin g b e tte r than m ining, he w ent to San F ra n c is c o in 1858 and s ta rte d a b o o k sto re. Though in the eighties he b eca m e b e s t known as the founder and p u b lish e r of the O verland M onthly, ed ited in its e a rly y e a rs by B re t H arte, in 1874 he w as busy d istrib u tin g and sellin g books to the W est C oast, not le a s t of w hich w as The G ilded A ge. ^ The f i r s t copies, w hich had been p ro m is e d fo r D ecem b er 15, finally a r r iv e d in M arch and w e re added to the c a n v a s s e r s ' stocks in a choice of cloth or le a th e r b in d i n g s .^ So insidious had been the conditioning of the speculative o p tim ism of the p o stw a r boom that, even a m id s t a n a rra tio n of insults and d is c o u ra g e m e n ts, one of R o m an 's w om en c a n v a s s e rs r e f e r r e d in 43 h e r m e m o ir to T w ain 's book as "T he G olden A ge." Among the m a n y occupations and tra d e s s a tiriz e d by M ark Tw ain in the c o u rs e of his long c a r e e r s u b sc rip tio n book can v assin g w as not Could the "C onnecticut Yankee p u b lish e r" have been E lish a B liss? ^ R o b ert E r n e s t Cowan, B o o k sellers of E a rly San F ra n c is c o (Los A ngeles, 1953), pp. 11-13. ^ L i k i n s , pp. 140, 145. "C opies w e re also iss u e d w ith all edges gilt, this at the re q u e s t of the p u r c h a s e r who p aid an additional fee for this fe a tu re " (Johnson, p. 18). ^ L i k i n s , p. 140. 16 included. Indeed, C lem ens w as too thoroughly involved in su b sc rip tio n publishing to be able to afford the d etach m e n t re q u isite fo r its s a tire . As one student of M ark Tw ain has pointed out, W ith one or two m in o r exceptions, all of M ark T w ain's books fo r the f ir s t th irty y e a rs of his w ritin g c a r e e r w e re sold by s u b s c rip tio n -- at f i r s t by the A m e ric a n P u b lish in g Com pany of H artfo rd , . . . la te r by Osgood of Boston, and finally by his own firm of C h arles L. W eb s te r and Company. Not until the firm of H a rp e r and B ro th e rs b e cam e h is p u b lish e r in 1896 did he abandon this not alto g eth e r happy m ethod of m a rk e tin g his books, and even a fte r th a t date he la p sed in to the f o r m e r m ethod upon o cca sio n . . C lem ens w as not inclined to bite the hand that fed him , a t le a s t d irec tly . A w r ite r in Book News in 1885 re co g n ized this fact: If M a rk Twain did not find it expedient to adopt this p e c u lia r m ethod of sellin g h is books, he would have a good opportunity fo r the e x e r c ise of his h u m o r in p ic tu rin g an ag e n t's s a le s and attem p ts at s a l e s . ^ When, as e a rly as 1870, a r e a d e r of his "M em o ran d a" d e p a rtm e n t in the G alaxy u rg e d him not to ignore the tra v e lin g book agents, "esp e c ia lly the 're d -n o s e d ch ap s' who se ll 'ju v e n ile s,' te m p e ra n c e tr a c ts , and such like d electab le fo d d er," he ad m itted th at "such s u b sc rip tio n c a n v a s s e rs , p robably, a re all th is c o rre s p o n d e n t's fancy paints them "; then added, None but those c a n v a s s e rs who se ll com pact c o n ce n tratio n s of solid w isdom , like the w o rk en titled "The Innocents A b ro ad ," can re a lly be said to be indispensable to the nation. In the United States a w r ite r who published by the su b sc rip tio n m eth o d w as d istin ctly at a disadvantage in so far as book rev iew s w e re ^ d a Ponte (see above, note 26), p. 13. ^ M a y 1885, p. 209; cited by da P onte, p. 15. 4A G alaxy, 10:734, N ovem ber 1870. It should be pointed out th at his sk etch "The C a n v a s s e r's T ale" (W ritin g s, XX, 363-370) w as d i re c te d ag ain st d o o r-to -d o o r p e d d le rs in gen eral. 17 concerned, fo r two re a s o n s . One re a s o n w as that, b ecau se the ty p ical su b sc rip tio n p u b lis h e r's list, as has been pointed out, w as m ad e up la rg e ly of co llected w o rk s, encyclopedic textbooks, ju v en iles, and gift books, the re v ie w e rs a lm o st co m p lete ly ig n o red the field. The other re a s o n w as th at the su b sc rip tio n book, re g a rd le s s of its individual m e r its, faced the actu al antagonism of the li te r a r y re v ie w e rs , who w e re d e pendent upon the re g u la r tra d e fo r th e ir m a te ria l and who consequently evinced th e ir s e lf - in te r e s t in snobbism . "S u b scrip tio n books a re in bad o d o r," said one B rah m in ica l ed ito r, "and cannot p o ssib ly c irc u la te am ong the b e st c la s s e s of r e a d e rs , owing to the g e n e ra l and not un- 47 founded p reju d ice ag ain st them as a c la s s ." "T hey a re not p u b lish e d ," w ro te P r o f e s s o r S. S. H aldem an to the p re s id e n t of the A m e ric a n Book T rad e Union, "and, as a consequence, they cannot be quoted, n o r can 48 they be review ed in re s p e c ta b le p e rio d ic a ls." If any su b sc rip tio n w rite r could overco m e this handicap it w as M ark Twain. Both he and W arn e r w e re skillful at w hetting th e ir au d i e n c e 's appetite and uncom m only re s o u rc e fu l in solicitin g n o tices. T h eir cam paign had begun the m o m en t the novel w as finished. In his le tte r to the ed ito r of the Daily G raphic the p rece d in g A pril, Tw ain a n nounced the forthcom ing book as follows: During the la s t two m onths m y n ex t-d o o r neighbor, Chas. Dud ley W arn e r, has dropped his "B ack -L o g S tudies," and he and I have w ritte n a bulky novel in p a rtn e r-s h ip . He h as w o rk ed up the fictio n and I have h u rle d in the facts. I co n sid er it one of the m o s t a s to n ishing novels th a t ev e r w as w ritten . Night a fte r night I s it up r e a d ing it over and over again and crying. It w ill be published e a rly in ^ (Boston) L ite r a r y W orld, 5:40, A ugust 1874. ^ Q u o te d in the L ite r a r y W orld, 5:63, S eptem ber 1874. 18 the F all, w ith plenty of p ic tu re s . Do you co n sid er this an a d v e rtis e m e n t? --a n d if so, do you ch arg e fo r such things, w hen a m a n is your frie n d and an orphan? ^ E ven e a r lie r both C lem ens and W arn e r had w ritte n W hitelaw Reid, e d i to r of the New Y ork T rib u n e , p ro p o sin g an announcem ent in th at n e w s p a p e r. F ro m H a rtfo rd on A p ril 7 W a rn e r w rote: D ear M r. Reid: M aybe it's a g re a t p iece of p resu m p tio n , but M ark and I a re w ritin g a novel, and can so n e a rly see the end of it that it is safe to sp eak of it. No one h e re , except our w ives, knows anything of it. We conceived the design e a rly in the w in te r, but w e re not able to get se rio u sly at w o rk on it till som e tim e in Jan u ary . . . . We hope to get it re a d y fo r the p r e s s b efo re C lem ens goes to England. And w hen it is done we p ro p o se to go down and see you and take a r e s t fro m the d istra c tio n s of country life fo r a few days. . . . C lem ens w rote in his own m an n er: We w ant a m e re m ention, now, w ith e ith e r exceedingly co m p lim en ta r y additions, or p itile ss abuse accom panied w ith p rofanity. We shall be down th e re w ithin a fortnight. We think a p re tty good deal of this novel I can te ll you; even the p a p e r it is w ritte n on co st eleven dol la r s . ^ Reid tu rn ed the la tte r p le a over to his colleague John Hay w ith the en d o rse m e n t "D ear Hay. H e re 's a chance for a ro llick in g bit of m inion"; and Hay, the diplom at and poet, ro llic k e d as follows in the T rib u n e 's colum ns two days a fte r the G raphic le tte r: Beaum ont and F le tc h e r m a y now r e ti r e as in sta n ces of genius w orking in double h a rn e s s . M ark Tw ain and C h a rle s Dudley W arn er ^Johnson, p. 22; cf. L e t te r s , I, 205. The sta te m e n t th at W arn e r had "dropped his 'B ack -L o g S tu d ie s'" ap p are n tly w as m e re ly for effect. The f ir s t seven studies had ap p e a re d in the July 1871 and F e b ru a ry - July 1872 issu e s of S c rib n e r's M onthly, a fte r w hich they ceased . The e n tire s e r ie s , totaling eleven, had a lre a d y been published as a volum e (see below, p. 75, n. 57). ^ Q u o te d in Royal C o rtisso z , The Life of W hitelaw Reid (New York, 1921), I, 273. ^ C o r t i s s o z , I, 273-274. 19 have w ritte n a novel in p a rtn e rsh ip ! . . . The book deals w ith the sa lie n t fe a tu re s of our A m e ric a n life of to-day; and, as m ig h t e a s ily be divined, is in the n a tu re of a s a tir e . It is known to contain a ll the profound philosophy, the sound le arn in g , and geological tru th w hich a re found in "Innocents A broad" and "Roughing It," and even m o re of the p r a c tic a l w isdom and a g ric u ltu ra l su g g estio n than in "My S u m m e r in a G ard en ." It is no holiday w ork. It deals w ith e v e ry a sp e c t of m o d e rn society, and we a re a u th o rized to announce th a t the p a p e r on w hich it is w ritte n co st eleven d o lla r s. ^ A larm e d over the p o ssib ly negative effect such flippancy of e d ito ria l com m ent m ig h t have upon the book's re c e p tio n --flip p a n c y w as the p r e rogative of the h u m o rist, not h is c r itic - - C le m e n s w ro te im m ed iately to Reid. H artfo rd , A p ril 22nd, 1873. My d e a r Reid: . . . All right! You go ahead and give us th a t other notice. B ilious? I w as m o re than b ilio u s - - I w as s c a r e d . W hen a m a n s ta r ts out in a new ro le, the public alw ays says he is a fool and w o n 't succeed, any way. Why of c o u rse The T ribune would m ake H a rtfo rd talk, and the r e s t of the country fo r th at m a t t e r - - e l s e why would I be so so licitous about w hat the T ribune said ? That is ju s t the point. I w ant The T ribune to say it rig h t and say it p o w e rfu l--a n d then I w ill an sw er fo r the co n seq u en ces. The consequence w ill be that all other p a p e rs w ill follow s u it--w h ic h you know as w ell as I do. And then our gam e is m ade and our v e n tu re launched w ith a fa ir wind in ste ad of a b af fling one. Y ours, C lem ens. M eanwhile, apparently, Reid had sen t C lem ens a copy of another e d i to ria l notice (probably h is own), and la te r the sam e day, a fte r the m a il had a rriv e d , an o th er note w as d ash ed off. A p ril 19, 1873, p. 6, col. 6. My S u m m er in a G arden (1870) w as W a rn e r's f ir s t book, a collection of in fo rm al e s sa y s he had pub lish ed in the H a rtfo rd C our a n t, of w hich he w as ed ito r. M inion is 7- point type, u sed ex ten siv ely in n ew sp ap ers of the day. ^ C o r t i s s o z , I, 274. 20 H artfo rd , A p ril 22nd, 1873. My d e a r Reid: Now, th a t notice is bully! If any m a n is deceived by th at he w ill be d eceived in the happy d irec tio n , at any r a te - - a n d th a t is w hat we w ant. All right, now! Y ours, M ark. This "bully" notice, w hich w as p ublished in the T ribune the next day, sta te d th a t the novel w as "likely to p ro v e the chief li te r a r y event of the s e a so n ," then continued: It is called "The G ilded A g e " --a nam e w hich gives the b e st p ro m is e of s a tir e and o b serv atio n w hich it is e a sy to expect fro m two such a u th o rs. It is an unusual and a co urageous e n te rp ris e fo r two g e n tle m e n who have a lre a d y won honorable d istin ctio n in o th er w alks of lite r a tu r e to venture upon untrodden p aths w ith a w o rk so am bitious and so im p o rtan t as this is lik ely to be. In one sen se th e re is n oth ing to fe a r. An im m en se audience is a lre a d y a s s u re d beforehand; and it is fa ir to conclude th a t w r ite r s who have d isplayed so m uch w it, insight and d elicacy and fanciful o b se rv a tio n in fo r m e r w o rk s, w ill not be unprovided w ith the equipm ent w hich is n e c e s s a r y to s u c c e ssfu l fiction. The new novel w ill be e a g e rly looked for and e n o r m o u sly read , and we h a z a rd little in p re d ic tin g th a t it w ill contain as m u ch food fo r thought as fo r lau g h ter. -* C o rtisso z , I, 275. My re c o n s tru c tio n of the episode, it should be said, is b a se d s tric tly on in te rn a l evidence. C o rtisso z s ta te s th at C le m en s' f ir s t im p re s s io n of H ay's notice "a p p e a rs to have been r e ceived fro m a bald, b rie f quotation in som e exchange, and his e x p e c ta tions w e re c ru e lly d isappointed." He c laim s th a t C le m en s' second note w as w ritte n a fte r he had seen the actu al notice in the T ribune of the 19th, w hich had been delayed thro u g h im p ro p e r w orking of the m a ils. As none of C o rtis s o z ' assu m p tio n s is docum ented and as he fa ils to m en tio n the e d ito ria l of the 23rd, I b elieve m y co n jectu re is the m o re p ro b a b le one, fo r the la te r e d ito ria l a p p e a rs to "say it r ig h t" and d e ceive "in the happy d ire c tio n ." (It is quite p o ssib le, how ever, th at the p a p e r of the 19th, a S aturday, w as not d e liv e re d in H a rtfo rd until the 22nd, the following T uesday.) ^ A p ril 23, 1873, p. 4, col. 5. The incident, though o sten sib ly closed, ran k le d in C le m en s' m ind fo r a tim e, fo r on sh ip b o ard en ro u te to E ngland he w ro te W arn e r: "A sk H ouse to te ll you about W hitelaw Reid. He is a contem ptible cur, and I w ant nothing m o re to do w ith him . I d on't w ant the T ribune to have the book a t all. P le a s e te ll B liss not to send a copy th e re under any c irc u m s ta n c e s . If you feel at any tim e like explaining, you m ay te ll Reid or anyone th a t I d e s ire d th is " (undated 21 (The "d elicate and fanciful o b serv atio n " unquestionably r e f e r s to W ar- ,56 n e r .) Both item s w e re quickly quoted by the Chicago T rib u n e , a n e w s p a p e r w hich gave the forthcom ing publication p a rtic u la rly g enerous pub- c 7 lic ity throughout the y e a r. This p rep u b licatio n cam paign, indeed, had notable re s u lts ; w hen the book w as actu ally is su e d m any rev iew s began by speaking of the "lo n g -talk ed -o f new w o rk ," "this m u c h -h e ra ld e d book," "of w hich the public has h e a rd and expected so m u ch ." The S pringfield (M ass.) R epublican said: " S c a rc e ly any announcem ent of the seaso n has a ro u s e d liv e lie r anticipations than the p ro m is e of a book w hich should be the joint w o rk of those fa v o rite w r ite r s , C h arles Dud ley W arn er and 'M a rk T w ain .'" The New Y ork W orld re m a rk e d th at "the 'G ilded Age' w as looked for w ith the confident expectation th a t it would p ro v e m o re am using than 'My S u m m er in a G arden' or 'T he In nocents A b ro ad '"; T heodore T ilto n 's Golden Age a g re e d th at "th e re w as at once a g e n e ra l in te re st, not unm ixed w ith cu rio sity , to see the re s u lt of this stra n g e ex p e rim e n t in lite r a r y w o rk ." A ccording to the B oston S aturday Evening G azette, few w orks had been looked fo r "with m o re of le tte r "U nder Way, Sat. A.M ."; ty p e sc rip t in M TP; copyright (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Company). A pparently C lem en s' w ishes w e re c a r rie d out, fo r no rev iew a p p ea red in the T rib u n e . 56 C ritic s c u s to m a rily r e f e r r e d to W a rn e r's w ritin g as " d e li c a te ," " g ra c e fu l," or "quiet and genial" (A rthur L. Vogelback, "The L ite r a r y R eputation of M ark Twain in A m e ric a , 1869-1885," unpub. d iss. [Univ. of Chicago, 1938], p. 78, n. 3). ^ T h e New Y ork T ribune item s w e re quoted, resp e c tiv e ly , in the issu e s of A p ril 27, p. 7, and M ay 4, p. 10. In the la tte r the Chicago T ribune also quoted T w ain's le tte r to the Daily G ra p h ic . O ther b rie f notices ap p e a re d O ctober 12, p. 10 (see above, note 5) and N ovem ber 16, p. 9. 22 C Q in te re s t and c u rio sity . . . . 1,30 Not all of the cam paign, how ever, w ent as s a tisfa c to rily . Though W a rn e r ask ed the H a rtfo rd w r ite r E. C. S tedm an to rev iew the 59 book in S c r ib n e r 's , th a t p u b licatio n ignored it. So did H a r p e r 's , the N orth A m e ric a n R eview , and the O verland M onthly. The N ation m e re ly noted re c e ip t of it in its sem ian n u al in d e x .^ E ven C le m en s' faithful frien d W illiam Dean H ow ells, ed ito r of the A tla n tic, who could u su ally be depended on to s ta r t the "sheep jum ping in the rig h t p la c e s ," ra th e r than w rite a review in w hich he could not ap p aren tly w ith a c le a r con science voice p ra is e , chose to re m a in silen t and p la c e d it w ithout com - m e n t under "O ther P u b lic a tio n s." One of the m o st in te re s tin g and unexpected re s u lts of the c o a u th o rs ' p riv a te p ro m o tio n --c e rta in ly the m o st ex a sp e ra tin g to C le m e n s -- w as the b eat review in the new ly founded ta b lo id the Daily G ra p h ic . This is the w ay C lem ens d e s c rib e d it th irty -th re e y e a rs la te r in his autobiography: When C h arles Dudley W arn e r and I w e re about to b rin g out The Gilded A ge, the ed ito r of the D aily G raphic p e rs u a d e d m e to le t him have an advance copy, he giving m e his w o rd of honor th a t no notice of it should ap p ea r in his p a p e r until a fte r the A tlantic M onthly n o tice should have ap p ea red . T his re p tile published a review of the 58 U ndated rev iew s re p rin te d in la rg e b ro a d sid e , "N otices of the P r e s s , " in M TP. The f i r s t th re e p h ra s e s are quoted, resp e c tiv e ly , fro m rev iew s by the W o rc e ste r D aily P r e s s , H a rtfo rd D aily T im e s , and Springfield (M ass.) U nion. ^ A n d r e w s , p. 158. ^ I n d e x to Volume X V III--Jan u ary to June, 1874, " R e g iste r of Books R eceived during the H a lf-y e a r," "M isc e lla n e o u s." The p u b lish e r is given as " H a rtfo rd P u b lish in g Co." 61 A tlantic, 33:374, M a rc h 1874. 23 book w ithin th re e days a fte rw a rd . I could not re a lly com plain, b e cau se he had only given m e h is w o rd of honor as se c u rity . I ought to have r e q u ire d of him som ething su b stan tial. I believe his notice did not deal m a in ly w ith the m e r i t of the book, or the la ck of it, but w ith m y m o r a l attitude to w ard the public. It w as ch arg ed th at I had u sed m y re p u ta tio n to play s. sw indle upon the p u b lic --th a t M r. W arn er had w ritte n as m uch as half of the book, and th a t I had u sed m y nam e to float it and give it c u r r e n c y - - a c u rre n c y w hich it could not have a c q u ire d w ithout m y n a m e --a n d th at this conduct of m ine w as a grav e fra u d upon the people. The G raphic w as not an au th o rity upon any su b ject w h atev e r. It had a s o rt of d istin ctio n in th at it w as the f i r s t and only illu s tra te d daily n ew sp ap er th a t the w o rld had seen; but it w as w ithout c h a ra c te r, it w as p o o rly and cheaply edited, its opinion of a book or of any o th er w o rk of a r t w as of no consequence. E verybody knew th is, y et all the c ritic s in A m eric a, one a fte r the o ther, copied the G ra p h ic 's c ritic is m , m e re ly changing the p h r a s e ology, and le ft m e under that ch arg e of d ish o n est conduct. Even the g re a t Chicago T rib u n e , the m o s t im p o rta n t jo u rn a l in the Middle W est, w as not able to invent anything fre s h , but adopted the view of the hum ble D aily G ra p h ic , d ish o n esty ch arg e and all. . . . One can h a rd ly take exception to the charge, though heated ly stated, th at the G ra p h ic 's "opinion of a book or of any other w o rk of a r t w as of no co n seq u en ce." But the f a r m o re se rio u s ch arg e that all the c ritic s in A m e ric a copied the G raphic in accusing Tw ain of duplicity d e s e rv e s exam ination, fo r it b e a rs d ire c tly upon c o n sid e ra tio n of the divided r e ception a c c o rd e d The G ilded A g e. To beg in w ith, it is quite u n d erstan d ab le th at to C lem ens it m u st have se e m e d th a t the Daily G raphic ra th e r than the New Y ork T ribune had s ta rte d the sheep ju m p in g --a n d in the w rong p la c e s. The Chicago T rib u n e , w hich as la te as N ovem ber had been publishing favorable A utobiography, II, 69-70 (N eider ed., p. 274). In h is le tte r of F e b ru a ry 28, 1874, to h is E dinburgh frie n d D r. John Brown, he had w ritten : "We a r e all delighted w ith y our com m endations of the Gilded A ge--& the m o re so b eca u se som e of our n ew sp ap ers have set fo rth the opinion that W a rn e r re a lly w ro te the book & I only added m y nam e to the title -p a g e in o rd e r to give it a la rg e sa le . It is a sham eful charge to m a k e " (original le tte r in Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry ; copyright (c) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Company; cf. L e t te r s , I, 214). 24 p r e s s r e le a s e s about the fo rth co m in g novel, in its rev iew d ra m a tic a lly r e v e r s e d its stand. It d e c la re d that the a u th o rs had "w ilfully d egraded th e ir craft, abused the p eo p le's tru s t, and provoked a s te rn condem na tio n ." It is not as if the book had been w ritte n by a p a ir of o b scu re w r ite r s . It then could be p a s s e d over in sile n ce, in the c e rta in ty th at it would obtain a c irc u la tio n in acc o rd an ce w ith its m e r its . But it com es in d o rsed w ith the n am es of two of the m o s t p o p u lar authors of A m e ric a n hum orous lite r a tu r e . The w o rk w hich both had h ith erto p ro d u ced had been of such ex cellen t q uality as to se c u re the re s p e c t of the public, and the confidence th at w h atev e r e ith e r m ight p re s e n t would be w o rth y of the giver and the r e c e iv e r. T h e re fo re , w hen the two have condescended to trifle w ith th e ir honorable re p u ta tio n and w ith the confidence of the public, indignation is ju stly ex cited and outspoken. . . . W hen . . . a book so u tte rly bald, so p u e rile , so vicious even, as "The G ilded A ge," ap p ea rs w ith the sig n a tu re s of M ark Tw ain and C h arles Dudley W a rn e r to give it a p a s s p o rt am ong r e spectable re a d e rs , w ra th and disg u st m a y rightfully in sp ire the c ritic to c h a stise them w ith[out] m e rc y . It is not, as we have said, as if th e se w r ite r s w e re unknown and w ithout influence . . ..T h e ir n am es had becom e a s o r t of c e rtific a te of high c h a ra c te r. It is a fra u d to the read in g public to append them to a tr a s h y book like the m o n g rel b efo re us. Stupidity can be f o r given, but d e lib e ra te d e c e it- - n e v e r . The an g er of this re v ie w e r was intensified by the ap p are n t h e lp le s s n e ss of the p r e s s in attem pting to kill a book sold by su b scrip tio n : M o reo v er, it is not as if the w ork w e re to be dep o sited on the shelves of the b o o k se lle rs, to be sold as called fo r. It is to be c a r rie d fro m door to door throughout the country, into the r u r a l d is tr ic ts , w h ere a voice of w arning fro m the p r e s s u su ally does not p e n e tra te . . . . As if this scathing a ttack w e re not enough, the St. Louis D em o cra t r e so rte d to facetious rid icu le. It a s s e r te d th a t able c ritic s , a fte r having ca re fu lly studied the w ork, had "decided th at it b e a rs no m a rk s of the p re s e n c e of the p e c u lia r w it and w isdom w hich c h a ra c te riz e e ith e r of ^ F e b r u a r y 1, 1874, p. 9. 25 th e se gifted m e n ." But the S e c re t is out. It is confidently a s s e r te d th at the "G ilded A ge" is a gigantic p ra c tic a l joke. It is d e c la re d that, w ishing to te s t the cred u lity of the public, th e se two no to rio u s w its had the book p re p a re d by s e v e ra l o b scu re n ew sp ap er lo c al r e p o r te r s . The cove nant w as solem nly m ade th at the joke w as to be kept a profound s e c r e t till 300,000 copies of the w o rk w e re sold. The whole s to ry is probably a can ard , but any one who, out of r e s p e c t for the alleged au th o rs, w ill re a d the book, w ill feel th at the account is e x tre m e ly probable. The known fact th at Tw ain had b een guilty of p e rp e tra tin g hoaxes before len t p la u sib ility to the a s s e rtio n . The Boston L ite r a r y W orld added in su lt to injury: We have re a d enough of the book to convince us th at it is not w o rth reading and to fill us w ith w onder as to how a m a n of M r. W a rn e r's lite r a r y rep u ta tio n could lend his nam e to such cheap and feeble stuff. . . . The book has a stro n g sa v o r of lu c re ; it w as evidently w ritte n to sell, and in the hope of gaining a lib e ra l heap of th at m o n ey, w hose w o rsh ip it p u rp o rts to rid ic u le . It is not w itty, or in any re s p e c t in terestin g ; the only fe a tu re of it th a t we can co n scientiously p ra is e is the illu s tra tio n s .65 To say, as som e in v e stig a to rs have, th a t such o u tb u rsts r e sulted fro m the disappointm ent of re v ie w e rs at not finding the e a sily quotable "funny" book th a t they had an ticip ated as a joint pro d u ctio n of 66 two leading h u m o rists, w hile it is not w ithout som e ju stificatio n , ob sc u re s the re a l re a so n . F. B. P e r k in s ' p e n e tra tin g review in Old and New re v e a ls the so re spot the novel had touched. The book is a s to ry w ith a p u rp o se as m u c h as "The P ilg r im 's P r o g r e s s ." It is w ritte n to expose s p e c u la to rs, lobbyists, and c o r rupt le g is la to rs . . . . ^ A s quoted in the Chicago T rib u n e , A p ril 5, 1874, p. 10. ^^4:126, Ja n u a ry 1874. / / DOThe r e s tr a in e d B oston T r a n s c r ip t, fo r exam ple, said politely, "It w e re im p o ssib le, even fo r two pen s, to fill to o rd e r so m uch space as th ese pages co v er w ith r e a l h u m o r" (D ecem ber 23, 1873, p. 6). 26 T h e re is a g re a t pow er in the book, and of an uncom m on kind. It is a d e te rm in e d and b itte r s a tire ; but the s a tire is v eiled by an ab sence of com m ent and m o r a l explanation th at rem in d s one of the p a s s io n le ss r e c o r d m a n n e r of the s to ry of U riah the H ittite, and the c rim in a l d e p a rtm e n t g en era lly of the Bible h isto ry . . . . The r e a d e r 's f i r s t thought over this book, fo r in stan ce, is m o st lik ely to be, "T his is a re p u lsiv e and unfeeling r e c o rd of m o n stro u s in fa m ie s." It r e q u ires som e m e n ta l philosophy, and of a p ra c tic a l kind too, to go on thus: "The w r ite r te lls th is s to ry as a m a tte r - o f - c o u r s e and e v e ry day sto ry , in o rd e r to have m e stop and a s k if such things a re re a lly e v e ry -d a y m a tte r s of fact. And, tru ly , they a re; and I don't like it, and I w ill t r y to have a r e a lly good m a n r e p r e s e n t m e next e le c tio n ." Thus the s to ry m e an s, fo r its c e n tra l m eaning, " P u rify the su f fra g e . "67 A fter all, the C hicago T ribune as an apologist fo r the c o rru p t G rant a d m in is tra tio n could h a rd ly fail to condem n a book th a t even by im p lic a tion attack e d the a d m in is tra tio n 's notorious ab u ses, and little m o re could be expected of the St. Louis D e m o c ra t, the g re a t R epublican p a p e r of the West.k® O ther re v ie w e rs le ss d ire c tly co n ce rn ed in a p o litic a l sen se had th e ir disappointm ent tu rn ed into s o u rn e ss by the d ista ste fu l ta sk of evaluating a se rio u s and pointed so cial s a tire . And w hat e x a s p e ra te d C lem ens w as th at in ste ad of having the in te g rity and co u rag e to face up to the challenge and c ritic iz e the book in a se rio u s fashion and on its own te r m s they w rig g led out of the c o rn e r in w hich they found th e m selv es by m aking innuendoes. In his le tte r to W hitelaw Reid, W arn e r had said, "If th e re is any s a tir e on the tim e s in it, it w on't be our fault, ^ 9 :3 8 6 -3 8 7 , M arch 1874. F r e d P e rk in s , nephew of the w o m e n 's suffrage le a d e r Isab ella B eech er H ooker and so m e tim e m e m b e r of the Nook F a r m c irc le , w as fo r m e r ed ito r of the G alaxy (da P onte, p. 36; A ndrew s, p. 56). k^Vogelback, p. 110; C o rtisso z , I, 104. 27 69 but the fault of the tim e s ." E ven the co n d em n ato ry rev iew s e ith e r ta c itly or explicitly acknow ledged the s a tire . The L ite r a r y W o rld , fo r exam ple, as p a r t of its condem nation said: The book is intended to be a s a tire on our national p o litic s, w ith s p e cial re fe re n c e to so ciety and le g is la tio n at W ashington. . . . We have no doubt th at the d e s c rip tio n s h e re given of the m ethods by w hich le g isla tio n is expedited, by w hich se n a to rs a re elected, and by w hich official opportunities a r e em ployed fo r p riv a te ends, a re m e a s u ra b ly acc u rate; but th e re is needed an agency of h ig h e r m o ra l tone than this book, to re m e d y th e se evils, or even to le ad the public to s e r i ous d isap p ro v al of them . N eith er a buffoon nor a bum pkin can s u c cessfu lly le a d a re fo rm . . . The leading relig io u s new spaper, the Independent,re m a rk e d : We took up "M ark T w a in 's" and C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r's jo in t volum e w ith quite too high anticip atio n s, hoping th a t p o ssib ly we m ight find in it an A m e ric a n "P ick w ick P a p e r s ." . . . The im p re s s io n m a d e --a n d this is our m a in objection to the b o o k --is one of u n r e lieved venality and co rru p tio n . T h e re is enough of this in W ash in g ton, no doubt; but to r e p r e s e n t it as a g e n e ra l and p erv ad in g fe a tu re is te rr ib ly ex ag g erated . U nfortunately, the r e a d e r does not get the idea of s tra in e d and g ro tesq u e u n re a lity w hich c h a ra c te riz e s M a rk T w ain's other books; but th a t this is intended fo r a fa ir r e p r e s e n t a tion of co n g re ssio n a l life, and he w ill le a r n fro m it th a t it is a d is g ra c e to be a c o n g re s sm a n and w ill le a r n to d esp ise his country. We should blush to see this book rep u b lish ed in E urope. . . . Yet the novel had an a lm o s t equal p ro p o rtio n of d efen d e rs fo r the sam e re a s o n th at it w as attacked. The fa c t th a t it cam e to g rip s w ith c o n te m p o ra ry p o litic a l conditions in an unusually outspoken w ay provoked p r a is e as w ell as blam e. P e rk in s in his Old and New rev iew su m m a riz e d it by saying, w ithout any re la tiv e or qualifying e x p re ssio n , it is a book of r e a l and ^ C o r t i s s o z , I, 273. ^ 4 :1 2 6 . (The Chicago T ribune called it a "p reten d e d s a tir e ." ) 71 26:1642, J a n u a ry 1, 1874. N evins calls the Independent "b e st of the relig io u s publications, b e c a u se the b ro a d e st in in te re s t" (p. 236). 28 high p u rp o se , m u c h g rap h ic and p o r tr a i t pow er, m uch knowledge of m en and th in g s, and uncom m on sw iftn ess and fo rce of actio n .72 The Boston T r a n s c r ip t a v e r r e d that it could "h ard ly fail to help on the 7 3 re fo rm in g te n d e n c y in the p o litics of the d ay ." The New Y ork H erald said that as a c le v e r though rude s a tire upon c e rta in cu sto m s and institutions, m any of w hich d eserv e contem pt and re p ro b a tio n , it w ill s c a rc e ly be too highly p r a i s e d . 74 A ppleton's J o u rn a l s im ila rly sta te d th at T w ain and W arn e r had given m o s t of th e falsities of the tim e a sound th ra sh in g that w ill be a p p re c ia te d in q u a rte rs to w hich no one of the O lym pian bolts of the th u n d e re rs in d a ily p r e s s and Sunday p u lp it could ev e r p e n e tra te . E dw ard and G eorge Cary E g g le sto n 's H e a rth and Home w ith sim ple honesty an aly zed th e p ro cess of m e n tal re a d ju stm e n t th at m any of the novel's r e a d e r s m u s t have undergone. It is s o m e tim e s v e r y annoying to begin read in g a book u n d er the im p re s sio n th a t it is a n excellent thing of one so rt, and d isco v er that it is an e x c e lle n t thing of quite a d iffere n t kind. But such o c c u r re n c e s a r e not always annoying, by any m e a n s, and we have ju s t had an ex p e rie n c e of the kind w hich w as one of unm ixed p le a s u re . When we began the reading of The G ilded Age, a s to ry of to -d a y , by M ark Tw ain and C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r, we confidently expected a tre a t, and we w e re n o t disappointed, though the book tu rn ed out to be as un like w hat we expected it to be as w as p o ssib le . We im agined it an "^9:388. ^ Q u o t e d by F o n e r, p. 82. ^ D e c e m b e r 22, 1873. ^^11:59, Jan u ary 10, 1874. G eorge T. F e r r i s in his a rtic le "M ark Tw ain" in th e July 4 issu e (12:15-18) re m a rk s , "We have the w ord of the a u th o rs that th e re w as no intention of m aking it hum o ro u s, the sole p u rp o se being th a t of b itte r s a tire , tru e and h o n est to the co re ." W a rn e r's own H artford C our ant sa id th a t "u nderneath all, and p erce p tib le to everyone is a se rio u s p u rp o se , an evident d e s ire to hold up the m i r r o r of tr u t h to th e eyes of a nation . . (undated clipping, M TP). The R o c h e s te r (N. Y.) Union A d v e rtis e r called it "a pow erful s a tire upon c u sto m s and events of the tim e s " (undated rev iew in "N otices of the P r e s s , " M T P ). 29 e x tre m e ly funny ex ag g e ratio n of life w ith h e re and th e re a touch of M r. W a rn e r's dainty h u m o r, and thought the whole would p ro v e an inim itable b u rle sq u e of the m o d e rn novel p e c u lia rly ric h in the c h a r a c te r is tic s of both its au th o rs. We find it in stead as genuine a novel as any, full of h u m o r, w ith now and then a laughable e x ag g e ratio n of c h a ra c te r and life, but on the whole, ra th e r a p ath etic than a h u m o r ous production. . . . The s a tire of the book is pungent enough to have grow n on a re d - p ep p er plant, and the a c c u ra c y of aim w ith w hich it is d e liv e re d is not ex celled by th a t of a W im bledon p riz e -w in n e r. The s to ry is full of p u rp o se. . . . T h e re is fun enough in the book to m ake the fortune of half a dozen novels, but c le a rly it w as w ritte n not in fun but v ery m uch in e a rn e st. A stro n g e le m e n t in the ap p re c ia tio n acc o rd e d by the fav o rab le rev iew s w as the n o ticeable w incing of the re v ie w e rs u n d er T w ain 's and W a rn e r's unexpected la sh or the u n co m fo rtab le n ess of th e ir p r e d ic a m e n t in having to handle the novel in a so b er fashion. The New Y ork W orld called it "a s e v e re , truthful, and painful s a tir e ." The Springfield (M ass.) Union said: the thoughtful r e a d e r w ill r is e fro m the p e ru s a l of "The G ilded Age" in a m ood r a th e r d e p re s s e d than ex h ilarated . It is about as am using i read in g as the s a tir e s of Juvenal p ro b ab ly w e re to re fle c tiv e Ro- ! m ans. M ost outspoken of all, the C incinnati Daily T im es called it "a c ru e l, u n flinching d isse c tio n of our m o ra l and so cial condition . . ." The au th o rs have m is s e d no fe a tu re of our life th at w as capable of burlesquing. . . . coolly and d e lib e ra te ly as p r o f e s s o rs at the d is secting table they p ro b e to the bottom e v e ry so re upon the body p o li tic, and lay open to the public gaze e v e ry hidden ro tte n n e s s. It is a c ru e l task, done w ithout m e rc y ; a sad, sad p ic tu re , and m o re g rie v ous s till b ecau se pity 'tis 'tis so n e a rly tru e . . . As can be se e n fro m the foregoing e x c e rp ts, The Gilded Age 766:38-39, Ja n u a ry 17, 1874. 77U ndated rev ie w s in "N otices of the P r e s s , " M T P. A gain using m e d ic a l fig u re of speech, the W aterb u ry Daily A m e ric a n found th e re w as " n e c e s sity fo r the u se of the keen scalp e l of s a tire th at the vicious blood m a y be d raw n fro m the body p o litic ." 30 a ro u se d a c o n sid e ra b le c ritic a l re s p o n s e in the United S tates both p ro and con; it is significant th at v irtu a lly no one w as n e u tra l. Indeed, the novel w as m o re w idely rev ie w e d th an any p rev io u s Tw ain volum e or, 78 fo r that m a tte r, any of the following six. It is ap p are n t, m o re o v e r, 79 that the re a s o n lay not in the d istrib u tio n of review copies - - i t m u s t be kept in m ind th a t The Gilded Age w as sold by s u b s c rip tio n --n o t in the p ro m in en ce of the coauthor W a rn e r, as has so m e tim e s been sug- 80 ge"sted,° n o r in the c a re fu l so lic ita tio n of notices by both a u th o rs, but in the fact th at it had a se rio u s so c ia l im p o rt, clothed as it w as in c lev er s a tire . C onvinced though he w as of the ad v an tag eo u sn ess of su b sc rip tio n publishing in the U nited S tates, w ith its v a st h in te rla n d of re la tiv e ly is o lated r e a d e rs , C lem ens w as quite content to u tilize the c u s to m a ry m e th od of book publishing in England. So it w as th at the B ritis h edition of The Gilded Age w as p ublished by G eorge Routledge and Sons on D ecem b e r 23 or 24, 1873, in th re e vo lu m es, at E l 5s. 6d. and d isplayed on the ^ d a P onte, p. 32. ^ T h e f i r s t sixty copies fro m the b in d e ry w e re sen t out, stitch ed w ithout c o v ers, as rev iew copies (Johnson, p. 18). The following a g r e e m ent is p a r t of the c o n tra c t m ade w ith B liss: "A sh eet of e x tra c ts to be sent w ith copy of the book to E d ito rs, said e x tra c ts to be se le c te d by the said W arn e r who sh all also fu rn is h a li s t of n e w sp a p e rs, fro m w hich he in connexion w ith the said E. B liss. J r . sh all s e le c t such as they m a y deem p ro p e r, (say 500 m o re or le s s as they m ay ag ree ) to whom the said p a rty of the second p a r t [A m e ric a n P ublishing Com pany] shall w ithin 12 m onths fro m issu e of the book send fre e copies at th e ir own expense, w ith sh e e ts of e x tra c ts . Copies of the book w ith e x tra c ts to be sent to the leading p a p e rs and p e rio d ic a ls of the g re a t cities fro m f ir s t edition p rin te d (copy of co n tract, M T P). ®^da P onte, p. 32; F o n e r, p. 43. 31 81 shelves of the r e g u la r b o o k s e lle rs . (Routledge, the p u b lish e r to whom C lem ens had e n tru s te d the B ritis h edition of Roughing It in o rd e r to 82 d isco u rag e H otten fro m p ira tin g it, had iro n ic a lly enough been brought 8 3 to the C ourt of C h an cery fo r p ira c y s h o rtly before that; the co m pany's re la tio n s w ith C lem en s, how ever, ap p ea r to have been e n tire ly hon- 84 est.) W riting to h is clo se frie n d the R ev ere n d " Jo e " T w ichell fro m London e a rly in Jan u ary , C lem ens said, "I have re a d the novel h e re , and I like it"; th en added, "I have m ade no in q u iries about it, though. 85 My in te re s t in a book c e a se s w ith the p rin tin g of it." N a tu ra l though this a s s e r tio n m a y seem , u tte re d as it w as upon the s u rc e a s e of the pangs of b irth , it w as no m o re than a fleeting sigh of re lie f as w as soon shown by h is active in te r e s t in the judgm ents of the re v ie w e rs. In E ngland The G ilded Age did not have the handicap of su b s c rip tio n publication to o v erco m e in o rd e r to re a c h the re v ie w e rs , but 81 F o r a d is c u ss io n of the p u b licatio n date of the B ritis h edition see A ppendix A3. ft? See above, note 2. ft 3 In the case of R outledge v. Low (see A ppendix A l). 84 Follow ing a lis t of M a rk T w ain's w orks available in Rout- le d g e 's a d v e rtis e m e n t in the A thenaeum fo r D ecem ber 20 is the s ta te m e n t " M e s s rs . G eorge R outledge & Sons a r e m y only a u th o rized London p u b lish e rs. (Signed) M a rk Tw ain" (p. 825). In the next issu e (D ecem b e r 27, p. 880), how ever, a p p e a rs an a d v e rtis e m e n t by Chatto & Windus for "M a rk T w ain 's Choice W orks. W ith e x tra p a s s a g e s to the 'Inno cents A b ro ad ,' now f i r s t re p rin te d , . . . 700 p ages, cloth gilt, 7^. 6 d ." This volum e, ap p are n tly p ira te d by the firm that eventually w as to s u c ceed Routledge as T w ain 's a u th o rized B ritis h p u b lish e r, is a d v e rtis e d again, w ith no iden tificatio n of p u b lish e r, in the T im es of June 3, 1874, p. 12, col. 6, w h ere it is d e s c rib e d as "R ev ised and C o rre c te d th ro u g h out by the A u th o r." ^ L e t t e r s , I, 212. 32 it did have the handicap of T w ain's rep u ta tio n as a p o p u lar h u m o rist, O L e sp e c ia lly am ong the m o re c o n serv ativ e jo u rn a ls. His g re a t su c c e ss w ith his le c tu re s in the Q ueen's C o n cert R oom s in H anover Square, though it m a y have helped build sa le s in te re s t in the book, h ard ly se rv e d to a lte r his reputation. M any o rg an s of li te r a r y opinion, t h e r e fo re, ignored him , as they continued to do fo r s e v e ra l y e a rs . Yet the v e ry n a tu re of the novel com pelled attention ju s t as m uch in England as in New England. T h ere w as a strik in g difference, how ever. The B ritr ish rev iew s w e re a lm o s t unanim ously unfavorable. The novel not only se e m e d to confirm all the w o rst m isgivings the E nglish had long held about conditions in A m e ric a but d e m o n stra te d a typical A m e ric a n (or at le a s t un -E n g lish ) la ck of re tic e n c e in exposing the se a m y side. The f ir s t review th a t I have been able to find ap p e a re d in the London Evening S tandard le s s than a w eek a fte r the book had been published. We do hope th at we sh all nev er h e a r any m o re about E nglish libels upon A m e ric a . F ro m long before the publication of B oz's "A m erica n N o tes" down to the days of "M a rtin C huzzlew it" and of G eorge F ra n c is T rain , the people of the United S tates have b een in a chronic state of indignation re sp e c tin g the p ic tu re s draw n of them and th e ir state of so ciety by independent E nglishm en, who did not w ant to conciliate B ritis h ra d ic a lism o r to m ake m oney by a w in te r's le ctu rin g through the Union. It has been pointed out m o re th an once that no E nglish p ic tu re w as so alto g eth e r dam aging to the A m e ric a n c h a ra c te r as the lim ning of som e of the native jo u rn a lis ts and other a u th o rs. H ere is a pro o f th at th e re is no getting o v er. The G ilded Ag<i . . . is one of those w orks which, in e sse n c e a s a tire of the b it te r e s t kind, is in re a lity a h a rd ly o v erd raw n p ic tu re of the condition of so ciety in som e of the sta te s that obey the law s of the W ashington C o n g ress. It is a b itte r p ill for A m e ric a n s to swallow, but the m e d i cine is, in the judgm ent of its au th o rs, a n e c e s s a ry one, and it is not for B ritis h e rs to d isa g re e w ith them . . . . It is a w o rk w hich . . . e v e ry one should re a d , and which, w hen read , m u st m ake the w o rld W eb ster L. S m alley, "The C ritic a l R eception of M ark Tw ain in England: 1870-1910," unpub. m a s t e r 's th e sis (Colum bia Univ., 1948), p. 13. 33 w onder how the A m e ric a n s could e v e r have objected to a single w o rd in " M a rtin C huzzlew it. " 8^ The A th en aeu m , leading w eekly c u ltu ra l jo u rn al, r e m a rk e d w ith c alcu la ted u n d e rsta te m e n t th at it did not "quite like the s p ir it w hich b rin g s to light all the 'linge s a le 1 of A m e ric a n sp ecu latio n fo r the b e n e fit of fo re ig n r e a d e r s ." "It is tr u e ," it continued, th a t the book a p p e a rs to have been a lre a d y p u b lish ed in A m e ric a ; but it m ig h t as w ell have been left to find its w ay to England, if its l i t e r a r y m e r its w e re sufficient. . . . The illu s tra te d w eekly the G raphic w as f a r m o re explicit. M e s s r s . Tw ain and W arn e r a r e both A m e ric a n citize n s, and so can h a rd ly be su sp e c te d of any w ish w antonly to foul th e ir own n e s t fo r the am u se m e n t of fo re ig n e rs; but we a re confident that if any E n g lish m a n had v en tu re d on a p ic tu re of A m e ric a n m a n n e rs and in s titu tions half as highly coloured, he w ould at once have been loudly a c cu sed of the m o st ra n c o ro u s spite and the g r o s s e s t m i s i n te r p r e t a tion. To say nothing of the "lobbyings" and unblushing c o rru p tio n in all the d e p a rtm e n ts of State w hich play so la rg e a p a r t in the action of this sto ry , the v e ry d e s c rip tio n of the C ity of W ashington would have been s tig m a tise d as an outrageous libel. . . .89 The S p e c ta to r's re v ie w e r d e c la re d th at his f i r s t re a c tio n w as "one of sa tisfa c tio n th a t the w r ite r s a re not E n g lish ." A m e ric a n s , as they re a d its b itte r e x p o su re s of A m e ric a n folly and cupidity, w ill know th a t th e ir s a ti r is ts a re still at le a s t th e ir coun try m e n , and th at the book cannot be acc e p te d as one p ro o f m o re of the m alig n an t p e rs is te n c e w ith w hich B ritis h w r ite r s m isc o n ceiv e D ecem b er 29, 187 3. U ndated clipping in M TP; la s t sentence quoted and dated D ecem b er 29 in the London T im e s , J a n u a ry 3, 1874, p. 6, col. 2, and June 9, p. 14, col. 4. An undated, unidentified rev ie w quotes the S tan d ard review w ith a p p ro v al and adds: "We have no doubt the A m e ric a n s w ill sw allow the ■piLl' w ith g re a t avidity, and it w ill do th em good" (clipping, M TP). ^ J a n u a r y 10, 1874, p. 53. 899:199, F e b ru a ry 28, 1874. 34 90 and m i s r e p r e s e n t A m e ric a n s. It m ig h t w ell be asked, w hat w as the p a r tic u la r q uality of The G ilded Age th a t it should provoke such a n g ry condem nation on the one hand y et w in s in c e re ap p lau se on the o th e r? In o rd e r to an sw e r this qu estio n it is n e c e s s a r y to exam ine the b o o k 's co n stitu en t ele m e n ts and the s o u rc e s fro m w hich they w e re d ra w n --th e su b ject of the ensuing c h a p te rs . ^ 4 7 :3 7 1 , M a rc h 21, 1874. O ther London rev ie w s I have found yield v e ry little m o re . The Q ueen (Ja n u a ry 17, 1874, p. 61), w hich d e voted m o s t of its rev ie w to quoted e x c e rp ts , com m ented: "The 'gilding' and the c o rru p tio n w hich so g re a tly b lu r the noble q u alities of the A m e ric a n natio n w e re n e v e r m o re u n sp a rin g ly exposed in a w o rk of fiction, . . ." The P a ll M all Budget (Jan u ary 17, p. 27) said: "T he v a l ue of the book w ill be found to c o n sist chiefly in touches of h u m o u r h e re and th e re , and in the ideas w hich we gain fro m it of A m e ric a n life and m a n n e rs . . . ." And the S atu rd ay Review (37:128, J a n u a ry 24), w ith the su c c in c tn e ss it c u s to m a rily a c c o rd e d fiction, stated : "T he nam e of M ark Tw ain w ill be a sufficient re c o m m e n d a tio n of the G ilded A ge, a th re e -v o lu m e novel of the E n g lish fo rm , p u rp o rtin g to be w ritte n jo in t ly by him and M r. C. D. W a rn e r." CH A PTER II A LITERARY BURLESQUE It h as been a subject of speculation why M ark Tw ain and C h arles Dudley W a rn e r--b o th of them w r ite r s of hum orous sk etch es yet w idely d iv erg en t in th e ir sty le s, n e ith e r of them ex p erien ced in fic tio n --c a m e to co llab o rate on a novel. An ap p are n tly sim ple explanation is given in A lb ert Bigelow P a in e 's au th o rized biography of Twain. A ccording to P aine, w hose w ords have been accep ted by m o st c o m m e n ta to rs w ith a l m o s t the re v e re n c e of gospel, the o rig in of the p ro je c t w as as follows: It w as a v e ry sim p le m a tte r, a p e rfe c tly n a tu ra l developm ent. At the d in n e r-ta b le one night, w ith the W a rn e rs p re s e n t, c r i t i c ism s of re c e n t novels w e re offered, w ith the u su al freed o m and s e v e rity of d in n e r-ta b le talk. The husbands w e re inclined to tr e a t ra th e r lightly the novels in w hich th e ir w ives w e re finding e n te rta in m ent. The w ives n a tu ra lly r e to rte d th at the p ro p e r thing fo r the husbands to do w as to fu rn ish the A m e ric a n people w ith b e tte r ones. This w as re g a rd e d in the n a tu re of a challenge, and as such w as a c c e p te d --m u tu a lly accepted: th a t is to say, in p a rtn e rs h ip . On the sp u r of the m o m en t C lem ens and W arn er a g re e d th a t they would do a novel to g e th er, th at they would begin it im m ed iately . This is the whole s to ry of the book's origin; so fa r, at le a st, as the co llab o ratio n is concerned. C lem ens, in fact, had the beginning of a s to ry in his m ind, but had been unwilling to un d ertak e an extended w o rk of fiction alone. He w elcom ed only too eag e rly , th e re fo re , the p ro p o sitio n of joint au th o rsh ip . His p u rp o se w as to w rite a ta le aro u n d th at lovable c h a ra c te r of his youth, his m o th e r's cousin J a m e s L a m p to n --to le t th a t gentle v is io n a ry stand as the c e n tra l fig u re a g ain st a p ro p e r background. The idea appealed to W arn e r, and th e re w as no delay in the beginning. . . . * A lb e rt Bigelow P ain e, M ark Twain: A B iography (New Y ork and London, 1912), II, 476-477; cf. M a rk T w ain's L e t te r s , a r r . P aine (New York, 1917), I, 12, 203-204 (h e re a fte r cited as L e t te r s ). F o r 35 36 As f a r as the facts of the cataly tic d in n e r-ta b le episode a re concerned, th e re is no need to q u estio n P a in e 's v e ra c ity . O bviously C lem ens w as s a tisfie d w ith the v e rs io n (though in la te r y e a rs his m e m o ry w as not a l w ays re lia b le ), and as w ill be shown th e re is m u c h evidence th at the s to ry is s u b sta n tia lly c o r r e c t. T h e re a re , how ever, at le a s t two other v e rsio n s of the o rig in of the p ro je c t th at m u s t be c o n sid e re d in o rd e r to fill in the background of the episode, fo r one cannot help being s tru c k by the im p ro b ab ility of the s p u r-o f-th e -m o m e n t im p u lsiv en e ss th at P ain e im p lie s . C h arles W a rre n Stoddard, poet and m a n of le tte r s , w ith whom C lem ens had b ecom e frie n d s in San F ra n c is c o and w hose com panionship he alw ays re lis h e d , r e la te s how C lem ens re a d p a rts of the novel to him in London w hen it w as ju s t p u b lish ed and had him guess at the a u th o rsh ip of eac h p a rt. "T he s to ry ," he goes on, "was w ritte n in this w ise": M a rk and C h a rle s D udley W a rn e r w e re w alking to ch u rch one Sunday in H artfo rd . Said W arn e r: "L e t us w rite a novel!" M a rk w on d ered w hat in the w o rld th e re w as to w rite a novel about, but p ro m is e d to think the m a tte r over, and p ro c e e d e d to do so. On the w ay hom e it w as decided th a t M a rk should begin and w rite till he got tire d , and th at th e re should be a g ath erin g of the w ives and Joe T w ic h e ll--th e c le ric a l c h u m --fo r the read in g of the sa m e . . . . The fact th a t S toddard h ad this in fo rm atio n p re s u m a b ly fro m C le m en s' re s ta te m e n t of P a in e 's v e rs io n see E d w ard W agenknecht, M ark Twain, the M an and H is W ork (New H aven, 1935), p. 80; E d g a r L ee M a s te rs , M a rk Twain: A P o r t r a i t (New Y ork and London, 1938), p. 94; The Love L e tte rs of M a rk T w ain, ed. Dixon W ec ter (New York, 1949) (h e re a fte r cited as Love L e t t e r s ), p. 182; and o th e rs. 2 C lem ens m ad e S toddard h is " s e c r e ta r y " during his 1873-74 London stay as an ex cu se to have his com pany. ^E xits and E n tra n c e s (Boston, 1903), pp. 70-71. 37 own m outh during th e ir le is u r e ly evenings to g e th er in the la tte r 's L o n don a p a rtm e n ts b a re ly a y e a r a fte r the actu al event gives it stro n g cred ib ility , p a r tic u la r ly as it in no w ay c o n tro v e rts P a in e 's v e rs io n but m e re ly su p p lem en ts it. P a in e says th a t C lem ens "had the beginning of a s to ry in his m ind"; when, a cc o rd in g to S to d d ard 's v ersio n , he " p ro m ised to think the m a tte r over, and p ro c e e d e d to do so ," the s to ry th a t he a lre a d y had in m in d about his cousin J a m e s L am pton a p p are n tly su ited the schem e, fo r on the w ay hom e it w as decided th at he should be the one to get the novel u n d er way. A nother v ersio n , w hich su g g estiv e ly p a ra lle ls S to d d ard 's, is given by the M is s o u ri b io g ra p h e rs W ilfred R. H o lliste r and H a rry N o r m an, who claim to have been fu rn ish e d th e ir inform ation "a lm o st en- 4 tire ly by m e m b e rs of the fa m ilie s and p e rs o n a l frie n d s ." A ccording to them , It cam e about in this way: One day C lem ens and W arn er w e re r e tu rn in g fro m a w alk in H a rtfo rd in w hich they had d isc u s se d the m e rits of the m o d e rn novel. " W a rn e r," said C lem ens, "let us w rite a b u rlesq u e on the m o d e rn no v el." M r. W a rn e r w as fav o rab le to the pro p o sitio n , and soon they w e re fo rm u latin g plans for the p ro d u ctio n of the sto ry . . . . (p. 55) The w ives of the au th o rs a re m en tio n ed only to the extent th at the novel w as to be su b m itted to them fo r c r itic is m "when the m a n u sc rip t w as com p leted ," condensed, and re v ise d . The value of both of th e se v e r sions is th at they point up the im p o rta n t and logical fact th at C lem ens and W arn er w e re se rio u s ly co n c e rn e d about the s te rility of the ^ F ive F am o u s M iss o u ria n s (K ansas City, Mo., 1900), p. 3. The p re fa c e adds th a t the d ata w e re also au th en ticated by re fe re n c e to f a m ilie s and frie n d s "in o rd e r th a t apocryphal m a tte r m ight not be u se d ." 38 c o n te m p o ra ry p o p u la r novel and not, as P a in e im p lie s, sm ugly con tem ptuous of th e ir w iv es' reading m a te ria l. O livia C lem ens is known to have been an intelligent and w e ll-e d u c a te d w om an w ith a p e rc e p tiv e ta ste . T h e re is e v e ry re a s o n to suppose th a t Susan W arn e r w as s im i la rly a w om an of intelligence and cu ltu re . The tru th a p p e a rs to be th at both w om en w e re w h o leh earted ly supp o rtin g th e ir w rite r - h u s b a n d s ' p ro p o sa l to show up the m e re tric io u s n e s s of c o n te m p o ra ry fictio n and that they w e re in tu rn acc o rd e d th e ir h u sb an d s' re s p e c t as exacting c r i t i c s . W hether C lem ens or W arn e r (or both) stated th a t they could w rite a b e tte r novel than the c u rre n t p o p u lar fa re and w e re challenged to do so by th e ir w ives or sim ply e x p re s s e d th e ir d is ta ste and w e re 5 d a re d by th e ir w ives to w rite a b e tte r novel is of little im p o rtan ce . C T hom as Bond B urnham ("M a rk Tw ain and the Gilded A ge," un pub. m a s t e r 's th e s is [Univ. of Idaho, 1937], pp. 28-29) re m a rk s : "W hat they said we do not know. C onsidering the eventual re s u lt of th e ir l a b o rs, I think a lo g ical guess would be th a t they c o n sid e re d c o n te m p o ra ry novels told too little; th at they w e re too innocuous and so ft-sp o k en , but of c o u rse it is no m o re than a guess. . . . " A fo u rth and ap p aren tly apo cry p h al v e rs io n is given by the n ew sp ap er co lu m n ist E. J. E dw ards in 1910. This v ersio n , told to E d w ard s by Stephen A. H ubbard, m anaging e d ito r and p a r t ow ner of the H a rtfo rd C our ant in the days w hen W a rn e r w as co ed ito r w ith his frie n d Jo sep h R. Hawley, c laim s th at the challenge re s u lte d fro m M rs. C le m ens' and M rs. W a rn e r's tw itting of C lem ens about the "accid en tal hit" m ade by Innocents A b ro a d . When they defied him to "w rite another w ork like it," he tu rn ed to W a rn e r and su g g ested th at they w rite a s to ry to g e th er " c h a p te r by chapter e v e ry m o rn in g ," interw eaving th e ir w o rk in such a w ay th a t th e ir w ives would not be able to te ll who w ro te what. About half w ay through the w ritin g of th e ir p r a c tic a l joke, C lem ens in tro d u c e d C olonel S e lle rs and the au th o rs th en b ecam e s e rio u s ly in t e r e ste d (New Y ork Evening M ajl, M ay 5, 1910; clipping in Yale U n iv ersity L ib rary ). The account is so filled w ith o th er in a c c u ra c ie s about the pub lic a tio n and s a le s of the book th at the e n tire v e rs io n should be co n sid e re d w o rth le s s . One can only specu late how m any other v e rs io n s a re b u ried in file s of n ew sp ap ers and m a g a z in e s. 39 T h e re w as obviously m uch ta lk about c o n te m p o ra ry fictio n am ong the Nook F a rm c irc le and m u c h s e rio u s c r itic is m of it. In the "Sixth Study" of W a rn e r's Backlog S tu d ie s, p ublished in the June 1872 issu e of S c rib n e r 's , th e re is a d isc u ss io n am ong the B acklog c h a ra c te rs of this v e ry subject. (The fire s id e co n v ersatio n s re c o rd e d in this s e r ie s of in fo r m a l e s s a y s involve a stab le set of c h a r a c te r s , a s o r t of b isex u al P ic k w ick Club filte re d through the influence of H o lm e s' A u to c ra t, who r e p r e s e n t r e a l Nook F a r m p e rso n s and som e of whom a r e e a sily id en tifi able.)^ The su b ject is in tro d u ced as follow s: H e rb e rt [unidentified] said he had been dipping into the re c e n t novels w ritte n by w om en, h e re and th e re , w ith a view to noting the effect upon lite r a tu r e of this sudden and ra th e r overw helm ing a c c e s sion to it. T h ere w as a good deal of ta lk about it evening a fte r e v e n ing, off and on, and I can only u n d erta k e to s e t down fra g m e n ts of it. H e r b e r t. I should say th a t the distin g u ish in g fe a tu re of the l i t e r a tu r e of this day is the p ro m in e n c e w om en have in its production. . . . to them we a re indebted fo r the oceans of S unday-school books, and they w rite the m a jo rity of the novels, the s e r ia l s to rie s , and they m ain ly p o u r out the w a te ry flood of ta le s in the w eekly p a p e rs . The M is tr e s s (Susan W arn er) com es to the defense of w om en w r ite r s , citing G eorge E liot, M rs. G askell, G eorge Sand, and M rs. Brow ning. H e rb e rt re p lie s th a t th e se a re of c o u rs e exceptions, then continues: I r e f e r to the g re a t body of novels, w hich you would know by in te rn a l evidence w e re w ritte n by w om en. They a re of two s o rts : the do m e stic sto ry , e n tire ly u n idealized, and as fla v o rle s s as w a te r-g ru e l; and the sp iced novel, g e n e ra lly im m o ra l in tendency, in w hich the so cial p ro b le m s a re handled, unhappy m a r r ia g e s , affinity and p a s sional attra c tio n , bigam y, and the violation of the seventh co m m an d m ent. T hese subjects a re tr e a te d in the ra w e s t m a n n e r, w ithout any se ttle d eth ics, w ith little d is c rim in a tio n of e te rn a l rig h t and w rong, and w ith v e ry little sen se of re sp o n sib ility fo r w hat is se t forth. M any of th e se novels a r e m e re ly the blind o u tb u rsts of a n a tu re im p atie n t of r e s tr a i n t and the conventionalities of society, and a re as chaotic as the u n tra in e d m inds th a t p roduce them . z See K enneth R. A ndrew s, Nook F a rm : M a rk T w ain 's H a rtfo rd C irc le (C am bridge, M a ss., 1950), p. 175. 40 M andeville [unidentified]. D on't you think th e se novels fa irly r e p r e s e n t a so c ia l condition of u n re s t and upheaval? H e r b e r t. V ery likely; and they help to c re a te and s p re a d a b ro ad the d isco n ten t they d e s c rib e . S to rie s of bigam y (so m etim es d is guised by divorce), of unhappy m a rr ia g e s , w h ere the in ju red wife, through an e n tire volum e, is on the b rin k of falling into the a rm s of a. sneaking lo v e r, until d eath kindly rem o v e s the obstacle, and the two souls, who w e re b o rn fo r eac h o ther, but got s e p a ra te d in the c ra d le , m e lt and m ingle into one in the la s t ch ap ter, a r e not healthful read in g fo r m aid s or m o th e rs . Our Next Door [N eighbor] [C lem ens]. We a re living, we a re dwelling, in a g ran d and awful tim e; I'm glad I don't w rite novels. The P a r s o n [Tw ichell]. So am I. Our Next D o o r. I tr ie d a Sunday-school book once; but I m ade the good boy end in the p o o r-h o u se , and the bad boy go to C o n g ress; and the p u b lish e r said it w ouldn't do, . . ? Out of th is im m ed iate background sp ran g the p a rtn e rs h ip of C lem ens and W arn er. It m u st not be supposed, how ever, th at co n ce rn about the con te m p o ra ry novel w as confined to Nook F a rm . Had it been, th e re is little likelihood th at The G ilded Age would have com e into being or, having com e into being, e ith e r have taken the p a rtic u la r shape it did or have ca u se d m uch s tir am ong the read in g public. The Nook F a rm ^S c rib n e r's M onthly, 5:47-49, M ay 1872; Backlog Studies (B os ton, 1873), pp. 156-164. Though W a rn e r (The F ire -T e n d e r) m a k es l i t tle contribution to this colloquy, his views on the subject a r e effectively e x p re s s e d in his e s s a y on "M odern F ictio n ," published in the A tlantic ten y e a rs la te r: "T his is p re -e m in e n tly the age of the novel. . . . e v e ry body re a d s novels. T h r e e - q u a r te r s of the books taken fro m the c ir c u lating lib r a r y a re s to rie s . . . . The re s u lt of this u n iv e rs a l dem and fo r fiction is n e c e s s a rily an en o rm o u s supply, and as everybody w rite s , w ithout re fe re n c e to gifts, the p ro d u ct is m ain ly tra s h , and tr a s h of a d e le te rio u s so rt; fo r bad a r t in lite r a tu r e is bad m o ra ls . I am not su re but the s o -c a lle d do m estic, the diluted, the 'goody,' nam by-pam by, un- ro b u st s to rie s , w hich a re so la rg e ly re a d by sch o o lg irls, young la d ies, and w om en, do m o re h a rm than the 'know ing,' audacious, w icked ones, also, it is re p o rte d , re a d by them , and w ritte n la rg e ly by th e ir own sex" (51:464-474, A p ril 1883; re p rin te d in W a rn e r, The R elation of L i te r a tu re to Life [New York, 1897], pp. 135-167). 41 c irc le se rv e d as one of the m o s t a rtic u la te in tellectu a l fo ci of a g e n e ra l affection. D issa tisfa c tio n w ith the q uality of c o n te m p o ra ry A m e ric a n novels w as being e x p re s s e d in the leading o rg an s of cu ltu re; and the c o n serv ativ e jo u rn a ls , w hich w e re seeking to m a in ta in a high li t e r a r y stan d ard , d elib e ra te ly , a lm o s t pointedly, ig n o red m o s t p o pular fiction and drew a c u rta in of sile n ce around it. But even w hile the A tla n tic, the G alaxy, S c r ib n e r 1 s , and H a r p e r 's w e re s e ria liz in g such w r ite r s as John W. De F o r e s t and W illiam Dean H ow ells or, owing to a d e a rth of A m e r ican w r ite r s who m e t th e ir sta n d a rd s , im po rtin g Anthony T rollope, C h arles Reade, and D ickens, a n u m b e r of fiction w eek lies w ith huge c irc u la tio n s, notably R o b e rt B o n n e r's New Y ork L e d g e r, S tre e t and S m ith 's New Y ork W eekly, and S atu rd ay N ight, w e re supplying a fa r g r e a te r audience w ith banal, sen tim en tal, or se n sa tio n a l s e ria liz e d nov- e ls, m any of w hich w e re quickly p ublished in book fo rm . T hese s to ry p a p e rs did not c a te r to the m a s s e s , how ever; indeed, the la rg e in d u s tr i a l p r o le ta r ia t of the la te n in eteen th and tw entieth c e n tu rie s had b a r e ly begun to develop. The read in g public fo r c u rre n t fictio n both s e r i a l ized and in book fo rm w as to be found am ong m id d le -c la s s g ro u p s -- f a r m e r s , s m a ll tra d e sm e n , sk illed m e c h a n ic s --a n d the lo w er b o u r geoisie. T hese groupings c o m p ris e d a v e ry la rg e audience, and it w as p rin c ip a lly the h ig h e r-in c o m e , m o re fully educated groups, am ong w hom could be n u m b e re d the C le m e n se s and W a rn e rs, who had a b a sis of c o m p a riso n w ith the fin e st c o n te m p o ra ry w riting. ®"When . . . H a r p e r 's w a v e re d betw een 100,000 and 200,000, . . . the New Y ork L e d g e r p rin te d a stead y 400,000. . . . S aturday N ight's top b o ast w as 250,000, the W eekly's 350,000" (M ary Noel, V il lain s G alore [New York, 1954], pp. 5, 120). 42 S c a rc e ly a y e a r b efo re C lem ens and W arn e r began w ritin g The G ilded A ge, the m a n a g e m e n t of the B oston P u b lic L ib ra ry n am ed as the m o s t p o p u la r a u th o rs of the day M rs. E. D. E. N. Southw orth, C aro lin e q L ee H entz, and M ary Jan e H olm es. T hese th re e n ovelists w e re r e p r e sen tativ e of a la rg e body of se n tim e n ta l e s c a p is ts , m o stly w om en w r it e r s , including Susan W arn e r, M a ria C um m ins, C ath erin e W arfield, and M ario n H arland, plus a few m en, T im othy Shay A rth u r, Sylvanus Cobb, and E m e rs o n B ennett, m o s t of w hom had begun th e ir c a r e e r s in the "fem inine fiftie s" or e a r l ie r and who p e rfo rm e d m u ch the sam e function fo r th e ir tim e s as the a lm o st anonym ous w r ite r s of rad io and TV "soap o p e ra s " do fo r o u rs. The devoutly re lig io u s M rs . Southw orth, w hose sto ck in tra d e w as s e lf - s a c r ific e , the evils of div o rce, and the clinging- vine ideal of conduct and w hose devices included dungeons, s p e c tre s, and b u rie d tr e a s u r e , w ro te 60 bulky novels in h e r fifty -y e a r li te r a r y life, m o s t of th em o rig in a lly s e ria liz e d in the New Y ork L e d g e r. M ary Jan e H olm es, "Q ueen of the H um an H e a rt," in c re a s e d the c irc u la tio n of the New Y ork W eekly by 50,000 w ith h e r s to ry "M a ria n G rey ." F ro m the in itia l phenom enal s u c c e s s of Susan W a rn e r's volum e Wide, Wide W orld in 1850 on th ro u g h the w o rk s of the o n e -m a n fiction m ill Sylvanus Cobb, who m a n u fa c tu re d 122 novels in th irty y e a rs , this deluge of m e d i o c rity w as a d m in iste rin g its opiate to a co u n try to rn w ith civil strife and ra d ic a lly changing so c ia l r e la tio n s .’ * '® ^N ation, 14:334, M ay 23, 1872. *®See Noel; H elen W aite P ap ash v ily , All the Happy Endings (New York, 1956); F r e d Lew is P a tte e , The F em in in e F iftie s (New Y ork and London, 1940), p a s s im . 43 T he.only excuse th a t could be o ffered in defense of this bogus lite r a tu r e w as th a t it w as highly m o ra l in tone and th at its r e a d e rs m ight w ell be putting th e ir tim e to w o rse u s e s .^ E ven W alt W hitm an in an a rtic le on "S ensation S to rie s" said th a t m any of th e ir r e a d e r s "m ight do w o rse if d e b a rre d fro m the enjoym ent of th e ir fa v o rite m e n - 12 ta l p ab u lu m ." O ccasionally, how ever, a c ritic broke the o s tra c iz in g silen ce. A re v ie w e r in the A tlantic su m m e d up M rs. S outhw orth's out put in one sentence: "'T h e F a ta l M a rria g e ' is one of fo rty -th re e novels 13 by this w rite r, e v e ry one of w hich is a se p a ra te asto n ish m e n t." In this p e rio d th e re w as co n sid era b le d isc u ssio n of the p o s s i b ilities fo r w ritin g the " g re a t A m e ric a n novel"; and using this topic as a point of d e p a rtu re T. S. P e r r y in the N orth A m e ric a n Review of O c to b e r 1872 se t b efo re his re a d e rs "som e of the m o re obvious fa u lts" of the c u rre n tly p o p u lar n o v e l is ts .^ Ranging fro m the "w e ird visio n s of the S outhern n o v e lis ts ," those " th u n d e r-s to rm s in p rin t," to the "in n o cently p ra ttlin g s to r ie s " of H a r p e r 's , P e r r y p ro c e e d e d to d is s e c t the c o n te m p o ra ry A m e ric a n novel. He lauded De F o r e s t and Stowe fo r th e ir A m e ric a n tr a its but b e ra te d m o s t of the w r ite r s fo r being a fra id of th e ir h e ro e s and h e ro in e s and fo r A nglicizing them . D iscu ssin g the novel M iss Van K o rtlan d , he stated: T h ere w as the g e n e ra l a ir of E n g lish country life b a re ly d isg u ised ^ " B e n n e tt of the H e ra ld and Jennings of the T im es, unable to p r a is e the publication of th e ir frie n d M r. B onner on li te r a r y grounds, fell back upon its ex cellen t m o ra l tone" (Noel, p. 301). ^ Q u o te d in Noel, p. 304. ^ Q u o te d in Noel, p. 300. ^ " A m e r i c a n N ovels," 115:366-378. 44 by A m e ric a n n am es. C o n g ress w as m ade exactly like P a rlia m e n t. It w as an E n g lish bottom sailing u n d er A m e ric a n c o lo rs . . . . The r e a d e r could not help being re m in d e d of the Y ankees in P u n c h 's c a r ic a tu r e s , who w ould be a r r e s te d as su sp icio u s c h a r a c te r s in the backw oods of M aine, n o r could th e ir apt u se of "old h o s s " save them . He w as p a rtic u la rly c o n ce rn ed about the fa n ta stic s to rie s of the South e r n n o v e lists (such as M rs . Southw orth) who d ealt "with the m o st t r e m endous m a n ife sta tio n s of the p ow er of love and jealo u sy , w hich c o m bine to p o iso n young liv es and le a d to the m o s t heinous c r im e s ." And he cam e to the conclusion th a t c o n te m p o ra ry A m e ric a n so ciety p ro b ab ly o ffered "nothing tem pting to the w r ite r , u n le ss, indeed, to the s a tir is t, who should tu rn to rid ic u le the sh allo w n ess, g reed , p re te n c e , and e m p ti n e ss w hich he m ight see about h im ." A rtic le s such as P e r r y 's , in fre quent though they w ere, a r e highly significant b eca u se they re v e a l the thinking of in fo rm ed in te lle c tu a ls, who, w hile they fo r the m o s t p a r t confined th e se judgm ents to p riv a te , p e rs o n a l d is c u ss io n s, could on o c c asio n be s t i r r e d to u tte r them publicly. In the p o st-C iv il W ar y e a rs , N o rth e rn c a p ita lism w as t r i u m phantly follow ing up its v ic to ry o ver S outhern slave m a n o ria lis m by an u n p rece d en ted fro n tie r exp lo itatio n acco m p an ied by g ra ft and c o r r u p tion. Of the re s u lta n t d isru p tio n in hum an values th e re w as an a lm o st to tal ab sen ce of li te r a r y e x p re s s io n but, instead, a c o m m e rc ia liz e d "pabulum " lite r a tu r e se rv in g as a v a s t em o tio n al tra n q u iliz e r. U nder such h is to r ic a l and li t e r a r y conditions a re a c tio n b eca m e inevitable, a re s u rg e n c e of re a lis m , a swing to a lite r a tu r e of actu al c o n te m p o ra ry life w ith an indigenous A m e ric a n b ase. The s to ry of the r is e of r e a l ism and its developm ent into the n a tu ra lis m and m u c k ra k in g of the tu rn of the ce n tu ry is so w ell known th at it h a rd ly needs d is c u ss io n h e re . In 45 the y e a rs 1872-73, how ever, the w eight of 1 'pabulum 1 1 lite r a tu r e w as in p re c a rio u s eq u ilib riu m w ith th a t of c re a tiv e re s tiv e n e s s and of quiet but stro n g ly c ritic a l rev u lsio n , and it needed but the push of a truthful and ta le n te d au th o r to tip the balance and brin g about the onset of c r i t i cal re a lis m . It w ill b eco m e a p p a re n t as this study p r o g r e s s e s that, as alw ays in h isto ry , th e re w e re n u m e ro u s individuals both consciously and u n co n scio u sly attem pting to tip th a t balance. T hat Twain, w ith the help of W arn e r, su ccee d ed w h ere o th e rs failed had its re a so n s also, as I w ill t r y to show. To begin with, C lem ens w h eth er in p riv a te conversation, p e r s o n al c o rre sp o n d e n c e , o r public p rin t w as an outspoken foe of se n tim e n ta l ism , se n sa tio n a lism , and the lite r a tu r e of illusion in g en era l. W riting in S ep tem b er 1870 to his "Q uaker City" e x c u rsio n frie n d and m e n to r of e a r l ie r days, M rs. M ary M ason ("M other") F a irb a n k s, he la m b a ste d the novel R o b ert F a lc o n e r , by the E n g lish m y stic and id e a list G eorge M acD onald, w hich had re c e n tly been published in an A m e ric a n edition and had a p p are n tly b een reco m m en d ed to the C lem en ses by M rs. F a i r banks . S h a rg a r w as the only c h a ra c te r in the book who w as alw ays w e l com e, & of him the author gave us ju s t as little as p o ssib le, & filled his em pty pag es w ith the added e m p tin e ss of th at tire s o m e E ric s o n & his d ism a l "p o e try "--h o g w a sh , I_ call it. . . . w hat on e a rth the author lugged in th at inanity, M iss L ind say, fo r, goes c le a r beyond m y com p reh en sio n . P age a fte r page, & page a fte r page about th a t ineffable doughnut. . . . Hang such an-aur- fcho-r a c h a ra c te r! And M iss St. Jo h n -- . . . w hen she concluded th at the m a n she f i r s t loved w as s m a ll po tato es & th a t th at big booby of an E ric s o n w as the m a n th a t co m p letely filled h e r idea of m a scu lin e p e rfe c tio n I ju s t w anted to send h e r a dose of sa lts w ith m y com plim ents. M ind you, we a re not through y e t--tw o or th re e ch ap ters s till to 46 15 re a d --& th at idiot is still hunting for his fa th e r. . . . All this w ith in terp o latio n s by "L ivy" such as "thats not c o r r e c t," "how d read fu l," and "sc an d alo u s," and a p o s ts c rip t by h e r beginning "I would m ake e r a s u r e s in this le tte r but it is a h o p eless u n d ertak in g ." This playful duel fought betw een husband and wife for "M other" F a irb a n k s' benefit would se e m to b e a r out P a in e 's im plication of w eakness in Olivia C le m en s' ta ste w e re it not that not even a w r ite r of G eorge M e re d ith 's s ta tu re w as invulnerable to h e r h u sband's b a r b s . ^ F o u rte e n y e a rs la te r, C lem ens w as to w rite an en tertain in g critique of S. W atson R oyston's s h o rt ro m an c e The E nem y C onquered; or, Love T riu m p h an t (1845), an e x tra o rd in a ry p iece of tu rg id p ro s e fic- 17 tion called to his attention by G eorge W. Cable. His a rtic le , published as "A C ure fo r the B lues" in The L I , 000,000 B ank-N ote, and O ther S to ries (1893), indicates even m o re effectively than the d ia trib e ag ain st S cott's influence on S outhern se n tim e n ta lism in Life on the M issis sip p i ^ M ark Twain to M rs. F a irb a n k s , ed. Dixon W ecter (San M arinq, Cal., 1949) (h e re a fte r cited as F airb a n k s L e t te r s ), pp. 134-137. At the tim e C lem ens fo rm e d a Browning group in the m iddle eighties, M rs. C lem ens a p p are n tly fo rm e d a fam ily M ered ith group. C y ril C lem ens d e s c rib e s it as follows: "M rs. C lem ens in siste d upon reading aloud 'D iana of the C ro s sw a y s' to the fam ily. C lem ens would r e m a r k fro m tim e to tim e th at they h e a rd so m uch about Diana whom the author is co nstantly p ra is in g to the sk ies, but 'sh e n ev er s e e m s to say a b rillia n t thing or do anything w orth re m e m b e rin g .' And then the h u m o rist would challenge h is wife to quote one re a lly c le v e r thing that D iana had ev er said " (C yril C lem ens, "M a rk T w ain's R eading," C o m m onw eal, 24:363-364, A ugust 7, 1937). C le m en s' dislike of Scott and A usten is w ell known. He also disliked G eorge E liot. (See H aro ld A spiz, "M ark T w ain's R e a d in g --A C ritic a l Study," unpub. d iss. [Univ. of Cal. at Los A ngeles, 1949], pp. 203-204 ff.) ^~Paine, II, 765-766. See also M ark Twain, B u sin ess M an, ed. Sam uel C h arles W eb ster (Boston, 1946), p. 233. 47 18 his re a c tio n to the S outhern n o v e lists' th u n d e rs to rm s in p rin t. He a s s e r ts th a t the au th o r, w hose identity he d isg u ise s u n d er the pseudonym G. R agsdale M cC lintock, "re c o g n iz e d only one kind of e lo q u e n c e --th e lu rid , the te m p e stu o u s, the v o lc an ic." The r e a d e r m u s t not im agine th a t he is to find in it w isdom , b rillia n c y , fe rtility of invention, ingenuity of co n stru ctio n , ex cellen ce of fo rm , p u rity of style, p e rfe c tio n of im ag ery , tru th to n atu re, c le a rn e s s of sta te m e n t, h u m anly p o ssib le situ atio n s, hum anly p o s sible people, fluent n a rra tiv e , connected sequence of e v e n ts - - o r p h i losophy, or logic, o r se n s e . No; the ric h , deep, beguiling c h a rm of the book lie s in the to tal and m ira c u lo u s absen ce fro m it of all th e se q u alities . . . In the e a rly days of his m a r r i e d life C lem ens w ro te a tra v e s ty of E liz a b e th S tu a rt P h e lp s ' tre m e n d o u sly p opular novel of death and consolation, The G ates A ja r (1868), w hich he re fra in e d fro m publishing at the tim e a p p a re n tly only in d e fe re n c e to his w ife 's feelings of p r o p rie ty , though the novel had a lre a d y b een attack e d by B re t H arte in an O verland r e v ie w .^ A fter M rs . C le m e n s' death he at length d ecid ed to p u b lish it in a m odified fo rm in H a r p e r 's (D ecem ber 1907 and J a n u a ry 1908) as the now w ell-know n " E x tra c t fro m C aptain S to rm fie ld 's V isit 20 to H eaven." One has only to know th a t The G ates A jar d is c u s s e d a 18 "A C ure for the B lu es" is re p rin te d to g e th er w ith the R oyston ro m a n c e in The A m e ric a n C laim an t and O ther S to rie s and S ketches in The W ritin g s of M ark T w ain, A u th o r's N ational E dition (New Y ork and London, 1907-1918) (h e re a fte r W ritin g s), XXI, 388-460. F o r the p a s sage on Scott see Life on the M is s is s ip p i (W ritin g s, IX), 308 f., 341 f. ^ M a r y A ngela Bennett, E liz a b e th S tu art P h elp s (Philadelphia, 1939), p. 52. Cf. P ain e , IV, 1430. C lem ens la b o rio u sly tra n s la te d his tr a v e s ty into G e rm a n w ith the intention of publishing it s u rre p titio u sly , but thought b e tte r of the p la n a fte rw a rd . H a rte 's rev iew ap p e a re d in the O verland in S ep te m b er 1869 (3:292-293); see Jo se p h B. H a rriso n , B re t H a rte (New York, 1941), p. lxvi. 116:41-49, 266-276. R ep rin ted in The M y sterio u s S tra n g e r and O ther S to rie s (New Y ork and London, 1922), pp. 223-278. 48 lite ra l, tangible h eav en and its inhabitants, occupations, and s c e n e ry to re a liz e w ith w hat r e lis h the agnostic C lem ens m u s t have w a rm e d up to his rid ic u le and to a p p re c ia te the b u rle sq u e fun of "C aptain S torm - fie ld ." 21 The dim e novels, those e a rly p a p e rb a c k th r i lle r s of lu st, p a s sion, m u rd e r, rev en g e, and m y s te ry p u b lish ed in the thousands by Irw in P. Beadle & Co. and th e ir co m p e tito rs, w hich helped sa tisfy the appetite ro u s e d by the s to ry w eek lies and w hich pro v o k ed p a re n ts ' p ro te s ts of m uch the sam e n a tu re as the p r e s e n t-d a y cam p aig n ag ain st violent and b ru ta l "co m ic" books, w e re n e v e r m e n tio n ed sp e cifically by C lem ens (possibly b eca u se som e of his own sk etch e s h ad ap p e a re d in B e ad le’s 22 D im e Book of F un No. 3 and B e ad le's D im e D ialogues No. 10). But ? 1 The G ates A ja r n o u rish ed in this c o u n try the w ishful thinking of fa m ilie s of the Civil W ar dead and both h e re and e lse w h e re gave su p p o rt to the orthodox in a p e rio d of active re lig io u s questioning brought about by the p r o g r e s s of scien c e. It quickly re a c h e d n e a rly 100,000 c irc u la tio n and w as tra n s la te d into F re n c h , G erm an, Dutch, and Italian. It im m ed iately in sp ire d rep u b licatio n of an even m o re lite r a l book e n title d The G ates Wide Open; or, Scenes in A nother W orld (Bennett, pp. 43-54). Shortly b efo re publication of "C ap tain S to rm field " in H a r p e r 's C lem ens had contem p lated dum ping it into his autobiography (to be p o s t h um ously published) along w ith o th er "old pigeonholed things of the y e a rs gone by w hich I or e d ito rs didn't d a s 't to p rin t" (in le tte r to How ells, M a rk T w ain-H ow ells L e t te r s , ed. H enry N ash Sm ith and W illiam M. G ibson [C am bridge, M ass., I960], II, 811; P ain e , IV, 1312). By 1907, how ever, the c la sh betw een relig io u s fu n d am e n talism and s c ie n c e - o r i ented lib e ra lis m w as la rg e ly a thing of the p a st. ^ J a c o b Blanck, B ibliography of A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re (New H a ven, 1957- ), II, 173, 178. "F itz S m y th e 's H o rse ," re p rin te d in the Golden E r a , J a n u a ry 21, 1866, fro m the T e r r i to r ia l E n te r p r is e , found its w ay "in som e stra n g e m a n n e r" into B e a d le 's Dime Book of F u n , N um ber 3 (1866) (The W ashoe Giant in San F ra n c is c o , ed. F ra n k lin W alker [San F ra n c is c o , 1938J, pp. 99-101, 143). F o r the p r o te s t ag ain st the "yellow backs" see Noel, pp. 301-302. A ccording to C h arles A. and M ary R. B eard (The R ise of A m e ric a n C iv ilizatio n [New York, 1937], II, 445): " F o r e v e ry copy of H ow ells' T ra v e lle r fro m A ltru ria or H enry J a m e s ' P o r tr a i t of a Lady th at w as sold in the m a rts of tra d e , doubtless 49 such p ie c e s as his G olden E r a rev iew of the m e lo d ra m a Ingom ar, the B a rb a ria n , w hich he d e s c rib e s in a slangy, c o p s -a n d -ro b b e rs v e rn a c u la r; the c o -o p e ra tiv e novel s e ria liz e d in the s h o rt-liv e d V irg in ia City " lite r a r y " p a p e r W eekly O ccidental, w hich he d e s c rib e s in Roughing It and in w hich the m o s t ty p ical ep iso d es a re p u rp o rte d to have been w r it te n by a c o lla b o ra to r who w as c o n siste n tly d ru n k w hen he w ro te; and h is own b u rle sq u e love s to ry "T he L oves of A lonzo F itz C la ren ce and R osannah E th e lto n ," w ith its hyp erb o le, s tilte d dialogue, and lu d icro u s device of co u rtsh ip and m a rr ia g e by telephone, all show his fa m ilia rity 23 w ith this type of lite r a tu r e and h is love fo r rid icu lin g it. T h ere is no qu estio n th at C lem ens w as e n tire ly fa m ilia r w ith c o n te m p o ra ry w ritin g and th a t he th e re fo re spoke fro m firs t-h a n d knowledge w h en ev er he c ritic iz e d it. F ro m h is e a r lie s t youth he had been an om nivorous r e a d e r and a b ro a d one. Though his r e c o r d of h is read in g is re la tiv e ly m e a g re and s c a tte re d , he m u st have known, or known about, a lm o st all the p o pular fictio n of his d a y . ^ F ro m the H annibal d a y s--w h e n the typical p a r lo r - ta b le lite r a tu r e co n siste d of a thousand copies of Buffalo B ill's d e s p e ra te deeds, D iam ond D ick's fra n tic exploits, and B e a d le 's b lo o d -cu rd lin g je o p a rd ie s w e re con su m ed by the m e n who, w ith the consent of th e ir w ives, g o v ern ed the country in the gilded age and by the boys who w e re to p o s s e s s the fu tu re ." 2 ^ F o r the rev iew of In g o m a r, w hich a p p e a re d in the G olden E r a , N ovem ber 29, 1863, see W ashoe G iant, pp. 58-60; for the c o -o p e ra tiv e novel, Roughing It, II (W ritin g s, VIII), 96-105; fo r "The L oves of A lonzo . . .," w hich w as f i r s t published in An Idle E x c u rs io n (Blanck, II, 191), Tom Saw yer A b ro ad . . . E tc. (W ritin g s, XX), 408-432. S im ila r " s e n s a tion n o v els" a p p e a re d in the Golden E r a (F ra n k lin W alker, San F r a n c is c o 's L ite r a r y F r o n tie r [New York, 1939], p. 124). ^ A sp iz , p. 224. 50 the "c h a ste and innocuous 'G o d ey 's L ad y 's Book," s u b sc rip tio n m i s c e l la n ie s "w ith th e ir sappy in a n itie s ," and "two or th re e goody-goody w o rk s " such as he d e s c rib e d la te r in Life on the M is sis sip p i, and w hen it w as a g r e a t ev en t fo r him to d isc o v e r a to rn le a f fro m a h is to ry of Joan of A r c - - u p th ro u g h h is a s s o c ia tio n w ith the se lf-e d u c a te d S c o ts m a n M acfarlan e and his d is c o v e ry of S c o tt's F o rtu n e s of N igel as a cub 25 pilot, he kept read in g co n stan tly and in d u strio u sly . In 1876 he told M rs. J a m e s T. F ie ld s, w ife of the B oston p u b lish e r, that, not having been able to have read in g m a te r ia l "'w hen I w as hungry fo r it, I can on ly r e a d the E n cy clo p ed ia now adays.' W hich is not tr u e ," she adds, "he 2 fi re a d s e v e ry th in g ." Am ong the m any p e rio d ic a ls he re a d w e re the A t la n tic M onthly, G odey's L a d y 's Book, H a r p e r 's M onthly M ag azin e, H a r - 27 p e r 's W eekly M ag azin e, New Y ork L e d g e r, and O verland M onthly. Along w ith H a r r ie t B e e c h e r Stowe, he w as a re g u la r c u sto m e r of Is ra e l W itkow er's bookshop in H a rtfo rd , as he w as of J a m e s G uild's bookshop 28 in W ashington w h en ev er he v is ite d the capital. See Life on the M is s is s ip p i (W ritin g s, IX), 295; P ain e , I, 81- 82; M a rk T w ain 's A utobiography, ed. A lb e rt Bigelow P a in e (New York, 1925) (h e re a fte r A uto b io g rap h y ), I, 143-147; The A utobiography of M ark T w ain, ed. C h a rle s N eid er (New York, 1959) (h e re a fte r A utobiography, N eid er ed.), pp. 95-97. F o r re fe re n c e to The F o rtu n e s of N igel see [M rs. J a m e s T. F ie ld s], M e m o rie s of a H o stess: A C hronicle of E m m i- nent F rie n d s h ip s , ed. M. A. De Wolfe Howe (Boston, 1922), p. 245. Dixon W ecter (Sam C lem ens of H annibal [Boston, 1952], p. 209) r e m a r k s : "T he r e a l H annibal w as n e ith e r the to tal c u ltu ra l d e s e r t im ag in ed by Van W yck B rooks in The O rdeal of M a rk Tw ain n o r the s e a t of the m u s e s p a trio tic a lly conceived by M innie B ra s h e a r in M ark Twain, Son of M is so u ri. . . . " ^ M e m o rie s of a H o ste ss, p. 245. ^ A s p i z , p. 77. ^ H e l l m u t L ehm ann-H aupt, The Book in A m e ric a (New York, 1939), p. 194; G eorge R othw ell Brown, W ashington, a Not Too S erious H isto ry (B altim o re, 1930), pp. 417-418. B row n says th a t G uild's 51 T h re e of the m o s t volum inous and p o p u lar of the se n sa tio n nov e lis ts w hose w o rk C lem ens knew w ell w e re Sylvanus Cobb, J r ., T im othy Shay A rth u r, and E m e rs o n Bennett, all of w hom w ro te for B o n n er's New Y ork L ed g er and other s to ry w eek lies such as The F lag of Our Union, S aturday Evening P o s t, S atu rd ay N ight, and New Y ork W eekly. He p robably f ir s t m ade th e ir acquaintance w hen he w as setting type fo r the L ed g er in 1 8 5 3 .^ In h is G alaxy "M e m o ran d a" fo r N ovem ber 1870, w ritin g to young a s p ira n ts to l i te r a r y fam e, he said, . . . if Sylvanus Cobb or T. S. A rth u r had su b m itted th e ir m aid en MSS. to you, you would have said, w ith te a r s in your eyes, "Now p le a se d on't w rite any m o re !" But you see y o u rse lf how popular they a re . (10:733) In Roughing It he co m p a re s the language of Ja m e s F e n im o re C o o p er's Indians to "su ch an attem p t to ta lk like a h u n te r o r a m o u n tain ee r as a B roadw ay c le rk m ight m ak e a fte r eating an edition of E m e rso n B en n e tt's w o rk s. . . . " 3® (B ennett w as an im ita to r of C o o p er.)3^ And in The Gilded Age itse lf he w rite s of the ty p ical railw a y h aw k er who "hands you out a book of m u r d e r s if you a re fond of theology; or . . . T. 32 S. A rth u r if you a r e fond of p o e try ." Cobb, who w as called "decently se n sa tio n a l," alw ays co n triv ed to have vice punished and v irtu e r e w arded; A rth u r, author of the fam ous T en Nights in a B a r-R o o m , vivid ly condem ned drinking, gam bling, and other v ic es; B ennett w ro te of the hodge-podge shop, w hich overflow ed onto the s tre e t, "had a fa sc in a tio n fo r M a rk T w ain," who ra n s a c k e d the p la ce eac h tim e "with the c o n sta n t ly in v ig o rated z e s t of a c o n firm ed bib lio p h ile." 3 ^A spiz, p. 232; cf. P ain e , I, 96. 30I (W ritin g s, VII), 157. 31A spiz, p. 233. 33II (W ritin g s, XI), 61. 52 w oes of city l i f e . ^ In the light of the foregoing f a c ts - - th e condition of c o n te m p o ra ry lite ra tu re , C le m e n s' knowledge of it, and his delight in rid icu lin g it, a delight b o rn of d is g u s t- - it is highly p ro b ab le th a t the H o lliste r-N o rm a n v e rs io n of the a g re e m e n t betw een C lem ens and W arn er that led to The G ilded Age is su b stan tially valid. W hether C lem ens actu ally p ro p o se d to W a rn e r in so m any w o rd s th a t they "w rite a b u rlesq u e on the m o d e rn novel" or w h eth er this account is an unconscious p ro je c tio n of effect into cau se in r e tr o s p e c t can p ro b ab ly n e v e r be d e te rm in e d w ith c e r tainty. The re s u lt, how ever, w as p re c is e ly that: a b u rlesq u e on the c o n te m p o ra ry p o p u lar novel; and the evidence shows w ithout doubt th at the b u rlesq u e w as quite intentional. But in o rd e r to u n d e rsta n d how P a tte e , pp. 77, 183; Noel, pp. 171, 225-226. So p e rv a s iv e was the influence of th e se w r ite r s th a t C h arles W a rre n Stoddard, poet, c o l lege p ro fe s s o r, and close frie n d of C lem ens, "looked back w ith u n r e pentant n o stalg ia upon his L e d g e r-re a d in g d ay s" and "spoke affectio n ately of E m e rs o n B ennett and Sylvanus Cobb, J r ." (Noel, p. 305). An in te re s tin g sid elig h t is p ro v id e d by P r o f e s s o r Joseph Jones of the U n iv ersity of T exas in a le tte r in The Tw ainian ("M ore Tw ain Found in New Y ork Weekly, " F e b ru a ry 1944, pp. 1-4). In the sp rin g of 1867, ap p are n tly to build up the audience fo r his fo rth co m in g Jum ping F ro g volum e and his C ooper Union le c tu re , C lem ens allow ed the New Y ork W eekly to re p rin t five of his Sandw ich Islands le tte r s w ritte n for the S ac ra m e n to Union in 1866. C om m enting on the com pany am ong whom M ark Twain ap p ea red , Jones says: " S erial fiction included such title s as The H eir of B alfour H a ll, by M a rg a re t Blount; The W a te r- Wolf; or, The D em on of the B e rm u d a s , by Leon Lew is; The H e ire s s of E g re m o n t, by M rs. Leon Lew is; E th e lb e rt the W a n d e re r; or, The S p irit W ife, by E d w ard M inturn (likew ise the author of The P e a r l of the Roof; or, The D iv e r's D aughter, ap p ea rin g during the sam e period); Annie G ra h a m 's F i r s t L ove, by M rs. M a ry J. H olm es; The F e m a le Spy of A l g i e r s , by H a rry H azleton; w ith a g re a t m an y m o ra l ta les fo r boys and g irls, and s h o rt s to rie s and sk etch e s about d e sp e ra d o e s, d ru n k ard s, ad v en tu res w ith Indians, r e s c u e s at sea, d isin h e rite d d au g h ters, slav e g irls, 'love at c r o s s p u rp o s e s ,' incidents of p r is o n life, m o th e r love, and runaw ay lo co m o tiv es. . . 53 this is so it is n e c e s s a r y to p r e s e n t a synopsis of the novel itself. The sto ry of The Gilded Age begins in the h a m le t of Obedstow n in the d is tr ic t known as the "Knobs of E a s t T e n n e ss e e ," w h ere "S quire" Hawkins and h is fam ily live. Si H aw kins, "S quire" by v irtu e of being p o s tm a s te r of Obedstown, keeps the g e n e ra l sto re of the village of fifteen h o u ses in a p a r t of h is own house. He has tak en up sev en ty -fiv e thousand a c re s of county land, w o rth at p r e s e n t le s s than th re e a c re s to the cent, but w hat w ith tim b e r, g rain , and the evidence of coal and of copper and iro n o re in it p ro m is e s to be w o rth a thousand d o lla rs an a c re som eday and b rin g a fortune to h is fam ily and h e irs . M eanw hile his fam ily is p o v e rty -s tric k e n and the im m ed iate outlook is hopeless; so he convinces his w ife, Nancy, to heed a le tte r fro m his frie n d E sch o l S e lle rs in M is s o u ri begging him to m ove to the new fro n tie r th e re and m ake a f r e s h s ta rt. Nancy co n sen ts, though w ith m isg iv in g s becau se S e lle rs has a lm o st ru in ed th e ir fo rtu n es a lre a d y in h a re b ra in e d sch em e s in V irginia and Kentucky. On the evening of the th ird day of th e ir tr e k they com e upon a cabin w h ere a te n -y e a r - o ld boy, Clay, has ju st becom e orphaned by the death of his m o th e r fro m fe v e r. With ty p ical co m p assio n and im p ra c ti- cality Squire Hawkins adopts Clay into his a lre a d y o v erb u rd en ed fam ily and tra v e ls on. They b o a rd a M is s is s ip p i steam b o at to co v er p a r t of th e ir jo u rn ey . On the voyage th e ir steam b o at, the B o re a s , b eco m es in volved in a r a c e w ith a riv a l boat, the A m a ra n th . T hrough o v erfirin g , the A m a ra n th blows up, and the B o reas d ro p s back to p ick up w ounded su rv iv o rs and the dead. As a r e s u lt of this episode the H aw kinses a c q u ire another m e m b e r of th e ir household, the fiv e -y e a r-o ld L a u ra Van 54 Brunt, orphaned by the d is a s te r. E v en tu ally they a r r iv e at a tiny v il lage on the s h o re s of the M isso u ri, w h ere they a re g re e te d by the w a rm -h e a rte d , e c c e n tric , v is io n a ry frie n d of Squire Haw kins, "C olonel" E sch o l S e lle rs, and his la rg e fam ily. Haw kins joins C olonel S e lle rs in his la te s t sp ecu la tio n of ra isin g m u les fo r the S outhern m a rk e t, a sp ecu lation w hich this tim e su cceed s w ell, and he builds a tw o -s to ry house and equips it w ith " s to r e " fu rn itu re fro m St. L ouis and d e c o ra te d o il cloth window c u rta in s. Through o th er sh rew d speculations in pro d u ce and goods he p r o s p e r s and his h o n o ra ry title "S q u ire" b eco m es "Judge." We skip ten y e a rs to find th at little L a u ra Van B runt Hawkins has becom e a beautiful and bew itching sch o o lg irl of seventeen. Judge Hawkins has had his ups and downs and has com e n e a r sa c rific in g the T en n essee L and w hen tim e s have been h a rd , once fo r $1,500, an o th er tim e for $3,000. At the m om ent, he is again facing p o v erty , and again a fortuitous s tra n g e r, re p re s e n tin g an iro n com pany, offers him $10,000; but a fte r c o n sid e ra b le m e n ta l conflict Hawkins holds out fo r $30,000, the m a n v an ish es, and N ancy once again is c re s tfa lle n . At this ju n c tu re young W ashington H aw kins, a d ream y , u n p ra c tic a lly inventive lad of tw enty-tw o, v o lu n teers to go live w ith C olonel S e lle rs fo r a w hile to r e lieve the fam ily b u rd e n until the T e n n e sse e Land is sold. E m ily H aw kins and L a u ra v o lu n teer to go to St. Louis, the f o r m e r to b o a rd on c re d it w ith a frie n d of the fam ily, the la tte r to e a rn h e r own living. Clay com es hom e at the b e h e st of Judge H awkins, bringing w ith him savings of two h undred d o lla rs fro m his own e arn in g s, p ays off his fo ste r fa th e r's few s m a ll debts, bundles off W ashington to Colonel S el le r s in Hawkeye, M isso u ri, and goes back to his la b o rs . 55 At Hawkeye C olonel S e lle rs fills W ashington H aw kins' h ead w ith m a rv e lo u s ideas fo r m aking both th e ir fo rtu n es, the m o s t im m ed iate of w hich is an Infallible Im p e ria l O rien tal Optic L in im en t and Salvation fo r Sore E yes, the fo rm u la fo r w hich he is w orking on and w hich w ill se ll a m illio n b o ttles in the U nited States and untold m illio n s to the p eoples of the O rien t su fferin g fro m ophthalm ia. T hese ro s e a te v isio n s, in all of w hich W ashington firm ly b eliev es, a r e re la te d to him in S e lle rs ' house, b a r r e n of fu rn itu re , sw a rm in g w ith voluble little S e lle rs e s , and chilled by a stove w hose w a rm glow p ro v e s to be p ro v id ed by a single candle w ith in --a little invention of the C olonel's to p re v e n t rh e u m a tis m . (Upon another o ccasio n the C olonel e n te rta in s W ashington w ith fu rth e r m a r vels a t a dinner co n sistin g of c le a r, f r e s h w a te r and a b a sin of raw tu rn ip s, the invaluably n o u rish in g v irtu e s of w hich a re extolled by the re s o u rc e fu l S e lle rs .) S e lle rs s e c u re s W ashington a job as c le rk and bookkeeper to the lo cal r e a l e sta te p ro m o te r, G en eral B osw ell, at w hose house he is to b o ard . W ashington and G en eral B o sw ell's daugh te r, L o u ise, p ro m p tly fall in love w ith one an o th er. B efore the e y e w a te r h as becom e a re a lity , W ashington is sum m oned hom e b e c a u se his fa th e r is c ritic a lly ill. A fter a w eek of lin g e rin g illn e ss Judge Hawkins dies, s e c u re in the b elief th at the T e n n e sse e Land w ill keep his fam ily fro m penury. The death of Si Hawkins is follow ed in a few days by th a t of a M ajor Lackland, f o r m e r ly a m a n of note in the sta te but one who as c o n g re s s m a n has sold his vote and been co m p lete ly d isg ra c e d . The c o r o n e r 's ju ry finds on his body c e r ta in m e m o ra n d a th at p ro v e L a u ra is not the H aw kinses' own d aughter, w h ereu p o n the lo cal g o ssip s get to 56 w ork. L a u ra , d istra u g h t, ra n sa c k s the g a r r e t until she finds c o r r e spondence betw een Judge Hawkins and M ajor L ackland indicating th a t h e r r e a l fa th e r su ffered a m n e sia as a r e s u lt of the steam b o at explosion and a fte r one or two re a p p e a ra n c e s d isa p p e a re d fo r good. The g o ssip s keep up th e ir ru m o rs and insinuations about L a u r a 's questionable b irth , ru m o rs w hich no one can definitely dispel, w ith the r e s u lt th at she is o s tra c iz e d even by h e r sw e eth ea rt. At this point in the s to ry a second set of c h a ra c te rs is in tro duced. P h ilip S terling and H a rry B rie rly a re two young m e n out to m ake th e ir fo rtu n es in New Y ork City, who live to g e th e r in a Ninth S tre e t boardinghouse. P hilip, a Yale g rad u ate, has been read in g law and vainly try in g to get an e d ito ria l job; h is c la ss m a te H a rry , who a s su m es the a ir of a m an of a ffa irs, has been talking of his connections and w aiting fo r an opportunity of som e kind to tu rn up. Finally, through H a r r y 's uncle they se c u re positions w ith a p a rty of en g in eers and s u r v ey o rs being sen t out to M iss o u ri by New Y ork c a p ita lists to lay out a ra ilro a d . A rriv e d in St. Louis, they m ake the acquaintance of Colonel S e lle rs, who gets H a rry in te re s te d in a land speculation th at is an off shoot of the r a ilro a d they a re surveying, the Salt L ick P acific E x ten sion. S e lle rs h as p e rsu a d e d the division en g in eer to route the ra ilr o a d through the h a m le t of S tone's Landing (hopefully to be n am ed Napoleon) at the h ead of Goose Run (hopefully to be nam ed the Colum bus R iver), w hich he feels is a n a tu ra l r a il-w a te r junction. W hile P hilip, le s s im p re s sio n a b le than his frien d , goes on ahead w ith the surveying p arty , H a rry r e tu rn s to Hawkeye w ith Colonel S e lle rs to p re p a re a p etitio n to C o n g ress fo r the im p ro v em en t of the navigation of Colum bus R iver. 57 M eanw hile in P h ila d elp h ia the young Q uaker w om an w ith w hom P hilip S terlin g is in love, Ruth Bolton, has com e hom e fro m a Q uaker s e m in a ry im p atien t at its confining en v iro n m en t and announces to h e r fam ily th at she is going to study m e d icin e . In spite of h e r p a r e n ts ' anxiety she e n te rs the new ly e sta b lis h e d W om en's M edical C ollege in the city and begins h e r exhausting stu d ie s. In Hawkeye H a rry B rie rly m e e ts and b eco m es fa sc in a te d w ith L a u ra H aw kins. In a fla sh b a c k ch ap ter we a r e told how during the Civil W ar L a u ra fell in love w ith a h andsom e C onfederate officer, Colonel Selby, who en ticed h e r into a fa lse m a r r ia g e and who abandoned h e r a fte r re v e a lin g th a t he w as a lre a d y m a rr ie d . This ex p e rie n c e has le ft h e r, still beautiful, w ith a cynical d e te rm in a tio n to m ake h e r w ay in the w o rld by playing upon the s u sc e p tib ilitie s of the now contem ptible op p o site sex. She skillfully m a n ip u lates H a r r y 's fascin a tio n w ith h e r, m uch to P h ilip 's s in c e re a la rm , and it o c c u rs to H a rry th at L a u ra would do a su p e rb job of lobbying fo r the r iv e r im p ro v em en t sch em e at W ashington. W hen Hawkeye is v is ite d by S enator A bner D ilw orthy, Colonel S e lle rs so lic its his in te re s t in the Colum bus R iv e r p ro je c t. The S enator, ta k en w ith W ashington H aw kins' g u ile le s s n e s s and adaptability, h ire s him as his s e c r e t a r y and, tak en w ith L a u r a 's beauty and c l e v e r n e ss, invites h e r to v is it his fam ily during the w in te r s e s s io n of Con g re s s . Finding a n eed for a m o re g e n e ra liz e d c u ltu ra l background b e fo re continuing m ed icin e and being ex h au sted fro m close ap p licatio n to h e r sp e c ia l stu d ie s, R uth Bolton decides to go aw ay to school at a la rg e coeducational New E ngland s e m in a ry . H ere she ro o m s w ith the fam ily 58 of a r e ti r e d la w y er, Squire M ontague, b eco m es good frien d s w ith his d aughter A lice, and throw s h e r s e lf delightedly into the com m unity life of the little college town of F a llk ill. In m id w in ter, the r a ilro a d o p e ra tions being te m p o ra rily su sp en d ed during the h a rs h w eath e r, P h ilip and H a rry com e E a st, the one to tr y to s e c u re a s h a re in the ra ilro a d c o m p an y 's stock, the o th e r to help p ro c u re a C o n g ressio n al a p p ro p ria tio n for the Colum bus R iv er p ro je c t. W hile negotiations a re pending, the two young m e n m ake a s h o rt v is it to F allk ill, w h ere H a rry f lir ts and P h ilip b ecom es u n e a sy at seeing Ruth so ap p are n tly independent and fa r fro m pining fo r him . In the n atio n al capital, W ashington Hawkins le a rn s the ins and outs of C o n g re ssio n a l co m m itte e s and is duly im p re s s e d w ith all he s e e s. He re p o rts p r o g r e s s now and th en in le tte r s to Colonel S ellers b ack at S tone's Landing and at la s t is able to re p o rt p a ssa g e of the bill w hich g ra n ts a $200,000 a p p ro p ria tio n fo r the navigation p ro je c t. H arry, who h as been flitting around the cap ito l buttonholing c o n g re s sm e n and other influential p e rs o n a g e s, na'iVely ta k e s all the c re d it fo r the b ill's p a ss a g e and ru s h e s back to S to n e's L anding to take charge of e n g in e e r ing o p eratio n s. A fter s e v e ra l w eeks of dredging and digging have elapsed, the a p p ro p ria tio n m oney still has not a rriv e d , H a r r y 's le tte r s to the Colum bus R iv e r S lac k w ater N avigation Com pany in New Y ork r e m a in u n an sw ered , and his o rd e rs on the Com pany to pay fo r w ages and supplies a re ignored. Colonel S e lle rs quells a m utiny of the w o rk m en only by dividing all his savings am ong them and giving them lots in the p ro p o se d city of N apoleon. H a r r y goes to New Y ork to find out w hat is the m a tte r, w hile the Colonel fo rg e ts h is disappointm ent at the c e s sa tio n of w o rk on the p ro je c t by d ream in g w onderful d re a m s of the fo rtu n es to be m ade in v ario u s land sp ecu latio n s along the ro u te of the new r a i l road. New Y ork h e a d q u a rte rs finds no difficulty in explaining to H a rry in detail not only how the $200,000 ap p ro p ria tio n has been e n tire ly con sum ed in n e c e s s a ry lobbying, vote-buying, and influencing the p r e s s , but th a t the com pany is at p r e s e n t $25,000 in debt. As the ra ilro a d c re e p s n e a re r, the little tow n of Hawkeye b eco m es panicky and sub s c rib e s such a la rg e sum th at the r a ilro a d com pany decides to fo rg e t N apoleon and follow the re la tiv e ly s tra ig h te r co u rse through Hawkeye, w hereupon the boom town of S tone's Landing suddenly fades into a ghost town and Colonel S e lle rs ' hopes co llap se. To cap the clim ax of m is f o r tune, W ashington H awkins, who had w ritte n th at he w as about to accept $40,000 fo r the T en n e ssee Land, w rite s that he has held out for $150, 000 and again a chance has been lost. M eanwhile, R uth's fa th e r, E li Bolton, who has for y e a rs been a gullible lis te n e r to people in need of m oney and who is not a v e rs e to helping them attem p t to e n ric h th e m se lv e s, has becom e involved, through a M r. B igler, in a r a ilro a d speculation. He has been le ft h old ing a p re s e n tly u s e le s s tr a c t of land, in w hich it is ru m o re d th e re m ay be coal, and he c o m m issio n s P hilip to explore the land fo r him . Philip, who has decided th a t the S alt L ick P a c ific E xtension is not a genuine v en tu re but only an excuse for a W all S tre e t speculation, gladly accepts M r. B olton's offer. He feels a need to becom e a m an w orthy of R uth's re s p e c t if he is to win h e r. He cannot u n d erstan d h e r goo d -n atu red in dependence, w hich is no m o re than h e r own d e s ire to prove h e rs e lf as an individual b efo re becom ing a spouse. A lice M ontague h as s e c re tly 60 fallen in love w ith P hilip, and P hilip, piqued at R u th 's la c k of attention, ra th e r fa v o rs A lice fo r the m om ent. But w hen he b re a k s his a rm in a th e a te r fire s c a re , it is Ruth who w ith confident devotion and ca lm n e ss a s s is ts the su rg e o n in d re s s in g h is w ounds. At the cap ital, W ashington Hawkins h as induced Senator D il- w orthy to se ll the T e n n e sse e Land to the g o v ern m en t as the site of an in d u stria l u n iv e rsity fo r N eg ro es, or " fre e d m e n ," as they a re then called. The la n d 's v a rie ty of grow th and m in e r a l r e s o u r c e s m ake it an ideal lo c atio n fo r the study of a g ric u ltu re , h u sbandry, m ining, and m e t allurgy. The S enator sends fo r L a u ra to gro o m h e r as a lobbyist fo r the n e c e s s a r y a p p ro p ria tio n . At this ju n c tu re we a r e in tro d u ced to p o stb ellu m W ashington, its m uddy s tr e e ts , its n o uveau- r ic h e , p re te n tio u s society, its v u lg a r and costly lobbying. L a u ra quickly b eco m es a skillful lobbyist, com bining lav ish e n te rta in m e n t of co m m itte e m e n w ith subtle coquetry, all the w hile keeping s c o re of the votes she is w inning fo r the Knobs In d u strial U n iv ersity Bill. In h e r m a n e u v e rs she is guided by h e r m e n to r, S enator Dilw orthy, who explains e v e ry m ove in h y p o c ritic a l te rm s of devotion to the public good and b enefaction to the " c o lo re d r a c e ." H er open f l i r tation, w hich m a rk s h e r as one of the chief w om en lobbyists of the capitol, in s p ire s a c e rta in am ount of g o ssip and in fu riates H a rry B rie rly , who is h o p e le ssly infatuated w ith h e r. W hen Colonel Selby, L a u ra 's fo r m e r lo v e r and p re te n d e d husband, a r r iv e s w ith his wife and fam ily and re s u m e s his e x tra m a r ita l re la tio n s w ith L au ra, H a rry , com pletely u n aw are of L a u r a 's p a st, b eco m es fra n tic . W hen P hilip gets out of him the s to ry of L a u r a 's scan d alo u s b eh av io r w ith Colonel 61 Selby, P hilip goes to W ashington to find out w hat kind of a s c ra p e his frie n d h as got h im s e lf into. He faces L a u ra bluntly w ith w hat he con s id e rs h e r triflin g w ith H a rry and she te lls him th a t H a rry is a fo o lish young f lir t who had b e st sta y aw ay fro m h e r. L e a rn in g th at Colonel Selby is p re p a rin g to leav e for E u ro p e w ith his fam ily, w hile all along he has p re te n d e d to be re a d y to fly to the ends of the e a rth w ith his p a ra m o u r, L a u ra goes to his hotel and shoots him dead. She is im m e d ia te ly ap p reh en d ed along w ith h e r innocent " e s c o rt," H a rry B rie rly , and ta k en to the T om bs. H a rry is re le a s e d a lm o s t at once but L a u ra re m a in s in p r is o n aw aiting tria l. B efore the m u rd e r, how ever, L a u ra has su c c e e d e d --th ro u g h b lack m ailin g a s e n a to r w hose sp eech she has g h o st-w ritte n w ithout h is k n o w led g e--in sec u rin g a m a jo rity fo r the Knobs In d u stria l U n iv ersity Bill. It is re p o rte d fav o rab ly out of co m m ittee and in a su sp en sefu l scene is c a r r ie d by a tw o -th ird s m a jo rity in the H ouse. The attack it h as re c e iv e d in the n ew sp ap ers as a sw indle designed to benefit the Hawkins fam ily and th e ir frie n d s is c o n sid e re d by the ex p erien ced S enator D ilw orthy a p e rs e c u tio n v e ry helpful to th e ir cau se. W hen C o n g ress convenes fo r the second s e s s io n in D ecem b er, Colonel S el le r s is w o rrie d about the p ro s p e c ts of the bill in the Senate, fo r the re p e rc u s s io n s of the tr i a l of L a u ra H awkins, w hose nam e is in e x tric a bly a s s o c ia te d w ith the bill, m a y w ell affect it a d v e rse ly . M o m en tary re lie f com es w ith the s u c c e ssfu l po stp o n em en t of the tria l. S enator D ilw orthy and h is faithful s e c r e ta r y W ashington Hawkins th ro u g h v a r i ous sta te m e n ts and public a p p e a ra n c e s b rin g e v e ry m o ra l and relig io u s influence to b e a r th at they can in fav o r of the bill. When the m u r d e r tr ia l gets u n d er w ay the defense, le d by the b rillia n t s tra te g y of the fam ous c rim in a l la w y er M r. B rah am , su cceed s in sec u rin g a ju ry suitably ignorant and illite ra te fo r easy m anipulation, then p ro c e e d s to stage a m oving and eloquent appeal in behalf of the beautiful w om an who h as been v ic tim iz e d by m e n and has in a m o m en t of te m p o ra ry insanity re ta lia te d for h e r in ju rie s. W hile Colonel S el le r s and L a u ra 's b ro th e r w ait w ith b ated b re a th in W ashington fo r new s of the tr ia l and for the final read in g of the bill in the Senate, a b o m b sh ell is dropped in the fo rm of the se n sa tio n a l e x p o su re of S en ato r D il w o rth y 1 s buying of votes fo r his re -e le c tio n . W hen the Colonel and W ashington ru s h to the capitol they find e v e ry se n a to r w ith a n ew sp ap er e x tra in his hand. N eed less to say, not a single vote is c a s t fo r the bill, and again the S e lle rs d re a m bubble b u r s ts . T h ere follows a Senate in v estig atio n into S enator D ilw orthy1 s co rru p tio n , the re s u lt of w hich is th a t in the face of in c o n tro v ertib le evidence and sw o rn te stim o n y of vote buying the Senate upholds its ancient dignity and e x o n e ra te s D il w o rth y by a v e rd ic t of no p ro o f of b rib e ry . The s tra te g y of L a u ra 's counsel, B rah am , in his p le a fo r t e m p o r a r y insanity su cceed s in winning a v e rd ic t of not guilty and L a u ra is fre e d am id st tum ultuous public indignation. A pproached by a le c tu re agent she attem p ts to m ake a public le c tu re on "T he R evelations of a W om an's L ife," but is hooted off the stag e and h u stle d by a je e rin g crow d g ath ered outside the th e a te r. She goes hom e c ru sh e d and dies of h e a r t failu re. All this w hile P hilip S terling h as b een p ro sp e c tin g the Ilium coal field fo r M r. Bolton w ith in te rm itte n t tan talizin g indications of the 63 p re s e n c e of coal but w ith no a ctu al s u c c e s s . M r. Bolton is ta lk ed into lending h is nam e as s e c u rity to B ig ler, who com es to him w ith an o th er h a rd -lu c k sto ry . He is n eatly sw indled by him and lo se s a lm o s t all he has, including h is co u n try hom e. P h ilip 's w o rk n a tu ra lly has to cea se , and he goes to v is it the M ontagues at F a llk ill. S quire M ontague, w ith the e n th u sia sm of com plete ig n o ran ce, stak es P h ilip to a continuation of h is p ro sp ectin g ; but a fte r w eeks m o re of f ru itle s s effo rt P hilip p ays off h is m e n - - f o r he is too p ro u d to a s k S quire M ontague fo r m o re m o n e y -- and continues alone. J u st as he is about to give up he s trik e s the vein of coal. Iro n ic a lly enough, at this v e ry m o m en t he re c e iv e s a te le g ra m th a t Ruth is c ritic a lly ill. He ru s h e s to P h ilad elp h ia, w h ere he finds h e r w ith a se rio u s fe v e r c o n tra c te d during h e r w o rk in the h o sp ita l. He stay s by h e r b ed sid e and im p a rts to h e r the s tre n g th to keep alive and r e tu r n to health. We leave them happy in th e ir love; and A lice M ontague fo re v e r stifle s in h e r own bosom the love th a t P h ilip w ill n e v e r know she had fo r him . Clay H aw kins, who has y e a rs ago gone to A u stra lia , re a d s the new s of L a u r a 's tro u b le and im m e d ia te ly e m b a rk s fo r the S tates, a r r i v ing in H aw keye, M is so u ri, ju s t in tim e to console h is fo s te r m o th e r at L a u ra 's d eath and to take upon h im se lf the o rd e rin g of the household. W ashington H aw kins, who has becom e p re m a tu re ly old and w h ite -h a ire d , fin ally abandons hope in the T e n n e sse e Land and, te a rin g up the la te s t tax bill on it, d e p a rts fo r H aw keye and m a trim o n y w ith L o u ise B osw ell, acco m p an ied by the e v e r-re b o u n d in g and o p tim istic Colonel S e lle rs . F ro m this b rie f synopsis it can e a s ily be seen th a t the p rin c ip a l in g re d ie n ts of the se n sa tio n novel a r e p re s e n t: d is a s te r (in the steam b o at explosion), unknown p a re n ta g e , adoption, fa lse m a rr ia g e , m u rd e r, s e lf-s a c rific in g devotion, and h o v erin g betw een life and death. The ste a m b o a t explosion is u se d quite ty p ically to p re c ip ita te the o r phan L a u ra Van B runt into the sto ry . By the u p p e r-c la s s sound of h er nam e at a tim e w hen D u tch -d escen d e d f ir s t fa m ilie s of New Y ork w e re p ro m in e n t in the news and by the re fe re n c e to h e r re a l fa th e r (in the c o rre sp o n d e n c e she u n e a rth s betw een h e r adopted fa th e r and M ajo r Lackland) as a " h a n d s o m e -fe a tu re d a r is to c r a tic gentlem an" (I, 1 1 6 ) ,^ L a u ra obviously r e p r e s e n ts the m is s in g h e ir e s s th em e. The adopted son, Clay, conscious of his e x tra o rd in a ry obligation to Si and N ancy Hawkins, alw ays ste p s in to rig h t the fa m ily 's m isfo rtu n e s w ith a loyal - 35 ty fa r above th at of th e ir n a tu ra l ch ild ren . L a u ra 's fa lse m a rr ia g e s e rv e s as the m o tiv atio n fo r h e r m u r d e r of h e r se d u c e r, Selby, and, w hile it also s e rv e s in p a r t as m o tiv atio n for h e r s u c c e ssfu l c a r e e r as a w om an lobbyist, is a sto ck device of the se n sa tio n novel. S im ilarly , P hilip S te rlin g 's dogged s e a r c h a fte r coal ag a in st seem in g ly h o p eless odds and Ruth B olton's stru g g le w ith death ju s t as P h ilip 's long- aw aited su c c e s s is at hand find th e ir p a ra lle ls throughout c o n te m p o ra ry p o p u lar fiction. It is outside the scope of the p r e s e n t in v estig atio n to d etail the s im ila ritie s w ith o ther novels of the tim e or to tr a c e th e se th e m es and devices in se n sa tio n fiction. F o r one thing, to t r y to find d ire c t l i t e r a r y in d ebtedness to individual au th o rs in an a r e a of such overw helm ing co n fo rm ity and unconscious p la g ia ris m would be fru itle s s ^ V o l . X of W ritin g s , A u th o r's N ational Edition. All citations in the tex t a re fro m this edition. "^See, fo r exam ple, I, 80-81, 108-109; II, 324-325. 65 and inconclusive; and fo r an o th er, th e re a r e s e v e ra l ex ce lle n t studies of the g en re, such as M ary N o el's V illains G alore (1954), H elen W aite P a p a sh v ily 's All the Happy Endings (1956), and F r e d Lew is P a tte e 's 36 The F em in in e F iftie s (1940), to w hich the r e a d e r is r e f e r r e d . P a r tic u la rly rev ea lin g is C hapter XIV of M a ry N oel's book, "P lo t Conven tio n s" (pp. 144-156). De L ancey F erg u so n , w ithout m entioning the A m e ric a n dim e novel or s to ry w eekly, finds the influence of the c o n te m p o ra ry V ictorian novel, statin g th a t C lem ens and W a rn e r w e re w ritin g in the heyday of W ilkie C ollins, S heridan Le Fanu, and M rs . H enry W ood--the day of the T h re e -D e c k e r, w ith its crew of M issin g H eirs who had "shipped as Able B a sta rd s , till the W icked N u rse con fe sse d . (p. 168) T h ere is no question but w hat the V icto rian sen satio n novel added its w eight along w ith the native A m e ric a n b rand. N ovelists published by H a r p e r 's M onthly before 1885 included D ickens, C ollins, and Reade, and F ra n k L e s lie 's New F a m ily M agazine p ublished s e ria ls la rg e ly by 37 B ritish w r ite r s , including C ollins and M rs. H enry Wood. Joseph S h erid an Le F anu ap p are n tly w as not s e ria liz e d in the U nited S tates, 38 though he could be re a d in D ickens' All the Y ear R ound. In view of the fa r g re a te r publication in the U nited S tates, both in m a g azin e s and in book fo rm , of the A m e ric a n au th o rs than the B ritish , w ith the p o s sible exception of D ickens, th e re is no need to look to the V icto rian s fo r 36 See above, notes 8 and 10. ^ F r a n k L u th er Mott, A H isto ry of A m e ric a n M agazines (C am b ridge, M ass., 1938), III, 224; II, 439. 3ft S. M. E llis, W ilkie C ollins, Le F an u and O thers (London, 1931), p. 182. 66 C le m en s' and W a rn e r's in sp iratio n ; and to ignore the native p ro d u c t so w ell known by C lem ens is to b ypass the r e a l point of d e p a rtu re . The c o r r e c t conclusion to be d raw n is th at s im ila r conditions gave r is e to s im ila r lite r a tu r e in E ngland and the United S tates. The vogue of s e n satio n fictio n in E ngland during the th ird q u a r te r of the n ineteenth c e n tu ry ste m m e d n e c e s s a r ily fro m the n a tu re of the V icto rian m id d le- c la ss read in g public, the statu s of p o pular publishing, and the te n ets of B ritis h society. The Q u a rte rly Review tra c e d it to cheap m a g a z in e s, railw a y bo o k stalls, and li b r a r ie s , the C o n te m p o rary Review to w id e s p re a d c o rru p tio n in s o c i e t y . B r i t i s h publishing e n te rp ris e had its own yellow backs, P enny J u p ite r s , and "fam ily sto ry p a p e r s ." M ost c o m m e n ta to rs on The Gilded Age have a ssu m e d th a t its m e lo d ra m a tic , sen satio n al elem en ts w e re the re s u lt of T w ain 's igno ra n c e of the a r t of fictio n and his jo u rn a lis tic upbringing and W a rn e r's la ck of o rig in ality and consequent re lia n c e on the hackneyed. A c c o rd ing to F erg u so n , th e se c a v ile rs at the c o n te m p o ra ry popular novel, w hen they began to plan one of th e ir own, w e re w holly unable to fre e th e ir m inds fro m the stock p a tte rn of sto ck V icto rian fiction, (p. 168) DeVoto goes even fu rth e r: If W arn er invented the c u m b e rso m e s to ry of "The G ilded A ge", M a rk Tw ain consented to it. W asn 't such m e lo d ra m a the condition. - of fiction? F o r tw enty y e a rs he had b een reading novels in w hich fe m a le infants of m y s te rio u s p a re n ta g e w e re h u rle d before the r e a d e r by expedients quite as violent as a ste a m b o a t w reck , and in w hich th e ir com pelling beauty p ro d u ced a seduction th a t had to be paid for w ith the v illa in 's life, leaving the seduced under obligation to die of a b ro k en h e a rt. He consented. It w as quite im p o ssib le fo r this new co m e r to fiction, this n ew sp ap er h u m o rist, to do anything e lse . 39 W alter C. P h illip s, D ickens, Reade, and C ollins, S ensation N ovelists (New York, 1919), pp. 25-26. 67 He had no re a so n e d philosophy of lite ra tu re ; it is unlikely that he ev e r analyzed, beyond its m e re g ra m m a r, an effect of his own or any one's else; he com pletely lacked the discipline of a rt. . . . C a rl Van D oren w rite s : "N eith er m a n sh ra n k fro m m e lo d ra m a or h e s i ta ted to s e t it side by side w ith the m o s t scru p u lo u s r e a lis m ." And A ndrew s calls the plot "an im p e rfe c t am alg am of M a rk 's u n su re n e ss in s tru c tu re and W a rn e r's e a rly d eferen c e to the se n tim e n ta lism of M rs. Stowe. That the s tru c tu re is w eak and the plot, or ra th e r group of plo ts, obvious and m e lo d ra m a tic is unquestionable. C lem ens h im se lf d e c la re d in re tro s p e c t th at he and W arn e r had w o rk ed "in the s u p e rstitio n th a t we w e re w ritin g one co h ere n t y arn , w hen I suppose, as a m a tte r of 42 fact, we w e re w ritin g two in co h eren t o n es." But th at the use of stock p a tte rn s and devices w as the re s u lt of ignorance, ineptitude, or c a r e le s s n e s s is an e n tire ly u n w a rra n te d conclusion. It is significant that this conclusion coincides w ith the evaluation of M ark Twain by c e rta in tw entieth cen tu ry c ritic s as an unconscious genius, a "divine a m a te u r," m olded by the g enteel trad itio n , by h is m o th e r and wife, by H owells, or by the fro n tie r--a n y th in g but a conscious c ra ftsm a n aw are of w hat he ^ M ark T w ain's A m e ric a (Boston, 1932), p. 285. ^*Van D oren, The A m e ric a n Novel (New York, 1940), p. 145; K enneth R. A ndrew s, Nook F a rm : M ark T w ain's H a rtfo rd C ircle (C am bridge, M ass., 1950), p. 184. ^ P a i n e , II, 477. As e a rly as D ecem b er 31, 1873, only a w eek a fte r the novel had been issu ed , W a rn e r w ro te to the ed ito r and lite r a r y c ritic Thom as W entw orth H igginson: "On second thought, it is not b e st to send you The G ilded Age. You would not c a re fo r it, and I have a l re a d y found out th a t it is not m uch of a novel. It is ra th e r of a raw s a tir e on re c e n t d isa g re e a b le things. You would only w aste tim e on it" (M orse Collection, Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry , file fo ld er 112). 68 w as w riting. It is not n e c e s s a r y to look f a r th e r than the A ppendix to the novel (w ritten by Tw ain but signed by "T he A u t h o r s " ) ^ to d e m o n stra te the intentional b u rle sq u e in the plot: P e rh a p s som e apology to the r e a d e r is n e c e s s a r y in view of our fa ilu re to find L a u r a 's fa th e r. We supposed, fro m the ea se w ith w hich lo s t p e rs o n s a r e found in novels, th a t it would not be difficult. But it w as; indeed, it w as im p o ssib le; and th e re fo re the p o rtio n s of the n a rra tiv e containing the r e c o r d of the s e a rc h have been s tric k e n out. Not b eca u se they w e re not in te r e s tin g - - f o r they w ere; but in a s m uch as the m a n w as not found, a fte r all, it did not seem w ise to h a r a s s and excite the r e a d e r to no p u rp o se . (II, 353) T h e re a re s e v e ra l p a s s a g e s in the novel p ro p e r th at provide c o r r o b o r a tive in te rn a l evidence of b u rle sq u e intent. When, fo r exam ple, P h ilip is piqued at R u th 's seem in g la c k of in te r e s t in him at F allk ill, he would like to be able to b rin g h im se lf to q u a r r e l w ith h e r . . . and fling h im se lf out of the house in tra g e d y style, going p e rh a p s so fa r as to blindly w an d er off m ile s into the country and bathe his throbbing brow in the chilling ra in of the s ta r s , as people do in nov els; but he had no opportunity. (I, 256) L a te r, A lice, who we a re to believe has fa lle n s e c re tly in love w ith P h ilip is d e s c rib e d thus: W hatever h e r thoughts m a y have been they w e re unknown to P hilip, as they a re to th e se h is to ria n s ; if she w as seem ing to be w hat she w as not, and c a rry in g a b u rd en h e a v ie r th an any one else c a r ried, b e c a u se she had to b e a r it alone, she w as only doing w hat thou sands of w om en do, w ith a s e lf-re n u n c ia tio n and h e ro is m of w hich m en, im p atien t and com plaining, have no conception. Have not th e se big babies w ith b e a rd s filled all lite r a tu r e w ith th e ir o u tc rie s, th e ir g rie fs, and th e ir la m e n ta tio n s? It is alw ays the gentle sex w hich is h a rd and c ru e l and fickle and im p lacab le. (II, 210) The m o s t d ra m a tic and, fro m the standpoint of s a tire , the m o s t effective handling of the m e lo d ra m a tic m a te r ia l is the in s e rtio n of d e lib e ra te E r n e s t E. L eisy, "M a rk T w ain 's P a r t in The G ilded A ge," A m e ric a n L i te r a t u r e , 8:447, Ja n u a ry 1937. 69 an ticlim ax a fte r the ju ry has re tu rn e d a v e rd ic t of not guilty in L a u ra 's tr i a l fo r m u rd e r. . . . The v e rd ic t of the ju r y having le ft no doubt th at the w om an w as of an unsound m ind, w ith a kind of in san ity dangerous to the safety of the com m unity, she could not be p e rm itte d to go at la rg e . "In a c co rd an ce w ith the d ire c tio n s of the law in such c a s e s ," said the judge, "and in obedience to the d ic ta te s of a w ise hum anity, I h e re b y co m m it L a u ra Hawkins to the c a re of the S uperintendent of the State H ospital fo r Insane C rim in a ls, to be held in confinem ent until the State C o m m is sio n e rs on Insanity sh all o rd e r h e r d isch arg e d . M r. Sheriff, you w ill attend at once to the execution of this d e c re e ." L a u ra w as o v erw h elm ed and te r r o r - s t r i c k e n . She had expected to w alk fo rth in fre e d o m in a few m o m e n ts. The re v u lsio n w as t e r rib le . H er m o th e r a p p e a re d like one shaken w ith an ague fit. L a u ra insane! And about to be locked up w ith m adm en! She had n e v e r con te m p la te d th is. M r. B rah am said he should m ove at once fo r a w rit of h ab eas c o r p u s . But the judge could not do le s s than his duty, the law m u s t have its way. As in the stu p o r of a sudden calam ity, and not fully c o m preh en d in g it, M rs. Haw kins saw L a u ra led aw ay by the officer. W ith little space for thought she w as rap id ly d riv en to the r a i l way station, and conveyed to the H ospital fo r Lunatic C rim in a ls. It w as only w hen she w as w ithin this v a st and g rim abode of m a d n e ss th a t she r e a liz e d the h o r r o r of h e r situation. It w as only w hen she w as re c e iv e d by the kind p h y sic ia n and re a d pity in his ey es, and saw his look of h o p eless in c re d u lity w hen she attem p ted to te ll him th at she w as not insane; it w as only w hen she p a s s e d thro u g h the w a rd to w hich she w as consigned and saw the h o rrib le c r e a tu r e s , the v ic tim s of a double calam ity , w hose d read fu l face s she w as h e r e a fte r to see daily, and w as locked into the sm all, b a re room th a t w as to be h e r hom e, th a t all h e r fo rtitu d e fo rso o k h e r. She sank upon the bed, as soon as she w as le ft a lo n e --s h e had been s e a rc h e d by the m a t r o n - - and tr ie d to think. But h e r b ra in w as in a w h irl. She re c a lle d B ra h a m 's speech, she r e c a lle d the te stim o n y re g a rd in g h e r lunacy. She w o n d ered if she w e re not m ad; she felt th a t she soon should be am ong th e se lo a th so m e c r e a tu r e s . B e tte r a lm o s t to have died, than to go slow ly m a d in this confinem ent. --W e beg the r e a d e r 's p ard o n . This is not h is to ry w hich h as ju s t been w ritte n . It is r e a lly w hat would have o c c u rre d if this w e re a novel. If this w e re a w o rk of fiction, we should not d a re to d ispose of L a u ra o th e rw ise. T ru e a r t and any attention to d ra m a tic p r o p r ie ties re q u ire d it. The n o v e list who would tu r n loose upon so ciety an insane m u r d e r e s s could not e sc a p e condem nation. B esid e s, the safety of society, the d ece n cies of c rim in a l p ro c e d u re , w hat we call our m o d e rn civilization, all w ould dem and th at L a u ra should be d is po sed of in the m a n n e r we have d e s c rib e d . F o re ig n e rs , who re a d this sad sto ry , w ill be unable to u n d e rs ta n d any other te rm in a tio n of it. But this is h is to ry and not fiction. T h ere is no such law or c u s tom as th at to w hich his H onor is supposed to have r e fe rre d ; Judge 70 S haunnessy would not p ro b ab ly pay any attention to it if th e re w e re . T h e re is no H ospital fo r Insane C rim in als; th e re is no State C om m is s io n of Lunacy. What actu ally o c c u rre d w hen the tum ult in the c o u rt room had subsided the sagacious r e a d e r w ill now le a rn . (II, 289-292) This d e lib e ra te an ticlim ax is consonant w ith the to tal an tic lim a c tic e f fect of the plot, w hich leads the r e a d e r to anticipate the ty p ical grand reu n io n of the se n sa tio n novel. The grand reunion, how ever, w hich would be expected at the le a s t to reu n ite L a u ra and h e r fa th e r and Clay and som e unknown re la tiv e -b e n e fa c to r, is, as we see, m ockingly dropped in favor of re a lis m . Clay is brought back only in te rm itte n tly fo r m e lo d ra m a tic effect. T h e re is, as w ell, e x te rn a l te stim o n y to the a u th o rs ' striv in g a fte r s a tir ic a l effect. In a le tte r fro m C lem ens to M rs. F a irb a n k s on A p ril 16, 1873, w hen the c o lla b o ra to rs w e re n e a rin g the end of th e ir p ro je c t, he w ro te th at Livy and Susie W arn er . . . p lead ed so long & v ig o ro u sly for W a rn e r's h ero in e , th a t y e s t e r day W a rn e r a g re e d to s p a re h e r life 8 c le t h e r m a r r y - - h e m e a n t to kill h e r. I k illed m y h ero in e dead as a m a c k e re l y e s te rd a y (but Livy d on't know it yet). W a rn e r m ay or m ay not kill h e r to -d a y (this is the "b o ss" c h a p te r.) We sh all see. . . . I'm not half done this le tte r, but I have an itching d e s ire to get back to m y c h ap ter 8 c shake up m y h e ro in e 's re m a in s . . . . P .S .--(N ig h t.) My clim ax ch ap ter is the one acc e p te d by Livy 8c Susie, 8c so m y h ero in e , L a u ra , re m a in s dead. I have also w ritte n another ch ap ter, in w hich I have brought Clay Hawkins hom e fro m C alifornia 8c the C hinchas, m ade W ashing ton te a r up the tax bill, 8c s ta rte d him 8c Col. S e lle rs hom e, to ap p ear no m o re in the book. Do you think that w as b est? Or would it have been b e tte r to le t S e lle rs go over into P en n sy lv an ia f ir s t, 8c give P hilip a lift w ith his m ining tro u b le s? He could have p a s s e d through P hilad elp h ia, then, 8c had a chance to see Ruth (poor Ruth!) 8c the Boltons. Such thinking aloud, so to speak, has been m ista k e n fo r u n s u re n e s s and ^ F a i r b a n k s L e t te r s , pp. 171-172. 71 stum bling. A ctually, w hen view ed in re la tio n to the h is to ric a l and b io g ra p h ic a l fa c ts p re s e n te d h e re to fo re in this ch ap ter, su ch a g lim p se in to the w orkings of C le m e n s' m in d during com p o sitio n of the novel indi cates his and W a rn e r's d e s ire to fulfill th e ir self-ap p o in ted ta s k of out doing the c o n te m p o ra ry p o p u la r novel on its own grounds. It should be added th a t not one re v ie w e r at the tim e caught the b u rlesq u e intent. The (London) G raphic re v ie w e r w as p u zzled by the dropping of Clay 45 fro m an obviously intended "leading p a r t in the ta le ." H e a rth and H om e, which, it w ill be re m e m b e re d , had "thought the whole would p ro v e an in im itab le b u rle sq u e of the m o d e rn n o v el," found it in ste ad "as genuine a novel as any, . . . on the w hole, r a th e r a p ath etic th an a h u m o ro u s p r o d u c t i o n . A n d the H a rtfo rd C ourant said: The a u th o rs a p p a re n tly had no r e g a r d fo r the ru le w hich re q u ire s e v e ry novel to end like the sta n d a rd play, w ith the h ap p in ess of all the ag re e a b le c h a r a c te r s and the d isc o m fitu re of all the r a s c a ls . A p p aren tly a fte r s a tiriz in g the sh a m s of the age, they c o n sid e re d th e ir w o rk a cc o m p lish e d and decided to le t th e ir c h a r a c te r s w ith a few exceptions take c a re of th e m s e lv e s . . . . ^ Though m uch of the obv io u sn ess, m e lo d ra m a , and s e n tim e n ta l ism in The G ilded Age is d e lib e ra te ly b u rle sq u e , it is undeniable that the s tru c tu re is w eak and th a t th e re is a n oticeable la c k of cohesion. T h ese defects can be, as they have been, a ttrib u te d to the la ck of ex p e rie n c e of the c o lla b o ra to rs in w ritin g fiction. But only in p a rt. They a r e attrib u tab le also to the sp eed w ith w hich the book w as w r itte n - - it 4 59 :199. F e b r u a r y 28, 1874. ^ 6:38 (see a lso above, pp. 28-29). ^ U n d a te d clipping in M ark Tw ain P a p e r s , U n iv ersity of C a li fo rn ia L ib ra ry , B e rk e le y (h e re a fte r M T P). 72 w as begun in J a n u a ry and fin ish e d in A p ril--a n d to w hat M rs. F ield s called "alw ays a m o re or le s s u n s a tisfa c to ry s c h e m e ," co llab o ratio n 48 itself. The sp eed w as n e c e s s ita te d by the e x tre m e to p icality of the book, s e v e ra l of the events p o rtra y e d actu ally taking place w hile it w as being w ritten , as w ill be shown in a la te r chapter. The co llab o ratio n has been in te rp re te d v ario u sly . C o n te m p o rary re v ie w e rs w e re d istu rb e d in p a rtic u la r by the la c k of fusion of the two w r ite r s ' s e p a ra te sty le s. F r e d P e rk in s said: P ro b a b ly no a d m ir e r of M r. C lem ens nor of M r. W arn e r w ill be s a tisfie d w ith the quantity he w ill find of e ith e r w r ite r 's p e c u lia r p ro d u ct in th e ir joint book. The child has not the tr a its , in full fo rc e , of e ith e r p a re n t; or, it m a y be said, one is re m in d ed of the optical d o ctrin e, th at b eam s of light m a y so c la sh as to nullify each other, and leav e a d a rk spot. The p e c u lia r subtlety, and delicate, quiet, g race fu l h u m o r, of M r. W a rn e r's b e s t w ork, a re of too cool a tone to m ix w ell w ith the b ro a d e r and m o re rid icu lo u s and lite r a l fun of M r. C lem ens. . . The re v ie w e r in A ppleton's Jo u rn al found th at the book had "the faults w hich w ill p o ssib ly cling to the re s u lts of m o st joint au th o rsh ip to the end of tim e ." It is good in episodes fro m w hich to m ake a n o v e l--u n s a tis fa c to ry as a com bination of them . It is like a s a la d -d re s s in g badly m ixed, w h e re in one com es upon the m u s ta r d in lum ps, the sa lt in m a s s e s , pools of v in e g ar, and collections of oil w hich m ight have softened the whole. . . . (11:59) The con d em n ato ry Chicago T ribune had this to say: E v e ry one . . . had a rig h t to expect the book, w hen given to the w orld, though it should la ck the unity and co h eren ce of a w o rk con ceived and brought out by a single m ind, should at le a s t be re d e e m e d w ith p a s s a g e s of the refin e d and delicate beauty which d istin g u ish es ^®Mrs. J a m e s T. F ie ld s, C h arles Dudley W arn e r (New York, 1904), p. 38. P ain e (II, 478) says th at the book w as begun in F e b ru a ry ; but cf. le tte r fro m W a rn e r to Reid, A p ril 7, 1873 (see above, p. 18). ^ O l d and New, 9:387. 73 the one w rite r, and w ith the quaint and fe rtile hu m o r that has c r e ated fo r the o ther even a tra n s -A tla n tic popu larity . . . . W here the re v ie w e rs w ere not co n ce rn ed w ith the individual a u th o rs as such they still com m ented on the la c k of cohesion. "It is not so m u ch a w ell-w ro u g h t sto ry , w ith a unity running th ro u g h it," said the Independ e n t, "as a s e r ie s of sk etches stru n g to g e th e r." The P a ll M all Budget r e m a rk e d th at "the fo rtu n es of the n u m e ro u s p e rs o n s in tro d u ced a re 51 told in a som ew hat ram b lin g fash io n ." The H a rtfo rd Daily T im es d e cided that . . . a c e rta in c h a r a c te r is tic of ab ru p tn e ss and u n expectedness in the m eth o d of developing the sto ry m a y m e a n th at two hands did fash io n the w ork, all the w ay through, and find [sic], m o re o v e r, som e diffi culty in dovetailing all the c h a p te rs, c h a r a c te r is tic s and incidents, so as to m ake a nice job of it. . . . H owells w ro te la te r th at "su c h co h eren ce as it had w as w eakened by the d iv e rs e q u alities of th e ir m inds and th e ir irre c o n c ila b le ideals in 50F e b ru a ry 1, 1874, p. 9. ^ Independent, 26:1642; B udget, 11:623. 52 U ndated review re p rin te d in la rg e b ro ad sid e, "N otices of the P r e s s , " in M TP. It should be noted, in this connection, th at a nu m b er of r e v ie w e rs w e re sa tisfie d w ith the s ty listic r e s u lt of the collaboration. The New Y ork H e ra ld said: "The te m p e ra m e n ts of the two w r ite r s have a d m ira b ly blended in the com position. T h e re a re no aw kw ard c re a k s and c re v ic e s of style"; the U tica (N. Y.) M orning H erald called the novel " c h a ra c te ris tic of both its a u th o rs ." The G olden Age m ade the follow ing an a ly sis: "At f i r s t sight nothing se e m e d m o re incongruous than this union betw een two au th o rs w hose style and m ethod w e re so ab solutely d is s im ila r . To be s u re both w e re p opular w r ite r s ; but W a rn e r's quaint and d elicate hum or, and the ro llick in g w it of M ark Tw ain s tru c k e v e ry one as e lem en ts as little lik ely to fo rm a h arm o n io u s m ix tu re as oil and w a te r. But in this p re d ic tio n everybody w as m istak en . As in m a r riag e, the sh re w d e st w is e a c re s a re often p ro v ed to be w rong in th e ir fo re c a s ts of h appiness or unhappiness for the m a te d p a ir, so the c ritic s w e re w rong in th e ir notion th a t th e se two au th o rs would find it im p o s sible to w rite a book in w hich th e re should be any congruity" ("N otices of the P r e s s , " M TP). 74 "Literature"; and B ra n d e r M atthew s co m m en te d th a t the novel w as w rit- i c 3 te n "not so m uch in co llab o ratio n as in conjunction." If it w as tru e , as H ow ells said, th a t th e ir q u alities of m ind w e re d iv e rse and th e ir li te r a r y id eals ir r e c o n c ila b le - - a n d th a t it w as tru e can be seen by a m e re ly d e su lto ry glance at th e ir individual w ritin g s of the sam e p e rio d --w h y w as a co lla b o ra tio n s e rio u s ly u n d e rta k e n a t all? One an sw er, the m o s t obvious and s u p e rfic ia l one, is th a t it b eca m e the excuse fo r an enjoyable close a s so c ia tio n of the two couples fo r s e v e ra l w eeks. A f a r m o re d ecisiv e a n sw e r is the fact outlined above th at d e spite d iv e rg e n ce of ta s te s and m e n ta l p r o c e s s e s the two au th o rs w e re in a g re e m e n t th at they could re a d ily outdo the p o p u lar novel of the day. On the one hand the c o lla b o ra tio n has been c alled "an e n th u sia stic co- 54 Operative v e n tu re ," and on the other the claim has b een m ade th at only the c h a r a c te r Colonel S e lle rs "kept the two h u m o u rists gayly in te re s te d " and th a t "they m ade up the r e s t of the book in a p e rfu n c to ry 55 way at a low p itch of c re a tiv e e n th u sia s m ." F o r the la tte r of th e se two e x tre m e s of in te rp re ta tio n th e re is not a s h re d of evidence. A fa r m o re p re v a le n t view is th a t e x p re s s e d by B ra s h e a r in co m p arin g the co llab o ratio n w ith th at of Jo se p h C onrad and F o rd M adox H ueffer. Stating th at C lem ens "had no ex p e rie n c e to help him c h a rt the way fo r a fu ll-len g th s to ry ," she continues th at " C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r w as an C O W. D. H ow ells, "M a rk Twain: an Inquiry," N orth A m e ric a n R e view, 191:841, June 1910 (re p rin te d fro m the issu e of F e b ru a ry 1901); M a t thew s, P M y w rijg h l^ (New Y ork and London, 1923), p. 167. 54 A ndrew s, p. 84. C C John M acy, The S p irit of A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re (G arden City, N.Y., 1913), p. 257. 75 ex p e rie n c e d and su c c e ssfu l li te r a r y m a n " and th a t "the w e s te rn e r w as 56 canny enough to re a liz e the advantage of w orking w ith him . . . " C onvenient as this th e o ry is for the "divine a m a te u r" concept of Twain, it is w ithout foundation in fact. The only books W a rn e r had w r i t ten w e re My S u m m e r in a G ard en , a s e r ie s of h um orous n a tu re e ssa y s that had o rig in ally a p p e a re d in the H a rtfo rd C our a n t, of w hich he w as ed ito r, p ublished in 1870 at the urging of H enry W ard B eecher, S aunter - in g s, a collectio n of tra v e l le tte r s p ublished in 1872, and Backlog S tu d ies, a s e r ie s of so c ia l and li te r a r y e s s a y s published as a volum e in the w in te r of 1872-73. The r e s t of h is output p r io r to the w ritin g of The G ilded Age had c o n siste d of contributions to the K n ick erb o ck er during his college days and to P u tn a m 1 s la te r, a volum e of selec tio n s fro m E nglish and A m e ric a n au th o rs e n titled The Book of E lo q u en ce, issu e d two y e a rs a fte r his graduation fro m college, and tra v e l le tte r s to the C our ant w hen he w as ab ro ad on vacation. He did not begin w ritin g his 57 novels until late in life w hen The G ilded Age was a m e m o ry . So little 56 M innie M. B ra s h e a r, M a rk Twain, Son of M is s o u ri (Chapel Hill, N .C., 1934), pp. 8-9. 57 T hom as R. L ounsbury, "B io g rap h ical Sketch," in The C om plete W ritings of C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r (H artford, Conn., 1904), XV, vii, xiv-xv; F r e d Lew is P a tte e , A H isto ry of A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re Since 1870 (New York, 1915), pp. 418-419. Though th e re has been som e b ib lio g rap h ical confusion in d a t ing W a rn e r's e a rly w ritin g s, I b elieve the dates I have given a re c o r re c t. My evidence follow s: W a rn e r's p re fa c e to My S u m m e r in a G a r den ("By Way of D edication") is dated O ctober 1870, the copyright date of the book is 1870, and M rs. J a m e s T. F ield s sta te s that the book w as "published by F ield s & Osgood in 1870" (C h arles Dudley W a rn e r, p. 28). While the title page of the f ir s t edition gives 1871 it also lis ts as pub lis h e r J a m e s R. Osgood & Co., "L ate T icknor & F ield s, and F ield s, O s good, & C o.," a c irc u m s ta n c e th a t se e m s to indicate th at the date of p ublication c o rre s p o n d e d roughly w ith th at of O sgood's buying out of the older firm of T icknor & F ield s. A pparently th e re w as a y e a r-e n d 76 w as C lem ens in awe of this l i t e r a r y m an, whom he quickly got to speak of as " C h a rle y " --h e alw ays spoke of H ow ells as " H o w e lls "--th a t as e a rly as D ecem b er 1870 he w ro te to T w ichell fro m Buffalo, "I did n 't C O know W a rn e r had a book out." C lem en s, th e re fo re , cannot be said to have sought out the a s s is ta n c e of an e x p e rie n c e d n o v elist or w r ite r of fiction; and in the a r e a of jo u rn a lis tic sk etch e s the au th o r of the b e s t sellin g Innocents A b ro ad and Roughing It had little n eed fo r re lia n c e on the au th o r of the f a r le s s b rillia n t v o lu m es My S u m m er in a G ard en and S auntering s . It is h a rd ly an e x a g g e ra tio n to say it w as an in sta n ce of the blind leading the blind. Though it is u n tru e th a t C lem ens could have d e riv e d any p ublishing situ a tio n s im ila r to th a t of The G ilded A ge. The m o s t r e l i able sc h o la rs have acc e p te d 1870 as the c o r r e c t date (see L ounsbury, A ndrew s, P a tte e ; cf. W illiam B. C a irn s, A H isto ry of A m e ric a n L i t e r a tu re [New York, 1930], p. 337). About S aunterings th e re is no d is a g re e m e n t (see F ie ld s, p. 33; cf. A ndrew s, pp. 152, 279; R o b e rt E. S p ille r and o th e rs, L ite r a r y H is to - ry of the U nited S tates [New York, 1948], II, 833 [W illard T horp], III, 357). Backlog S tu d ie s, co p y rig h ted in 1872, is cited as having been pu b lish ed in th a t y e a r by M rs. F ie ld s (p. 33) and by T hom as W entw orth H igginson ("C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r," S c rib n e r's M onthly, 7:334, Ja n u a ry 1874). (Cf. A ndrew s, pp. 264, n. 56, and 279- A ndrew s c o n tra d ic ts h im se lf, how ever, w hen he speaks of H ow ells editing the volum e fo r pub lic a tio n in 1873 [p. 91]-) The f i r s t edition c a r r i e s 1873 on the title -p a g e and r e f e r s to W a rn e r as "A uthor of 'S a u n te rin g s,' 'M y S u m m e r in a G ard en ,' e tc ." A p p aren tly this is an o th er in stan ce of y e a r-e n d p u b lish ing. C o n te m p o ra rie s, su ch as C lem ens and M rs. F ie ld s, c o n s is te n t ly sp ell the title B ack -L o g S tu d ie s, w hich is the spelling on the co v er of the o rig in al edition. The sam e ed itio n has B ack-log on the spine and Backlog on the title -p a g e . CO L e t te r s , I, 180. So little w as W a rn e r re co g n ized at the tim e he w as w ritin g My S u m m e r in a G ard en th a t he w as m en tio n ed n e ith e r in H a rt's M anual of A m e ric a n L ite r a tu r e n o r D ra k e 's D ictio n ary of A m e ric a n Biography, both p u b lish ed in 1872. P u b lic atio n of th is f i r s t book did, how ever, gain fo r him reco g n itio n in U nderw ood's Handbook of A m e ric a n A u th o rs, also p u b lish ed in 1872 (Higginson, p. 334). 77 su b sta n tia l benefit fro m W a rn e r's ex p e rie n c e (as he could have fro m H ow ells', le t us say), th e re is r e a s o n to suppose he m a y have had a c e rta in tim id ity at facing a novel fo r the f i r s t tim e alone. Isabel Lyon, C le m en s' s e c r e ta r y during m o s t of the la s t decade of his life, re c o rd e d in h e r notebook fo r S ep te m b er 27, 1907, th a t he had told h e r th a t ev en ing not only th a t he had been the one to p ro p o se the co llab o ratio n but th a t he had done so out of a p p re h e n sio n th a t his re c e n tly a c q u ire d g re a t 59 re p u ta tio n m ight not be sufficient to s u sta in him by h im se lf. It m u st be re m e m b e re d th a t this w as said in r e tr o s p e c t a fte r th irty -fo u r y e a rs and th a t the notes and c o rre sp o n d e n c e of 1872-73 give no indication of such h esitan cy , so th at the p ro b ab le ho n esty of a la te r a d m issio n m u s t be w eighed ag a in st the p ro b a b le d isto rtio n of re m in is c e n c e . In 1933 M iss Lyon re p o rte d in h e r notes on a copy of the c o n tra c t fo r The G ilded Age th a t C lem ens had told h e r he slid e a s ily into the a r r a n g e m e n t to w o rk w ith W a rn e r but b e c a m e irk e d by the a s s o c ia tio n b efo re An he got through. This sta te m e n t of C le m e n s' d iv e sted of its pro b ab le B erg C ollection, New Y ork P u b lic L ib ra ry . C o llab o ratio n as such w as not a new e x p erien ce to C lem en s. On two s e p a ra te o ccasions as a young n ew sp ap er r e p o r te r he had w ritte n d isp atch es w ith a co l la b o ra to r, the f i r s t tim e w ith A ndrew J. M a rsh of the S acram en to Union in covering the N evada C onstitutional Convention fo r the T e r r i to r ia l E n t e r p r is e , la te r w ith C lem en t T. Rice ("the U nreliab le") in re p o rtin g the s e s s io n of the th ird T e r r i to r ia l L e g isla tu re fo r both the E n te rp ris e and R ic e 's p a p e r, the V irg in ia City Daily Union (M a rk Tw ain of the E n te rp ris e , ed. H enry N ash Sm ith [B erk eley and Los A ngeles, 1957], p. 1 1 ). ^ B e r g C ollection. The " a sso c ia tio n " h e re r e f e r r e d to is the p ro fe ssio n a l, li t e r a r y one c e n te re d about The G ilded A g e. It should not be confused w ith C le m e n s' p e rs o n a l asso c ia tio n , or frien d sh ip , w ith W a rn e r. M rs. F ie ld s quotes a le tte r fro m C lem ens rep ly in g to an a p p eal fo r W a rn e r le tte r s a fte r the l a t t e r 's death: " T h e re w e re not m any, of c o u rse , we being n e a r neig h b o u rs, and com m unicating m a in ly by m outh. . . . I am no u se in re m in is c in g - - m y m e m o ry is w o rth le s s . 78 ex ag g e ratio n can be tak en as undoubtedly tru e . It is only n e c e s s a r y to exam ine the division of la b o r in the tex t and the few ex tan t fra g m e n ts of m a n u sc rip t to reco g n ize how quickly C lem ens o u tstrip p ed W a rn e r in im ag in ativ en e ss, how p e rv a siv e his influence w a s --e v e n on the p o rtio n s of the novel w ritte n by W a rn e r, to how g re a t an extent the o rig in al and m e m o ra b le e lem en ts of the s to ry w e re h is, and how freq u en tly his in te rp o la tio n s and em endations saved the day. As Van Wyck B rooks has said, the iro n y of W a rn e r's fate "lay in h is having w o rk ed w ith C lem ens II . . .--th e m a n of ta le n t co lla b o ra te d w ith the m a n of genius. The r e su lt w as th a t this ex cellen t w rite r, this com petent, read y , in d u s tri ous c ra ftsm a n , w as only re c a lle d in la te r y e a rs fo r the w e a k e st w o rk he ev e r did. . . .61 W a rn e r w as alw ays saying b rillia n t things, felicitous things, but one ca n 't c a r r y them in the m in d in th e ir ex ac t language, and w ithout that th e ir g lory is gone. But th e re is one re m a rk -~ n o t m ade by W a r n e r- - w hich we do not fo rg et. You w ill note in it the sunshine shed by his p e rso n a lity . One day a young frie n d of o u rs cam e in w ith a fine light in h e r eye, and said: 'I'v e ju s t had a good-m orning fro m M r. W a rn e r, and I'm a happy g irl fo r the d ay !'" (C h arles Dudley W a rn e r, pp. 39-40). ^ New England: Indian S u m m er (New York, 1940), pp. 210-211. C H A PTE R III THE COLLABORATION C h a rle s W a rre n S toddard h as re la te d the m o s t su ccin c t account of the collaboration, as it w as told to him by C lem ens in the w in te r of 1873-74 during the London sojourn: He [C lem ens] w ro te a dozen c h a p te rs and re a d them to the d o m estic c r i t i c s . "Do you catch the id ea?" said M a rk to W a rn e r. The la tte r thought he did, and took up the th re a d of the n a rra tiv e w h ere M ark dropped it, and spun on until he fe lt fagged. The s to ry w as p a s s e d fro m hand to hand like a shuttle, and cam e at la s t to a conclusion. W henever it flagged u n d er one roof it w as c a r r i e d o ver to an o th er, w h ere it took a f r e s h s ta r t. The changes w e re freq u en t, a ch ap ter or two bringing the w r ite r to a halt; or in consequence of the b u s i n ess of the book falling n a tu ra lly to one hand or the o th e r--th e love- m aking to W a rn e r and the m e lo d ra m a to M ark. . . . Once the au th o rs had a g re e d to the u ndertaking, C lem ens, who it w ill be re c a lle d had a s to ry in m ind, im m ed iately s e t to w o rk and w ro te the f i r s t eleven c h a p te rs , 399 m a n u s c rip t p ag es, "before the e a rly flu sh of 2 e n th u siasm w aned." T hese c h a p te rs, w hich as w ill be shown la te r w e re w ritte n rig h t out of his e a rly childhood e x p erien ce, ap p are n tly 3 cam e e a sily and w ith g re a t speed, as m u ch as 55 pages at one sitting. ^ E xits and E n tra n c e s (Boston, 1903), p. 71. A lb ert Bigelow P ain e, M a rk Twain: A B iography (New Y ork and London, 1912), II, 477. •^See C le m en s' le tte r to H owells, June 27, 1877 (M ark Tw ain- H owells L e t te r s , ed. H enry N ash Sm ith and W illiam M. Gibson [C am - b rid g e, M a ss., I960], I, 184; M a rk T w ain 's L e t te r s , a r r . A lb e rt Bigelow 79 V 80 At the end of C hapter XI, on MS. page 399, C lem ens sc ra w le d the note "Now com es in W a rn e r's f ir s t C h ap ter" and c irc le d it.^ A ccording to P aine, W arn er then cam e over and C lem ens re a d this beginning aloud to him . W arn e r had som e p lan s fo r the sto ry , and took it up at this point, and continued it thro u g h the next tw elve c h a p te rs. . . P ain e a ssig n ed the c h a p te rs thus: C lem ens w rote c h a p te rs I to XI; a lso c h a p te rs XXIV, XXV, XXVII, XXVIII, XXX, XXXII, XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXVI, XXXVII, XL/II, XLIII, XLV, LI, LII, LIII, LVII, LIX, LX, LXI, LXII, and p o rtio n s of chap t e r s XXXV, XLIX, LVI. W a rn e r w ro te c h a p te rs XII to XXIII; also c h a p te rs XXVI, XXIX, XXXI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XL, XLI, XLIV, XLVI, XLVII, XLVIII, L, LIV, LV, LVIII, LXIII, and p o rtio n s of ch ap ters XXXV, XLIX, and LVI. The w o rk w as th e re fo re v e ry evenly divided, (n. 1) This division of la b o r is b ased on C le m en s' own breakdow n w ritte n in at le a s t two le tte r s of the p erio d , one to M rs. F a irb a n k s, F e b ru a ry 25, 1874, and one to Dr. John Brown, F e b ru a ry 28. To Brown he added, ". . . I w ro te 32 of the 63 c h a p te rs e n tire ly and p a r t of 3 oth ers b esid e." T abulated by ch ap ter n u m b e rs and title s the d ivision a p p e a rs as fo l lows: P ain e [New York, 1917] [h e re a fte r cited as L e t te r s ], I, 297). ^H olograph page in the M ark T w ain P a p e rs , U niversity of C ali fo rn ia L ib ra ry , B erk eley (h e re a fte r M T P), DeVoto (h e re a fte r DV) No. 137; re p ro d u c e d in P ain e, II, 475. 5P ain e, II, 477. ^M ark Tw ain to M rs. F a irb a n k s , ed. Dixon W ecter (San M arino, Calif., 1949) (h e re a fte r cited as F a irb a n k s L e tte rs ), p. 184; L e tte rs , I, 214-215. Tw ain W arn e r I Squire H aw kins' T e n n e ss e e Lands II S quire Hawkins Adopts Clay III Uncle D aniel's F i r s t Sight of a Steam boat IV S quire Hawkins on a M is s is sip p i Steam boat V L a u ra Van B runt Adopted by the H aw kinses VI T en Y ears L a te r. L a u ra a Young Beauty VII Col. S e lle rs ' S chem es fo r M oney-m aking VIII Col. S e lle rs E n te rta in s W ashington Hawkins IX Squire Hawkins Dies, L eaving Lands to His C hildren X L a u ra 's D iscovery. M rs. H aw kins's A ppeal XI A D inner P a rty . P la in F a re , B rillia n t E x p e c ta tions XII H a rry and P h ilip Go W est to L ay Out a R ail ro ad XIII Col. S e lle rs W elcom es the Young M en to St. Louis XIV At P hiladelphia. Ruth Bolton Introduced XV Ruth Studies M edicine. A D issectin g Room XVI M odel R a ilro a d E n g i n e e r. Survey to Stone' Landing 82 (Twain) (W arner) XVII S tone's Landing B e co m es C ity of N a p o le o n -- On P a p e r XVIII L a u ra D eceived by a M ock M a rria g e XIX B rie rly F lir ts w ith L a u ra , and Is F a s c in a te d XX D ilw orthy, the G olden- tongued S ta te sm a n XXI Ruth at a S em in ary . New F rie n d sh ip and P le a s u r e s XXII P h ilip At F a llk ill, in Love. H a rry S preads H im self XXIII P h ilip and H a rry Go to W ork XXIV The City of W ashington XXV W ork at N apoleon (Stone's Landing) XXVI M r. Bolton M akes A n o th er V enture XXVII Col. S e lle rs in D iffi culties; but Sees a Way Out XXVIII How A p p ro p ria tio n B ills A re C a rrie d XXIX P hilip Surveys the Ilium Coal Lands XXX S enator D ilw orthy In v ites L a u ra to W ash ington XXXI P hilip B reak s His A rm . Ruth A s s is ts the Surgeon 83 (Twain) XXXII (II: 1)^ L a u ra 's S uccess in W ashington Society XXXIII (II:II) L a u ra R eceives C alls fro m the A r is to c ra c ie s XXXIV (II: III) L a u ra in the Lobby (W arner) XXXV (II:IV) How M a jo ritie s A re S ecu red XXXVI (II:V) The B o o k -sto re C le rk XXXVII (II: VI) L a u ra Coquets w ith Buckstone XXXVIII (II:VII) L a u ra Sees Col. Selby A gain XXXIX (II: VIII) L a u ra A gain in Love w ith Selby X L (II: IX) How W ashington News L eaks Out X LI (II:X) H a rry H o p elessly in Love X LII (II:XI) M r. T rollop Is T rap p e d and B ecom es an Ally XL III (II: XII) N ew spapers A ttack the U n iv ersity Bill XLIV (II:XIII) P hilip Shows His F rie n d sh ip for B rie rly n F o r the convenience of the r e a d e r the c h ap ter n u m b e rs of Vol. II of the tw o-volum e edition of the novel in The W ritings of M ark T w ain, A u th o r's N ational E dition (New Y ork and London, 1907-1918) (h e re a fte r W ritin g s), X and XI, have b een added in p a re n th e s e s a fte r th o se of the f i r s t A m e ric a n (one-volum e) edition. All ch ap ter title s a r e fro m the A u th o r's N ational E dition. 84 (Twain) XLV (II:XIV) Why M r. Buck- stone su p p o rted the U n iv ersity Bill (W arner) X LVI (II:XV) L a u ra K ills Colonel Selby XLVII (II:XVI) L a u ra in the Tom bs XLVIII (II:XVII) M r. B ig ler H elped Out W hile M r. Bolton Runs in Debt XLIX (II:XVIII) P h ilip Ju st M isse s S triking Coal L (ILXIX) A Bad Fix. P h ilip Sees a Way Out of It L I (II:XX) C o n g ressio n al P r e lim in a rie s . S e lle rs Ju stly Offended L II (II:XXI) M o ral Influences to Help the U n iv ersity Bill LIII (II:XXII) D ilw orthy at S ain t's R est, P r e p a r e s fo r R e -e le c tio n LIV (II:XXIII) L a u ra 's T ria l. An Intelligent Ju ry and M odel Judge LV (II:XXIV) The L e a rn e d Counsel LVI (II:XXV) P r o g r e s s of the T ria l LVII (II: XXVI) W aiting for T e le g ra m s LVIII (II:XXVII) The V erdict. L a u ra A cquitted (Twain) (W arner) LIX (II:XXVIII) The Senate, Jealo u s of Its H onor, R ebukes C o rru p tio n LX (II: XXIX) The F a te of L a u ra LXI (II-.XXX) W ashington Haw kins T akes a New S ta rt LX II (II:XXXI) Luck W ill T urn. A Joyful S u r p r is e LXIII (II:XXXII) R uth's R ecov e ry . The F u tu re of the End As can e a s ily be seen, M a rk T w ain's c h a r a c te r s a re the H aw kinses, L a u ra , Clay, Colonel S e lle rs, Senator D ilw orthy (once W a rn e r has in tro d u c e d him ), the W ashington so ciety group, and the ven al c o n g re s s m en; h is p a r t of the s to ry involves the fo rtu n es of the Hawkins fam ily, the T e n n e sse e Land, the Knobs U n iv ersity Bill, Colonel S e lle rs ' s e v e ra l speculative v e n tu re s, the lobbying at W ashington, and the vote buying scan d al and Senate in v estig atio n of S enator D ilw orthy. W a rn e r's c h a r a c te rs a re P h ilip S terling, H a rry B rie rly , the Bolton fam ily, Squire M ontague and h is d au g h ter A lice, the p ro m o te r B igler, Colonel Selby, the la w y er B rah am , the m in o r c h a r a c te r s a ss o c ia te d w ith the Salt L ick P a c ific E xtension, and the c o u rt group; his p a r t of the s to ry co n cern s the ad v en tu res and tr i a ls of P h ilip and H a rry , M r. B olton's sp e c u la tions, Ruth B olton's education, the Ilium coal field p ro sp ectin g , the love affa irs of L a u ra and Colonel Selby and of P hilip and Ruth, H a r r y 's f l i r tatio n w ith L a u ra , and L a u ra 's tr i a l fo r m u rd e r. In other w o rd s, Twain 86 pro d u ced the p rin c ip a l so cially c ritic a l, s a tiric a l p a rts of the novel, w hile W arn er, though contributing a l e s s e r s h a re of s a tire , handled the m o re obviously m e lo d ra m a tic elem en ts and p ro v id ed the love in te re s t. In 1937, E rn e s t E. L e isy m ade a valuable exam ination of C le m en s' own annotated copy of The Gilded A ge, in the m a rg in s of w hich the author had indicated w hat he had w ritte n , w hat W arn e r had w ritte n , and g w hat w as the r e s u lt of m utual in terp o latio n or rew ritin g . Though the m a rk e d volum e for the m o st p a r t c o rre sp o n d s w ith C lem en s' account in his co rre sp o n d e n c e , L eisy found that the ta s k w as not as neatly divided as C lem ens and P ain e had im plied. In re a lity a num ber of p a s s a g e s w e re w ritte n by one author and r e w ritte n by the o ther, and in o th e rs they w ro te a lte rn a te p o rtio n s. F o r exam ple, the f ir s t two p a ra g ra p h s of the P re fa c e w e re w ritte n by W arn er, and the la s t by C lem ens. C le m e n s's p o rtio n s explained the introduction of s c ra p s fro m fo reig n lite ra tu re to s e rv e as ch ap te r heads, and concluded w ith the re m a rk , "T h e re is s c a rc e ly a ch ap ter th a t does not b e a r the m a rk s of the two w r i t e r s of the book." Space does not allow n o r c a re fu l judgm ent condone a d etailed r e s t a t e m en t of L e is y 's findings in the p r e s e n t study. A few ex am p les, how ev e r, w ill s e rv e to indicate the n a tu re of the m odifications he d isco v ered . Although P a in e attrib u te s C hapter XVIII ["L a u ra D eceived by a M ock M a rria g e "] to W arn e r, C lem ens notes that it "was m apped out by C, w ritte n by W ." C hapter XXIX, m o re o v e r, is not w holly W a r n e r 's . It r e la te s P h ilip 's ex p e rie n c e w ith the su rly conductor who threw him off the tr a in fo r his kindness to a w om an p a s s e n g e r. In ®"M ark T w ain's P a r t in The G ilded A ge," A m e ric a n L ite r a tu r e , 8:445-447, J a n u a ry 1937. Cf. W a rn e r's le tte r to W hitelaw Reid, A p ril 7, 1873: "We have h atch ed the plot day by day, draw n out the c h a ra c te rs , and w ritte n it so th a t we cannot ex actly say w hich belongs to who; though the d ifferen t sty le s w ill show in the c h a p te rs" (Royal C o rtisso z, The Life of W hitelaw Reid [New York, 1921], p. 273). T hroughout the co llaboration W arn e r ap p ea rs to have been fa r m o re p a ssiv e in his a t titude than C lem ens; c e rta in ly he did not show p rid e in tallying h is con trib u tio n s as his e n th u sia stic p a r tn e r did. 87 this connection C lem ens o b se rv e s, "The incident is fa c t--re c o u n te d by C and w ritte n by W ." C lem ens supplied the iro n ic p a s s a g e on bad citizen sh ip beginning at bottom [sic] of p. 268 and extending to bot tom p. 269 [I, 321-322], "He co n fessed . . . r e s t of the people. C oncerning C hapter LVI C lem ens say s, "T his w as f i r s t done in n a rra tiv e style by W and a fte rw a rd b ro k en up into dialogue by C." W arn e r w ro te the f i r s t p a rt, up to p. 506 [II, 269], "The w ran g le con tin u ed ." On page 508 he w ro te, " N a rra tiv e done by W --tu rn e d into dialogue by C ." [The dialogue begins w ith the o ra to ric a l m onologue d e liv e re d by S e lle rs to the ju ry w hile the counsel and bench a r e d is tr a c te d by th e ir w ran g le over te c h n ic a litie s and continues w ith the c ro s s -e x a m in a tio n of the C olonel.] W a rn e r re s u m e d the n a rra tiv e at the bottom of p. 509 [II, 273], "The defense then spent a day," and continued to the end of the ch ap ter. C le m e n s's ebullience enlivened the tr i a l scene of L a u ra H awkins. Study of the extant p o rtio n s of the m a n u s c rip t re v e a ls in te re s tin g re fin e m e n ts even w ithin the m odifications re p o rte d by L eisy . In C hap te r VI, fo r exam ple, L e isy sta te s th a t th e re o c c u rs an in terp o latio n by W arn e r. "It begins w ith the th ird p a ra g ra p h , and includes the fo u rth and the six th ." This is the p a s sa g e d e sc rib in g L a u ra Hawkins as a sc h o o lg irl (I, 67-69). In a le tte r to Livy, A p ril 26, 1873, C lem ens im plies th at he h im se lf w ro te the final v e rsio n . This is how he d e s c rib e s Q The final holo g rap h m a n u s c rip t of C hapter XXIX is extant w ith the exception of pages 11 1/4 and 11 1/2 (M orse C ollection, Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry [h e re a fte r M o rse ], C ontainer 11). On page 11 o c cu r the in te rlin e a r notes by W a rn e r " (in s e rt h e re page 11 1/4)" and " [in s e rt page 11 1/2]." Significantly, the m iss in g page 11 1/2 e n c o m p a s s e s p re c is e ly the p a ra g ra p h c laim e d by C lem ens. It is p o ssib le that the m iss in g page 11 1/4, w hich p re s e n ts the acid co m m en t of a lo cal ju stic e of the peace on the p ra c tic e s of the ra ilr o a d com pany, is also by C lem ens, fo r W a rn e r h ab itu ally w ro te his own in se rtio n s on the r e v e rs e of the leav es on w hich he noted them . Volume and page re fe re n c e s e n clo se d betw een b ra c k e ts in p a ss a g e s quoted fro m L e is y 's a rtic le and betw een p a re n th e s e s in m y own tex t and footnotes a r e to the tw o-volum e edition of The G ilded Age published as W ritin g s, X and XI (see above, note 7). have found no extant m a n u sc rip t fo r C hapter LVI. The only c o rro b o ra tiv e evidence fo r C le m en s' s h a re in the ch ap ter is to be found in his d ra m a tiz a tio n of the novel, Colonel S e lle r s , d e sc rib e d in the E p i logue to this study. 88 the d ifficulties he and W a rn e r had w ith the p assag e: W arn e r failed on his d e s c rip tio n of L a u ra as a s c h o o lg irl--a s a p ic tu re of h e r, I m ean. He h ad sim p ly copied M iss W oolson's p re tty d e s c rip tio n a lm o s t w o rd fo r w o rd --th e p la g ia ris m w ould have been d etected in a m om ent. I told him s o - - h e saw it & y et I'm hanged if he did n 't hate to lo se it b eca u se th e re w as a "nip" & a pungency about th at w o m an 's p h ra s e s th at he h ated to lo se--fk so did I, only they w e re n 't o u rs & we couldn't take them . So I se t him to c re a te a p ic tu re & he w ent a t it. I finally took p a p e r & pencil, had a thought, (as to p h raseo lo g y ) fk s c ra tc h e d it down. I had a lre a d y told him w hat the d etails of the p ic tu re should be, & so only choice language w as needed to d re s s them in. Then we re a d our two effo rts, & m ine b e ing r a th e r the best, we u se d it. And so it ought to have been the b est. If I had been try in g to d e s c rib e a p ic tu re th at w as in his m ind, I would have botched it. The m a n u s c rip t fo r this p o rtio n of C h ap ter VI b e a rs out both C lem en s' annotation cited by L e isy and his sta te m e n t in the le tte r to Livy. H alf way down the C lem ens page o rig in ally n u m b e re d 163 o ccu rs the note " [in s e rt 163 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4]." P ag e 163 1/8 is m issin g , but 163 1/4 and 163 3/4 a re in W a rn e r's hand, the la s t b earin g em endations by C lem ens. P ag e 163 1/2, the one d e sc rib in g L a u ra "as a p ic tu r e , " is in C lem en s' hand and re p la c e s a d ifferen tly conceived, le s s evocative im age by W arn e r, c ro s s e d out re m n a n ts of w hich ap p ea r on the adjoining le av es of m a n u s c r i p t.^ ^ The Love L e tte rs of M a rk T w ain, ed. Dixon W ecter (New York, 1949) (h e re a fte r Love L e t t e r s ), pp. 182-183. 12 M o rse, C ontainer 8. The fra g m e n ts of the W a rn e r v e rs io n of the " p ic tu re " re a d as follow s: "In the s tre e t, w h e re she w as likely to be the c e n te r of an e a g e r bunch of talking, pushing and laughing co m p an ions, she w as conspicuous by som e g race fu l c a st of h e r s c a rf o ver h e r sh o u ld ers, by a saucy dip of h e r hat, or by the s u p e rio r e a rn e s t- [163 1/4]"; ". . . s e c re c y . S e c re ts ? She lived on m om entous s e c re ts , and-taffy m o la s s e s candy, and other sw e e tm e a ts, w hich she ate in the s tre e t, going to and fro m school, w ith other ch atterin g and skipping g irls of h e r age, who w o re th e ir h a ir braided: down th e ir backs, b ra id e d and tied w ith co lo re d rib b o n s" [163 3/4]. Cf. C hapter VI, sixth p a r a g rap h (II, 68-69). (C lem ens w as ap p are n tly off by one p a ra g ra p h in his annotation; the f i r s t p a ra g ra p h of the ch ap ter is only one sentence.) 89 The qu estio n of the collab o ratio n , indeed, is fa r m o re com plex than L e is y 's re p o rt w ould su g g est. C lem ens obviously did not have the m a n u sc rip t at hand w hen he jo tte d down h is m a rg in a lia , or if it w as available he did not consult it. Though his cred itin g of p o rtio n s of c h a p te rs to h im se lf or to W a rn e r is in g e n e ra l fa irly a c c u ra te , his a l w ays fallible m e m o ry le d him a s tr a y in s e v e ra l p la ces. As a re su lt, two or th re e p a s s a g e s involving in terp o latio n s by one author in the o th e r's te x t w e re in a c c u ra te ly assig n ed . C hapter XLIX, for exam ple, concerning the p ro sp e c tin g of M r. B olton's coal m ine by P hilip and H a rry , had been lis te d by P ain e as the jo in t w o rk of the c o lla b o ra to rs; and acco rd in g to C le m e n s' annotations of his copy of the novel "all the m a tte r on pp. 443, 444, and 445, except the la s t p a ra g ra p h on p. 445" (II, 194-196 plus two lin es at the top of 197) he had w ritte n h im se lf. Yet 13 at le a s t the la s t sixth of this p a s s a g e is in W a rn e r's hand. And the se v e n -lin e p a ra g ra p h , la te r in the ch ap ter, th a t d e s c rib e s the coal "find" as w o rth le s s, though also claim e d by C lem ens is e n tire ly W ar- 14 n e r 's . S im ilarly , the p a ra g ra p h in C hapter XXVII d e sc rib in g L a u ra 's In the la s t p a ra g ra p h of the in terp o latio n (on 163 3/4), w here W a rn e r has applied a strin g of ad jectiv es to L a u ra , "willful, g en ero u s, forgiving, im p erio u s, affectionate, im provident, ch a rm in g ," C lem ens w ith a c h a ra c te ris tic a lly im p atien t flo u rish s trik e s out the la s t a d je c tive, throw s in a dash, and adds: "--b ew itch in g , in s h o rt" (II, 69). P a g e s 163, 163 1/4, 163 1/2, and 163 3/4 becom e in the final collation 136-139 (see A ppendix B). 1 3 MS. page 1142 (M orse, 12b). T his is roughly the la s t sixth of the alleg ed C lem ens interp o latio n . As W a rn e r's o rig in al folio w as 3 (the th ird page in w hat w as la rg e ly h is ch ap ter) and as 1140 and 1141 (p resu m ab ly his 1 and 2) a re m iss in g , it is p o ssib le th at C lem ens w rote only about a th ird of the p a ssa g e . ^ M S . page 1151, W a rn e r's o rig in al 12 (M orse, 12b). 90 hypothetical c o m m itm en t to the H ospital fo r L unatic C rim in a ls (II, 290- 291) though m a rk e d by C lem ens "W and C" is W a r n e r 's . ^ (W arner, it should be noted, w aged a lifelong cam p aig n fo r p r is o n re fo rm .) It m ay w ell be, of c o u rse , th at the la tte r annotations in C le m en s' copy w e re intended to indicate au th o rsh ip not so m u ch of the final w ritte n v e rs io n as of the ideas in c o rp o ra ted . Yet it is sig n ifican t th at C lem ens failed to c re d it to W a rn e r the p a s s a g e in C h ap ter XLY th a t se ts fo rth the p r o visio n s of the Knobs In d u stria l U n iv ersity bill (II, 149-152), a c o n s id e r able p ro p o rtio n of w hich w as w ritte n by W a r n e r . ^ C hapter XXXV (II, 46-55), "How M a jo ritie s A re S e c u re d ," is one of the th re e c h a p te rs th a t C lem ens told M rs. F a irb a n k s and Dr. B row n he w ro te "portions of." It c o n s is ts of two p a rts : f i r s t a co n feren ce b e tw een L a u ra and Senator D ilw orthy in w hich L a u ra re p o rts p r o g r e s s on h e r lobbying and re c e iv e s advice fro m D ilw orthy and then an in fo rm al in te rro g a tio n of Colonel S e lle rs by the W ashington c o rre sp o n d e n ts on N ew spaper Row; and it c o v e rs such m a tte r s as pushing p riv a te in te r e s ts fo r the "public good," b r ib e r y of c o n g re ssm e n , and abuse of the ^ M S . page 1321, W a rn e r's o rig in al 7 fo r this c h ap ter (M orse, 12b). Cf. L eisy, A m er. L it., 8:447. ^ M S . pag es 1044 and 1048 (M orse, 12b), w hich o ccu r w ithin th is p a ss a g e , a re by W a rn e r and b e a r his o rig in al folios, 2 and 6 r e spectively. (The in terv en in g le a v e s a r e m iss in g .) The o th er extant le av es of m a n u sc rip t fo r the p o rtio n s of the c h a p te r p rece d in g and fo l low ing this p a s s a g e (page 1042 and b efo re and page 1055 and beyond) a re by C lem ens and b e a r only the in te rm e d ia te and final folios (see A p pendix B) in the 400's and 1000's. The only o th er u n re c o rd e d W a rn e r in terp o latio n in the extant p o rtio n s of M S .--one e a sily ig n o red by C le m e n s --is the v e rb a l d e sc rip tio n of Colonel S e lle rs ' d in n e r-ta b le ra ilr o a d m ap (MS. page 622 1/2 [M orse, 2]) w ritte n when it w as decided to in c o rp o ra te C le m e n s' in te rlin e a r illu s tra tio n s into a single fo ld -o u t m ap (C hapter XXVII [I, 296]). (See A ppendix C.) 91 franking p riv ile g e . C le m e n s' m a rg in a lia state "w ritte n f i r s t by C, but re w ritte n by W, who in c o rp o ra te d half of C 's MS in it and the r e s t w as d is c a rd e d ." W hat is not a p p a re n t fro m this annotation, how ever, is th at the d is c a rd e d m a te r ia l w as not n e c e s s a r ily throw n away but fre q u e n tly found its w ay into other sectio n s of the novel. T h e re a re extant th re e d is c a rd e d holo g rap h pag es of C le m en s' MS. w hich fro m th e ir n u m b erin g 17 and content c le a rly w e re intended fo r this ch ap ter. One of th e se ends w ith a re ta in e d fra g m e n t a lm o st ex ac tly in the fo rm p u b lish ed (II, 50): ".. . leave you, now, & go & convince th a t C h a irm a n ." And hum m ing a c h e e ry a ir fro m som e o pera, she d e p a rte d to A nother re a d s as follows: " L a u ra , m y child, th e re is a tone about y our r e m a r k s w hich is u npleasant. Do not be d is re s p e c tfu l." " F a r fro m it. I could not be, knowing th e se gen tlem en as I do. A g re a t m any of th em have bought th e ir s e a ts in C o n g ress, w ith m oney, & the w hole country reco g n izes th at as rig h t S c le g itim a te ; & so why should any one com plain if they t r y to get back som e of the m oney they have spent? I am s u re I would not find fault w ith th e m ." The f i r s t two sen ten c es of dialogue, by S enator D ilw orthy, have been c ro s s e d out and re p la c e d by the following sentence in W a rn e r's hand: "It s trik e s m e, s ir, th at y our r e m a r k s a re a little d is re s p e c tfu l" 17 P a g e s o rig in ally n u m b e re d 305, 309, and 312 (M TP, DV 137). T hese folios c o rre s p o n d w ith C le m en s' o rig in al n u m bering of his own c h a p te rs beginning w ith C hapter XXIV and ending w ith C h ap ter XLV. D isc a rd e d pag es 305 and 309 also b e a r second folios by W a rn e r (21 and 25 resp ectiv ely ), w hich c o rre sp o n d w ith the in te rm e d ia te stage (W ar n e r 's re w rite ) of C hapter XXXV. (See A ppendix B.) 18 312; sentence continued p re s u m a b ly on nonextant page 313. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Com pany. The fra g m e n t as p u b lish e d re a d s: " 'I t's a funny w orld. G ood-bye, uncle. I'm going to see th a t c h a irm a n .' "And hum m ing a c h e e ry o p e ra a ir, she d e p a rte d to h e r ro o m to d re s s for going out. . . . " 92 The page, o rig in a lly intended fo r the f i r s t p a r t of C hapter XXXV (L au ra and D ilw orthy), w as t r a n s f e r r e d to the second p a r t (new sm en and S el le rs ) by W a rn e r then d is c a rd e d e n tire ly and its content a ss ig n e d to C h ap ter LI, " C o n g re ssio n a l P r e lim in a r ie s . . in w hich C olonel S el l e r s explains the inexplicable w ays of C o n g re ss to his Sancho P an za, W ashington H aw kins. The su b ject m a tte r, the buying of se a ts in Con g re s s fo r m oney, has been re ta in e d but the concept of the dialogue has been changed and the p a s s a g e e n tire ly re w ritte n as it a p p e a rs in the 19 p u b lish ed v e rs io n (II, 220). The th ird page, having to do w ith c o m m it tee in v estig atio n s (or " tr ia ls " ) of b r ib e r y and vote buying, has s im ila rly been re a s s ig n e d to C h ap ter LI, expanded, and re w ritte n (II, 220-221). The re fe re n c e in it to S enator B alloon's eloquent sp eech e s about u p holding the an cien t dignity of the Senate has b een t r a n s f e r r e d to the D il w o rth y in v estig atio n scene in C h ap ter LIX (II, 3 0 1 ) .^ The com bined r e s u lts of L e is y 's ex am in atio n of C le m en s' anno ta te d copy of The G ilded Age and m y ex am in atio n of the m a n u sc rip t do not show any su b sta n tia l in a c c u ra c y in C le m e n s' o rig in al outline of the division of lab o r; but they do re v e a l two g e n e ra l m o d ificatio n s of it: (1) th a t the m u tu al in terp o latio n s and re w ritte n p a s s a g e s , though m in o r in n atu re , w e re fre q u e n t and ca u se d a g r e a te r interw eaving of the co llab o r a t o r s ' w o rk th an would a p p e a r fro m the b a sic division, and (2 ) th at to a g r e a te r d eg ree than w ould a p p e a r fro m the d iv isio n C le m en s' ideas and even p h ra se o lo g y w e re a b so rb e d into m any of the p o rtio n s w ritte n ^ 3 0 5 ; folio changed to 21. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Company. ^ 3 0 9 ; folio changed to 25. 93 by W a rn e r. The av ailab le evidence su g g ests the lo g ical hypothesis, m o re o v e r, th at th is c r o s s - s t r a i n fro m C lem ens is p a rtic u la rly stro n g in the b o rd e rlin e c h a p te rs, such as XIII or XVIII, w h ere W arn e r found it n e c e s s a r y to handle c h a r a c te r s o rig in a te d by C lem ens. Though no m a n u sc rip t evidence at p r e s e n t e x ists fo r C le m en s' influence on W a r n e r 's handling of Colonel S e lle rs in C h ap ter XIII, fo r exam ple, such an u tte ra n c e as "I'm down h e re now w ith re fe re n c e to a little o p e ra tio n --a little side thing m e re ly " is a s s u re d ly p h ra s e d in the M ark Tw ain m a n - 21 n e r . A p a s s a g e th a t illu s tra te s the p ro c e s s of in te rp e n e tra tio n o ccu rs in C h ap ter LVIII, "The V erdict. L a u ra A cquitted." It p re s e n ts L a u ra 's in terv iew w ith the le c tu re agent, J. Adolphe G rille r (II, 293-295), and w as c re d ite d to h im se lf by C lem ens. The extant m a n u s c rip t page th a t contains the end of this p a s s a g e show s, how ever, only a p a rtia l r e w r it ing by C lem ens of a v e rs io n a lre a d y w ritte n by W arn e r. H ere is th at portion; all deletions and additions (underlined) a re by C lem ens: tw elve [." ] . . . a lib e ra l offer,--fiv -e-th o u san d d o lla rs for th irty nights,--a-ndrex- pens esr't L a u ra thought. She h e sita te d . Why not? It would give h e r e m ploym ent, m oney. She m u s t do som ething. "I w ill think of it, and le t you know v e ry soon./' But still, th e re is v e ry little likelihood th at I--h o w e v e r, we w ill not d isc u ss it f u r th e r now ." "R e m e m b e r, th at new-is-the-t-im-e-,-Mi-s-s-Haw-ki-ns-- Au-r-ev-oir-,J - the so o n er we get to w o rk the b e tte r, M iss Hawkins, public c u rio sity Two of the th re e extant MS. pag es for C hapter XIII a re e n tir e ly W a r n e r's . Only page 348 is C le m e n s', and it o ccu rs at the end of a p a ssa g e claim e d as his own in terp o latio n in his annotated copy. Its f o rm e r folio 15 3/4 indicates the in se rtio n of the p a ssa g e betw een W a r n e r 's 15 and 16, and C lem ens has added the note "Run to 16" (M orse, 12b). The single extant MS. page fo r C h ap ter XVIII (449 [M orse, 12b]) is e n tire ly by W arn e r. 94 is so fickle. Good day, m a d a m ." The clo se of the tr i a l . . . [R em ain d er of page in W a rn e r's hand only.]22 It is not to be in fe rre d , of co u rse, th at W a rn e r w as dependent upon C le m en s' editing to r e s to r e such p a s s a g e s to a p re se n ta b le tone and style. If the following ex cerp t, for exam ple, fro m w hat m u st have been an e a r l ie r d ra ft by W a rn e r of his own C hapter X L is com p ared w ith the sam e p a s s a g e in his published v ersio n , it can be seen th at by c a re fu l rew o rk in g of his own m a te ria l he could produce a text w hich w hile lacking the liv e lin e ss and pungency of C lem en s' w o rk caught its g en era l s p irit. Col. S e lle rs e n te re d into this plan as fa r as the selling of the Hawkins Land to the govm t w as co n cern ed w ith g re a t h e a rtin e s s . He b eliev ed w ith W ashington th at the land w as w o rth m illions of m oney, but he w as w illing th at the govmt should s h a re in it, and he probably would not re fu se a com petence out of it[.] This ra th e r p allid bit of exposition he expanded and enlivened into the following n a rra tiv e p a ssa g e punctuated w ith dialogue: It m u s t not be supposed th at the Colonel in his g en era l p a trio tic la b o rs neg lected his own a ffa irs. The Colum bus R iv er navigation sch em e ab so rb e d only a p a r t of his tim e, so he w as enabled to throw quite a stro n g r e s e r v e fo rc e of e n erg y into the T en n essee Land plan, a v a s t e n te rp ris e c o m m e n su ra te w ith his ab ilities, . . . "We m u s t c re a te a public opinion," said S enator Dilworthy. "My only in te re s t in it is a public one, and if the country w ants the institution, C o n g ress w ill have to y ie ld ." When W ashington Hawkins re a d . . . [a new sp ap er dispatch s ta t ing th at S enator D ilw orthy w as inflexibly opposed to any a r r a n g e m e n t th at would not give the governm ent absolute control of the land], he w ent to the Colonel in som e anxiety. He w as for a le a se , he did n 't w ant to s u rre n d e r anything. What did he think the 22 MS. page 1329 (top of leaf cropped off and folio added on left sid e -m a rg in ), in L illy Collection, Indiana U n iv ersity L ib ra ry . Copy rig h t (c) 1961 by the M ark Twain Company. 22H olograph fra g m e n t in M TP, DV 137. 95 g overnm ent would offer? Two m illio n s? "M aybe th re e , m aybe fo u r," said the Colonel, " it's w o rth m o re than the Bank of E ngland." (II, 92-93) If M a rk Tw ain d o cto re d the p a ss a g e , th e re is no su rv iv in g evidence to pro v e it. It a p p e a rs, fu rth e rm o re , th a t C le m e n s' ideas not only p e r m e ated m uch of W a rn e r's p o rtio n of the novel but also s e rv e d to s tre n g th en W a rn e r's u n c e rta in p lan of action. T h ere is no d ire c t evidence, to be s u re , th at it w as C lem en s who re s o lv e d W a rn e r's d ilem m as; but th e re ijs evidence th at W a rn e r w as u n su re of the outcom e of the plot, and it can be as sinned th a t C lem ens w as in s tru m e n ta l in shaping it. A page of m a n u sc rip t in W a rn e r's hand p re s e n ts his p ro je c te d outline fo r the second half of the novel (roughly fro m C hapter XXV to the end) (M TP, DV 137). This outline, though v e ry b a re and lacking n u m e ro u s episodes, c o rre s p o n d s fa irly a c c u ra te ly w ith the fin ish ed novel up through C hapter XLIV. At this point the m a in c h a r a c te r s a re in W ash ington, the "T e n n e sse e sc h e m e " is u n d er way, and P hilip S terlin g is d e veloping the coal p ro je c t. Then W a rn e r p ro p o se s th at the follow ing su m m e r the " T e n n e sse e sc h e m e " (Knobs U n iv ersity Bill) "w ill blow up (in the long July s e ssio n of c o n g re ss )" owing to the d isc o v e ry of Dil- w o rth y 's vote buying, or as an a lte rn a tiv e "you can le t the sch em e cook all s u m m e r and blow up in the w in te r m o re u n tim ely " w hen D ilw orthy fails of re -e le c tio n . Still u n sa tisfie d , he o ffers the fu rth e r a lte rn a tiv e that the m u rd e r and tr i a l take p la ce in the s u m m e r and the e x p o su re of D ilw orthy follow in the w in te r. W hether o r not C lem ens d ev ised the d ra m a tic tim in g of the m u rd e r tr ia l, the vote on the bill, and the D il w orthy ex p o su re to follow one an o th er in a sequence calcu la ted to 96 h eighten and su sta in su sp e n se cannot be proved, but the fa c t th a t both L a u ra and D ilw orthy w e re his c h a r a c te r s and L a u r a 's m ach in atio n s as a lobbyist his w o rk stro n g ly su g g ests th a t the com bination of denoue m en ts w as also of h is co n triv an ce. Such f irs t-h a n d evidence as the fra g m e n t of W a rn e r's outline d isp els the fa ls e d o ctrin e, chief ap o stle of w hich is B e rn a rd DeVoto, th a t the li t e r a r y m a n W arn e r la id out the plot and C lem ens, the cru d e outlander, m e re ly acq u iesced . No b e tte r indication of the s u p e rio r quality of C le m en s' im a g i nation can be cited than the m a n n e r in w hich the "b o ss" ch a p te r (C hap te r LX, d e sc rib in g L a u r a 's p o s ttr ia l fate) w as handled by the two a u th o rs . As m entioned e a r lie r , C lem ens and W arn e r, following th e ir p la n of both w ritin g v e rsio n s of key c h a p te rs and th en appealing to th e ir w ives to choose the b e tte r, su b m itted th e ir s e p a ra te v e rsio n s of the "b o ss" ch ap ter, as C lem ens called it, fo r approval, and C le m e n s' w as the one c h o s e n . ^ An extant h o lo g rap h page of W a rn e r's re je c te d ch ap te r contains the following account of L a u ra 's le c tu rin g fiasco and its afterm ath : The r e p o r te r s took no notes, and v e ry soon, they all a ro s e and w ent out, talking and laughing. And one by one m o s t of the m e n dropped out, having se e n the w om an enough. B efore L a u ra had h alf finished, she broke down in a n erv o u s agitation and ab ru p tly le ft the stag e. This w as the b rillia n t triu m p h she had fed h e r im ag in atio n on! The w o rld had not even cu rio sity about her! She h aste n e d fro m the h all and to h e r hotel. T h ere , locked in h e r room , she th rew h e r s e lf upon the bed, and gave w ay to a p a ro x ism [sic] of rag e and disappointm ent. This w as the end. T h e re w as nothing now to hope. H er whole life p a s s e d b efo re h e r in th o se h o u rs of anguish, the stru g g le, the p assio n , the p rid e , the sin of it. . . . (M TP, DV 137) ^ F a i r b a n k s L e t t e r s , p. 171 (see above, p. 70). 97 C om pare this w ith C le m en s' vivid p re s e n ta tio n of the sam e sequence of events in the p u b lish ed chapter: T h ere w e re only a handful of c o a rs e m e n and te n o r tw elve s till c o a r s e r w om en, lolling upon the benches and s c a tte re d about singly and in couples. H er p u lse s stood still, h e r lim b s quaked, the gladness w ent out of h e r face. T h e re w as a m o m en t of silen ce, and then a b ru ta l laugh and an explosion of c a t-c a lls and h is s e s salu ted h e r fro m the au d i ence. The c la m o r grew s tro n g e r and lo u d er, and insulting speeches w e re shouted at h e r. A h a lf-in to x ic a te d m a n ro s e up and th rew som ething, w hich m is s e d h e r but b e s p a tte re d a c h a ir at h e r side, and this evoked an o u tb u rst of la u g h te r and b o iste ro u s a d m iratio n . She w as bew ild ered , h e r stre n g th w as fo rsak in g h e r. She re e le d away fro m the p la tfo rm , re a c h e d the an tero o m , and dropped h e lp le ss upon a sofa. The le c tu re agent ra n in, w ith a h u r r ie d q u estion upon his lips; but she put fo rth h e r hands, and w ith te a r s rain in g fro m h e r eyes, said: "Oh, do not speak! Take m e a w a y --p le a se take m e away, out of this d read fu l place! Oh, this is like all m y lif e - - f a ilu re , disap p o in t m ent, m is e ry --a lw a y s m is e ry , alw ays fa ilu re . W hat have I done, to be so pursued! Take m e away, I beg of you, I im p lo re you!" Upon the p av em en t she w as h u stle d by the m ob, the surging m a s s e s r o a r e d h e r nam e and acco m p an ied it w ith e v e ry sp ecie s of insulting epithet; they th ro n g ed a fte r the c a rria g e , hooting, je e rin g , cu rsin g , and even assa ilin g the v ehicle w ith m is s ile s . A stone cru sh e d th ro u g h a blind, wounding L a u ra 's fo reh ead , and so stunning h e r th a t she h a rd ly knew w hat fu rth e r tr a n s p ire d during h e r flight. It w as long b efo re h e r fa c u ltie s w e re w holly re s to re d , and then she found h e r s e lf lying on the flo o r by a sofa in h e r own sittin g -ro o m , and alone. So she supposed she m u s t have sa t down upon the sofa and a fte rw a rd fallen. She r a is e d h e r s e lf up, w ith difficulty, fo r the a ir w as chilly and h e r lim b s w e re stiff. She tu rn e d up the gas and sought the g la ss. She h a rd ly knew h e rs e lf, so w o rn and old she looked, and so m a r r e d w ith blood w e re h e r fe a tu re s . The night w as fa r spent, and a dead s tilln e s s reigned. She sa t down by h e r table, lean ed h e r elbows upon it, and put h e r face in h e r hands. H er thoughts w an d ered back over h e r old life again and h e r te a r s flowed u n re s tra in e d . H er p rid e w as hum bled, h e r s p irit w as broken. H er m e m o ry found but one re stin g -p la c e ; it lin g e re d about h e r young girlhood w ith a c a re s s in g re g re t; it dw elt upon it as the one b rie f in te rv a l in h e r life th a t b o re no c u rs e . She saw h e rs e lf again in the budding g ra c e of h e r tw elve y e a rs , decked in h e r dainty p rid e of ribbons, co n so rtin g w ith the bees and the b u tte rflie s, b e lieving in fa ir ie s , holding confidential c o n v erse w ith the flo w ers, busying h e r s e lf all day long w ith a iry tr if le s th a t w e re as w eighty to h e r as the affa irs th at tax the b ra in s of diplom ats and e m p e ro rs . She w as w ithout sin, then, and unacquainted w ith grief; the w o rld was full of sunshine and h e r h e a rt w as full of m u sic . F ro m th a t- - to this! (II, 321-323) 98 In this connection, som ething should be said about L a u r a 's im m e d ia te ly subsequent death "fro m h e a r t d is e a s e ," w hich o c c u rs as she is sittin g quietly at h e r tab le, upon w hich h e r elbow s a r e propped, h e r face in h e r h ands. The m o d e rn r e a d e r m a y w ell be s tru c k by the s e n ti m e n ta lism of this d e a th - - a death re m in is c e n t of th a t of a ty p ical H enry J a m e s h e r o in e - - p a r tic u la r ly as it is p re c e d e d by L a u r a 's p r a y e r: "If I could only die! . . . M y God, I am hum bled, m y p rid e is all gone, m y stu b b o rn h e a r t r e p e n ts --h a v e pity!" (II, 323). It is s u rp ris in g to find th a t W a rn e r, g e n e ra lly c o n sid e re d f a r m o re the s e n tim e n ta lis t than Tw ain, in his v e rs io n d isp o sed of L a u ra w ith a d m ira b le r e a lis m by sending h e r into W e ste rn r e tir e m e n t and o b sc u rity (L eisy, p. 447). It is to be fu rth e r noted th a t the intended pathos of L a u r a 's p r a y e r is in sh a rp c o n tra s t w ith C le m e n s' attitude to w ard the scene: "I k illed m y h ero in e dead as a m a c k e re l" ; as h as re p e a te d ly been shown, C lem ens w as an en em y and la m p o o n er of s e n tim e n ta lism . The m o st obvious explanation of this seem in g la p se on his p a r t is th at L a u r a 's death scene w as p a r t of the b u rle sq u e of c o n te m p o ra ry fiction. Some h e ro in e had to die, and L a u ra w as the m o s t lik ely c a n d i date. T h e re w as a definite tra g ic irony in h e r fate th a t affo rd ed a nice c o n tra st w ith the m e a n in g le ss and m e re ly b ath etic death of the av era g e se n tim e n ta l h e ro in e . The s to ry of this beautiful, intelligent, r e s o u r c e ful w om an, who w hen v ic tim iz e d by c irc u m s ta n c e s and by a so c ie ty she n e v e r m ade r e ta lia te s w ith full v ig o r only to b rin g about h e r own d e stru ctio n , has the m akings of tru e trag e d y , how ever im p e rfe c tly r e a l ized. T hat h e r d e s tru c tio n tak es the fo rm of o s tra c is m and a tta c k by the so ciety th a t m o ld ed h e r r a th e r than th a t of en fo rced death by c o u rt 99 o rd e r heightens the tra g ic irony. C onsequently, by the tim e C lem ens d isp o ses of h e r he h as a lre a d y m ad e his point and though the account of h e r d eath m a y be in the n a tu re of a sop throw n to the yellow back au d i ence C lem ens m u s t have felt th a t this w as a m in o r co n cessio n . B e sid es, he knew th at the novel had n a rro w ly e scap e d a genuinely b athetic d eath of the m in o r h e ro in e Ruth. W a rn e r had intended to have Ruth die (ap p aren tly so th at A lic e 's co n stan cy could be re w a rd e d by h e r m a rr ia g e to P hilip) and w as p re v e n te d fro m p e rp e tra tin g such a ban ality only by 25 the good sen se of h is wife and O livia C lem ens. A nother p o ssib le explanation, though one fa r m o re co n jectu ral, is th a t C lem ens intended to im ply suicide, a denouem ent a p p ro p ria te to the sen satio n novel. At le a s t two re v ie w e rs in fe rre d th is. The L i t e r a r y W orld said th at the h ero in e a p p are n tly poisons h e rs e lf, an inferen ce 26 fo r w hich th e re is not the s lig h te st evidence. The Golden Age spoke 27 of L a u r a 's "death by h e r own h and." T h ere is little indication that this w as C lem en s' intent, how ever. Though L a u ra tu rn s up the gas, th e re is no su g g estio n th a t it is not lighted! The d e sc rip tio n of h e r h a g g a rd ap p ea ran ce and of h e r h ead in ju ry fro m a stone h u rle d at h e r, an 2 5 W a rn e r's outline ends: "The next su m m e r P hilip w ill s trik e coal, Ruth die, and close w ith P h il, su ccessfu l, e v e ry body e lse played out, and conclude the w orks w ith idea th at P h il is som e tim e to m a r r y A lice" (MTP, DV 137). The w ives "both p lead ed so long 8t v ig o ro u sly fo r W a rn e r's h ero in e , th at y e s te rd a y W arn e r a g re e d to s p a re h e r life & le t h e r m a r r y - - h e m e a n t to kill h e r " (F a irb a n k s L e t te r s , p. 171). ^ 4 :1 2 6 , J a n u a ry 1874. 27 U ndated rev iew re p rin te d in la rg e b ro ad sid e "N otices of the P r e s s , " M T P . If C lem ens w as at all re sp o n sib le fo r p re p a rin g this b ro a d sid e of p r e s s n o tices, a n u m b e r of w hich a re re p rin te d only in p a rt, he did not om it the p a ra g ra p h of this review th a t contained the re fe re n c e . The G olden Age rev iew is p la ced f ir s t on the b ro ad sid e. 100 in ju ry p o ssib ly producing tra u m a , gives a s o rt of ju stific a tio n to h e a r t fa ilu re o r c e r e b ra l h e m o rrh a g e . (L a u ra is depicted as h ig h -stru n g , h a rd ly even n eu ro tic, c e rta in ly not fra il.) The only excuse fo r the in te rp re ta tio n of suicide is the final p a ra g ra p h , w ith its p o ssib le im p lic a tion of h u sh ed -u p truth: The ju ry of inquest found th at d eath had re s u lte d fro m h e a rt d ise a se , and w as in stan t and p a in le s s. That w as all. M e re ly h e a r t d is e a s e . (II, 323) The fact th at the c o rru p tib ility of the A m e ric a n ju ry plays so la rg e a ro le in The G ilded A ge, coupled w ith C le m en s' lo n g -sta n d in g an g e r at the abuse of the ju ry sy ste m , a su b ject detailed in a la te r ch ap ter, lends som e c red e n ce to this in te rp re ta tio n . If C lem ens m e a n t to im ply s u i cide, he did so v e ry clum sily. "M erely h e a r t d is e a s e " is p ro b ab ly in tended only as a co m m en t to point up the irony of L a u r a 's actu al d e stru c tio n by society, w h eth er this d e stru c tio n w as effected in d ire c tly through the shock of so cial oppro b riu m or d ire c tly in a p o ssib ly im p lied lite r a l stoning. As The Gilded Age w as w ritte n in b u rlesq u e of the se n sa tio n novel, the ach iev em en t of the h e ro in e 's v iolent end in a c co rdance w ith the fo rm u la of se n sa tio n fiction and at the sa m e tim e in t e r m s of m eaningful s a tire co n stitu tes a to u r de fo rc e not c o n te m p la ted by W a rn e r. R etrib u tiv e ju stic e has ended the cycle of violation of the m o ra l code and the v ic tim izatio n of the individual by a c o rru p t so ciety has been illu s tra te d at one and the sam e tim e. The sim ple m o ra lity of a Sylvanus Cobb h as b een given a new, so cially c r itic a l d im e n sion. T h e re is only slight ex ag g eratio n in P a tte e 's claim th a t to c o m p a re W a rn e r's p o rtio n s of The G ilded Age w ith M ark T w ain's "is like looking fro m a s till-life p ic tu re on a p a r lo r w all out upon an actu al 101 28 steam b o at pulling show ily up to a M is s is s ip p i w h a rf." M ark T w ain's c re a tiv ity w as a flam e th a t fla re d and b u rn e d at intense h eat, so m e tim e s d e stru c tiv e ly and w astefully, w h e re a s C h arles Dudley W a rn e r's slo w er im ag in atio n s m o ld e re d w ith in te rm itte n t flick - e rin g s like the backlog in his fire p la c e . The w astefu ln e ss of m a n u s c rip t sh eets s e e m s to have been in a lm o st d ire c t p ro p o rtio n to the h eat g en erated . C lem ens w as a little envious of his p a r tn e r 's econom ical w ritin g m ethod. Have w ritte n m any c h a p te rs tw ice, 8t som e of them th re e t i m e s - - have throw n aw ay 300 clean p ag es of MS. 8c still th e re 's havoc to be m ade w hen I e n te r on final polishing. W a rn e r has been m o re fo rtu - n a te --h e w on't lo se 50 p a g e s . ^ The extant m a n u sc rip t pag es b e a r out this difference. The sm all, u n varying, a lm o st illegible lin es of W a rn e r's m a n u sc rip t, containing v e ry few c o rre c tio n s , gain m u ch g r e a te r m ileag e page fo r page th an C le m e n s' la rg e , c le a r, p en m an hand, continually in te rru p te d w ith deletions, 30 re p h ra s in g s , in terp o latio n s, even w hole p a ra g ra p h s c ro s s e d out. Both sought to im prove th e ir d iction even as they w r o te - - C lem ens to gain g r e a te r e x p lic itn e ss, W a rn e r to achieve m o re a c c u ra c y or p u r e r 31 idiom . Both e m b e llish e d th e ir tex ts w ith in te rp o la te d w o rd s or 28 F r e d Lew is P a tte e , A H isto ry of A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re Since 1870 (New York, 1915), p. 420. ^ F a irb a n k s L e t t e r s , p. 170. ^ W a r n e r w ro te on the a v e ra g e 1.8 pages of m a n u s c rip t p e r p rin te d page (based on A u th o r's N ational Edition), w h e re a s C lem ens w ro te an av era g e 2.6 MS. pag es p e r p rin te d page. They both u sed the sam e lined p a p e r and w ro te on one side only (except fo r o cca sio n al in s e r ts added on the re v e rs e ). 31 T ypical of C le m en s' a lte ra tio n s is: " L a u ra 's ange r-g-raw ag ain m o rb id se lf-co m m u n in g w as ren ew ed " (MS. page 282 [M orse, 102 p h ra s e s as they w ent along: "S e lle rs th re w a lo t or two on the m a rk e t, as a fe e le r w ith the 'o i yis, oi y is ' of the o fficer in his x and they sold w ell"; "the c o u rt w as opened,^ the case called, and the native language sh e riff w as d ire c te d ." Yet C le m e n s ’ a lte ra tio n s and em endations a re the re s u lt of rap id thinking, im m ed iate co m m itm en t to p a p e r, and im p u lsiv e changes of m ind, the o rig in al w o rd often being ab ru p tly aban- 33 doned only half w ritte n . W a rn e r's , on the other hand, w hich a re fa r le s s frequent, show a slow thinking p ro c e s s and co n sid era b le u n c e rta in - 34 ty, a c ro s s e d -o u t p h ra s e often being r e s to r e d im m ed iately . S im ila r ly, C le m en s' in terp o latio n s a re c h a ra c te ris tic a lly s h o rt and in te rlin e - w ith an in ju re d look, ^5 ated: "M r. Buckstone ro s e , ^ and said it w as evident . . w h e re a s W a rn e r's a re afterth o u g h ts, often taking the fo rm of lengthy in sertio n s 12b]; cf. I, 121). O ther ex am ples a re : "an e x p re s sio n of contentm ent . . . e a n » se ttle d upon its fa c e " (MS. 105 [M orse, 12b]; I, 57); "in sp ect you w ith a erit-ieat s e v e re eye" (MS. 552 [M orse, 10]; I, 267); and "The S peaker of the House said: ra ttle d off" (MS. 1013-1014 [M orse, 12b]; II, 134). T ypical of W a rn e r's is: "P h ilip m anaged to com plete his to i le t by the help--aid u se of his p o c k e t-h a n d k e rc h ie f" (MS. page 686 [M orse, 11]; cf. I, 323). O ther ex am p les a re : "ru n in a horiz-o-ntal-shaf-t tunnel" (MS. 691 [M orse, 11]; I, 326); " e v e ry firm tra d e s m a n in the v il la g e " (MS. 1027 [M orse, 2]; II, 140); and "H er 1-iaisen-Haise-n in tim acy w ith Selby" (MS. 1031 [M orse, 2]; II, 142). ■^MS. pages 580-581 and 1245 (M orse, 12b); cf. I, 277; II, 246. F o r exam ple: "this trib u te of r e s p e c t w hich the nation has r e a r e d in4ts--over41ewin-g--g-r-a-ti as the sym bol of its u n appeasable g r a ti tude" or "bad ta ste red u ce d to seie-n m a th e m a tic a l co m p le te n e ss" (MS. p ag es 548 and 550-551 [M orse, 10]; I, 265, 266). ^ " H e w as som ew hat bruised: b ru is e d " (MS. page 680 [M orse, 11]; I, 319); "she has done n e a rly -almo-st- n e a rly as m uch" (MS. page 1029 [M orse, 2]; II, 141); etc. ^^MS. page 1056 (M orse, 12b); II, 154. 103 added on the r e v e r s e of a le a f .3^ Both a u th o rs fre q u e n tly "w eakened the E n g lish la n g u ag e," p a r tic u la rly in dialogue, by s u b se rv ie n c e to the m id d le -c la s s g en tility w ith w hich they w e re s u rro u n d e d - - C lem ens deleting an ir r e p r e s s ib l e "in fe rn a l" and changing "com e rig h t out and say so " to "com e out and p ro v e it"; W a rn e r changing " P e rh a p s it is n 't" to " P o ss ib ly it m ig h t not be" and "D ivil a b it" to "No, s ir , not to m y know ledge"; both fo rm a liz - 37 ing v e r b - p h r a s e c o n tra c tio n s. C lem en s, m o re o v e r, had a running b attle ag a in st old habit not s h a re d by W a rn e r. T his w as his conscious effo rt to en fo rce r e s tr a i n t upon h is im p u lsiv ely b an terin g , lo w -co m e d y m a n n e r, a m a n n e r b o rn of long a p p re n tic e sh ip in jo u rn a lis tic b u rle sq u e and p la tfo rm h u m o r. R e g a rd le s s of w h atev e r "refin in g " influence he m a y have re c e iv e d fro m Livy and H o w e lls --a fa v o rite topic of the pun d its - - th e G ilded Age m a n u s c rip t abounds w ith in sta n ces of a s e lf - c e n s o rsh ip th a t w as im p o sed w ell in advance of the o ra l read in g s e s sio n s. When, fo r exam ple, C olonel S e lle rs is eulogizing h is U n iv ersal E x p e c to ran t, he ju s t begins to w a rm up to his su b ject ("One of th e se days I'll have all the nations of the e a rth e x p e c to --" ) w hen he is in te rru p te d by his w ife. In the m a n u s c rip t the sen ten ce is fin ish e d and then the la tte r F o r exam ple, on MS. page 1249 (M orse, 12b) o c c u rs the fo l lowing s h o rt p a ra g ra p h con cern in g the im paneling of a p ro sp e c tiv e j u r or: " P a tr ic k Coughlin. No p a r tic u la r b u sin e ss . Owned so m e t e r r i e r s . N ever fit 'e m h im se lf. N ev er h e a rd of th is c ase till this m o rn in g ." All except the n am e has been c r o s s e d out and in an in se rtio n w ritte n on the r e v e r s e of the le af this t e r s e in fo rm atio n h as been expanded into an am using th irte e n -lin e dialogue (II, 248-249). 37MS. pag es 284, 281, 1142, 1249 (M orse, 12b); I, 122, 121 and II, 196, 248. 104 p a r t c ro s s e d out. It re a d s: One of th e se days I'll have all the nations of the e a rth ex p ec to ratin g in b ro th e rly unison like one g ran d co sm o p o litan w aterin g pot, & b le ssin g the nam e of E sch o l S e lle rs the w o rld 's b e n e fa c to r betw een d is c h a r g e s - - f ir in g e v e rla s tin g sa lu te s of honor, as you m a y s a y .3® The la s t is ad m itted ly an e x tre m e exam ple; the softening of the b u rlesq u e tone g e n e ra lly involves only the change of an ill-c h o s e n w o rd or t w o . ^ M ore p re v a le n t a re the deletions of e x a g g e ra te d concepts or language. W hen W ashington Haw kins falls in love w ith L ouise Bosw ell, he at f i r s t (in a d is c a rd e d frag m e n t) longs fo r som e c a ta stro p h e th at w ill allow him to a ttr a c t L o u ise 's atten tio n by his h e ro is m . But it does not seem th a t L ouise is " e v e r going to get into s e rio u s p e r il" w hen he is by. F o r som e tim e he depended on ro b b e rs; but none e v e r m o le s te d the house, & he had to give them up; then he put his tr u s t in fire , but this failed him too; rio ts w e re out of the q u e s tio n --th e p lace w as too h o p e le ssly p eaceful. T h ere w as no chance but in w ealth; . . . This p a ss a g e w as re p la c e d w ith the sim p le, s tra ig h tfo rw a rd s ta te m e n t th at a p p e a rs in the p u b lish ed text: Some in stin c t taught W ashington th a t his p r e s e n t la c k of m oney w ould be an ob stru ctio n , though p o ssib ly not a b a r, to his hopes, and straig h tw ay his p o v erty b eca m e a to r tu r e to him w hich c a s t all his fo r m e r su fferin g s u n d er th a t h ead into the shade. . . . (I, 106) MS. page 628 (M orse, 2); copyright (jc) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Company; cf. I, 298. One is ir r e s is tib ly re m in d e d of D ickens' a lm o st co n stan t com m ent on tobacco chew ing and e x p e c to ra tio n in A m e ric a n N o te s. Im agine the glee w ith w hich B ritis h re v ie w e rs would have pounced upon this sen ten ce had it been retained! 39Such as the s p ir it of G eorge W ashington " ro o stin g " on the scaffolding of the u ncom pleted M onum ent (MS. page 548 [M orse, 10]; cf. I, 265). " ^ D is c a rd e d page 293 (M TP, DV 137). C opyright (jc) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Com pany. 105 Again, in d e sc rib in g the c u rio sity of H aw keye inhabitants about L a u r a 's o rig in s C lem ens w rite s : "T hey m e a n t no h a r m - - th e y only w anted to know. V illag ers alw ays w ant to know" (I, 121). A d eleted continuation of the p a ss a g e b e la b o rs the point w ith d ig re s s iv e self-in d u lg en ce: they even w ant to know who liv es next door to you; & : w hen you con fe s s th a t you don't know, they often se e m s u rp ris e d ; & w hen they find out th a t you not only d on't know but don't w ant to know and n e v e r even thought of the su b ject b efore, th ey think th e re is a s c re w loose about you som e w h ere. All of th is ex cisio n is the kind of s e lf-c e n s o rs h ip he had u se d w hen he w as editing his Holy Land le tte r s for pub licatio n as The Innocents A b r o a d ,^ only this tim e the p ro c e s s w as sim u ltan eo u s w ith the w ritin g itself. ^ The d ifferen ce in the w ritin g m ethods of the two c o lla b o ra to rs is clo sely re la te d to the m o st c ritic iz e d w eak n ess of The G ilded Age as a novel, its overly episodic s tru c tu re . As the Independent put it, the novel w as "not so m uch a w ell-w ro u g h t sto ry , w ith a unity running thro u g h it, as a s e r ie s of sk etch e s stru n g to g e th e r." If W a rn e r's p o r tio n is c o n sid e re d by itself, this c r itic is m h a rd ly applies to it. T h ere ” ^ M S . page 281 (M orse, 12b). C opyright (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Company. 4^See T rav e lin g w ith the Innocents A b ro a d , ed. D aniel M o rley M cK eithan (N orm an, Okla., 1958). In his annotations following each l e t t e r th a t w as in c o rp o ra te d into Innocents A broad M cK eithan cites the a l te ra tio n s . T ypical ex am p les a re : "'th e f ir s t p a s s we m a d e ' becam e 'the f ir s t adventure we h ad '; . . .'w hen they ru n out th ey s k irm is h ' b e cam e 'w hen the c o m m is s a ry d e p a rtm e n t fails they " s k irm is h ," as Ja c k te rm s it in his sinful, slangy w a y '" (p. 36). It should be noted th a t the deleted p h ra sin g s of Gilded Age MS. seldom a re quite as slangy as the p u blished Innocents A b ro a d . ^ I n v a r ia b l y the lin es im m ed iately following a deletio n in his te x t contain the su b stan ce of the om itted p a ss a g e or a p a ra p h ra s e , con densation, or expansion of it often u tilizin g som e of the sam e p h ra s in g s . is a f a irly w ell-w ro u g h t s to ry of the Bolton fam ily, w ith the unity of R uth's re la tio n sh ip w ith P h ilip S terlin g running th ro u g h it. The love a f fa ir, w ith its subplot of A lice M o n tag u e's s e c r e t love fo r P h ilip and o v e rt frien d sh ip w ith Ruth, is u tiliz e d w ith som e sk ill to show the m a tu rin g of the young m a n and w o m a n --P h ilip in en d u ran ce and in stre n g th to m e e t a d v e rsity , Ruth in en d u ran ce and also in ability to know h e r s e lf - - s o th at its happy outcom e is in a se n se a p riz e w on ra th e r th a n a g ratu ito u s gift of the author. H a r r y B r ie rly 's v o la tility and P h ilip 's ste a d fa stn e ss a re th ro w n into c o n tra s t w ith co n sid e ra b le c ra ftsm a n sh ip . U noriginal, yes; sen tim en tal, yes; but sketchy, no. T h e re fo re , if the c ritic is m applies at all, it applies to C le m e n s' p o rtio n . The d e lib e ra te ly w asted episodes co n cern in g C lay and concerning L a u ra 's p a re n ta g e I have a lre a d y shown to be p a r t of the p a r a p h e rn a lia of b u rle sq u e on the se n sa tio n novel. The fo rtu n es of the H aw kinses, how ever, a re not told w ith neat p re c is io n or flowing continuity. T h e re is, n e v e rth e le s s , a stro n g unity of them e th at ru n s th ro u g h th e ir e n tire h is to ry and this is the all-p e rv a d in g , c o rru p tin g sp ecu la tiv e fe v e r w hich m o tiv a te s Colonel S e lle rs ' s e v e ra l sc h e m e s and finds sym bolic em bodim ent in the T en n e ss e e Land. As I have shown e a r l ie r , the m u r d e r and tr i a l sequence involving L a u ra H aw kins, though in p a r t an obvious p a ro d y of se n sa tio n fiction, is in c o rp o ra te d into the c e n tra l th em e of co rru p tio n . E ven W a rn e r's c h a ra c te rs H a rry B rie rly , E li Bolton, and S quire M ontague all fall p re y to the p e rv a s iv e m a n ia of speculation. What, then, is the so u rc e of the quite a p p a re n t sk e tc h in e ss of the novel? One an sw e r lie s in M a rk T w ain 's w ritin g h ab its. His w as an episodic m ethod, the n a tu ra l r e s u lt of individual c h a r a c te r is tic s 107 re in fo rc e d by en v iro n m en tal conditioning. C lem ens had a quick, vivid im agination, m aking him highly su sc ep tib le to shocking or su g g estiv ely d ra m a tic e x p e rie n c e s, an acuity of visio n th at allow ed him to p e rc e iv e a to tal scene a t a given m o m en t (re m e m b e r his accounts of riv e rb o a t p i loting), and a nervous se n sitiv ity th a t as a boy m ade him a sle e p -w a lk e r and as an older m an a night owl who found it n e c e s s a ry to coax his " r e lu ctan t s le e p in e s s " w ith two hot sco tch e s before re tirin g . His o rg an ism had undergone a conditioning fav o rab le to the developm ent of th e se s o m a tic c h a r a c te r is tic s - - th e a le rtn e s s a c q u ire d in r iv e r navigation, the ex p o su re to excitem ent, instability, and violence accom panying the goldm ining life, and the rap id im p re ssio n a b ility n e c e s s a ry to good tra v e l re p o rtin g . By the tim e he se t about w ritin g The G ilded A ge, th e re fo re , the episodic m ethod had becom e the m a in s ta y of his c ra ft, as exem plified in Innocents A broad and Roughing It. The m ethod is e a sily tra c e a b le throughout the en tire corpus of M a rk T w ain's w ritin g s, but in la te r novels such as H u c k le b e rry F inn and The P rin c e and the P a u p e r he had le a rn e d how to set off ep iso d es in a continuum of s to ry develop m ent. In The Gilded A ge, his f i r s t a tte m p t at novel w riting, the con tinuum re m a in s in the background and is not sufficiently in te g ra te d to be re a d ily seen at f ir s t reading. M o reo v er, the d iv e rs ity of elem en ts in The Gilded A ge, the tra n s itio n a l sta te of the society it re fle c ts , and the attem p ted national scope of its co verage com bine to accentuate its e p i sodic quality. W riting in 1901, C lem en s' frie n d and sym p ath etic c ritic Howells su m m ed up the m a tte r in w hat I believe is s till the b e st s ta te m e n t of it: M r. C lem ens u ses in w o rk on the la r g e r scale the m ethod of the e ld e r e s s a y is ts , . . . The end you a r r iv e at is the end of the book, 108 . . . You have noted the a u th o r's thoughts, but not his o rd e r of th in k ing; he has not a ttem p ted to tr a c e the th re a d s of a ss o c ia tio n betw een the things th at have follow ed one another; h is re a so n , not h is logic, has convinced you, or ra th e r it has p e rs u a d e d you, fo r you have not been brought u n d er conviction. It is not c e rta in th a t this m eth o d is of d esig n w ith M r. C lem ens; th a t m ight spoil it; and p o ssib ly he w ill be as m uch s u rp ris e d as any to know th a t it is h is m ethod. It is im aginable th at he p u rs u e s it fro m no w ish but to have p le a s u re of his w ork, and not to fatigue e ith e r h im se lf or his re a d e r; and his m ethod m ay be the s e c r e t of his v a s t popu larity , but it cannot be the w hole s e c re t of it. Any one m a y com pose a sc ra p -b o o k , and offer it to the public w ith nothing of M a rk T w ain's good fortune. E v ery th in g se e m s to depend upon the n a tu re of the s c ra p s , a fte r all; . . . th e re is no doubt th at people like things th a t have a t le a s t the ap p e a ra n c e of not having been d rille d into line. Life itse lf has th a t s o r t of ap p e a ra n c e as it goes on; it is an e s s a y w ith m o m en ts of d ra m a in it r a th e r than a d ra m a ; . . . The d ecisiv e an sw er, how ever, to the so m e tim e s b ew ildering la ck of co h esiv e n ess in The G ilded Age lie s in the m e c h a n ic a l division of la b o r in the co llab o ratio n itself. As can re a d ily be seen fro m the tabulation of c h a p te rs, eac h au th o r developed his own s to ry independent ly, finding a com m on m e e tin g -g ro u n d of plot only o cca sio n ally in c h a p te r s w ritte n m o re n e a rly in co llab o ratio n in its u su al sen se of w orking to g e th er. The f ir s t 23 c h a p te rs w e re divided into two roughly equal p a rts a ssig n ed ex clu siv ely to one author o r the o ther, the f i r s t 11 to C lem ens, the following 12 to W a rn e r. T h e re a fte r, the c o lla b o ra to rs a l te rn a te d by c h a p te rs or groups of two or th re e c h a p te rs. In only a few c h ap ters w as th e re a division of re s p o n s ib ility w ithin the ch ap ter itself, and in m o st in sta n ces this w as again a segm enting into p a s s a g e s W. D. H ow ells, "M ark Twain: an Inquiry," The N orth A m e r i can R eview , 191:836-837, June 1910; re p rin te d fro m NAR, F e b ru a ry 1901. In this connection C h arles W a rre n S to d d ard 's co m m en t is in t e r esting. "As to the plot of the s to ry ," he w rite s , "it w as n e v e r m e a n t to have any; on the c o n tra ry , the s to ry told itse lf" (Exits and E n tra n c e s , p. 71). 109 ranging fro m an o cca sio n al single p a ra g ra p h to s e v e ra l p a g e s. The even le s s fre q u e n t in terp o latio n s and re w ritin g of individual lin es and p h ra s e s of one author by the o ther, though significant s ty lis tic a lly and in te rm s of o v e r - a ll tone, fa ile d to fuse s tru c tu ra lly the independently conceived c h a p te rs and groups of c h a p te rs. So C le m en s' a d m issio n th at the book w as two ta le s in one co v er is fa irly a c c u ra te --w h a t the Q ueen called "the 'p atc h w o rk ' o rd e r of com position" and B ra n d e r M atthew s 45 w ritin g "in conjunction." By a running s e r ie s of sw itchbacks the r e a d e r goes ahead w ith one s e t of c h a r a c te r s , then shifts to the o th er set, catch es up and goes on ahead, then re tu rn s to the f i r s t s e t and b rin g s th em up to and beyond the o th e rs in a fash io n akin to the a l t e r nating ad v an cem en t of c h e c k e rs on a ch ec k erb o ard . If the m e c h a n ic a l d ivision of la b o r had not a lre a d y m a d e the n o v el's in c o h esiv en ess a foregone conclusion, the final a sse m b lin g of ch a p te rs m u s t have g u aran teed it. In a le tte r to Livy dated A p ril 26, [1873], 10:30 p .m ., C lem ens w rote: . . . to -d a y we began the w o rk of c ritic a lly read in g the book, line by line & n u m b e rin g the c h a p te rs & w orking them in to g e th e r in th e ir a p p ro p ria te p la c e s . It is p e rfe c tly fascin a tin g w ork. ° On M ay 6 he w ro te h is b ro th e r, Orion, th a t the ta s k w as com pleted: "We fin ish e d rev am p in g & refining the book to n ig h t--te n d ay s' lab o r. 47 It is n e a r m idnight & we a re ju s t th ro u g h ." Though the c o lla b o ra to rs 45 Q ueen, Ja n u a ry 17, 1874, p. 61; M atthew s, P lay w rig h ts on P lay m ak in g (New Y ork and London, 1923), p. 167. ^ Love L e t t e r s , p. 182. ^ U n p u b lis h e d le tte r to " S is te r & B ro ," a d d re s s e d to Orion; ty p e sc rip t in M T P . C opyright (jz) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Com pany. 110 had of c o u rs e kept in clo se com m unication throughout the com p o sitio n of the novel, the fact th at w ith v e ry few exceptions th e ir s e p a ra te ly w ritte n c h a p te rs w e re assig n e d th e ir "a p p ro p ria te p la c e s " as units only com pounded the in itial defect in the co llab o ratio n . As th e re w as a lm o st no a tte m p t at effecting a continuity betw een the altern atin g seg m en ts of m a te ria l, the novel can at b e s t be sa id to have been solidified, not sy n th e sized . The extant p o rtio n s of the m a n u sc rip t, to be su re , re v e a l thro u g h s e v e ra l s e r ie s of can celed folios e a r l ie r attem p ts at p a rtia l collation, and th e ir p h y sical state shows a good deal of cutting and p a s t ing. W ith the exception of the jo in tly w ritte n ch a p te rs, how ever, the shifts of m a te r ia l re m a in la rg e ly w ithin each w r ite r 's own p a r t of the 48 sto ry . S u rely the idea of voting fo r the b e tte r of the two can d id ate s' v e rs io n s of the sam e ch a p te r p re s a g e d inevitable difficulties! The significant fa c t about th is aw kw ard, hasty, ill-d efin e d c o l la b o ra tio n w as not, how ever, the s tr u c tu ra l in co h esiv en ess of its p ro d uct. It w as not the div erg en ce of the c o lla b o ra to rs' w ritin g m ethods and sty le s. N or w as it th e ir p atently d is s im ila r, freq u en tly antipathetic habits of thought and sta n d a rd s of v alu es. The tru ly sig n ifican t and o v e rrid in g fact w as the unity of p u rp o se of C lem ens and W arn er, so com pensating in its effect th at it cut through the u n re so lv e d p ro b le m s of design, s tru c tu re , and refin e m en t. D eveloping out of the g e n e ra l d is content w ith c u rre n t fictio n am ong the A m e ric a n intellig en tsia, out of the specific in tellectu a l en v iro n m en t of the Nook F a rm colony, and out of the im m ed iate im p u lse of C lem ens and W a rn e r that tra n s fo rm e d 48 A com plete an aly sis of the extant p o rtio n s of holograph m a n u s c rip t is p re s e n te d in A ppendix B. Ill b elief into action, The G ilded Age gained in conviction m o re th an it lo s t in a r tis tr y . As the au th o rs sta te d in th e ir p re fa c e to the B ritis h e d i tion, " a ll-p e rv a d in g s p e c u la tiv e n e s s" and "sh am efu l c o rru p tio n " w e re th e ir th e m e s . The s tre n g th of the s a tire outw eighed the w eak n ess of the c o n stru c tio n and m ade the novel an im m ed iate b e s t- s e ll e r and the c o n tro v e rs ia l h a rb in g e r of a p e rio d of so c ia lly c ritic a l r e a lis m . PA R T II ROMAN A C L E F AND E X P O S ^ C H A P T E R IV SENATOR DILWORTHY It w ill be r e m e m b e re d th a t w hen M a rk Tw ain f i r s t announced his fo rth co m in g novel w ritte n in p a rtn e rsh ip , he sta te d th a t W a rn e r had "w orked up the fiction" and he had " h u rle d in the facts."'*' F a c ts as such had a fa sc in a tio n fo r C lem en s. F ro m h is e a r lie s t y e a rs he had had a g re a t in te r e s t in h is to ry , and he m u ch p r e f e r r e d factu al and ex p o sito ry read in g m a te r ia l to fiction. He told R udyard Kipling, " P e rs o n a lly I n e v e r c a re fo r fiction or sto ry b o o k s. W hat I like to re a d about a re facts and s ta tis tic s of any kind." T his p re d ile c tio n had undoubtedly been stre n g th e n e d by his re p o r to r ia l e x p erien ce, w hich had ru n the gam ut fro m le g isla tiv e a s s e m b lie s to fa n c y -d re s s b alls. Though it is his ab ility at fa rc ic a l p o r tr a itu r e th a t m o s t delights his r e a d e r s in The Innocents A broad and Roughing It, th e re is m uch of factu al o b se rv a tio n in th e se books; and the in te re s te d n e s s w ith w hich he handles s ta tis tic s is w ell ex em p lified in his r e p o rts on H aw aiian econom y w ritte n in 1866 ^M erle Johnson, A B ibliography of the W orks of M a rk T w ain, rev . and enl. (New Y ork and London, 1935), p. 22; cf. M ark T w ain's L e t te r s , a r r . A lb e rt Bigelow P a in e (New York, 1917) (h e re a fte r cited as L e t t e r s ), I, 205. 2 Kipling, F ro m Sea to Sea: L e tte rs of T ra v e l (G arden City, N.Y., 1913), P a r t II, p. 180. 113 114 3 fo r the S acram en to U nion. B ra n d e r M atthew s, a keen a p p r a is e r of M a rk T w ain's w ritin g , w ro te th a t Tw ain "needed to have the su stain in g solidity of the c o n cre te fact, w hich he could deal w ith at w ill." As C lem ens h im se lf put it, in his h is to ric in terv iew w ith the young Kipling, "Get y our facts f irs t, and . . . then you can d is to rt ’em as m uch as you p le a se . It is not su rp ris in g , th e re fo re , th a t w hen he s e t about w ritin g h is f i r s t novel C lem ens, to g e th e r w ith h is c o lla b o ra to r, p ro d u ced a r o m a n ci clef (or S c h lttsse lro m a n ), a s to ry b a se d upon b a re ly d isg u ised c u rre n t events. Though a la rg e p a r t of The G ilded Age also re fle c ts the youthful e x p erien ces and p e rs o n a l a sso c ia tio n s of both C lem en s and W arn e r, as w ill be d etailed in a la te r ch ap ter, the elem en ts of the novel th a t evoked an im m ed iate re s p o n s e fro m its re a d e rs and th at c a ta pulted it into b e s t-s e llin g statu s w e re the d ire c t hits at v u ln e ra b le con te m p o ra ry institutions and p e rs o n a g e s . It w as th e se elem en ts th at drew the w ra th of the Chicago T ribune and o th er m outhpieces of the ruling a d m in istra tio n down upon the a u th o rs ' h ead s. F o r it m u s t be un d e rsto o d that The Gilded Age w as a ro m a n h clef not in the m o re c o m m only applied g e n e ra l sen se of "scan d alo u s fiction involving r e a l 3 See L e tte rs fro m Honolulu, W ritten fo r the S ac ra m e n to Union, ed. T hom as N ick erso n (Honolulu, 1939); L e tte rs fro m the Sandw ich I s lands, W ritten fo r the S ac ra m e n to Union, ed. G. E z r a Dane (San F r a n cisco, 1937); and W alter F ra n c is F r e a r , M a rk Tw ain and H aw aii (C hi cago, 1947), p a ss im . ^ The T o csin of Revolt and O ther E s s a y s (New York, 1922), p. 270. ^Kipling, p. 180. S im ila r u tte ra n c e s of C lem ens re g a rd in g facts a re re c o rd e d in M ark Tw ain A n e c d o te s, ed. C y ril C lem ens (W ebster G roves, Mo., 1929), p. 26, and M a rk Tw ain to M rs. F a irb a n k s , ed. 115 p e r s o n s ." It w as not w ritte n in the s p ir it of the e a rly eighteenth c e n tu r y "key n o v els" such as M rs. M an ley ’s S e c re t M e m o irs and M an n ers of S e v e ra l P e r s o n s of Quality, nor in th a t of G eorge M e re d ith 's la te r novel D iana of the C ro ssw a y s, which m ad e such obvious use of the C a ro line N o rto n a d u lte ry c ase th a t M ered ith found it n e c e s s a r y to p u b lish a d is c la im e r fo r f e a r of lawsuit.^* It w as a "key novel" in the m o re p a r tic u la r s e n se of fiction th at " a c q u ire s a kind of m e re tric io u s in te re s t 7 by the su p p o rt w hich it lends to one side of a c u rre n t c o n tro v e rsy ." Yet this n a rro w e r definition is inadequate w hen applied to The Gilded Age, fo r the in te re s t the novel a ro u se d , d ire c te d as it w as ag ain st the m o s t fla g ra n t c o rru p tio n s of A m e ric a n c a p ita list e n te rp ris e and the su b se rv ie n t fe d e ra l governm ent, cannot be c o n sid e re d m e re tric io u s . Though the to p icality of the novel has b ecom e o b sc u re d w ith the p a s sa g e of tim e , r e a d e r s in 1874 e a sily reco g n ized events and p e r s o n ages depicted. It is tru e th at only a v e ry few re a d e rs could p o ssib ly have identified all of the m any o rig in als; yet h a rd ly anyone in the United States who glanced at a new sp ap er could fail to identify at le a s t one or ; two fig u re s who had been p ro m in e n t in re c e n t h ead lin es, and though he m ight not have been able to nam e the actu al o c c u rre n c e upon w hich any sp ecific episode w as b a se d he would have im m ed iately re a liz e d its Dixon W ec ter (San M arino, Calif., 1949), p. 147. ^See C h arles Duffy and H enry P e ttit, A D ictio n ary of L ite r a r y T e r m s , re v . ed. (D enver, 1952), pp. 104-105; H ein rich M ahlberg, L ite r a r is c h e S achw drterbuch (Bern, 1948), p. 194; Irving W allace, The Fabulous O riginals (New York, 1955), p. 16. "^Laurie M agnus, A D ictio n ary of E u ro p ea n L ite ra tu re , D esigned as a C om panion to E nglish Studies (London, 1926), p. 441. 116 g e n e ra l authenticity. S eventeen out of 38 rev iew s, o r n e a rly half, a c know ledged th at actu al p e rso n s and events w e re p o rtra y e d , and 9 of th e se 17 nam ed n am es. As is to be expected, m o s t of th e se rev ie w s ap p e a re d in A m e ric a n publications; how ever, two B ritis h n e w sp a p e rs w e re re p re s e n te d . As is also to be expected, all but four of the rev ie w s w ere p u blished in m e tro p o lita n n ew sp ap ers. The two le n g th ie st and m o s t p ro m in e n t ep iso d es of The G ilded A ge-- th e Senate investigation of S enator D ilw orthy fo r vote buying and L a u ra H aw kins' tr i a l fo r m u r d e r - - w e r e quite lite ra lly b a se d on two events of nationw ide in te re s t, the in v estig atio n of S enator Sam uel C. P o m e ro y of K ansas and the m u r d e r t r i a l of the San F ra n c is c o adven tu r e s s L a u ra D. F a ir. The P o m e ro y scan d al had been in the h ead lin es a lm o st continuously fro m the end of Ja n u a ry until the f i r s t w eek of M arch 1873; the L a u ra F a ir tr i a l had been h eadlined in te rm itte n tly fro m June 1871 until J a n u a ry 1873. Five of the rev iew s openly id e n ti fied D ilw orthy as P o m e ro y (another one did so in d irectly ), and th re e O rev ie w s, one of them B ritish , saw L a u ra D. F a ir in L a u ra H aw kins. Both episodes in the novel, it should be noted, w e re c lim a c tic to the po litic a l s a tire , and the rev iew s th at stopped sh o rt of nam ing n am es c le a rly indicated, none the le s s , th at the m o s t e a sily identifiable Q The review s identifying both D ilw orthy and L a u ra w e re in Old and N ew , 9:386-388, M arch 1874, and in the S pringfield (M ass.) Union (clipping in la rg e b ro ad sid e "N otices of the P r e s s , " in the M a rk Tw ain P a p e rs , U n iv ersity of C alifo rn ia L ib ra ry , B erk eley [h e re a fte r M TP]). The o th e rs th a t identified D ilw orthy w e re in the Boston T r a n s c r ip t, D ecem b er 23, 1873, p. 6, Boston S aturday Evening G azette, P o m e ro y 's D em o cra t (N.Y.) (clippings of la s t th re e in "N otices"), and, by im p lic a tion, the Independent, 26:1642, J a n u a ry 1, 1874. A B ritis h n ew sp ap er a lso nam ed L a u ra (unidentified, undated clipping in M TP). 117 c h a ra c te rs w e re w ell-know n p o litic a l fig u re s . The H a rtfo rd C our a n t, fo r exam ple, d rily e x p re s s e d doubts th a t the book w ould be p o p u la r am ong W ashington or K ansas p o litic ian s; the New Y ork H e ra ld sa id th at the novel tr a n s f e r r e d "incidents and institu tio n s bodily into its p a g e s " and the London E vening S tan d ard th a t "e v e ry line of the w o rk can find a 9 p a ra lle l in the New Y ork p r e s s alo n e." In addition to P o m e ro y , the B oston S atu rd ay E vening G azette c laim e d to reco g n ize such o th er s e n a to rs as C am ero n , Nye, and H a rla n and such national scan d als as the C re d it M o b ilier e x p o s e .^ Two of the ra ilr o a d group of c h a ra c te rs w e re re co g n ized by H e a rth and H o m e, and L a u ra H aw kins' counsel, B rah am , w as m en tio n ed in s e v e ra l rev ie w s as a thinly d isg u ise d a t to rn e y of p ro m in en ce. Some y e a rs a fte r p u b licatio n of the novel the p ro c e s s of id e n tifi catio n w as re s u m e d , la rg e ly by h is to ria n s and li te r a r y in v e stig a to rs, who not only c o rro b o ra te d the e a rly rev iew s but found f u rth e r o rig in als fo r c h a ra c te rs , things, and ep iso d es, and the p ro c e s s is not fin ish ed even yet. The evidence found to date, how ever, is so n e a rly com plete th at it can be sta te d w ithout qu alificatio n th at w h e re v e r The G ilded Age is not p r im a r ily au to b io g rap h ic al or clo sely a s s o c ia te d w ith its a u th o rs ' p e rs o n a l ex p e rie n c e it is at le a s t a ro m a n h c le f. In fact, the novel is such a d e ta ile d ro m a n h clef as to ju stify the conclusion th at C lem ens and W a rn e r w e re p illo ry in g the c o n te m p o ra ry scene fo r the s h e e r enjoym ent of it w e re it not for the fact th a t p ra c tic a lly e v e ry ^ C o u ran t (undated clipping, M TP); H e ra ld , D ecem b er 22, 1873; S tan d a rd , D ecem b er 29 (see above, p. 33, n. 87). ^ " N o ti c e s of the P r e s s , " M T P . 118 identifiable p e rs o n or thing w as at the tim e stafficiently w ell known to be re co g n ized by som e re a d e r, hence to som e d e g re e fulfill a s a tir ic a l i 1 1 ro le. Senator D ilw orthy, as A lb ert Bigelow P ain e says, w as fa m ilia r 12 enough. In fact, not only w as he the c h a r a c te r m o st w idely re c o g nized by c o n te m p o ra ry re a d e rs but of the s e v e ra l c h a ra c te rs identified he w as the one who continued to be cited by h is to ria n s and c ritic s alike 13 as b ased on an actu al public fig u re. Not until 1954, how ever, did any in v e stig ato r exam ine in d etail T w ain's use of the P o m e ro y ca se . At th at tim e A lb e rt R. K itzhaber p u blished an a rtic le showing by r e f e r ences to the New Y ork T rib u n e , C o n g ressio n al Globe, Senate R ep o rts of the 42nd C o n g ress, and s e v e ra l h is to rie s of K ansas th at the e n tire e p i sode of the D ilw orthy ex p o su re and in v estig atio n w as draw n, down to the 14 m in u te st detail, fro m p ublished re p o rts of the P o m e ro y case. The d ra m a tic re v e la tio n of D ilw orthy 1 s vote buying by State S enator Noble of the H a p p y -L an d -o f-C an a an on the floor of the state le g is la tu re at S ain t's R est, the consequent defeat of D ilw orthy fo r re -e le c tio n , the in v estig atio n of the c h a rg e s of b r ib e r y by the Senate at D ilw orthy's ^ C f . W alter F. T aylor, "M ark Tw ain and the M achine A ge," in F ifty Y ears of the South A tlantic Q u arterly , ed. W illiam B ask erv ille H am ilton (D urham , N.C., 1952), p. 274 ff. ^ M a rk Twain: A B iography (New York, 1912), II, 478. 1 3 I have found only one h is to rio g ra p h e r who r e f e r r e d to D il w o rth y as " im a g in a ry ." (See F ra n c e s W eston C a rru th , "W ashington in F ic tio n ," The B ookm an [New York], 15:454, July 1902.) 1 4"M ark T w ain's Use of the P o m e ro y C ase in The G ilded A ge," M odern Language Q u a rte rly (h e re a fte r M L Q ), 15:42-56, M arch 1954. 119 re q u e s t and the re s u lta n t ex o n era tio n of the a c c u se d and ind ictm en t of the a c c u se r, the p a r tic u la r iz e d te stim o n y of Noble and its re b u tta l by D ilw o rth y --n e a rly a ll of th e se m in u tiae of incident contained in chap- 15 te r s LIII, LVII, and LIX find th e ir c o u n te rp a rts in the P o m e ro y ca se . M aking use of the sa m e so u rc e s K itzh ab er points out fu rth e r th a t in the p rin c ip a l a sp e c ts of the c h a r a c te r iz a tio n - - h is p ro fe s s e d devotion to the public w eal, his h y p o c ritic a l piety, his cham pionship of re lig io n and te m p e ra n c e , and his c o n c e rn fo r the N egro and the In d ian --A b n er D il w orthy is a c a ric a tu re of S am uel C. P o m e ro y . "In fact, the m o re c lo s e ly one studies P o m e ro y 's c a r e e r the m o re c le a rly one se e s that T w ain's account in The G ilded A ge, fa r fro m being ov erd raw n , is a su rp ris in g ly ex act copy." S enator D ilw orthy, I have d isco v ere d , is an even m o re exact copy of S enator P o m e ro y than h a s h e re to fo re b een supposed. Take, fo r exam ple, his o fte n -e x p re s s e d co n ce rn fo r the Indian and the N egro. The p a ra lle l draw n by Tw ain is m uch m o re sp ecific than w ould ap p ea r at the p r e s e n t d istan ce in tim e . As K itzh ab er h as sta te d e lse w h e re , the W ashington n ew sp ap er D aily L o v e - F e a s t, w hich tak es D ilw orthy's side w hen the r e s t of the p r e s s attack s the Knobs U n iv ersity Bill, is none other than the W ashington C h ro n ic le , at th a t tim e ru n by P o m e ro y 's 17 frien d S enator H a rla n of Iowa (T w ain's " B ro th e r B alaam "). H arlan, 15C h ap ters XXII, XXVI, and XXVIII of Volum e II of the tw o -v o l um e edition of the novel in The W ritings of M a rk T w ain, A u th o r's N a tional E dition (New Y ork and London, 1907-1918) (h e re a fte r W ritin g s ), X and XI. ^ K itz h a b e r , MLQ, 15:56. 17 " Gdtterdfetmmerung in Topeka: The Downfall of S enator 120 who had b een S e c re ta ry of the In te rio r u n d er A ndrew Johnson, w as n o to rio u s fo r his ro le in sw indling the A m e ric a n Indians. A "high p r ie s t of his church,"'*'® H a rla n m a in tain ed a lobby a t Des M oines com posed la rg e ly of D ep artm en t of In te rio r m e n and "M ethodist P r e a c h e rs , w ith- 19 out n u m b er or p ie ty ," and all th at he did "e m itte d an odor of sanctity," even as the w o rk s of B ro th e r B alaam . As e a rly as 1865 H arlan had been a c c u se d of d iv e rtin g la rg e su m s intended fo r feeding and clothing Indians in the Southw est, and in 1868 he w as ch arg e d w ith the illegal sale of C herokee Indian lands in K ansas in such a w ay as to e n ric h his frie n d s, a ch arg e th a t w as re p e a te d in 1872.^® The scandalous Indian affa irs of the fe d e ra l g o v ern m en t w e re handled fo r m any y e a rs by H ar- 21 lan and P o m e ro y , and P o m e ro y 's s e a t on s e v e ra l influential senate co m m itte e s, including th o se on public lands and t e r r i to r ie s , m u st have 22 been of in e stim a b le value to him and his colleague. The C incinnati G a z e tte , speaking of the O sage T re a ty as a "nice p lu m ," re m a rk e d pointedly th at "so m e K ansas m e n who show ed a v a s t am ount of rig h t eous indignation over it, b efo re th e ir re fle c tio n , a re , now th at th e ir P o m e ro y ," The K ansas H is to ric a l Q u a rte rly (h e re a fte r KHQ), 18:258, A ugust 1950. The p r e s s had becom e so fo rm id ab le as a "purifying in s tru m e n ta lity " th a t H a rla n joined the jo u rn a lis tic p ro fe s s io n to get sq u a re w ith the c o rre s p o n d e n ts. "His e ffo rts in this d ire c tio n w e re chiefly notable fo r th e ir sq u e a m ish n e ss and a b su rd ity " (G eorge A lfred Tow nsend, W ashington, Outside and Inside [H artfo rd and Chicago, 1874], p. 136). ^ C la u d e G. B ow ers, The T ra g ic E ra : The R evolution a fte r L in coln (Boston, 1929), p. 247. ^ J o h n s o n B righam , J a m e s H a rla n (Iowa City, Iowa, 1913), p. 22°. 20]3righam , pp. 266, 239, 264. Tow nsend, p. 536. 22 K itzhaber, KHQ, 18:254, n. 22. 121 23 p la c e s a re a s s u re d , helping the sw indle on." No w onder th a t Senator D ilw orthy attends so m any "g ath erin g s fo r the benefit of the Indians." The Indian frau d s, like o th er abuses s a tiriz e d in The Gilded A ge, w e re a lm o st co n stan t and w e re f a r s p r e a d in th e ir e f f e c t s , ^ so it w as no a c cident th a t Tw ain chose to em p h asize this them e in his p o rtra y a l of P o m ero y . P o m e ro y 's in te re s t in the cause of the N egro w as s im ila rly no p a ssiv e or d is in te re s te d one. The C h iriq u i colonization plan, w h ereb y N egroes w e re to be gently ousted fro m th e ir hom eland by being u rg ed to e m ig ra te to the C hiriq u i Isthm us in C en tral A m eric a, a p lan e s poused w ith z ea l by Senator P o m ero y , w as actu ally a p ro je c t fo r land 25 stealing and p lu n d er. P o m e ro y v o lu n te e re d his s e rv ic e s as "friend, agent and p ro te c to r" of N eg ro es, re c e iv e d a tw enty-five thousand do llar ap p ro p riatio n , set up an office in W ashington, and p ro c u re d a s te a m e r. 2 6 F o rtu n a te ly the plan w as abandoned. It is evident th at "Old Subsidy," as P o m e ro y w as nicknam ed, "judged all public m e a s u re s by the cash 27 th a t w as in th e m ." (In The Gilded A ge, w hen Senator B alloon le a rn s Quoted by John B. E llis, The Sights and S e c re ts of the N ation al C apital (San F ra n c is c o , 1869), p. 196. ^ " E a c h C o n g ress brought fo rw a rd a long ap p ro p ria tio n bill w ith item s for the benefit of this, that and the other trib e on account of som e tre a ty " (E llis P a x so n O b erh o ltzer, A H isto ry of the United S tates since the Civil W a r, I [New York, 1917], 371). ^ G e o r g e W. Julian, P o litic a l R ecollections, 1840 to 1872 (Chi cago, 1884), pp. 226-227. 2 £ i O b erh o ltzer, I, 77. O b erh o ltzer c laim s th at the p ro je c t w as abandoned b eca u se of re m o n s tra n c e s fro m adjoining sta te s in C en tral A m eric a; Ju lia n im p lies b eca u se of the d isc o v e re d fraud. ^ E d i t o r i a l in New Y ork T rib u n e , Ja n u a ry 30, 1873, p. 4, col. 3. 122 about the Knobs U n iv ersity Bill he r e m a r k s th a t it is doubtless a good thing. L a u ra re p o rts to D ilw orthy: "He said . . . if S enator D ilw orthy w as in it, it would pay to look into it" [II, 49].) E ven D ilw orthy 1 s p h y sic a l ap p e a ra n c e is u n m istak ab le w hen coupled w ith his o th e r c h a r a c te r is tic s . S enator D ilw orthy w as la rg e and p o rtly , though not t a l l - - a p le a sa n t spoken m an, a p o p u lar m a n w ith the people. (I, 225) ° " T h e r e 1 , th a t's him , w ith the grand, noble forehead! . . . T h ere, th a t's him , w ith the p eeled head!" (II, 235) A ccording to the W ashington c o rre sp o n d e n t of the C hicago T rib u n e , G eorge A lfred Tow nsend ("G ath"), P o m e ro y w as "baldish, la rg e , c h e e r fu l-fa c e d " and looked "like the p r o p r ie to r of a la rg e hotel who w as fond of having a c le rg y m a n fo r a g u e s t . T h e w ell-know n w om an jo u rn a l is t E m ily E dson B riggs ("O livia") spoke of his having "a b ro a d brow 30 and capacious enough fo r J u p ite r." The pious a p o stro p h e s of D il w o rth y 's u tte ra n c e s such as th at concerning " so ld ie rs of the c ro s s in the rude cam paigns of life, and ra n s o m e d souls in the happy fields of P a ra d is e h e r e a fte r " a r e h a rd ly e x ag g e ratio n s of P o m e ro y 's fig u re s of public sp eech w hen he ta lk ed about "the m ountains n e a r w h e re God dw ells" or p ro c la im e d , "W hile one p lants and an o th er sow s, it is God 31 who giveth the in c re a s e ." This cant, indeed, w as so c h a r a c te r is tic of P o m e ro y th at the A ngola goats on his fa rm in A tchison, K an sas, w e re 28 N u m b ers w ithin p a re n th e s e s r e f e r to W ritin g s, X and XI (see above, note 15). ^ T o w n s e n d , p. 525. ^ The O livia L e tte rs (New Y ork and W ashington, 1906), p. 253. O livia L e t t e r s , pp. 134, 253. -....... -........ .............. '.................................................................... 123' rep u te d to " u tte r a c ry . . . said to sound w onderfully like the w o rd 'A m e n . '" 32 It is evident th a t no one who w as in fo rm ed in W ashington p o li tic s re g a rd e d s e rio u s ly P o m e ro y 's "com edy of te m p e ra n c e and r e l i gion" except a close a s so c ia te such as H arlan, who b eca u se of his own d ou b le-faced conduct could h a rd ly afford not to keep a so b e r counte- 33 nance. R e g a rd le s s of the extent to w hich he m a y have ra tio n a liz e d h is own s u c c e s s e s as tokens of divine approval, P o m e ro y w as w ell aw are, as w e re m an y p o litic ian s of the day, p a r tic u la r ly those fro m the fro n tie r te r r i t o r i e s , of the e stim a b le value of sa n ctim o n io u sn ess and the advocacy of te m p e ra n c e in im p re s sin g co n stitu en ts favorably. The r e ligious p ose paid e sp e c ia lly w ell, as is a tte s te d by the fact th a t som e of the m o s t co n su m m ate sco u n d rels in the p o s t-C iv il W ar c o n g r e s s e s - - P o m e ro y , H arlan, S chuyler ("S m iler") Colfax, and a few o th e rs - - w e r e 34 s a r c a s tic a lly called the " C h ris tia n S ta te sm e n ." The relig io u s hypo c rite has been a w ell-know n fig u re in lite r a tu r e fro m C h a u c e r's P a r doner to L ew is' E lm e r G antry. T w ain's D ilw orthy, how ever, unlike M olifere's T artu fe o r D ickens' P eck sn iff, is a m o re dangerous m e m b e r of society, fo r his sw indles a re p e rp e tra te d in the nam e of so cial w e l fa re , not m e re ly frie n d sh ip or fam ily loyalty: "I n e v e r p u sh a p riv a te ^ T o w n s e n d , p. 525. 33 E d ito ria l "A S uspension of Ju d g m en t," New Y ork T rib u n e , F e b ru a ry 7, 1873, p. 4, col. 2. 3^K itzhaber, KHQ, 18:249. Cf. M atthew Jo sephson, The P o liti cos, 1865-1896 (New York, 1938), p. 53; e d ito ria l "T he 'C h ris tia n S ta te s m e n ,'" New Y ork T rib u n e , M a rc h 1, 1873, p. 6, col. 2. .................... — ----------- -....—......... — ...“...- 124 in te re s t if it is not ju stifie d by som e la r g e r public good" (II, 4 8 ) . ^ C lem ens w as fa m ilia r w ith the type of the " C h ris tia n S ta te s m a n ." In his N evada days, w hen his b ro th e r O rion had been s e c r e ta r y to " Jim " Nye, then g o v ern o r of the T e r r ito r y , he h ad had am ple oppor- 36 tunity to o b serv e this "jolly, unctuous, oleaginous old Body," who la te r b eca m e S enator fro m N evada. Though he b eca m e a " c ro n ie " of N ye's, he c le a rly saw th ro u g h h is p re te n se , knew him to be a lia r, and freq u en tly lam pooned him in his new s d isp atch es m u c h to the v ic tim 's en jo y m en t. ^ Though it is obvious th a t P o m e ro y w as the p rin c ip a l s i t te r fo r D ilw orthy's p o rtra it, the im age re fle c ts bits of N ye's p e r s o n a li ty as w ell. T ow nsend d e sc rib e d Nye as having a "fat, p r ie s t- lik e fa c e " and a "sto u tish , genteel body" and as m aking an "appeal to the Deity in O O ev e ry a p o stro p h e ." Like D ilw orthy also , he w as a tir e le s s frie n d of the Sunday school. O C j F o r y e a rs C lem ens had c a s tig a te d the h y p o c risy of fin an cially pro fitab le re lig io sity , e sp e c ia lly sp ecu la tio n by clerg y m en . (See, fo r ! exam ple, Sketches of the Sixties: by B re t H a rte and M a rk T w ain, ed. jjohn Howell |San F ran cisco ," 1926J, pp. 176-179; L e tte rs fro m H onolulu, pp. 152-153 [ F r e a r , p. 373].) : 36 M a rk Tw ain of the E n te rp ris e , ed. H enry N ash Sm ith (B e rk e le y and Los A ngeles, 1957), p. 133. | ^ F r e a r , pp. 452-453. T w ain 's p u b lish ed le tte r s and n ew sp ap er co rre sp o n d e n c e s a r e re p le te w ith derid in g re fe re n c e s to Nye and a d e sc rip tio n of the re la tio n sh ip is given in T w ain's autobiography (M ark jTwain's A utobiography, ed. A lb ert Bigelow P ain e [New York, 1925] th e r e a f te r A utobiography], II, 305-307; The A-utobiography of M ark I Tw ain, ed. C h arles N eid er [New York, 1959] [h e re a fte r A utobiography, iNeider ed.], pp. 103-104). ^ T o w n s e n d , p. 534. In an a rtic le "Doings in N evada," p u b lish ed in the New Y ork Sunday M ercu ry , F e b ru a ry 7, 1864, Tw ain p la ced a face tio u s a d v e rtis e - iment beginning: "FO R SALE OR REN T One G overnor, e n tire ly new. 125 A nother h y p o c ritic a l rogue w hom C lem ens knew w ell and m an y of w hose c h a r a c te r is tic s w e re undoubtedly blended into the delin eatio n of D ilw orthy w as S en ato r W illiam M. S tew art. "B ill" Stew art, whom C lem ens had known in V irg in ia City and fo r w hom he s e rv e d as an e r ra tic s e c r e t a r y fo r a few w eeks in W ashington in the w in te r of 1868-69, 40 had been ele c te d to the Senate at the sam e tim e as Nye. P e rs o n a lly a m illio n a ire and p o litic a lly a s e rv a n t of c o rp o ra te m ining i n t e r e s t s , ^ S tew art w as in his own w ay as g re a t a h y p o crite as D ilw orthy and found it n e c e s s a r y to p r o te s t his innocence in the face of attack s upon his 42 p robity. His le g is la tiv e p r a c tic e s , w hich C lem ens had w itn e sse d both in N evada and in the national capitol, had p ro v id ed D ilw orthy's c r e a to r 43 w ith suitably in tim a te knowledge of s e n a to ria l ra s c a lity . And it is A ttended S unday-school in his youth, and s till r e m e m b e rs it" (M ark Tw ain of the E n te r p r is e , p. 125). ^ W i l l i a m R. G illis (Gold R ush Days w ith M a rk Tw ain [New York, 1930], pp. 148-156) c laim e d th at C lem ens had also been S te w a rt's s e c r e ta r y fo r a m onth in N evada. "B ill" G illis, how ever, is an u n r e li able so u rce. F o r am u sin g r e c o rd s of the W ashington s e c re ta ry s h ip see T w ain's sk etch e s "My L ate S en ato rial S e c re ta ry s h ip " and "The F a c ts C oncerning the R ecent R esig n atio n " in S ketches New and Old (W ritin g s, XIX, 190-196, 348-358) and R e m in isc e n c e s of S enator W illiam M. Stew a r t of N evada, ed. G eorge Rothw ell B row n (New Y ork and W ashington, 1908) (h e re a fte r S tew art R e m in is c e n c e s ), pp. 219-224. F o r s e rio u s a c counts see P ain e , I, 346-348; L e t t e r s , I, 151; Effie M ona M ack, M a rk Tw ain in N evada (New Y ork and London, 1947), pp. 344-348. 41 G eorge H. H aynes, The E lectio n of S en ato rs (New York, 1906), p p . 87, 88, 95. " I f the com m unity had re a lly becom e su sp icio u s of m y h o n e s ty, m y le a se on life would have been s h o rt" (Stew art R e m in isc e n c e s, p. 159). 43gee S tew art R e m in isc e n c e s, p a s s im , p a rtic u la rly the p a s sag es quoted fro m E llio tt L o rd 's H isto ry of the C o m sto c k . The account of the co u rt battle betw een the C hollar and P o to s i com panies (pp. 152- 159) h as m any d etails su g g estiv e of the D ilw orthy case. 126 in te re stin g to note th a t S tew art s e rv e d as chairm an, of the C om m ittee on 44 Indian A ffairs. It w ould be in c o rre c t to state th at D ilw orthy is a c o m p o site c h a ra c te r, but at the sam e tim e th a t he is a p o r tr a it of P o m e ro y he is a w e ll-ro u n d e d re p re s e n ta tio n of s e n a to ria l co rru p tio n in the p o st- Civil W ar c o n g r e s s e s .45 A point le ft u n e la b o ra te d by K itzh ab er is th at of T w ain's so u rc e s 46 fo r the d etails of the P o m e ro y c a se and h is u se of th ese s o u rc e s. It is w ell known, of c o u rse , that C lem ens re a d both the New Y ork H erald 47 and the New Y ork T ribune w ith so m e freq u en cy . What has not been sufficiently re a liz e d is th at he w as a fa irly co n stan t re a d e r of the New 4 . 0 Y ork T im es as w ell. The H a rtfo rd C o u ra n t, b esid es, did exceptionally w ell at ex ce rp tin g opinions of the p r e s s in v ario u s p a rts of the country. In using the news re p o rts and e d ito ria l com m ent, Twain not only The F re n c h c ritic L eon L em o n n ier (M ark Twain [P a ris , 1947], pp. 128-129) s ta te s th at D ilw orthy w as W a rn e r's original crea tio n , a claim su b sta n tia te d only to the extent th a t the c h a ra c te r f ir s t ap p e a rs in c h a p te rs w ritte n by W a rn e r. L em o n n ier ad m its, how ever, th at "M ark Tw ain s 'y e s t in te re s s e et l 'a fait v iv re dans des c h a p itre s que nous savons e tre de lu i et qui ne s'o u b lien t p a s ." In this connection it is in te re stin g to note th a t in h is own plot outline W arn er r e f e r r e d to " P o m e ro y " in ste ad of "D ilw orthy" (holograph page, M TP, DeVoto 137). ^ S t e w a r t R e m in is c e n c e s ,-p. 282. It should be added th a t C lem ens had som e p e rs o n a l acq u a in t ance w ith P o m e ro y (see The Love L e tte rs of M ark Tw ain, ed. Dixon W ecter [New York, 1949], p. 154). 46w ith the exception of a few w e ll-s e le c te d re fe re n c e s to the New Y ork T rib u n e , K itzh ab er re lie s la rg e ly upon the C o n g ressio n al Globe and Senate R ep o rts of the 42nd C o n g ress, 3rd Session. 4^He had been a c o rre sp o n d e n t fo r both n ew sp ap ers, and la te r ap p e a re d sp o ra d ic a lly in th e ir colum ns of le tte r s to the editor. 4®In C le m en s' scrap b o o k s in the M a rk Tw ain P a p e rs a r e nu m e ro u s clippings fro m the T im e s , m any of them of a p o litic al n atu re . 127 tra n s fo rm e d actu al incidents into ep iso d es but se le c te d sa lie n t d etails or p h ra sin g s to e la b o ra te upon fo r s a tir ic effect. T h ere a re two p r o m i nent ex am p les of the la tte r p ro c e s s in C h ap ter LIX (II, 298-313). In the s u m m a ry of te stim o n y by B. F. Sim pson, counsel fo r State S enator Y ork of K ansas (Noble in the novel), it w as pointed out th at P o m e ro y had paid cash, w ithout in te re s t, w ithout s e c u rity , w ithout re c e ip t to a p e rs o n he had m e t only once, to help him e s ta b lis h a national bank. "Is this not a re m a rk a b le b u sin e s s tra n s a c tio n ? At the sa m e tim e , does it not d em o n s tra te the tru s tin g and confiding n a tu re of s h o rt frie n d sh ip s fo rm e d in 49 the m id st of a s e n a to ria l s trife ? " T his te stim o n y is built up to w ell over a page of cau stic s a r c a s m by Twain: The sta te m e n t of Senator D ilw orthy n a tu ra lly c a r r ie d conviction .... It w as close, logical, un an sw erab le; it b ore m an y in te rn a l e v i dences of the tru th . F o r in stan ce, it is c u s to m a ry in all co u n tries for b u sin e ss m e n to loan la rg e su m s of m oney in bank b ills in ste ad of checks. It is c u sto m a ry fo r the le n d e r to m ake no m e m o ran d u m of the tra n s a c tio n . . . . It is c u sto m a ry to lend n e a rly anybody m oney to s ta r t a bank with, . . . It is c u sto m a ry to hand a la rg e sum in bank bills to a m a n you have ju st been in tro d u ced to (if he ask s you to do it) . . . . [etc.] (II, 308-309) The other exam ple is T w ain's use of the sp eech m ade by his old N evada frie n d S enator " Jim " Nye. In this s p re a d -e a g le bit of o ra to ry defending P o m ero y , Nye spoke of the n e c e ss ity of "b earin g aloft the an cien t dig nity" of the Senate.^® As the New Y ork T rib u n e ed ito rialized : "V ery ^^Q uoted by K itzhaber, KHQ, 18:272. S enator T h u rm an in his m in o rity re p o r t fo r the co m m ittee, w hich d e c la re d P o m e ro y to be guilty, sta te d th at P o m e ro y 's allegations w e re "so opposed to the u su al c irc u m s ta n c e s attending a b u sin e ss tra n s a c tio n . . . th at re lia n c e c a n not be p la c e d upon th e m " (ib id ., 18:276). The New Y ork T ribune c o m m ented: "T he explanation of Senator P o m e ro y is fa n ta stic , . . . [a] s tru c tu re of s o p h istrie s and sh a m s" (M arch 4, 187 3, p. 4, col. 5). ■^Quoted by K itzhaber, KHQ, 18:260. 128 few S en ato rs of the p e rio d could b e a r it so f a r aloft or so m uch of it at C l one tim e ." In the novel, a se n a to r is quoted as saying th a t it w as high tim e the Senate should c ru s h a c u r like Noble and thus show "that it was able and re s o lv e d to uphold its ancient dignity." A b y sta n d e r laughed at this fin e ly -d e liv e re d p e ro ra tio n , and said: "Why, this is the S enator who fra n k e d his baggage hom e through the m a ils la s t w e e k - - r e g is te r e d , at that. H ow ever, p erh ap s he w as m e re ly engaged in 'upholding the ancient dignity of the S enate,' th en ." "No, the m o d e rn dignity of it," said an o th er b y stan d er. "It don't re s e m b le its ancient dignity, but it fits its m o d e rn style like a glove." (II, 301)52 M ore of N ye's sp eech is echoed in the fictional Senate debate upon a c ceptance of the co m m ittee re p o rt: One S e n a to r--in d e e d , s e v e ra l S e n a to rs --o b je c te d th at the co m m ittee had failed of its duty; they had p ro v ed this m an Noble guilty of noth ing, they had m e te d out no p u n ish m en t to him ; if the re p o rt w e re a c cepted, he w ould go fo rth fre e and s c a th le s s, glorying in his c rim e , and it would be a ta c it a d m issio n th at any b lack g u ard could in su lt the Senate of the U nited States and co n sp ire ag a in st the s a c re d re p u ta tion of its m e m b e rs w ith im punity; . . . (II, 310) N ye's w ords had been: Who would a r r a ig n an ho n o rab le S enator b efo re the public, b efo re the w orld, upon the p etitio n of a m a n who, on his own a s s e rtio n , is steep e d in the v e ry depths of frau d ? . . . I a s k the S enators to be c a re fu l how they trifle w ith the rep u ta tio n of a b ro th e r S enator or how they allow outside r a s c a ls to trifle w ith i t .22 F e b r u a r y 22, 1873, p. 6 . The e d ito ria l, w hich d e s c rib e d how Nye stepped " b ris k ly to the fro n t" and "took h is m o th e r tongue by the h a ir ," concluded, "He is n 't n e a rly as funny as he u sed to be, but he 'b e a rs aloft the dignity' of the Senate in a m o s t touching and becom ing m a n n e r ." 22In a sp eech b efo re the M onday Evening Club in 1873 C lem ens r e f e r r e d to "a United S tates Senate w hose m e m b e rs a re incapable of d e term in in g w hat c rim e ag a in st law and the dignity of th e ir own body is" (M ark T w ain's S p eech e s, ed. A lb ert Bigelow P aine [New York, 1910] th e re a f te r S p e e c h e s!, P- 46). ^ Q u o te d by K itzh ab er, KHQ, 18:260. 129 F o r C lem ens vote buying epitom ized leg islativ e im m o rality . Com m enting in la te r life on the charge that S enator G uggenheim had bought the C olorado le g is la tu re to e le c t him to office, "which is alm o st the c u sto m a ry way, now ," he says that the S enator "is not aw are th at he 54 has been guilty of even an indelicacy, le t alone a g ro ss c rim e ." In an e a rly ch ap ter of The Gilded Age the them e is planted w hen M ajor L a c k land is d e s c rib e d as fo rm e rly "a m a n of note in the S tate" who has been irre trie v a b ly d isg ra c e d by selling his vote ju s t as he w as to be " e le vated to the S enate" (I, 113-114). P o m ero y , notorious fo r his buying C C and selling of votes, afforded an ex cellen t exam ple of g o v ernm ental p ra c titio n e rs of this fo rm of b rib e ry . As the public ex p o su re of P o m e ro y 's la te s t and m o s t fla g ra n t kn av ery o c c u rre d at the v e ry tim e c L C lem ens and W arn e r w e re beginning the novel, the a lm o st daily news d ispatches supplied re a d y -m a d e copy fo r the D ilw orthy episodes. 54 M ark Tw ain in E ru p tio n , ed. B e rn a rd DeVoto (New Y ork and London, 1940), p. 82 (dictation of Ja n u a ry 30, 1907). F req u en tly C le m ens m ade such u tte ra n c e s as "I am not a C o n g ress, and I cannot d is trib u te p ensions, and I don't know any other leg itim ate way to buy a vote" (S p eech e s, p. 396). ^ I n the vote on im p each m en t of A ndrew Johnson, fo r exam ple, P o m e ro y w as re p o rte d as having " trie d to find out how m uch he could get for voting fo r ac q u itta l, and only b ecam e sa tisfie d of M r. Joh n so n 's guilt w hen his en q u iries p roved u n sa tisfa c to ry " (N ation, 6:422, M ay 28, 1868). C Z . The news broke Ja n u a ry 29. C H A PT E R Y LAURA Only le s s quickly reco g n ized th an the P o m e ro y ca se by re a d e rs of The Gilded Age in 1874 w as the m u r d e r tr i a l and acq u itta l of L a u ra D. F a ir thinly d isg u ised in the tr i a l of L a u ra H aw kins. The L a u ra F a ir scan d al w as le s s fa m ilia r in te rn a tio n a lly th an the P o m e ro y c a se only b ecau se M rs. F a ir w as not a p o litic a l fig u re; h e r p ro lo n g ed s e r ie s of co u rt tr ia ls and ap p eals w as em b lazo n ed in A m e ric a n h ead lin es fro m co ast to co ast. Though known b efo re locally, she cam e into nationw ide p ro m in en ce b eca u se h e r c rim e ep ito m ized an abuse of the c o u rt sy ste m in the United S tates th a t w as c u rre n tly the su b ject of h e a te d c o n tro v e rsy - - th e p le a of te m p o ra ry insanity. W ith the p a ss in g of tim e, how ever, both M rs. F a ir and the issu e she had s e rv e d to d ra m a tiz e w e re r e l e gated to o b scu rity and th e ir ro le in The G ilded Age w as forgotten.'*' In 1936 F ra n k lin W alker w ro te a d e ta ile d and w ell-d o c u m en ted a rtic le showing the e x a c tn e ss w ith w hich C lem ens and W a rn e r had 2 tr a n s f e r r e d the L a u ra F a ir ca se into the pag es of th e ir novel. W alker pointed out: ^The la s t m e n tio n of the use of the F a ir c a se in The G ilded Age before 1936 a p p e a rs to be in W alter M. F is h e r, The C alifo rn ian s (San F ra n c is c o , 1876), pp. 100-101. 2 "An Influence fro m San F ra n c is c o on M a rk T w ain's The G ilded A ge," A m e ric a n L i te r a t u r e , 8:63-66, M a rc h 1936. 130 131 L a u ra H aw kins' m otive fo r killing h e r p a ra m o u r, h e r m e an s of a c co m plishing the act, and h e r defense and the grounds for h e r ac q u it ta l a r e in e s s e n tia l points the sam e as th o se of the W e ste rn m u r d e r - 0 S S • • • • He f u rth e r su g g ested th a t W a rn e r w ro te the tr i a l c h a p te rs "b ecau se he w as m o re fa m ilia r w ith New Y ork c o u rt p ro c e d u re " but th at the idea it self of s a tiriz in g the F a ir c a se w as C le m e n s', conclusions borne out by m y own r e s e a r c h and ex am in atio n of the m a n u sc rip t; and he showed th a t C lem ens h ad b a se d the episode in w hich the acquitted L a u ra a t te m p ts to le c tu re on the s im ila r v e n tu re of M rs. F a ir .^ F inally, he su g g ested th a t as M rs. F a ir had c re a te d e x citem en t by an e a r l ie r sh o o t in g --th is one not f a ta l- - in V irginia City, N evada, at the tim e C lem ens w as on the T e r r i to r ia l E n t e r p r is e , the la tte r undoubtedly knew h e r and m a y fo r th at r e a s o n have had m o re th an p a ssin g in te re s t in h e r la te r tr i a l fo r m u rd e r.^ W a lk e r's p ro p o sitio n s w e re b a se d on (1) the fact th at L a u ra w as C le m e n s' h e ro in e (see d is c u s s io n of the " b o ss" ch ap ter above, p. 70) and th at it w as he who w as " re sp o n sib le fo r the so cial h is to ry " of the novel and (2) the then-know n d iv isio n of la b o r given in C le m en s' le tte r to D r. Brown, c o rro b o ra te d by h is le tte r to M rs. F a irb a n k s , w hich w as la te r p ublished by Dixon W e c te r (see above, p. 80, and n. 6). L e is y 's study of C le m en s' annotated copy of the novel, published ten m onths la te r, c re d ite d a ll of the p e rtin e n t c h a p te rs (chs. XXXIX, XLVI, XLVII, LIV, LV, LVI, and LVIII) to W a rn e r, w ith the exception of the final "b o ss" c h ap ter, C olonel S e lle rs ' te stim o n y in C hapter LVI (II, 269-Z73), the in terv iew w ith the le c tu re agent in C hapter LVIII (II, 293-295), all of w hich w e re w ritte n by C lem en s, and the p a ra g ra p h containing L a u r a 's h ypothetical co m m itm en t to the H ospital fo r Lunatic C rim in als in C hap te r LVIII (II, 290-291), m a rk e d "W and C ." E xam in atio n of extant p o r tions of the m a n u s c rip t re v e a ls no s e rio u s deviation fro m C le m en s' an notation. ^ T h e re a r e c e rta in d is c re p a n c ie s , how ever, betw een the r e a l and the fictio n al incident th a t w e re not m en tio n ed by W alker, as w ill a p p e a r below. ^ M rs. F a ir " f ir s t m e t C ritten d en [the victim of h e r la te r, fata l shooting] w hen he su c c e ssfu lly defended h e r in h e r tr i a l for the r a s h The L a u ra F a ir c ase had begun in N ovem ber 1870, had extended th ro u g h S eptem ber 1872, flarin g up ag ain only b rie fly in Ja n u a ry 187 3 (when M rs. F a ir attem p ted h e r le ctu rin g ), so th a t ra th e r than being con c u rre n t copy fo r the novel it w as re c e n t h is to ry . The scan d al w as s e n satio n al enough, how ever, to be f r e s h in the m in d s of the n o v el's r e a d e r s . F o r p u rp o se s of a r tis tic unity and c o m p re ssio n , the au th o rs took c e rta in u n im p o rtan t lib e rtie s w ith the fa c ts. F o r exam ple, though M rs. F a i r 's f ir s t tr i a l had ended in conviction, an appeal to the S uprem e C ourt s e c u re d a r e v e r s a l of judgm ent on a tech n icality , and not until h e r second tr i a l in S ep tem b er 1872 w as she acquitted. In The Gilded A ge, the second, acquitting tr ia l is the only one used. The venue is changed fro m San F ra n c is c o to New Y ork in o rd e r to keep the co u rt p ro ceed in g s in p ro x im ity to the ep iso d es in W ashington, give an excuse fo r s a tiriz in g a w ell-know n New Y ork c rim in a l law yer in the c h a ra c te r of B rah am , and allow the n o to rio u sly c o rru p t p ra c tic e s of the New Y ork act. M a rk Twain, as a lo cal r e p o r te r , could h a rd ly have failed to know both h e r and C ritten d en " (W alker, A m e r. L it., 8:66). F o r d etails of this e a r lie r shooting, see G eorge D. Lym an, The Saga of the C om stock Lode (New Y ork and London, 1934), p. 170. ^The m u r d e r w as com m itted on N ovem ber 3, 1870. The f ir s t tria l, w hich began in A p ril 1871, ended on June 4 w ith a v e rd ic t of m u r d er in the f ir s t d e g re e and M rs. F a ir w as sen ten ced to be hanged on July 28. On appeal, the S uprem e C ourt stay ed sentence until F e b ru a ry 1872, w hen a new tr i a l w as o rd e re d on the grounds th at the low er co u rt had e r r e d in allow ing counsel fo r the defense to clo se the a rg u m e n ts and in having allow ed evidence of " h e r fo r m e r bad c h a ra c te r for c h a s tity ." On June 9 a m otion fo r a change of venue w as o v e rru le d and a second tr i a l set fo r the 24th. On the p le a of in a c c e ssib ility of w itn e sse s the defense got this t r i a l postponed until the f i r s t Monday in S ep tem b er, then to S ep tem b er 9. On S ep tem b er 30, the ju ry a fte r being out n e a rly sixty h o u rs re n d e re d a v e rd ic t of acq u ittal on the grounds of te m p o ra ry insanity (New Y ork T im e s , N ovem ber 5, 1870; June 4, 1871; F e b ru a ry 6, June 9. 27, S ep te m b er 5, O ctober 1, 1872). 133 co u rts to be s a tiriz e d . The scen e of the shooting is s im ila rly changed fro m the deck of the O akland-S an F ra n c is c o fe rry b o a t to the public lob- n by of a New Y ork hotel, though the m otive is ex actly the sam e. And the p o sta c q u itta l le c tu re is actu ally a tte m p te d in the novel to h eig h ten the d ra m a tic irony and p ro v id e an ex cu se fo r L a u ra H aw kins' death. (M rs. F a ir did not d a re v en tu re to the public h a ll w h e re h e r le c tu re had been scheduled. She continued to live and w ro te a p am p h let on h e r e x p e ri- ,8 en ce s.) The p a tte r n of attacking a so c ia l abuse by m e a n s of s a tiriz in g a notorious exam ple of it is follow ed in utilizin g the F a ir tr ia l. J u s t as the in v estig atio n of P o m e ro y 's e le c tio n e e rin g highlighted the p r a c tic e of vote buying am ong c o n g re ssm e n , a p ra c tic e w hich in tu rn ep ito m ized C o n g ressio n al c o rru p tio n in g en era l, so the L a u ra F a ir tr i a l fo cu sed national atten tio n on the c o rru p tio n of the United S tates ju d ic ia ry s y s tem , the m o s t fla g ra n t ex am p les of w hich w e re to be found in New Y ork 7 Like L a u ra Haw kins, M rs. F a ir had been the m i s t r e s s of a m a r r i e d m an, Judge A lex an d er P . C ritten d en , a leading San F ra n c is c o law y er, though w ithout the bigam ous p re te n s e of a fa lse m a rr ia g e . ®It having b een announced th a t M rs. F a ir w ould d e liv e r a le c tu re at P la tt's H all in San F ra n c is c o on N o v em b er 21, 1872, a crow d of about two thousand people g a th e re d in fro n t of the h all and an o th er crow d outside h e r re s id e n c e a few blocks away, both of them " b o is te r ous and th re a te n in g " a cc o rd in g to the New Y ork T im e s , "anxious fo r a la rk " but not no isy or d e m o n stra tiv e a cc o rd in g to the San F ra n c is c o B u lletin . A c a r r ia g e cam e fo r M rs. F a ir , but the Chief of P o lic e w arn ed h e r a g ain st v en tu rin g out. W hen a police p o sse took p o s s e s s io n of the e n tra n c e to M rs. F a i r 's lodging house, w hich m e n had attem p ted to fo rc e , and it w as announced at the h all th a t the le c tu re had b een c a n celed, the crow ds d isp e rse d , including "the m a n w ith the b a sk e t of spoiled eg g s" (T im e s , N ovem ber 22, 1872, p. 1, col. 6; B ulletin, N o v e m b e r 22, p. 1, col. 1). L a u ra F a i r 's pam p h let, p u b lish ed in San F ra n c is c o in 1873, c a r r ie d the title o rig in a lly intended fo r the le c tu re , W olves in the F o ld . 134 City c o u rts. At the tim e th a t a r e t r i a l w as o rd e re d fo r L a u ra F a ir, seven m onths a fte r h e r o rig in al sentencing, the New Y ork T im es cited the c ase as a p rim e exam ple of th w artin g ju stic e through delaying ta c tic s on the one hand and incom petence on the o th er. In an e d ito rial, "B alking J u s tic e ," the T im es la m b a s te d the incom petence of the bench as the p rin c ip a l cau se of p ro c ra s tin a tio n : . . . all through the tr i a l the c o u rse of a Judge now adays is weak, w avering, w ithout dignity, w ithout au th o rity . The counsel fo r the p ris o n e r is allow ed to set up all s o rts of friv o lo u s p leas and p r e te n se s , and to su p p o rt them by long, tedious, quibbling arg u m e n ts th a t w e a ry and confuse the ju ry , and r e ta r d and often p e r v e r t the co u rse of ju s tic e , w hen they ought to be sw ept asid e w ith the p ro m p t and decided e x e rc is e of a little com m on se n se and authority. . . . ' W a rn e r's depiction of Judge O 'Shaunnessy, w ith his " r a th e r jovial face, sh a rp r a th e r than in te lle c tu a l," who had w o rk ed his w ay up fro m s tr e e t a ra b to m a g is tra te v ia the ro u te of p o lice co u rt p o litic s, not by study of the law (II, 245-246), c o rre sp o n d s to the g e n e ra l inform ed view of the b e n c h .^ (When the r e t r i a l w as p ostponed for th re e m onths until S ep te m b e r 1872, the T im es pointed out th at a "fearfu l m o rta lity " had ^ F e b ru a ry 8, 1872, p. 4, col. 3. "The u tte r incom petency of som e of the judges brought upon the bench by the sy ste m now p r e v a il ing in the city of New York, and the m e d io c re c h a ra c te r, to say the le a st, of the m a jo rity of them , a r e too w ell known to be disputed fo r a m o m en t" ("The J u d ic ia ry of New Y ork," N orth A m e ric a n R eview , 105: 154, July 1867). 10". . . m o st of the ju s tic e s in ch arg e of c rim in a l b u sin e ss in New Y ork a re c o a rs e , p ro fan e, u ned u cated m en, knowing nothing of law except w hat they have picked up in th e ir e x p erien ce on the bench. One of the b e s t of them w as a b u tc h er until he b ecam e a police ju stice; a n other w as f o rm e rly a b a r - k e e p e r " (No. A m er. R ev., 105:166). N um bers in p a re n th e s e s in the text r e f e r to the tw o-volum e edition of The G ilded Age in The W ritings of M a rk T w ain, A u th o r's N a tional E dition (New Y ork and London, 1907-1918) (h e re a fte r cited as W ritin g s), X and XI. 135 a lre a d y o c c u rre d am ong those connected w ith the c a s e .P In The G ilded A ge, Colonel S e lle rs is ju b ilan t w hen he re c e iv e s a te le g ra m stating th a t the Hawkins t r i a l has b een postponed. . . B le ss m y life, w hat la w y e rs they have in New York! Give them m oney to fight w ith, and the ghost of an excuse, and they would m a n age to postpone anything in this w orld, u n le ss it m ight be the m ille n nium o r som ething like that. . . . " (II, 225-226) The n o v el's p rin c ip a l a ttack ag ain st c o u rt c o rru p tio n is pointed at abuse of the ju ry sy ste m , at the tim e a nationally reco g n ized d is g ra c e . Half a ch a p te r is devoted to an appallingly am using account of the em paneling of L a u ra H aw kins' ju ry . A fter "four w e a ry d ay s" the p ro c e s s is co m p leted fa irly s a tis fa c to rily --o n ly two ju ry m e n can read! Low fo reh ead s and heavy faces they all had; som e had a look of a n i m a l cunning, w hile the m o s t w e re only stupid. The en tire panel fo rm e d th at b o asted h e rita g e com m only d e s c rib e d as the "bulw ark of our li b e r t i e s ." (II, 252) This ju ry se le c tio n is draw n w ith telling a c c u ra c y fro m that of the L a u ra F a ir tria l, d e sc rib e d by the T im es as "the m o st ignorant ju ry of 12 h e r co u n try m en th at could be obtained." Inform ed opinion am ong the leading n e w sp a p e rs and m a g azin e s of the tim e w as stro n g ly a ro u se d concerning the ju ry sy ste m and am ong the chief voices of p r o te s t w as th at of M ark Twain. In Roughing It he w ro te th at "the ju ry sy ste m puts a ban upon in telligence and honesty, and a p re m iu m upon ignorance, stupidity, and p e rju ry " ; a y e a r la te r, he w as still in sistin g th a t "its efficiency is only m a r r e d by the difficulty ^ J u l y 2, 1872, p. 4, col. 5. ^ O c t o b e r 1, 1872, p. 4, col. 6 . In its re p o rt of the acquittal, d atelined San F ra n c is c o , S ep tem b er 30, the T im es stated: "The v e rd ic t ex cites no s u r p r is e , on account of the in fe rio r c h a ra c te r of the ju ry " (p. 1, col. 7). 136 of finding tw elve m e n e v e ry day who d on't know anything and c a n 't 1 ^ re a d ." While The G ilded Age w as in the m aking, he took tim e to w rite a b lis te rin g le tte r of s a r c a s m concerning the F o s te r m u r d e r tria l, w hich again had been lo n g -d ra w n -o u t desp ite overw helm ing evidence. In it he d e s c rib e d the ideal c rim in a l ju r o r as "an in tellectu a l vacuum , attach e d to a m eltin g h e a rt, and p e rfe c tly m a c a ro n ia n bow els of c o m passion."'*'^ A B ritis h o b s e rv e r of A m e ric a n m o re s at the tim e has d e s c rib e d the unem ployed vagabonds hanging about the co u rts fo r the chance to be put upon a ju r y fo r a d o llar and a half a day, m an y standing >'open-handed fo r a b rib e fa r outweighing th a t p a y . " ^ The re fe re n c e is L trikingly s im ila r to a d eleted p a ss a g e on one of W a rn e r's m a n u sc rip t p ag es fo r the em paneling episode: It is one of the m y s te r ie s , even to th o se m o s t fa m ilia r w ith the ignorance and c rim e of the city of New York, w h ere the sh e riff finds the m e n he sum m ons fo r ju ry duty. He m u s t have som e p ro c e s s of d etectio n unknown to the census ta k e r, or he could not b rin g in such an a r r a y of incapables, m e n w hose in tellectu a l and m o r a l p e r c e p tions a re not equal to those of the codfish and the f e r r e t . Bad as the lot o ffered in this ca se w as, how ever, it w as too good to su it Coun se llo r B raham , who had g re a t difficulty in finding am ong th em tw elve m e n ignorant enough fo r his p u rp o se. In The Gilded Age four other ju rie s a r e m en tio n ed outside th a t ^ Roughing It, II (W ritin g s, VIII), 76; M a rk T w ain 's S p e e c h e s, ed. A lb e rt Bigelow P a in e (New York, 1910), p. 35. * % e w Y ork T rib u n e , M a rc h 10, 1873, p. 5, as quoted by A rth u r L. V ogelback, "M a rk Twain, N ew sp ap er C o n trib u to r," A m e r. L it., 20: 113, M ay 1948. Cf. T w ain 's hu m o ro u s le tte r to J o sh B illings in the New Y ork Weekly, July 14, 1873: "An ignorance so shining and conspicuous as y o u rs--N o w I have it--g o on a ju ry " (T w ainian, Vol. Ill, No. 5, p. 3, F e b ru a ry 1944). M anigault, The United States U nm asked (London, 1879), p. 135. ^ M S . page 1248, M o rse C ollection, Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry 137 of the Hawkins tr ia l: the inconclusive ju r y of inquest on the steam b o at explosion (I, 54), the ju ry of asy lu m in m ates and g rad u ates of Sing Sing who v indicate the u n scru p u lo u s W eed and O 'R iley (II, 25), the quibbling ju ry of inquest on S elby's death (II, 170), and the ap p are n tly bought ju ry of inquest on L a u r a 's death (II, 323). As all of th e se except the Selby ju ry a re c e rta in ly C le m en s' c re a tio n s, the q u estio n su g g ests itse lf as to how influential C lem ens m a y have b een in w hat the evidence show s to be 17 to tally W a rn e r's ch ap ter, at le a s t in its fin al d raft. As D aniel M cK eithan has pointed out, by 1870 C lem ens had p ro b ab ly a c q u ire d 18 knowledge of t r i a l p ro c e d u re sufficient to d e sc rib e a tr i a l effectively. 19 Howells m en tio n ed h is frie n d 's re a d in g "a volum e of g re a t t r i a l s ." B etw een 1864 and 1872 C lem ens had put a t le a s t eight tr ia ls into his w ritin g s, half of them m u r d e r t r i a l s . ^ And m o s t significant of all, the C lem ens sc rap b o o k for 1872-73 is devoted la rg e ly to re p o rts of c rim e s and includes clippings on the F o s te r m u r d e r tr i a l and a New Y ork 21 T ribune e d ito ria l on the "Im punity of M u rd e r." C e rta in ly C lem ens m u s t have ta k en a lively in te re s t in the tr i a l of his c h a ra c te r L a u ra and [h e re a fte r M o rse ], C ontainer *12b. l^S ee A ppendix B, "The G ilded Age M a n u sc rip t." 18 C ourt T ria ls in M a rk Tw ain and O ther E s s a y s ('S-G ravenhage, 1958), p. 7. ^ W illia m Dean H ow ells, My M a rk Twain (New York, 1911), p. 15. ? 0 See M cK eithan, C ourt T r i a l s , p. 6 . (T h ere a re m u r d e r tr ia ls in the la te r w ritin g s as w e l l - - Tom S a w y e r, P ud d 'n h ead W ilson, and Tom Saw yer, D e te c tiv e .) ^ S c r a p b o o k in the M ark Tw ain P a p e rs , U n iv ersity of C alifo rn ia L ib ra ry , B erk eley (h e re a fte r M T P). 138 helped c o n stru c t it. It is u nquestionable th a t C lem ens e s ta b lis h e d the th em e of the L a u ra Hawkins a c q u itta l--b e n e fic e n t insanity. To be s u re , b e c a u se the acq u ittal of L a u ra D. F a ir had b een b ased on the defense p le a of "em o- 22 tio n al in sa n ity ," the au th o rs of its fictio n al c o u n te rp a rt could h a rd ly have been tru e to th e ir o rig in al w ithout using the sam e grounds. The fa c t is, how ever, th a t C lem ens w as e a g e r fo r an excuse to s a tir iz e w hat he called the "b en eficen t in san ity p le a " in full d r e s s and fo r this re a s o n m u s t have ch osen the no to rio u s F a ir tr i a l as b e s t su ited to his p u rp o se. He had fo r s e v e r a l y e a r s been fulm inating ag ain st the p le a as a leg al device fo r evading ju s tic e . As a ta rg e t fo r public attack, indeed, it w as second only to the ju ry s y ste m . M ark Tw ain joined w ith the other e n lightened jo u rn a lis ts of the tim e in w hat today m ight ap p ea r at f i r s t glance a highly re a c tio n a ry stan d ag a in st a fo rw a rd step in the p sy ch o l- ogy of c rim e and the co n seq u en tly m o re in tellig en t and hum ane t r e a t m e n t of the m e n ta lly ill c rim in a l. A ctually, the field of psychology in 22 "T he d efen se w as insanity; but, as h e r condition w as c e rta in ly not in san ity in the o rd in a ry and u su ally a cc ep ted significance of th at w ord, it w as c a lle d 'em o tio n al in sa n ity '" (T heodore H. H ittell, H isto ry of C alifo rn ia [San F ra n c is c o , 1898], IV, 515). Cf. O fficial R ep o rt of the T r ia l of L a u ra D. F a ir . . . (San F ra n c is c o , 1871), P re fa c e : "T he defense in tro d u ced m e d ic a l testim o n y , to show th at the defendant, at the tim e of the shooting, and long p r io r th e re to , had b een su fferin g fro m scan ty and re ta r d e d m e n stru a tio n , a ch ro n ic d is e a s e of the w om b, an en em ic condition of the blood, and g re a t p ro s tra tio n of the n erv o u s sy stem ; and th a t th e se o rg an ic d is e a s e s , to g e th e r w ith the d isap p o in tm e n t cau sed by the fa ilu re of the d e c e a se d to fulfill his p ro m is e to get a d iv o rce fro m his wife and m a r r y the accu sed , and a lso h is p e rm ittin g his wife and fam ily to r e tu r n to this State fro m the E a s t, c o n tra ry to such p ro m is e , had affected h e r m ind, and th at hence, at tim e s , b efo re, a fte r, and at the tim e of the shooting, she w as c ra z e d , and p e rfe c tly unconscious of every th in g th a t tra n s p ire d ." 139 its m o d e rn , scien tific s e n se h ad s c a rc e ly begun to develop, and the out c ry w as quite ju stifiab ly a g ain st a new le g a l tech n icality o r "g im m ick " w h ereb y a c le v e r defense co u n sel could induce an ig n o ran t ju ry and an incom petent bench to acquit and s e t fre e a pathological k ille r. Like m any advanced concepts the in san ity plea, before it could find scien tific foundation and be safe g u a rd e d by so c ia lly beneficent law s, w as tu rn e d into a m o c k e ry of itself. It w as th is c o n tra d ic to ry fo rm th a t a ro u se d public w ra th and that, incidentally, b e c a u se it o b scu red the p o sitiv ely good, und erly in g concept, s e rio u s ly delayed the l a t t e r 1 s p ro p e r develop- . 23 m ent. In this s p irit Tw ain had, two y e a rs before, w ritte n and sen t to E lish a B liss a dedication fo r Roughing It w hich he thought would be "w orth the p ric e of the v o lu m e" but w hich w as n e v e r used. It d edicated the book "To the L ate C ain . . . out of a m e re hum an c o m m is e ra tio n for him th at it w as his m isfo rtu n e to live in a d a rk age th at knew not the beneficent Insanity P l e a . " ^ F a r fro m being the "h u m o ristic im pulse 2 3 The Nation, fo r exam ple, in an e d ito ria l on " Ju ry M o rality ," had this to say: "The p le a of insanity, too, by w hich m u r d e r s a re now so freq u en tly excused, is re c e iv in g . . . d read fu l am plification. . . . the sy m p to m s of in san ity have, in the hands of m a d d o cto rs, been w o rk ed up into a s y ste m of e x tre m e d elicac y and com plexity, in w hich one of the o b s c u ris t of all fields of hum an in v e stig atio n is e la b o ra te ly m apped out and p la c e d b efo re ig n o ran t ju ry m e n w ith as m uch confidence as the plan of a house or a to p o g rap h ical su rv ey . ". . . it would unquestionably not be a bad plan to follow the su g g estio n G o v ern o r A lc o rn h as m ade to the le g is la tu re of M ississip p i, and dep riv e ju rie s of all cognizance of the p lea of insanity, and m ake it tria b le e ith e r by com petent judges or by a m e d ical trib u n al, w hose d e cisio n should on this point be fin al" (10:315, M ay 19, 1870). ^ M a r k T w ain's L e t t e r s , a r r . A lb e rt Bigelow P ain e (New York, 1917), I, 188; cf. P ain e, M a rk Twain: A B iography (New York, 1912), II, 439-440. 140 of the m o m e n t" th a t A lb e rt Bigelow P ain e c o n s id e re d it, it w as only the la te s t in a su c c e s sio n of M a rk Tw ain d ia trib e s a g ain st the plea, f i r s t of 25 w hich a p p e a re d in the A lta C alifo rn ia in July 1867. In "A New C rim e : L eg islatio n N eeded" (1870) he su m m e d up the Baldwin, Lynch H ackett, and B rid g e t D urgin [sic] c a s e s w ith the conclusion th a t "w hat we w ant 26 now, is not law s a g ain st c rim e , but a law a g ain st in s a n ity ." He d e cided in "T he 'T o u rn a m e n t' in A.D. 1870" that if the b lo o d th irsty h e ro e s of m e d ie v a l ro m a n c e should com e to life again "nothing but a New Y ork 27 ju ry and the in san ity p le a could save them fro m hanging." The m o s t d ev astatin g of T w ain's attack s on the insanity p le a p r io r to The G ilded Age w as his Buffalo E x p re s s a rtic le "O ur P re c io u s L unatic" (1870), w hich is a m o c k v e rd ic t of the ju ry in the fam ous M c F a rla n d m u r d e r tria l, listin g fifteen lu d ic ro u sly p h ra s e d re a s o n s for co n sid erin g the defendant insane, eac h s u c c e ss iv e ly m o re f a r - 2 8 fetched. Of e sp e c ia l in te r e s t in this p a ro d y is the m a n n e r in w hich ^ T h e c a se of B rid g e t D ergan in sectio n en titled "Blood" in L e t te r XXII, dated M ay 26, 1867, quoted in M ark T w ain's T ra v e ls w ith M r . Brown, ed. F ra n k lin W alker and G. E z r a Dane (New York, 1940), pp. 234-235; also in sectio n en titled "B rid g et D urgan [sic]" in L e tte r XXV, dated June 5 (M r. Brown, p. 263). ^ ^ Sketches New and Old (W ritin g s, XIX), p. 250. ^ G alaxy, 10:136, July 1870; cf. The C urious Republic of Gon- dour and O ther W h im sical S ketches (New York, 1919), p. 40. In a le tte r to the New Y ork T rib u n e , p u b lish ed Ja n u a ry 9, 1873, advocating an n ex a tion of the Sandw ich Islands, Tw ain sp ecified the b le ss in g s the U nited States could offer, including " le a th e r-h e a d e d ju rie s , the insanity law, and the Tw eed Ring" (W alter F ra n c is F r e a r , M a rk Tw ain and H aw aii [Chicago, 1947], p. 500). ? 8 E x p r e s s , May 14, 1870; re p rin te d in C urious R epublic of Gon- dour, pp. 110-118. Tw ain co m m en ted ag ain on the M c F a rla n d c a se in the G alaxy in July (10:137-138) u n d er the g e n e ra l title , in terestin g ly , of "U nburlesquable T hings." 141 the au th o r a n tic ip a te s the handling of L a u ra H aw kins' acquittal, f ir s t re p o rtin g M c F a rla n d 's insane ra g e , c ap tu re, and co m m ittal to an a s y lum , then adding in a p o s ts c rip t (" L a te r" ) th at in ste ad of sending him to the asy lu m "(w hich I n a tu ra lly supposed they w ould do, and so I p r e m a tu re ly ^ a id they had) the c o u rt has a ctu ally SET HIM AT LIBERTY . P u b lic re a c tio n to L a u ra F a i r 's acq u itta l tended to be p o la riz e d . T h e re w e re th o se on the one hand who felt th a t a p e rs o n a l s c o re had b een p aid off by the shooting, th at a fam ily m a n "who would m eddle w ith a w om an as he [C rittenden] did w ith M rs. F a ir , should do it at his own 30 r is k ." W alter M. F is h e r, a c o n te m p o ra ry h is to rio g ra p h e r who con s id e re d the C alifo rn ia s p ir it " v e ry G allic" in this re s p e c t, w ro te that M a rk Tw ain and M r. Dudley W arn e r a re only stating a sim p le fact w hen they a s s e r t in "T he G ilded A ge," th a t "the w om an who lay s h e r hand on a m an, w ithout any ex ception w h atev e r, is alw ays acquitted by the ju ry ;" . . .31 On the other hand w e re th o se w hose m a le guilt a t th e ir so cial d o m in a tion o v er w om en le d them to s e lf-rig h te o u s condem nation of M rs. F a ir, "a w om an," as the New Y ork T im es d e c la re d ed ito rially , "who h as out- 32 ra g e d n e a rly all the fundam ental p rin c ip le s on w hich so ciety r e s t s ." The d ile m m a w as effectively e x p re s s e d by the San F ra n c is c o B ulletin in an e d ito ria l en titled "A M o ck ery of J u stic e " : W hile the en fo rc e m e n t of a cap ital sen ten ce upon a w om an would shock m o s t p e rs o n s as m u ch as the c rim e w ith w hich she w as ^ M c K e ith a n 's c r itic is m (p. 20) th a t the te m p o ra ry deception of the r e a d e r in The G ilded Age is not a s u c c e s s fu l m ethod of s a tire b e cau se it c a u se s ir r ita tio n is a su b jectiv e judgm ent th at com p letely o v e r looks the b u rle sq u e intent. ■^Hittell, p. 516. ~^The C a lifo rn ia n s, p. 100. •^O cto b er 1, 1872, p. 4, col. 5. 142 charged, and w hile m an y m any think that, so fa r as m e re punishm ent goes, the w re tc h e d w om an has a lre a d y su ffered m o re than death, the fact of a total q uittance w ill seem to all rig h t th in k ers an o c c u rre n c e calcu la ted to le s s e n the r e s tr a in ts upon c rim e , . . . The lax code that would condone m u r d e r on such grounds would soon m ake m u rd e r com m on and law a fa rc e . . . .^3 The d ivision is re fle c te d in the novel. T h ere a re , fo r exam ple, the new sp ap er c o m m e n ta rie s th at speak of Colonel Selby as having '" re a p e d the h a r v e s t he so w ed '" and th a t it is "'th e old s to r y '" (II, 178-179) and the C olonel's dying deposition th at he had w ronged L a u ra and d e se rv e d his fate (II, 256). Yet, as the au th o rs state, "upon the f ir s t publication of the facts of the trag ed y , th e re w as an a lm o st u n iv e rs a l feeling of ra g e ag ain st the m u r d e r e s s " (II, 179). This p o la rity of view points w as significantly a lte re d w hen M rs. F a ir p ro p o se d to take to the public le c tu re p la tfo rm . M any who had o rig in ally condoned or been indifferent to the m u rd e r of C rittenden w ere now outraged. Had M rs. F a ir gone into re tire m e n t, as w as suggested in W a rn e r's outline fo r L a u ra Hawkins, and d isa p p e a re d fro m public view, p o pular opinion would have re m a in e d re la tiv e ly static. But M rs. F a ir attem p ted to m ake of h e r h is to ry a cau se c e lb b re - - a p u rp o se im - 34 p lic it in h e r topic "W olves in the F o ld ." She had throughout h er tr ia ls re c e iv e d the a rd e n t su p p o rt of a group of e x tre m is ts in the w o m e n 's rig h ts m ovem ent. T hese "stro n g -m in d e d " w om en, advocates of d ire c t action a g ain st th e ir m a le o p p re s s o rs , had d e m o n stra te d at h e r "^S ep tem b er 30, 1872, p. 2, col. 1. ■^The T im es com m ented ed ito rially : "W ith such a sh ep h erd ess to p re s id e over the innocent la m b s of the P acific coast, and to w arn them a g ain st the w olves that a re alw ays prow ling about seeking an e n tra n c e into the fold, we see no re a s o n why C alifornia should not sp e e d ily b ecom e a second G arden of Eden, . . . " (N ovem ber 20, 1872, p. 4, 143 35 f i r s t - t r i a l conviction. T h e re a fte r she had becom e a m a r t y r to "the w om en of San F ra n c is c o of the school of M rs. E m ily P itt S tevens, known to fam e as the 'H eroine of the R e v o lv e r,1 and as the e d itre s s of a w o- * 2 / m a n 's jo u rn a l." N eedless to say, the a n a rc h is tic p o sitio n of th e se w om en w as a se rio u s handicap to nin eteen th cen tu ry fe m in ism and the suffragette cause. Though kept in the background, this th em e is also re fle c te d in The Gilded A ge. One of the jo u rn a ls re p o rtin g the c rim e adds: '" L a u ra , stray in g into h e r T h e ssa ly w ith the youth B rie rly , slays h e r o th er lo v e r and becom es the cham pion of the w rongs of h e r s e x '" (II, 178). When the le c tu re agent in terv iew s L au ra , he su g g ests th at she m ake "w om an" the subject of h e r a d d re s s , "the m a rr ia g e rela tio n , w o m an 's fate, any thing of that so rt. Call it The R evelations of a W om an's L ife" (II, 294- 295). R esiding at Nook F a rm , a colony stro n g ly u n d er the influence of w om en's rig h ts advocacy, p a rtic u la rly th at of Isab ella B eech er H ooker, C lem ens and W arn er could h a rd ly ignore the issu e as it re la te d to the tr i a l of M rs. F a ir . Yet the them e re m a in s undeveloped in the novel. L a u ra H aw kins' m otivation for le c tu rin g is not th at im p lied in h e r ag en t's suggestions: she tu rn s to "that final r e s o r t of the disappointed of h e r sex, the le c tu re p la tfo rm " b eca u se the "one thing le ft th a t could give a p assin g z e s t to a w a ste d life . . . w as fam e, a d m iratio n , the a p plause of the m u ltitu d e" (II, 318). In view of C lem en s' la te r col. 2). "^New Y ork T rib u n e , June 5, 1871, p. 1, col. 4. ^ T im e s , July 2, 1872, p. 4, col. 5. 144 cham pionship of w o m en 's rig h ts, th is shallow , negative, and u ncon scio u sly cynical handling of L a u r a 's m otivation, so at v a ria n c e w ith h e r m a tu rity and ex p e rie n c e , can be explained p a rtly by C le m en s' life-lo n g tendency to idealize and ro m a n tic iz e w o m e n --a su b ject beyond the scope of the p r e s e n t study. It can to a la rg e d e g re e be explained also by the fact th a t in 187 3 his convictions co n cern in g the w om an q u estio n had not as yet c ry sta lliz e d .^ ^ Though L a u ra Haw kins n e v e r e m e rg e s as a fully v is u a liz e d p e r sonality in the way D ilw orthy does but to the end re m a in s a lay fig u re re p re s e n tin g c e rta in e lem en ts of the s a tire , she is endow ed by h e r c r e a to rs , in h e r tr i a l sc en es, w ith a p h y sic a l ap p e a ra n c e and b eh av io r p a t te r n m o d e led on M rs. F a ir . W hen L a u ra e n te rs the co u rtro o m , she is v e ry p ale, but this p a llo r heightened the lu s te r of h e r la rg e eyes and gave a touching sad n ess to h e r e x p re s s iv e face. . . . T h e re w as in h e r m a n n e r or face n e ith e r sh am e n o r boldness, . . . h e r eyes w e re dow ncast. A m u rm u r of a d m ira tio n r a n through the ro o m . The n ew sp ap er r e p o r te r s m ade th e ir p en cils fly. (II, 247) The San F ra n c is c o C hronicle d e s c rib e d M rs. F a ir on h e r f i r s t day of tria l. M rs. F a ir has doubtless been a h andsom e wom an, though anxiety and long sic k n e ss have le ft th e ir indelible m a rk s upon h e r face. . . . H er ^T his fact goes fa r to w a rd explaining why the a u th o rs did not m ake m o re of Colonel S elb y 's dying d eposition in the tr ia l, a seem in g o v e rsig h t pointed out by M cK eithan (p. 14). As a lad of sev en te en C lem en s had accep ted unquestioningly the p re ju d ic e s of his p erio d , castin g o cca sio n al jib es at w om en in his b ro th e r O rio n 's J o u rn a l (Dixon W ec ter, Sam C lem ens of H annibal [B os- ton, 1952], pp. 179-180, 258); and fifteen y e a rs la te r, at the age of th irty - two, h is attitude w as m u ch the sa m e (see E d g a r M a rq u iss B ranch, The L ite r a r y A p p ren tic esh ip of M ark Tw ain [U rbana, 111., 1950], p. 192; F r e a r , p. 144). He w as fav o rab ly im p re s s e d , how ever, w ith the view s of the w o m en 's rig h ts le a d e r Anna D ickinson w hen he h e a rd h e r le c tu re in 1867 (M r. B row n, pp. 105-106), and a fte r his m a rr ia g e his attitude began to change noticeably. e x p re s s io n is th a t of g re a t sa d n e ss, w e a rin e ss and p a ss iv e suffering - - s u c h a face as would be lik e ly to m a te r ia lly aid the effo rts of counsel in such a ca se as the p re s e n t. L a u ra H aw kins' in itia l shock at h e r own a c t and h e r a rra ig n m e n t are d e s c rib e d thus: The sta te m e n t fro m L a u ra w as not full, in fact it w as fra g m e n tary, and . . . w as, as the r e p o r te r sig n ifican tly r e m a rk e d " in c o h e r en t." . . . W hen the r e p o r te r asked: "W hat m ad e you shoot him , M iss H aw kins?" L a u ra 's only rep ly w as, v e ry sim ply, "Did I shoot h im ? Do th ey say I shot h im ?" . . . (II, 172) M rs. F a i r 's beh av io r w as s im ila rly in c o h eren t but fa r m o re violent. She " ra v e d w ild ly ," "w as in a condition of ap p a re n t d e liriu m ," and "talked in a ram b lin g w ay about w hat she had done"; she w as put under 39 opiates and w as co n stan tly attended by a n u rse . It is p e rfe c tly evident th at the ex ig en cies of the n o v el's p ro p a ganda a g ain st the in san ity p le a n e c e s s ita te d a softening of the actual b e h av io r of the defendant. L a u ra Hawkins could not be allow ed to be con vincingly h y s te ric a l. Though she is m o m e n ta rily c a st in the ro le of M rs. F a ir, she has h e r own h is to ry in the novel and is decidedly a s y m p athetic c h a ra c te r, following in h e r em otional, p a ssio n a te n atu re and in the c irc u m s ta n c e s of h e r death the tra d itio n of se n sa tio n fiction. M rs. F a ir w as quite an o th er p e rso n , w hose an teced en t life could not have been p o rtra y e d in the novel w ithout a lte rin g its e n tire tone and concep tion, and it is obvious th a t n e ith e r au th o r fo r a m o m en t contem plated doing so. M rs. F a ir w as a highly n eu ro tic and un stab le p e rso n , and the 38 Q uoted in O fficial R eport, p. 2. • ^ O fficial R eport, p. 1. 146 tru e s to ry of h e r life, w hich today m ight be told w ith u n d erstan d in g fro m the view point of p sy ch o lo g ical re a lis m , in the m o ra l clim ate of the 1870's would have m e t w ith o u trag e and indignation. M a rrie d a t sixteen, she had had four h u sb an d s, one of whom had co m m itted suicide and two had been div o rced fro m h e r, and had c a r r ie d on h e r sex u al activ ity so openly th a t she becam e "a household w o rd in the land."^® W h ereas in the novel L a u ra Hawkins re c e iv e s the devoted m in is tra tio n s of h e r adopted m o th e r, L a u ra F a ir actu ally sued h e r m o th e r fo r m is a p p ro p ri- 41 ating m oney intended fo r the daughter she had had by C rittenden. So thoroughly deb ased and d e sp e ra te had M rs. F a ir b ecom e th a t b efo re h e r second tr i a l she had p lo tted to poison the judge who had sen ten ced h e r at h e r f i r s t o n e . ^ One can im agine w hat the av era g e sen satio n n o v elist m ight have m ad e of such a figure! T hat the tr i a l and acq u itta l of L a u ra Hawkins w as intended by M ark Tw ain p r im a r ily as an expose of the A m e ric a n ju ry sy stem and the abusive insanity p le a and only se c o n d a rily as a p a ro d y of the F a ir c a s e - - th a t it th e re fo re fulfilled the p u rp o se of the ro m a n h clef in the m o re profound, so p h istic a te d sen se, is m ade abundantly c le a r by the p lay he b a se d on the novel. This play, Colonel S e lle r s , w hich is con s id e re d at length in the E pilogue to the p re s e n t study, w as p re s e n te d in a long in itial ru n and re v iv e d m any tim e s by the com edian John T. R ay m ond, w hose p e rfo rm a n c e in the lead ro le of the C olonel e sta b lish e d ^®New O rlean s T im e s , n.d., quoted in New Y ork T im e s , July 18, 1871, p. 3, col. 1. Cf. O fficial R eport, P re fa c e . ^^New Y ork T im e s , Ja n u a ry 23, 1872, p. 2, col. 6 . ^ N . Y. T im e s , N ovem ber 23, 1872, p. 8, col. 2. 147 his own rep u tatio n . The fa c t th a t W a rn e r re lin q u ish e d all rig h ts to the p lay and th at C lem en s w ro te the acting s c r ip t h im self, avow edly b a se d 43 on his own m a te r ia l fro m the novel, also gives conclusive p ro o f th a t though the tr i a l c h a p te rs of The G ilded Age a r e o sten sib ly W a rn e r's the concept is C le m e n s'. The fin al scen e of the p lay as o rig in a lly w ritte n by C lem ens ends as follow s: Ju d g e . W hat say y o u --G u ilty , o r not Guilty? [P a u s e .] F o r e m a n . Guilty, of m u r d e r in the f i r s t d eg ree . (S en satio n in the co u rt. M rs. Hawkins faints aw ay.) Ju d g e . (R is in g .) G entlem en of the Ju ry , this painful, but rig h teo u s v e r d ic t- - (L a u ra begins to sink b a c k --C la y sh o u ld ers h is w ay to h e r . ) Clay. L a u ra , L a u ra , speak! L a u r a . T h e re . T h e re , it is ju st, le t m e r e s t. (Sinks back in C la y 's a r m s and d ie s .) C lay . God send it m a y be in p e a c e - - -fo r it is e te rn a l. T a b le a u . and Slow C u rta in In the p r o m p te r 's copy, all the dialogue and action a fte r the w o rd "F o r e m a n " have been c ro s s e d out w ith the single exception of the line 4 ^See below, p. 342. 44 Colonel S e lle rs (E lm ira , N.Y., 1874), MS. in M T P (P aine 163), A ct V, pp. 27-28. C opyright (c ) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Com pany. This is a stage d ir e c to r 's or p r o m p te r 's copy (see below, p. 348, n. 45). S e lle rs in h is te stim o n y h as p r e p a r e d the audience fo r L a u r a 's sudden death by m entioning h e r h e a r t d is e a s e . 148 1 'S ensation in the co u rt. M rs. Hawkins faints away, 1 1 and on the blank page following, opposite the v e rd ic t line, a re pen ciled the w o rd s "Not G uilty." On the opening night, S ep tem b er 16, 1874, C lem ens m ad e a c u rta in sp e e c h ju s t b efo re the tr i a l scene. It began as follows: I thank you fo r the com p lim en t of this call, and I w ill take a d vantage of it to sa y th at I have w ritte n this piece in such a w ay th at the ju ry can brin g in a v e rd ic t of guilty or not guilty, ju s t as they happen to feel about it. I have done this fo r this re a so n . If a play c a r r ie s its b e st le s s o n by teaching w hat ought to be done in such a case, but is not done in re a l life, then the righteous v e rd ic t of guilty should ap p ear; but if the b est le s s o n m a y be conveyed by holding up the m i r r o r and showing w hat i£ done e v e ry day in such a c a se but ought not to be done, then the s a tir ic a l v e rd ic t of not guilty should a p p ea r. I don't know w hich is b est, s tr ic t tru th and s a tire , o r a nice m o ra l le s s o n void of both. So I leave m y ju ry fre e to decide. The c u rta in sp e e c h a p p e a rs to be a c le v e r show m an's tr ic k - - a p p r o p r i- ate to this v e te ra n of the public p la tfo rm --in te n d e d to enhance the s a tir e of the play. In re a lity , C lem ens h im se lf did not decide lite r a lly un til the la s t m o m en t w hat the m o re effective m ethod of s a tire w ould be! W hether one accounts fo r this by C le m e n s' u n su re n e s s as a playw right, by the fact th a t the play ended w ith the v e rd ic t, m aking no allow ance for the a n ticlim ax of L a u r a 's le c tu rin g attem pt, by the a u th o r's se n sitiv ity to c ritic is m of the o rig in al novel, or by a p o ssib le dispute w ith R aym ond over the denouem ent, the re a l significance of the com bined evidence is C lem en s' co n ce rn about the p la y 's s a tire . The play b rin g s the iss u e s of the ignorant ju ry and the in san ity p le a into s h a rp focus in a w ay that the novel, w ith its g r e a te r c o m p lex i ty and its m u ltip lic ity of in te re s ts , could not do. F o r one thing, sin ce ^ D e L a n c e y F e rg u so n , "M a rk T w ain 's L o st C u rta in S p eech e s," The South A tlantic Q u arterly , 42:262-263; cf. Chicago T ribune, S ep te m b e r 27, 1874. 149 the m u rd e r of Selby, w hich in the novel is only re la te d , is brought to life on the stage, it allow s the in tro d u ctio n of the in san ity th em e im m e d iate ly and in a m e lo d ra m a tic fash io n th a t C lem ens no doubt thought highly th e a tric a l. Col. S elby. P e a c e , child, you a r e - - L a u r a . M ad, and you have m ad e m e so. (backing away, w ith hand on h e r b o so m .) Col. S elby. (S tartin g b a c k .) L au ra, Laura! L a u r a . Do you know w hat it is to d riv e a w om an like m e to m a d n e ss? It i s - - (D raw ing p isto l fro m h e r bosom and lev elin g i t .) Death!! (K neels over body, c a r e s s e s fa c e --lo o k s up w ith v acan t e x p re s s io n . ) I have killed the only m a n I e v e r loved. (E n te r Col S e lle rs , L afayette o th e r s .) A ll. L au ra , L a u ra , W hat is th is? , L a u r a . It is death! Then in the tr i a l scene, the final su m m atio n s by the p ro se c u tio n and the defense, in ste ad of being in d ire c tly d e s c rib e d in W a rn e r's own w ords (II, 274-275), a re u tte re d d irec tly , and they p re s e n t sh a rp ly and s u c cinctly the opposite points of view. The D is tric t A ttorney, in re s tin g the case for the p ro secu tio n , u se s heavy s a rc a s m : G entlem en of the ju ry (sn e e rin g ly ) of c o u rs e we cant find h e r guilty. --Nobody expects that. E verybody knows, in th e se w ise la tte r days th at m u r d e r law s a re m ade fo r m en, not w om en. If a w om an kills a m a n in cold blood, whom she fan cies h as w ronged h e r, she is n 't a m u r d e r e s s - ~ 0 , c e rta in ly not! She is a h e r o in e - - th a t's the new nam e fo r it. She m u s t be petted, and coddled, and m ade m uch of. J u rie s shed te a r s over h e r - - th e whole te n d e r - h e a r te d public c ry o v er h e r ^ Colonel S e lle rs (P aine 163), A ct IV, pp. 14-15. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Company. 150 suffe rin g s - - th e w eeping pulpit in te rc e d e s --ro m a n tic young g irls beg for an au to g ra p h fro m h e r re d hand, and tr e a s u r e it as a sa c re d th in g . G entlem en, th is w om an has done m u r d e r - - b la c k , hideous m u r d e r . Do you com p reh en d ? L et m e beg th a t you w ill not belie the c h a ra c te r of the A m e ric a n ju ry . Set h e r fre e , gentlem en, s e t h e r free! and le t us all bow down to the sublim e h e ro in e and g lorify h er! . . The defense counsel, D uffer (the B rah am of the novel), re jo in s: G entlem en, our benignant law s castin g about the h e lp le ss the s h e lte r ing a rm s of th e ir p ro tec tio n , have d e c re e d th at ch ild ren , and poor c re a tu re s s tric k e n in m ind by the heavy hand of God, sh all not be held re s p o n s ib le fo r the deeds they do. . . . G entlem en of the Ju ry , I ch arg e you to re m e m b e r th a t the law forbids you to p u n ish this p oor ru in ed m in d fo r this d is tre s s fu l deed w hich it's [sic] su b ject hand h as w rought. I have done. I leav e this sad w re c k in the pitying hands of G o d --an d you to u tte r the voice of His forgiving m e rc y . Though I have been unable to find an exact o rig in al fo r L a u ra Hawkins as a w om an lobbyist, th e re a re m a n y clues as to h e r identity; and, as The G ilded Age is so thoroughly a ro m a n h clef, th e re is no re a s o n to suppose th a t an o rig in a l or, fo r th at m a tte r, two or th re e orig in als did not ex ist. The re c o r d s m e n tio n s e v e ra l no to rio u s fig u res in detail, such as the voluptuous "C om anche" and the handsom e and ^ C olonel S e lle rs (P aine 163), A ct V, pp. 2Z-23. ^ C olonel S e lle rs (Paine 163), A ct V, pp. 23-24. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Com pany. A v a ria n t MS. (P aine 163a, M T P [see below, pp. 351-352 and n. 62; 357, n. 73]), a som ew hat sh o rten ed v ersio n , contains a d iffere n t su m m a tio n by the p ro secu tio n , s tre s s in g the ignorant ju ry th em e m o re : "You know it is also said th a t no m a n can take his p lace h e r e as a J u r o r u ntill [sic] he has p ro v ed to C o u rt and C ounsel th a t he re a d s n e ith e r books n o r p a p e rs , th a t he has fo rm e d no opinion upon any subject, th at he is to tally incapable of fo rm in g an opin ion, th at his m ind is filled w ith m a u d lin sen tim en tality , & his s y m p a th y 's [sic] fra m e his v e rd ic t fk not his in tellect. . . ." S im ilarly , Duffer in this v e rs io n sp eak s of the em otional insanity p le a d ire c tly : ". . . this poor in ju red g irl . . . in a fit of em otional insanity k illed h e r d e s tro y e r. The law has no rig h t & no d e s ire to punish h e r for it. F o r the Law punishes only c rim in a ls of sound m ind" (copyright (c ) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Company). 151 49 c o a rs e M rs. Lucy Cobb. A v e ry su g g estiv e fact-is th a t handbills w e re d is trib u te d in Topeka, K ansas, accu sin g P o m e ro y of having a 50 m i s t r e s s - - a c e rta in A lice C aton of B a ltim o re, a c irc u m sta n c e w hich m a y w ell have been known to C lem ens. T h e re a r e two eligible candidates fo r L a u r a 's o rig in al in W ash ington. One is M rs. G en eral S tra ito r, a "handsom e castaw ay in one of the S outhern tow ns," who infatuated G en eral S tra ito r (even as L a u ra in fatu ated C olonel Selby) and who la te r, as his widow, w as brought to W ashington "to influence the In te rio r D e p a rtm e n t in the m a tte r of Indian c o n tra c ts ." P e r r y F u lle r and "one of the W e ste rn S e n a to rs" paid h e r b i l l s . ^ The other, known as the "Q ueen" of the lobby in 1868-69, w as kept by Jay Gould, a c irc u m s ta n c e seem in g ly m ade to o rd e r to fit the s a tire on the r a ilro a d lobby d e s c rib e d in the next ch ap ter. H er elig ib il ity is enhanced by the fact th a t before S enator B enjam in Hill m ade an exhaustive r a ilro a d sp eech on the flo o r of the Senate, the "Q ueen" had C O his e a r. Indeed, g h o st-w ritin g of c o n g re ssio n a l sp eech es by w om en, p a r tic u la r ly w om en lo b b y ists, so effectively illu s tra te d in L a u r a 's w r i t ing C o n g re ssm a n T ro llo p 's sp eech on s o ld ie rs ' pensions and then ^ G e o r g e A lfred Tow nsend, W ashington, Outside and Inside (H artfo rd and Chicago, 1874), pp. 455-457. SOAlbert R. K itzhaber, "G dtterdM m m erung in Topeka: The Downfall of Senator P o m e ro y ," The K ansas H is to ric a l Q u a rte rly , 18: 249, A ugust 1950. ^ T o w n s e n d , p. 456. CO E m ily Eds on B rig g s, The O livia L e tte rs (New Y ork and W ashington, 1906), p. 92. 152 53 b lack m ailin g him (II, 118-121), w as a v e ry com m on p ra c tic e . In any c a se , C lem ens w as obviously fa sc in a te d by the fig u re of the w om an lobbyist, who, in A llan N evins' m u ch -q u o ted w o rd s, "was 54 se e n ev e ry w h e re , m aking the s tr e e ts and h otels d isre p u ta b ly gay." In the w in te r of 1868-69 C lem ens d is c o v e re d a type of p o litic iz e d w o m a n who did not dem and a p p ro p ria tio n s to supply C o n g ress "w ith p a r e g o ric, J a y n e 's c a rm in a tiv e su g a r p lu m s, fkc," as he had p ro p h e c ie d as a y o u t h . ^ R ath er, he found the fem a le r a s c a l who would w o rk and b rib e 56 "w ith all h e r m ig h t," not, how ever, as a v o te r o r e le c te d r e p r e s e n t a tive but as a b e h in d -th e -s c e n e s m a n ip u la to r. At the tim e of w ritin g The G ilded A ge, C lem ens jo c o se ly advocated a w o m an 's p a rty , not so m uch as a p o sitiv e good as a p alliativ e to the fact th a t "both the g re a t p a r tie s " had failed and the h ig h e st offices of the land continued "to be occupied n 7 by p e r ju r e r s and ro b b e r s ." The w om en who invited M ark T w ain 's s a tire w e re a key p a r t of this h ie ra r c h y of p e r ju r e r s and ro b b e rs . r o M ary C le m m e r A m es (T en Y ears in W ashington [H artford, 1874], p. 128) te lls of "a lady in p riv a te life in W ash in g to n ,--a s c h o la r and c au stic w rite r,--[w h o ] u se d to e a r n all h e r pin m oney . . . by w r i t ing, in the solitude of h e r room , the le a rn e d , w itty and s a r c a s tic sp eech es w hich w e re th u n d e re d in C o n g re ss the next day, by som e C on g re s s io n a l Ju p ite r, who could not have launched such a th u n d e r-b o lt to have saved his soul had it not b een f i r s t fo rg ed and e le c trifie d by a w o m an. . . . " Cf. M rs. John A. Logan, T h irty Y ears in W ashington (H a rt ford, 1901), p. 482. 54 The E m e rg e n c e of M odern A m e ric a (New York, 1928), p. 96. ^ I n h is b r o th e r 's H annibal J o u rn a l, June 3, 1852; quoted by W ecter, p. 179. ^ T w a in , " F e m a le Suffrage. The Iniquitous C ru sad e . . .," St. L ouis D aily M is s o u ri D em o crat, M a rc h 15, 1867; quoted by B ranch, p. 192. ^ " T h e T e m p e ra n c e C ru sad e and W om an's R ights" (1873) in 153 In h e r ro le as w om an lobbyist L a u ra Hawkins is draw n w ith the g r e a te s t a c c u ra c y . In C hapter XXXIV Tw ain d e sc rib e s h e r thus: L a u ra w as on ex ce lle n t te rm s w ith a g re a t m any m e m b e rs of C o n g ress, and th e re w as an u n d e rc u rre n t of su sp icio n in som e q u a rte rs th a t she w as one of th at d e te ste d c la ss known as "lobby is ts " ; but w hat belle could escap e s la n d e r in such a city? . . . She w as v e ry gay, now, and v e ry c e le b ra te d , . . . She w as grow ing u sed to celeb rity , and could a lre a d y sit calm and seem in g ly unconscious, u n d er the fire of fifty lo rg n e tte s in a th e a te r, or even o v e rh e a r the low voiced " T h a t's she!" as she p a s s e d along the s tr e e t w ithout b e tra y in g annoyance. . . . L a u ra w as c o n sid e re d to be v e ry w ealthy and likely to be v a stly m o re so in a little w hile. C onsequently, she w as m uch co u rte d and as m u ch envied. H er w ealth a ttra c te d m any su ito rs. . . . Some of the n o b lest m e n of the tim e succum bed to h e r fascin a tio n s. . . . (II, 39-41) C o m p are this p a ss a g e w ith the following d e sc rip tio n of the ty p ical w o m a n lobbyist by C le m en s' b rillia n t co n tem p o rary , the jo u rn a lis t M ary C le m m e r A m es: The c a lm n e ss of a s s u r e d position, the se re n e sa tisfa c tio n of con scious beauty, envelop h e r and float fro m h e r like an a tm o sp h e re . . . . Look, and the unveiled gaze w hich m e e ts y o u rs w ill te ll you, as p lainly as a gaze can tell, th at adulation is the life of its life, and s e duction the s e c r e t of its spell. . . . She glides through the c o r r id o r s , haunts the g a lle rie s and the a n te -ro o m s of the C a p ito l--e v e ry w h e re conspicuous in h e r beauty. All who behold h e r inquire, Who is that beautiful w om an? Nobody se e m s quite su re . Doubt and m y s te ry e n velop h e r like a cloud. "She is a ric h and beautiful w idow ," "She is u n m a rrie d ," "She is v isitin g the city w ith h e r husband." E v e ry g a z e r has a d iffere n t an sw er. T h e re a r e a few, deep in the s e c r e ts of diplom acy, of le g isla tiv e venality, of go v ern m en tal p ro stitu tio n , who can te ll you she is one of the m o st subtle and m o s t dangerous of lo b b y ists. She is but one of a c la ss alw ays beautiful and alw ays s u c cessfu l. . . L a u r a 's e a r l ie r background is typical of such w om en, m any of whom E u ro p e and E lse w h e re (New Y ork and London, 1923), pp. 29-30. ^ A m e s , pp. 124-125. M ary C le m m e r A m es w ro te fo r the New Y ork Independent a p e n e tra tin g colum n en titled "A W om an's L e tte r fro m W ashington" (see G eorge Rothw ell Brown, W ashington, a Not Too S erio u s H isto ry [B altim o re, 1930], p. 114). Cf. Logan, p. 119. 154 "had d rifte d fro m hom e lo c a litie s w h e re they had found th e m se lv e s the 59 su b jects of scandalous c o m m e n ts." The th e m e s of adoption, am b ig u ous an teced en ts, and bigam ous m a rr ia g e m a y be p a r t of the p a r a p h e r n alia of se n sa tio n fiction; in L a u r a 's s to ry they b ecom e effective m o ti vation fo r h e r la te r ro le. Som e w om en lobbyists w e re highly p aid p ro s titu te s ; the m u n i tions m a n u fa c tu re r Colt, fo r exam ple, m a in tain ed a w h o reh o u se on C 60 S tre e t. A c o n te m p o ra ry o b s e rv e r w ro te th at he "n ev er knew a w om an to e x e rt an 'in flu en ce' h e re , who did not b ecom e com m on, d escen d to 61 lobbying, lo se h e r cre d it, and in c re a s e the sk e p tic ism of m e n ." That C lem ens at f i r s t had th is kind of lob b y ist in m ind as a m odel fo r L a u ra is shown by a d is c a rd e d page of m a n u sc rip t, w hich sta te s th a t "the h id den fir e s w e re m aking w astefu l d e s tru c tio n w ithin." In the fu ln ess of tim e th e re cam e a day w hen she th rew off the m ask , 8c gave everybody the opportunity to say, " T h e re , I told you so!" She w ent boldly into the p la c e s in 8c about the C apitol w here lobbyists co n g reg ate, 8c la b o re d fo r all s o rts of d isre p u ta b le b ills; M r. D ilw orthy w as getting u n com fortable; she took a house in the suburbs 8c set h e r self up w ith showy c a r r ia g e 8c s e rv a n ts ; she r e ceived 8c e n te rta in e d no end of P a rv e n u s th e re ; she drove thro u g h the public s tr e e ts w ith v ario u s r a th e r questio n ab le c h a r a c te r s . She w as down, but she had the s a tisfa c tio n of knowing th a t she had brought m o re th an one m a n of high p o sitio n 8c b le m is h le ss c h a ra c te r down w ith h e r - - f o r w hen she had once tak en an a d o re r captive, nothing could fre e him fro m his sla v e ry . T h ese ru in ed c r e a tu r e s followed h e r down into the d irt h e lp le s s ly .--T h e y w e re c a s t out fro m society; they d e sp ise d th e m se lv e s; they to re th e m se lv e s aw ay fro m h e r 8c said th e ir bondage w as broken; th is [sic] did this again 8c again; but ^ B e n : P e r le y P o o re , P e r le y 's R e m in isc e n c e s of Sixty Y ears in the N ational M etro p o lis (P hiladelphia, 1886), p. 48. ^ T o w n s e n d , p. 456. John B. E llis, The Sights and S e c re ts of the N ational C apital (San F ra n c is c o , 1869), p. 428. 155 62 th ey alw ays cam e back p en iten t & w eeping. . . . W isely fo r p u rp o se s both of the novel and of h is to ric a l acc u racy , Tw ain decided to c a s t L a u ra as the m o re influential so p h istic ated type of lo b byist, one of the "G ran d D u ch esses of the tr ib e ," who skillfully lu re d th e ir p r e y w ith a decoy of se x --w h o , so to speak, knew how to use sex as a w eapon w ithout allow ing th e m s e lv e s to be d isa rm e d . F l i r t they c e rta in ly did, but it w as ju s t a flitting sm ile , the flic k e r of an eyelid, the faint su g g estio n of a blush. Was the lady "p ru d ish ly quick to in te rp re t anything as an in su lt? " A ll the m o re pro o f that she w as of the a r is to c r a c y of h e r kind. And yet the cynical c o r r e spondent, studying h e r m eth o d s, noted th a t "she w ill fla re up at a m e re glance of c u rio s ity fro m a s tra n g e r, and p a rd o n a k iss re d -h o t on the lips fro m a m a n who h as a v o te ." . . . T hat th e re w as no little b lack m ailin g we m a y be s u re . ,But, on the w hole, the sy ste m w as by no m e an s crude or vulg ar. . . . So the p o r tr a it of L a u ra w as a lte re d : She frow ned upon no lo v e r w hen he m ade his f ir s t advances, but by and by, w hen he w as h o p e le ss ly e n th ra lle d , he le a rn e d fro m h e r own lips th a t she had fo rm e d a re so lu tio n n e v e r to m a r r y . Then he would go aw ay hating and c u rsin g the w hole sex, and she would calm ly add his scalp to h e r strin g , . . . (II, 41) To m aintain, as Van Wyck B rooks does, that Twain "was both a fra id and unable to p r e s e n t h e r c h a r a c te r tru ly , and, in consequence, 64 too im patient, too indifferent, too little in te re ste d , even to attem p t it," M TP, DeVoto 137. C opyright fcj 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Com pany. The leaf is n u m b e re d 376 and is ap p are n tly fro m C lem en s' o rig in al d ra ft of C hapter X LII (IT.XI). ^ C la u d e G. B ow ers, The T ra g ic E r a (Boston, 1929), pp. 283-284. k^T he O rdeal of M a rk T w ain, rev . ed. (New York, 1933), p. 203. W riting b efo re F ra n k lin W a lk e r's a rtic le had ap p eared , B rooks a p p a r ently did not know of the F a ir ca se nor did he reco g n ize the type of the w om an lobbyist; hence, his in te rp re ta tio n dw ells upon the inhibiting " su rv e illa n c e " of the a u th o rs ' w ives w ith th e ir "refin ed s e n s ib ilitie s ," a fa c e t of h is g e n e ra l th e sis of Tw ain the th w a rte d genius. A m o re a c c u ra te in te rp re ta tio n is M innie M. B r a s h e a r 's th a t L a u ra "did not p ro p e rly 'belong,' w as not ty p ical of the w om en whom the m e n th e re 156 shows a la c k of knowledge of the h is to ric a l p e rio d . It a ssu m e s, in the w ords of DeVoto, th at "young w om en, w om en of m a rria g e a b le age, wo- 65 m e n who could be objects of d e s ire , w ould not live fo r h im ." This in te rp re ta tio n , b eca u se of its o n e-d im en sio n al, n e o -F re u d ia n approach, confuses r e s tr a in e d delineation of a type w ith the p sychological inhibi tion of the w r ite r and su cceed s only in d isto rtin g th e se c r itic s ' ju d g m e n t of T w ain's intentions. It conveniently overlooks such rev ealin g thoughts of L a u ra 's as: " 'F re e ! I w onder w hat D ilw orthy does think of m e anyw ay?"' (II, 51) o r "this is a d e s p e ra te gam e I am playing in th e se d a y s - - a w earing, sordid, h e a r tle s s gam e. If I lo se, I lo se e v e ry th in g -- even m y se lf" (II, 6 9 ) . ^ In spite of the fact th a t she falls f a r s h o rt of being a fully re a liz e d individual c h a ra c te r, L a u ra Hawkins is not the m e re s tic k or the u n tru e p o rtra y a l so often alleged. She is a c are fu lly d raw n type of the h is to ric a lly significant w om an lobbyist and in h e r life sto ry and m otivations is not fa r fro m re a lity . delighted to h o n o r" (M ark Twain, Son of M is s o u ri [Chapel Hill, N .C., 1934], p. 258). ^ B e r n a r d DeVoto, M a rk Tw ain at W ork (C am bridge, M ass., 1942), p. 95. " L a u ra Hawkins of The G ilded A ge, fo r instance, is ju s t bisque and Joan of A rc is no m o re than te a r s ." k^The th e sis of C lem en s' sexual sq u e a m ish n e ss so p o p u lar in the p sy ch o an aly tical c ritic is m of the tw enties and th irtie s is h ard ly borne out by his p ublished w ritin g s. C onsider, fo r exam ple, this d e sc rip tio n of two " r e g u la r s " in a San F ra n c is c o jail: "The two w om en w e re n e a rly m id d le-ag ed , and they had only had enough liq u o r to s tim u la te in ste ad of stupefy them . C onsequently they would fondle and k iss each o ther fo r som e m in u tes, and then fall to fighting . . . " ("G old sm ith 's F rie n d A broad A gain," L e tte r V, G alaxy, 10:728, N ovem ber 1870). C H A PTE R VI OTHER PERSONS, EVENTS, AND THINGS In the tr i a l of L a u ra Hawkins th e re a re ov erto n es of expose th a t tra n s c e n d the b o u n d arie s of the F a ir c ase and th at again a r e not im m e d iate ly ap p are n t to the m o d e rn r e a d e r. The H e a rth and H om e r e view of The G ilded Age sa id am ong other things th a t "people in New Y ork w ill not be at a lo s s to know who sa t fo r the p o r tr a it of M r. John B rah am the noted c rim in a l lawyer."'*' The sim p le su b stitu tio n of one le tte r changes the nam e to John G raham , one of the a b le st le g a l ta le n ts of New Y ork in the six tie s and sev en ties and p ro m in e n t as co u n sel fo r B oss Tw eed of the T am m an y Ring in his sen sa tio n a l tr i a l fo r g raft. The tr i a l of L a u ra Hawkins is double s a tire ; and the b u rlesq u e on ig n o ran t and c o rru p t ju rie s , in addition to being g e n e ra l s a tire m aking sp ecific u se of the F a ir case, e m e rg e s as a d ire c t allu sio n to the Tw eed tr i a l as w ell. In C le m en s' 1872-73 scrap b o o k is a n ew sp ap er clipping con cern in g the tria l, w hich sta te s: By s tr ic t a d h ere n ce to the a b su rd law w hich excludes fro m the ju ry - box m e n who re a d the daily p a p e rs and have intelligence enough to fo rm an opinion on w hat they re a d , a ju ry of ig n o ran t m e n has been ^6:38, J a n u a ry 17, 1874. Cf. Independent, 26:1642, J a n u a ry 1, 1874. 157 ! 158 obtained, . . ?“ The n ew sp ap er a rtic le goes on to d e s c rib e how the p ro se c u tio n co n sid e re d discontinuing su it w hen in fo rm atio n w as p re s e n te d th at ju ry m e n w e re in T w eed 's pay. Judge O 'S haunnessy, w hose c a r e e r h as b een out lined in the p rece d in g c h a p te r of th is study, is ty p ical of the T am m an y p o litic ian s of the tim e . The T am m an y Ring scan d al cam e to focus in the g raft p ra c tic e d in connection w ith c o n stru c tio n of the county cou rth o u se. Had he [Judge O 'Shaunnessy] not helped to build and fu rn ish th is v e ry c o u rt-h o u se ? Did he not know th a t the v e ry "spittoon" w hich his judgeship u se d co st the city the sum of one thousand d o lla rs ? (II, 246)3 T am m an y H all and the Tw eed Ring a re , then, the th ird national scan d al tr e a te d in The G ilded A g e. The su b ject is given its p rin c ip a l attention in a p a ssa g e in C h ap ter XXXIII concerning the unscru p u lo u s New Y ork p o litic ia n P a tr ic k O 'R iley, w hose o rig in al w as ap p are n tly one T hom as M urphy, "an e x p e rie n c e d R epublican w a rd h e e le r of New Y ork City, a notorious shoddy c o n tra c to r during the w ar, and so m e tim e b u si- 4 n ess a ss o c ia te of W illiam T w eed." M r. O 'R iley fu rn ish e d shingle n ails to the new c o u rt-h o u se at 2 In the M a rk Twain P a p e rs , U n iv ersity of C alifo rn ia L ib ra ry , B erk eley (h e re a fte r cited as M TP). ^N um bers w ithin p a re n th e s e s r e f e r to the tw o-volum e edition of the novel in The W ritings of M a rk T w ain, A u th o r's N ational E dition (New Y ork and London, 1907-1918) (h e re a fte r W ritin g s), X and XI. ^M atthew Jo sep h so n , The P o litic o s, 1865-1896 (New York, 1938), p. 95. The h y p o th esis th at M urphy w as O 'R iley 's o rig in al is s tre n g th ened by two facts: (1) L a u ra speaks to M rs. O reille of "a d e a r old frie n d of our fam ily n am ed M u rp h y ," whom she p ro c e e d s to rid icu le w ith little subtlety and w ith pointed d o u b le -e n te n d re ; (2) the re a l Thom as M urphy w as C o llecto r of the P o r t of New Y ork under G rant, and Twain goes out of his w ay to m ake a jibe o r two at the New Y ork C ustom s House (see, fo r exam ple, II, 90). 159 th re e thousand d o lla rs a keg, and eig h teen g ro s s of 6 0 -c e n t t h e r m o m e te rs at fifteen h u n d red d o lla rs a dozen; the c o n tro lle r and the b o a rd of audit p a s s e d the b ills, and a m a y o r, who w as sim p ly igno ra n t but not c rim in a l, signed th em . (II, 24) The r e a l cou rth o u se, w hich w as supposed to co st a q u a rte r of a m illio n d o lla rs, in fact co st eight m illio n and the City of New Y ork w as ch arg e d $470 apiece fo r c h a irs and $400,000 apiece fo r sa fe s.^ The " c o n tro l l e r ," "b o ard of au d it," and " m a y o r" unquestionably r e f e r to the R ing's q u a d ru m v ira te in co n tro l of the city g o v e rn m e n t--M a y o r A. "E legant O akey" Hall, C o n tro lle r R ic h ard B. "S lippery D ick" Connolly, T r e a s u r e r P e te r B. " B ra in s " Sweeney, and W illiam M arcy "B o ss" Tw eed h im self, P re s id e n t of the B o ard of S u p e rv iso rs .^ Though not a p r e c is e thum bnail biography of M urphy, the life of O 'R iley is re p re s e n ta tiv e of the Ring p o litic ia n 's. An Iris h im m ig ra n t, O 'R iley begins as a hod c a r r i e r , then s ta r ts a low ru m shop, and, h a v ing m ade a p ra c tic e of giving s tra w b ail a t the police co u rts fo r his c u s to m e rs , gets a p etty office in the city g o v ern m en t and opens a s ty l ish gam bling saloon h ig h e r up town. B ecom ing an a ld e rm a n he c lo ses the saloon and tu rn s to co n tra ctin g fo r the city. W ith his "bosom frie n d " Wm. M. W eed (Tweed) he is e le c te d to h is " p ro p e r th e a te r of 7 actio n ," the le g is la tu re in Albany. As the N o rth A m e ric a n Review ^ C h arles A. and M a ry R. B eard, The R ise of A m e ric a n C iv iliz a tion (New York, 1937), II, 310. ^See J a m e s F o rd R hodes, H isto ry of the U nited States (New Y ork and London, 1920), VII, 17-20. n R egarding Tw eed at A lbany see A llan N evins, The E m e rg e n c e of M odern A m e ric a (New York, 1928), p. 183; E llis P ax so n O b erh o ltzer, A H isto ry of the United States Since the Civil W a r, II (New York, 1922), 583. 160 stated , the "ab so lu te ex clu sio n of all h o n e st m e n fro m any p r a c tic a l c o n tro l of a f fa irs " in New Y ork and the su p re m a c y of "pickpockets, p r iz e - f ig h te r s , e m ig ra n t ru n n e rs , p im p s, and the low est c la ss of liq u o r- g d e a le rs , a re facts w hich a d m it of no q u estio n ." The s to ry of the ascen d a n cy of T am m an y H all and its s u b s e quent dow nfall once a seem in g ly ap ath etic c itiz e n ry had been a ro u s e d is so w ell known as to need no reco u n tin g h e re . Suffice it to say th at C lem ens had w atch ed developm ents w ith k een in te re s t w hile the New Y ork T im es u n d er its f e a r le s s E n g lish ed ito r, Louis J. Jennings, a l m o s t singlehandedly conducted its 1871 cam p aig n ag a in st the Ring and Q a g ain st the scan d alo u s w hitew ashing of C h arles D ana's New Y ork Sun. He m u s t a lso have re lis h e d the s e r ie s of b rillia n t carto o n s of his frie n d T hom as N a st in H a r p e r 's W eekly, w hich co u rag e o u sly lam pooned m e m b e rs of the Ring by nam e. A fter the S ep te m b er m a s s m eetin g of out ra g e d New Y o rk e rs in the C ooper Institute, M a rk Tw ain could no lo n g er contain h im se lf. In the S ep tem b er 27 is su e of the New Y ork T rib u n e , one m onth b efo re T w eed's a r r e s t and w hile the c o n tro v e rsy w as at w hite heat, he p u b lish ed an ingeniously c o n triv ed b u rlesq u e on the Ring en titled "The R ev ised C a te c h ism ." B ased on the W e s tm in ste r S h o rte r C atech ism , it d ep icted each of the p rin c ip a l " s a in ts " of T am m an y in te r s e and te llin g e p ith e ts - - "St. H all's G arb led R ep o rts, St. F is k 's In genious R o b b e rie s," etc. C onsisting of q u estio n s and a n sw e rs, it began by posing w hat fo u r y e a rs la te r w as to be the c e n tra l them e of The 8 105:148, July 1867. ^See O b erh o ltz er, II, 586, 588. Cf. S am uel P . O rth, The Boss and the M achine (New H aven, Conn., 1919), p. 75. 161 Gilded A ge: Q. W hat is the chief end of m an ? A. To get rich . Q. In w hat w ay? A. D ishonestly if we can, h o n estly if we m u st. Q. Who is God, the only one and tru e ? | A. M oney is God. Gold and g reen b ack s and s to c k s --fa th e r, son, and the ghost of the s a m e - - th r e e p e rs o n s in one: th e se a re the tru e a n ^ o n ly God, m ighty and su p re m e ; and W illiam Tw eed is his p ro p h - As in his u se of the fig u re s of S enator P o m e ro y and L a u ra F a ir, I M a rk Tw ain singled out Tw eed and h is Ring fo r a ttack because they d r a m a tic a lly ep ito m ized a g en era l, w id e sp re a d abuse. He had stro n g fe e l ings about officials who ascen d ed to th e ir positions "by a jum p fro m g in -m ills or the needy fa m ilie s and frie n d s " of other officials "R ings" w e re the o rd e r of the day, and p ra c tic a lly all the g re a t c itie s of the nation found th e ir c o rp o ra te gov ern m en t co n tro lled to a g r e a te r or l e s s e r d eg ree by a group of law -ev ad in g m a n ip u la to rs. They w e re , in deed, only the lo c a liz e d m a n ifestatio n s of a p ra c tic e th at p erv ad e d the e n tire go v ern m en tal s tru c tu re of the nation. The c o n te m p o ra ry B ritis h o b s e rv e r, G. M anigault, c le a rly p la ced Tw eed in o v e r-a ll p e rsp e c tiv e : . . . le t no m a n im agine th a t B oss Tw eed is an anom alous c h a ra c te r, or has ru n an anom alous c a r e e r . He is sim ply a w e ll-m a rk e d type of a n u m e ro u s, and in m any c a s e s still p ro s p e ro u s , c la ss of officials, to be found in e v e ry co n sid era b le m u n icip al co rp o ratio n , in ev e ry *®See A rth u r L. V ogelback, "M a rk Tw ain and the T am m any Ring," PM LA , 70:69-77, M arch 1955. *The C urious R epublic of Gondour and O ther W him sical Sketches (New York, 1919), pp. 9-10; re p rin te d fro m The A tlantic M onthly, 36:463, O ctober 1875. 162 State governm ent, in e v e ry d ep a rtm e n t of the United States g o v ern m ent, in the House of R e p re se n ta tiv e s and the Senate, in the C abinet and the diplom atic co rp s. . . . One p a s sa g e in M anigault's little book, The United S tates Un- m a sk e d - - a book which, according to the au th o r, A m e ric a n publishing 13 houses had co n siste n tly re fu se d to p ublish - - r e a d s like an introduction to the next topic of the p r e s e n t c h ap ter. He sta te s th at since the end of the Civil W ar, frau d s and plundering in high p la c e s have m u ltip lied and grow n to g i gantic sta tu re . M illions, untold m illio n s, have been the p riz e ; for no one knows to w hat extent the gov ern m en t and the country have been robbed. W hat a sta rtlin g n a rra tiv e of r a s c a lity in high p la c e s, in volving se n a to rs and re p re s e n ta tiv e s in C o n g ress and the V ic e - P r e s ident, is fu rn ish e d by the h is to ry of the 'C re d it M o b ilie r,' and the sixty m illio n s of governm ent bonds lent to aid the P a c ific ra ilro a d ; . . . (p. 125) Though it has long been reco g n ized th at The G ilded Age s a tiriz e d r a i l ro ad speculation and its concom itant co n g re ssio n a l b rib e ry in gen eral, it has been a s s u m e d that M ark Tw ain m ade no specific re fe re n c e in the book to the fam ous C red it M obilier schem e, the ex posure of w hich r e vealed b rib e -ta k in g by s e v e ra l p ro m in en t c o n g re ss m e n and ru in ed the c a r e e r s of c o n g re ssm e n Oakes A m es and J a m e s B rooks. One c ritic , indeed, has stated th a t b ecau se C lem ens la te r su p p o rted the p r e s id e n tial tick et of G arfield, who "cam e b efo re the people c a rry in g in his clothes the sten ch of the C red it M o b ilie r," he se e m s to have "sw allow ed the C red it M o b ilier" and not given it the "an tise p tic tre a tm e n t" it *^ The United States U nm asked (London, 1879), pp. 129-130. 1 ^ ". . . even those p u b lish e rs w hose p o litic al and so c ia l convic tions c a r r y them a long w ay w ith him in the view s h e re in e x p re s s e d sh ran k fro m becom ing g o d -fath e rs to his bantling. To do so would je o p ard ize th e ir b u sin ess in te re s ts , . . . " (p. iii). 163 d e s e r v e d .^ The facts a r e quite to the c o n tra ry . In a p a s sa g e of about a page and a h alf in length (II, 116-118) Tw ain p re s e n ts a co n v e rsa tio n betw een L a u ra Hawkins and C o n g re s s m a n T rollop co n cern in g a c e rta in N ational In tern a l Im p ro v em en t D ire c to r s ' R elief M e a su re . She say s, My d e a r s ir , by and by th e re is going to be an in v estig atio n into th at N ational In tern a l Im p ro v em en t D ire c to rs ' R elief M e a s u re of a few y e a rs ago, and you know v e ry w ell th a t you w ill be a c rip p le d m an, as likely as not, w hen it is com pleted. To th is T rollop re p lie s , "It cannot be shown th a t a m a n is a knave m e re ly fo r owning th at sto c k ." L a u ra then p ro c e e d s to d etail the m a n n e r in w hich the tra n s a c tio n w as handled: S ev e ra l of you gen tlem en bought of th a t sto ck (without paying a penny down) re c e iv e d dividends fro m it (think of the happy idea of re c e iv in g dividends, and v e ry la rg e ones, too, fro m stock one h a s n 't p aid for!), and all the w hile y our n am es n e v e r a p p e a re d in the tra n s a c tio n ; if ev e r you took the sto ck at all, you took it in other p e o p le 's n am es. Now, you see, you h ad to know one of two things; nam ely, you e ith e r knew th a t the idea of all this p re p o s te ro u s g e n e ro sity w as to b rib e you into fu tu re le g isla tiv e frien d sh ip , or you didn't know it. That is to say, you had to be e ith e r a knave or a --w e ll, a f o o l--th e re w as no m iddle ground. . . . (II, 116-117) At this point T rollop points out th at "som e of the b e st and p u r e s t m e n in C o n g ress took that sto ck in th a t w ay." The p ro c e d u re outlined by L a u ra Hawkins in this p a s sa g e is p r e c ise ly th at u sed by O akes A m es in b rib in g fellow c o n g re s s m e n to vote huge ap p ro p ria tio n s fo r c o n stru c tio n of the Union P a c ific ra ilro a d . The controlling sto ck h o ld ers in the Union P a c ific o rg an iz ed a c o n stru c tio n E d g a r L ee M a s te rs , M ark Twain: A P o r tr a i t (New Y ork and London, 1938), p. 137. Cf. K enneth S. L y n n ,'M ark Tw ain and South w e s te rn H um or (Boston, 1959), pp. 201 f.: "T w ain 's new en th u siasm fo r the R epublican p a rty w as d estin ed to be s h o rt-liv e d ." 164 com pany, the C red it M o b ilie r ,^ and aw ard ed th e m se lv e s the c o n tra c t by m ean s of this fro n t org an izatio n at such te r m s as to acq u ire com - 16 plete ow nership of all a s s e ts - - la n d , ra ilro a d , bonds, and stocks. The sto ck issu e d by this s tru c tu re w as thus b a se d upon c re d it built upon cre d it, and g enerous blocks of it w ere d istrib u te d am ong c o n g re s sm e n 17 w h ere, in the fam ous w ords of Oakes A m es, "they w ill do m o s t good." P e rm itte d to " su b s c rib e " at p a r, the re c ip ie n ts did not put up a cent of m oney, A m es obligingly c a rry in g the sto ck fo r them . Among those so fav o red w e re the V ic e -P re s id e n t, Colfax, his s u c c e s s o r, W ilson, and a 18 fu tu re P re s id e n t, G arfield. To point up h is allu sio n to the C red it M obilier scan d al itself, as d istinguished fro m other s im ila r m a ch in atio n s, M ark Tw ain dubbed his org an izatio n the N ational In tern al Im provem ent D ire c to rs ' R elief M e a s u re . In the p a rla n c e of the tim e any la rg e p ro je c t for opening up the in te rio r , or fro n tie r, a re a s of the United S tates to c o m m e rc ia l ex p lo ita tion w as known as an "in te rn a l im p ro v e m e n t." The key p h ra s e th a t r e v eals the C red it M obilier as the p a rtic u la r in te rn a l im p ro v em en t m eant ^ S o n am ed a fte r a s im ila r financing o rg an izatio n in F ra n c e w hich p re c ip ita te d a p e rio d of w ild sto ck gam bling during the Second E m p ire . M obilier m eans "m ovable" in the s e n se of p ro p e rty sec u rin g a loan. (See New Y ork T rib u n e, F e b ru a ry 6, 1873, p. 2, col. 5.) ^ S e e Louis M. H acker and B enjam in B. K endrick, The United States Since 1865 (New York, 1932), pp. 34-35; C h arles F ., J r ., and H enry A dam s, C h ap ters of E rie , and O ther E s s a y s (Boston, 1871), p. 146. 17 A m es le tte r of Ja n u a ry 25, 1868, quoted in New Y ork T im e s , Ja n u a ry 7, 1873, p. 5, col. 3. "We w ant m o re frien d s in this C o n g ress, and if a m a n w ill look into the law, and it is difficult to get them to do it u n le ss they have an in te re s t to do so." 18 H ack er and K endrick, p. 35. 165 is " D ire c to rs ' R elief M e a s u re ." It w as brought out in the subsequent P oland co m m ittee investigation, w hich w as taking p lace even as The G ilded Age w as being w ritte n , th at the idea of the C red it M obilier w as to re lie v e the d ir e c to r s and s h a re h o ld e rs of the Union P a c ific R ailro ad Com pany fro m any individual re s p o n sib ility in building the road, . . . the d esig n w as to co v e r up anything th at m ight have been done to re lie v e individuals fro m resp o n sib ility ; . . . [italics m ine, B. F .]19 As a re s u lt of the in v estig atio n by the co m m ittee c h a ire d by C o n g re ssm a n Luke P . Poland, the House p a s s e d a re so lu tio n to " a b so lu tely condem n" the two m o s t convenient scap eg o a ts, Oakes A m es and Ja m e s B r o o k s .^ T his fa c e -s a v in g act on the p a r t of C o n g ress is a l luded to by Tw ain in C h ap ter XX during C olonel S e lle rs ' innocently dam ning elucidation to W ashington Hawkins of the ritu a lis tic and m e a n in g less p ro c e s s of se lf-p u rific a tio n re g u la rly indulged in by C o n g ress. C o ngress h as inflicted frig h tfu l p u n ish m en ts on its m e m b e rs --n o w you know that. W hen they tr ie d M r. F a iro a k s [Oakes A m es], and a cloud of w itn e sse s p ro v ed him to b e --w e ll, you know w hat they p ro v ed him to b e --a n d his own te stim o n y and h is own confessions gave him the sam e c h a ra c te r, w hat did C o n g ress do th e n ? --c o m e !" "W ell, w hat did C o n g ress do?" "You know w hat C o n g ress did, W ashington. C o n g ress in tim ated p lainly enough th a t they c o n sid e re d him a lm o st a sta in upon th e ir body; and w ithout w aiting te n days, h a rd ly , to think the thing over, they ro s e up, and h u rle d at him a re s o lu tio n d e c la rin g th a t they d is approved of his conduct! Now you know that, W ashington." "It w as a t e r r i f ic th in g --th e re is no denying that. If he had b een p ro v en guilty of theft, a rso n , lic e n tio u s n e ss, infanticide, and defiling g ra v e s, I believe they w ould have su sp en d ed him fo r two d a y s." (II, 223-224) 19 7T estim ony of H enry S. M cComb, re p o rte d in N. Y. T im e s , J a n u a ry 7, 1873, p. 5, col. 2. ^ 9 O b erh o ltzer, II, 607-608. 166 An e a r l ie r d ra ft of this p a s s a g e , in w hich S enator P a tte r s o n a p p e a rs as "the College p r o f e s s o r fro m New H a m p s h ire ," is thoroughly explicit: ". . . Now le t's see. F ir s t, th e r e 's the C re d it Mob ile r b u s in e s s ." "Why you know th a t if they tr y e v e ry S enator & R ep re se n ta tiv e th a t the Hon. M r. H am fat bought w ith th a t stock, they n ev er can get through, b eca u se th e re w e re so m a n y ." "Y es, I know; but they w on't t r y all of them . A ll they need is som e e x a m p le s - - ju s t a s o r t of sop you know to throw to the p r e s s & the people & keep them quiet. J u s t a few ex am p les--fk they have got to be p ro m in e n t s im p le -h e a rte d people who have been h o n est before & d id n 't know enough about sh arp p r a c tic e to cover up th e ir tra c k s this tim e . Now th e r e 's the Vice P re s id e n t; h e 'll catch it, guilty or not guilty; & th e r e 's one of the S en ato rs fro m M a ssa c h u s e tts , th e y 'll m ake it s u ltry fo r him ; & th e r e 's -Gre- [C ro k er?] a New Y ork m a n or s o - - th e idea of a New Y ork public m a n not knowing how to co n sp ire to ro b a g o v ern m e n t w ithout getting caught at it! A in't th a t the odd e s t thing? W ell, you know, th e y 'll t r y th o se fellow s; & the College p r o f e s s o r fro m New H a m p s h ire --b le s s you, he has been sim ple enough to w rite le tte r s th a t te ll the whole thing on h im --b u t w hat could yo i^ex p ect of one of those tru s tfu l, u n p ra c tic a l cultivated peo- R evealing as th is e a r l ie r v e rs io n is as to C le m en s' d etailed knowledge 22 of the fa c ts, one can be glad th at h is sen se of a r ti s tr y led him to con dense and to s a tiriz e m o re in d irectly . His allu sio n s as p u blished c e r- 23 ta in ly w e re not lo s t on his c o n te m p o ra ry r e a d e r s . ^ U n u s e d C lem ens holograph MS. page, n u m b ered 3, M T P, DeVoto 137. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Company. ^ I n C le m e n s' 1872-73 sc ra p b o o k (M TP) is an undated, unidenti fied clipping (probably fro m the H a rtfo rd C o u ran t) giving quotations fro m the B oston A d v e rtis e r and N. Y. W orld on A m e s' testim o n y . It is in te re s tin g , in th is connection, th a t S enator H arlan , T w ain's B ro th e r B alaam , w as a c c u se d of accepting $10,000 fro m the Union P a c ific rin g to help p u rc h a se his re - e le c tio n in 1866 (Johnson B righam , J a m e s H a rla n [Iowa City, la., 1913], p. 280). ^ T h e B oston S atu rd ay E vening G a z e tte , fo r exam ple, sta te d th a t the C re d it M o b ilier sch em e w as "d ep icted w ith photographic a c c u ra c y " (undated rev iew re p rin te d in la rg e b ro ad sid e, "N otices of the P r e s s , " in M TP). 167 The Senate in v estig atio n of S enator P o m e ro y 's vote buying, w hich it has been shown epito m ized fo r M ark Tw ain an a lm o st en d less chain of s im ila r c o n g re ssio n a l m a lp ra c tic e s , sh a re d the headlines at the tim e of w ritin g of The G ilded Age w ith the T am m any Ring ex p o su re and the C re d it M obilier h e a rin g s. As "P h ilip Q uilibet" w rote in his "D rift-W ood" colum ns in the G alaxy, it w as "a bad show fo r one w in- 24 te r ." The th re e scan d als re v e a le d appalling co rru p tio n at all le v els of governm ent, and of the th re e the C red it M obilier affair w as the m o st gran d io se in conception and national in scope, signaling as it did the building of a c o rp o ra te e m p ire at governm ent expense. The s to ry of the financing of the Union P a c ific is a c la ss ic nineteenth cen tu ry exam ple of the fe d e ra l g o v e rn m e n t's acting as a se rv a n t of p riv a te c a p ita list e n te r p r is e . A single sym ptom such as the C rddit M o b ilier w as not, how ever, to be m ista k e n fo r the m a in d ise a se infecting the body politic and e c o nom ic. M ark Twain reco g n ized that an "a ll-p e rv a d in g sp e c u la tiv e n e ss" w ith its concom itant "sh am efu l co rru p tio n ," as he p h ra s e d it, w as the subject of the novel and th at its p rin c ip a l m a n ife sta tio n in m id c e n tu ry la y in the a ttem p t to p o s s e s s and exploit the v ast fro n tie r W e s t- - p a r- tic u la rly by m eans of the ra ilro a d . B ecause this phenom enon w as so 2415:560-561, A p ril 1873. 2^"T he effect of the C red it M obilier re v e la tio n s on p o p u lar f e e l ing w as fa r-re a c h in g . They w e re re g a rd e d as confirm ing the w o rs t suspicions c u rre n t in re fe re n c e both to the m ethods of railw ay c o rp o ra tions and to the influences pervading official life at W ashington" (W il liam A rch ib ald Dunning, R econstruction, P o litic a l and E conom ic 1865- 1877 [New Y ork and London, 1907J, p. 233). A group becom ing as notorious as the " C h ris tia n S tatesm en " w ere the "R ailw ay C o n g re ssm e n " (see Josephson, p. 53). "M cC ulloch a ll-p e rv a d in g and the co m p etitio n it en g en d ered so g reat, Tw ain, in s a tiriz in g it, did not confine h im se lf to w ritin g a co n siste n t p a ro d y of one sp ecific speculation, but in ste ad c re a te d an o rig in al fiction th at drew upon v ario u s r e a l ra ilr o a d p ro je c ts and th a t lim ite d the ro m a n h clef a s p e c t to o cca sio n al allu sio n s. This fic tio n --th e m o s t o rig in al s to ry e le m e n t in The G ilded A g e- - i s contained in two la rg e episode s e quences, one concerning the Colum bus R iv er S lackw ater N avigation Com pany and the Salt L ick E x ten sio n of the P a c ific R ailro ad , and the o th er concerning the Knobs In d u stria l U n iv ersity Bill. Both of th e se s e quences, as w ill be shown in the succeeding ch ap ter, w e re in tim a tely a s s o c ia te d w ith the p e rs o n a l liv es of the au th o rs; n e v e rth e le s s , they both follow the u n m istak ab le p a tte rn of G ilded Age r a ilro a d e m p ire building. If this p a tte rn is divided into its b asic elem en ts of land e x p lo itatio n on the fro n tie r, fin an cial sp ecu la tio n on W all S treet, and co n g re s s io n a l lobbying in W ashington, it can re a d ily be seen th a t the Salt L ick E x ten sio n w ith its riv e rh e a d te rm in u s at Stone's Landing r e p r e sen ts the f ir s t, the Colum bus R iv er S lack w ater N avigation C om pany the second, and the Knobs U n iv ersity B ill the th ird . Though the Salt L ick E x ten sio n of the P a c ific R ailroad, the la y ing out of w hich involves P h ilip S terling, H a rry B rie rly , and Colonel S e lle rs, re p r e s e n ts in p a r t the H annibal and St. Jo se p h R ailro ad , as shown in the succeeding ch ap ter, it is a lso s tro n g ly suggestive of a b ra n c h of this ro a d known as the A tchison (la te r C entral) B ran ch of the says the rin g of ra ilr o a d m e n . . . is controlling C o n g re ss" (Gideon W elles, D iary [B oston and New York, 1911], HI, 425; see a lso pp. 460, 474, 576). Union P a c ific R ailroad. The co n stru ctio n com pany fo r the b ran ch , w hich u se d the K ansas c h a r te r of the A tchison and P ik e 's P e a k R a il road, finished the h undred m ile s for w hich it could re c e iv e governm ent bonds in 1868; and ju st as the Salt L ick E xten sio n w as to have ended at Stone's Landing on Goose Run, the C e n tra l B ran ch ended in the valley 2 ft of the L ittle Blue R iv er in n o rth e rn K ansas. The p re s id e n t of this bran ch , w hich like the Salt L ick had its h e a d q u a rte rs in New York, was 27 none o th e r than Sam uel C. P o m e ro y . L abeled " P o m e ro y 's little p r i vate A tchison P a c ific ," it w as d e sc rib e d as "one of the n ic e st and fat- 28 te s t speculations e v e r concocted." The F o rtie th C o n g ress, the m a chinations of w hich C lem ens had o b se rv e d f i r s t hand, w as notorious for the quantity of ra ilro a d b ills introduced, and in this fre n z ie d activity S enator P o m e ro y d ista n ced "all c o m p e tito rs in the n u m b er and extent of his jo b s ." 29 He w as stro n g ly abetted by his frie n d Ja m e s H arlan, h im se lf an active sp ecu la to r, always fo r the osten sib le national good 30 and for the actu al p riv a te benefit of frie n d s. In the Salt L ick sequence 2 6O b erh o ltzer, 1 (1917), 328. 2^ R eport of the S e c re ta ry of the I n te rio r, U. S. 39th Cong., 1st s e s s ., H. Ex. Doc. 1 (W ashington, 1865), pp. 980-981. 2 ®Article in the C incinnati G azette, p ro b ab ly by H. V. Boynton, quoted in John B. E llis, The Sights and S e c re ts of the N ational C apital (San F ra n c is c o , 1869), p. 192. 29E llis, pp. 191-192, 199. on In 1868, fo r exam ple, H a rla n w as exposed as having w ithdraw n fro m sale along the extension of the B urlington and M is s o u ri R iv er R a ilro a d "a tr a c t la rg e enough fo r a v e ry re sp e c ta b le S tate" fo r the b enefit of h im se lf and "the honorable Senator fro m K an sas" and th e ir p e rs o n a l frien d s (a rtic le by H. V. Boynton in C incinnati G a z e tte , quoted in B righam , pp. 238-240). 170 M ark Tw ain is in p a r t filling out his s a tire of P o m e ro y and in so doing is again hitting at a m a jo r abuse thro u g h a re p re s e n ta tiv e p ra c titio n e r. The nam e "Salt Lick" (Salt Lake), of c o u rse , c a r r ie s the sam e o v e r- 31 am bitious connotation as A tchison and P ik e 's P eak. To the extent th at Colonel S e lle rs ' p ro je c t to co n v ert Goose Run into the c o m m e rc ia lly navigable w a te r a r te r y Colum bus R iver, w ith its c ru c ia l ra il- w a te r junction at the city of Napoleon, is a m e m o ry of p r e w ar visions of tying the new c o m m e rc ia l c a r r i e r , the railw ay, to the o ld -e sta b lish e d and th e re to fo re om nipotent one, the steam b o at line, to th at extent it re fle c ts h is to ric a l background ra th e r than c o n te m p o ra ry events. But to the extent that it p ro v id es the ex cu se fo r the an ticip ated boom town of N apoleon that w ill m u sh ro o m out of the sleep y h a m le t of Stone's Landing it depicts the u n co n tro lled land sp ecu latio n th at w as the e v e r - p r e s e n t cam p -fo llo w er of the P a c ific ra ilro a d s of the six ties and sev en ties as they pushed th e ir way a c ro s s the continent. In H a rry B r ie rly 's interview w ith the p re s id e n t of the Colum bus R iver S lackw ater N avigation Company, p re s e n te d in C hapter XXVIII, and in p a r t of the Knobs U n iv ersity Bill sequence th e re not only is g e n e ra l s a tire of ra ilro a d lobbying but th e re a re also d etails highly suggestive of the actions of the fin a n c ie r Jay Cooke in p ro m o tin g the N o rth e rn P a cific. The planting of fav o rab le s to rie s in influential n ew sp ap ers, p a r tic u la rly in a relig io u s new sp ap er of en o rm o u s circ u la tio n ("Y our r e l i gious p a p e r is by fa r the b e st vehicle fo r a thing of this kind") is, fo r exam ple, re m a rk a b ly s im ila r to Jay C ooke's p aym ent of $15,000 to -^ "S a lt L ick ," in fact, b ecom es "Salt L ake" in the play Colonel S e lle rs (Act III) (M TP, P ain e 163). 171 H enry W ard B eech er fo r the su p p o rt of the C h ristia n Union, in w hich a p p e a re d a s e r ie s of a r tic le s eu lo g istic of the n o rth w est t e r r i to r y being 32 opened up by the N o rth e rn P a c ific . A m ong s e c u la r n ew sp ap ers b rib ed fo r th e ir su p p o rt w as the W ashington C h ro n ic le, B ro th e r Ba- 33 la a m 's W ashington D aily L o v e -F e a s t in The G ilded A ge. The n e w s p a p e r debate touched off by intro d u ctio n of the Knobs U n iv ersity Bill in C o n g ress (II, 130-136) is v e ry m u ch like the public debate su rrounding the N o rth e rn P a c ific bill. J u st as the P u b lic L e d g e r denounced the 34 "huge ro b b e rie s of the public d o m ain ," the n ew sp ap ers in the novel sp eak of "highw ay ro b b e ry " and an "iniquitous sc h e m e ." Again, the tu g -o f-w a r in the H ouse of R e p re se n ta tiv e s o ver w in ning votes fo r or ag a in st the Knobs U n iv ersity Bill, follow ed blow by blow by daily r e p o rts in the n e w sp a p e rs (II, 134-136), finds its c o u n te r p a r t in the stru g g le aro u n d the N o rth e rn P a c ific bill. As the debate a p p ro a c h e s a clim ax, S enator D ilw orthy sends a note up fro m the flo o r to the c h a irm a n of the C om m ittee on B enevolent A p p ro p riatio n s. It says: "E verybody ex p ects a gran d a s s a u lt in fo rce; no doubt you b e lieve, as I c e rta in ly do, th at it is the thing to do; we a re strong, and ev ery th in g is hot fo r the contest. T ro llo p 's esp o u sal of our cause h as im m e n se ly helped us and we grow in pow er constantly. Ten of •^ O b e rh o ltz e r, Jay Cooke, F in a n c ie r of the Civil W ar (P h ila delphia, 1907), II, 165. ^ O b e r h o l tz e r , C ooke, II, 165. An e d ito ria l en titled "T he R a ilro a d F ra te rn ity " in the Nation, M ay 21, 1868 (6:406-408) outlines the c o rru p tio n th at ta in ted "the v e ry b irth of n in e -ten th s of the ro a d s ." Showing how a com pany would s ta r t w ith a p o rtio n of its stock given aw ay b efo re it had " re a lly com e into e x iste n c e ," the a rtic le re la te s in so b er exposition the subject p re se n te d in the dialogue of H a rry B rie rly and the com pany p re sid e n t. ■ ^O berholtzer, Cooke, II, 190. 172 the opposition w e re called away fro m town about noon . . . Six o th e rs a re sick, but expect to be about again to -m o rro w o r next day . . . Go fo r a su sp e n sio n of the ru les! You w ill find we can swing a tw o- th ird s v o te - - I am p e rfe c tly sa tisfie d of it. The L o rd 's tru th w ill p re v a il. "D ilw orthy." (II, 148) On M ay 6, 1870, a fte r a sto rm y scene in the H ouse the p rece d in g day, H enry Cooke w ro te to his b ro th e r Jay: Blaine is doing us g re a t se rv ic e ; so is Schenck . . . Blaine dropped in sp e c ia lly to say . . . th at we m u st not be in the le a s t disturbed; th at w hen the House again m e e ts our re la tiv e s tre n g th w ill be con sid e ra b le s tro n g e r than it w as y esterd a y ; th at we have got the bill in such shape th a t all the b u sin e ss of the H ouse is suspended until it p a s s e s . . .^5 Though C lem en s could not p o ssib ly have known this c o rre s p o n d e n c e --it w as not p u b lish ed until 1907--the s im ila rity of his own p a ssa g e in tone and even in w ording c le a rly indicates how thoroughly fa m ilia r he was 36 w ith the actio n s of the N o rth e rn P acific and other r a ilro a d lobbies. I have not been able to find any s a tisfa c to ry o rig in al fo r the 37 Knobs In d u stria l U n iv ersity Bill. Still, it is not difficult to find valid ■ ^O berholtzer, C ooke, II, 179-180. 36 F o r exam ple, in 1871 he published his B u rlesq u e A u to b io g ra phy, w hich had running thro u g h it a s e r ie s of carto o n s of the E rie R a il ro a d Ring p re s e n te d as a m odified v e rs io n of "The House That Jack Built" to illu s tra te the R ing's sw indling m ethods and c a ric a tu rin g Jay Gould, " J im " F isk e , and o th e rs (A lbert Bigelow P ain e, M a rk Twain: A B iography [New York, 1912], p. 433). And in his Sandwich Islands l e c tu re in B rooklyn on F e b ru a ry 7, 1873, he gave as an exam ple of the p ro b ab ility of the K anakas doing "everything w rong end f ir s t" if the Is lands w ere annexed: "Instead of fo ste rin g and encouraging a judicious sy stem of ra ilw a y specu latio n s, . . . they w ill e lect the m o s t in c o rru p t ible m e n to C o n g re ss" (W alter F ra n c is F r e a r , M a rk Tw ain and H aw aii [Chicago, 1947], p. 435). 37 C lem ens m ade a b rie f trip to W ashington in July 1870 to lobby fo r a bill of in te r e s t to "our T e n n e sse a n s." The bill, w hich failed to p a ss , w as fo r d iv isio n of T en n e ssee into two ju d icial d is tric ts and had no known connection w ith the fa m ily 's T en n e ssee Land (see The Love 173 re a s o n s fo r C le m en s' invention of such a bill as a v ehicle fo r his s a tire on lobbying. D isre g a rd in g fo r the p re s e n t his d e s ire to u se his fa m ily 's " T e n n e sse e L and" in the p lo t of the n o v e l--a su b ject d etaile d in the next c h ap ter of this study, C lem ens had good re a s o n to m ake a land g ran t bill fo r N egro education a high point of his s a tire . The "R eco n stru c tio n " c o n g re s s e s w e re no to rio u s fo r gran tin g a p p ro p ria tio n s to aid all kinds of p ro je c ts o sten sib ly designed to "uplift" the f re e d slav e and sim u ltan e o u sly m an ip u lated fo r the benefit of p riv a te in v e sto rs and lan d o w n ers. In th e se p ro je c ts the C h ristia n S tatesm en w e re p ro m in e n t- 38 ly active. Among the s e v e ra l re s p o n s ib ilitie s a ssig n e d the fam ous F r e e d - m e n 's B ureau w as the su p e rv isio n of educational e n te r p r is e s , p r a c t i c ally all of w hich w e re of a te ch n ica l ra th e r than lib e ra l a r ts n a tu re . In the page of C le m en s' m a n u sc rip t containing the p a s sa g e in w hich the bill is f ir s t given notice in C o n g ress, it is at f ir s t called "a bill 'T o Found and In co rp o rate the Knobs U n iv e rs ity '" (it has been p re v io u sly r e f e r r e d to as the "Knobs U n iv ersity bill"); then the w o rd In d u stria l is added as an afterthought and th e re a fte r is co n siste n tly in c o rp o ra te d in 39 the n am e. It is evident th a t C lem ens re v is e d the nam e to re fle c t m o re a c c u ra te ly such e n te r p r is e s as H am pton N o rm al and A g ric u ltu ra l Institute, founded in 1870 by G en eral Sam uel C. A rm stro n g , an o fficer L e tte rs of M a rk T w ain, ed. Dixon W ecter [New York, 1949], p. 153). 33"The sch em e w as w o rth y of such a C h ris tia n S tatesm an as S enator D illw orthy [sic]" (deleted sentence fro m MS. page 1044, by W a rn e r [M orse C ollection, Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry (h e re a fte r M o rse), C ontainer 12b]). 39MS. page 1003 (M orse, 12b). 174 of the F re e d m e n 's B ureau; fo r G en eral A rm s tro n g 's f i r s t p u rp o se w as to elevate m a n u al w o r k . ^ Then, too, S en ato r Stew art, fo r whom C le m ens a cted b rie fly as s e c r e ta r y , w as a m e m b e r of the C om m ittee on J u d ic iary , c h a ire d by L ym an T rum bull, the chief pro p o n en t of the F r e e d m e n 's B u reau bill. S tew art h im se lf claim e d to d isap p ro v e of the bill, for, as he h y p o c ritic a lly stated , " T h e re w as u n lim ited p ow er given the c o m m issio n to p u rc h a se land fo r educational p u r p o s e s . A g a i n M ark Tw ain w ro te w ith full knowledge of h is to ric a l events. It should be noted in th is connection th a t C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r in a la te r novel, A L ittle J o u rn e y , m a k es a b rief, c a u stic allu sio n to fre e d m e n 's education. His c h a r a c te r H en d erso n goes to a N egro c o l lege to dedicate a building he has donated and tra v e ls th e re in a sp ecia l tra in , the co st of w hich . . . "would have built and fu rn ish e d an in d u s tria l school and w o rk shop fo r a h u n d red N eg ro es; but this tr a i n w as, I d a re say, a m uch m o re in sp irin g exam ple of w hat they m ight a tta in by the h ig h er edu cation. "42 A lso in this connection it m a y be significant th a t in e a rly M arch 1873, as The G ilded Age w as being w ritten , an A g ric u ltu ra l College bill, h a v ing p a s s e d the H ouse, re a c h e d the S p e a k e r's table, w h ere, its sp o n so r 43 re v e rs in g his own re q u e s t fo r a conference co m m ittee, it w as dropped. One o r two other C o n g ressio n al m e a s u r e s of dubious leg itim acy , ^ N e v i n s , p. 16. ^ W ill ia m M. S tew art, R e m in isc e n c e s (New Y ork and W ashing ton, 1908), p. 198. ^ K e n n e th R. A ndrew s, Nook F a rm , M a rk T w ain's H a rtfo rd C irc le (C am bridge, M a ss., 1950), pp. 181 and 264, n. 73. ^ N e w Y ork T rib u n e , M a rc h 4, 1873, p. 1, col. 2. 175 though not given as extensive tre a tm e n t, a re alluded to s a tiric a lly in The G ilded A g e. One of th e se is the 1872 subsidy voted fo r extending the se rv ic e of the a lre a d y h eavily su b sid ized P acific M ail S team ship Company. O riginally founded on the fe d e ra l governm ent p o sta l c o n tra ct of 1866 to connect San F ra n c is c o w ith New Z ealand and A u s tra lia via the Sandwich Islands, the P a c ific M ail had had one subsidy denied by C o n g ress, even though re c o m m e n d e d unanim ously by the Senate C om m itte e on P o s t Offices. T h e re fo re , in o rd e r to se c u re a subsidy of half a m illio n d o lla rs to finance m o re freq u en t s e rv ic e w ith A sia, the c o m pany p la ced $900,000 in the hands of an agent to pay lobbyists, influence co n g ressm en , and b rib e e d ito rs . T e rm e d "a re c k le s s ro b b e ry of a c o r p o ratio n under the te m p o ra ry co n tro l of s p e c u la to rs ," the sch em e w as la te r r e f e r r e d to a co n g re ssio n a l co m m ittee, who re c o m m e n d e d a ju d i cial investigation. M eanw hile, on June 1, 1872, the d e s ire d subsidy bill 44 w as en acted by C o n g ress. In The G ilded Age L a u ra Hawkins, as p a r t of h e r b lack m ailin g of M r. T rollop, re v e a ls th at the lobbyist who induced him to vote fo r the "S team ship Subsidy b ill," a b ill that "was a fra u d on the g o v ern m en t," w as h e r agent and th at she h e rs e lf, accom panied by a second w itn ess, had s e c re tly o v e rh e a rd the e n tire co n v ersatio n . ". . .. M r. T rollop, you would not se ll your vote on th at subsidy bill --w h ic h w as p e rfe c tly rig h t--b u t you accep ted of som e of the stock, w ith the u n d erstan d in g th at it w as to stand in your b ro th e r - in - la w 's n a m e ." (II, 115)4 ^ 4 4O b erh o ltzer, H is to ry , II, 516-518; 111(1926), 131-132. 4 ^M ark Tw ain had a lre a d y ta k en a dig at e a r lie r , u n su ccessfu l attem p ts of the ste a m sh ip lobby in the O ctober 1870 issu e of the G alaxy, saying that the A m e ric a n consul at San F ra n c is c o would have to continue 176 A nother, m uch m o re scandalous m e a s u re s a tiriz e d w as the f a m ous "S a la ry G rab A ct," o r "B ack P a y S tea l," as it w as a lte rn a tiv e ly called, by w hich C o n g ress on its la s t day of s e s sio n b efo re G ra n t's s e c ond te rm , M arch 3, 1873, p a s s e d a bill doubling the P r e s id e n t's sa la ry , ra is in g th o se of the C abinet and S uprem e C ourt ju s tic e s , and in c re a sin g that of m e m b e rs of C o n g ress by fifty p e r cent, re tro a c tiv e fo r two 46 y e a rs . A w ave of indignation sw ept the nation and the S alary G rab 47 "b ecam e a th e m e of denunciation in e v e ry h a m le t in the lan d ." As could be expected, C lem ens w as am ong the m o st w rathful. His M r. 48 T rollop, one of the "b ack -p ay gang of th ie v e s," is "pledged to su p p o rt the Indigent C o n g re s s m e n 's R e tro a c tiv e A p p ro p riatio n ." In the w ords of L a u ra H awkins, "The m a n th at w ill vote fo r th at bill w ill b re a k the eighth co m m an d m en t in any o ther w ay" (II, 118). W hen the m e a s u re does com e up, Senator D ilw orthy, who h as occupied his p u rc h a se d se a t to the la s t hour of the se ssio n , c a s ts his vote fo r the la s t tim e, in su p p o rt of an ingenious m e a s u re co n triv ed by the G en eral fro m M a ssa c h u se tts [Ben B u tler] ' w h ereb y the P r e s id e n t's s a la ry w as p ro p o se d to be doubled and e v e ry C o n g re ssm a n paid s e v e ra l thou sand d o lla rs e x tra fo r w o rk p re v io u sly done, under an accep ted con tra c t, and a lre a d y p aid fo r once and re c e ip te d fo r. (II, 312) charging the ex to rtio n ate im m ig ra tio n fee "d ish o n estly until next Con g re s s m a k es it le g itim a te " ("G o ld sm ith 's F rie n d A broad A gain," 10: 569-570). ^ J a m e s T ruslow A dam s, The M a rc h of D em o cra cy (New York, 1933), II, 146-147; Jo sephson, p. 186. 47 Dunning, p. 234. ^ M ark T w ain's N otebook, ed. A lb e rt Bigelow P ain e (New Y ork and London, 1935) (h e re a fte r N otebook), p. 130. ^ B e n j a m i n F. B utler, fo r m e r Union g e n e ra l and c o n g re ssm a n fro m M a ssa c h u se tts, s p e a rh e a d e d the S a la ry G rab actio n "with an 177 So g re a t w as the public o u tc ry a g ain st the S a la ry G rab th a t it 50 had to be re p e a le d in the next se ssio n . The full extent of C lem en s' indignation a t the whole sp ecta cle can b e st be seen in a p ro p o sed fo o t note to the foregoing p a ssa g e , fully w ritte n out but eventually d iscard e d : 47 1/2 When the above w as w ritten , a full m onth had elap se d since the renow ned C o n g ressio n al e m b ezzlem en t, & up to th a t tim e only 18 of the m e m b e rs h ip had declined to take th e ir s h a re s of the spoil. A fter that, u n d er the la s h of the n e w sp a p e rs, s e v e ra l c u lp rits cam e m e ek ly & re lu c ta n tly back & d e liv e re d up th e ir s e v e ra l p ro p o rtio n s of the p ro p e rty so sh am efu lly w re s te d fro m the T re a su ry . As long as h is to rie s of A m e ric a sh all continue to be w ritten , they w ill p ro b ab ly a l w ays contain a m ention of the cu rio u s fact th at in the y e a r 1873 the Republic of the U nited States w as re p re s e n te d by a C o n g ress six te en - seventeenths of w hose m e m b e rs h ip actu ally could not be tru s te d w ith a pock et-b o o k w hile the o w n er's back w as tu rn ed . F in e -s p u n ex p lan a tions & a rg u m e n ts a re one thing & fig u re s a re another. F a c ts a re stu b b o rn things. A th ird b ill m entioned by L a u ra in h e r conference w ith M r. T rollop is h is " g re a t P en sio n b ill," the sp eech for w hich L au ra , as its g h o s t-w rite r, u se s as a p a r t of h e r b la ck m ail (II, 111-112, 118-121). T h ere w e re , how ever, so m any s o ld ie rs ' p en sio n bills at the t i m e - - a su re w ay for a fa v o rite son to c u r r y favor w ith his constituents in the p o stw ar p e rio d w as to sp o n so r a p en sio n b ill- - th a t finding an o rig in al fo r M r. T ro llo p 's unspecified one defies acco m p lish m en t. insolence th at could only have com e fro m a sen se of su p re m e com m and of the situ atio n " (Josephson, p. 186). 50J. T. A dam s, p. 147. ^ U n u s e d C lem ens MS. leaf, M T P , DV 137. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Company. In the top m a rg in a re two notes, one "F o o t-n o te, s m a ll," the other " P e rh a p s this b e tte r go on a fly -le a f a ft e r la s t c h a p te r.” In a le tte r to the New Y ork T ribune (A pril 11, 1873, p. 5) he m entions "the p ro je c t of paying C o n g re ssm e n over again fo r w ork w hich they had a lre a d y been paid to do, th at is to say, the la b o r of r e ceiving C red it M obilier donations and fo rg ettin g the c irc u m s ta n c e s" 178 B esides the le g islativ e m e a s u re s , w hich he gave m o re or le ss full tre a tm e n t, M ark Twain m ade pointed allusions to a nu m b er of l e s s e r actions and custom s a s so c ia te d w ith G ra n t's ad m in istra tio n . One of th ese w as G ra n t's attem p t to get co n g re ssio n a l su p p o rt fo r his p et schem e of annexing Santo Domingo, once in 1870 and again in 1871. T e rm e d a "shady adventure in im p e ria l expansion," the p ro p o sed tre a ty failed of ratific a tio n by the Senate. G rant m eanw hile sen t his m ilita ry aid to negotiate a s e c r e t tre a ty w ith the "puppet" d ic ta to r Bafez, the af- j=2 fa ir m ade headlines in the p r e s s , and s e v e ra l p o litic al heads fell. In The G ilded A ge, Colonel S e lle rs, the re c o n s tru c te d reb el, who r e p r e sents am ong other things the unconsciously a rro g a n t ex p an sio n ist a tti tude of the p eriod, w hich la te r developed into full-blow n "Yankee im p e r ia lis m ," says: ". . . . I go fo r putting the old flag on all the vacant lo ts. I said to the P re s id e n t, says I, 'G rant, why don't you take Santo Domingo, a n nex the whole thing, and settle the bill a fte rw a rd s .' T h at's m y way. . • ." (II, 91) A popular cause th at typified the p o stw ar y e a rs w as the G re e n back m ovem ent, an attem p t to m a in tain an inflated c u rre n c y of only p a rtia lly red ee m ab le p a p e r m oney. As the green b ack s by law had to be accepted in all the tra n s a c tio n s of the m a s s of the people w h e re a s gold could be dem anded by h o ld e rs of gov ern m en t bonds, the G reen b ack e rs argued ag ain st deflation, w hich would com pel in v e sto rs in fro n tie r speculations to pay in a ch eap er c u rre n c y than they had b o rro w ed and (Vogelback, "M ark Twain N ew spaper C o n trib u to r," A m e ric a n L i te r a tu re , 20:117, M ay 1948). ^ J o s e p h s o n , pp. 143-146. 179 w ould d ep riv e the s m a lle r c a p ita list of the new W est and the re c o n s tru c te d South of a supply of c u rre n c y needed fo r developm ent. The i s sue b eca m e, th e re fo re , a se c tio n a l one betw een the fin an c ial c e n te rs of 53 the E a s t and the m o n e y -b o rro w in g W est and South. Colonel S e lle rs is a ty p ical G re e n b a c k e r, in fav o r of the policy th at has b een defined as giving "the m a n w ithout cap ital an equal oppor- 54 tunity in b u sin e ss w ith his ric h c o m p e tito r." J u s t as he is an ex p an sio n ist in fo re ig n policy, so d o m e stic a lly he is a la is s e z fa ire p riv a te e n te r p r is e r , fo r whom g o v ern m en t e x ists not as a co n tro l but as an in s tru m e n t of c a p ita lism . In the fall of 1872 five m illio n d o lla rs in r e - 55 tir e d g reen b a ck s w e re put into c irc u la tio n "to m ove the c ro p s ," and w ith th is action in m in d M ark Tw ain h as the C olonel state: ". . . W hat we w ant is m o re m oney. I've told Boutw ell so. T alk about basing the c u rre n c y on gold; you m ig h t as w ell b a se it on pork. Gold is only one p ro d u ct. B ase it on everything! Y ou've got to do som ething fo r the W est. How am I to m ove m y c ro p s? We m u s t have im p ro v e m e n ts. . . ." (II, 141) G eorge S. Boutwell, the S e c re ta ry of the T re a s u ry , who had re le a s e d the g reen b a ck s and who cam e un d er fire fo r his p o lic ie s, w as both tim id and obstinate and se rv e d as the w hipping-boy in the G reen b ack c L stru g g le . In the novel Colonel S e lle rs v o ices th is opinion: ^ N e v i n s , pp. 166-167; Dunning, pp. 140-141. ^ A n th o n y B im ba, The H isto ry of the A m e ric a n W orking C la ss (London, 1927), p. 162, quoting P e rlm a n , H isto ry of T ra d e U nionism in the U nited S ta te s , p. 51. ^ O b e r h o l tz e r , H is to ry , III, 87. ^ O b e r h o l t z e r , C ooke, II, 288; H is to ry , III, 87-88. W hen bro u g h t to book, Boutw ell tr ie d to tu rn the b lam e onto his a s s is ta n t, W illiam A. R ich ard so n . 180 You've got to co n ciliate the South, consolidate the two [w ar] debts, pay 'em off in g re e n b a c k s, and go ahead. T h at's m y notion. B out w e ll's got the rig h t notion about the value of p ap er, but he lack s co u rag e. . . . (II, 9 1 ) ^ A custom p re v a le n t in the days b efo re the p r e s s r e le a s e becam e the p o p u lar m ode of sp read in g W ashington opinion, one th at w as so v iru le n t in the G ran t a d m in is tra tio n as to a ro u se m uch public com m ent, w as the new s " le a k ." The W ashington co rre sp o n d e n ts w e re adepts at getting le a k s. S enator L o g an 's w ife, in h e r re m in is c e n c e s , has outlined the p ro c e d u re . She w rite s th at w hen a c o n g re ss m a n has m ade a s ta te m en t in his own fav o r and d e trim e n ta l to his opponent the co rre sp o n d e n t h as only to see the opponent to obtain another "leak ." Thus little by little the whole s to ry com es out, and p o ssib ly not one of the Con g r e s s m e n or o fficials thinks th a t he co n trib u ted in any w ay to it. E ach thinks th a t his opponent is re s p o n sib le fo r the d is c lo su re , but the c o rre sp o n d e n t has only put the " le a k s" together. C lem ens h im se lf had been a m e m b e r of N ew spaper Row in W ashington 59 and w as e n tire ly fa m ilia r w ith the h abits of the p r e s s . In The Gilded Age he a ttrib u te s the W ashington leak s to the loquacious and convivial Colonel S e lle rs , "a g re a t fa v o rite in N ew spaper Row," who w as fo re v e r "dropping bits of p riv a te , official inform ation, w hich w e re im m ed iately caught up and te le g ra p h e d all over the co u n try ." P eo p le u se d to w onder in the w in te rs of 187- and 187-, w h ere the "S p ecials" got th a t re m a rk a b le in fo rm atio n w ith w hich they ev e ry m o rn in g s u r p r is e d the country, rev ea lin g the m o st s e c r e t intentions 57 M ark T w ain 's own opinion of g reen b ack s is given in "A Royal C om plim ent," G alaxy, 10:429-430, w h ere he speaks of being o ffered the Spanish throne: "My s a la ry m u s t be p aid in gold; w hen g reen b ack s a re f r e s h in a country, they a re too flu ctu atin g ." (Cf. Gondour, pp. 61-62.) C O M rs. John A. Logan, T h irty Y ears in W ashington (H artford, 1901), p. 512. 59 See account of this ex p e rie n c e in C hapter VII, below. 181 of the P re s id e n t and his cabinet, the p riv a te thoughts of p o litic a l le a d e rs , the hidden m eaning of e v e ry m ovem ent. This in fo rm atio n w as fu rn ish e d by Colonel S e lle rs . (II, 91-92) In M ay 1871 the New Y ork T ribune p u blished the full te x t of the T re a ty of W ashington, g e n e ra lly r e f e r r e d to as the "A labam a C laim s tre a ty " or "A labam a Treaty,"^® b efo re it ap p e a re d anyw here e lse . This scoop cau sed c o n ste rn a tio n and envy in n ew sp ap er c irc le s , as w ell it m i g h t.^ The Gilded Age p a ssa g e continues: When he [the Colonel] w as asked, a fte rw a rd , about the stolen copy of the A labam a T re a ty w hich got into the "New Y ork T rib u n e ," he only looked m y ste rio u s, and said th a t n e ith e r he n o r S enator Dil- w orthy knew anything about it. But th o se w hom he w as in the habit of m eetin g occasio n ally felt a lm o st c e rta in th at he did know. (II, 92) A nother custom th at w as p re v a le n t and the su b ject of public com m ent w as the abuse of the franking p riv ile g e . M rs. Logan te lls of c o n g re ssm e n sending fre e through the m a ils not only p a p e rs , docu m e n ts, books, and m ap s, but ty p e w rite rs , clothing, bedding, and other fi2. household effects as w ell. Indeed, p ackages "occupying an e n tire m a il-b a g " w e re fran k ed hom e "by C o n g re ssm e n w ith tough con sc ie n c e s ," and it w as said that c e rta in m e m b e rs fran k ed th e ir d irty 6 3 linen hom e to be w ashed in o rd e r to econom ize. In the novel, L a u ra Hawkins te lls D ilw orthy th at S enator B alloon se e m e d to be packing on ^ T h e "A labam a c la im s " w e re m ade ag ain st G re a t B rita in for dam ages inflicted upon N o rth e rn shipping by the fam ous C onfederate a rm e d ra id e r the A labam a, w hich had b een built in E ngland and outfitted w ith guns m ade in England. B ritis h law had been te c h n ic a lly evaded by the tra n s p a re n t device of outfitting the B ritis h -m a d e v e s s e l w ith its B ritis h -m a d e a r m o r on the high seas (O b erh o ltzer, H is to ry , II, 391 ff). ^ S e e s a r c a s tic e d ito ria l in the N ation, 12:329-330, M ay 18, 1871; also pp. 349, 373, 393. k^Logan, p. 127. 63E llis, p. 150. 182 the day she saw him . . . His ro o m s w e re full of d ry goods boxes, into w hich his s e rv a n t w as crow ding all m a n n e r of old clothes and stuff. I suppose he w ill paint 'P ub. D ocs' on them and fra n k them hom e. T h a t's good econo my, is n 't it?" "Y es, y es, but, child, all C o n g re ssm e n do that. It m a y not be s tric tly ho n est, indeed, it is not u n le ss he had som e public docum ents m ixed in w ith the c lo th e s." (II, 50) B esides the p rin c ip a l c h a r a c te r s of the novel a lre a d y d is c u s se d a sufficient n u m b e r of m in o r ones a r e identifiable to ju stify the a s s e r tion th at in a lm o s t all of its d ra m a tis p e rso n a e The Gilded Age is a key novel. What few c h a r a c te r s a re not im ag es of public fig u re s a re , as w ill be se e n in the following ch a p te r, b ased n o n eth eless upon r e a l p e r sons known to C lem ens and W arn e r. The m in o r public c h a ra c te rs a re la rg e ly divided betw een two groups, those a s s o c ia te d w ith the W ashing ton sc e n e s and those a s s o c ia te d w ith the ra ilr o a d ep iso d es. W ith two or th re e exceptions both groups a re m ad e up of p e rso n a g e s not nationally reco g n izab le in the m a n n e r of D ilw orthy or L a u ra Hawkins y et id en tifi able by r e a d e r s clo se to the a r e a s and events sa tiriz e d . The g e n e ra l effect of th e se c h a r a c te r s is, consequently, th at of giving authenticity and convincingness to the novel ra th e r than s tre tc h in g the gam e of identification to the b reak in g point. The av e ra g e c o n te m p o ra ry r e a d e r m u s t have sen sed , w ithout knowing why, th at th e se w e re r e a l p e rs o n s . Next to D ilw orthy h im se lf, the m o s t e a sily identified W ashington c h a ra c te rs a r e B ro th e r B alaam , S en ato r Balloon, G en eral S utler, and the "dapper young Senator fro m Iowa." B ro th e r B alaam , as pointed out k^M ark Tw ain ap p are n tly found the franking abuse so sy m p to m a tic of c o n g re ssio n a l m o ra lity th at he r e f e r r e d to it no le s s than th re e tim e s in the novel: II, 50, 52-53, 301. 183 e a r lie r in this ch ap ter, is J a m e s H arlan. It needs only to be added that the nam e of the c h a ra c te r in itse lf m a k e s a w itty s a tir ic a l com m ent on the original, fo r the b ib lical B alaam , who loved the w ages of u n rig h t- L C eo u sn ess, w as read y to p ro p h e sy as d e sire d , for a p ric e . S enator Balloon, who upholds the an cien t dignity of the Senate (II, 301) and fran k s his baggage hom e (II, 50 f., 301), is C le m en s' old N evada a c quaintance Ja m e s N y e . ^ F o r m e r ly g o v ern o r of "one of the T e r r i to r ie s " and "ex-officio Indian ag en t," this " w h o le -h e a rte d ," "w aggish," "handsom e old g en tlem an ," who "knows the S c rip tu re s " b e tte r than any one e lse in the Senate (II, 49-50), has m ilked the Indians fo r all they are w o rth and for his devotion is spoken of fo r an a m b a ssa d o rsh ip (II, 53- 54). G en eral S utler of M a ssa c h u se tts, who defies England on the A la b am a claim s (II, 74) and en g in eers the S ala ry G rab (II, 312), is S enator and e x -g e n e ra l "B en" B utler. It is no accident th at w hen Colonel Selby p a s s e s the e q u e stria n statu e of G en eral Jack so n in L afayette Square he says to h im self, "Old H ickory ought to get down and give his se a t to G en eral S u tle r--b u t th e y 'd have to tie him on," fo r B u tler w as d e sc rib e d as "the v e ry in carn atio n of fo rc e and w ill" and as "seem in g alw ays po ised for a le a p ." The unnam ed "dapper young S enator fro m Iowa," who stands w h ere he can exhibit his feet to L a u ra Hawkins, sitting in L c II P e te r ii. 15; Num. xxii.5-xxiv.25. k^See above, p. 124. ^ E m ily E lso n B riggs, The Olivia L e tte rs (New Y ork and W ash ington, 1906), p. 51; G eorge A lfred Tow nsend, W ashington, O utside and Inside (H artford and Chicago, 1874), p. 372. C lem ens h im se lf d e sc rib e d him as "looking around to each s p e a k e r w ith the a ir of a m a n who has half a m ind to c ru s h them [sic]" (N otebook, p. 116). 184 the g allery , w h e re a s his u su al custom is "to p ro p them on his d esk and enjoy them h im se lf w ith a se lfish d is r e g a r d of other p e o p le 's longings" (II, 7), is undoubtedly W illiam B. A llison, c o n g re s s m a n fro m Dubuque. A llison, who w as a c c u se d of accepting a la rg e ra ilr o a d b rib e, w as /L Q dubbed by the New Y ork T rib u n e the h a n d so m e s t m a n in C o n g ress. O ther c o n g re ssm e n , who fig u re le s s p ro m in en tly in the novel, have n am es tan talizin g ly clo se to those of m e m b e rs of the 39th, 40th, and 41st c o n g re s s e s . M r. B uckstone, C h a irm a n of the H ouse C o m m it tee on B enevolent A p p ro p riatio n s, could be R alph P . Buckland of Ohio or C h arles W. B uckley of A labam a. M r. H opperson, the c o n g re ssm a n who h as s e rio u s doubts about castin g his vote fo r any m e a s u re spon so re d by D ilw orthy, could be B enjam in H. E p p e rso n of T ex as. And two o th e rs, b a re ly m entioned in p assin g , Jex and Huffy, sound like 69 T hom as A. Jen ck es of Rhode Island and John Taffe of N eb rask a. The la tte r two and a few o th e rs fo r whom th e re a re v irtu a lly no d is tinguishing c h a r a c te r is tic s p re s e n te d defy identification at this d is tance in tim e; th e ir n am es, how ever, a r e suggestive of a w e ll-ro u n d e d ro m a n h c le f. M r. T rollop, on the other hand, a p p e a rs to be nothing m o re than a convenient foil fo r L a u ra and a catch all fo r p a ro d ie s on ^ ^B rig g s, p. 32. One of the few n ational le g is la to rs a c c o rd e d m o re than a line o r two in C le m en s' notebook is "A lison [sic] of Iowa," who "plays fo r h andsom e lo o k s" and "stan d s around w h ere w om en can see h im " (N otebook, p. 114). k^See E d w ard M cP h erso n , The P o litic a l H isto ry of the United States . . . D uring . . . R e c o n stru c tio n (W ashington, 1871), pp. 182, 183, 347, 348, 508. (C lem ens m entions a "John Buckland (D.)" in h is n o te book lis t [Notebook, p. 114].) 185 c o n g re ssio n a l b i l l s . ^ In the W ashington c h a p te rs th e re also o ccu rs an allu sio n to one of the m o s t c o n tro v e rs ia l fe m in is ts of the tim e, V icto ria W oodhull. When, a fte r Colonel S elby's re a p p e a ra n c e in W ashington and h y p o c riti cal p ro fe s s io n of love to h e r, L a u ra ra tio n a liz e s to h e rs e lf the sudden re s u rg e n c e of h e r fo r m e r p assio n , she re c a lls w om en le c tu r e r s who have openly advocated fre e love and co m m o n -law m a rria g e . Not even the re lig io u s a tm o sp h e re of Senator D ilw orthy's house had been su fficien t to in s till into L a u ra th at deep C h ristia n p rin cip le w hich had been som ehow o m itted in h e r train in g . Indeed, in that v e ry house had she not h e a rd w om en, p ro m in e n t b efo re the country and b esieg in g C o n g ress, u tte r se n tim e n ts th at fully ju stifie d the c o u rse she w as m a rk in g out for h e rs e lf? (II, 85) A m ong the m o s t eloquent ad v o cates of fre e love w as the a g g re ssiv e , beautiful V icto ria W oodhull, w hom , as she had scan d alized and divided the Nook F a r m com m unity, C lem ens m o s t c e rta in ly knew by reputation. The m o s t fam ous episode of h e r c a r e e r w as w hen she "b esieg ed Con g r e s s " w ith ? . m e m o ria l on w om an suffrage, h e r p re s e n ta tio n of w hich 71 e le c trifie d th a t m a le asse m b la g e . The r a ilr o a d m e n a s s o c ia te d w ith the Salt L ick P a c ific E x te n sion a re W a rn e r's co n trib u tio n to the ro m a n h . c le f. W arn er h ad been on a railw a y su rv ey in g te a m fo r a w hile as a young m a n and had known the o rig in als of th e se c h a r a c te r s p e rso n a lly ; still, the re a l p e rso n s w e re sufficiently w ell known, p a rtic u la rly in the M iddle W est, to allow ^®It should be added, how ever, th a t T w ain's d e s c rip tio n of T r o l lo p 's ap p e a ra n c e as a "g rav e, c a re fu lly d re s s e d and v e ry re s p e c ta b le - looking m an, w ith a bald head, standing co llar, and o ld -fash io n ed w atch s e a ls " in d icates th a t he m a y have had a re a l p e rs o n in m ind. 7 1 B riggs, pp. 229-235; see also A ndrew s, p. 36. 186 th e ir reco g n itio n in fictional guise by a c e rta in p ro p o rtio n of the n o v el's r e a d e rs . Two of them , Jeff Thom pson and Duff Brown, w e re singled out fo r m en tio n by the H e a rth and Home review . . . . we have Jeff Thom pson, w ithout any m a s k at all, as the en g in eer who of all o th e rs w as the m a n to m ake a p r e lim in a ry su rv e y fo r a ra ilro a d , it being the p rin c ip a l b u sin e s s of the p re lim in a ry su rv e y o r to m ake the ro a d seem c e rta in to p a s s thro u g h e v e ry town, and in te r s e c t e v e ry big plantation w ithin th irty m ile s of its pro b ab le route. We have M r. Duff Brow n too, whom e v e ry W e ste rn m a n yyJl re c o g nize sim p ly by substituting fo r B row n an o th er color. . . . F o rtu n ately , a le tte r fro m Jeff T hom pson to C h arles Dudley W arn e r has su rv iv ed and goes fa r to w ard identifying p e rs o n s and 7 ^ p la c e s. A ccording to this le tte r, Jeff Thom pson, who at the tim e of w ritin g w as Chief State E n g in eer of L ouisiana, had been a s s o c ia te d w ith the opening of the H annibal and St. Jo se p h R ailro ad , a line, as w ill be seen in the next ch ap ter, clo sely linked to the C lem ens fam ily. He w rite s th a t he "was exceedingly anxious to get a copy [of The G ilded A ge], not knowing th at it w as a joint w ork, and w ondering w hat Sam C lem ens had told on m e ." The m o m en t he saw W a rn e r's n am e, how ev er, he "su sp e c te d som ething about the One H undred and Two or T h ird fo rk of P la tte , would a p p e a r." The re fe re n c e to the P la tte can m ean only one th in g --th a t the nam e Salt L ick P a c ific E xtension alludes to the route of the Union P a cific, w hich w as to extend to the G reat Salt Lake ("Salt L ick") at Ogden, Utah, p a ss in g th ro u g h the valley of the P la tte R iver. The p re s e n c e of the c h a ra c te r Duff Brown, m o re o v e r, p ro v id es ^ 6 : 3 8 , Ja n u a ry 17, 1874. ^ L e t t e r dated Rodney, M ississip p i, F e b ru a ry 20, 1874, in M TP. 187 conclusive c o rro b o ra tiv e evidence. Duff B row n is not p r im a r ily Duff 74 G reen, as the H e a rth and H om e re v ie w e r evidently thought. He is p rin c ip a lly the p o rtly John Duff of Boston, an e a rly d ire c to r of the Union P a c ific w ith an ex cep tio n ally keen in te re s t in the road, who took advantage of e v e ry opportunity to m ake trip s o ver the co m p leted p a r t of the line and who, a t the tim e The G ilded Age w as w ritte n , w as becom ing 7 ^ v ic e -p re s id e n t of the com pany. Duff Brown, who w ith Rodney Schaick co n tro ls the c o n stru c tio n of the w hole line of the Salt L ick P a c ific E x te n sio n (I, 149), is a m e m b e r of the su rv ey in g expedition and is d e s c rib e d as a " g re a t r a ilr o a d c o n tra c to r," "a bluff, jo v ial B o st'n m an, th ic k -s e t" (I, 143). He is a lso "su b seq u en tly a w ell-know n m e m b e r of C o n g re ss" like Duff G reen, w hose s im ila rity of nam e and in te r e s t in ra ilro a d s no doubt su g g ested the double paro d y . B row n's a s s o c ia te , Rodney Schaick, the " sle e k New Y ork b r o k e r ," "dainty in h is d r e s s , sm ooth of sp e e c h ," and noted for his " a s su ra n c e and a d ro itn e s s " (I, 143), is in all p ro b a b ility Sidney Dillon of New York, c h a irm a n of the b o a rd of Union P a c ific and h ead of the C red it M o b ilier co n stru c tio n com pany, who w as "a se lf-m a d e m a n of b r is k but c o u rtly a d d re s s , . . . 7 6 of the E n g lish ty p e ." G rayson, the s u rv e y o r w hom Jeff T hom pson te lls to get out his sighting iro n to see if he "can find old S e lle r s 's 77 town" (I, 193) is also a r e a l p e rs o n in the o rig in al crew . "^See above, p. 186. ^ E d w i n L. Sabin, Building of the P a c ific R ailw ay (P hiladelphia and London, 1919), pp. 74-75, 215. ^ S a b in , pp. 75, 215. 77 T h o m p so n 's le tte r (see above, note 73) sta te s th a t "B en 188 A nother W a rn e r c h a ra c te r, one who fig u re s la rg e ly in the s to ry of the B oltons, is at le a s t in p a r t a r e a l p e rs o n . M r. B igler of "the g re a t firm of P en n y b ack e r, B ig ler fk Sm all, ra ilr o a d c o n tra c to rs ," who in planning the Tunkhannock, R attle sn ak e , and Youngwom anstow n R a il ro ad p ro p o s e s to " a rra n g e th in g s" in the P e n n sy lv an ia le g is la tu re , is d e s c rib e d as "one of the m o s t im p o rta n t m e n in the State; nobody has m o re influence at H a rris b u rg " (I, 167-170). H ere is an obvious allu sio n 78 to G overnor, and so m e tim e S enator, W illiam B ig ler of P ennsylvania. B efore com ing to a close, this ch a p te r should m ake m ention of a few p la ces and publications w hich actu ally have m o re m eaning in The Gilded Age than would a p p e a r on the su rfa c e . The W ashington book s to re a t w hich L a u ra Hawkins lo ite rs w atching fo r M r. Buckstone (II, 51, 56) is n e a r his p lace of lodging and is d e s c rib e d in a d eleted sen - 79 tence in the m a n u sc rip t as "the showy new b o o k sto re ." This is not, of c o u rse, J a m e s G uild's d is o rd e rly , overflow ing bookshop on P e n n s y l v ania Avenue at the tu r n of F i r s t S tre e t, w h e re C lem ens loved to 80 b ro w se, but a p p e a rs to be W illiam D uane's b o o k sto re f a r th e r along the Avenue at the c o rn e r of Sixth S treet, adjoining W oodw ard's T a v e rn G ray so n lives at F o r t Dodge, Iow a." T hom pson w rite s : ". . . John Duff, S enator P o m e ro y - - G rayson, and o th e rs, I knew at f i r s t sig h t, . . ." ^ J a m e s G. Blaine, Tw enty Y ears of C o n g ress (Norwich, Conn., 1886), I, 524, 526; II, 221, 397. ^ M S . page 840, in L illy C ollection, Indiana U n iv ersity L ib ra ry ; p h o to stat in M TP. ®^See above, p. 50 and n. 28. 189 81 and M rs. W ilson's b o ard in g house (possibly B u ckstone's lodgings). As it w as opposite the N ational In tellig en cer office, it is likely th at C le m ens had o cca sio n ally p a tro n iz e d it w hile a W ashington co rresp o n d en t. In w ritin g about P hilip S te rlin g 's re s id e n c e in New York, W a r n e r m a k es a n u m b e r of allu sio n s that, though lo s t upon a m o d e rn r e a d e r, had a fa m ilia r rin g to re a d e rs in the eighteen sev en ties. T elling of P h ilip 's th e a te r-g o in g , he say s, "P hilip w as too young to re m e m b e r the old C h am b ers s tr e e t box, w h ere the s e rio u s B urton led his h ila rio u s and p agan c re w " (I, 133). The C h am b ers S tre e t T h e a tre (1848-1856), o rig i nally P a lm o 's New Y ork O pera H ouse, had a v e ry sm a ll au d ito riu m th at would se a t b a re ly eight hundred. It w as the stam ping ground of the fa- 82 m ous com edian W illiam E. B urton, c re a to r of "T o o d le s." When P hilip re c e iv e s an offer to take charge of a co u n try n ew sp ap er, he seek s advice fro m M r. G ringo, "who y e a rs ago m anaged the A tla s ." He explains to G ringo h is q u alm s about accepting the p o st becau se the ow ners w ant him to change it into an opposition p a p e r, a p ro p o sa l th at goes ag ain st his p rin c ip le s . G ringo te lls him th at if he is going into n ew sp ap er w o rk he " c a n 't afford a conscience like th a t" (I, 137-138). The A tlas (1828-1881) w as one of the o ld e st New Y ork Sunday p a p e rs , a s e rio u s jo u rn a l long a s so c ia te d w ith the nam e of A nson H e rric k , at Q O one tim e a c o n g re ssm a n , who w as p ro b ab ly the o rig in al fo r M r. 81 G eorge R othw ell Brown, W ashington, a Not Too S erio u s H is to ry (B altim o re, 1930), p. 322. ^^G eorge C. D. Odell, A nnals of the New Y ork Stage (New York, 1927-1949), I, 337-361. O O F ra n k L u th er Mott, A H isto ry of A m e ric a n M agazines (C am b ridge, M a ss., 1938), II, 37-38 and n. 50. 190 G ringo. W hile P hilip is w aiting fo r the a p p ro p ria tio n to m a te ria liz e , he devotes h im se lf to studying and w ritin g . D uring this tim e he subm its som e p a p e rs to the jo u rn a l The Plow , the Loom , and the A nvil, and they a re re p rin te d in the B ritis h P r a c tic a l M agazine (I, 260). T hese title s, w hich sound v e ry m uch like s a tir ic a l fictions, w e re actu al p e rio d ic a ls. The P lough [sic], the Loom , and the A nvil, d e sc rib e d as "one of the 84 a b le st a g ric u ltu ra l jo u rn a ls of the tim e s ," in re a lity c o v ere d not only a g ric u ltu re and h u sb an d ry but also the coal tra d e , m a rk e ts , d o m estic econom y, the iro n tra d e , te x tile s, a g ric u ltu ra l c h e m istry , and fo reig n O C tra d e , am ong other things. H ence, P h ilip 's su b jects, " stre n g th of m a te r i a ls " and "b rid g e-b u ild in g ," a re not as fa r-fe tc h e d as they seem . They a re even m o re a p p ro p ria te to the B ritish publication, the lengthy subtitle of w hich begins, "an illu s tra te d cyclopedia of in d u stria l in fo r m ation, inventions and im p ro v em en ts, co llected fro m fo reig n and B r it ish so u rc e s , fo r the use of those co n ce rn ed in raw m a te r ia ls , m a c h in ery , m a n u fa c tu re s, building and d e c o ra tio n ," and th en gives a lis t of p ro fe s sio n s covered, including "C ivil and M echanical E n g in e e rs ." C o m p arab le in s e rio u s n e s s to M achine D esign or A rc h ite c tu ra l F o ru m in the p r e s e n t tim e, it w as a b ra n d new publication begun the v e ry y e a r The Gilded Age cam e out.88 Though th e re a re a few other s c a tte re d allu sio n s, so fleeting as 84Mott, III, 442. 88Begun in 1848 this m onthly w as published in P h ila d elp h ia by J. S. Skinner & Son. Q/L The date of the f i r s t n u m b e r is Jan u ary 1, 1873. 191 not to ju stify extended r e s e a rc h , the evidence p re s e n te d in th is and the p rece d in g two c h a p te rs p ro v es th a t The G ilded Age w as a thoroughgoing expose of its tim e s and that, though its m in o r c h a ra c te rs and incidents fell sh o rt of the full ro m a n h clef ro le a ssig n e d to its m a jo r ones, they still had a f r e s h to p icality that s e rv e d as a running c o m m e n ta ry of the p eriod. P A R T III TH E LA RG ER SATIRE C H A PTE R VII THE CLEM ENS BACKGROUND It w ill be r e m e m b e re d that, w hen the w ritin g of a p a rtn e rs h ip novel w as f ir s t p ro p o sed , it w as decided th at as C lem ens had the begin ning of a s to ry in m ind he should be the one to begin; and th a t he im m e d ia te ly p ro c e e d e d to w rite elev en consecutive c h a p te rs w ith g re a t sp eed b efo re he relin q u ish e d the m a n u s c rip t to W a rn e r. T hese f ir s t eleven c h a p te rs a r e d raw n a lm o s t e n tire ly fro m C le m en s' childhood e x p e rie n c e s and riv e rb o a t piloting days. Indeed, so highly p e rs o n a l a re they in th e ir n o stalg ic g lim p se s and th e ir allu sio n s to fa m ily legends that, ta k en by th e m s e lv e s, they m ight constitute the opening of an auto b io g rap h ical ro m an c e. It is no w onder th at the w ords flow ed e a s ily and w ith a ly r ic is m th a t C lem en s w as not to achieve again until H u ck leb e rry F in n . F o r the s to ry he had to te ll had occupied his thoughts, often i r r i tatingly, so m e tim e s tan talizin g ly , alw ays hauntingly, for m any y e a rs p ast, and th is s to ry c e n te re d around the su b ject announced in the title of the v e ry f ir s t c h a p te r - - "S quire H aw kins' T e n n e sse e L an d s." The sto ry of the T e n n e sse e Land w as the sto ry of S am uel C le m en s' fa th e r, John M a rs h a ll C lem ens, and the la t t e r 's a sp ira tio n s fo r his c h ild re n 's fu tu re se c u rity . It is tru e th a t during the c o u rse of the novel M ark Tw ain skillfully m olds the T en n e ssee Land into a sym bol of "a ll- p erv ad in g s p e c u la tiv e n e ss," the fo cal point of a c e n trip e ta l c irc le of 193 194 co rru p tio n . This fact, how ever, should not ob scu re the in ten sely p e r sonal origins of the t a l e - - a tra g i-c o m ic ta le of g re a t expectations that affected the lives of the C lem ens fam ily and of two or th re e individuals in p a rtic u la r. H ere is the w ay M ark Tw ain has d e sc rib e d it in his Au to b io g rap h y : The m o n ste r tr a c t of land w hich our fam ily own in T en n e ssee w as p u rc h a se d by m y fa th e r a little over fo rty y e a rs ago. He bought the enorm ous a r e a of sev en ty -fiv e thousand a c re s at one p u rc h a se . The e n tire lo t m u s t have co st him so m ew h ere in the neighborhood of four h undred d o lla rs. . . . W hen m y fa th e r paid down th at g re a t sum , and tu rn e d and stood in the courthouse door of Jam estow n, and looked ab ro ad over his v a s t p o s se ss io n s , he said, "W hatever befalls m e, m y h e irs a re se c u re ; I sh all not live to see th e se a c re s tu rn to s ilv e r and gold, but m y ch ild ren w ill." Thus w ith the v e ry kindest intentions in the w o rld to w ard us, he la id the heavy c u rs e of p r o spective w ealth upon our sh o u ld ers. . . . W hen he died in 1847 he had owned it about tw enty y e a rs . The taxes w e re a lm o st nothing (five d o lla rs a y e a r fo r the whole), and he had alw ays paid them re g u la rly and kept his title p e rfe c t. . . . F o rty y e a rs a fte rw a rd we had m anaged it all away except 10,000 a c re s , and gotten nothing to re m e m b e r the sales by. About 1887-- p o ssib ly it w as e a r l i e r - - t h e 10,000 went. . . . If any penny of c ash e v e r cam e out of m y fa th e r's w ise in v e s t m e n t but that, I have no rec o lle c tio n of it. . . . It kept us hoping and hoping during fo rty y e a rs , and fo rso o k us at la st. It put our en erg ies to sleep and m ade v isio n a rie s of u s - - d r e a m e r s and indolent. We w e re alw ays going to be ric h next y e a r - - n o occasion to w ork. It is good to begin life poor; it is good to begin life r ic h - - th e s e a re w holesom e; but to begin it poor and p ro sp e c tiv e ly rich! The m an who has not ex p erien ced it cannot im agine the c u rse of it. M ark Tw ain re tu rn s to the subject s e v e ra l tim es during h is A u tobiography. The f i r s t p a s s a g e concerning the T en n essee Land w as M ark T w ain's A utobiography, ed. A lb ert Bigelow P ain e (New York, 1924) (h e re a fte r cited as A utobiography), I, 3-4, 88, 93-94; cf. The A utobiography of M ark Tw ain, ed. C h arles N eider (New York, 1959) (h e re a fte r A utobiography, N eider ed.), pp. 22, 18, 24-25. 195 2 w ritte n about th re e y e a rs b efo re The G ilded A ge. This w as the f i r s t tim e the su b ject had been fo rm a lly co m m itte d to p ap er; the in fo rm al r e c o r d is la rg e . As e a rly as 1857, w hen C lem ens w as about tw enty- two, he o ffered a few th ousand a c re s to H o race Bixby in lieu of c a sh to 3 pay fo r h is in s tru c tio n in r iv e rb o a t piloting, an offer firm ly declined. A y e a r la te r, he w as w ritin g to O rion and h is w ife, "I seldom v e n tu re to think about our landed w ealth, fo r 'hope d e f e r r e d m a k e th the h e a r t 4 s ic k . " 1 W hen he v isite d the cla irv o y a n t M adam e C a p re ll in New O r lean s in 1861, she told him , "T he land he [O rion] h as now w ill be v e ry valuable a fte r a w h ile ," to w hich C lem ens la c o n ic a lly rep lied , "Say 250 y e a rs h en ce .I n 1866 O rion w as m a d e a co n sid e ra b le offer fo r the land by som e w in e g ro w e rs but re fu s e d it b e c a u se he had, te m p o ra rily , becom e a p ro h ib itio n ist; and Sam w ro te in a fu ry to his s is te r - in -la w , M ollie, "It is O rio n 's duty to atten d to th at land, . . . if he le ts it be sold fo r ta x e s, all his re lig io n w ill not wipe out the s in ."^1 It is not 2 Dixon W ecter, Sam C le m en s of H annibal (Boston, 1952), p. 278, n. 9; M a rk Tw ain in E ru p tio n , ed. B e rn a rd DeVoto (New Y ork and L o n don, 1940), p. xviii. D eL ancey F erg u so n , M a rk Twain: M an and L egend (Indianapolis and New York, 1943), p. 50. 4 L e tte r fro m St. Louis dated M a rc h 9, 1858, in M ark T w ain 's L e tte rs , a r r . A lb e rt Bigelow P a in e (New Y ork, 1917) (h e re a fte r Letters), I, 38. ^L e t t e r s , I, 50. ^ L e tte r fro m Honolulu dated M ay 22, 1866, in M ark Twain, B u sin ess M an, ed. S am uel C h a rle s W eb ste r (Boston, 1946) (h e re a fte r M T, B u sin ess M an), p. 87. See also notebook e n try "At sea, M ar. 9 L 1866J J u s t re a d le tte r s fro m hom e . . . A ccounts of oil on the Tenn. land" (M a rk T w ain 's N otebook, ed. A lb e rt Bigelow P a in e [New Y ork and London, 1935 | |h e r e a f te r N otebook], p. 9). 196 su rp ris in g , th e re fo re , th a t by 1870 he w as w ritin g Orion, "I b e se e c h you 7 n e v e r to a sk m y advice, opinion or co n sen t about th at h ated p ro p e rty ," and th a t he felt m oved to d ra ft the fra g m e n t la te r in c o rp o ra te d in the A utobiography. Though the land p e te re d out as an in v e stm en t fo r John C le m en s' fam ily, it in d ire c tly co n trib u ted a su b sta n tia l incom e to Sam, as the l a t te r reco g n ized . It fu rn ish e d m e a field fo r S e lle rs and a book. Out of m y h alf of the book I got $20,000, p e rh a p s som ething m o re ; out of the p lay I got $ 7 5 ,0 0 0 --ju st about a d o lla r an a c re . It is curious; I w as not alive w hen m y fa th e r m ade the in v estm en t, th e re fo re he w as not intending any p a rtia lity ; yet I w as the only m e m b e r of the fam ily th a t ev e r p ro fite d by it. . . . F ro m the opening c h ap ter of The G ilded A ge, in w hich Squire Hawkins announces h is p u rc h a s e of the land, to C le m en s' own next to la s t chap te r (LXI), w h ere W ashington Hawkins te a r s up the re a l esta te ta x bill w ith the w o rd s "T he spell is broken, the life -lo n g c u rs e is gone!" (II, L e tte r fro m Buffalo d ated S ep tem b er 9, 1870 (L e t te r s , I, 176); cf. A lb e rt Bigelow P ain e , M a rk Twain: A B iography (New York, 1912), II, 478. A lso see le tte r of N ovem ber 9, 1869, to his s is te r , P a m e la , in St. L ouis: "M a thinks it is h a rd th a t O rio n 's s h a re of the land should be sw ept aw ay ju s t as it is rig h t on the point (as it alw ays h as been) of b e com ing valuable. . . . This le tte r is his am ple au th o rity to se ll m y s h a re of the land im m ed iately and a p p ro p ria te the p ro c e e d s . . ." (L e t t e r s , I, 167). In A p ril 1906, C lem ens d isc o v e re d th at "a c o rre c tio n of the ancient s u rv e y s " showed th a t John C le m e n s' h e irs , now only P a m e la 's son and daughter and h im se lf, s till owned a thousand a c r e s . "T his tim e I hope we sh all get rid of the T e n n e sse e land fo r good and all and nev er h e a r of it again. It w as c re a te d u n d er a m isa p p reh en sio n ; m y fa th e r loaded h im se lf up w ith it u n d er a m isa p p reh en sio n ; he unloaded it on to us u n d er a m isa p p re h e n sio n , and I should like to get rid of the a c c u m u la ted m isa p p re h e n sio n s and w hat is le ft of the land as soon as p o ssib le " (A utobiography, II, 321-322; N eid er ed., p. 219). ^A utobiography, I, 94; N eid er ed., p. 24. 197 9 332), the T en n e ssee Land runs like a leitm o tif through the novel, s e r v ing as the p h y sic a l sym bol of the idea of sp ecu la tiv e n ess. So m uch is it a sym bol th a t the p h ra s e is alw ays capitalized; and an indication of w hat a p e rs o n a lly m eaningful sym bol it w as for C lem ens is the fact th a t in the A utobiography he co n sisten tly r e f e r r e d to it by the sam e sim p le p h ra s e --a p p a re n tly a catchw ord am ong the C lem ens clan. L e s s obvious than the ro le of the T en n e ssee Land as a ta lis m a n in The Gilded Age is the detailed extent to w hich the episodes c o n c e rn ing it a re draw n fro m life. Though th e re a re o ccasio n al in c o n siste n c ie s, the fictional account on the whole c o rre sp o n d s point by point w ith the actual events as they ap p ea r in surviving re c o rd s . The p rin c ip a l so u rc e is the A utobiography, and becau se it w as w ritte n by the sam e a u th o r--o n e , m o re o v e r, who w as not alw ays su c c e ssfu l at d istin g u ish ing betw een re c o lle c tio n and f a n ta s y --it is not e n tire ly re lia b le . The co rresp o n d en ce of the tim e and the re m e m b ra n c e of o th e rs, how ever, sup p o rt the m a in facts as given by C lem ens. The land th a t John C lem ens bought w as in F e n tr e s s County m id way betw een the two m a in a r te r ie s of c o m m e rc e for the region, the C um berland and T en n e ssee rivers.'*'® It ap p are n tly contained coal, cop p e r, and iron, and b ore "thousands of a c re s of the fin e st yellow -pine tim b e r," w hich could be "ra fte d down Obeds R iver to the C um berland, down the C u m b erlan d to the Ohio, down the Ohio to the M ississip p i, and a N um bers w ithin p a re n th e s e s r e f e r to the tw o-volum e edition of the novel in The W ritings of M ark T w ain, A u th o r's N ational E dition (New Y ork and London, 1907-1918) (h e re a fte r W ritin g s), X and XI. ^ F e r g u s o n , p. 17. 198 down the M is s is s ip p i to any com m unity" th at w anted it. It p ro d u ced a p ro m isin g v a rie ty of w ild g r a p e .^ L o cated only a few h u n d red m ile s fro m K noxville, it w as in the p ro b a b le path of som e fu tu re r a ilr o a d 12 leading south fro m C incinnati. C o n sid erin g th at the sev en ty -fiv e 13 thousand a c re s p ro b a b ly did not co st him m o re than five h u n d red d o l la r s , the p u rc h a s e , fa r fro m being a h a re b ra in e d v en tu re, w as a good 14 lo n g -te rm sp ecu lativ e in v estm en t. Though the land m ig h t n e v e r have b een w o rth the m illio n s envisioned by John C lem ens, the p ro s p e c ts fo r re a liz in g s e v e ra l h u n d red thousand d o lla rs w e re e n tire ly re a so n a b le , p a rtic u la rly as the m ain ten an ce am ounted to only five d o lla rs a y e a r in ta x es. It is im p o rtan t to s tr e s s this point, fo r in m any re s p e c ts John C lem ens w as a g a m b le r w ith the w e lfa re of his fam ily. In the land tra n sa c tio n , how ever, he p layed the s h re w d e st hand in h is life. It w as not the in v e stm en t itse lf th at bro u g h t anxiety and fr u s tr a tio n to his c h ild re n but the la c k of judgm ent th at kept him and his v isio n a ry son O rion fro m selling out at a good p ro fit, in the hope of ra is in g the ante still fu rth e r, until the sp ecu lativ e boom ev ap o ra ted and the land dropped in value to le s s than its p u rc h a s e p ric e . It is this self-d e c e p tio n b o rn of g re e d th a t M ark Tw ain su c c e ssfu lly illu s tra te s in h u rlin g the facts of ^ A utobiography, I, 88, 4; N eid er ed., pp. 18, 22. Cf. P ain e , I, 6 . *^A utobiography, I, 5; N eider ed., p. 23. ^ " C o r r e c t i o n (1 9 0 6 )--it w as above 100,000 it a p p e a rs " (M ark T w ain's footnote, A utobiography, I, 88). Cf. N eid er ed.: "aro u n d 100, 000 a c r e s " (p. 22). ^ P a i n e , I, 6; also F e rg u so n , p. 17. Cf. A utobiography, I, 3 (N eider ed., p. 22): "The e n tire lot m u st have co st him so m ew h ere in the neighborhood of four h u n d red d o lla rs ." 199 his fa m ily 's g re a t expectations into the novel. In The Gilded Age Si Haw kins, speaking of his children, echoes the w o rd s of John C lem ens w hen he say s to h is wife, "W e'll n e v e r see the day, N an cy -- . . . but th e y 'll rid e in coaches, Nancy! T h ey 'll live like the p rin c e s of the e a rth " (II, 22). Squire H aw kins' d isc u ssio n of his p u rc h a s e , in fact, is a h y p erb o lic expansion of the r e m a r k s C lem ens a t trib u te s to his fa th e r in the A utobiography. "E ven you and I w ill see the day th a t steam b o ats w ill com e up th at little T u rk ey R iv e r to w ithin tw enty m ile s of this land of o u r s - - and in high w a te r th e y 'll com e rig h t to it! . . . (II, 22) In h is 1870 p a s sa g e in the A utobiography C lem ens sta te s th at his fa th e r m ight have lis te d the p ro b ab le in te rs e c tin g of a r a ilro a d as one of the " e lig ib ilitie s" of the land but failed to do so p re s u m a b ly "becau se he had n e v e r seen a railw ay, and it is b a re ly p o ssib le th at he had not even h e a rd of such a thing." C urious as it m ay seem , as late as eight y e a rs ago th e re w ere p e o ple living clo se to Jam esto w n who n e v e r had h e a rd p f a r a ilro a d and could not be brought to believe in ste a m b o a ts. . . . F o rtu n ately , w hen he adapted his m a te ria l to fiction th re e y e a rs la te r, C lem ens dropped this fa irly obvious com ic ex ag g e ratio n of his f a th e r 's supposed innocence and re le g a te d the na'iVete to the b ack w ard lo cal sq u a tte rs. S quire Hawkins c le a rly fo re s e e s the com ing of the ra ilro a d s and the value of coal; it is "these c a ttle " of O bedstown who scoff at the idea even of steam b o ats and who use coal to build dam s w ith .^ ^^A utobiography, I, 4-5; N eider ed., pp. 22-23. The la tte r e d i tio n h as "around I860" in p la ce of "eight y e a rs ago." *^In 1897-98, C lem ens, ap p are n tly fo rg etfu l of his e a r lie r statem en t, has his fa th e r saying "that in the co u rse of tim e railw a y s would p ie rc e to that reg io n and then the p ro p e rty would be p ro p e rty in 200 John C lem ens lived th e n cefo rth w ith a se n se of r e a s s u r a n c e th at re g a rd le s s of w hat happened to him his c h ild re n 's fu tu re w as se c u re ; and on his deathbed he adm onished his fam ily, '"C lin g to the land and 17 wait; le t nothing beguile it aw ay fro m you." This u tte ra n c e is built up in The G ilded Age to a com plete deathbed scene, culm inating in a sudden, final b u rs t of en e rg y in w hich the dying Hawkins ro u s e s h im se lf and says, "I am leaving you in c ru e l p o v erty . I have b e e n --s o fo o lis h --s o sh o rt-s ig h te d . But courage! A b e t t e r day i s - - i s com ing. N ever lo se sight of the T e n n e sse e Land! Be w ary . T h ere is w ealth s to re d up fo r you th e re --w e a lth th at is boundless! The ch ild ren sh all hold up th e ir heads w ith the b e st in the land, yet . . . " and then dies w ith the unfinished w ords "But you a r e - - s a f e . Safe. The T e n -- " (I, 110-111). During his lifetim e, though, John C lem ens w as freq u en tly tem p ted to se ll the land at a re a so n a b le p ro fit w hen the opportunity of fe re d itself. N egotiations looking to the sale of the land w e re u su ally in p ro g r e s s . When the p r e s s u r e becam e v e ry h a rd and finances w e re at th e ir low est ebb, it w as offered at any p r i c e - - a t five cents an a c re , s o m e tim e s . When conditions im proved, how ever little, the p ric e suddenly advanced even to its m a x im u m of one thousand d o lla rs an a c re . Now and then a genuine offer cam e along, but, though e a g e rly w elcom ed at the m om ent, it w as alw ays re fu se d a fte r a little co n sid eratio n . "We w ill stru g g le along som ehow , Ja n e ," he would say. "We w ill not throw aw ay the c h ild re n 's fo rtu n e ." 1® In 1846, six teen or sev en te en y e a rs a fte r the p u rc h a s e , John C lem ens fact as w ell as in n am e" (A utobiography, I, 88; N eid er ed., p. 18). ^ A utobiography, I, 89 (N eider ed., p. 19). Cf. I, 6 (N eider ed., p. 23): ". . . m y fa th e r would b rig h ten up and gath er h e a rt, even upon his d eath-bed, w hen he thought of the T e n n e sse e land. He said th at it would soon m ake us all ric h and happy. And so believing, he died." 18Paine, I, 23. 201 19 w as asking a m in im u m of only tw enty cents an a c re , and by 1850, th re e y e a rs a fte r his death, the m a rk e t value had d e c re a s e d to ten cents an a c r e ; ^ s till the fam ily clung to it. In the novel, two su c c e s siv e of fe rs , one of $1,500 and one of $3,000, a re m entioned as having tem p ted Hawkins in tim e s of fin an cial s tr e s s . A th ird offer, of $10,000, is d e s c rib e d in a fully developed episode, in w hich H awkins, re s is tin g his initial im pulse to acc ep t at once, a rg u e s h im se lf into m aking the u n r e a l istic c o u n te r-o ffe r of the "iro n p ro p e rty " alone fo r $30,000. W hen the agent d e p a rts w ith this c o u n te r-p ro p o sa l, an am u sed look on his face, the S quire kicks h im se lf fo r not having held out for fifty th o u s a n d --a q u a rte r of a m illion, even. W hen his wife re m in d s him , how ever, that they "h av en 't a cent in the w o rld " y et have "se n t ten thousand d o lla rs a- begging," he ru s h e s out to find the s tra n g e r--w h o has v anished fo re v e r 21 - - r e a d y to se ttle fo r a lm o st any p ric e . Com ic ex ag g eratio n though it is, the episode c a p tu re s the s p ir it of the to rtu rin g v acilla tio n that haunted John C lem ens and his h e irs . F o rty y e a rs a fte r John C le m en s' death, the fam ily had "m anaged it all aw ay except 10,000 a c re s , and gotten nothing to re m e m b e r the 19 7MT, B u sin ess Man, p. 11. 20 MT, B u sin ess Man, pp. 16-17. As e a rly as 1841 or 1842 John C lem ens w as try in g to r a is e m on ey on the land (Paine, I, 43). ^*The G ilded A ge, I, 69- 76. The m any ab o rtiv e v en tu re s to se ll the T en n e ssee land both by John C lem ens and, a fte r his f a th e r 's death, by O rion seem to have been ep ito m ized in this episode, w hich d istills the e s s e n tia l psy ch o lo g ical com ponents of such v en tu re s into a single scene. M ark Tw ain w rite s : "A fter m y f a th e r 's death we re o rg a n iz e d the d o m e stic esta b lish m e n t, but on a te m p o ra ry b a s is, . . . believing, as we all did, th a t it w as not w o rth w hile to go at anything in se rio u s e a r n e s t until the land w as d isp o sed of and we could e m b a rk intelligently in som ething" (A utobiography, I, 6-7; N eid er ed., p. 24). A lso see 202 sales by." About 1887 . . . the 10,000 w ent. My b ro th e r found a chance to tra d e it fo r a house and lot in the town of C o rry , in the oil regions of P en n sy lv an ia. About 1894 he sold this p ro p e rty fo r $250. That ended the T en n e ssee l a n d . 22 In the novel, the end of the T en n e ssee Land is sig n alized in a m uch m o re d ra m a tic fashion. When, a fte r a ll sc h e m e s for turning the r e a l esta te into m oney have com pletely collapsed, W ashington Hawkins r e ceives a bill fo r the c u rre n t y e a r 's ta x es am ounting to " m o re than tw ice the m a rk e t value of the lan d ," he fo r a m o m en t v a c illa te s in typical C lem ens fash io n ("I w ish I had som eone to decide for m e "), th en te a r s up the bill, saying, "It sh all go fo r ta x es . . . and n e v e r te m p t m e or m ine any m o r e " (II, 332)--th e outcom e Sam C lem ens had in r e a l life al- 23 w ays fe a re d . As is ap p are n t fro m the foregoing d isc u ssio n of the T en n e ssee Land, the c h a ra c te r Squire Hawkins w as b ased la rg e ly on John M a rs h a ll C l e m e n s .^ Like Hawkins, John C lem ens had "a h e a rt full of hope and d re a m s " as a young m an, "an u n e rrin g faculty for m aking b u sin ess m is ta k e s ," and a b asic o p tim ism w hich "led him fro m one unfortunate F erg u so n , p. 54. 22A utobiography, I, 93-94; N eid er ed., p. 24. Cf. M T. B u sin ess M an, p. 88: "The T en n e ssee land fin ally d rifted aw ay som ehow . P e r haps th e re w as a flood. My m o th e r has a vague m e m o ry of getting two h undred and fifty d o lla rs fro m it for a q u it-c la im deed. I think I r e m e m b e r signing som e p a p e rs about it m y self, . . . " 2 3 As a lre a d y noted (see above, note 7), th e re w as in re a l life an a n tic lim a c tic d isc o v e ry of a co n tested one thousand a c r e s . (See P aine, I, 6 [w ritten s h o rtly afterw ard ]: "T he land is p r ic e le s s now, . . ."; cf. P hilip S. F o n e r, M a rk Twain: Social C ritic [New York, 1958], p. 10: ". . . the land p ro v ed to be so p oor th at it yielded nothing but potatoes and w ild g ra s s . . . .") 24Paine, II, 478. 203 25 lo c ality or e n te rp ris e to a n o th e r." Like Hawkins he tin k e re d in all s e rio u s n e s s w ith a p e rp e tu a l-m o tio n m ach in e, th a t tra p of ingenious but 2 A undiscip lin ed m in d s. The c a r e e r of Squire Hawkins is in all of its p rin c ip a l events, m o tiv atio n s, and effects only the slig h te st ex ag g e ratio n of th at of John C lem ens. The G ilded Age opens in O bedstown, E a s t T en n e ssee , w h ere "S quire" H aw kins, who has got his title fro m being p o s tm a s te r, keeps s to re in a p a r t of his house in the in te rv a ls betw een the m onthly d e liv e rie s of m a il (I, 13-14). A d eleted p a s s a g e in the o rig in al m a n u s c rip t fo r this sectio n adds: "He had re m o v e d fro m V irginia 'w ell off,' but had b ro k en h im se lf up, h e re , by going p e o p le 's se c u rity , allow ing c re d it for 27 goods, & so on." John M a rsh a ll C lem ens, who cam e fro m V irginia 28 stock (his fa th e r had lived in M ason County, V irginia), m oved w ith his wife, Jane L am pton C lem ens, and th e ir f ir s t child, O rion, fro m th e ir f ir s t hom e in G ainsborough, T e n n e sse e , to "the re m o te and secluded village of Ja m e sto w n ," on the Obed R iv er, in the h e a r t of F e n tre s s ^ P a i n e , I, 2, 5. ^ W e c t e r , p. 50; P ain e, I, 14. ^ M S . page 4, in M o rse C ollection, Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry (h e re a fte r M o rse), C o n tain er 12b. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M a rk Twain Company. The fa c ts stated , so ty p ical of John C lem ens, w e re deleted by M ark Tw ain undoubtedly as being ir re le v a n t at this point in the s to ry and p o ssib ly as seem in g to p r e s e n t a side of S quire Hawkins th a t he did not plan to em p h asize. hi the A utobiography (N eider ed., pp. 23-24) C lem ens w rite s th a t his fa th e r "did the frie n d ly office of 'going s e c u rity ' for Ira Stout, and Ira w alked off and d e lib e ra te ly took the benefit of the new b ankrupt la w - - a deed w hich enabled him to live e a sily and co m fo rtab ly along till death called him , but a deed w hich ru in ed m y fa th e r, sen t him p oor to his grav e and condem ned his h e irs to a long and d isco u rag in g stru g g le w ith the w o rld for a livelihood. . . . " ^ W ecter, p. 30. 204 29 County, the O bedstown of The G ilded A ge. "Judge" C lem ens, who had studied law in C olum bia, Kentucky, w as one of the c o m m is sio n e rs who e sta b lish e d the county s e a t at Jam estow n, built the co u rt house, and w as electe d c irc u it c le rk of the court, th e re b y acq u irin g his title ("in th o se 30 regions the chief citizens alw ays had to have title s of som e so rt"). F o u r or five y e a rs la te r the C lem en ses m oved to a h a m le t known as the T h ree F o rk s of Wolf and s h o rtly th e re a fte r to P a ll M all, also on the Wolf R iv er, w h ere the fa th e r kept the com bined c ro s s ro a d s s to re and 31 p o st office d e sc rib e d in the novel. When John C lem ens cam e to Jam esto w n he built a su b stan tial house w ith p la s te re d w alls and r e a l g la ss windows, the talk of the neighborhood. In The G ilded Age one of the to b a cco -sp ittin g , r a il- sitting g o ssip s speaks of a c e rta in Si H iggins who has . . . ben over to K aintuck n' m a r r i e d a high-toned gal th a r, outen the fu st fa m ilie s [Jane Lam pton, w hom John C lem ens m a rrie d , w as a K entucky g irl d escen d ed fro m an a r is to c r a tic E nglish fam ily], an h e 's com e back to the F o rk s [T h ree F o rk s of Wolf?] w ith ji s t a h e ll's - m in t o' w h o o p -jam b o re e notions, folks say. H e's tuck an' fixed up the ole house like they does in Kaintuck, he say, an' th a 's ben folks com e c le r fro m T urpentine fo r to see it. H e's tuck an' ^ A utobiography, I, 87-88 (N eider ed., 18); P aine, I, 5; W ecter, p. 30. 30 P ain e , I, 2, 5; M innie M. B ra s h e a r, M ark Twain, Son of M is so u ri (Chapel Hill, N .C., 1934), pp. 87-88; (Gilded A ge, I, 14). ■^Paine, I, 7-8; cf. W ecter, pp. 33-34. It is an in te re stin g side note th a t one of the su b sc rip tio n c a n v a s s e r s fo r The G ilded Age had the au thenticity of the novel brought hom e to h e r w hen she d e liv e re d th re e books at a stage stop in Concord, C alifornia, rece iv in g the m oney fro m h e r se a t on the stage: "I could not help la u g h in g --a s I filled th o se o rd e rs --w h ic h re m in d ed m e of 'Haw- k in 's ' [sic] p o st-o ffice in the 'G ilded A ge,' w h ere th e re w e re fro m two to th re e le tte r s re c e iv e d in about so m any m onths. My book b u sin ess in C osta C ontra County gave m e plenty of tim e to r e s t betw een d eliv e rie s , as th at p o st-o ffice did the 'S q u ire '" (F a c ts by a w om an [Oakland, 205 gaw m ed it all over on the inside w ith p la r s t e r in '." "W hat's p la r s te r in '? " "I_ dono. H it's w hat he calls it. Ole M am Higgins, she tole m e. She say she w a r n 't gwyne to hang out in no sich a d e rn hole like a hog. Says it's m ud, or som e sich kind o' n a stn e ss th at stick s on n' k iv e rs up everything. P la r s te r i n ', Si calls it." (I, 17) The fin an cial c r a s h of 1834 w re c k e d John C lem en s' m o d e st and s h o rt-liv e d p ro s p e rity . F ro m being ho n o red and envied as the m o st opulent citizen of F e n t r e s s C o u n ty --fo r outside of his g re a t landed p o s se ss io n s he w as c o n sid e re d to be w o rth not le s s than th re e thousand five hundred dol- l a r s - - h e suddenly woke up and found h im se lf red u ce d to le ss than o n e-fo u rth of th a t am ount. He w as a p ro u d m an, a silent, a u s te re m an, and not a p e rs o n lik ely to abide am ong the scen es of his v a n ished g ra n d e u r and be the ta rg e t fo r public c o m m ise ra tio n . . . . When, th e re fo re , a le tte r a r r iv e d fro m John Q u arles, the husband of Jane C le m en s' s is te r , who had se ttle d in the "a lm o st invisible v illag e" of F lo rid a , M isso u ri, u rg in g John C lem ens to com e to this new and p ro m isin g fro n tie r country, he " g a th e re d to g e th er his household and jo u rn ey ed m an y tedious days thro u g h w ild e rn e ss solitudes to w ard w hat w as then the 'F a r W e s t.'" " ^ The "h ap p y -h earted , generous, and opti m is tic " Q u arles w ro te w ith en th u siasm , exag g eratin g the size of Calif., 1881], p. 107). 32 W ecter (pp. 30-31) quotes a m a n u s c rip t in the M ark Tw ain P a p e rs en titled "The T en n e ssee L and," w hich C lem ens evidently u sed as the b a s is for this p a ssa g e . As la te r in c o rp o ra te d into the N eider edition of the A utobiography (p. 23) it read s: " 'J i m 's com e b ack fro m K aintuck and fotch a stuck-up gal w ith him fro m up th a r; and b le ss you th ey 'v e got m o re new -fangled notions, m a s s y on us! Com m on log house a in 't good enough fo r th e m --n o in d eed y !--b u t th ey 'v e tuck 'n' gaum ed the inside of th e irn all over w ith som e kind of n asty d isg u stin ' tru c k w hich they say is all the go in K aintuck am ongst the upper hunky and w hich they calls it p la r s t e r in '! '" A utobiography, I, 5; N eid er ed., p. 23. ^ A u to b io g ra p h y , I, 5-6, 7; N eider ed., pp. 1, 23. 206 F lo rid a fro m its actu al tw enty-one h o u ses to fifty -fo u r. R esponding w ith m atch in g e n th u siasm , an e n th u sia sm b o rn of r e le a s e fro m f r u s t r a tion, John C lem ens sold his s to re and f a rm and, w ith the few h u n d red d o lla rs re a liz e d , d e p a rte d h a s tily w ith his fam ily in a tw o -h o rse ba- O C rouche and on h o rse b a c k . In The Gilded Age Si H aw kins, who feels he is ro ttin g aw ay in the m id st of s h iftle s s n e ss and poverty, re c e iv e s a le tte r fro m his ebullient frie n d Colonel S e lle rs , w hich say s in p a rt: "'C o m e rig h t along to M isso u ri! . . . se ll out fo r w h atev e r you can get, and com e along, . . . It's the g ra n d e st c o u n try --th e lo v e lie st land . . . no pen can do it ju s tic e . . . . th e r e 's enough for all, and to sp a re . . . . C o m e ! - - r u s h ! - - h u r r y ! - - d o n 't w ait for anything!' Si says to Nancy, "I am going to M isso u ri. I w on't stay in this dead co u n try and decay w ith it." And w ith an activ ity and a suddenness th a t b ew ild ered O beds- town and a lm o s t took its b re a th away, the H aw kinses h u r r ie d thro u g h w ith th e ir a rra n g e m e n ts in four s h o rt m onths and flitte d out into the g reaf m y s te rio u s blank th a t la y beyond the Knobs of T e n n e sse e . (I, The f i r s t episode along the w ay is the finding and adoption of the boy Clay, who has ju s t been orp h an ed by his m o th e r's death fro m fe v e r. T h ere is no au to b io g rap h ical c o u n te rp a rt of th is episode. It is d e signed, as has been indicated in an e a r l ie r ch ap ter of this study, to in tro d u c e one of the clichds of se n sa tio n fictio n th at a re b u rle sq u e d in 37 The Gilded A ge- - th a t of the h e ro ic a lly devoted fo s te r child. It should ^ P a i n e , I, 10-11. ^^Ih the m a n u sc rip t is added T w ain 's c ro s s e d -o u t note: "T h at is to say, they s ta r te d to M iss o u ri" (MS. page 33 [M orse, 12b]). Copy rig h t (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Com pany. o n See above, page 64 and note 35. 207 be m entioned p a re n th e tic a lly , how ever, th a t in the opinion of the F re n c h c ritic L em o n n ier the w eakening of C la y 's p a re n ta l tie s ab so lv es M ark Tw ain psych o lo g ically fro m a feeling of d is re s p e c t in depicting his own 38 fa th e r in fiction, a h e sita n c y co m p letely avoided in Tom S aw y er. The th e o ry finds som e su p p o rt in the fa c t th a t W a rn e r's old frie n d Jeff Thom pson, who had also known Sam C lem en s, p re s u m e d th at Clay w as C lem ens h i m s e l f . ^ The next episode is "U ncle D an iel's F i r s t Sight of a S team boat," C hapter III. Uncle D an'l w as a m id d le -a g e d slave of the Q u a rle s e s, whom Sam C lem ens had got to know and love during the m any idyllic m onths he spent on the Q u arles fa rm in his e a rly y e a rs . The o rig in al of Jim in H u c k le b e rry F in n , Uncle D an'l w as "a faithful and affectionate good frien d , ally, and a d v ise r . . ., w hose sym p ath ies w e re wide and w a r m . " ^ M a rk T w ain's b rie f sk etch of him in The G ilded Age is s ig nificant as a " lite r a r y r e h e a r s a l" fo r Jim , but not in its hum orous d e piction of su p e rs titio u s f e a r (when the fie ry steam b o at ru s h e s out of the night, coughing and glaring, Uncle D an'l solem nly say s, " It's de A l m ighty! Git down on you' knees!"); it is significant in its p o rtra y a l of ^®Leon L em o n n ier, M ark Tw ain (P a ris , 1947), p. 77: ". . . il sem b le que M ark Tw ain a 1'intention, com m e dans Tom S aw y er, d 'a ffa i- b lir le lien de p a re n td afin de se s e n tir plus lib re et de ne pas m a n q u er de r e s p e c t cl son pfere." It is notew orthy in this connection th at both N ancy Hawkins and Aunt P o lly a re sy m p ath etic c h a r a c te r s evoking re sp e c t. ■ ^L etter to W a rn e r fro m Jeff Thom pson, F e b ru a ry 20, 1874, in the M ark Twain P a p e rs , U n iv ersity of C alifo rn ia L ib ra ry , B e rk e le y (h e re a fte r M TP). A utobiography, I, 100; N eid er ed., p. 6 . Cf. W alter B la ir, M ark Tw ain & : H uck F inn (B erk eley and L os A ngeles, I960), p. 107; also W ecter, p. 100. 208 hum an courage and s e lf-s a c rific e ("Oh, L ord, spah de little chil'en, 41 . . . j e s ' le t 'em off je s ' dis once, and take it o ut'n de ole niggah"). The la s t episode in the Hawkins m ig ra tio n to M is s o u ri is the steam b o at ra c e and its re s u lta n t w reck , w hich p ro v id e the ex cu se for introducing the second orphan, L a u ra , into the sto ry . L a u r a 's in tro duction as an orphaned su rv iv o r of the ste a m b o a t explosion, though e n tire ly suited to the b u rlesq u e of se n sa tio n fiction, tak es advantage, fo r the p u rp o se of the sto ry , of an episode th at M ark Tw ain w anted to w rite anyw ay for its own sake. Indeed, C lem ens had a tw o-fold m otiv atio n fo r d e sc rib in g the d is a s te r in all its b reath tak in g and g ru e so m e de- 42 tail: to w rite out of his sy ste m the explosion of the ste a m b o a t P e n n sy lv an ia, as a r e s u lt of w hich his younger b ro th e r, H enry, p e rish e d , and to c ritic iz e the ineffectuality of A m e ric a n co u rts in the face of such c a la m itie s The episode to a c e rta in extent s te m s out of the tra d itio n of the S o u th w estern h u m o rists and in its underlying tone (though not style) is an ticip ated in one of T w ain's S nodgrass le tte r s . Upon seein g his f ir s t locom otive Snodgrass h as " th re e chills and a stro k e of p a lsy in le s s than five m in u te s" (Sam uel L anghorne C lem ens, The A d v en tu res of T hom as J e ffe rso n S nodgrass [Chicago, 1928], pp. 19-33). Cf. G ilded A ge, I, 36: "T he awful th under of a m u d -v alv e suddenly b u rs t forth, . . . and as suddenly Uncle D an'l sn atch ed a child u n d er eac h a rm and sc o u re d into the woods . . .." ^ F r e d Lew is P a tte e (A H isto ry of A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re Since 1870 [New York, 1915], p. 61) sta te s: "T he steam b o at ra c e and the e x p lo sio n in ch ap ter four of The G ilded Age have few equals in any la n guage fo r m e re p ic tu rin g p o w er." ^ ^ C o m m en ta to rs have g e n e ra lly a s s u m e d that the w re c k of the steam b o at A m aran th in The G ilded Age is b a se d sim p ly on th a t of the ill-fa te d P e n n sy lv a n ia , w hich killed H enry C lem ens (see, fo r exam ple, E d g ar Lee M a s te rs , M ark Twain: A P o r t r a i t [New Y ork and London, 1938], p. 31; L au re n s D. M ason, "R eal P eo p le in M ark T w ain's Sto r ie s ," O verland M onthly, 89:13, J a n u a ry 1931). This is to a la rg e e x tent tru e . The "little wee F re n c h m id sh ip m a n of fo u rte e n " in the novel, 209 E ventually, the H aw kinses a r r iv e a t St. L ouis, w h e re they t r a n s fe r to a s m a lle r steam b o at, s a il a h u n d red and th irty m ile s up the M is sissip p i, and d is e m b a rk "at a little tum bledow n village on the M is s o u ri 44 s h o re ." F o r two days m o re they tra v e l by te a m into the " a lm o st who w hen he is told th a t he cannot su rv iv e his in ju rie s re p lie s , "T hen do not w aste y o u r tim e w ith m e -- h e lp th o se th a t can get w ell" (I, 53), is obviously the "young F re n c h naval cad et of fo u rte e n ," d e s c rib e d in Life on the M is s is s ip p i, who w as "fe a rfu lly scald e d " in the P en n sy lv an ia e x p lo sio n "but b o re his to r tu r e s m an fu lly " (W ritin g s, DC, 173). A fter the fictio n al A m a ra n th 's b o ile rs explode, the "whole fo rw a rd half of the boat" is le ft "a sh a p e le ss ruin, w ith the g r e a t chim neys lying c ro s s e d on top of it" (I, 51); w hen the P e n n s y lv a n ia 's b o ile rs exploded, "the w hole fo rw a rd th ird of the boat w as h o iste d to w ard the sky" and then the "m ain p a r t of the m a s s , w ith the chim neys, dropped upon the boat again" (W ritin g s , DC, 172). The little F re n c h m a n is the u n m istak ab le link; the lo catio n of the explosion and its effect upon the chim neys can be tak en as typical of such d is a s te r s , as can m an y of the l e s s e r d etails of the two accounts, such as the e n tra p m e n t of p a s s e n g e r s u n d er the d e b ris, the o u tb reak of fire , the fo rcin g b ack of the f ir e - f ig h te r s by the heat, and the c r ie s of the s till-c o n s c io u s abandoned v ic tim s. The s im ila rity of som e of the w ording is p o ssib ly significant, though it m a y m e a n nothing m o re than id en tical au th o rsh ip . In any ca se , C lem ens is w ritin g about the A m a ra n th out of fir s t- h a n d e x p e rie n c e w ith r iv e r d is a s te rs , and the authen tic ity of d e s c rip tio n is as convincing as anything in the la te r, autobio g ra p h ic a l Life on the M is s is s i p p i. The com pelling m o tiv atio n for his using ele m e n ts of the P e n n sy lv a n ia d is a s te r w as h is deep feeling of p e r sonal guilt fo r his b r o th e r 's p re s e n c e on th is boat at the tim e of its w re c k and fo r his own ab sen ce (P aine, I, 140 ff.). B e rn a rd DeVoto (M a rk T w ain 's A m e ric a [Boston, 1932], pp. 253-254) h as pointed out a re m a rk a b le s im ila rity betw een the Gilded Age episode and the d e sc rip tio n of a ste a m b o a t ra c e in the sk etch "Stopping to W ood," w hich f i r s t a p p e a re d in the St. Louis R e v e ille , Sep te m b e r 22, 1845, and w as re p rin te d in the S p irit of the T im e s , O ctober 11, 1845, in J. M. F ie ld 's The D ra m a in P o k e rv ille (1847), and in M ajor T h o rp e 's Scenes in A rk an saw (1858). M a rk Tw ain m a y w ell have b o r row ed fro m th is w idely c irc u la te d sk etch as p a r t of the e ffo rt fo r to p i cality. ^ A c c o r d in g to W e b ste r (M T, B u sin ess M an, pp. 4-5), Jane C lem en s, S a m 's m o th e r, once sa id th a t they had intended to se ttle in St. L ouis but had decided to go on to F lo rid a w hen they h e a rd th a t a N egro boy had re c e n tly been lynched and th a t th e re w as c h o le ra in the city. If Jane C le m e n s' m e m o ry w as re lia b le , h e r account, so at v a ria n c e w ith P a in e 's account of the Q u a rle s le tte r , p ro b a b ly indicates at m o s t a quite ty p ical in d e c isiv e n e ss on the p a r t of h e r husband. 210 ro a d le ss and uninhabited" in te rio r until they com e to the village of Hawkeye, th e ir fu tu re hom e. By the m uddy ro ad sid e stood a new log cabin, o n e -sto ry h ig h -- the s to re ; c lu ste re d in the neighborhood w e re te n or tw elve m o re cabins, som e new, som e old. In the sad light of the d ep artin g day the p lace looked h o m e le ss enough. . . . (I, 59-60) This d eso late h a m le t of Hawkeye, to w hich the H aw kinses have been lu re d by the o p tim istic Colonel S e lle rs, is, of co u rse, F lo rid a , M isso u ri, to w hich the C le m en ses w e re draw n by the urging of the no le s s o p tim istic John Q uarles. As d e sc rib e d by M ark Twain in the A uto b io g rap h y , in a p a ssa g e w ritte n four y e a rs a fte r The Gilded A ge, the 45 " a lm o st in v isib le" F lo rid a had le s s than th re e h undred inhabitants. It had two s tr e e ts , each a couple of h undred y a rd s long; the r e s t of the avenues m e re lanes, w ith ra il fences and cornfields on eith e r side. Both the s tr e e ts and the lan es w e re paved with the sam e m a - te ria l--to u g h black m ud in w et tim e s , deep dust in dry. M ost of the h o u ses w e re of lo g s - - a ll of them , indeed, except th re e or four; th e se la tte r w e re fra m e ones. T h ere w e re none of b rick , and none of stone. T h ere w as a log church, w ith a puncheon floor and slab b enches. . . . This is the village in w hich Sam C lem ens w as b o rn and w hich he left w hen he w as four y e a rs old. His m e m o ry of it, th e re fo re , is of its p e rio d of decline, w hen he re tu rn e d fo r s u m m e r vacations on the Q u arles 46 fa rm as a lad of te n or tw elve. The h is to ric a l F lo rid a , w hich had been la id out e a rly in 1831 on 45 A utobiography, I, 7. In a facetio u s p a ssa g e w ritte n tw enty y e a rs la te r Tw ain says: "The village contained a hundred people and I in c re a s e d the population by 1 p e r cent. It is m o re than m any of the b e st m e n in h isto ry could have done fo r a town" (I, 95). The la te r p a s sage is su b stitu ted fo r the e a r l ie r statem en t, w ithout com m ent, in the N eider edition (p. 1). ^ C f . B ra s h e a r, p. 51. 211 a rid g e betw een the n o rth and south fo rk s of the Salt R iver, boasted, w ithin a few w eeks, of two good g r is t m ills, a saw m ill, and "enough w a te r pow er to put in o p eratio n an im m e n se quantity of m a c h in e ry ." By 1837 it had, in addition, four or five w hisky and b ran d y d is tille rie s , a p o ttery , and "an extensive hem p m a n u fa c to ry ." Safely w ithin the offi cial fro n tie r line of the United S tates, about th irty m ile s fro m H annibal, P a lm y ra , and New London, w ith "no p ro b a b ility of any V illage being e sta b lish e d b etw een," F lo rid a w as c o n sid e re d an ideal location fo r a 47 la rg e c o m m e rc ia l m e tro p o lis. The fu tu re grow th of F lo rid a depended, how ever, upon m aking Salt R iv e r a navigable outlet to the M is s is s ip p i and the outside w orld. At the tim e of the to w n sh ip 's official founding, s e ttle r s fro m fo rty m ile s around w e re a lre a d y bringing c o rn to be ground in its m ills and p roduce to be shipped to St. Louis, and one of the m ill ow ners w as ru n ning boatloads of flo u r to L ouisiana. Though Salt R iver w as navigable fo r k eels, batteaux, and flat boats s e v e ra l m onths of the y e a r, it often b eca m e a thin riv u le t in the su m m e r. P la n s w e re im m ed iately m ade for opening the r iv e r fro m F lo rid a to the junction half a m ile aw ay and A O fo r e sta b lish in g the town as the county s e a t of M onroe County. In Ja n u a ry 1837, the M is so u ri le g is la tu re p a s s e d an " act to in c o rp o ra te the Salt R iv er N avigation C om pany," cap ital sto ck w as i s sued, and a lis t of six te en c o m m iss io n e rs w as d raw n fro m th re e ^ A d v e r t is e m e n t "L ots fo r Sale in the Town of F lo rid a ," C olum bia M is s o u ri In te llig e n c e r, A p ril 16, 1831, re p ro d u c e d in B ra s h e a r, opp. p. 30; B ra s h e a r, p. 49; W ecter, p. 36. ^ B r a s h e a r , p late opp. p. 30, p. 49; The T w ainian, Vol. I, No. 2, p. 3. 212 counties, at the head of w hich w as John M. C lem ens. It w as hoped to r a is e funds sufficient to c o n s tru c t a s e r ie s of dam s and locks that would m ake Salt R iv e r navigable by steam b o at the en tire eighty-five m ile s fro m its junction w ith the M is s is sip p i to the docks of F lo rid a . C o n g ress w as petitio n ed fo r an ap p ro p ria tio n . F lo rid a , in a fre n z y of ex citem en t, e sta b lish e d a sh ip y ard and began boat building. John C le m ens, in addition to heading the navigation com pany, th rew h im se lf into 49 the fight to se c u re the county seat. It is this a ctu al a tte m p t at c re a tin g an in te rn a l im p ro v em en t, in w hich John C lem ens w as so activ ely involved and to w hich his son m u st have h e a rd re fe re n c e s as a boy, th a t M ark Tw ain u sed as the b a s is of his Colum bus R iver S lack w ater N avigation Com pany. The G oose Run of the novel, w hich Colonel S e lle rs intends to re n a m e Colum bus R iver, "sw eeps round the to w n --fo rty -n in e m ile s to the M iss o u ri" (I, 229) and if e n la rg e d and deepened w ill c a r r y steam b o at traffic. Like its p ro to type, it depends fo r its im p ro v em en t upon a c o n g re ssio n a l a p p ro p ria tion. As in the ca se of its p rototype also, the a p p ro p ria tio n n e v e r m a te ria liz e s , and S tone's Landing, the v isio n a ry site of the m e tro p o lis of Napoleon, sinks b ack into bucolic oblivion. . . . the w a ry tadpole re tu rn e d fro m exile, the bullfrog re s u m e d his ancient song, the tra n q u il tu rtle sunned his back upon bank and log and d row sed his g rate fu l life aw ay as in the old sw eet days of y o re. (I, 315) W ecter has d e s c rib e d the s till u n re c la im e d Salt R iv e r as having "long p a s t changed to m uddy sla te and . . . built alluvial flats and sand b a rs B ra s h e a r, pp. 49, 50; "Salt R iv e r N avigation," H annibal C om m e rc ia l A d v e rtis e r, Ja n u a ry 4, 1838, re p ro d u c e d in B ra s h e a r, opp. p. 50; W ecter, p. 47. 213 50 to its own fru s tra tio n ." The Salt R iv e r itse lf a p p e a rs to fig u re as Goose Run. W hereas Stone's Landing is p ro b ab ly a p u re ly fictio n al re p re s e n ta tiv e of in cipient fro n tie r boom tow ns, the topography of Goose Run is v isu alized fa irly c le a rly in M ark T w ain's m ind. They tu rn e d th e ir f i r s t attention to straig h ten in g the r iv e r ju s t above the Landing, w h ere it m ade a deep bend, and w h ere the m a p s and plans show ed th at the p ro c e s s of straig h ten in g w ould not only sh o rte n d istan ce but in c re a s e the " fa ll." . . . (I, 276) This d e sc rip tio n ta llie s w ith the contour of the Salt R iv e r as it ap p e a rs on a m a p .^ It is evident, b e sid e s, th at C lem ens re m e m b e re d the geog rap h y of the a r e a w ell, fo r as la te as 1861, during his u n en th u siastic and ab o rte d e n listm e n t in the C onfederate fo rc e s , he s k irm ish e d through the neighborhood and encam ped b rie fly on Salt R iv e r "in a hol- 52 low n e a r the village of F lo rid a ." In The Gilded Age the p ro je c t fo r re c la m a tio n of G oose Run is u n d erta k en at the sam e tim e as advance surveying of the Salt L ick P a - 53 cific E xtension is going on. It is hoped to induce the r a ilro a d W ecter, p. 41. W ecter sta te s th a t "from an e a rly day the M is so u ri p h ra s e to 'go up Salt R iv e r' or be 'row ed up Salt R iv e r' s ig nified defeat and b an ish m en t into the u ltim a te b re a k w a te r"; cf. P ain e , I, 20, and B ra s h e a r, p. 44, n. 34. ^ S e e m ap in MT, B u sin ess Man, p. 8. ^ S e e "The P riv a te H isto ry of a C am paign th at F a ile d ," Century, 31 (n.s. 9):203, D ecem b er 1885 (re p rin te d in M e rry T ales [New York, 1892], p. 47; cf. W ritin g s, XXI, 256); N otebook, p. 183; P ain e , II, 811. ^ N o t e the s im ila rity of the n am es "Salt L ick" and "Salt R iv e r." Lick m ean s a su rfa c e outcropping of sa lt deposit, and the R iv e r a p p a r ently d eriv e d its nam e fro m the sa lt sp rin g s re p o rte d ly "about one d ay 's sa il" up the r iv e r (L ieutenant P ik e 's Jo u rn a l [1810], quoted in B ra s h e a r, p. 40). The nam e, th e re fo re , h as d o u b le-en ten d re (see above, p. 186). 214 com pany to c o n s tru c t its line p a ss in g through N apoleon (Stone's L an d ing) so th at a r a il- w a te r junctio n w ill be effected. Such a sch em e is e n tir e ly ty p ical of the f r o n tie r developm ent in m id -c e n tu ry , fo r t r a n s p o r ta tio n by any and all m e an s w as the key to the p ro fitab le exp lo itatio n of in te rio r land r e s o u r c e s . Though the p lan is typical, it even m o re s ig n ifican tly ep ito m izes the tra n s itio n fro m w a te rw a y to r a il tr a n s p o r ta tion th at o c c u rre d in the U nited S tates during the m iddle y e a rs of the n in eteen th cen tu ry and co m p lete ly b rid g e s a h is to r ic a l p e rio d of som e fifteen or tw enty y e a rs fro m the p re -C iv il W ar to the p o s t-C iv il W ar fro n tie r. T hat it does so is im p o rta n t to the th em e of a ll-p e rv a d in g sp e c u la tiv e n e ss, fo r m any a fro n tie r boom tow n b eca m e a ghost town as a re s u lt of the change over in the m e a n s of tr a n s p o rta tio n and of the shifting of ro u te s of com peting railw a y b ra n c h e s. In the novel, S tone's Landing succum bs to defeat not only fro m lo ss of the lifeblood of a con g re s s io n a l a p p ro p ria tio n but even m o re fro m being b y -p a s s e d by the ra ilr o a d in fav o r of neighboring Hawkeye. . . . b efo re Colonel S e lle rs knew w hat he w as about, H awkeye, in a panic, had ru sh e d to the fro n t and su b sc rib e d such a sum th a t N a p o leo n 's a ttra c tio n s suddenly sank into insignificance, and the r a i l ro a d continued to follow a c o m p a ra tiv e ly s tra ig h t c o u rse in ste a d of going m ile s out of its w ay to build up a m e tro p o lis in the m uddy d e s e r t of S tone's Landing. . . . Hawkeye ro s e fro m h e r frig h t triu m p h a n t and rejo icin g , and down w ent S tone's Landing! One by one, its m e a g e r p a r c e l of in h a b i tan ts pack ed up and m oved away, as the s u m m e r w aned and fall a p p ro ach e d . Town lots w e re no lo n g e r salab le, tra ffic cea se d , a d e a d ly le th a rg y fell upon the p lace once m o re , . . . (I, 314-315) E ven as the Colum bus R iv er S lackw ater N avigation C om pany w as b a se d on John C le m en s' Salt R iv e r N avigation Com pany, the Salt L ick P a c ific E xten sio n found a c o u n te rp a rt, at le a s t sp iritu a lly , in the F lo rid a and P a r is R a ilro a d Com pany, h ead ed once again by John 215 54 C lem ens. The F lo rid a and P a r i s n e v e r w as built, and F lo rid a lo st the bid fo r county se a t to P a r is . Once again John C lem ens had g u essed w rong. T h e re is no d ire c t evidence th at Sam C lem ens re c o lle c te d his fa th e r's involvem ent in this ra ilr o a d p ro je c t, but as he did re c a ll the 55 Salt R iv e r N avigation b u sin e ss, it is re a so n a b le to a ssu m e th a t he had at som e tim e h e a rd of the ra ilr o a d v e n tu re also. Colonel S e lle rs ' d e s c rip tio n of the p ro p o se d ro u te of the Salt L ick E x ten sio n b e a rs a re m a rk a b le re s e m b la n c e , also, to the co n fig u ra tion of the Salt R iv e r channel fro m New London in adjoining R alls 56 County to F lo rid a . A ccording to the C olonel's m ap the r a ilro a d is to go all over the riv e r (Goose Run) "and all through it--w a d e s rig h t along on s tilts ." Seventeen b rid g e s in th re e m ile s and a h a lf--fo rty -n in e b rid g e s fro m H a rk -fro m -th e -T o m b to S tone's Landing a lto g e th e r--fo rty -n in e b rid g e s, and c u lv e rts enough to c u lv e rt c re a tio n itself! . . . p e rfe c t tr e s tle - w o r k of b rid g e s for sev en ty -tw o m ile s . . . . (I, 299) A c u rs o ry glance at a m ap of Salt R iver, tw istin g and tu rn in g back on itse lf in an ex a g g e ra te d snake dance so th a t a s tra ig h t line m u s t c ro s s it m any tim e s , p ro v id es convincing c o rro b o ra tio n th a t throughout this p a r t of the novel C lem ens w as w ritin g about the r iv e r so fa m ilia r to his boyhood s u m m e r s . ^ Though the Salt L ick E x ten sio n is a fictional com posite of ^ B r a s h e a r , pp. 50, 89; W ec ter, pp. 47, 49-50. kneW he in te re s te d h im se lf in Salt R iv e r navigation" (letter fro m SLC to J. W. A tterbury, J a n u a ry 20, 1886, quoted in W ecter, p. 110). Colonel S e lle rs ' m ap is a te m p o ra ry one e x te m p o riz e d on the dining-table out of v ario u s household objects. See Appendix C. ■^See m ap of "The Salt R iv e r Road 1835" in B ra s h e a r, p. 38. 216 s e v e ra l sm a ll b ra n c h e s of the Union P a c ific sy ste m , not le a s t of w hich 58 w as S am uel C. P o m e ro y 's "A tchison P a c ific ," a likely in sp ira tio n w as the H annibal and St. Jo se p h R ailro ad , an o th er v en tu re s p o n so re d by John M a rs h a ll C lem ens. In the fall of 1839, John C lem ens, having f i nally d e s p a ire d of h is e a r l ie r hopes fo r F lo r id a 's future, m oved his fa m ily to the u p -a n d -c o m in g M is s is s ip p i R iv e r tow n of Hannibal, w hich had good p ro s p e c ts of becom ing the c o m m e rc ia l pivot of n o rth e a st M is so u ri. ^ In 1846 he m e t in h is office w ith a group of lo c al b u sin e ss m e n to o rg an ize a com pany to build a ra ilr o a d fro m H annibal on the M is s is sippi to St. Jo se p h on the M is s o u ri R iv er. The next y e a r, the M is s o u ri 60 le g is la tu re c h a rte re d the H annibal & St. Jo. Sam C lem ens w as then eleven. In M ay 1853, when Sam w as seventeen, w orking on his b ro th e r O rion's H annibal J o u rn a l, he w ro te "O ur A s s is ta n t's C olum n" in th re e is su e s . In the colum n fo r May 23 a p p e a re d the do g g erel poem "The B u rial of Sir A bner G ils tra p ," a p aro d y of "The B u rial of S ir John M o o re," S am 's " f ir s t l i te r a r y v e n tu re ." The s a tir ic a l v e r s e s w e re d i re c te d at one A bner G ilstra p , ed ito r of the Bloom ington R epublican, who had becom e heated ly and p o le m ic a lly involved in B loom ington's stru g g le to se c u re the H annibal and St. Jo th ro u g h its b o u n d aries, a stru g g le w hich w as lost. As county s e a t of M acon County, Bloom ington w as of sufficient im p o rtan ce to m ake a stro n g bid, and m uch p o litic al ^ S e e above, pp. 168-170. ^ L e t t e r s , I, 2; F e rg u so n , p. 20; B ra s h e a r, pp. 60, 90. ^ B r a s h e a r , pp. 90-91; W ecter, p. 110. 217 m a n eu v erin g had gone on. . . . A bner G ilstra p , who w as som ething of a f ir e - e a te r , had ch arg e d c e rta in H annibal b u sin e s s m en , re sp o n sib le , as he thought, fo r the s u c c e ss of H annibal and the slight to Bloom ington, w ith having b rib e d the railw a y a u th o ritie s, by holding out to them a v isio n of im m e n se p ro fits to be r e a liz e d fro m the sale of new town lo ts. A bner G ilstra p w as a candidate fo r the le g is la tu re , and h is p o litic a l oppo nents m ade the m o s t of his q u a r r e ls . . . . Though C lem ens d isc la im e d any know ledge of his f a th e r 's p a r t in ra ilr o a d p ro m o tio n , h is re m e m b ra n c e of this f i r s t plunge into Z Q jo u rn a lis m w as sufficiently vivid, and it is p o ssib le th at as a boy he had u n co n scio u sly a b so rb e d som e know ledge of the H annibal & St. Jo fro m fa m ily talk. In any event, six y e a rs b efo re the w ritin g of The G ilded Age M a rk Tw ain w ro te som e re c o lle c tio n s of H annibal fo r the A lta C a lifo rn ia , in w hich he co m m en ted on the H annibal & St. Jo and its effect on his hom e town. They got into a p e rfe c t fre n z y and ta lk ed of a r a il r o a d - - a n actu al r a i l r o a d - - a ra ilr o a d 200 m ile s lo n g - - a r a ilr o a d fro m H annibal to St. Joseph! And behold, in the fu ln ess of ti m e - - in te n or fifteen y e a r s - - they built it. A s u re enough p r o s p e r ity b u rs t upon the com m unity, now. P ro p e rty w ent up. It w as noted as a significant fact th at in ste a d of selling to w n -lo ts by the a c r e people began to se ll them by the fro n t foot. H annibal grew fa s t--d o u b le d its population in two y e a rs , s ta r te d a daily p a p e r or two, and cam e to be called a c ity -- . . . Well, H an n ib al's p ro s p e rity se e m e d to be of a p e rm a n e n t n atu re , but St. Louis built the N orth M is s o u ri R a ilro a d and h u rt h e r, and Quincy tapped the H annibal and St. Joe in one or two p la c e s, w hich h u rt h e r s till w o rse , and then the w a r cam e, and the closing y e a rs of it a lm o s t fin ish ed h e r. . . . A ra ilr o a d is like a lie - - y o u have to keep building to it to ^ B r a s h e a r , pp. 135-136; cf. p. 146. 62"I n e v e r knew b efo re th a t m y fa th e r w as a p io n e er r a ilro a d m an; . . . th is ra ilr o a d m a tte r is e n tire ly new to m e " (le tte r to A tte r- bury, W ecter, p. 110). ^ S e e "My F i r s t L ite r a r y V en tu re," W ritin g s, XIX, 111. 218 m ake it stand. A r a ilro a d is a ravenous d e s tro y e r of tow ns, u n le ss those towns a re put at the end of it and a se a beyond, so th at you c a n 't go fu rth e r and find another te rm in u s . . . . Colonel S e lle rs The outstanding exam ple of C le m en s' use of re a l p e rso n s of his acquaintance as c h a ra c te rs in fictio n is his tra n s fe re n c e of his m o th e r's cousin Ja m e s L am pton onto the pages of The Gilded Age as Colonel S el le r s . E qually as m e m o ra b le as Aunt P olly, b a se d on Jane L am pton C lem ens h e r s e l f , ^ Colonel S e lle rs not only is b ased on h e r cousin Ja m e s but is a vividly a c c u ra te , d etailed p o r tr a it of him . In the A uto biography M a rk Tw ain sta te s quite fran k ly th at Ja m e s L am pton "figures in the G ilded Age as Colonel S e lle rs ." "I m e re ly put him on p a p e r as 66 he w as; he w as not a p e rs o n who could be e x ag g e rated ." So a p p a re n t ly e ffo rtle ss, indeed, w as C le m en s' bodily lifting of his re la tiv e from " L e tte r fro m 'M a rk T w ain ,'" M ay 26, 1867, re p rin te d in M ark T w ain's T ra v e ls w ith M r. B row n, ed. F ra n k lin W alker and G. E z r a Dane (New York, 1940) (h e re a fte r M r. B row n), pp. 141-148; cf. E d g a r M a r quess B ranch, The L ite r a r y A pp ren ticesh ip of M ark Tw ain (U rbana, 111., 1950), pp. 266-268. "The ups and downs I have ex ag g e rated a little in H annibal's ca se w ill fit a good m an y towns in the M iss is sip p i Valley, and M ary sv ille and one or two o th e rs on the P acific C oast. Keokuk, Iowa, w as one of the m o st s tir r in g and e n te rp ris in g young cities in A m e ric a seven y e a rs ago, but ra ilro a d s and land speculation killed it in a single night, alm o st, . . . " An anecdote reco u n ts M a rk T w ain's getting out of a p riv a te r a ilro a d c a r, w hen the tr a in w as stopped at a w a te r tank, and preten d in g to be p re s id e n t of the V irginia Railw ay. He te lls a boy th at he intends to build another r a ilro a d along the opposite bank of the adjoining riv e r. "I w ant fine ra ilro a d s to be built ev ery w h ere, up and down both sides of all such fine s tre a m s as th is ." (M a rk Twain A necd o tes, ed. C yril C lem ens [W ebster G roves, Mo., 1929J, pp. 27-28.) k^See A utobiography, I, 102 (N eider ed., p. 7). ^ A utobiography, I, 89 (N eider ed., p. 19); cf. N eider ed., p. 29: "'C olonel S e lle rs ' w as a L am pton and a to le ra b ly n e a r re la tiv e of m y m o th e r's ; . . ." 219 re a lity to fictio n th at he told H ow ells "any sc ru b of a n ew sp ap er r e - 6 7 p o r te r could have done the sam e thing." Yet no s c ru b of a r e p o r te r , u n less he w e re a genius, could have m ade out of his copy one of the g re a t c h a ra c te rs of A m e ric a n fiction, a fig u re so m e tim e s r e f e r r e d to as the A m e ric a n M icawber.^® D espite the fact th at C lem ens alw ays in siste d th at Colonel S el le r s w as not his "c re a tio n " but m e re ly a c a rb o n copy of Ja m e s L am p - 69 ton, c ritic s and b io g ra p h e rs have p e r s is te d in th e ir attem p ts to find o ther o rig in als fo r this c h a ra c te r. M uch of the sp ecu latio n has had to do w ith p o ssib le lite r a r y influences; y et th e re is one p re te n d e r to the S e lle rs th ro n e who has found s e v e ra l ad v o cates, including the c a re fu l Tw ain sc h o la r M innie B ra s h e a r. This alleg ed o rig in al is Colonel W il liam M uldrow , p ro m o te r of M arion City in M arion County, M isso u ri. M uldrow w as "a p ro m o te r of the f i r s t m ag n itu d e," who w as e n tru s te d w ith la rg e su m s of m oney "to in v est in w ild lands all over the county by sp e c u la to rs who w e re convinced th at the w onderful p ic tu re s th at had 70 been p ainted . . . sp elled unbounded p ro fits ." The M ario n City p r o j ect included, in addition to u rb an developm ent, p lans fo r a ra ilro a d ^ L e t t e r to H ow ells, M ay 7, 1875, in M ark T w ain-H ow ells L e t t e r s , ed. H enry N ash Sm ith and W illiam M. Gibson (C am bridge, M ass., I960) (h e re a fte r T w ain-H ow ells), I, 82. k^See below, pp. 329-330. k^"M any p e rs o n s re g a rd e d C olonel S e lle rs as a fiction, an in vention, an e x tra v ag an t im p o ssib ility , and did m e the honor to call him a 'c re a tio n '; but they w e re m ista k e n " (A utobiography, I, 89 [N eider ed., p. 19]); cf. le tte r to H ow ells, M ay 7, 1875 (T w ain-H ow ells, I, 81-82): "The actu al tru th is, that nobody c re a te d S e l l e r s - - I sim p ly put him on p a p e r as I found him in life . . .." 7 n F. H. Sosey, quoted in B ra s h e a r, pp. 66-67. 220 running e a s t to P h ila d elp h ia and w e st to the P a c ific C oast and fo r an academ y, M ario n College. The e n tire e n te rp ris e , how ever, co llap sed in the econom ic d e p re s s io n of 1837-40, the d e stru c tiv e effects of w hich induced John M a rsh a ll C lem ens to abandon F lo rid a in favor of H anni- , , 71 bal. M ario n City w as the p rin c ip a l in sp ira tio n fo r D ickens' "E den," in the A m e ric a n c h a p te rs of M a rtin C huzzlew it, th a t dev astatin g s a tire of fro n tie r land exploitation and frau d . T h e re is a slim p o ssib ility , of c o u rse, th at C lem ens m a y have had the B ritis h w r ite r 's e a r l ie r novel in m ind w hen he w as w ritin g the S tone's Landing p a s s a g e s of The G ilded A ge, though th e re is no d ire c t evidence th at he had re a d M a rtin 72 C huzzlew it by 1873. A m o re lik ely hypothesis is th at C lem ens d rew independently upon M ario n City as a so u rce. That he knew of M u ld ro w 's p ro je c t and had p e rso n a lly view ed M ario n City as e a rly as 1846 is c le a r fro m his tw o -p a ra g ra p h m en tio n of the town in C hapter LVII of Life on the M is s is s ip p i, a p a ssa g e w hich hints th at the downfall of M uldrow 's tow n w as connected w ith the r is e to p ro s p e rity of the 7 * 3 neighboring town of Quincy, m u ch in the G ilded Age p a tte rn . A m o re ^ S e e B ra s h e a r, pp. 66-67. ^ A s W eb ster w rite s (MT, B u sin ess M an, p. 31), " P ro b a b ly all the en ra g e d citize n s along the M is s is s ip p i had re a d M a rtin C h u zzlew it." F o r C le m en s' read in g of D ickens b efo re 1873 see W ecter, p. 240; F o n e r, p. 16; B ranch, p. 282, n. 59; B ra s h e a r, p. 212; H en ry A ugust Pochm an, "The M ind of M a rk T w ain," unpub. m a s t e r 's th e sis JUniv. of T exas, 1924); H arold A spiz, "M a rk T w ain 's R e a d in g --A C ritic a l Study," unpub. d iss. (Univ. of Calif., Los A ngeles, 1949). A lso see d is c u ssio n of l i t e r a ry influences below, pp. 329 ff. F o r D ickens' u se of M ario n City, see B ra s h e a r, pp. 68-70. 7 ^ W ritin g s, IX, 421: "M ario n City has gone b ack w ard in a m o st unaccountable way. This m e tro p o lis p ro m is e d so w ell th at the 221 significant re fe re n c e is found in his le tte r to the A lta C alifo rn ia dated A pril 19, 1867: "M ario n City u se d to be an im p o rtan t shipping point. 74 The ra ilro a d s k illed it." In view of the overw helm ing evidence th a t the tcw n of F lo rid a and John M a rsh a ll C le m e n s' own Salt R iv e r N avigation C om pany and F lo rid a and P a r is R a ilro a d w e re the p rim e s o u rc e s of M a rk T w ain's c h a p te rs, it is v ain to look e lse w h e re fo r his in sp ira tio n except fo r the v e ry lim ite d p u rp o se of finding re in fo rc in g im p re s sio n s. To claim , m o re o v e r, th at W illiam M uldrow w as the o rig in al fo r Colonel S e lle rs, 7 ^ as has been done in one Tw ain biography, is e n tire ly u n w arran ted . E ven M innie B ra s h e a r, a rd e n t M is s o u ria n though she is, ad m its th a t no 7 fi re a l ca se can be m ade fo r this identification. T hat Colonel S e lle rs is p ro je c to rs ta ck ed "city " to its nam e in the v e ry beginning, w ith full confidence; but it w as bad prophecy. W hen I f i r s t saw M ario n City, th irty -fiv e y e a rs ago, it contained one s tre e t, and n e a rly or quite six h o u ses. It contains but one house now, and this one, in a sta te of ruin, is getting re a d y to follow the fo r m e r five into the riv e r. "D oubtless M ario n City w as too n e a r to Quincy. . . . " ^ M r . Brown, p. 154. "^W ilfred R. H o lliste r and H a rry N orm an, Five F am o u s M is so u ria n s (K ansas City, Mo., 1900), p. 56 f.: "M r. C lem ens has fre q u e n t ly sta te d th a t if M u lb e rry S e lle rs is d raw n fro m any m a n in p a rtic u la r, th at m a n w as W illiam M. M uldrow . . .." If C lem ens did m ake such a statem en t, it w as p ro b ab ly to p ro te c t J a m e s L am pton fro m u n flatterin g n o to riety am ong his fellow M iss o u ria n s . It m u st be re m e m b e re d th at the A utobiography, in w hich S e lle rs is identified as Lam pton, w as w r i t te n "fro m the g ra v e ." (Also see above, p. 37, n. 4.) Cf. F. H. Sosey, M is s o u ri H is to ric a l R eview , 23:361, quoted by B ra s h e a r (p. 71, n. 80), who sta te s th a t C lem ens " s e c u re d his fam ous pen c h a ra c te r, Colonel S e lle rs ," fro m M a rio n City. ^ B r a s h e a r , p. 71. 222 so tru e to type th a t he has given r is e to m an y lo c al c la im s of p r o p r ie to rs h ip is only a trib u te to C le m e n s' genius fo r cap tu rin g and em body ing the s p ir it of the h is to r ic a l p erio d . T hat he is clo sely m o d eled on C le m e n s' cousin J a m e s L am pton, as w ill be seen, p ro v e s m e re ly that this fa m ily re la tio n w as h im s e lf an ideal pro to ty p e of his tim e s . T ow ard the end of 1872, C lem ens w ro te his s is te r , P a m e la , "I w ish you would get all the g o ssip you can out of M ollie about C ousin J a m e s L am pton & F am ily , w ithout h e r knowing it is I th a t w ant i t ." ("M o llie," as she w as called, w as M a ry E le a n o r [Stotts] C lem en s, O rio n 's wife.) I w ant e v e ry little triflin g detail, about how they look & d r e s s , & w hat they say, & how the house is f u r n is h e d - -& the v a rio u s ages & c h a r a c te r s of the trib e . M ollie does up g o ssip m ig h ty w ell. I have p r e s e r v e d the o th er le tte r she w ro te you about th a t gang. I w ish to w rite the w hole thing u p --b u t not p u b lish it fo r a g re a t m an y y e a rs . That is, if the s to ry I w rite fro m it could be re c o g n iz e d by him or the fam ily. This re q u e s t, w hich o c c u rs as a p o s ts c rip t, h as sig n ifican ce in two w ays. F ir s t, it not only c o rro b o ra te s P a in e 's s ta te m e n t th a t C lem ens had a s to ry about J a m e s L am pton in m ind at the tim e he u n d erto o k the 7 8 co llab o ratio n , but it re v e a ls the d e g re e of a c c u ra c y C lem ens w ish ed to achieve in his fictio n al p o r tr a it. Second, it u n d e rlin e s his d e s ire to 79 ru n no r is k of h u rtin g or e m b a r r a s s in g C ousin Jim , a c o n sid e ra tio n " ^ L e tte r dated W ednesday [N ovem ber 1872?], M T, B u sin ess M an, pp. 120-121. 78 P ain e , II, 476-477; L e t t e r s , I, 12, 203-204. A lso see above, p. 35. 7 9 See above, n. 75. See a lso H en ry W atterso n , "M a rk T w a in -- An Intim ate M e m o ry ," The A m e ric a n M agazine, 70:372, Ju ly 1910: ". . . I re c e iv e d a le tte r fro m him in w hich he told m e he had m ad e in Col. M u lb e rry S e lle rs a clo se study of a c e rta in m u tu al k in sm a n and 223 that, along w ith his known se n sitiv ity to the feelings of o th e rs and r e t i cence in alluding openly to p e rs o n s of his own acquaintance, te stifie s to the genuine r e g a rd in w hich he h eld his e c c e n tric re la tiv e . The la tte r point is in tu rn of g re a t im p o rtan ce in evaluating the und erly in g pathos of the com ic Colonel and in u n d erstan d in g the in g red ien ts C lem ens blended into his c h a ra c te riz a tio n . Ja m e s L am pton, Jane L am pton C le m e n s' fav o rite cousin, "the c o u rtlie st, g en tlest, m o s t p ro d ig al o p tim ist of all that g u ileless ra c e ," had m a r r i e d f ir s t at eighteen and lo st h is wife w ithin a y e a r and th e ir only child s h o rtly a fte rw a rd . He then m a r r i e d E lla H unter, "who se e m s to have been a s tro n g -m in d e d w om an," and by h e r had four daughters and a son. The e ld e st daughter, Jennie, the beauty of the fam ily, b e cam e p sychotic and im agined th a t she w as Ju d as Isc a rio t. Ja m e s L am pton h im se lf had w anted to be a d o cto r but had had to give up m e d i cal stu d ies b eca u se he could not stand the sight of blood. In spite of the fru s tra tio n and h a lf-tra g e d y of this li f e - - o r p e rh a p s b e c a u se of it- - he "floated, all his days, in a tinted m is t of m ag n ificen t d r e a m s ," a "happy light in his eye, . . . abounding hope in h is h e a r t," p o s s e s s in g a 80 p e rs u a s iv e tongue and a " m ira c le -b re e d in g im ag in atio n ." Ja m e s L am p to n 's two m o st n o ticeable c h a ra c te ris tic s w e re his expansive s p e c u la tiv e n e s s --h is fa v o rite e x p re s s io n w as " th e re 's thought he had draw n him to life, 'but fo r the love of H eaven,' he said, 'd o n 't w h isp er it, fo r he w ould n e v e r u n d erstan d , or forgive m e, if he did not th ra s h m e on s ig h t.'" Cf. W atterso n , M a rse H e n ry --A n A uto biography (New Y ork, 1919), I, 121. ^ P a i n e , I, 23; MT, B u sin ess M an, pp. 17-18, 121; A u to b io g ra phy, I, 91 (N eider ed., p. 20). 224 m illio n s in it" - - a n d his fondness fo r alluding to his d e sc e n t fro m no bility. The b a re m e n tio n of the T e n n e sse e land sen t him off into fig u re s th a t ended w ith the p u rc h a s e of e s ta te s in E ngland adjoining th o se of the D urham L am ptons, whom he alw ays r e f e r r e d to as "our k in d red ," ca su a lly m entioning the w h ereab o u ts and h ealth of the " p re s e n t e a r l ." 81 The f ir s t of th e se c h a r a c te r is tic s M a rk Tw ain em p h asized in the S e lle rs of The G ilded A ge, the second in the a lm o st g ro tesq u ely e x a g g e ra te d re v iv a l of S e lle rs in The A m e ric a n C la im a n t. L am p to n 's s p e c u la tiv e n e ss, so h y p e rb o lic a lly e x p re s s iv e of fro n tie r psychology, e sp e c ia lly that of the young m e n who w e re seeking a fortune in the h ills of N evada and C alifornia, had a lre a d y im p re s s e d C lem ens in his own N evada days. In 1861 he w ro te P a m e la fro m C a rs o n City you m u s t p e rsu a d e Uncle [sic] J im to com e out h e re . . . . I have w ritte n to him tw ice to com e. I w ro te him today. . . . This is ju s t the co u n try fo r C ousin Jim to live in. I don't b e lieve it w ould take him six m onths to m ake $ 100,000 h e re , if he had 3,000 d o lla rs to co m m en ce w ith. . . . P o s s ib ly the b e s t te stim o n y as to the a c c u ra c y of the p o r tr a i t is to be found in the fam ous v is it of J a m e s L am pton to C le m e n s' hotel room when the la tte r w as in St. Louis on h is read in g to u r w ith G eorge W. Cable in 1884. Though it had been m any y e a rs since C lem ens had seen his C ousin Jim , the m o m e n t L am pton e n tered , his im m o rta liz e r said to h im se lf, "I did not o v e rd ra w him by a shade, I s e t him down as he w as; . . . Cable w ill reco g n ize h im ." A ccording to the M ark Tw ain 81 P ain e , I, 23. 8^ L e tte r dated O ctober 25, 1861 (L e t te r s , I, 60-62; Painej 1,180). 88See A utobiography, I, 91-93 (N eider ed., pp. 20-21); cf. P aine, II, 792. 225 account, w hen L am pton d ep arted , Cable, who had been in the next room w ith the door a ja r, put h is head in and said, "T h at w as Colonel S e lle rs ." C a b le 's own v e rs io n of the incident, h a s tily jo tted down in p en cil on the I hotel sta tio n e ry , re v e a ls th at he had actu ally com e in and been in tro - 84 duced to L am pton. The d is c re p a n c y is u n im p o rtan t, how ever, fo r the two accounts jibe p e rfe c tly in th e ir depiction of S e lle rs ' orig in al. In the Tw ain account, L am pton te lls of a " s m a ll v e n tu re " he h as begun in New M exico thro u g h h is son. . . . "only a little th in g - - a m e re tr i f le - - p a r tl y to am u se m y le is u re , p a rtly to keep m y cap ital fro m lying idle, but m a in ly to develop the b o y --d ev elo p the boy. F o rtu n e 's w heel is e v e r revolving; he m a y have to w o rk fo r h is living som e d a y - - a s stra n g e things have h a p p ened in this w orld. But it's only a little th in g --a m e re trifle , as I s a id ." In C a b le 's notes L am pton is quoted as saying W ell, M r. Cable I w ant you to com e down w ith C ousin S a -a -a m & see m y d au g h ters. T h e y 're s c h o o lm a 'a m s, you know, s e lf - s u s ta in ing in stitu tio n s--w o m e n a ir, you know, ah, ha, ha, ha! And if y o u 'll com e down to our v e ry p la in little p la c e - - y o u 'r e a so u th e rn m a n & u se d to r u s tic ity - - I 'll take you down to the edge of m y pond s u r rounded by w illow s & --g o ld fish in it th a t long, C ousin Sam. And I've g o t--y o u k n o w --I'v e got a b rew ery ! P ip e s leading to the house. J u s t tu rn on the fa s s e t. . . . The context is d iffere n t but the a cc en t and und erly in g p e r s o n a li ty a re u n m istak ab le. Twain, as is to be expected, e m p h a siz e s the sp ecu la tiv e . Cable re c o r d s L am p to n 's re a c tio n s a t th e ir in tro d u ctio n to one an o th er. Yet in both v e rs io n s th e re is the sam e L am ptonian blend of fa lse m o d e sty and ir r e p r e s s ib l e b o a stfu ln e ss. In the Tw ain v e rs io n som e of L am p to n 's r e m a r k s a r e v irtu a lly indistinguishable fro m those 04 The Cable v e rs io n , the MS. of w hich is in the Cable C ollection at Tulane U n iv ersity , is given v e rb a tim in A rlin T u rn e r, " Ja m e s L a m p ton, M ark T w ain's M odel fo r C olonel S e lle rs ," M odern Language N o te s, 70:592-594, D ecem b er 1955. of Colonel S e lle rs: "I suppose th e re 's a couple of m illions in it, p o s sibly th re e , but not m o re , I think." Ju st as the Colonel finds he is w ith out his pocketbook w hen he is about to pay fo r the drinks to w hich he O C h as tre a te d P h ilip S terlin g and H a rry B rie rly , so L am pton finds he has fo rg o tten his w hen he s ta r ts to buy tic k e ts to the T w ain-C able p e r fo rm an ce; and even as P hilip com es to the re s c u e in the novel and pays fo r his own tre a t, C lem ens gives his cousin co m p lim en tary se a ts for the evening's e n tertain m en t. As author both of the Colonel S e lle rs episodes and of the d e sc rip tio n s of Ja m e s L am pton in the A u tobiogra phy, C lem ens is v u ln erab le, to be su re , to the charge of confusing fact and fictio n in the re tro s p e c t of fo u rtee n y e a r s - - th e A utobiography p a s sage concerning the 1884 Cable episode w as w ritte n in 1 8 9 7-98--hence of re c o lle c tin g L am pton through S e lle rs -c o lo re d g la s s e s . As pointed out earlier,® ^ the th re sh o ld betw een the actu al and the vividly im agined w as e a sily o v erstep p e d by C lem ens. Still, the te stim o n y of other r e l a tiv es and of C le m en s' own p r e - Gilded Age re fe re n c e s to his Cousin Jim le av es no doubt about the e s s e n tia l a c c u ra c y of the S e lle rs p o r tr a it r e g a rd le ss of the heightened co lo ratio n of a r tis tic licen se. The la s t point is w ell illu s tra te d by the tu rn ip -d in n e r episode. In this episode, the p o v e rty -s tric k e n S e lle rs e n te rta in s W ashington Hawkins at a dinner consisting e n tire ly of raw tu rn ip s and w a te r, w hich ^ G ilded A ge, I (W ritin g s, X), 154. ® ^W ebster w rite s (MT, B usiness M an, p. 60) that L am pton "was alw ays going to m ake a m illion, n ev er le s s , but he w as alw ays te m p o r a r il y h a rd -u p ." 87 See, fo r exam ple, pp. 36, 77, and 89 above. 227 the h o st to co v er his e m b a r r a s s m e n t offers as the r a r e s t , m o s t exotic, OQ and m o s t h ealth -b esto w in g d elicacy. In the phenom enally su c c e s sfu l d ra m a tiz a tio n of The G ilded A ge, the fiv e -a c t play Colonel S e ll e r s , in 89 w hich the com edian John T. R aym ond m ad e h is fam e in the le a d ro le, the tu rn ip -d in n e r scene w as a high point, w hich in v a riab ly bro u g h t down the house. As M ark Tw ain te lls it, John T. R aym ond's audiences u se d to com e n e a r to dying w ith la u g h te r over the tu rn ip -e a tin g scene; but, e x tra v a g a n t as the scen e w as, it w as faithful to the fa c ts, in all its a b su rd d etails. The thing h a p pened in L am p to n 's own house, and I w as p re s e n t. In fact, I w as m y self the g uest who ate the tu rn ip s. . . .9® On the only extant page of m a n u s c rip t fo r this episode in The G ilded A ge, C lem ens had o rig in ally w ritte n "d rie d a p p les" then s tru c k it out 91 and su b stitu ted " tu rn ip s ." It can p ro b ab ly n e v e r be d e te rm in e d w h eth er the change re p re s e n te d the a u th o r's c o rre c tio n of an in itia lly faulty re m e m b ra n c e or w h eth er raw tu rn ip s se e m e d an in h e re n tly m o re 92 lu d ic ro u s food fo r his p u rp o se . The im p o rta n t e le m e n t in the scene ^ G ilded A ge, I (W ritin g s, X), 125-131. ®^See above, pp. 146-147, and Epilogue. ^ A utobiography, I, 89 (N eider ed., p. 19). Annie M offet W eb s te r, C le m en s' niece, in com m enting sk ep tically on "Uncle S a m 's " claim th a t the incident w as tru e , said, "but I alw ays found th a t C ousin J a m e s s e t a v e ry good ta b le " (MT, B u sin ess M an, p. 60), w hich w as u n doubtedly tru e w hen he could afford to. 9^MS. page 306 (M orse, 12b; o rig in ally in Owen F. A ldis C o lle c tion, Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry ). ^ C l e m e n s m a y a lso have re m e m b e re d the huge O rm sb y County tu rn ip w hich he had sen t to a c e rta in Col. W illiam s in C a rs o n City, N e vada, req u estin g th a t he e x tra c t blood fro m it, w hereupon Col. W illiam s had eaten it raw , w ith a sm ile on his face, during the ch ap lain 's p r a y e r in the le g isla tiv e s e s sio n s (le tte r to the T e r r ito r ia l E n te r p r is e , D ecem b e r 12 [1862], in M ark Tw ain of the E n te rp ris e , ed. H enry N ash Sm ith 228 is the s p ir it of Colonel S e lle r s - - th e d e s ire to gloss over his d ire pov e rty and tu rn m isfo rtu n e into a p o sitiv e v irtu e , a c h a r a c te r is tic both of the Colonel and of his orig in al, J a m e s Lam pton. C le m en s' c ritic is m of R ay m o n d 's acting of the tu rn ip -e a tin g scen e lead s him d ire c tly into a sta te m e n t of his own conception of Colonel S e lle rs: In the hands of a g re a t a c to r th a t piteous scen e would have d im m ed any m a n ly s p e c ta to r's eyes w ith te a r s , and ra c k e d h is rib s a p a rt w ith la u g h te r at the sam e tim e . But R aym ond w as g re a t in h um orous p o rtra y a l only. . . . The r e a l C olonel S e lle rs , as I knew him in Ja m e s Lam pton, w as a p ath etic and beautiful s p irit, a m anly m an, a stra ig h t and ho n o rab le m an, a m a n w ith a big, foolish, u n se lfish h e a r t in his bosom , a m a n b o rn to be loved; and he w as loved by all h is frie n d s, and by his fam ily w o rsh ip ed . It is the rig h t w ord. To them he w as but little le s s th an a god. . . . Some m oving anecdotes about this m an, who w as "as b ra v e as a lion and as u p rig h t and s te rn as a c o v e n a n te r," a re reco u n ted by C le m en s' bos- 9 4 om frie n d and d ista n t re la tiv e , H enry W atterson, anecdotes w hich [B erk eley and Los A ngeles, 1957], p. 39). ^ A utobiography, I, 89-90 (N eider ed., p. 19). In M a rk T w ain's c u rta in sp eech the opening night of the p lay Colonel S e lle rs he said, w ith thinly v eiled c ritic is m of R aym ond's rendition, "I m e a n t th a t t u r nip din n er to be p ath etic, fo r how m o re fo rc ib ly can you r e p r e s e n t pov e r ty and m i s e r y and suffering th an by such a din n er, and of c o u rse if anything would b rin g te a r s to p e o p le 's eyes, th at would; but this m an eats th o se tu rn ip s as if they w e re the b re a d of life, and so of c o u rse the pathos is knocked clean out of the thing. But I think he w ill le a rn " (De L ancey F e rg u so n , "M a rk T w ain's L o st C u rta in S p eech es," The South A tlantic Q u arterly , 42:263, July 1943). F o r fu rth e r d is c u ssio n of R aym ond's in te rp re ta tio n of S e lle rs see the Epilogue. ^ S e e Isaac F. M a rc o sso n , " M a rse H enry" (New York, 1951), p. 207 f.; Jo se p h F r a z ie r Wall, H enry W atterson: R e c o n stru c te d R ebel (New York, 1956), p. 117. t 229 95 b e a r out C lem en s' own feeling fo r C ousin Jim . The o rig in al S e lle rs . . . [was] a second and p e rfe c t Don Quixote in ap p ea ran ce and not unlike the knight of L a M ancha in c h a ra c te r. It would have b een safe for nobody to laugh at h im --n a y , by the slig h t e s t intim ation, look, o r g e stu re , to tr e a t him w ith inconsideration, or any p ro p o sa l of h is --h o w e v e r p re p o s te ro u s --w ith levity. . . . As C lem ens once told a fellow co rresp o n d en t, "He had som e funny tra its about him , but th e se n ev er counted w ith m e. It w as the pathos in 96 his life that got m e ." It is vain to s e a rc h thro u g h The G ilded Age fo r explicit s ta te m ents of Colonel S e lle rs ' pathos or fo r its d e lib e ra te underlining in in dividual ep iso d es. The c lo se s t M ark Tw ain e v e r com es to such o v e rt n ess is a co m m en t upon the C olonel's dividing his rem a in in g bank a c count am ong the unpaid ra ilro a d c o n stru c tio n w o rk e rs at Stone's L and ing; he d e s c rib e s it as an act w hich had nothing s u rp ris in g about it because he w as g e n e ra l ly re a d y to divide w h atev er he had w ith anybody th at w anted it, and it w as owing to this v e ry tr a i t th a t his fam ily spent th e ir days in p o v erty and at tim e s w e re pinched w ith fam ine. (I, 280) Nor is it undeniable that S e lle rs is f i r s t and fo re m o st a com ic c h a ra c te r. It is as a com ic c h a ra c te r that r e a d e rs of the novel have unques- tioningly acc ep ted him . It is as a com ic c h a ra c te r that John T. R ay m ond enacted him on the stage and that R aym ond's audiences g reeted ^ W a tte r s o n , A m e r. M ag., 70:372-373; cf. M a rse H enry, I, 121- 124. ^ H e n r y W. F is h e r, A broad w ith M ark Twain and E ugene F ield (New York, 1922), p. 99. A ccording to W atterson, "When M ark Twain had w orked h im se lf into a state of m in d talking to one of us about 'Old J im ,' his eyes would flood w ith te a r s " (A m er. M ag., 70:373). C le m en s' affection fo r "Old J im " did not, how ever, extend to his wife, E lla, or to other m e m b e rs of the L am pton clan (see M T , B usiness M an, pp. 136, 213-214, 288, 316, 321, 366). 230 him w ith r o a r s of la u g h ter. Yet the pathos is t h e r e - - i n S e lle rs ' i r r e sponsibly childlike g en ero sity , in h is not v e ry convincing attem p ts to co v er up his ch ro n ic p o v erty , in h is o bstinate re s ilie n c e u n d er m i s f o r tune, in his unbounded, a lm o s t d e s p e ra te o p tim ism and his ability to live g lo rio u sly in a fu tu re th at n e v e r a p p e a rs. It is a trib u te to T w ain 's a r tis tic u n d e rs ta te m e n t th a t the pathos of Colonel S e lle rs re m a in s im p lic it in the c irc u m s ta n c e s of his e x is t ence and m a in ta in s only a soft d iap aso n ag a in st w hich his s c h e rz o is played. T hat the pathos often e s c a p e s the r e a d e r is not b ecau se it is ab sen t but b e c a u se the ro llick in g com ic b u rlesq u e, w hich Tw ain s till had not le a rn e d to control, throw s it fa r into the background. It e scap e d Raym ond, m u c h to C le m en s' ch ag rin . H enry W a tte rso n once show ed Raym ond a s in c e re , h o sp itab le, and p itiab ly b o m b a stic invitation fro m J a m e s L am pton to his d a u g h te r's w edding. He re a d it thro u g h w ith c a re and r e - r e a d it. "Do you know ," said he, "it m a k es m e w ant to gry. T hat is not the m a n I am try in g to im p e rs o n a te at a ll." . . y Though the o rig in al of C olonel S e lle rs w as indubitably J a m e s Lam pton, the v isio n a ry , o p tim istic im p ra c tic a lity of his n atu re w as a p p a re n tly a tr a n s m itte d t r a i t of the e n tire C lem ens clan. " P ro n e by te m p e ra m e n t to the v isio n a ry and u n so p h istic a te d ," as W ecter s ta te s , the C lem ens clan found itse lf disad v an tag ed in the W e ste rn country, w h eth er v is -h -v is the m o re affluent S outhern sto ck or the a g g re s s iv e Yankee, and thus w as fo red o o m e d to the d isap p o in tm en t of its g re a t expectations. In V irginia, S am uel C le m e n s' a n c e sto rs ^ A m e r. M ag., 70:372; cf. M a rs e H e n ry , I, 123. 231 had co n triv ed to m is s the tid ew ater and the Shenandoah Valley, to light upon the Blue Ridge uplands of B edford County, and beyond the A lleghenies to choose the le s s fe rtile tr a c ts of w e s te rn V irginia and Kentucky. The fictio n al em bodim ent of John M a rsh a ll C lem ens, to be su re , is Squire Haw kins, yet the S e lle rs o p tim ism has the p e r s is te n t quality of John C le m en s' r e ite r a te d c r y "Cling to the land!" and the C olonel's f a s cination w ith p o te n tially fo rtu n e -m a k in g inventions is clo sely akin to 99 John C le m en s' ab so rp tio n in his p e rp e tu a l-m o tio n m achine. Again, though O rion C lem ens, S am 's b ro th e r, w as avow edly W ashington Hawkins in the novel, his p ro p e n sity fo r v isio n a ry inv en tiv e n e ss w as a S e lle rs -lik e in h e ritan c e fro m his fa th e r. He w as, at the v e ry tim e The Gilded Age w as being w ritten , p u rsu in g the ag e-o ld Ic a ria n d re a m of a flying m achine th at would c ro s s the A tlantic or, f a il ing th is, at le a s t a paddle w heel th a t would enable a steam b o at to c ro s s it in tw en ty -fo u r h o u r s . I n the novel W ashington H aw kins' own in v en tiv en ess is dropped once the Colonel m a k es his a p p e a ra n c e --it would not do to allow W ashington to develop except as a foil fo r S e lle rs - - y e t h is devotion to S e lle rs shows the v ic a rio u s fulfillm ent he finds in the older m a n 's s tro n g e r im agination and confident ex p erim en tatio n . It is to be noted, how ever, th at W ashington's youthful inventions (which ^ W e c t e r , p. 27. 9 9 "C e rte s, avec un p u deur que l'o n co m p re n d ra , M ark Tw ain a p re te n d u que le Colonel S e lle rs av ait eu pour m odble un cousin de sa m h re ; ce n 'e s t pas im p o ssib le, m a is il e s t s u rto u t l'im a g e de ce que le p h re de M a rk Tw ain fut ja d is . . ." (L em onnier, p. 77). *®®Paine, II, 495; K enneth R. A ndrew s, Nook F a rm , M ark T w ain's H artfo rd C irc le (C am bridge, M ass., 1950), pp. 23-24. 232 include a m ethod of m aking w indow -glass opaque and another fo r c o lo r ing h e n 's eggs through the h e n 's diet)'*'^ a re as im p ra c tic a b le as O rio n 's w e re and a lm o st as fa n ta stic as those of the la te r M u lb e rry S e lle rs in The A m e ric a n C la im a n t. F inally, in a v e ry profound sen se, Colonel S e lle rs is Sam uel C lem ens h im self. As A lb ert Bigelow P ain e h as said, Colonel S e lle rs "is a c h a ra c te r th at only M ark Twain could c re a te , fo r . . . it em bodies - -a n d in no v e ry ex ag g e rated d e g r e e -- c h a r a c te r is tic s th at w e re his 102 own." His close frie n d Howells w ro te th at "C lem ens sa tisfie d the Colonel S e lle rs n atu re in h im se lf (from w hich he drew the p ic tu re of 103 th at w ild and lovable figure), . . . " And since H ow ells' tim e , c ritic 104 a fte r c ritic has reco g n ized this autobiographical elem ent. E ven 105 C lem ens h im se lf ad m itted it. F o r one thing, like Colonel S e lle rs C lem ens w as an inventor of 101W ritings, X, 77-78. 10ZL e t te r s , I, 12. ^ ^William Dean H ow ells, My M ark Tw ain (New York, 1911), p. 80. *®^See, for exam ple, V ernon I. P a rrin g to n , M ain C u rre n ts in A m e ric a n Thought (New York, 1927-1930), III, 88; Stephen L eacock, M ark Tw ain (New York, 1933), p. 89; B ra s h e a r, p. 229; E dw ard W agen- knecht, M ark Twain, the M an and His W ork (New Haven, Conn., 1935), pp. 3, 128, 164; W alter F u lle r T aylor, "M ark Tw ain and the M achine A ge," South A tlantic Q u a rte rly , 37:387, O ctober 1938, and The E conom ic Novel in A m e ric a (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1942), p. 130; B e rn a rd DeVoto, M ark Twain at W ork (C am bridge, M ass., 1942), p. 107; F erg u so n , pp. 134, 156; Guy A. C ardw ell, Twins of Genius (Twain and C able) (Lansing, M ich., 1953), p. 10. ^ ^ " D e sa re s se m b la n c e avec son h e ro s , il a u ra d 'a ille u rs p a r - faitem e n t conscience et au debut d'une le ttre pleine de grands p ro je ts , il e c r ir a : ^ J e m e sens com m e le Colonel S e l l e r s ^ " (L em onnier, pp. 77-78). Significant in this connection is the following r e m a r k a s crib e d to C lem ens by P ain e (III, 1540): "If B y ro n --if any m a n --d ra w s 50 c h a ra c te rs , they a re all h im se lf--5 0 shades, 50 m oods, of his own 233 so rts and delighted in concocting c o n triv an ces th a t would save tim e, e f fo rt, and e x a sp e ra tio n . S e lle rs ' inventions, it is tru e , a re ty p ically lu d icro u s, like his U n iv ersal E x p ec to ran t, y et they a re alw ays stro n g ly m o tiv ated by the ex p ectatio n of la rg e p ro fits re s u ltin g fro m th e ir in- d is p e n s a b ility --th e Infallible Im p e ria l O rien tal Optic L inim ent and S al vation fo r S ore E yes w ill se ll m illio n s of bottles am ong the ophthalm ia- rid d en populations of A sia (I, 97-100). C le m en s' inventions w e re of the "b e tte r m o u s e tra p " v a rie ty , sim p le devices fo r m aking life e a s ie r: a v e st th a t enabled the w e a r e r to d isp en se w ith su sp e n d e rs, a s h irt that re q u ire d no buttons or studs, a notebook th at alw ays opened at the page la s t w ritten , a sc rap b o o k th a t re q u ire d no p a s t e . A l l of th e se , it is 107 to be noted, w e re re m e d ie s fo r his intense p e rs o n a l annoyances. Yet all of them w e re , if su c c e ssfu l, p o te n tial m o n e y -m a k e rs , and M ark 108 T w ain's S crap Book w as a c o n sid e ra b le fin an cial s u c c e ss . Like C olonel S e lle rs also , C lem ens w as a keen sp e c u la to r, w ith equally g ran d io se expectations and w ith equally m ista k e n judgm ent. As c h a r a c te r ." *®^See G eorge H ira m B row nell, "M a rk T w ain's Inventions," The T w ainian, n .s., Vol. Ill, No. 4 (Jan u ary 1944), pp. 1-5; also W ill C lem ens, M a rk Twain: His Life and W ork (San F ra n c is c o , 1892), p. 193, and Van Wyck B rooks, The O rdeal of M a rk Twain, rev. ed. (New York, 1933), p. 168. 107 An exception, how ever, w as a h is to ry gam e p layed w ith stak es outdoors, w hich C lem ens d esigned to te a c h his ch ild re n the chronology of h is to r ic a l events and w hich he fe v e rish ly developed in an indoor c rib b a g e -b o a rd fo rm as a m e m o ry b u ild er in v ario u s fields until its v e ry u nw ieldiness m ad e it unplayable (Paine, II, 752-753). ^®®According to the r a th e r u n re lia b le W ill C lem ens it m ad e a fortune for its p u b lish e rs; but C lem ens c laim e d the firm failed before he p e rs o n a lly w as able to p ro fit fro m it (A utobiography, N eid er ed., p. 230). 234 H enry W a tte rso n said, "his m ind" like th a t of S e lle rs " s o a re d w hen it 109 sa ile d fin an cial c u r r e n ts ." H enry Seidel Canby, who c o n sid e rs C lem ens both the fa th e r and the child of Colonel S e lle rs, has put his fin g er on the p rin c ip a l d ifferen ce betw een them : S e lle rs lived in a d re a m of r iv e r s , c itie s, ra ilro a d s , and m illio n s in each. M ark, like a h alf-a n a ly z e d p a tie n t of a p s y c h ia tris t, had r e - d u c ^ j h i s d re a m s of m oney to p o ssib le re a liz a tio n in p r e s e n t re a lity . As Sam uel W e b ste r say s, "W hen it cam e to figuring p ro fits Uncle Sam could m ake h is C ousin J a m e s L am pton look like a p e s s im is t. Indeed, C lem ens fro m h is youth on w as freq u en tly guilty of talk - 11? ing in m illio n s. As a boy he c a r r ie d a p u rs e w hich P ain e la te r con- 113 je c tu re d had been a sym bol of S e lle rs o p tim ism . W hen in 1856 he s ta rte d out on the jo u rn ey th a t co n v erted him into a riv e r pilot, his in tended d estin atio n w as the h e ad w aters of the A m azon, w here he hoped 114 to m ake a fortune collecting coca. W hen he a rriv e d in N evada in 1861 he a lre a d y had the " g e t-ric h -q u ic k " fev er and th e re he had his ^ ^A m er. M ag., 70:374; M a rse H e n ry , I, 127. H ^ T u rn W est, T u rn E ast: M ark Tw ain and H enry J a m e s (B os ton, 1951), p. 187. •^ ^ MT, B u sin ess Man, p. 373. ^ ^ B i l l S tew art (W illiam M o rris S tew art, R e m in is c e n c e s, ed. G eorge Rothw ell B row n [New Y ork and W ashington, 1908], p. 222) r e la te s how C lem ens ap p ro ach ed him to su b sid ize the w ritin g of Innocents A b ro a d : " 'I have a p ro p o s itio n ,' said C lem ens, . . . 'T h e r e 's m illio n s in it. All I need is a little c a s h s ta k e .'" Though the en tire p a ss a g e is w ritte n in im ita tio n of the M ark Tw ain m a n n e r, the s p irit of the episode is typical. ^ ^ L e t t e r s , I, 20. 114P ain e, I, 109. 235 115 "o rg an of hope p re p o s te ro u s ly developed." On M ay 11, 1862, he w ro te O rion fro m E s m e ra ld a th a t he owned an eighth of the "M onitor Ledge, C lem ens C om pany" and a s s e r te d , "I know it to contain our f o r tu n e ." 11^ T hese two tr a its , in ventiveness and sp e c u la tiv e n e ss, in t e r m in g led in C le m en s' n a tu re to an even g r e a te r d eg ree th an they do in Colonel S e lle r s '. W here the Colonel lim its his in te r e s t in inventions p r im a r ily to his own and d ire c ts h is sp e c u la tiv e n e ss into the tra d itio n a l channels of land p ro m o tio n and fro n tie r developm ent, C lem ens w as con tinually risk in g his m oney on o th er p e o p le 's inventions. If he h im se lf lacked the genius to invent rev o lu tio n izin g devices or p ro c e s s e s , he felt th at he at le a s t could reco g n ize the im m en se p o te n tial in an o th er p e r so n 's ideas and by acting as angel p ro m o te th at p e r s o n 's fo rtu n e and his own. As h as been seen, he began h is sp ecu lativ e in v e stm en ts long before the w ritin g of The G ilded Age and he continued them , th ro u g h fa ilu re a fte r fa ilu re , n e a rly to the end of his life. His dau g h ter C la ra w rote: S om etim es I think F a th e r 's p ro p e n sity fo r investing in all s o rts of b u sin e ss p ro p o sitio n s w as not d ic tate d e n tire ly by the d e s ire to m ake m o re m oney, but la rg e ly b eca u se it w as difficult to re fu s e aid to any m a n so en th u sia stic as the inventor of a new device. . . To re la te the d etails and c irc u m s ta n c e s of C le m en s' n u m e ro u s in v estm en ts is fa r beyond the scope and p u rp o se s of the p r e s e n t chapter. ^ ^ S e e le tte r to Jane C lem en s and P a m e la M offett, F e b ru a ry 8, 1862 (L e t te r s , I, 64); a lso Effie M ona M ack, M a rk Tw ain in N evada (New Y ork and London, 1947), p. 125. ^ ^ L e t t e r s , I, 73; also see P ain e , I, 197-198. * ^ C l a r a C lem ens, My F a th e r M a rk Twain (New York, 1931), p. 34. 236 Suffice it to say th a t am ong the p rin c ip a l ones w e re a c o n sid e ra b le e x p en d itu re on a ste a m g e n e ra to r th at would not g en era te, th irty -tw o thou sand d o lla rs on a steam pulley th at would not pull, tw enty-five thousand on a m a rin e te le g ra p h that n e v e r c a r r ie d a m e ss a g e , and fifty thousand on a ch alk -p late engraving p ro c e s s th a t w as vanquished by its s u c c e s s ful riv a l, photoengraving. Iro n ica lly enough, w hen A lexander G raham Bell offered him w hat w ould have been a lm o st p r ic e le s s s h a re s in the telephone, he declin ed b eca u se he had b a re ly re c o v e re d fro m a ris k y in su ra n c e com pany sch em e. I w as the b u rn t child and I r e s is te d all th e se te m p tatio n s, r e s is te d them easily , w ent off w ith m y check intact, and next day len t five thousand of it on an u n en d o rsed note to m y frie n d who w as going to go bankrupt th re e days later.'*' S urely his fa th e r 's and b r o th e r 's m isc a lc u la tio n s about the T en n e ssee Land w e re no m o re ob stin ately p e rv e rs e ! M ost d is a s tro u s of all w as the v e n tu re w ith the P a ig e ty p e s e t ting m ach in e. Having been a ty p e s e tte r in his youth, C lem ens w as e a g e r to see m e ch an iz ed the tedious hand p ro c e s s of loading a c o m p o s ing stick. But w ith a fateful c o n tra rin e s s he p o u re d a s m a ll fo rtu n e in to a d elicate m ach in e, w hich its p e rfe c tio n ist inventor could n e v e r keep w orking fo r long, and by the tim e the M e rg a n th a le r linotype had p ro v ed its s u p re m a c y C le m en s' funds w e re so low th at it only needed the ban k ru p tcy of his own publishing firm to send him on a ro u n d -th e -w o rld • * • * ^A utobiography, N eid er ed., p. 232. A lso see pp. 229-233; P ain e , II, 725-727. At the v e ry tim e The G ilded Age w as being w ritte n , C lem ens w as en d o rsin g "W hite's P o rta b le Folding F ly and M usketo N et F r a m e " (see G ilb e rt M cCoy T ro x ell, "S am uel L anghorne C lem ens, 1835-1910," The Yale U n iv ersity L ib r a r y G a zette, 18:1-5, July 1943). 237 119 le c tu re to u r to pay off his acc u m u la ted debts. D uring the prolonged p e rio d of ex p erim en tatio n w ith the m ach in e C lem ens kept sending cables to Livy, who w as in L o n d o n --"L o o k out fo r good n ew s," "N earing s u c c e s s ," etc. "T hey m ake m e lau g h ," Livy w ro te h e r s is te r , "for they a re so like m y beloved 'C o lo n el. 1 Though the c h a r a c te r C olonel S e lle rs is thus in tim ately a s s o c i a ted w ith C lem en s' fam ily and w ith his own p e rs o n a lity , the nam e w as 121 co n trib u ted by C h arles Dudley W a rn e r. T h ere a re a nu m b er of in a c c u ra c ie s in the A utobiography and in the P ain e B iography about W a r n e r 's p ro p o sa l of the n am e. A ccording to the r e s e a r c h e s of P r o f e s s o r A rth u r Quinn, how ever, the o rig in w as as follow s. W hen W arn er w as studying law at the U n iv ersity of P en n sy lv an ia in 1856-58 his la n d lo rd had a b u sin ess a sso c ia te by the nam e of E sc o l S e lle rs , a P h ila d elp h ia * ^ S e e A utobiography, I, 70-78; P ain e, III, 906 ff. 1 7 0 P aine, III, 978. D uring such tim e s , as P a in e has w ritten , C lem ens would be "e a g e rly excited, w o rrie d , im p atien t, a lte rn a te ly su spicious and o v e rtru stin g , ra s h , fren zied , and a lto g e th e r u p set" (II, 728). W ithin a m onth a fte r his b ankruptcy debts w e re paid off, C lem ens w as re a d y to in v e st fifteen h undred thousand d o lla rs in a c a r - p e t-p a tte rn m achine and w as re s tr a in e d fro m doing so only by the stro n g adm onition of his frie n d and fin an cial a d v ise r H. H. R ogers (Paine, III, 1056-1057; L e t te r s , II, 660-662). 121 C lem ens n e v e r adopted the pseudonym "C olonel S e lle rs ," as sta te d by E d g ar L ee M a s te rs (M a rk T w ain, p. 46), th e re b y having it at hand fo r u se in The G ilded A g e. M a s te rs is thinking of C lem en s' claim th a t he adopted his pen nam e, "M ark T w ain," fro m the scrib b lin g pilot Isaiah S e lle rs, who w ro te r iv e r new s fo r the New O rlean s P icayune (see le tte r in D aily A lta C a lifo rn ia , June 9, 1877, quoted in Mack, p. 228). F o r evidence c o n tro v e rtin g this w idely acc e p te d claim see F e r guson, pp. 56, 85; E r n e s t E . L eisy, "M a rk Tw ain and Isaiah S e lle rs ," A m e ric a n L ite r a tu r e , 13:398-405, Ja n u a ry 1942; G eorge H iram B row n ell, "A Q uestion as to the O rigin of the N am e, 'M a rk T w ain ,'" The T w ainian, n.s. Vol. I, No. 2 (F e b ru a ry 1942), pp. 4-7. 238 122 en g in eer and a m e m b e r of a w e ll-e sta b lis h e d P h ila d elp h ia fam ily. As M a rk Tw ain r e m a r k s in the A utobiography, the nam e w as "odd and 123 quaint and all th a t," and the au th o rs enhanced its q u aintness by a l t e r ing the sp ellin g to E schol. Then too, the o rig in al E sc o l S e lle rs had been a s s o c ia te d w ith s e v e ra l p ro je c ts th at failed, so m e tim e s becau se S e lle rs w as ahead of his day. E s c o l S e lle rs w as re p o rte d ly ir r ita te d by n ew sp ap er re fe re n c e s 124 to him as C olonel S e lle rs ' original; but an E sch o l S e lle rs, a "g e n tle m a n of c o u rtly m a n n e rs and ducal u p h o lste ry ," a p p e a re d at the doors of 12 c the A m e ric a n P ublishing C om pany and th re a te n e d lib el suit. The f i r s t p rin tin g of the novel w as, thereupon, s u p p re s se d as fa r as p o ssib le 126 and the n am e B e ria h S e lle rs su b stitu te d in the p la te s . In the d r a m a tiz a tio n of the novel, Colonel S e lle r s , B eriah had to be dropped "to s a t isfy an o th er m e m b e r of the r a c e ," and M u lb e rry w as substituted; M ul b e r r y S e lle rs re m a in s the nam e of the Colonel in his rev iv a l in The 122 A rth u r H obson Quinn, A m e ric a n F iction: An H is to ric a l and C ritic a l Survey (New York, 1936), pp. 246-247. This S e lle rs w as not, as sta te d by C lem en s, "a f a r m e r in a cheap and hum ble w ay" fro m "a re m o te c o rn e r of the W est" (A utobiography, I, 90-91; N eider ed., p. 20). ^22 A utobiography, I, 90 (N eider ed., p. 20). 124Quinn, p. 247. 1 2 K A utobiography, I, 91 (N eider ed., p. 20). A ccording to P ain e (II, 501-502) E sc h o l w as a com m on nam e am ong the S e lle rs kin. "T his p a rtic u la r E sch o l S e lle rs , cu rio u sly enough, w as an inventor and a p r o m o te r, . . ." ^2^P aine, II, 501. Cf. A utobiography, I, 91: ". . . we changed the nam e b ack to C olonel M u lb e rry S e lle rs in the p la tes " --a n o th e r in stance of C le m en s' faulty m e m o ry . 239 127 A m e ric a n C la im a n t. As W a rn e r's E sc o l S e lle rs had been b o rn in M u lb e rry C o u rt, P hiladelphia, the final fo rm of the nam e se e m s so m e- 128 thing m o re than a r b it r a r y choice! W ashington In the second half of The G ilded Age Colonel S e lle rs is set ag ain st the background of po stb ellu m W ashington, w here a c lam o ro u s, com peting crow d of flash y m en, and so m e tim e s w orldly w om en . . . b esieg e d the Capitol in fo rce, button-holing the p o liti cians ev ery w h ere, plying them w ith liquor, c ig a rs, and m oney. . . . So c le a rly did M ark Tw ain v isu alize his fro n tie r p ro m o te r and a s p ira n t to fortune, so typical of the p ath etic hom egrow n e m u la to r of the su c c essfu l flash y m e n did he m ak e him , that as late as 1922 the W ashington h isto rio g ra p h e r Shackleton w rote: . . . you m ay still see the im m o rta l c h a ra c te r, shabby, hopeful, b ro a d -b rim m e d , s trin g -tie d , b la ck -clad , w andering about the lobbies of the m in o r h otels and the c o rrid o rs of Congress.-*-^® This c h a ra c te r, draw n fro m life out of C le m en s' e a rly background, b e com es h e re a p a r t of the s a tire on the national capital, a city also draw n to the life out of C lem en s' e x p erien ce and his intim ate knowledge ^ ^ S e e the second fo rew o rd to The A m e ric a n C laim an t, entitled "E x p la n ato ry ," in w hich C lem ens has his facts c o r r e c t (see above, note 126); also Jaco b Blanck, "The G ilded Age: A C ollation," P u b lis h e rs ' Weekly, 138:188, July 20, 1940. 128 See Quinn, p. 247. Had M u lb e rry been an a lte rn a tiv e p r o p o sal by W arn e r? (See above, note 126.) Is th e re h e re an anticipation of the nam e H u c k le b e rry ? ^ ^ M a tth e w Jo sephson, The P o litic o s, 1865-1896 (New York, 1938), p. 105. ^ •^ R o b ert Shackleton, The Book of W ashington (Philadelphia, 1922), p. 227. 240 of it. By the tim e he se t about w ritin g The Gilded Age C lem ens had v isite d W ashington on at le a s t th re e s e p a ra te o ccasions and h ad lived th e re fo r a p e rio d of s e v e ra l w eeks during the w in te r of 1867-68. His close o b serv atio n of the city is evident throughout the la te r c h a p te rs of the novel. It is in te re s tin g to note also th a t the W ashington he d e s c rib e s is ph y sically th at of the la te r six ties, the city as it w as w hen he knew it b est and the city which, b eca u se of its raw condition ju s t a fte r the w a r, len t itse lf b e st to s a tire . By 1873 im p ro v em en ts had b een m ade, but in 1868 W ashington w as about as the w ar days had found it. M any of C lem en s' im p re ssio n s w ent back even fu rth e r, to h is flying v is it fro m P h ilad elp h ia in Ja n u a ry or F e b ru a ry 1854, w hen as a lad of n in eteen he 131 w as setting type fo r the In q u irer and P u b lic L e d g e r. His o b s e rv a tions on th at occasio n he re c o rd e d in the pag es of O rio n 's M uscatine Jo u rn a l as p a r t of his co rre sp o n d e n c e to th a t p a p e r during his jo u rn e y - 132 m a n p r in te r days. The f i r s t thing th at im p re s s e d C lem ens about W ashington, as, indeed, it did m a n y people, w as its m uddy th o ro u g h fare s. "W hen I cam e out on the s tr e e t this m o rn in g ," he w ro te in the Jo u rn a l le tte r, ". . . th e re being no sidew alk, I sank deep in m ud and snow at e v e ry step ." The v e ry m onth The G ilded Age w as published, Z ina P e ir c e w as I *3 1 F o r this e a rly v is it see A utobiography, II, 287 (N eider ed., p. 95); P aine, I, 101; DeVoto, M ark T w ain's A m e ric a , p. 87; M ark Tw ain's L e tte rs in the M uscatine J o u rn a l, ed. E d g ar M. B ran ch (C hi cago, 1942) (h e re a fte r M uscatine L e t te r s ), p. 5. 132The le tte r, "W ashington C o rre sp o n d e n c e ," dated F e b ru a ry 18, 1854, is given in full in B ranch, L ite r a r y A p p re n tic e sh ip , pp. 219- 221, and M uscatine L e tte rs , pp. 18-21. 241 w ritin g in the A tla n tic , "F iv e y e a rs ago the N ational C apital w as a m a g - 133 n ificent m u d -h o le ." And in the novel o c c u rs the following T w ainian sum m ation: if the thaw is s till going on w hen you com e down and go about town, you w ill w onder at the s h o rt sig h te d n ess of the city fa th e rs , w hen you com e to in sp e c t the s tr e e ts , in th a t they do not dilute the m ud a little m o re and u se them fo r ca n a ls. (I, 266) When, in The G ilded A ge, M a rk Tw ain c a r r ie s Colonel S e lle rs and W ashington Hawkins to W ashington, he u se s the o cca sio n to in tro duce a s o r t of e n tr'a c te ch a p te r on "T he City of W ashington," in w hich he rid ic u le s the c ity 's p rin c ip a l sh o rtc o m in g s as he had e n c o u n tered th e m --th e h ack s, the h o te ls, the w e a th e r, the slu m s, the v iolent con t r a s t s afforded by m a g n ificen t public buildings s e t in the m id s t of u n kept m a r s h e s . ^ ^ In the Jo u rn a l le tte r he w rote: The public buildings of W ashington a r e all fine sp ecim en s of a r c h i te c tu re , and w ould add g re a tly to the e m b e llish m e n t of such a city as New Y o rk --b u t h e re they a re sadly out of p lace looking like so m any p a la c e s in a H ottentot village. . . . But the [other] buildings, a lm o s t inv ariab ly , a re v e ry p o o r--tw o and th re e s to ry b ric k h o u ses, and stre w e d about in c lu s te rs ; . . . They look as though they m ight have been em p tied out of a sa c k by som e B robdignagian gentlem an, and w hen falling, been s c a tte r e d ab ro a d by the w inds. . . . In the novel, the T r e a s u r y building, s im ila rly , is d e s c rib e d as "an e d i fice th at would com m and r e s p e c t in any c a p ita l" and the "city at la rg e " as "a wide s tre tc h of cheap little b ric k h o u ses, w ith h e re and th e re a noble a rc h ite c tu ra l pile lifting itse lf out of the m id s t." F ro m "T he E x te rn a ls of W ashington," A tla n tic, 32:701-716, D ecem b er 1873. Cf. Ben: P e r le y P o o re , P e r le y 's R e m in iscen c es of Sixty Y ears in the N ational M etro p o lis (P hiladelphia, 1886), p. 261: "T he s tr e e ts [on G ra n t's ascen d an cy ] g e n e ra lly w e re w agon tra c k s , m uddy in the w in te r and dusty in the s u m m e r, . . ." Cf. Claude G. Bow e r s , The T ra g ic E r a (Boston, 1929), p. 242. 134C hapter XXIV (W ritin g s, X, 261-272). 242 One of the m o s t tellin g p a s s a g e s in the W ashington ch ap ter is the d e sc rip tio n of the n o to rio u sly unfinished W ashington M onum ent tow erin g out of the m ud ( " - - s a c r e d so il is the c u s to m a ry te rm " ), w hich "has the a sp e c t of a fa c to ry chim ney w ith the top b ro k en off." The sk eleto n of a decaying scaffolding lin g e rs about its sum m it, and tra d itio n say s th at the s p ir it of W ashington often com es down and sits on th o se r a f te r s [the MS. o rig in ally had "roosts"]135 £0 enjoy this trib u te of r e s p e c t w hich the nation has r e a r e d as the sym bol of its u n appeasable g ratitu d e. The M onum ent is to be finished, som e day, . . .136 This " m e m o ria l C him ney" stands "in a quiet p a s to ra l lo c ality ," w here w ith a g lass you can see the co w -sh ed s about its b ase, and the contented sheep nibbling pebbles in the d e s e r t solitudes th a t su rro u n d it, and the tir e d pigs dozing in the holy calm of its p ro te c tin g shadow .1^7 This rid ic u le is ap p are n tly p ro m p te d by tw enty y e a rs of w aiting fo r the M onum ent's e n d le ssly delayed com pletion; fo r in his 1854 v e rs io n C lem ens had been content w ith a b rie f s ta tis tic a l d e sc rip tio n ending in the co m m en t "If C o n g ress would a p p ro p ria te $200,000 to the M onum ent fund, this sum , w ith the co n trib u tio n s of the people, would build it in four y e a r s ." In the m a n u sc rip t fo r the p a s sa g e in the novel, how ever, ap p e a rs a final, s a r c a s tic ap o stro p h e, la te r deleted: If all our fo rty m illio n s of fre e m e n could gath er upon Capitol Hill 1^®MS. page 548 (M orse, 10). ^ ^ C f . G eorge F o r t M ilton, The Age of Hate: A ndrew Johnson and the R ad icals (New York, 1930), p. 7: "T he unfinished W ashington M onum ent, w hich had clim b ed to only a th ird of its p ro je c te d height, stood fo rth in bold re lie f ag a in st the d istan t g re e n of the V irginia h ills, a p ath etic re m in d e r of the n a tio n 's fo rg etfu ln ess and neglect. . . . " 137". _ _ pigs, and chickens w an d ered as fre e ly as the in h a b it an ts" (P e irc e , A tlantic, 32:711). 243 w ith th e ir g la s s e s and gaze upon the em blem of th e ir g ratitu d e 8c its m e e t su rro u n d in g s, th ey would be o v e rc o m e --th e y w ould m ingle th e ir g rate fu l te a r s to g e th e r & say w ith one voice, "Oh, p rin c e s and peoples of the E a rth , behold how we loved our b e n e fa c to r!"138 S im ilarly , C le m en s' rid ic u le of "the m a rv e lo u s H is to ric a l P a in tin g s ," b a s - r e lie f s , and fre s c o e s inside the Capitol, a v e rita b le "d e liriu m t r e m en s of a r t," as it a p p e a rs in The G ilded A ge, is a p ro d u ct of the la te r W ashington im p re s s io n s , postdating those of the ico n o clastic Innocents A b ro ad . W agenknecht, w ritin g sev en y e a rs b efo re publication of the Jo u rn al le tte r, in w hich "noble" p ic tu re s a re said to " e m b e llish " the Capitol, w as th e re fo re m is ta k e n in his quite n a tu ra l s u rm is e th at C lem - 139 e n s' d is ta s te m ay have d e riv e d fro m the e a r l ie r v isit. As one l i t e r a ry h is to rio g ra p h e r has o b serv ed , the in te rio r of the C apitol is not ta k en as se rio u s ly in The G ilded Age as in A th e rto n 's Senator N orth or 140 G ra n t's U nleavened B re a d . L eon L e m m o n ie r h as said th a t one s e n se s w ith M a rk T w ain's d e sc rip tio n of W ashington "a m ind m ade up fo r d isp a ra g e m e n t, a naive 141 and s in c e re e x e c ra tio n of ev ery th in g m en m ight b u ild ." "Shabby f u r n itu re 8c shabby fo o d --th a t is W ash1 1 ," C lem ens w ro te his fam ily in 1868, a fte r changing his re s id e n c e five tim e s , " - - I m e a n to keep ^ ^ M S . page 549 (M orse, 10). C opyright (]c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Company. l ^ S e e M a rk T w ain, p. 23. ^ ^ F r a n c e s W eston C a rru th , "W ashington in F ic tio n ," The Bookm an (New York), 15:452-453, July 1902. C a rru th also c o n tra sts T w ain's definition of the W hite House as "a fine la rg e w hite b a rn , w ith wide unhandsom e grounds about it" w ith D ickens' as "like an E nglish clu b -h o u se" (p. 455). 141". . . un p a r ti p r is de d en ig rem en t, une e x e c ra tio n na'iVe et sin cb re de tout se que le s h o m m es pouvent c o n s tru ire " (p. 35). 244 m o v in g ."142 Indeed, it is quite p ro b ab le th a t C le m en s' re a c tio n s to the natio n al c ap ital w e re in e x tric a b ly interw o v en w ith his re a c tio n s to its in h a b ita n ts --a t the le a s t h eav ily influenced by them . The city w as raw enough, the W ashingtonians even ra w e r. "T h is is a p lace to get a poor opinion of everybody in ," he w ro te. He h a d seen m u ch ra w n e ss in the W est, it is tru e ; but th a t w as the expected ra w n e ss of a fro n tie r e n v iro n m ent. W hat he w itn e ss e d in W ashington in the w in te r of 1867-68 w as the ra w n e ss of p re te n sio n , the v u lg a r d isp la y and cru d e politicking of the " g re a t b a rb e c u e ." The B ra h m in ic a l A tlan tic M onthly, com m enting on the h e te ro g e n e o u sn e s s of W ashington so c ie ty and d eploring its la ck of a unified se t of v alu es and ta s te s , denied th a t The G ilded Age gave a " tru e d elin eatio n " of this so ciety but at the sam e tim e w as fo rc e d to a d m it th a t " th e re is som ething in it w hich fu rn is h e s a b a sis fo r such b u r le s q u e s ." ^ ^ Half a c e n tu ry la te r, h is to ria n s show ed th at during the G ilded Age the " c a s h n ex u s" w as the b a s is of so cial re la tio n s in the cap ital and th a t T w ain 's b u rle sq u e s w e re f a r m o re re lia b le th an the A t- 144 la n tic 's apologies. The c r o s s - c u r r e n ts of W ashington society, p a r tic u la r ly the bad ta ste and fa lse m a n n e rs of the nouveaux r ic h e s , M a rk Tw ain illu s tra te s w ith d ev asta tin g effect in his sketching of the w om en. The m e n -- 142 L e tte r dated F e b r u a r y 21, 1868, in MT, B u sin ess M an, pp. 98-99. W ashington S o cie ty ," A tlantic, 40:657, D ecem b er 1877. !4 4 see C. H. F o rb e s -L in d s a y , W ashington, the City and the Seat of G o v ern m en t (P hiladelphia, 1908), p. 291; Josephson, p. 88; B ow ers, p. 246; C h arles A. and M a ry R. B eard, The R ise of A m e ric a n C iv iliz a tio n , rev . ed. (New York, 1937), II, 384-385, 394. 245 p o litic ian s, lo b b y ists, r e p o r t e r s - - h e s a tir iz e s in connection w ith the 145 co n g re ssio n a l m an eu v erin g s. But w h ere the so cial life of the capital is co n cern ed he tu rn s to the w om en, who, as nonpolitical attach e s of th e ir husbands, occupy th e m se lv e s w ith the expected en tertain in g and conduct of a m en ities. W hether engaged in upholding the ancient dignity of the older fa m ilie s or in adapting fro n tie r m a n n e rs to resp len d e n tly so p h istic ated su rro u n d in g s, the w om en of The Gilded Age provide the p e rfe c t m edium fo r com m ent. Using the intelligent w om an lobbyist L a u ra as a foil, C lem ens devotes two e n tire c h a p te rs to b u rlesq u in g the so cial c lim b e rs he had 146 o b se rv e d at f i r s t hand in the w in te r of 1867-68. The ta s k w as not new to him . Ten y e a rs b efore, he had b u rle sq u e d the fashions at the San F ra n c is c o P io n e e r B a ll.^ ^ And in 1867 he had w ritte n the A lta C alifo rn ia th a t "the old, genuine, tra v e lle d , cultivated, p e d ig re e d a r i s to c ra c y " of New Y ork found th e m se lv e s "supplanted by u p s ta rt p rin c e s The one g en era l so cial custom am ong the m e n th a t he singles out fo r com m ent is th at of c o n ferrin g gratu ito u s title s. Colonel S ellers says (II, 280): . . Look at m e. W hen we f i r s t cam e h e re , I w as M r. S e lle rs, and M ajor S e lle rs, and C aptain S e lle rs, but nobody could ev er get it right, som ehow; but the m inute our bill w ent through the House, I w as Colonel S e lle rs e v e ry tim e . . . .'" E llis w rite s: " E v e ry body in W ashington has a title . If it does not le g ally belong to him , he a p p ro p ri ates it, and th a t an sw e rs the sam e p u rp o se . . . . on all o ccasio n s, the e a r is w e a rie d w ith the in c e ssa n t re p e titio n s of 'S e n a to r, 1 'Ju d g e,' 'S e c re ta ry ,' 'M r. S p eak er,' 'G o v e rn o r,' 'M a rsh a l,' 'G e n e ra l,' 'C ap tain ,' 'C olonel,' 'M a jo r,' . . ." (pp. 423-424). ^ ^ C h a p te r XXXII, " L a u ra 's S uccess in W ashington Society," and C hapter XXXIII, "L a u ra R eceives C alls fro m the A ris to c ra c ie s " (W ritin g s, XI, 5-13, 14-37). L e tte r in Golden E r a , published S eptem ber 27, 1863, r e p rin te d in The W ashoe Giant in San F ra n c is c o , ed. F ra n k lin W alker (San F ra n c is c o , 1938), pp. 33-38. 246 148 of Shoddy, v u lg a r and w ith unknown g ra n d fa th e rs." N ever had he stru c k a ric h e r vein, how ever, than he did in the W ashington salons of the "new p eo p le." M ary C le m m e r A m es w ro te of the "new w om an," "H er b earin g and h e r honors do not blend." The sum of p ro s p e rity m ay strik e down to a r a r e r vein, and draw it outw ard, to tone down this boastful com m onplace; but we m u s t b e a r the g la re , the s m e ll of v arn ish , and the c ra c k le of ven eerin g , during the p ro c e s s . And she added th a t th e re is all the d ifference "in the quality of the put- on, puckering m a n n e r, and the sim ple dignity of r e a l ladyhood" that 149 th e re is betw een a p e rs im m o n and a p o m e g ra n ate. W ashington so ciety divided itse lf b a s ic a lly into two c o n tra stin g groups, w hich have been lab eled v a rio u sly as the " r e a l in h ab itan ts" and the " b a rb a ria n s ," the "e x c lu siv e s" and the "m ob," or, as M ark Tw ain 150 called them , the "A ntiques" and the " P a rv e n u s ." "The a r is to c r a c y of the A ntiques ignored the a r is to c r a c y of the P arv e n u s; the P a rv e n u s laughed at the A ntiques (and s e c re tly envied them )" (II, 15). The old 151 fam ilies, the A n tiq u e s--so m e called them " c a v e -d w e lle rs ," "m o re 152 re sp e c ta b le than lo y al," a re re p re s e n te d in The G ilded Age by the fictitious M rs. M a jo r-G e n e ra l F u lk e -F u lk e rso n and daughter, who 14-8 L e tte r dated F e b ru a ry 23, re p rin te d in M r. B row n, pp. 101 — 1 1 0 . ^ 9 T en Y ears in W ashington (H artford, Conn., 1874), p. 261. Cf. B eard(s), II, 386. ■'■^Milton, p. 8; B ow ers, p. 250; Shackleton, pp. 202-203. ^ ^ S h a c k le to n , p. 203: ". . . a s o r t of so cial alluvial soil, . . . " l ^ J o h n B. E llis, The Sights and S e c re ts of the N ational C apital (San F ra n c isc o , 1869), pp. 416-417. The "so c ia l a tm o sp h e re " of this set w as "heavy w ith the taint of S outhern in stitu tio n s." 247 com e to c a ll "in a r a th e r antiquated v ehicle w ith a faded coat of a r m s on the p a n e ls" and c o n v erse w ith " e a sy g race and dignity" about the a c ceptable w ate rin g p la c e s (II, 17-20). L a u ra , undoubtedly refle ctin g C le m en s' own re a c tio n s , knows them to be people " re s p e c te d fo r th e ir sta in le s s c h a r a c te r s and e s te e m e d fo r th e ir so cial v irtu e s " and thinks 153 it a p ity th a t they have to be " ic e b e rg s " w hen out of th e ir own w a te rs . The P a rv e n u s a re d ep icted in an o th er group of L a u ra 's c a lle rs , the Hon. M rs. O liver H iggins, the Hon. M rs. P a triq u e O reille, M iss B rid g et O reille, M rs . P e te r G ashly, M iss Gashly, and M iss E m m elin e G ashly (II, 20-34). Though th e se w om en a re re v e a le d as the P a rv e n u s they a re by th e ir co n v ersatio n , they a re in p a r t defined as the spouses of c e rta in new m e m b e rs of the R ec o n stru c tio n C o n g ress. The Hon. M rs. O liver H iggins is the wife of "a delegate fro m a d ista n t T errito ry ," who has kept the p rin c ip a l saloon of his village, been chief of the fire d e p artm en t, and k illed s e v e ra l " p a r tie s ," all of w hich qualifies him as his c o n stitu e n c y 's fitte s t re p re s e n ta tiv e . Always re g a rd e d as the m o st elegant g en tlem an in his T e r r ito r y , he w e a rs im m acu late s h ir t fro n ts, a w atch chain w eighing a pound, and a diam ond c lu s te r pin, and p a rts his h a ir behind. He m a y be b a s e d on Tom P e a se le y , ow ner of the c o lo r- 154 ful S a z e ra c saloon in V irginia City. The Hon. M rs . P a triq u e O reill4 "(pronounced O rela y )" and h e r daughter, M iss B rid g et " (p ro nounced B re e z h a y )," a re the w ife and daughter of P a tr ic k O 'R iley, who I C O Is not C lem ens re v e a lin g h e re h is own am b iv alen t feelings about the re s p e c ta b ility of New E ngland and Nook F a rm ? 1 54 See Gladys C a rm e n B ellam y, M ark Tw ain as a L ite r a r y A r t is t (N orm an, Okla., 1950), p. 293; M ack, pp. 194-197. 248 has been shown e lse w h e re to be b ased on the New Y ork w a rd h e e le r T hom as M u r p h y . M r s . O re illd 's gushing about P a r r y (P a ris ) and h e r p e d ig re e d lap dog n am ed F ra n p o is re m in d s one of the anecdote in Innocents about a c e rta in G ordon who reco g n ized h is nam e only w hen pronounced G o r - r - dong and who called his old frie n d H e rb e rt E r - 156 157 b a re . Such G allicized Irish , to use D eV oto's p h ra s e , w e re not u n ty p ical of the W ashington scene; the Iris h -A m e ric a n p o litic ian w as 158 m uch in evidence. The o rig in s of the G ashlys a re left at the single com m ent th at p e tro le u m had suddenly tra n s fo rm e d them "from m o d e st h a rd -w o rk in g co u n try village folk into 'loud' a r is to c r a ts ." The c o n v e rsa tio n of this group of P a rv e n u c a lle rs , a c o n v e rs a tion in w hich L a u ra has little to say, begins w ith a com petitive s e rie s of allusions to P a r is , by m e a n s of w hich the w om en vie w ith one a n o ther at ap p earin g cosm o p o litan and tra v e le d . It soon d e g e n e ra te s into a n au seatin g d isc u s sio n of h ealth m e a s u re s (as an excuse fo r m e n tio n ing the fashionable spas) and ends w ith a lu d ic ro u sly s e rio u s exchange of e x p e rie n c e s w ith sic k lap dogs, a s o rt of m ock epic of canine ill n e s s e s . The g e n e ra l tone of the u tte ra n c e s fluctuates am u sin g ly b e tw een affectation and v u lg arity , the la tte r as unconscious as the fo rm e r is d e lib e ra te . " L a u r a 's s c o rn " is "b o u n d less." At the end of the p a s sage o ccu rs the following footnote by "The A uthors": 155See above, pp. 158-159. 156W ritings, I, 300. 1 R7 M ark T w ain's A m e ric a , p. 287. See, fo r exam ple, the com ic d e s c rip tio n by G eorge A lfred Tow nsend (W ashington, O utside and Inside [H artfo rd and Chicago, 1874], p. 695) of the b eh av io r of c o n g re s s m e n W illiam D. K elly and D ionysius Dennis O 'M cC arthy. 249 As im p o ssib le and e x a s p e ra tin g as this c o n v e rsa tio n m a y sound to a p e r s o n who is not an idiot, it is s c a r c e ly in any r e s p e c t an e x a g g e ra tio n of one w hich one of us actu ally liste n e d to in an A m e ric a n d ra w in g -ro o m ; o th e rw ise we could not v e n tu re to put such a c h ap ter into a book w hich p ro fe s s e s to deal w ith so c ia l p o s sib ilitie s . (II, 34) M a rk Tw ain d istin g u ish es a th ird so c ia l group, the a r is to c r a c y of the M iddle G round, co m posed of the fa m ilie s of public m e n of both the le g isla tiv e and executive b ra n c h e s of g overnm ent, u n o sten tatio u s, cultured, w ell educated, beyond re p ro a c h . As an h o n est r e p o r te r , he is co m p elled to reco g n ize th e ir e x is te n c e --h e ca lls them " re a lly the m o st pow erful, by f a r ." As a s a tir is t, he m u st re a liz e th a t his a d m irin g co m m en t upon them stre n g th e n s his c o n tra stin g b u rle sq u e of the o th e rs . They a re , so to speak, his own people. L ittle has b een w ritte n about them as a c la ss , though bio g rap h y is re p le te w ith re p re s e n ta tiv e in d i viduals. P e rh a p s they have b een as n e a rly defined as anyw here outside M ark Tw ain by the B eard s: "It w as w ithin this group th a t the e a rly P u rita n c h a r a c te r is tic s of th rift, so b riety , and s e lf-d e n ia l a p p e a re d to 159 su rv iv e and unfold in the m o s t n a tu ra l fash io n ." M e re ly defined in the ch a p te r on the " a r is to c r a c ie s ," the M iddle G round is illu s tra te d four c h a p te rs la te r in the p e rs o n of M rs. R e p re - I f A sen tativ e S choonm aker. "A sw eet w om an, of sim p le and s in c e re m a n n e rs ," she e n te rta in s w ith little o sten tatio n in a hom e to w hich p e o ple like to com e b e c a u se the a tm o s p h e re re m in d s them "of the peace and p u rity of h o m e ." M rs . Schoonm aker is "as n a tu ra l and unaffected in W ashington so ciety as . . . in h e r own New Y ork h o u se ," and h e r 159 R ise of A m e ric a n C ivilization, II, 399- 160In C hapter XXXVIII (W ritin g s, XI, 70 ff.). 250 husband, though "not exactly a le a d e r in the H ouse," is " g re a tly r e sp ecte d fo r his fine ta le n ts and h is h o n esty ." The delineation m a y be a co m p lim en t to M rs. John G. S chum aker, w hose husband w as a R e p re sen tativ e fro m New Y o rk .^ ^ As a p re lu d e to n a rra tin g L a u r a 's re c e p tio n of fashionable calls M ark Tw ain devotes o ver two pag es to a d etaile d outline of the "'so ciety ' cu sto m " of calling. . . . w hen a lady of any p ro m in e n c e com es to one of our cities and ta k es up h e r re sid e n c e , all the la d ie s of h e r grad e fav o r h e r in tu rn w ith an in itial call, giving th e ir c a rd s to the s e rv a n t at the door by w ay of introduction. . . . If the lady rece iv in g the call d e s ire s a f u r th e r acquaintance, she m u st r e tu r n the v is it w ithin two w eeks; to n eg lect it beyond th a t tim e m ean s "let the m a tte r d ro p ." But if she does r e tu r n the v is it w ithin two w eeks, it then beco m es the other p a r ty 's p riv ile g e to continue the acquaintance or drop it. . . . (II, 15) He e n u m e ra te s the v ario u s w ays of tu rn in g down one c o rn e r of the c a ll ing c a rd to signify "called in p e rs o n " or "c o n g ra tu la tio n s" or "condol en c e ." "It is v e ry n e c e s s a r y to get the c o rn e rs right, e lse one m a y un intentionally condole w ith a frie n d on a w edding or co n g ratu late h e r u p on a fu n e ra l." That o b serv an ce of the custom of calling w as a so u rce of con sid e ra b le anxiety is a tte s te d by v ario u s c o n te m p o ra ry w ritin g s . A c cording to the A tla n tic , The ru le in W ashington is th at all s tra n g e rs pay v is its f i r s t , - - a ru le w hich, like m o st so cial ru le s , is o b serv ed w ith s tric tn e s s by f o r e ig n e rs, and w ith co n sid era b le la x ity by n ativ es. . . . (40:658) T w ain's fellow jo u rn a lis t Donn P ia tt puts it m o re laconically: John G. S chum aker w as in the f o r ty - f ir s t C o n g ress (1869-70), a y e a r a fte r C le m en s' W ashington so jo u rn (see E d w ard M cP h erso n , The P o litic a l H isto ry of the United S tates . . . D uring . . . R e co n stru c tio n [W ashington, 187lJ, p. 508). C le m e n s ' acquaintance w ith the Schum ak- e r s is e n tire ly co n jectu ral. 251 It is the etiquette in W ashington, soon as you a rriv e , to em pty y our trunk, and h ir e a h ack to d riv e aro u n d and call on people. It is not n e c e s s a r y to know them , or to be known. If you have a p a p e r colljL^a-nd a p a ir of kids, the official people a re glad to see you. The n ic e tie s of the convention, g e n e ra lly c o n sid e re d de r ig u e u r , w ent back, as a m a tte r of fact, to a s e t of ru le s e sta b lish e d by W ashington, A dam s, and H am ilton, w hich ru le s w e re se t fo rth in an 1870 publication, "O fficial E tiquette. R ules T h e re fo r as D raw n by P re s id e n t W ashington 3 --T h e E xistin g C o d es." In connection w ith the p o rtra y a l in The G ilded Age it is in te re s tin g to note the A tla n tic 's co m m en t th at the c u s tom "tends to m ake so ciety a lto g e th e r too e a sy of en tra n c e , and to fo ist upon it g rad u ally m an y c h a r a c te r s whom, if le ft to itself, it would not re c o g n iz e ." As has a lre a d y been indicated, C lem ens gleaned the g re a te s t p ro p o rtio n of the W ashington im p re s sio n s th a t he in c o rp o ra te d into The Gilded Age during his few w eeks sta y in the city in the w in te r of 1867- 68. W hile s till on the Q uaker City to u r of E urope and the Holy Land, he had w ritte n to h is N evada frien d , S enator B ill Stew art, fro m N aples, a c cepting an offer p re v io u s ly m ade by the la tte r to becom e his p riv a te 164 s e c r e ta r y w hen the e x c u rsio n w as over. To quote P ain e, "S tew art no doubt thought it would be co n sid e ra b ly to h is advantage to have the 165 b rillia n t w r ite r and le c tu r e r attach e d to his p o litic a l e sta b lish m e n t." ^ ^ Q u o te d by E llis, p. 431. 163 Quoted at length in E m ily E dson B riggs, The Olivia L e tte rs (New Y ork and W ashington, 1906), pp. 173-180. 164P a in e , I, 346. 16 c P ain e, I, 346. It m u s t be kept in m ind th a t although M ark 252 C lem ens, of co u rse, d e s ire d a not too arduous b erth , w hich would allow him the le is u re to get his A lta le tte r s in shape fo r publication as a v o l um e. T h e re fo re , a fte r d ise m b a rk in g on N ovem ber 19, he spent only a day and a half in New Y o rk --a sto p -o v e r that included dinner w ith "the whole e d ito ria l c o rp s " of the T ribune - - and w as off to W ashington on the tw enty-first.**^ The s e c re ta ry s h ip did not la s t long. As P ain e say s, "It is im - 167 p o ssib le to conceive of M ark Tw ain as anybody's s e c r e ta r y ." Tw ain h im se lf b u rle sq u e d the episode in two sk etch e s w ritte n s h o rtly a f te r w ard, "My L ate S en ato rial S e c re ta ry s h ip " and "The F a c ts C oncerning the R ecent R esig n atio n ," w hich w hen d iv ested of th e ir obvious Tw ain had not yet achieved the national reco g n itio n th at cam e to him at the publication of Innocents, his rep u ta tio n w as high in the sectio n of the co u n try fro m w hich S tew art hailed. * ^ S e e M ark Tw ain to M rs. F a irb a n k s, ed. Dixon W ecter (San M arino, C alif., 1949) (h e re a fte r F a irb a n k s L e t te r s ), p. 1; M T, B u sin ess M an, p. 95; T rav elin g w ith the Innocents A b ro ad , ed. D aniel M o rely M cK eithan (N orm an, Okla., 1958), p. 313. l Ln I, 347. M uch has been w ritte n about this sh o rt-liv e d a r ra n g e m e n t and the alleged rift it cau sed betw een S tew art and C lem ens. W hatever rift th e re w as w as ap p are n tly cau sed by the a p p ea ran ce in Roughing It of a p ic tu re of S tew art w ith a p atch over his eye. In r e p a y m e n t S tew art in his R e m in iscen c es devoted a chapter to the C lem ens se c re ta ry sh ip , b u rlesq u in g the episode u n m e rc ifu lly h la Twain. As C lem ens had been publicly needling S tew art fro m the tim e he f i r s t knew him in Nevada, the duel ap p e a rs to have been m uch m o re g o o d -n atu red than lite ra l-m in d e d b io g ra p h e rs have adm itted. (See P aine, I, 347, n. 1; Stew art, R e m in is c e n c e s, pp. 219-224.) F o r b io g ra p h e rs who, taking th e ir cue fro m P ain e, in vary in g d eg ree accep t the h o stility at face v a l ue see W agenknecht, p. 84; W eb ster, M T, B u sin ess M an, p. 99; F e r g u son, p. 128; DeVoto, M a rk T w ain's A m e ric a , p. 131; M a s te rs , p. 65; B ellam y, p. 20. F o r C le m en s' re la tio n s w ith S tew art in the N evada days see Mack, pp. 233-234, 238-239, 240, et p a ssim ; M ark Twain of the E n te r p ris e , pp. 63, 97, 142, 162; and, w ith re s e rv a tio n s , C y ril C lem ens, Young Sam C lem ens (P ortland, M e., 1942), pp. 151-152, 165. 253 ex a gge r a ti° n s re v e a l the a u th o r's n a tu ra l incom patibility w ith the 16 8 post. But C lem ens had other irons in the fire . D eclining "18 invita- tions to le c tu re , at $100 each, in v ario u s p a rts of the Union," he spent the h o u rs not re q u ire d by h is s e c r e ta r ia l duties in supplying sp ecia l co rresp o n d en ce to s e v e ra l n ew sp ap ers and m a g azin e s, w ritin g s a tiric a l sk etch es on national affa irs and cu rio sa , try in g to get O rion p la ced in the P a te n t Office (w here, p re su m a b ly , O rion's inventiveness could 169 • thrive!), and w orking on his book. Though the cle rk sh ip fo r Orion n e v e r m a te ria liz e d , C lem ens h im se lf w as offered s e v e ra l s in e c u re s, including the San F ra n c is c o p o s tm a ste rs h ip , a consulship, and the p o st 170 of United States M in iste r to China. Socially, he "found h im se lf all at once in the m id st of rece p tio n s, 171 d in n ers, and sp eech-m aking; all v e ry exciting, fo r a tim e at le a s t." A co rre sp o n d e n t gave the following p ic tu re of him at the tim e: . . . quite a lion, as he d e s e rv e s to be. M ark is a b achelor, fa u ltle ss in ta ste , w hose snowy v e st is suggestive of endless q u a rre ls with W ashington w asherw om en; but the h e ro is m of M ark is se ttle d for all ^ ^ S e e Sketches New and Old (W ritin g s, XIX, 190-196 and 348- 358). The b e st account of the episode is p re s e n te d by M ack (pp. 344- 348). ^ ^ A m o n g the s a tir ic a l sk etches a re s e v e ra l th at b e a r on topics given em p h asis in The Gilded A ge: "T he F a c ts in the C ase of the G reat Beef C o n tract" (W ritin g s, XIX, 121-131), on red tape; "The F a c ts in the C ase of G eorge F is h e r, D eceased " (ib id ., pp. 132-142), on p ro fiteerin g ; "A New C rim e: L eg islatio n N eeded" (ib id ., pp. 244-250), on the insanity p le a (see above, pp. 139-140), to nam e a few. See B ellam y, pp. 101-102, and, for "The G reat Beef C o n tra c t," the G alaxy, 10:431-432, S eptem ber 1870, and A utobiography, I, 324-326. ^ ^ L e t te r s , I, 148-149; MT, B u sin ess M an, pp. 96-99; The Love L e tte rs of M a rk Tw ain, ed. Dixon W ecter (New York, 1949) (h e re a fte r Love L e t te r s ), pp. 60-62. P a in e , I, 348. 254 tim e, fo r such p u rity and sm o o th n e ss w e re n e v e r seen b efo re. His la v en d ar gloves m ig h t have been sto le n fro m som e T u rk ish h a re m , so delicate w e re they in size; but m o re lik e ly --a n y th in g e lse w e re m o re likely than that. . . . It is no w onder th at he could quote re c e p tio n -ro o m c o n v e rsa tio n s a l m o st v e rb a tim . As a c o rre sp o n d e n t M a rk Tw ain w ro te fo r s e v e ra l of the p r i n cipal jo u rn a ls of the day: the New Y ork T rib u n e and H e ra ld , the C hi cago T ribune and R epublican, the San F ra n c is c o A lta C a lifo rn ia , the 173 V irginia City T e r r ito r ia l E n t e r p r is e . In addition, he fo rm e d w ith W illiam Swinton w hat he c laim e d to be the f i r s t A m e ric a n "sy n d ic a te ," 174 to supply re g u la r W ashington le tte r s to a lis t of n e w sp a p e rs. W il lia m Swinton w as the b ro th e r of John Swinton, then chief of the New Y ork T im es e d ito ria l staff and la te r the p u b lis h e r of John Sw inton1 s 175 P a p e r , the leading la b o r p a p e r of its tim e . As a w ar c o rre s p o n d e n t for the T im e s , W illiam Swinton w as so c r itic a l of the Union a r m y 's conduct of the w ar th at he w as sav ed fro m r e p r is a l s only by the in te r- 17 f) vention of S e c re ta ry Sew ard. L a te r in life, w hen he w as P r o f e s s o r 17 Z A utobiography, II, 72 (N eider ed., p. 275); also quoted in the Olivia L e tte rs for M a rc h 2, 1868 (B riggs, p. 47). ^ ^ P a i n e , I, 348, 351, 357, 358; L e t te r s , I, 142, 145, 146. See also F airb a n k s L e t te r s , pp. 6, 14-15, 31, 36; M a rk T w ain's L e tte rs to Will Bowen, ed. T heodore H o rn b e rg e r (Austin, T exas, 1941), pp. 16-17; Love L e t te r s , p. 358; M a rk Twain, R epublican L e t t e r s , ed. C y ril C le m ens (W ebster G roves, M o., 1941), and W ashington in 1868, ed. C y ril C lem ens (W ebster G roves, M o., and London, 1943). ^ ^ P a i n e , I, 358-359; A utobiography, I, 323-324; M a rk Tw ain in E ru p tio n , pp. 351-354 (A utobiography, N e id e r ed., pp. 154-155). ^ ^ W h o 's Who in A m e ric a , 1899-1900 ed., p. 710; F o n e r, p. 168. ^ ^ N e w Y ork T im e s , O ctober 26, 1892, p. 5, col. 3; D ictio n ary of A m e ric a n B iography, XVIII, 252-253. 255 of E n g lish Language and L ite ra tu re at the U n iv ersity of C alifornia, he w as a le a d e r of the H enry G eorgite re v o lt w ithin the U n iv ersity that 177 cam e into h e a d -o n c o llisio n w ith the a d m in istra tio n . W hat M a rk Tw ain re c o lle c te d of him in his A utobiography w as th a t he w as "one of the d e a r e s t and lo v e lie s t hum an beings I have e v e r known . . . refin e d by n a tu re . . . highly educated . . . p u re in h e a r t and sp eech " and th at he "kept a jug" of Scotch, " so m e tim e s full, but seldom as full as h im - 178 se lf." Yet the c r itic a l in te lle c t of this S cottish P r e s b y te r ia n re b e l m u s t have stim u la te d C le m en s' own c ritic a l faculty, as indeed th a t of his e a r l ie r Scot frien d , M acfarlan e, had. In his jo u rn a lis tic cap acity C lem ens b eca m e one of th a t group d e s c rib e d by S en ato r H a rla n as "people hanging around W ashington w r it ing fo r n e w sp a p e rs, styling th e m se lv e s c o rre sp o n d e n ts, and occupying 17 9 s e a ts in th a t [p re s s ] g a lle ry by the c o u rte sy of the S en ate." In other w o rd s, he becam e a m e m b e r of "N ew spaper Row ." N ew sp ap er Row w as both a c o te rie and a locality, the la tte r endowing the fo r m e r w ith its designation. Along the 500 block of F o u rte e n th S tre e t w e re to be found the W ashington offices of m o s t of the c o u n try 's p rin c ip a l n e w s p a p e rs , w ith G eorge W. C hilds' P h ilad elp h ia P u b lic L ed g e r at one end and the New Y ork T im e s , u n d er Ju stin E. Colburn, at the o th er. H ere, 177 W illiam C a re y Jo n es, Illu stra te d H isto ry of The U n iv ersity of C alifo rn ia (San F ra n c is c o , 1895), pp. 110-111; W illiam W a rre n F e r - r i e r , O rigin and D evelopm ent of the U n iv ersity of C alifo rn ia (B erkeley, 1930), pp. 355, 361. ^ ^ M a rk Tw ain in E ru p tio n , p. 353 (A utobiography, N eid er ed., p. 154); A utobiography, I, 324. 179 Johnson B righam , J a m e s H a rla n (Iowa City, la., 1913), p. 242. 256 in th is "v e rita b le ra b b it w a r r e n of jo u rn a lis m , 1 1 C lem ens m u s t have hob-nobbed w ith such notable colleagues as E. V. S m alley of the New Y ork T ribune and C incinnati C o m m e rc ia l, F in le y A nderson of the New Y ork H e ra ld , Ben: P e r le y P o o re of the B oston J o u rn a l, and G eorge W. 180 A dam s of the New Y ork W o rld . It w as h e re , too, that in the le is u re ly evenings, the leading s ta te s m e n of the day would drop in upon th e ir p a r t i c u l a r cro n ie s am ong the co rresp o n d en ts to ta lk p o litic s, d isc u ss the la te s t gossip in co n g re ssio n a l c irc le s , and to see to it th a t new s of in te re s t to th e ir co n stitu en ts and to th e m se lv e s w as p ro p e rly p la c e d in the hands of the w r ite r s . In The Gilded Age M a rk Tw ain gives his im p re ssio n s of N ew s p a p e r Row as C olonel S e lle rs com es in contact w ith it. The Colonel, who h as a c c e s s to the g o v ern m en t d e p a rtm e n ts, the offices of se n a to rs and re p re s e n ta tiv e s , the lobby, even the P re s id e n t him self, is " c o n se quently a g re a t fa v o rite in N ew spaper Row ," w here he is often found "lounging in the offices th e re , dropping bits of p riv a te , official in fo rm a tio n ," w hich a re im m ed iately te le g ra p h e d a c ro s s the nation, " em b el- 182 lish e d to th at d e g re e " th at he h a rd ly re c o g n iz e s them . As Tw ain says, They w e re alw ays talking in the Row, e v e rla stin g ly gossiping, 180 See G eorge Rothw ell Brown, W ashington, a Not Too S erious H isto ry (B altim o re, 1930), pp. 334-336. C lem ens also knew G eorge A l fre d Tow nsend of the Chicago T rib u n e , the "Yankee D ickens w ith the head of a p r iz e - f ig h te r and the m a n n e rs of a P hilad elp h ia B o u rg eo ise" (H enry W atterso n in Views and Interview s on J o u rn a lis m , ed. C h arles F . W ingate [New Y ork, 1875J, p. 20), fro m whom I have quoted th ro u g h out this study (see Love L e t te r s , pp. 153-154). ^ ^ B ro w n , pp. 334-335; cf. F o rb e s -L in d s a y , p. 261. ^®^See C h ap ter XL, "How W ashington News L eaks Out" (W rit in g s, XI, 88-96). A lso see above, p. 181, re g a rd in g S e lle rs ' "leak " of the A labam a T rea ty . 257 b an terin g , and s a r c a s tic a lly p ra is in g things, and going on in a style w hich w as a cu rio u s com m ingling of e a r n e s t and p e rs ifla g e . (II, 52) His fir s t- h a n d know ledge of the Row and of jo u rn a lis tic b eh av io r at the cap ital is refle cted , indeed, throughout th e se la te r c h a p te rs, as, fo r exam ple, in the account of the new s co v era g e of the debate o ver the 183 U n iv ersity Bill. The chief c h a r a c te r is tic of W ashington c o rre s p o n d ents th at e m e rg e s fro m th e se pag es is a z e a l to expose the v e ry c o r ruption being s a tiriz e d in the novel. O bviously, C lem ens had g re a t r e sp ect fo r h is fellow jo u rn a lis ts . The only exception to the n o v el's frien d ly tre a tm e n t of n ew sp ap er m e n is the c a ric a tu re of J a m e s H a r la n 's c o rru p t W ashingtonJphronicle in B ro th e r B a la a m 's D aily L o v e- F e a s t . R e g a rd le s s of C le m e n s' known p a rtia lity and lo yalty to frie n d s and a s s o c ia te s whom he m ig h t v iolently oppose if they w e re s tr a n g e r s , his r e g a r d fo r the Row c o rre sp o n d e n ts w as s h a re d by o th e rs. In the view of the A tla n tic, fifty-five of the sixty c o rre sp o n d e n ts c u s to m a rily re s id e n t in W ashington during the w in te r se a so n w e re "honorable and in d u strio u s"; the o th er " c o rru p t fiv e," the exceptions only, w e re "vul- 184 g ar, u n scru p u lo u s, and ric h ." F ro m h is vantage point, then, in N ew spaper Row and in the p r e s s g a lle rie s of C o n g ress, C lem ens co n firm e d to h is la stin g sa tisfa c tio n his e a r l ie r im p re s s io n s of le g is la to rs and th e ir b eh av io r. He w ro te in ^ ^ S e e G ilded A ge, II (W ritin g s, XI), 130, 134-136. O ther in sta n c e s a r e found on pp. 93, 284, and 300. 184"The P r e s s u r e upon C o n g re s s ," 25:156-157, F e b ru a ry 1870. D istinction should be m ade betw een u n s c ru p u lo u sn e ss, w hich M a rk Tw ain m a k e s the exception, and se n satio n aliz in g the new s, a p ra c tic e w hich he lam poons, e s p e c ia lly in connection w ith L a u ra 's m u rd e r tr i a l (see G ilded A ge, II, 167-169, 178, 282-283). 258 r e tr o s p e c t in 1891 th a t he w as r e p o r te r in a le g is la tu re two s e s sio n s and the sam e in C o ngress one sessio n , and thus le a rn e d to know p e rso n a lly th re e sam ple bodies of the s m a lle s t m inds and the s e lfish e s t souls and the c o w a rd lie s t h e a rts th a t God m a k es. Though it is undoubtedly tru e th a t the w in te r of 1867-68 contributed m o s t to his sto re of an ath em a a g ain st c o n g re s sm e n (". . . th e re is no 70 / d istin ctly native A m e ric a n c rim in a l c la ss except C o n g ress") and 187 m ad e the u n fo rg ettab le im p act r e c o rd e d in The G ilded A ge, his sk e p tic ism re g a rd in g the in te g rity and p ro b ity of the p eo p le 's electe d r e p re s e n ta tiv e s began as e a rly as h is W ashington v is it of 1854 and w as in ten sified by h is v isits of 1867 and 1870. On h is 1870 trip , he w rote Livy th a t he had "spent half the day in the H ouse G allery " and added: "D rove up to the Senate & staid till now (10:30 PM ) . . . Oh, I have g a th e re d m a te r ia l enough for a whole 188 book! This is a p e rfe c t gold m in e ." Yet he had begun panning this co n g re ssio n a l gold in 1854 w hen he w rote: I p a s s e d into the Senate C ham ber to see the m e n who give the people the benefit of th e ir w isdom and le a rn in g fo r a little glo ry and eight d o lla rs a day. The Senate is now com posed of a differen t m a te ria l fro m w hat it once w as. Its glo ry h ath dep arted . Its h alls no longer echo the w o rd s of Clay, or W ebster, or Calhoun. They have played th e ir p a r ts and r e tir e d fro m the stage; and though they a re still occupied by o th e rs, the void is felt. . . . 185Letters;, II, 542; P aine, III, 916. 186 p ro m a p h o rism of "P u d d 'n h ead W ilson's New C alen d ar," head of C hapter VIII, Follow ing the E q u a to r, I (W ritin g s, V), 98. 187 It is often im p lied th at his im p re s sio n s of W ashington date fro m no tim e e a r l ie r than 1867-68. See, fo r exam ple, W ecter in F a i r banks L e tte rs (p. 237): "this ex p e rie n c e left him w ith those sard o n ic im p re s sio n s re c o rd e d in The G ilded A ge, . . ." *®®Letter of July 8 [1870], Love L e t te r s , pp. 154-155. 259 Or again: In the H ouse n e a rly e v e ry m a n se e m e d to have som ething w eigh ing on his m ind on w hich the salv atio n of the R epublic depended, and w hich he ap p e a re d v e ry anxious to e a se h im se lf of; and so th e re w e re g e n e ra lly half a dozen of them on the floor, and "M r. C hairm an! M r. C h airm an !" w as echoed fro m e v e ry p a r t of the house. M r. Benton sits sile n t and gloom y in the m id st of the din, like a lion im p riso n ed in a cage of m onkeys, who, feeling his su p e rio rity , disdains to notice th e ir ch atterin g . ' W hat is lacking h e re , of c o u rse, is the d e sc rip tiv e pow er of the m a tu re o b s e rv e r and w r ite r th at vivify The G ilded A ge: Below, a few S enators lounged upon the sofas set a p a rt fo r v is ito rs , and ta lk ed w ith idle C o n g ressm en . A d r e a r y m e m b e r w as speaking; the p re sid in g o fficer w as nodding; h e re and th e re little knots of m e m b e rs stood in the a isle s , w h isp erin g together; all about the H ouse o th e rs s a t in all the v ario u s attitu d es that e x p re s s w e a rin e ss; som e, tilte d back, had one or m o re legs d isp o sed upon th e ir desks; som e sh a rp e n e d pencils indolently; som e sc rib b le d aim lessly ; som e yaw ned and stretch ed ; a g re a t m any lay upon th e ir b r e a s ts upon the desk s, sound asle e p and gently snoring. The flooding gaslight fro m the fancifully w rought roof p o u red down upon the tra n q u il scene. H ardly a sound d istu rb e d the stilln e s s, save the m onotonous e lo quence of the gentlem an who occupied the flo o r. . . . (II, 153-154) Long b efo re C lem ens en co u n tered national le g is la to rs , he had developed a contem pt fo r the c o rru p tn e s s of the state and te r r i to r ia l v a rie ty . S tarting w ith "Blabbing G overnm ent S e c re ts " in O rio n 's H an nibal J o u rn a l in 1 8 5 2 ,^0 the r e c o r d of his ex p erien ce w ith le g is la tu re s , w h eth er in M isso u ri, L ouisiana, Nevada, C alifornia, or Hawaii, w as a d ish earten in g o n e . '^ The g ist of his a p p ra isa ls w as th at A m e ric a n and * ^ M uscatine L e t te r s , pp. 19-20. ^ ^ B r a s h e a r , pp. 117-119. ^ ^ S e e , fo r exam ple, L e tte r X in New O rleans D aily C re s c e n t, [March 30, 1861 (The L e tte rs of Quintus C u rtiu s S n o d g ra ss, ed. E r n e s t 'E. L eisy [D allas, 1946j, pp. 65-66); "The C h ris tm a s F ir e s id e ," in The IC alifornian, D ecem ber 23, 1865 (Sketches of the Sixties: by B re t H arte and M a rk T w ain, ed. John Howell LSan F ra n c is c o , 1926J, p. 205); "On Linden, E tc .," in C alifo rn ian , A p ril 7, 1866 (Sketches of the S ix ties, p. 208); "H aw aiian L e g is la tu re " and "Solons at W ork," in S acram en to W eekly Union, June 23, 1866 (L e tte rs fro m the Sandwich Islan d s, 260 Am e r ic an-influe need le g is la to rs as a group w e re com posed a lm o st e x clu siv ely of thieves, lia r s , and idiots. The W ashoe T e r r ito r ia l L e g is la tu re , the s e s sio n s of w hich he had c o v e re d as C a rs o n City c o r r e spondent of the E n te rp ris e had been p a rtic u la rly ric h in m a te r ia l to be lam pooned; and his c a r e e r as S peaker of the " T h ird H ouse," w ith its 192 lu d icro u s p ro cee d in g s, is too w ell known to re q u ire co m m en t h e re . So too at the natio n al capital, w h ere they c a r r y the w hisky into co m m ittee ro o m s "in dem ijohns and c a r r y it out in d e m a g o g u e s."193 C o n g re ssm e n w e re also la rg e ly m ad e up of th iev es, lia r s , and idiots. In h is adm onition to the b u rg la rs who b ro k e into h is house he said, " T h e y 'll send you fro m h e re down to B rid g e p o rt jail, and the next thing 194 you know yo u 'll be in the United States S en ate." One c o n g re ssm a n , who "proved h im se lf a good D em o cra t at the White H ouse, and a good R adical at the C apitol," b eca m e so e x p e rt in duplicity "that he couldn't 195 tell, h im self, w hen he w as lying and w hen he w a s n 't." And all W ritten fo r the S ac ra m e n to Union, ed. G. E z r a Dane [San F ra n c is c o , 1937J, pp. 80-95). ^■9^See M a rk Tw ain of the E n te rp ris e , pp. 130-178, et p a ss im ; a lso M ack, "Life and L e tte rs of W illiam M o rris Stew art, 1827-1909," unpub. d iss. (Univ. of C alif., 1930), pp. 31-33; cf. F o n e r, pp. 65-66. 93N0t ebook, p. 114; cf. P ain e , I, 361. * ^ A r c h i b a l d H enderson, M ark Tw ain (London, 1911), p. 114; cf. P ain e , IV, 1472-1473. F o r other allu sio n s to c o n g re s s m e n as thieves see M a rk Tw ain in E ru p tio n , pp. 71-72; M a rk T w ain's S p eech e s, ed. P ain e (New York, 1910) (h e re a fte r S p e e c h e s), p. 55; A ndrew s, p. 175; A rth u r L. V ogelback, "M a rk Tw ain N ew sp ap er C o n trib u to r," A m er. L it., 20:117, M ay 1948. A can celed sen ten ce of Colonel S e lle rs in the o rig in al m a n u s c rip t of The G ilded Age re a d s: "God b le ss m e , so m e tim e s I feel like a C o n g ressm an , & then I c a n 't keep m y hands off of th in g s" (MS. page 1025 [M orse, 12b]). C opyright (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Com pany. ^ % r . B row n, p. 157. 261 C o n g re sse s had a kindly feeling fo r idiots and a co m p assio n fo r them , "on account of p e rs o n a l ex p e rie n c e and h e r e d i t y . T h e i r vanity also elic ite d his sco rn , and he d e s c rib e d in his notebook the "pigm y Con g re s s m e n " who opened th e ir m a il conspicuously in the b re a k fa s t ro o m of the A rlington. C lem ens w as not alone in his opinion of c o n g re ssm e n . H enry A dam s quotes a cabinet m e m b e r as saying, "A C o n g re ssm a n is a hog! 198 You m u s t take a stic k and h it him on the snout!" Yet no other w rite r of the p e rio d brought to such a state of p e rfe c tio n the a r t of c o n g re s s - m a n -b a itin g . In The G ilded Age W ashington Hawkins, in a b u rs t of a d m ira tio n , say s to Colonel S e lle rs, " . . . if the people only knew you as I do, . . . you would be in C o n g re s s." The gladness died out of the C olonel's face, and he la id his hand upon W ashington's shoulder and said gravely: "I have alw ays been a frien d of your fam ily, W ashington, and I think I have alw ays tr ie d to do rig h t as betw een m a n and m an, a c cording to m y lig h ts. Now I don't think th e re has e v e r been anything in m y conduct th at should m ake you feel ju stified in saying a thing like th a t." (II, 227) One is re m in d e d of C le m en s' telling Kipling th a t he had a notion to w rite the sequel to Tom Saw yer "in two w ay s." ". . .. In one I would m ake him r is e to g re a t honour and go to Con g re s s , and in the other I should hang him . Then the frien d s and e n e m ie s of the book could take th e ir c h o ic e ."199 ^ A utobiography, N eider ed., p. 281. See also P ain e, II, 724; L e t t e r s , I, 161; M r. B row n, p. 254. Notebook, pp. 131-132. 198 ^ 6 E ducation of H enry A d a m s, M odern L ib ra ry ed. (New York, 1931), p. 261. 199 R udyard Kipling, F ro m Sea to Sea: L e tte rs of T ra v e l (G a r den City, N.Y., 1913), P a r t II, p. 174. W a r n e r's C o n trib u tio n s Som ething needs to be said h e re about the elem en ts of The G ilded Age th a t ste m d ire c tly out of C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r's p e rs o n a l e x p erien ce. A lthough he w as content to allow C lem ens to h u rl in the facts of the events of the day, w hen it cam e to draw ing upon autobio g rap h ic al m a te r ia l W a rn e r did not h e s ita te to do so any m o re th an his p a r tn e r did. B ecause he lack ed the equivalent of a C ousin Jim or an e c c e n tric o ld er b ro th e r and also la ck ed the ta le n t fo r stro n g c h a r a c te r ization, his fig u re s re m a in p allid by co m p ariso n , even w hen they a re b ased on r e a l p e rs o n s . S im ilarly , the events of his life did not s tim u late him in the w ay th a t C le m en s' e x p e rie n c e s did him ; so not only w as a leitm o tiv such as the T e n n e sse e Land im p o ssib le fo r W a rn e r but even the triv ia of e v ery d a y living failed to e lic it the lively, im aginative r e sponses th at they did in the ex citab le C lem en s. Yet m o re of W a rn e r's background ap p e a rs in The Gilded Age than m ight be su sp e c te d and m u ch of it dovetails in te re s tin g ly and p ro d u ctiv ely into the C lem ens m a te ria l. B orn in 1829 on a fa rm n e a r P la in fie ld in w e s te rn M a ssa c h u se tts, the d escen d an t of " stu rd y P u rita n yeom an" stock, C h a rle s W a rn e r w as acquainted w ith the w o rld of books fro m an e a rly age. His fath e r, who w as a "m an of cu ltiv atio n ," died w hen C h a rle s w as five, and the boy w ent to C harlem ont, on the banks of the D eerfield R iv er, w h ere he lived w ith a g u a rd ia n -re la tiv e until he w as tw elve. His fa th e r had It is in te re s tin g to note in connection w ith C le m en s' attitude to w ard c o n g re s s m e n C ham p C la rk 's claim th a t it w as said C lem ens for y e a rs " n u rse d an am bition to be a m e m b e r of the H ouse" (My Q u a rte r C entury of A m e ric a n P o litic s [New Y ork and London, 1920J, II, 24). 263 owned the la r g e s t li b r a r y in tow n ex cep t the m in is te r 's , and when, at tw elve, he m oved w ith his m o th e r to C azenovia, New York, am ong h e r re la tiv e s , he once again had a c c e s s to the books fo r w hich he had been starv in g . T h e re in C azenovia he attended the Oneida C onference S e m i n a ry , a p r e p a r a to r y school u n d e r the au sp ice s of the M ethodist E p is c o pal C hurch. In 1848 he e n te re d H am ilton College and w as g rad u ated in 1851. Like h is fu tu re frie n d and c o lla b o ra to r he fo r a tim e set type in a p rin tin g office and a s s is te d in a b o o k sto re. N ever ro b u st, W a rn e r took a c o u rs e of tre a tm e n t in a s a n a to r i um at C lifton S prings and then, as an open a ir life w as reco m m en d ed , w ent on a ra ilr o a d su rv ey in g expedition to M is s o u ri in 1853-54, during the c o u rse of w hich h is h ealth w as r e s to re d . A fter studying law fo r a se a s o n in B ingham ton, New Y ork, he w ent to P h ila d elp h ia in 1855 at the b e h e st of an acquaintance, P h ilip M. P r ic e of th at city, and fo rm e d a p a rtn e rs h ip w ith an o th er young m an, a f o r m e r em ployee of P ric e n am ed B arton, in the leg al conveyancing of r e a l e sta te . In 1856 he w as m a r r i e d to S usan L ee of New Y ork City. The young couple lived w ith the P r ic e s w hile C h a rle s studied law at the U n iv ersity of P ennsylvania, re c e iv in g his L L .B . d e g re e in 1858. The W a rn e rs then m oved to C hi cago, w h ere C h a rle s w ent into a law p a rtn e rs h ip w ith another friend. In I860, w hen C h a rle s ' f o r m e r c la s s m a te Senator J. R. H aw ley invited him to beco m e a s s o c ia te e d ito r of the Evening P r e s s , the W a rn e rs f i n ally s e ttle d in H artfo rd , C onnecticut. A y e a r la te r H aw ley e n te re d the a rm y , leaving W a rn e r in c h a rg e of the P r e s s . This p a p e r w as co n so li d ated w ith the C our ant in 1867. C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r's adult c a r e e r 264 w as at la s t launched. F ro m this b rie f outline of W a rn e r's e a rly life a nu m b er of gen e r a l deductions can be m ade. F i r s t of all, W a rn e r's knowledge of r a i l ro ad surveying w as of in e stim a b le value in w ritin g the p a s s a g e s of The G ilded Age concerning the laying out of the Salt L ick E xtension. (T hese 201 p a s s a g e s , la rg e ly c h a p te rs XII, XVI, and XXIII, w e re W a rn e r's .) Second, his f irs t-h a n d knowledge of P h ila d elp h ia gave authenticity to the setting of the Bolton fam ily ep iso d es. T hird, his knowledge of law and c o u rt p ra c tic e supplied the te c h n ic a litie s of the c o u rtro o m sc e n e s and the depiction of counsel in L a u r a 's tria l, filling out the b a re e ss e n tia ls of the L a u ra F a ir tr i a l p ro b ab ly throw n in by C lem ens. (It m u st be r e m e m b e re d that the bulk of the tr i a l c h a p te rs w e re w ritte n by W ar- 202 n e r.) O ther in fere n ces, though lacking d ire c t evidence, seem c le a r. F o r exam ple, the S em in ary at F a llk ill (a nam e suggestive of C atskill) 203 m a y w ell re p re s e n t the Oneida C onference S em in ary at Cazenovia. Again, the Q uaker atm o sp h e re and sp eech of the Bolton household, even Ruth B olton's attendance at a Q uaker school in W estfield, a re nicely explained by a sta te m e n t in M r s .1 F ie ld s' biography of W a rn e r th at is ^ ^ T h o m a s R. L ounsbury, "B io g rap h ical S ketch," in The C om p lete W ritings of C h arles Dudley W a rn e r (H artford, 1904), XV, i- xxxviii; P a tte e , pp. 418-419; W illiam H. Rideing, The Boyhood of F a m ous A uthors (New York, 1908), pp. 178-186. 2 0 G ild e d A ge, I (W ritin g s, X), 132-142, 178-199, 257-260. 2 Chapters LIV, LV, LVI (CDW and SLC), and LVIII (CDW and SLC) (W ritin g s, XI, 242-293). o n o The d esc rip tio n of the s e m in a ry (I, 236-237) is ty p ical of a s m a ll New E ngland (or up state New York) academ y, and the town of F a llk ill b o asts an inn n am ed in good Indian fashion the S assa cu s Hotel. 265 not to be found in other b io g rap h ies. A ccording to h e r, young W a rn e r lived fo r a tim e w ith a Q uaker aunt, at the l a tte r 's invitation, in the town of De R uyter in o rd e r to go to the De R uyter school, "of v e ry high repute. Suggestive as the foregoing p a ra lle ls a re , th e re a re also v e ry sp ecific bits of evidence th a t W a rn e r drew h eavily upon his own h isto ry . It is p aten t th a t P h ilip S terlin g is W a rn e r h im se lf. It w as quite a p p a r- one ent to his old frie n d Jeff Thom pson: "I know you to be P h ilip ." P hilip, like W arn e r, is "a New E ngland boy." His m o th e r, like M rs. W arn e r, is "a widow, living on a s m a ll incom e in a re m o te M a ssa c h u setts v illag e" (II, 187). Though P h ilip is a Yale g ra d u a te --W a rn e r w ent to H a m ilto n --h e h as "a v e ry good use of the E n g lish language and con sid e ra b le know ledge of its lite r a tu r e ." A fter he le av es college he takes the advice of frie n d s and re a d s law, m eanw hile scrib b lin g on the side. "In an unfortunate h o u r," he h as two or th re e p a p e rs acc ep ted by f ir s t- cla ss m a g azin e s (W arner had co n trib u ted to the K n ick erb o c k er and P u t- n a m 's ) ^ ^ and decides to t r y fo r a li t e r a r y c a r e e r by w ay of jo u rn a l ism . P hilip th e re fo re re a d s "diligently in the A sto r L ib ra ry " (I, 137). W arner, p r io r to his p re p a ra tio n fo r the b a r, "devoted s e v e ra l m onths 207 to sp ecia l studies at the A sto r L ib ra ry ." ^ ^ M r s . J a m e s T. F ie ld s, C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r (New York, 1904), p. 21. ^ ^ L e t t e r to CDW, d ated Rodney, M ississip p i, F e b ru a ry 20, 1874, in M T P . (See above, p. 186.) ^O^See above, p. 75. ^ ^ [ T h o m a s W entw orth H igginson], "C h a rle s Dudley W a r n e r," S c rib n e r's M onthly, 7:332, J a n u a ry 1874. (F o r H igginson's au th o rsh ip 266 W hen P h ilip S terlin g se ts off fo r M is s o u ri w ith his frie n d H a rry B rie rly , he continues to r e - e n a c t m any of his creato r's e x p e rie n c e s. As has a lre a d y been pointed out, the Salt L ick E xtension, fo r w hich the surv ey in g expedition is laying out the route, is b ased on the H annibal & St. Jo. Even if C lem ens is taken at his w o rd th a t at the tim e The Gilded Age w as in p re p a ra tio n he knew nothing of his fa th e r 's asso c ia tio n w ith 208 ra ilro a d building, not to m en tio n the H annibal & St. Jo, W arn er could have and unquestionably did supply the n e c e s s a r y details c o n c e rn ing th at ro ad . F o r th a t w as the line on w hich W a rn e r had been a s u r- 209 veying en g in eer in 1854. 7 P h ilip 's frien d , the vain, im pulsive, un stab le H a rry B rie rly , is ap p are n tly b a se d on a frie n d of W a rn e r's who w as also in the su rveying p a rty . It w ill be re m e m b e re d th at a fte r the w o rk of "im proving" Goose Run and ren o v atin g S tone's Landing has been in p r o g r e s s fo r s e v e ra l w eeks, during w hich tim e no funds have been forth co m in g fro m the New of the a rtic le see review of The Gilded A ge, C incinnati Daily T im e s , in la rg e b ro ad sid e "N otices of the P r e s s , " M T P.) His w o rk at the A sto r L ib ra ry a p p a re n tly also p re c e d e d his surv ey in g trip to M isso u ri, a n other p a ra lle l w ith P h ilip 's c a r e e r (see le tte r of introduction fro m Lew is G aylord C lark, dated M a rc h 31, 1853, in The W arn er P a p e rs , W atkins on L ib ra ry , T rin ity College, H artfo rd ). Do we h e a r an echo of W a rn e r's self-ad m o n itio n in H a rry B r ie rly 's com m ent: "W ell, why d on't you go into som ething? Y ou'll n e v e r dig it out of the A sto r L ib ra ry " (I, 132). ^0®See above, p. 217, n. 62. 209 two r a ilro a d p a s s e s a re m ade out to C h arles D. W arn er, E sq ., E n g in eer H & St Jo RR, one, dated Ja n u a ry 1, 1854, on the New Y ork & E rie R ailro ad , the other, dated M a rc h 12, 1854, on the Chicago & Rock Island R a il-R o a d (W arner P a p e rs ). 210 Jeff T hom pson m entions a "H enry Dakin" whom he re c o g nized "at f i r s t s ig h t" (le tte r to CDW, F e b ru a ry 20, 1874, M TP). I have been unable to d isc o v e r anything about this p erso n . 267 Y ork h e a d q u a rte rs of the Colum bus R iv er S lackw ater N avigation C om pany, the crew s finally m utiny and a r e quieted only by Colonel S e lle rs ' d istrib u tin g town lots and dividing h is bank balance am ong them (I, 277- 280). The episode has a strik in g p a ra lle l in W a rn e r's e x p e rie n c e s on the surveying expedition and m a y w ell have been in s p ire d by it. On No v e m b e r 14, 1853, the s u b c o n tra c to rs Duff & L e a rn e d w ro te to the P r e s ident and D ire c to rs of the H annibal & St. Jo se p h R ail Road C om pany as follows: We have b een rep ea ted ly in fo rm ed by Col. S tew art, th at on our a r r iv a l we would be paid the m o n ies to w hich we a r e e n titled u n d er our C o n tract w ith the Company, as he had obtained the n e c e s s a ry funds at the E a s t fro m S u b sc rib e rs to the C apital Stock of the C om pany. The C om pany having failed on s e v e ra l fo rm e r occasio n s to p r o vide us w ith funds according to the te rm s of our C o n tract, & having o th e rw ise failed to p e rfo rm its obligations to us, and also having failed to pay us now acco rd in g to p ro m ise , we a re com pelled in p r o te ctio n of our rig h ts & : in te re s ts to notify the Company, through you, th at our C o n tra ct has been vio lated on the p a r t of the Company, and th at we shrill claim our legal & just, p r e s e n t and p ro sp e c tiv e d a m ages . . . . This le tte r and an o th er, to a M e s s rs . H arding M ills & Co. giving notice of violation of c o n tra c t fo r grading and m a so n ry , w e re s e rv e d upon the 212 re sp e c tiv e p a rtie s the next m orning by "C has. D. W a rn e r." L e ss than a w eek la te r, on N ovem ber 19, W a rn e r gave Duff & L e a rn e d a 211 L e tte r in W arn er P a p e r s . Duff is p ro b ab ly the son of John Duff, the Union P a c ific D ire c to r. (". . . John Duff sent his son as a guest w ith Chief E n g in eer Dodge upon an advance su rv e y expedition" [Edwin L. Sabin, Building the P a c ific Railw ay (P hiladelphia and London, 1919), p. 74].) I have been unable to d isc o v e r anything about h is p a r t n e r, G eorge Y. L ea rn ed . 212 The le tte r s , w hich a re copies in W a rn e r's hand, a re a tte s te d by him as having been d e liv e re d as d e sc rib e d . It is u n c e rta in w hether W a rn e r w as an em ployee of the H an nibal & St. Jo C om pany or of th e ir agents Duff & L ea rn ed . 268 p r o m is s o r y note fo r fifty th ousand d o lla rs , in r e tu r n for w hich he w as issu e d one h u n d red c e rtific a te s of H annibal & St. Jo stock. A little s h o rt of two m onths la te r, on J a n u a ry 10, he re tu rn e d the sto ck and r e - 213 d eem ed his note fo r the co n sid e ra tio n of one dollar! In The G ilded Age the w o rth le s s en g rav ed sto ck w as throw n into a bo n fire. The s im i la ritie s of fact and fiction s u re ly a r e m o re than coincidental? The c h a ra c te r of E li Bolton, R u th 's fa th e r and P h ilip S te rlin g 's fu tu re fa th e r-in -la w , plays a c o n sid e ra b le ro le in W a rn e r's half of the plot as the dupe fo r v ario u s p ro m o te rs such as M r. B igler. A rth u r H obson Quinn h as sta te d that M r. Bolton is none o th er than P hilip M. P ric e , the p ro m in e n t P h ilad elp h ian w ith whom W a rn e r and h is b rid e liv ed in 1 8 5 6 - 5 8 . Even as Bolton is entangled in his Ilium coal lands in P en n sy lv an ia, lands w hich fin ally yield th e ir p re c io u s d eposits only through P h ilip 's diligent p ro sp ectin g , M r. P r ic e w as engaged in a c o a l m ining p ro je c t in Illinois, a p ro je c t w hich unlike its fictio n al c o u n te r p a r t eventually failed. The en g in eer re p re s e n tin g the P h ila d elp h ia in te r e s t s in Illinois w as E sc o l S e lle rs. It is lik ely th at W a rn e r took the f ir s t nam e of his h e ro fro m th a t of P h ilip P ric e ; and it m a y not be too fa r fetched to s u rm is e th at in the subtle alch em y of s a tir ic a l adaptation, P r ic e w as coined into S te rlin g . M ore, p e rh a p s, than in any o th e r p a r t of the novel, W a rn e r and C lem ens m u st have pooled th e ir e x p e rie n c e s in the c o al-m in in g e p i sodes. U nfortunately, th e re is a lm o st no in te rn a l evidence. The Ilium 2 1^ Both note and r e le a s e a re in the W arn er P a p e rs . 214Quinn, pp. 246-247. 269 c h a p te rs a re a s c rib e d to W a rn e r w ith the exception of the la s t one, C hapter LXII, w hich is a s c rib e d to C lem ens, and C hapter XLIX, a s c rib e d to both. Yet of the nine extant m a n u s c rip t p ag es, th re e of w hich 215 a re a s c rib e d to C lem ens, eight a re in W a rn e r's hand. C onsequently, it is lo g ical to conclude that W a rn e r w ro te the bulk of the co al-m in in g m a te r ia l in its final fo rm (because it involved h is c h a ra c te rs ) but that C lem ens gave n u m e ro u s suggestions and te ch n ica l d etails out of his own ex p e rie n c e . Though C le m en s' m ining ex p e rie n c e w as of a d ifferen t ty p e --g o ld and silv e r, not c o a l- - th e r e would have been s im ila r itie s th at Zlf) could be put to use, p a rtic u la rly in the psychology of the p ro s p e c to r. B esides th is, m o re o v e r, C lem ens had m a r r i e d into a coal m e rc h a n t's fam ily and m a y have co n trib u ted su b stan tially to the conception of M r. Bolton. J e rv is Langdon, C le m e n s' fa th e r-in -la w , w as a m i n e ow ner and w h o le sa le r of a n th ra c ite coal, w hose dealings extended as fa r as C hi cago and who "had im p o rtan t b ra n c h e s of his b u sin e ss in a n u m b e r of c itie s ." Not unlike E li Bolton, his agents "w ere u su ally co n sid e ra b ly in debt to him , and he w as co rresp o n d in g ly in debt to the ow ners of the 215MS. pages 1142, 1143, 1144, 1145, 1147, 1149, 1150, and 1151 (M orse, 12b), fro m C hapter XLIX (II, 196-201); of th e se, pages 1142 and 1151 ov erlap m a te r ia l claim e d by C lem ens in his annotated copy of The G ilded Age (see A ppendix B). P ag e 1431 (B erg C ollection, New Y ork P ublic L ib ra ry ), fro m C hapter LXII (by C lem ens) is the only page of the nine th at is in C le m en s' hand. 21 It is in te re stin g to note, fo r exam ple, th a t although (C lem en s') C h ap ter LXII is w ritte n e n tire ly around P h ilip S terling, it is con c e rn e d w ith the young m a n 's s u c c e s sfu l s trik e of the coal and his r e actions to it, a type of c irc u m sta n c e w ith w hich C lem ens w as fa m ilia r fro m his N evada m ining days. 270 217 m in e s ." In te re stin g to note in re la tio n to E li B olton's Hium tr a c t in P en n sy lv an ia is the fa c t th a t J e rv is Langdon also had " in te re s ts in the 218 budding c o a l-o il field s of P e n n sy lv a n ia ." F u rth e rm o re , C lem ens, w ritin g to his fiancee in F e b r u a r y 1869, com plained th at on a v is it to J e rv is Langdon he could not get m uch of his com pany except h is coal com pany. He added: I h a rd ly like to te ll on h im --b u t Livy you ought to have seen w hat s o r t of c h a ra c te rs he w as a sso c ia tin g w ith. He had his ro o m full of them all the tim e. He had two abandoned c o a l-h e a v e rs th e re fro m Scranton, & two or th re e su sp icio u s looking p ira te s fro m other d is tric ts , & th a t d isso lu te M r. F ris b ie fro m E l m i r a , a notorious c h a ra c te r by the nam e of Slee, fro m Buffalo. . . . C om pare this w ith the situ a tio n in the Bolton household: The Bolton house w as a s o r t of hotel fo r this kind of people. They w e re alw ays com ing. Ruth had alw ays known th em fro m child hood, and she u se d to say th a t h e r fa th e r a ttra c te d them as n a tu ra lly as a s u g a r ho g sh ead does flie s . . . . "I w is h ," said Ruth to h e r fa th e r, . . . "that you w ouldn't b rin g hom e a n y m o r e such h o r r id m en. . . ." (I, 167, 170) It w as seen in an e a r l ie r ch ap ter of this study the g re a t extent to w hich C lem ens guided the d e stin ie s of The G ilded Age and put h is o ar in m any ^ ^ A utobiography, II, 135. ^^^A utobiography, II, 130. ^ ^ F r o m le tte r dated L ockport, F e b ru a ry 27 [1869] (Love L e t t e r s , p. 68 f.). 220 As a m a tte r of fact, C lem ens b e c a m e ra th e r clo sely id e n ti fied w ith L angdon's coal in te re s ts and, th ro u g h th a t co n tra d ictio n in his n atu re th at fo rc e d him to side w ith h is p e rs o n a l alleg ian ces w hen they conflicted w ith his so c ia l convictions, defended his w ife 's fa th e r ag ain st the "anti-m onopoly th ie v e s" who attack ed J. Langdon & C om pany and its reg io n al c a rte l, the A n th racite Coal A sso ciatio n , fo r p ric e fixing (see Love L e t te r s , pp. 108-109). And he sought the o lder m a n 's advice on the coal tr a c t in the T e n n e sse e Land, hoping th at he m ight se ll or le a se it to the Langdon com pany (see L e tte rs , I, 167-168; Love L e tte rs , pp. 119, 152). 271 tim e s w hen W a rn e r w as p re s u m a b ly row ing his own boat. It can now be seen as w ell th a t even w h ere W a rn e r w as w ritin g out of his p e rs o n a l e x p e rie n c e , this ex p e rie n c e b eca m e interw oven w ith th at of h is dom inant co lla b o ra to r. T h e re re m a in s but one m o re allu sio n by C lem ens to his own ex p e rie n c e th a t should be m en tio n ed b efo re this c h ap ter is brought to a close. It co n ce rn s his le c tu rin g . As has been m en tio n ed b efo re, L a u ra , upon being acquitted fro m the ch arg e of m u rd e r, is ap p ro ac h ed by a le c tu re agent and induced by him to u n d erta k e the p la tfo rm ap p e a ra n c e th a t p ro v e s to be h e r swan song. The agent, J. Adolphe G rille r, is depicted in g rap h ic ally re p u g nant te rm s : He w as a s m a ll m an, slovenly in d r e s s , his tone confidential, his m a n n e r w holly void of anim ation, all his fe a tu re s below the fo re h e a d p r o tr u d in g -- p a r tic u la r ly the apple of his th r o a t - - h a ir w ithout a kink in it, a hand w ith no grip, a m eek, hang-dog countenance. He w as a falsehood done in fle s h and blood; fo r w hile e v e ry v isib le sign about him p ro c la im e d him a poor, w itle s s , u s e le s s w eakling, the tru th w as th a t he had the b ra in s to p lan g re a t e n te r p r is e s and the plu ck to c a r ry them through. That w as his rep u tatio n , and it w as a d e s e rv e d one. (II, 293-294) On the m a rg in of C le m e n s' own annotated copy of the novel is his note: 221 "T his is the la te M r. B re lsfo rd ." C lem ens had re a s o n to d e te st B re lsfo rd (or B r e le s f o r d - - s e e below), an agent of the A m e ric a n L e c tu re B ureau, and vented his an im o sity in the thum bnail sk etch of G r il le r . It s e e m s th a t B re ls fo rd had, at the v e ry tim e The G ilded Age w as being w ritten , tr ie d to m ak e a deal w ith C le m en s' re g u la r P h ila d elp h ia 7 7 1 E r n e s t E. L eisy , "M a rk T w ain 's P a r t in The G ilded A ge," A m er. L it., 8:447, J a n u a ry 1937. 272 agent, T. B. Pugh, to sp lit g ro ss re c e ip ts if he could m anage to book C lem ens fo r a le c tu re in the city. P ugh d eclin ed the " p re p o s te ro u s p ro p o sitio n " and w ro te C lem ens: . . . I am v e ry c e rta in th at you w ould not think of com ing to P h ila this season, a fte r declining to com e to m e. I have in tim ated to B re le sfo rd [sic] th a t P h ila is one of your "P e t p la c e s " as you once inform ed m e, and th a t I did not think th a t you would consent to com e as "a sh o w "-- 222 I w ish you would w rite to him and s e ttle him on this subject. 22 3 One can only im agine Sam C le m en s' w ra th upon read in g this! W ith the exception of c e rta in bits of re p o rta g e and p ro s e opinion, M ark T w ain's w ritin g s up until the P rin c e and the P a u p e r w e re la rg e ly d raw n fro m p e rs o n a l o r fam ily ex p e rie n c e . On this fact r e s ts the ch a rm of Innocents and Roughing It. On it r e s ts the m ag ic of Tom Saw y e r . And despite such la te r d e p a rtu re s fro m the p e rs o n a l as C onnecti cut Y ankee, Joan of A r c , and P u d d 'n h ead W ilson, he re tu rn e d to h is p a s t over and over, notably in Life on the M is s is s ip p i and Huck F in n . What has not been sufficiently re a liz e d , b eca u se le ft unexplored, is the fact th a t The Gilded A ge, a s a tire on c o n te m p o ra ry public events and a c o l la b o ra tio n at that, w as highly au to b io g rap h ical in the la r g e r sen se of being p e rso n a lly and su b jectiv ely a ss o c ia tiv e . It w as this re lia n c e on p e rs o n a l background in turning fo r the f ir s t tim e to extended fiction th at ^ ^ L e t t e r dated F e b ru a ry 7(?), 1873, in 1873 co rresp o n d en ce file, M TP. Pugh w as m a n a g e r of The S tar C o u rse of L e c tu re s in P h ila delphia. 223The only o th er a llu sio n fro m C le m en s' background th at I am aw are of is Colonel S e lle rs ' re fe re n c e to "old Dr. M cD ow ells" (I, 128). D r. John M cDowell w as a frie n d of the L am ptons and it is his cave ("M cD ougal's Cave") th a t fig u res in Tom S aw y er. (See W ecter, pp. 160 ff.) s e t fo r C lem ens a p re c e d e n t leading d ire c tly into the ric h ly autobio g rap h ic al and se n sitiv e novels Tom Saw yer and Huck F in n . C H A PTE R VIII THE HISTORICAL GESTA LT "W ith all its ingenuities and c le v e rn e s s , the book can h a rd ly be c alled a l i t e r a r y s u c c e s s ." So w ro te M rs. F ield s about The G ilded Age th irty y e a rs a fte r its publication.'*' It is an opinion that has been echoed one w ay or an o th er by the m a jo rity of l i te r a r y c ritic s and conceded, often ta citly , by the li t e r a r y h is to ria n s . This is not to say th a t the book w as not a m a rk e ta b le com m odity. As h as a lre a d y been pointed out, it w as an im m ed iate b e s t- s e lle r ; and, though overshadow ed in u ltim ate s a le s by such p e re n n ia l fa v o rite s as Huck F in n , Tom S aw y er, and Inno cents A b ro ad , it re ta in e d its p o p u la rity until a lm o s t the tu rn of the cen- 2 tu ry . In fact, in view of the highly to p ical n a tu re of its allusions and the co n tem p o ran eo u sn ess of its s a tire , its p o p u la rity w aned w ith a *M rs. J a m e s T. F ie ld s, C h arles Dudley W arn e r (New York, 1904), pp. 38-39. 2 By C lem en s' own e stim a te The G ilded Age sold ap p ro x im ately 60,000 copies in the U nited States in nine y e a rs c o m p a re d w ith 75,000 of Roughing It fo r the sa m e p e rio d (M a rk Twain, B usiness M an, ed. S am uel C h a rle s W eb ste r [Boston, 1946], p. 190). Although le a s t p o pular of T w ain's w orks in England, it ra n into 10 B ritis h editions in seventy y e a rs (R obert M. Rodney, "M a rk Tw ain in England . . .," unpub. d iss. [Univ. of W is., 1945], p. 63). (This c o m p a re s w ith 35 fo r Innocents and 30 eac h fo r Tom Saw yer and Huck F in n .) Such fig u re s m u s t be w eighted, of c o u rse , by the fact th at the la te r editions w e re p ublished as volum es included in T w ain's collected w orks and do not th e re fo re re fle c t dem and a c c u ra te ly . 274 275 slow ness th a t is seldom achieved by the highly com petitive b e s t- s e ll e r s of today. Its te n acity is to be explained in p a rt, probably, by the e x ceptionally g re a t rep u ta tio n of its p rin c ip a l author. It is to be a c counted fo r also, and m uch m o re significantly, by the au th en ticity w ith w hich the novel caught the feeling of the tim e s and by the appeal of its im m o rta l p ro tag o n ist, Colonel S e lle rs. Sales alone, how ever, cannot constitute the e s s e n tia l m e a s u re of li te r a r y achievem ent; w itn ess the yello w -b ack s of C lem en s' tim e and the d ru g sto re pocketbooks of o u rs. The fact re m a in s th at the re v ie w e rs of 18 7 4 --th o se who b o th e re d w ith the book at a ll--e v a lu a te d it p r in c i pally as a s a tire , a so cial docum ent, h a rd ly at all as a w o rk of a rt, a novel. W ith a few notable exceptions, the c ritic s g lo ssed over its l i t e r a ry d eficien cies w ith such d e p re c a to ry p h ra s e s as "the 'p atchw ork' 3 o rd e r of co m p o sitio n ." The p re c e d e n t esta b lish e d by c o n te m p o ra ry c ritic s has b een g e n e ra lly followed ev er since. T ypical of la te r ev alu ations is Stephen L e a c o c k 's laconic v erd ic t: "The G ilded Age is a 4 m ix ed product, to place w h ere one w ill." G ranville H icks puts it m o re sp ecifically w hen he says that a good novel re q u ire s u n d erstan d in g quite as m uch as o b servation, the kind of u n d erstan d in g th at leads to m a s te r y and to s tr u c tu ra l u n i ty. F o r th is, b u rlesq u e, m e lo d ra m a , and even sh rew d p o r tr a itu r e a re poor su b stitu te s. . . . ^ Typical also is a c e rta in am bivalence th a t holds the condem nation in check. Hicks in the sam e b re a th calls The G ilded Age "one of the m o st 3 See above, p. 109. ^ M ark Tw ain (New York, 1933), p. 141. ^The G re a t T rad itio n (New York, 1933), p. 72. 276 am bitious novels w ritte n in the d ecad es a fte r the w a r" (p. 70). And A rth u r H obson Quinn, w hile calling it " m o re in te re stin g as a so cial study th an as a n o v el," h a ils it as "the p ro s e epic of the age" p r e p a r a to ry to the p o s t-C iv il W ar p e rio d .^ M ost ty p ical of all is a to tal av o id ance of any opinion b a se d upon l i t e r a r y c r ite r ia , a d e fe rrin g to the non c o m m itta l b io g ra p h ic a l or h is to ric a l outline of the book's c re a tio n and its s a tir ic a l content. Yet d esp ite the te m p tatio n to follow the safe p ath of re c o rd in g facts and ignoring v alu es, c ritic s have been unable on the w hole to r e s is t the gnawing of th e ir c o n sc ie n c e s re g a rd in g The Gilded A ge. A fter all, the ro le of the c ritic is to m e a s u re v alu es, to evaluate, and he c a n not escap e this n e c e s s ity of his c ra ft. C onsequently, the c ritic s who have devoted sp e c ia l atten tio n to M ark Tw ain often a r r iv e at a sta te of confused apology w hen th ey com e to this p a rtic u la r novel. B e rn a rd De- Voto, fo r ex am p le. F o r m an y y e a rs the l i te r a r y ex ecu to r of the M ark Tw ain e sta te , hence thoroughly c o n v e rsa n t w ith the o rig in al Twain m a n u sc rip ts and n o te s, DeVoto re c o g n iz e s th at w ith this novel " s o m e thing m e m o ra b le has happened in A m e ric a n lite r a tu r e ." A fter re c itin g all the fo rm a l w e a k n e ss e s of the b o o k --its " a m o rp h o u sn e s s," its "ab s u rd p lo t," its " s e t p ie c e s of fe m in in ity " --w ith no attem p t to account fo r th em o th er than the o rd in a ry clich es about W a rn e r's influence and C le m en s' in e x p erien ce , DeVoto ad m its th a t "the book is n e v e rth e le s s li te r a t u r e ." "D efaced and d isfig u red , it is s till m uch m o re than a ru in ^ A m e ric a n F iction: An H is to ric a l and C ritic a l Survey (New York, 1936), pp. 246, 247. 277 7 above w hich an o cca sio n al colum n r i s e s ." T his c r itic a l am bivalence is illu s tra te d even b e tte r in the opin- g ion of H en ry Seidel Canby, who tak es it to the v e rg e of equivocation. To him The G ilded Age is a "cu rio u s phenom enon in the n atu re and h i s to ry of fictio n ." "As a book it is te r r i b le ," he w rite s , "and Tw ain at his w o rs t is quite as bad as W a rn e r." Then he adds the asto n ish in g s ta te m e n t th a t "as a co n trib u tio n to A m e ric a n lite r a tu r e it is a c e rta in proof of T w ain 's genius, for only genius could m ake anyone now re a d it a ll." Only genius. W hat is the c r ite r io n h e re ? A clue is found in the follow ing statem en t: "A book does not have to be good as a whole in o rd e r to be fam ous, if in p a rts or even in single c h a ra c te rs it is ex ce lle n t." This is clo se to F r e d Lew is P a tte e 's definition of The G ilded Age as "a 9 book of g lorious fra g m e n ts ." Canby c o m p a re s Colonel S e lle rs w ith F a lsta ff, "who also flo u rish e d in a good deal of m e lo d ra m a m uch liked by h is c r e a to r ." T ru e; yet does S h a k e sp e a ria n c ritic is m re le g a te the two plays of H en ry IV to o b scu rity , reta in in g only F alsta ff? To draw a p a r a lle l w ith T w ain's fam ous older co n tem p o rary , does one e x tra c t P ickw ick, P eck sn iff, and M icaw ber out of context and ignore the r e s t of The P ick w ick P a p e r s , Our M utual F rie n d , and David C o p p erfield ? How, then, is such c r itic a l e x tra c tio n of The G ilded Age to be explained? It is to be explained by a n u m b er of contributing fa c to rs: lack ^M a rk T w ain 's A m e ric a (Boston, 1932), pp. 287-288. ®Turn W est, T u rn E a st: M a rk Tw ain and H enry Ja m e s (Boston, 1951), pp. 97 ff. ^A H isto ry of A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re Since 1870 (New York, 1915), p. 59. 278 of sufficient in v estig atio n into the objective h is to ric a l facts upon w hich the novel w as based; ig n o rem en t of the im m ed iate li te r a r y m ilie u into w hich it w as launched; insufficient ap p licatio n of known b io g rap h ical facts about its au th o rs to the c irc u m s ta n c e s of its c re a tio n and the analysis of its contents; a p ro c liv ity fo r applying subjective, dogm atic, or fo rm a lis tic c r it e r ia of l i te r a r y c ritic ism ; and, clo sely allied to the la st, w ant of a li te r a r y h is to ric a l m ethod other than a s u p e rfic ia lly d e sc rip tiv e one. W hat is the extent, fo r in stan ce, to w hich The Gilded Age has h e re to fo re been p la ced in h is to ric a l context? On the whole, li t e r a r y c ritic s and b io g ra p h e rs of C lem ens have b een content w ith the g en era l sta te m e n t th at the novel s a tiriz e s the p o s t-C iv il W ar p eriod, the tim e s of the Johnson and G rant a d m in is tra tio n s. A few, such as DeVoto, have intim ated th at r e a l p e rso n s and events lay behind the fictio n al c h a r a c te r s and ep iso d es. The f ir s t re v ie w e rs re v e a le d th at Senator D ilw orthy w as Sam uel C. P o m e ro y and th at L a u ra Hawkins w as L a u ra D. F a ir, two identifications th at p ro m p te d the ric h ly rew ard in g in vestigations of K itzhaber and W alker and that should have enticed r e s e a r c h e r s into a thorough te stin g of the ro m a n h clef h y p o th esis. The h i s to r i a n s - - O ber- h o ltzer, Josephson, the B eard s, N e v in s--h a v e been uncovering the h i s to ric a l d etails of the tim e; yet no one except W alter F u lle r T ay lo r has com e close to seeing the poten tial of c o n te m p o ra ry allu sio n in The Gilded A ge, and b ecau se his su b ject w as A m e ric a n econom ic novels in g en era l he w as s tr ic tly lim ite d in the am ount of attention he could give 279 to any o n e .^ O utside a few d isc u ssio n s of the f i r s t elev en c h a p te rs as an out standing depiction of fro n tie r village life,'*''*' co n sid e ra tio n of the h is to r i cal background h as la rg e ly b e e n le ft to the h is to ria n s , who have adopted 12 the n o v e l's title as a g en eric n am e fo r the p e rio d and have freq u en tly cited the novel itse lf as a valued c o n te m p o ra ry so u rc e . One h is to ria n , P hilip S. F o n e r, h as w ritte n a c r itic a l b io g rap h y of M ark Tw ain w hich not s u rp ris in g ly devotes a m uch g r e a te r p ro p o rtio n of its length to The 13 G ilded Age than does any o th er bio g rap h y o r c r itic a l w o rk on Twain. A lso not su rp ris in g ly , he com es to the conclusion th at " The G ilded Age is one of the few im p o rta n t novels p ro d u ced in A m e ric a in the la s t q u a r te r of the nin eteen th c e n tu ry " (p. 86). F o n e r has done Tw ain sc h o la rs h ip a valuable s e rv ic e in pointing up C le m e n s' ro le as a se rio u s so cial c ritic of his tim e s. The h u m o rist is a s a t i r i s t and h is m o st e x tra v a g a n t b u rle sq u e often re s u lts fro m the The E conom ic Novel in A m e ric a (Chapel Hill, N .C., 1942), pp. 116-147. "To a d e g re e th a t is asto n ish in g . . . the actu al p e rs o n s and doings of the e a rly G ilded Age p a s s in rev iew in the novel . . .." Cf. T aylor, A H isto ry of A m e ric a n L e tte r s (New York, 1936), pp. 262-274. F o r a few other hints see also Claude R e h e rd F lo ry , E conom ic C r iti cism in A m e ric a n F iction, 1792 to 1900 (P hiladelphia, 1936) (a p u b lish e d d is s e rta tio n , Univ. of P enna.), p. 72. ^ S e e , fo r exam ple, Gladys C a rm e n B ellam y, M a rk Tw ain as a L ite r a r y A rtis t (N orm an, Okla., 1950), Ch. XVII, "R evolt fro m the V il la g e ," pp. 287 ff.; Im a H onaker H e rro n , The S m all Town in A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re (D urham , N .C ., 1939), pp. 237 ff.; DeVoto, M a rk T w ain's A m e ric a , pp. 285 ff. ■^Qne cannot help w ondering if the title The Gilded Age su g g ested itse lf to C lem ens as a p aro d y of The Golden E r a , a San F r a n cisco jo u rn a l to w hich he had fre q u e n tly contributed. ^ M a r k Twain: Social C ritic (New Y ork, 1958), pp. 69-86 et p a ss im . 280 d eep e st sen se of outrage, as shown in C h ap ter II of the p re s e n t study. It is known how he fre tte d at not being tak en se rio u sly , how he seem e d unable to live down his in itial rep u tatio n as the "W ild H u m o rist of the P a c ific S l o p e . I n 1906, looking b ack over his c a r e e r , he w rote: I have alw ays p re a c h e d . That is the re a s o n th at I have la ste d th irty y e a rs . If the h u m o r cam e of its own a c c o rd and uninvited I have allow ed it a p lace in m y serm o n , but I w as not w ritin g the s e r m on fo r the sake of the h u m o r. I should have w ritte n the se rm o n ju s t the sam e, w hether any h u m o r applied for a d m issio n or not. 15 Yet the Tw ain s c h o la rs, at le a s t those in the United S tates, having failed to re a liz e the th o ro u g h n ess of p o litic al and so c ia l s a tire in The Gilded A ge, have contented th e m se lv e s w ith e x tra c tin g Colonel S e lle rs and the village scen es of O bedstown and Hawkeye out of the novel as its only contributions to A m e ric a n lite r a tu r e and have d is m is s e d the re m a in d e r as g ro s sly ex ag g e rated b u rlesq u e and im itativ e m e lo d ra m a . Had the A m e ric a n Tw ain sc h o la rs continued to ex p lo re the h i s to ric a l facts upon w hich the G ilded Age s a tire w as based, as K itzhaber and W alker had begun to do, they would have m ade the inescapable d is co v ery th a t the novel w as a d etaile d ro m a n h clef em bodying sh arp W riting to Howells in 1875, C lem ens says th at it " g ra v e ls " his wife th a t he is "so p e rs is te n tly g lo rified as a m e re buffoon" (M ark T w ain-H ow ells L e t te r s , ed. H enry N ash Sm ith and W illiam M. G ibson [C am bridge, M a ss., I960], I, 107; M ark T w ain's L e t te r s , a r r . A lb ert Bigelow P ain e [New York, 1917] [h e re a fte r cited as L e t te r s ], I, 264). Cf. M a rk T w ain's Notebook, ed. P ain e (New Y ork and London, 1935), p. 400: "He saw life at a q u izzical slant, but he w as not, f ir s t of all, a hu m o rist" ; also le tte r fro m C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r to a M r. Sim ons, dated H artfo rd , F e b ru a ry 9, 1873 (in file 114, M o rse C ollection, Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry , New Haven, Conn. [h e re a fte r M orse]): "I know him [C lem ens] v e ry w ell (since a y e a r) and think v e ry highly of his ability other than as a m e re h u m o rist." ^ The A utobiography of M a rk T w ain, ed. C h arles N eider (New York, 1959) (h e re a fte r A utobiography, N eider ed.), p. 273. 281 c ritic is m of the p rin c ip a l public abuses of its tim e. H this had been done, it would have been difficult for a Ludwig L ew isohn to say that even w hen T w ain's s a tire is b itte r in intent, "it lack s edge and point by the crin k led lo o sen ess and lax ity of its v e s titu re " or th at he "cannot help being m e re ly funny and m e re ly 'f o lk s y .'" ^ M ark Tw ain w as w ell aw are of the v e ry tra p into w hich L ew isohn c laim s he fell. W riting in the G alaxy th re e y e a rs b efo re The G ilded Age he m ade an ad m ira b le sta te m e n t of the danger: One can d eliv er a s a tire w ith telling fo rc e through the insidious m edium of a tra v e sty , if he is c a re fu l not to overw helm the s a tire w ith the ex tran eo u s in te re s t of the tra v e sty , and so b u ry it fro m the r e a d e r 's sight and leave him a joked and defrauded victim , w hen the hon^gjt intent w as to add to e ith e r h is knowledge or his w isdom . The E u ro p ean sc h o la rs and c ritic s have alw ays ta k en M a rk T w ain's tra v e s tie s se rio u s ly and, though not failing to a p p re c ia te his fun and hum or, have not allow ed the b u rlesq u e to o b scu re fo r them the underlying so cial c ritic is m . The G erm an s c h o la r F r ie d r ic h Schtine- m ann, for instance, calls M ark T w ain's e a r l ie r h u m o r " u n re s tra in e d and pugnacious, frau g h t w ith indignation and b itte rn e s s , full of p r o te s t 18 and s a tir e ." Rudolf Doehn speaks of The Gilded Age as "a s a tir ic a l 19 c ritic is m of speculative m an ia, p o litic a l intrigue, and c o rru p tio n ." ^ E x p re ss io n in A m e ric a (New Y ork and London, 1932), p. 231. 17 F ro m "A Couple of Sad E x p e rie n c e s ," 9:858, June 1870. 18 ". . . M ark Tw ains frtlh er H um or w a r w ild und an g riffslu stig , voll Em pdrung und B itterk eit, v o lle r P r o te s t und S a tire " (M a rk Tw ain als lite r a r is c h e P e rsd n lic h k e it [Jena, 1925], p. 18). 19 Quoted fro m Aus dem a m e rik a n isc h e n D ichterw ald (L eipsic, 1881) in E d g ar H. H em m inghaus, M ark Twain in G erm an y (New York, 1939), p. 25. (T ra n sla tio n by H em m inghaus.) 282 And C h a rle s A lphonso S m ith m a in ta in s th at the s u p e rio rity of T w ain's h u m o r lie s in the fa c t th a t it is " s o c io - p o li tic a l." ^ A F re n c h c ritic , T h d rh se Bentzon, w as am ong the f ir s t to p r e sent a d etaile d an aly sis of the book. H er review , p ublished in 187 5 and entitled "The G ilded Age in A m e ric a ," outlines the plot w ith a running c o m m e n ta ry on its so cial significance. Unhappily, we a re m u c h too d isp o sed in F ra n c e to take as a continu ation of th a t golden age [of F ra n k lin ] the m o re or le s s gilded age th at M e s s r s . M a rk Tw ain and D udley W a rn e r p r e s e n t to us in its tru e light at la s t w ith its s c a r s and b le m ish e s; . . . Noting th at "the A m e ric a n s have re p ro a c h e d M e s s r s . M a rk Tw ain and W a rn e r fo r showing only one a sp e c t of the fa c ts ," she adds th at "while d e c la rin g th a t the depiction w as g ro s s and ex ag g e rated , no one has de- 2 ? nied th a t it w as at bottom tr u e ." Having e x p re s s e d g re a t co n ce rn throughout h e r a r tic le th a t the U nited S tates should find itse lf in such an appalling condition, she ends by saying, le t us hope th a t M ark T w ain's p e rs o n a g e s , g re a t oil b a ro n s, h ire d agents of in trig u e, re p re s e n ta tiv e s who s e ll th e ir votes and judges who se ll th e ir d ecisio n s, w ill also v e ry s h o rtly p a s s into the re a lm of m y th s and m e m o rie s . 7 fi "M a rk Tw ains H um or is t s o z ia l-p o litis c h . Das is t jed en falls sein H auptvorzug" (Die A m e rik a n isc h e L ite ra tu r . . . [B erlin, 1912], p. 335). ^ " M a lh e u r e u s e m e n t nous so m m e s tro p d isp o ses en F ra n c e h p re n d re p o u r une continuation de c et Sge d 'o r l'a g e plus ou m oins dord que MM. M ark Tw ain et Dudley W a rn e r nous p re s e n te n t enfin sous son v r a i jo u r avec ses p la ie s e t se s s o u illu re s " ("L 'A ge D ore en A m e r- ique," Revue des D eux-M ondes, 8:320, M arch 15, 1875). 7 7 ". . . le s A m e ric a in s ont re p ro c h e h . MM. M a rk Tw ain et W a rn e r de ne m o n tr e r qu'une seu le face des faits . . ". . . tout en co n statan t que la p ein tu re e ta it g ro s s ih re et outrde, p e rso n n e n 'a nie q u 'elle ne fut v ra ie p a r le fond" (Rev, des D eux-M ondes, 8:342).. 2 3 ". . . e s p e ro n s que le s p e rso n n a g e s de M a rk Twain, g rands 283 A nother F re n c h c ritic , M au rice M uret, s ta te s , "It is difficult to see h e re anything other than a s a tire in cold b lo o d --so m uch the m o re in- 24 c isiv e --o f d e m o c ra c y w hen it tu rn s into dem agogy." E ven in the U nited S tates, M a rk Tw ain w as, at the o u tset of his c a r e e r , tak en as a p o te n tially s e rio u s w r ite r by m o re thoughtful c r itic s . Edwin P . W hipple, fo r exam ple, w ro te in H a r p e r 's in 1876: "The s e r i ous p o rtio n s of his w ritin g s indicate that he could win a rep u ta tio n in lite r a tu r e even if he had not been b le s s e d w ith a h um orous fancy inex- 2 * 5 haustible in re s o u r c e ." Yet w ith the p a ss a g e of tim e A m e ric a n c r i t ics re fu se d to concede th a t Tw ain had in any significant w ay re a liz e d his poten tial as a s e rio u s w r ite r . Not until his late, unfinished m a n u s c rip ts w e re exam ined in the 1930's and p a rts of them p ublished did th e re develop an ap p re c ia tio n of his se rio u s c o n ce rn w ith c o n te m p o ra ry so cial v alues. Yet even then this d is c o v e ry w as quickly v itiated by a p sychological in te rp re ta tio n th a t ra tio n a liz e d his so cial an g er as an a l m o st ex clu siv ely subjective phenom enon re su ltin g fro m the f ru s tra tio n 2 6 and b itte rn e s s of his la te r p e rs o n a l life. se ig n e u rs du p e tro le , c o u rtie rs d 'in trig u e h gages, re p re s e n ta n s qui v e n d e n tle u rs votes et juges qui v e n d e n tle u r s a r r e t s , p a s s e ro n t trfes p ro ch ain em en t a u s s i & l'e t a t de m y th es ou de so u v e n irs" (Rev, des D eux-M ondes, 8:343). Bentzon does not, of c o u rse, d is re g a rd li te r a r y c ritic is m . "Au point de vue de l'o rd o n n an c e et de la com position, l'e n e rg iq u e s a tire q u 'ils ont intitulee the Gilded Age la is s e beaucoup h d e s ir e r ; il y rfegne un d d so rd re , Tine ex u b eran te confusion" (p. 320). ^ L e s C o ntem porains e tra n g e rs , n .s. (L ausanne, 1914), II, 183- 184. ^ " A m e r i c a n L ite r a tu r e ," H a r p e r 's New M onthly M agazine, 52: 526, M a rc h 1876. 2 6 See DeVoto's e s s a y "The Sym bols of D esp air" (M ark Tw ain At 284 The s to ry of C le m en s' bankruptcy, the death of h is fa v o rite d aughter fro m m e n in g itis, the p ro lo n g ed invalidism and final death of his a d o re d w ife, and the death of a second daughter, who had becom e h is co n stan t com panion, on C h ris tm a s m o rn in g is indeed a painful one, filled w ith pathos and h e a rtb re a k . T h ere is no doubt th a t C lem ens w as im m e a s u ra b ly c ru sh e d by th e se blow s. But to im ply th at th e se c irc u m sta n c e s co m p lete ly d e te rm in e d his la te r outlook on life is not only to ignore the h is to r ic a l events at the tu rn of the cen tu ry th a t engaged his liv ely in te re s t but to d is to rt his attitude to w ard them . P e rs o n a l f r u s tra tio n cannot account fo r his fie rc e o u tc rie s ag ain st im p e ria lis m , c o lo n ia lism , and o th er fo rm s of o p p ressio n , p a rtic u la rly since th e se out c rie s w e re p ro m p te d by his own o b se rv a tio n and read in g . Though p e r sonal g rie f and d e s p a ir m ig h t explain a W hat Is M an? or a M y sterio u s S tra n g e r, how could it p o ssib ly account fo r such specific indictm ents as "A S alutation S peech fro m the N ineteenth C entury to the T w entieth," "The Stupendous In tern atio n al P r o c e s s io n ," "To the P e r s o n Sitting in D a rk n e s s," "In D efense of G en eral F u n s to n ," o r "The C z a r's Solilo- 27 quy." W hether it is "C h risten d o m , re tu rn in g , bed rag g led , W ork [C am bridge, M a ss., 1942], pp. 105-130), in w hich it is m a in tain ed th a t C lem ens had a guilt com plex and th a t he b lam ed h im se lf fo r his own fa ilu re , fo r h is w ife 's illn e ss, and fo r h is d a u g h te r's illn e ss and death. The "sy m b o ls ," b o rn of a guilt fantasy, a re re v e a le d in the s to rie s of the u n co m p leted m a n u sc rip ts ; they a re (1) a g re a t p e rs o n c a s t down fro m high position, (2 ) a beloved wife m addened by d e s p a ir, and (3) a beloved d au g h ter dying in agony. ^ " S a l u ta t io n S p eech ," New Y ork H e ra ld , D ecem b er 30, 1900, and photographic rep ro d u c tio n of o rig in al MS. (San F ra n c is c o , 1929); "Stupendous P r o c e s s io n ," M T P, and in p a r t in P aine, III, 1149-1150; " P e rs o n Sitting in D a rk n e s s," N orth A m e ric a n Review, 172:161-176, F e b ru a ry 1901; "D efense of G en eral F u n sto n ," No. A m er. R ev ., 174:613- 624, M ay 1902; " C z a r 's Soliloquy," No. A m er. R ev., 180:321-326, M arch 285 b e s m irc h e d and dishonored, fro m p ira te ra id s in K iao-C hou, M anchuria, South A frica, and the P h ilip p in es, w ith h e r soul full of m e a n n e ss, h e r 28 pocket full of boodle, and h e r m outh full of pious h y p o c ris ie s " or the " B le s sin g s-o f-C iv iliz a tio n T ru s t" taking inventory of its "G lass Beads and Theology, and M axim Guns and Hymn Books, and T ra d e -G in and T o rch e s of P r o g r e s s and E nlightenm ent . . . good to fire villag es 29 w ith ," the v itrio l is th at of a so cial prophet, not a self-p ity in g p e s s i m ist. The chief d iffere n ces betw een the quality of th e se u tte ra n c e s and th a t of The Gilded Age a re a deepening of the sen se of outrage (for now m a tte r s of life and death, w a r and peace a r e involved), an abandonm ent of b an terin g b u rle sq u e and rid ic u le in fav o r of g ro tesq u e c a ric a tu re , and a dropping of the d isg u ise of ro m a n h clef in fav o r of d ire c t nam ing of n a m e s. The n eg lect or, freq u en tly , ignoring of th e se la te r so c io p o litic a l w ritin g s by a lm o st all the lite r a r y c ritic s and s c h o la rs except O A th o se in the Soviet Union h a s a d ire c t connection w ith the neglect of The G ilded A g e. It is a tw o-w ay connection. On the one hand, the fact th a t s c h o la rs have failed to investigate to any g re a t extent the h is to ric a l and topical m a te r ia l of the novel has blinded them to the so cially 1905. O ther s im ila r p ie c e s a re "To M y M issio n a ry C ritic s ," No. A m er. R ev ., 172:520-534, A p ril 1901; "The W ar P r a y e r ," M T P , P aine 118; and King L eopold's Soliloquy (Boston, 1905). F o r an extended tre a tm e n t of th e se w ritin g s see F o n er, pp. 269-303. ^ N e w Y ork H e ra ld , D ecem b er 30, 1900, quoted in F o n e r, p. 266. ^ No. A m er. R ev ., 172:165, F e b ru a ry 1901. Q n See, fo r exam ple, M [au rice] M endelson, "M ark Tw ain A c cu ses, " Sovi^t_Jjiterature, 7:151-161, 1948; R. S am arin , "The T ru e M ark T w ain," Sov. L it., 6:179-186, 1950. 286 c ritic a l tendency in M ark Twain, w hich cu lm in ates so strik in g ly in the la te r e s s a y s . On the o th e r, the unquestioning acceptance of Tw ain as m e re ly a h u m o rist and g lo rified lo cal c o lo rist, w hich has p rev en ted se rio u s co n sid era tio n of the la te r e s s a y s , has stren g th en ed the n eg lect of The G ilded Age as being an unim p o rtan t, u n su c c e ssfu l attem p t at n o v el-w r itin g . E xam in atio n of the h is to ric a l data re v e a ls m o re about The G ilded Age than that it w as a to p ical s a tire , a ro m a n h clef of the p o st- bellum y e a rs . In a b ro ad m a n n e r it c ap tu red as w ell the e s s e n tia l quality of the b u sin ess e n te rp ris e of its day, the s p ir it of headlong e x ploitation of the continental fro n tie r fo r the p ro fit of the n o rth e rn c a p i ta lis ts . It w as p a rtic u la rly s u c c e ssfu l in depicting the ro le of the m id d le -c la s s p ro m o te rs , lobbyists, and c o n tra c to rs who c a r r ie d out the g randiose e m p ire -b u ild in g p ro je c ts of the big b o u rg eo isie, the fin an cial b aro n s such as Jay Gould, and who em u lated this finance capital in th e ir own pitiful striv in g s to get ric h quick. Much m o re than the sp ecificity of topical allusion, it w as the g e n e ra l overview of the p e rio d th at has m ade the novel so valuable a so cial docum ent to h is to ria n s . This sw eeping p a n o ra m a of the e a rly G ilded Age, fro m the m ud flats of Stone's Landing to the h alls of C o n g ress, fro m a g enteel se m in a ry to a p o litic s -rid d e n c rim in a l court, is endowed w ith th re e c h a ra c te ris tic s th at give it g re a tn e s s --a u th e n tic ity , s a tiric a l content, and so cial c r i t i cism . The authenticity of The Gilded Age has alw ays been, p e rh a p s, its m o st noticeable fe a tu re . It w as im m ed iately noted by the m o re thoughtful re v ie w e rs such as F r e d P e rk in s : 287 M any of the scen es in the book a re d e s c rib e d w ith g re a t fo rce, and w ith the sam e obvious tru th fu l-p o rtra it c h a ra c te r w hich belongs to its p e rs o n s. Such a re the steam b o at ra c e on the M ississip p i, the lobbying tra n s a c tio n s in W a sh in g to n ,--p a rtic u la rly the v e ry w ell m anaged action by w hich the Knobs In d u strial U niversity Bill is c a r rie d in the H o u se ,--a n d the d ra m a tic c a ta stro p h e of the bill in the Senate, w h ere it fails w ithin about two m in u tes of p assin g . Such reco g n itio n m u s t have delighted C lem ens in p a rtic u la r, fo r he con tinually stro v e for authenticity. " T h e re is nothing," he had w ritte n M rs. F a irb a n k s, "that m a k es m e p ro u d e r than to be re g a rd e d by in te lli gent people as 'a u th e n tic .'" A nam e I have coveted so long--& s e c u re d at last! 1 _ don't c a re any thing about being h u m o ro u s, o r p o etical, or eloquent, or anything of th a t k in d --th e end and aim of m y am bition is to be a u th e n tic --is to be c o n sid e re d authentic. DeVoto has m ade m u ch of T w ain's contribution to A m e ric a n lite ra tu re in the fro n tie r settings of The G ilded A ge. . . . it is p o ssib le, by 1872, to find s e v e ra l novels w hich undertook the h o n est p o rtra y a l of an A m e ric a n scene. N e v e rth e le ss, w hen the second p a ra g ra p h in troduces Obedstown, E a s t T en n essee, we a re on a h ig h e r level of re a lis m than A m e ric a n lite r a tu r e had ev e r before attained. . . . ^ Yet above anything e lse, the c h a ra c te riz a tio n of Colonel S e lle rs e m bodies the s p irit of the tim e s w ith sublim ity, fo r S e lle rs ' p re s e n c e runs Old and New, 9:387, M arch 1874. The B oston L ite r a r y W orld said: "We have no doubt th at the d esc rip tio n s h e re given . . . a re m e a s u ra b ly a c c u ra te " (see above, p. 27). A ccording to one B ritis h w o rk in g -c la ss o b se rv e r, " e x a g g e ra tion of e ith e r the people or the country, even by a p ro fe s sio n a l ro m a n tic is t, would be next to an im p o ssib ility " (Jam es Dawson Burn, T hree Y ears Among the W o rk in g -C la sse s in the United States . . . [London, 1865J, p. ix). 32 L e tte r dated F e b ru a ry 20, 1868, quoted in E dw ard W agen- knecht, M ark Twain, the M an and His W ork (New Haven, Conn., 1935), p. 52. ~^M a rk T w ain's A m e ric a , p. 286; see also pp. 288-289, 291. Cf. H erro n , pp. 237 ff. 288 through the book, now in the foreground, now at one side, but always th e re , r e s tle s s , im pulsive, o pportunistic, en th u siastic, ubiquitous. As p ro ta g o n ist fo r the them e of a ll-p e rv a d in g sp ecu lativ en ess he is ably sup p o rted by m in o r c h a r a c te r s - - S i Haw kins, E li Bolton, H a rry B rie rly and, to a le s s e r extent, Philip Sterling; even J. Adolphe G r ille r - - b u t it is he who ep ito m izes the "G ilded Age" p erso n ality . Sixty y e a rs ago W illiam Dean Howells w ro te th at as a type Colonel S e lle rs em bodies the s o rt of A m e ric a n ism w hich survived through the Civil W ar, and c h a ra c te riz e d in its b o undlessly credulous, f e a r le s s ly ad ven tu ro u s, u n consciously b u rlesq u e e x c e ss the p erio d of po litical and econom ic expansion w hich followed the w a r. Colonel S ellers w as, in som e rough s o rt, the A m e ric a of th at day, w hich alre a d y se e m s so rem o te, and is b e st im aginable through him . . . . 4 It is a judgm ent the echo of w hich has rebounded fro m ev e ry cra g of 35 c r it ic i s m - - in H enderson, F a rrin g to n , G rattan, Josephson, Van Doren. In F a rrin g to n 's w ords: A Colonel S e lle rs w as to be found at e v e ry fire sid e talking the sam e blow sy doctrine. Infectious in th e ir o p tim ism , naive in th e ir faith th a t som ething would be tu rn e d up fo r them by the governm ent if they m ade known th e ir w ants, they w ere hoping fo r d o llars to be put in th e ir pockets by a generous a d m in istra tio n at W ashington. . . . The Colonel, m o re o v e r, was reco g n ized instantly by his 34 "M a rk Twain: an Inquiry," No. A m er. R ev., 191:841, June 1910 (re p rin te d fro m issu e of F e b ru a ry 1901). ^ S e e A rch ib ald H enderson, M ark Tw ain (London, 1911), p. 62; V ernon I. P a rrin g to n , M ain C u rre n ts of A m e ric a n Thought (New York, 1927-1930), III, 23; C. H artle y G rattan, in A m e ric a n W rite rs on A m e r i can L ite r a tu r e , ed. John M acy (New York, 1931), p. 278; M atthew Josephson, The P o litico s, 1865-1896 (New York, 1938), p. 175; C arl Van Doren, The A m e ric a n N ovel, rev . ed. (New York, 1940), p. 145. ^ P a r r in g to n , III, 2 3. 289 c o n te m p o ra ry audience. A pparently m o re vividly than in the novel it self, Colonel S e lle rs as a stage c h a ra c te r m ade a deep im p re s s io n on his fellow countrym en; fo r his p e rso n ific a tio n by John T. Raym ond, how ever inadequate C lem ens m a y have thought it, brought his living p re s e n c e before A m e ric a n sp e c ta to rs . In sp ired by R aym ond's p e r f o r m ance as w ell as by the novel, the New Y ork T ribune devoted a long e d i to ria l to "The T rib e of S e lle rs ." It re a d in p a r t as follows: M u lb e rry S e lle rs has ta k en his p lace in the galaxy of re p re s e n ta tive A m e ric a n s . He is a c a ric a tu re , an a b s u rd ity --th is genial s p e c u la to r who b o rro w s te n cents w hile he divulges his sch em e involving as m any m illio n s --b u t he is n e v e rth e le s s a living and d istin ctiv e type of r e a l A m e ric a n and p e c u lia rly A m e ric a n c h a ra c te r. He is no d ra m a tic m yth. A m e ric a n so ciety is full of th e se in te re s tin g w re c k s stra n d e d on the shoals of m isfo rtu n e, y et alw ays basking in the sun. E v e ry one knows M u lb e rry S e lle rs at once, and reco g n izes in him his next door neighbor, his chum at college, his w ife's u n c le --th e one th a t ru in ed the fam ily. He is to be seen e v e ry day in the s tre e t, e v e ry night at the club or the th e a te r, e v e ry m orning in the n eig h borhood of som e cheap re s ta u ra n t. E v e ry m a n in N ew -Y ork, e v e ry m a n in W ashington, e v e ry m a n in P ike County, knows him . . . . Of the trib e of S e lle rs th e re a re m any fa m ilie s, but the two g re a t divisions a re , p e rh a p s, the h o n est and the dishonest. The hon e s t M u lb e rry keeps h im self, as w ell as ev e ry one around him , in p e rp e tu a l poverty. He is alw ays on the point of m aking a fo rtu n e too huge for the u se of one m an, Colonel though he be, and he announces his intention of sh arin g it w ith you; as a p re lim in a ry step he induces you to in d o rse h is note or to lend him the little sto re you had la id up ag ain st a ra in y day, and shoots it into the hopper of his e n te rp ris e . . . . The honest M u lb e rry w ent into oil, and w as ruined; w ent into stocks, and w as ru in ed again; w ent into r e a l e sta te , and cam e out p o o re r than before; w ent into r a ilro a d bonds, and e m e rg e d a ban k rupt, though no one could see w hat th e re w as left to go sm a sh . And e v e ry tim e he com es up sm iling, w ith the light of a new " c o rn e r" or " s trik e " sp ark lin g in his eye. He is a genuine M icaw ber flo w ered on A m e ric a n soil, but a g r e a te r than M icaw ber, fo r he is invincible. He is too A m e ric a n fo r d esp air; he steps up p ro m p tly to each new round w ith F a te -- a n d gets throw n e v e ry tim e. The d ish o n est M u lb e rry is a le s s p le asin g fellow. He m a k e s a p re c a rio u s and d isrep u tab le living by the expenditure of ingenuity and in d u stry w hich h o nestly e x e rte d would m ake him a m illio n a ir e - - if his nam e was anything but S e lle rs . His sch em es a re . . . all aim ed at the a p p ro p ria tio n of som ebody e ls e 's m oney or thoughts or la b o r. . . . He plots a ra ilro a d sw indle, and the r e p o r te r s p ry it out w ith th e ir p en cils; he w o rm s h im se lf into the confidence of d e frau d ed bondholders, and is speedily disch arg ed ; . . . 290 At W ashington, M u lb e rry S e lle rs is ubiquitous and influential. He h as held a s c o re of s e a ts in e v e ry C o n g ress w ithin the m e m o ry of m an, w hile in the lobby he is alw ays in a m a jo rity . M u lb erry , the lobbyist, liv es a gilded, hollow s o r t of life, dining sum ptuously d u r ing the s e s s io n and sta rv in g during the r e c e s s . His bill fails of p a s sa g e fo r w ant of th re e m in u te s' tim e on the m o rn in g of the F o u rth of M arch, and is knocked on the h ead by the blow of the s p e a k e r's m a lle t w hich d e c la re s the C o n g ress ended; or his p ro je c t is r e f e r r e d to a C om m ittee w hose C h airm an , he finds to his d isgust, is v irtu o u s. He in a u g u ra tes P a c ific R a ilro a d s and lays the foundations fo r v a st fo rtu n e s on w hich o th e rs build. . . . M any a m a n is a M u lb e rry S e lle rs who would be astounded if you dubbed him so. . . . fo o lish fellow s who think th at re a l su c c e ss is a thing to be sto le n or bought or sn atch ed out of the hand of F a te - - th e se a re re p re s e n ta tiv e A m e ric a n s and re p re s e n ta tiv e of m u ch that is raw and w o rth le ss in our civilization. . . As one biography stated , "The public 'took' to Colonel S e lle rs, . . . it 38 se e m e d as though he w e re p a r t and p a rc e l of re a lity ." B ra n d e r M a t thew s w ro te, . . . th e re w as s c a rc e ly one of us who had not put m oney in sc h e m e s h a rd ly m o re fa n ta stic than the v isio n a ry K entuckian's O rien tal e y e w a te r. Indeed, this g e n e ra l reco g n itio n of the tru th of the c h a ra c te r w as p u sh ed so fa r as to point out not one, but m any o rig in als, fro m w hom the p o r tr a i t had b een draw n. . . . ' So authentic, indeed, did the Colonel seem , th at the au th o rs w e re 40 b esieg e d by c laim a n ts to having been the o rig in al of the c h a ra c te r. Raym ond once told B ra n d e r M atthew s th a t in tow n a fte r town he w ould be a c c o ste d by som e m an, who would say to him , "I saw you to -n ig h t--a n d I reco g n ized m y self. D idn't M a rk e v e r te ll you? W ell, he took S e lle rs fro m m e ! Why, all m y ^ N o v e m b e r 19, 1874, p. 4, cols. 5-6. ■^W ilfred R. H o lliste r and H a rry N orm an, Five F am ous M is so u rian s (K ansas City, Mo., 1900), pp. 55-56. •^ "T h e A m e ric a n on the Stage," S c rib n e r's M onthly, 18:328, July 1879. ^ J o h n M acy, The S p irit of A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re (G arden City, N.Y., 1913), p. 257. 291 frien d s knew m e the f ir s t tim e they saw you!" The nam e S e lle rs, even as M icaw ber, b e c a m e and for a long tim e r e - 42 m ain ed a b y -w o rd in the language. O ther c h a ra c te rs of The G ilded Age have been reco g n ized as tru e to type, even w hen th e ir "key" identity w as unknown. Among the A m e ric a n w orking c la s s e s , all save the m o st w retch e d had asp ira tio n s; . . . Braw ny boys w e re constantly c lim b ing upw ard to ric h e s and c irc u m s ta n c e ; P a tr ic k O 'R iley of the saloon gang, who b eca m e P a triq u e O reille in M a rk T w ain's c a ric a tu re of the im agination. . . W a rn e r's c h a ra c te r P hilip S terling, id ealized and stereo ty p ed though he m ay be, has been noted as "a m o re or le s s lifelike sketch of the type of 44 young New England m e n who w e re going W est to seek th e ir fo rtu n e s." That this is how W arn e r h im se lf envisioned Philip is m ade abundantly c le a r in the novel. T h e re a re m any young m e n like him in A m e ric a n society, of his age, o pportunities, education, and a b ilitie s, who have re a lly been educated fo r nothing and have le t th e m se lv e s drift, in the hope th at they w ill find som ehow , and by som e sudden tu rn of good luck, the golden road to fortune. He w as not idle or lazy; he had e n erg y and a disp o sitio n to carv e his own way. But he w as b o rn into a tim e w hen all young m e n of his age caught the fe v e r of speculation, and expected to get on in the w o rld by the o m issio n of som e of the re g u la r p ro c e s s e s w hich have been appointed fro m of old. And exam ples w e re not w anting to encourage him . He saw people, all around him , p oor y e s te rd a y , ric h to -d ay , who had com e into sudden opulence by som e 41 M atthew s, P lay w rig h ts on P lay m ak in g . . . (New Y ork and London, 1923), p. 170; cf. Inquiries and Opinions (New York, 1907), p. 146. ^ S e e , fo r exam ple, F a c t s , by a w om an (Oakland, Calif., 1881), p. 119: "I b eca m e quite enthused, a la 'S e lle rs ,' . . ."; or P a rrin g to n , III, 37: "Ja y Cooke w as chief am o n g st the B eriah S e lle rs e s of the day." ^ C h a r l e s A. and M ary R. B eard, The R ise of A m e ric a n C iv ili zatio n , rev . ed. (New York, 1937), II, 395. ^ V a n Wyck B rooks, New England: Indian S u m m er (New York, 1940), p. 209. Cf. T aylor, E conom ic N ovel, pp. 126-127. 292 m e an s w hich they could not have c la ss ifie d am ong any of the re g u la r occupations of life. . . . (II, 208-209) That th e se and o th er c h a r a c te r s of the n o v e l--S i H aw kins, W ashington H awkins, S enator D ilw orthy, E li B o lto n --sh o u ld have been authentic to c o n te m p o ra ry r e a d e r s is not s u rp ris in g , fo r, as show n in p re c e d in g ch a p te rs of this study, C lem ens and W a rn e r knew th em as r e a l people. If th e ir v e ris im ilitu d e has faded som ew hat fo r the m o d e rn re a d e r, it is becau se the style of living in the United S tates has a lte re d over the gen e ra tio n s. A d ag u erro ty p e, s tilte d as it m a y now ap p e a r, is n o n eth eless an actual photograph. Im p o rtan t as the au th en ticity of The G ilded Age m a y be as a m e a s u re of its w o rth in te r m s of l i t e r a r y r e a lis m , its value can b e st be seen in the su p p o rt it gives to the n o v e l's s a tire . As a novel of m a n n e rs The G ilded Age is re a lis tic , as a s a tire it is com ic; as both it is com ic re a lis m in the g re a t tra d itio n of F ielding and D ickens. W ere the fictive c h a r a c te r s and ep iso d es p u re ly im ag in ary , the w o rk m ig h t be m e re ly fa rc e . Since they a re founded on so lid re a lity , the w o rk b e com es s a tire of a high o rd e r. The Gilded Age h as had m an y d e tra c to rs not alone of its l i t e r a ry m e rits but also of its s a tir ic content. D e tra c to rs , once again, b e cause of th e ir ignorance of its g re a t a llu siv e n e ss; d e tra c to rs b ecau se of th e ir use of inadequate h is to ric a l c r ite r ia . Some, like R u sse ll B lankenship, feel th at the book w as only a h a rb in g e r of w hat m ight have been. A ccording to him , the r e a l tra g e d y of C le m en s' life "was his fa ilu re to fulfill the p ro m is e of The G ilded A ge" and "becom e the g re a t 293 45 A m e ric a n s a ti r is t." Som e, like H enry Seidel Canby, think th a t C le m ens did not w ant to and could not do up the so ciety he lived in and 46 "p ro v ed his point in The G ilded A ge." Some, like E d g ar L ee M a s te rs , deploring the fact th a t C lem ens w as not Swift or V oltaire or Juvenal or Defoe or T h a c k e ra y or T olstoy or B alzac, m a in tain th at in this novel he has only stag ed "fools and g ro te s q u e s ." He w as old enough and of sufficiently wide ex p erien ce and o b s e rv a tio n to have given A m e ric a a novel w hich would have been a la stin g h is to ry of one of its d e e p e st p e rio d s of degradation. He did n 't have the genius to do so. He w as a h u m o rist, soon re a d y to tu rn a cynic, a clown w ith a b ro k en h e a rt. K enneth A ndrew s b eliev es th at the book is " m o re an attack on p e rso n a l im m o ra lity in high p la c e s than a rounded s a tire of a new econom ic o r d e r" and th at C le m e n s' "an aly sis of p o litic a l c o rru p tio n as the re s u lt of individual im m o ra lity in d icates his su b sc rip tio n " to the Nook F a rm point of view th at e x c e s s e s in the abuse of the b a sic a lly sound A m e ric a n 48 econom ic sy ste m w e re co n tro llab le. In other w o rd s, w hat s a tire th e re is is la rg e ly a m a tte r of p e rs o n a l eth ics and is genial and innocu ous. A s im ila r point of view is e x p re s s e d in P au l S chm idt's study of 49 "M a rk T w ain's S atire on R ep u b lican ism ." ^ A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re as an E x p re s s io n of the N ational M ind, rev . ed. (New York, 1949), pp. 466 f. ^ T u rn W est, T u rn E ast, p. 130. ^ M a rk Twain: A P o r tr a i t (New Y ork and London, 1938), pp. 113 ff. ^^Nook F a rm , M a rk T w ain's H a rtfo rd C irc le (C am bridge, M a ss., 1950), pp. 117, 126, 236. ^ A m e ric a n Q u a rte rly , 5:344-356, W inter 1953. ". . . the u sual s a tire on flatu len ce is c o n ce rn ed w ith its h y p o crisy in glossing over actu al p ro b le m s , and th e re is no c o n c e rn fo r th e se p ro b le m s in C le m en s' b u rle sq u e " (p. 349). 294 M ore effective in its d e tra c tio n than the w orks of any of the foregoing c ritic s , becau se clothed w ith a p seu d o scien tific p lausibility, is Van Wyck B rooks' study The O rdeal of M ark Tw ain, w hich jo lted cn li te r a r y c irc le s w hen it w as published in 1920. What in A ndrew s' view is C lem en s' conform ity to Nook F a rm values w as to B rooks abject s u rre n d e r. A ttem pting to m ake a F re u d ia n psychoanalytic in te r p r e ta tion of C lem ens and his w ritin g s, B rooks decided that C lem ens found a m o th e r-im a g e in O livia Langdon and th ereu p o n s u rr e n d e r e d to con fo rm ity . The capitulation w as m ade p e rm a n e n t through the fo rcin g of bourgeois values upon him by his wife, re la tiv e s , and frie n d s. The Gilded Age, in co n sp irac y ag ain st the a rtis t, and the G enteel T rad itio n of Howells finished the job. Hence his final sen se of fa ilu re , his f r u s tratio n , his d esp air, p e s s im ism , pathological ra g e . This e x tra o rd in a ry piece of sp ecia l pleading se le c te d only the b io g rap h ical facts and p a s - 51 sages fro m the w ritin g s th at fitted its h ypothesis. ^ (N e w York, 1920); rev. ed. (New York, 1933). ^*In 1932 B e rn a rd DeVoto, in M ark T w ain's A m e ric a , effectiv e ly exploded B rooks' p sy ch o an aly sis, showing its ec le c tic use of bits of F reu d ian , A dlerian, and Jungian psychology in c o n sisten tly and to fit the occasion (pp. 228-^29). T h irty -s e v e n y e a rs la te r, M r. B rooks, having h im se lf undergone p sychotherapy, w rite s th at the psychoanalytic a p p ro a c h to lite r a r y c ritic is m " red u ces a p e rs o n to a type, a congerie of inhibitions, com plexes and w hat not" and th at in The O rdeal of M ark Tw ain his " o v e r-c o n c e rn w ith psychology left no room fo r li te r a r y a p p re c ia tio n " (Days of the P hoenix [New York, 1957], p. 173). He also a d m its th at during the y e a rs he w as w ritin g O rdeal he w as " p o s s e s s e d by the notion that A m e ric a n w r ite r s w ere, fo r w h atev er re a so n , f o r e doom ed to fail" (p. 170). In opposition to B ro o k s' com pletely n ih ilistic tre a tm e n t D e Voto put fo rth his own hypothesis that Tw ain fulfilled h im se lf abundant ly as a w rite r and th at it w as the fro n tie r th at "com pleted" him as a w r ite r . U nquestionably a contribution to Tw ain study and a badly needed r e a lis t c o rre c tiv e to B ro o k s' m e tap h y sics, D eV oto's fro n tie r th e o ry w as in its own w ay as o n e-d im en sio n al as the psy ch o an aly tical 295 Though B rooks' study of Tw ain is d isto rte d out of all re la tio n w ith re a lity , its m a trix p ro v id es the hint of a h is to ric a l a p p ro ac h that, unfortunately, lead s to a vague, ro m a n tic c u l-d e -s a c . B rooks c h a r a c te riz e s the Gilded Age as th a t in w hich "the whole p sy ch ic en erg y of the A m e ric a n people w as a b so rb e d in the exploitation and the o rg an iz atio n of the m a te r ia l re s o u rc e s of the continent," and he sp eak s of the " w o r ship of s u c c e s s " of the " in d u stria l p io n e e rs ," who tended to " ro m a n ti cize th e ir situ a tio n ," believing as they did in the "m yth of 'm a n ife st d e stin y '" (pp. 77 and 83 ff.). W orking co n siste n tly fro m this p re m is e B rooks com es to the conclusion th a t the to ta l effect of the novel The Gilded Age is idyllic, "the m ira g e of the A m e ric a n M yth lie s over it like a ro s y v eil." M ark Tw ain m ight p e r m it h im se lf a c e rta in n u m b e r of acid glances at the actu al face of re a lity ; but he had to re d e e m h im se lf, he w ished to re d e e m h im se lf fo r doing s o - - f o r the s to ry w as w ritte n to m e e t the challenge of c e rta in lad ies in H a rtfo rd --b y m aking the m a in th re a d the happy d o m e stic tale of a w e ll-b ro u g h t-u p young m a n who finds in this v e ry stubbly field the a m p le s t and the so fte st s tra w fo r the snug fam ily n e st he builds in the end. . . . (p. 277) O ther, m o re len ien t d e tra c to rs of the s a tire of The G ilded Age take the lib e ra l point of view that, though the so cial c ritic is m is w ell handled as fa r as it goes, it does not go f a r enough to be re a lly approach. It m ade the u n accep tab le a ssu m p tio n th at T w ain 's grow th as a w r ite r stopped p r io r to or at the w ritin g of Innocents A b ro a d . And it p ro v id ed o sten sib le h is to ric a l su p p o rt fo r the long -stan d in g p o p u lar e s tim ate of Tw ain as m e re ly a h u m o ris t (see also "M ark Twain: the Ink of H isto ry ," in F o ra y s and R ebuttals [Boston, 1936], pp. 351-355). Its n et gain, th e re fo re , w as a lm o st negligible, e sp e c ia lly in view of D e V oto's own subsequent cap itu latio n to the p sy ch o lo g ical fad. DeVoto w as not alone in his c r itic is m of B ro o k s' th e sis. See, fo r exam ple, Schdnem ann, M ark Tw ain als lite r a r is c h e P e rs b n lic h k e it, p. 18, n. 3; Lucy Lockw ood H azard, The F ro n tie r in A m e ric a n L i te r a tu re (New York, 1927), p. 221; T aylor, E conom ic Novel] p. 126. 296 significant. A ccording to E d g a r B ranch, fo r exam ple, the book is "not deeply p e n e tra tin g s a tir e ." T w ain 's " o b se rv a tio n s of m e n and m a n n e rs , acute and c o m p re h en siv e as th ey a re , do not get to the ro o t of the 52 so cial and p o litic a l c o rru p tio n ." P a r n n g to n say s th a t "w ith the inno cence of his g en era tio n " M a rk Twain "dam ned the agent and overlooked the p rin c ip a l." The r e a l s o u rc e s of p o litic al c o rru p tio n --th e rap ac io u s railw a y lo b b y ists th a t cam ped in b rig ad e s about the capitol b u ild in g --a re p a s s e d over, and attention is fa ste n e d on s m a ll s te a ls -- th e Knobs U niversity bill and the Colum bus R iv e r N avigation s c h e m e --th a t do not touch the r e a l r a s c a ls of the day. . . .53 Had P a rrin g to n d isc o v e re d to w hat a g re a t extent such sc h e m e s as the U n iv ersity Bill and the Colum bus R iv er N avigation p ro je c t w e re b ased on actu al plu n d erin g s of the " r e a l le a d e rs of the g re a t b a rb e c u e ," he could n e v e r have m ad e such a blunder. The sc h o la r who h as com e c lo se s t to placing The G ilded Age in its p ro p e r p e rsp e c tiv e as a s a tire is W alter F u lle r T ay lo r. W ith B ro o k s' th e sis in m ind, he ask s the question "Did M a rk Tw ain ev er, in fact, re a lly s u r r e n d e r to the p lu to c ra c y of the G ilded Age? Did he e v e r, in re a lity , abdicate the c ritic a l function of the s a tir is t? " His a n sw e r is a definite no; and he cites as supporting evidence such w orks as "The C urious R epublic of G ondour," The M y sterio u s S tra n g e r, and 52 E d g ar M a rq u e ss B ranch, The L ite r a r y A pp ren ticesh ip of M a rk Tw ain (U rbana, 111., 1950), p. 182. 5^111, 94, 169 f. DeVoto a c c u se s P a rrin g to n of try in g to m ake M ark Tw ain conform to h is p re c o n c e iv e d sy stem , in th is case J e ffe r sonian lib e rta ria n is m (F o ra y s and R e b u tta ls, pp. 396-397). 297 54 Connecticut Y ankee. He concedes th a t the "genteel en v iro n m en t in New England w as h ard ly congenial to fre e -s p o k e n s a tir e ," but he points out th at Tw ain w as ric h in the p e rs o n a l equipm ent of the s a tir is t, "so rich, indeed, th at s a tire overflow s at som e point or other into e v e ry one 55 of his fu ll-len g th w o rk s." One of the la tte r w as The Gilded A ge, and T aylor p re s e n ts an ad m ira b le outline of its s a tir ic a l content. Noting th a t as the s to ry m oves fro m the fro n tie r to the c o m m e r cial and p o litic a l c e n te rs the s a tire grow s s h a rp e r, T ay lo r e n u m e ra te s the specific phenom ena s a tir iz e d - - th e phenom ena d ealt w ith in e a r l ie r ch ap ters of the p re s e n t stu d y --a n d s u m m a riz e s th at the "overw helm ing m a jo rity " of the p re v a le n t fo rm s of b u sin e ss and p o litic a l p ira c y a re exposed. "E ven the m in o r p a s s a g e s in the book," he continues, " a re often salty w ith s a tiric a l th ru s t and e p ig ra m ." He then speaks of "the code of m id d le -c la s s pru d en ce, th rift, and h o n esty " th at co n stitu te s the 56 view point fro m w hich the s a tire is d irec ted . A pparently w ith P a rrin g to n 's s ta te m e n t in m ind th a t Tw ain "dam ned the agent and overlooked the p rin c ip a l," T ay lo r a rg u e s that the agents a re re p re s e n te d in c h a ra c te rs like Brown, Shaick, B igler, and O 'R iley and th at other c h a ra c te rs such as L a u ra H aw kins, W ashing- 57 ton Haw kins, S e lle rs, and S terling a re eith e r v ic tim s or dupes. (Yet 54 "M a rk Tw ain and the M achine A ge," re p rin te d fro m South A t lan tic Q u a rte rly , O ctober 1938, in F ifty Y ears of the South A tlantic Q u arterly , ed. W illiam B a sk e rv ille H am ilton (D urham , N.C., 1952), pp. 277 ff. ^ H is to ry , p. 269. ^ F ifty Y e a rs , p. 274; E conom ic N ovel, pp. 125 ff. ^ E conom ic N ovel, p. 126. 298 a d ir e c to r of the Union P a c ific and [if Shaick m a y be tak en as Sidney 58 Dillon] the c h a irm a n of its b o a rd com e v e ry clo se to being " p rin c i p a ls ," b a rrin g only the ru lin g o lig arch y of the " firs t fa m ilie s ." ) T ay lo r fu rth e r m a in tain s th a t "the 'p rin c ip a l 1 fo rc e " in the novel is an intangi ble one, "the S p irit of S p e c u la tio n ." ^ He a p p e a rs to b elieve th a t M ark Tw ain a ttrib u te d the ills of the s o c io -e c o n o m ic sy ste m to the ideology b o rn of th a t sy ste m r a th e r th an to the sy ste m itself. W hile th e re is m u ch tru th in this c o n te n tio n --fo r the ideology p ro d u ced by a so cial sy ste m in tu rn r e a c ts upon the sy ste m as a m e a s u ra b le f o r c e - - i t also com es close, if left by itself, to A ndrew s' contention th at the n o v el's s a tire can be re d u c e d to a m a tte r of p e rs o n a l eth ics. In other w o rd s, the fact th at T ay lo r le av es the S p irit of S peculation as the u ltim a te "p rin c ip a l" im plies an abandonm ent of so cial re a lity in favor of m o ra l m e ta p h y s ic s . In an attem p t to evaluate The G ilded Age w ithin the fra m e w o rk of a given se t of c r ite r ia , a nu m b er of sc h o la rs and li te r a r y h is to ria n s have p re s e n te d ra tio n a le s e x p re s s e d in te rm s p e c u lia r to th e ir s e v e ra l view points. H azard, fo r exam ple, c o n sid e rs Colonel S e lle rs as the type of the in d u stria l p i o n e e r . ^ T aylor, on the o th e r hand, speaks of The G ilded Age as a p re in d u s tria l or " p re -m a c h in e " n o v e l .^ P a rrin g to n 62 c o n sid e rs it a study of p o st-C iv il W ar W higgery. K enneth Lynn says ^®See above, p. 187. ^ E conom ic N ovel, p. 126. ^ F r o n t i e r in A m e ric a n L i te r a t u r e , p. 226. ^ E conom ic N ovel, p. 124. ^ I I I , 20-22. "W higgery," it should be noted, has fo r P a rrin g to n a q u a s i-M a rx ia n m eaning: " F o r a c a p ita listic so ciety W higgery is the 299 6 3 it is w ritte n fro m the standpoint of "egghead R ep u b lican ism ." K en neth A ndrew s calls it "a re a c tio n a ry book" and im p licitly an tid em o - 64 65 c ra tic , a sen tim en t th a t finds an echo in Lynn. The lib e ra ls am ong the c ritic s ap p ea r to be disappointed th a t M ark Tw ain had not re a d R icard o or M arx and did not have the so cially analy tical insight into h is m a te r ia l of fictio n th at is attrib u te d to m o re rece n t, " p ro le ta ria n " a u th o rs. P a rrin g to n sta te s: He ask ed no questions about u n earn e d in crem en t; to question th at would have been tre a s o n to the fro n tie r philosophy. . . . The econom ics of h is to ry w as a clo sed book to A m e ric a n s of the sev en ties. . . . ° S im ila rly T aylor: "Of any fo rm a l econom ic philosophy, he had n o n e a t 67 a ll." And the h is to ria n H arold Underw ood F au lk n e r: "W arn er and Twain . . . w ro te a s a tire of A m e ric a n life w ithout approaching the 68 fundam entals th at m ade such a p ic tu re p o ssib le ." M ore to the point, the r e s e a r c h e r Thom as Bond B urnham w rite s of Twain: only ra tio n a l p o litic s, fo r it exalts the p ro fit-m o tiv e as the sole object of p a rlia m e n ta ry co n c e rn ." k-^M a rk Tw ain and S outhw estern H um or (Boston and T oronto, 1959), pp. 177-178. k^Nook F a r m , p. 184; cf. p. 183: "T he ab u ses a re tr a c e d to the occupancy of positions of pow er by individuals who a r e not am ong the b e st p e o p le ." 6 ^ See M a rk Tw ain and S outhw estern H u m o r, p. 176. ^ M ain C u r r e n ts , III, 93-94. k^Fifty Y e a rs , p. 280. Cf. E conom ic N ovel, p. 127. ^ A m e r i c a n P o litic a l and Social H is to ry , 6th ed. (New Y ork and London, 1952), p. 516. 300 His m in d w as not a d iscip lin ed one, nor w as it of the type w hich r e duce la rg e p henom ena to fit a fo rm a l p a tte rn , and it is doubtful w hether it e v e r o c c u rre d to him to b la m e the gilded age on a sy ste m , or even to fig u re out ex actly w hat that sy stem w as in all its im p lic a tions. . . . ^ Of the evaluations by s c h o la rs of the A m e ric a n Left one of the m o s t p ro v o cativ e is th a t by V ictor F ra n c is C alverton. W riting in 1932 he d e c la re s th at The G ilded Age w as one of the e a r lie s t and b e st em bodim ents of the p etty bou rg eo is philosophy of the fro n tie rs m a n in his stru g g le ag ain st the co rru p tin g influence of the c la ss in pow er. . . . A ccording to his th e s is, the A m e ric a n fro n tie r offered, during the m id dle y e a rs of the nineteenth cen tu ry , a condition of exceptional so cial fluidity, in w hich the p etty b o u rg eo isie w e re able to m a in tain dom inance until a fte r the Civil W ar. The fro n tie rs m a n , out of pow er, and escaping fro m the s u p p re ssio n of the big b o u rg eo isie in the E ast, p io n e ered new land in an u n fettered m a n n e r, e s ta b lish e d e q u a lita ria n com m unities, broke down c la ss distin ctio n s, and developed a strong, o p tim istic indi v id u alism . The fro n tie r also p re s u m a b ly p ro v id ed an escap e fo r the w o rk e r, who developed a petty bou rg eo is ra th e r than p ro le ta ria n o rie n tation, th e re b y re ta rd in g the grow th of his own c la ss c o n scio u sn ess and leaving a leg acy of illusion. In o th er w o rd s, the fro n tie r environm ent, as M ark Tw ain illu s tra te s in The G ilded A ge, inculcated the r a g s - to - 71 ric h e s m yth of the " A m e ric a n d re a m ." ^ " M a r k Tw ain and the G ilded A g e," unpub. m a s t e r 's th e sis (Univ. of Idaho, 1937), pp. 30-31. 70 The L ib e ra tio n of A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re (New York, 1932), pp. 326-327. L ib e ra tio n of A m e ric a n L i te r a tu r e , pp. 230 ff. C alv erto n 's th e sis is w ell re p re s e n te d in the following statem en t: "The fro n tie r 301 This ingenious an aly sis, w hich has a c e rta in am ount of validity, p a rtic u la rly in its e m p h a sis on the "petty b o u rg eo is" o rien tatio n of The Gilded A ge, is in other re s p e c ts m islead in g and inadequate. What, fo r exam ple, is to be m ade of the fact th a t the H aw kinses a re slav e-o w n ers? How explain the p re s e n c e in an " e q u a lita ria n com m unity" of the u n re - g en erate, ra il- s ittin g sq u a tte rs of Obedstown, the flo tsa m and je ts a m of the fro n tie r, co rresp o n d in g to the lu m p e n p ro le ta ria t of an in d u stria liz e d region? Can the p h y sical latitude o ffered by the A m e ric a n fro n tie r so lely account fo r the M icaw b er-lik e delusions of g ran d eu r th a t a re c h a ra c te ris tic of the m iddle c la s s e s in o th er co u n tries, or does it m e re ly im p a rt a national flav o r? T hese and s im ila r questions a r e r a is e d by F o n e r in his m o re re c e n t study. As he points out, "the novel is by no m ean s a com plete m i r r o r of the so cial and p o litic al h is to ry of the gilded ag e." He con tinues : That the m a s s of A m e ric a n s w e re not involved in the speculative f e v e r of "m aking m o n ey ," but r a th e r w e re co n ce rn ed in m aking ends m e e t, w as not touched on by the au th o rs. . . . He speaks of "the books tendency to m ake the m o ra l c o rru p tio n of the p e rio d u n iv e rs a l." C learly , the au th o rs believ ed th a t the d eb ased values of the b an k ers, b ro k e rs , sp e c u la to rs, and c o rru p t p o litic ia n s --g e t ric h as fa st as you can, even if you do it illeg ally and at e v e ry one e ls e 's e x p e n se -- had becom e the m o ra l values of all A m e ric a n s. Yet this w as a background, b eca u se of r a th e r than desp ite its h a rd sh ip s, p ro v id ed an ideal en v iro n m en t fo r the re a liz a tio n of petty bourgeois id eals. The in dividual fre e d o m fro m m o le sta tio n on the top by the big b o u rg eo isie, gave the fro n tie rs m a n th at sen se of p e rs o n a l se c u rity and s e lf-re lia n c e w hich endowed individualism w ith a m eaning in A m e ric a th at it n ev er acq u ired in any other co u n try " (p. 227). 302 p e rio d w hen la b o r le a d e rs , N egro le a d e rs and a g r a r ia n le a d e rs w e re upholding w ith p a s s io n e n tire ly d ifferen t values w hich em p h asized the w elfare and fra te rn ity of all m e n . ^ In delim iting the n o v el's s a tire in this w ay F o n e r is not, how ever, d is parag in g its m e rits ("The b ro ad canvas of the novel co v ers m any fe a tu re s of the gilded age w hich m o s t d e se rv e d s a tire " ) (p. 72); he is m e re ly showing that the novel, in spite of its "b ro ad ca n v a s," is not to be taken as a Com edie H um aine. In fact, it is the v e ry sa m e "petty bo u rg eo is" outlook u n d erlin ed by C alv erto n th at conditioned C lem ens and W arn e r to endow th e ir s to ry unconsciously w ith a seem in g ly u n i v e rs a l, or a t le a s t c o m p re h en siv ely national, significance. Alone am ong Twain r e s e a r c h e r s published in the United S tates, F o n er, a h isto ria n , m ain tain s th a t Twain p e n e tra te d to the fountainhead of Gilded Age co rru p tio n . In this he com es into h ead -o n co llisio n w ith P a rrin g to n . How anyone can arg u e that The Gilded Age "p u rp o se ly avoids sketching 'the re a l le a d e rs of the g re a t b a rb e c u e ,' is ," he w rite s , "beyond c o m p re h en sio n ." If the " re a l le a d e rs " w ere not the b an k ers, b ro k e rs , and p re s id e n ts of W all S tre e t co rp o ratio n s, who w e re they? . . . Tw ain w as not, afte r all, w ritin g a tra c t. He w as p e rfo rm in g the n o v e list's c la ss ic ta s k - - th a t of placing before us a group of c h a ra c te rs and bringing them to life, causing the r e a d e r to say as he read , "Y es. This is right. This is the way the co rp o ratio n s buy le g is la to rs ." . . Of the h ig h e st significance in this connection is the fact th at in the ^ F o n e r , pp. 84-85. ^ F o n e r , p. 84; cf. p. 310: "He w as sh a rp ly co n cern ed w ith the co rru p tio n of the p r o c e s s e s of re p re s e n ta tiv e governm ent by the b u s i n e ss elem en ts who w e re , as he showed in The Gilded A ge, the re a l but hidden r u le r s of the nation; .. ." As B urnham says ("M ark Twain and the Gilded A ge," p. 34), "it depends on w h eth er or not you a g re e w ith the au th o rs as to the identity of the 'r e a l le a d e r s .'" 303 1890's C lem ens w ro te a s e t of "N otes fo r a Social H isto ry of the United States fro m 1850 to 1900." He planned to expose the p re d a tio n s of the ro b b e r b a ro n s, plot the c o u rse of the "C a lifo rn ia su d d e n -ric h d is e a s e ," and b lam e the Civil W ar and Ja y Gould fo r a c e n tu ry 's " m o ra l ro t." . . . C lem ens, though devoid of a conscious, a rtic u la te d so cial philosophy, w as g re a tly c o n ce rn ed w ith the facts and w ith authenticity, two to u c h stones th a t guided him fa r along the ro a d to understanding. In depicting the m an ip u latio n of the national le g is la tu re by la rg e c o rp o ra te in te re s ts fo r th e ir own benefit and in rev ea lin g the ro le of the m id d le -c la s s p ro m o te rs and sp e c u la to rs in c a rry in g out the "m an ifest d estin y " of th e se in te r e s ts - - v ic tim iz in g th e m se lv e s in the p r o c e s s - - M a rk Tw ain w as d ra m a tiz in g in p ro b ab ly the m o s t effective w ay he could the headlong p lu n d erin g of the national dom ain th a t w as to lead to m onopoly co n tro l of the econom y. The notorious open co rru p tio n and g ra ft a s s o c ia te d w ith this p ro c e s s w as its A ch illes' heel, exposed to s a tir ic a l attack. In The G ilded A ge, the controlling in te re s ts , the " re a l le a d e r s ," the hidden r u le r s , a re th e re in the b ackground--D uff Brown, Rodney Shaick, the New Y ork h e a d q u a rte rs of the Colum bus R iver S lackw ater N avigation C o m p a n y --a n d th e ir d ire c t connection w ith the d estin ies of Stone's Landing, Hawkeye, and S e lle rs ' land p ro m o tio n is n e v e r lo st sight of. T hat no s im ila r connection w ith the econom ic cen te r s is shown in the c a se of the T en n e ssee Land g raft and its lo g - r o ll ing Knobs U n iv ersity Bill is re la tiv e ly u n im p o rtan t, fo r such independ ent action as D ilw orthy's sp o n so rsh ip of th is bill is e n tire ly typical of ^ A n d r e w s , Nook F a r m , p. 23; cf. F o n e r, pp. 161-162. Notes a re in M T P, DV 31. 304 the b eh av io r of the c a p ita lis ts ' henchm en in C o n g ress. As Jo se p h so n says, . . . w hile the c a p ita lists held a controlling in te re s t in the concern, they w e re not alw ays able to e x e rc is e genuine co n tro l over th e ir p a r tn e r s , the p ro fe s s io n a l p o litic ian s. Nor had the c a p ita lists in th e ir own m inds a r r iv e d as yet at any co n siste n t sm ooth-w orking sch em e of re la tio n s w ith the p o litic a l G overnm ent and the m e n who held it in ch arg e . . . . In sh o rt, the new c a p ita lism gave an im m en se im petus to official and p o litic a l v e n a lity -- b lindly, by its own d is o rd e rlin e s s and fie rc e ly com petitive c h a r a c te r r a th e r than out of r e g a rd fo r its own d e e p e r in te re s ts . . . Ju st as the Colum bus R iv e r p ro je c t and Salt L ick E xtension a re r e p r e sen tativ e of the o p eratio n s of the big c a p ita lists, so the T e n n e sse e Land sch em e is re p re s e n ta tiv e of the a ttem p t of the m iddle c la s s e s to r is e to econom ic p re fe rm e n t. Both a re equally sy m p to m atic of the ra m p a n tly 7 A in su rg en t c a p ita lism of the p erio d . N otw ithstanding Van Wyck B rooks' fa ilu re to p u rsu e the so cio - h is to ric a l a p p ro ac h to M a rk Tw ain th a t lay b u ried under the d e b ris of his h y b rid " F re u d ia n is m ," he w as the f i r s t to recognize a v e ry im p o r tan t fa c t about the m a n C lem ens. This w as th at C lem ens w as divided in his attitude to w ard the G ilded Age and in r e g a rd to his own re la tio n to it. A ccording to B rooks, C lem ens w as a child of the v e ry sa m e e r a he c ritic iz e d and his s u r r e n d e r to its ideology p re v e n te d his fulfillm ent of h im se lf as an A m e ric a n R ab elais, a fru s tra tio n th a t ended in his ^ ^ The P o litic o s , pp. 101-103. " ^ H a z a rd s ta te s : "The significant addition w hich M ark Tw ain m a k es to the in te rp re ta tio n of the b u sin e ss m a n in A m e ric a n lite r a tu r e is the re la tio n of Big B u sin ess to the governm ent. The T riu m p h an t D e m o c ra c y of A ndrew C a rn e g ie 's effusive eulogy is h e re shown fo r the f i r s t tim e as the soiled plaything of a little group of g reed y m e n " (p. 305 d e s p a i r . ^ In the G ilded Age, B rooks a s s e r ts , "b u sin ess e n te rp ris e w as v irtu a lly the only reco g n ized sp h e re of actio n ," and into th at sp h e re the 78 actively c re a tiv e a r ti s t could not fit w ithout p ro stitu tin g his talent. Though m uch e x ag g e rated and though serv in g as the p re m is e fo r quite u n w a rra n te d conclusions, B rooks' concept has b asic validity. This am bivalence, this s p iritu a l dichotom y, this divided self of C lem en s' has been com m ented upon by s e v e ra l c ritic s and h is to ria n s . Like B rooks, L ew isohn d ecides th at C lem ens succum bed to his e n v iro n m e n t and lived "the tu rb u le n t g e t-ric h -q u ic k life of the Gilded A g e --th e life of la rg e earning, losing, spending, . . . a life u n c ritic a l, e s s e n tia lly 7 9 unguided, .. ." S im ilarly , Van D oren speaks of his plans fo r being "a s o r t of captain of le tte r s " and of sh arin g in the fu ro r of sp ecu latio n 80 "from w hich he had no li t e r a r y ideals to d e te r h im ." Jo sep h so n 228). 77 "He had n ev er r is e n to the conception of lite ra tu re as a g re a t im p e rso n a l so cial in stru m en t. An irre s p o n s ib le child him self, he could not even feel th at he had a rig h t to e x e rc is e a w ill- to - s a tire that v io la ted the w ishes of those to whom he had su b jected h im self. C o n se quently, in ste ad of s a tiriz in g the s p irit of his age, he outw ardly a c q u iesced in it and even fla tte re d it" (O rd eal, p. 271). 7 8 O rd e a l, p. 77. T ay lo r has pointed out th a t as e a rly as A m e r i c a 's C om ing-of-A ge (1915) Brooks had fo rm u la te d the p re m is e "that b u sin ess in te re s ts a re n e c e s s a r ily h o stile to the cre a tiv e life" (E co nom ic Novel, pp. 3-4). Cf. B rooks, A m e ric a 's C om ing-of-A ge (New York, 1915), p. 109- With som e o b s e rv e rs this te n et of lib e ra lis m m ight have led to c ritic a l bo h em ian ism as an escap e , the illu so ry co m fo rt of the im agined alien atio n of the s p irit. W ith B rooks, how ever, it led inw ard to a probing of C lem en s' psyche, the equally illu so ry s a tisfa c tio n of a tta in ing a consistent, p seu d o scien tific fra m e of re fe re n c e . 79 E x p re s sio n in A m e ric a , p. 223. 80 N ovel in A m e ric a , p. 144. 306 in te rp re ts the "cap itu latio n " as a p o sitiv e abandon: Not only did M a rk Tw ain fail to contend w ith his age; he re v e le d in it, he fra n k ly enjoyed h is ill-fa te d b u sin e ss sc h e m e s, the w h irl of g re a t a ffa irs, p rin tin g co m p an ies, n e w sp a p e rs, m a c h in e s. He e n joyed "hobnobbing w ith g e n e ra ls , s e n a to rs , and other h u m b u g s." He w as involved w ith the R o c k e fe lle rs, the R o g e rse s , the nabobs of the tim e , w hose in tim acy he w as p ro u d to have won; and he fran k ly liked the pow er, the g re a t public g e s tu re s w hich h is s u c c e ss p e rm itte d , ju s t as he liked the banquets he gave in his m a n sio n s and the c h a r i tie s he so la v ish ly d istrib u te d . . . Such evaluations a re , in fact, s u p e rfic ia l in th a t they acc ep t the su rface r e a litie s as final and fail to s e a r c h into the underlying com plexity of C le m en s' p e rso n a lity . S e v e ra l w r ite r s , to the c o n tra ry , reco g n izin g th at a p p e a ra n c e s can be deceiving, atte m p t to analyze m o re deeply, to d isc o v e r s o m e thing m o re about C le m e n s' a p p a re n tly conflicting m o tiv atio n s than a p p e a r s at the su rfa c e . H azard, fo r exam ple, a ttrib u te s the "fatal c le a v age w hich M r. B rooks h as tr a c e d in his n a tu re " to the c la sh betw een his a d m ira tio n of the gentility, e a se , and pow er th a t a r e the " re w a rd s of s u c c e s s " and his fie rc e contem pt fo r the h y p o crisy , g reed , and c ru e lty "underlying the so c ia l c o n sp ira c y w hich a s s u r e s the s u c c e s s of the su e- 82 c e s sfu l." T aylor says th a t the facts do not su g g est his s u r r e n d e r "to the w ays of c a p ita listic in d u s tria lis m " but in ste ad an unconscious ad ap tation, "a p ro c e s s th at M a rk Tw ain w as able to u n d e rsta n d w ell enough 83 in o th e rs, if not h im s e lf." And C alverton, co n siste n t w ith his in te r p re ta tio n e lse w h e re , m a in tain s th a t "at no tim e did he 's e ll out' his ^ P o r t r a i t of the A r tis t as A m e ric a n (New York, 1930), pp. 158- 159. 82 F ro n tie r in A m e ric a n L i te r a t u r e , p. 2Z3. Q *2 E conom ic N ovel, p. 129. 307 philosophy to the up p er b o u rg eo isie of the E a s t" but re m a in e d fo rth - 84 rig h tly petty bourgeois. It is c le a rly of c ritic a l im p o rtan ce, then, to analyze C lem en s' am bivalent attitude tow ard the Gilded Age, for on it depends a c o r r e c t evaluation of his p u rp o se, m ethod, and a c c o m p lish m en t in w ritin g the novel dedicated to it. On this evaluation in tu rn depends a valid ju d g m e n t of the p lace of this novel in his developm ent as a w r ite r - - t h e final goal to w ard w hich the p r e s e n t study is d irec ted . The evidence touched upon by c ritic a fte r c ritic , in the m a n n er outlined above, points ir r e s is tib ly to a profound co n trad ictio n in C le m en s' p erso n ality , w hich ex isted as e a rly as the w ritin g of The Gilded A ge. As is w ell known, C lem ens at th at tim e had m a r r i e d the daughter of a w ealthy m ine ow ner and coal m e rc h a n t, had m oved to one of the ch o icest com m unities of cu ltu red bou rg eo is re sid e n c e , and w as living a life of ap p are n tly unm itigated affluence and enjoym ent. Yet only two y e a rs a fte r publication of his and W a rn e r's b e s t-s e llin g novel, M rs. F ield s w as re c o rd in g in h e r diary: He is so unhappy and disco n ten ted w ith our gov ern m en t th at he says he is not conscious of the le a s t em otion of p a trio tism in h im self. He is overw helm ed w ith sh am e and confusion and w ish es he w e re not an A m eric an . . . . W ithout going to the lengths Van Wyck B rooks did in claim ing C lem ens as to tally captive to a so ciety in c o n sp ira c y ag ain st the a rtis t, one m u st acknow ledge th at th at society, w ith its a g g re s siv e ly bourgeois 84 L ib e ra tio n of A m e ric a n L ite r a tu r e , p. 327. ®^[Mrs. J a m e s T. F ield s], M e m o rie s of a H o stess: A C hronicle of E m inent F rie n d sh ip s , ed. M. A. De Wolfe Howe (Boston, 1922), pp. 252-253. 308 v alues, im posed a d isc e rn ib le d ra in upon his e n e rg ie s . Given a m a n im bued fro m childhood w ith a ty p ically m id d le -c la s s d e s ire to "get ahead," to identify w ith the " fin e r" life of the c u ltu re d se c to r of the u p p e r s tra ta , w hen th at m an through u n co n scio u sly s o u g h t-a fte r c irc u m stan ce s found h im se lf su rro u n d ed , a lm o st m ira c u lo u sly , by the p a r a p h e rn a lia of w ealth and a le is u r e ly w ay of life, it w as difficult fo r him to r e s is t the seem in g ly en d less o pportunities afforded the e n te rp ris in g . Add to this h is d eriv a tio n fro m a stro n g ly v isio n a ry fam ily going through life w ith p e re n n ia lly unfulfilled g re a t expectations, and h is r e sista n c e to the all-p e rv a d in g sp ecu la tiv e n ess becam e im p o ssib le. At the sam e tim e, C le m e n s' c le a r-s ig h te d objectivity, w hich had fo r long m ade him the enem y of hum bug, fraud, and h y p o c ritic a lly d is guised injustice, kept a s s e rtin g itself, as his a lm o s t daily explosions at the n ew sp ap er headlines d e m o n stra te . So w hile living in a p e rs o n a l co m fo rt that w as inevitably accom panied by the illusions a s so c ia te d w ith its b ase in society, C lem ens w as continually faced w ith reality , w hich his honesty could not ignore. The conflict w as p e rso n a l, su b je c tive, w ithin him . The co n tra d ictio n th at p ro d u ced it w as objective and ex tern al, a n a tu ra l concom itant of a so ciety th at su stain e d its p u rp o rte d values by constantly d estro y in g them in one w ay or an o th er. It is no s u rp ris e , th e re fo re , that C lem ens failed to achieve an in teg ratio n . In so failing he w as e n tire ly re p re s e n ta tiv e of his c la ss and tim e. ®^Cf. T aylor, E conom ic N ovel, pp. 131-132: " . . . if one p a r t of his n a tu re tugged ag ain st an o th er p a rt, he w as, even in th is, a lm o st p e rfe c tly a type of his age, re fle c tin g w ithin h im se lf its w av erin g s b e tw een plunging and pru d en ce, betw een sp ecu lativ e adventure and s e curity. " 309 H ere can be seen the sig n ifican ce of the fact not only th a t John M a rs h a ll C lem ens and O rion and John Q u arles and J a m e s L am pton w ent into The G ilded Age but th a t he h im se lf w ent into it, th a t he h im se lf w as m uch of Colonel S e lle rs . Sam uel C lem ens brought to this s a tir e of all- p erv ad in g sp e c u la tiv e n e ss, th is study of m id d le -c la s s G ilded Age s o c ie ty, an u n d erstan d in g th at he w as p e rfe c tly equipped to b rin g . The c e n t r a l conflict of The G ilded Age is one betw een the u rb a n and fro n tie r m iddle c la s s e s , w ith th e ir a s p ira tio n s to get ric h quick, and the ruling c la ss of c o rp o ra tio n d ire c to rs and fin a n c ie rs , who actu ally co n tro l the national econom y. The n o v el's point of view is th at of the H aw kinses, the Boltons, Colonel S e lle rs, and P hilip S terling, and th e se c h a r a c te r s a re draw n in fu ll-le n g th p o r t r a i t s . Significantly, the opposing fo rce, th at of the ruling c la ss , re m a in s la rg e ly im p e rso n a l, its r e p r e s e n ta tiv es, such as the p re s id e n t of the C olum bus R iv er S lackw ater N aviga tion Com pany, Duff Brown, and Rodney Shaick, being confined to fle e t- ingly shown m in o r c h a r a c te r s . The und erly in g conflict of th e se oppos ing fo rc e s sets up a te n sio n th a t ru n s throughout the novel and e x p r e s ses itse lf in s e v e ra l o v ert fo rm s such as the attem p ted C o n g ressio n al a p p ro p ria tio n and the Knobs U n iv ersity Bill. C lem ens knew this te n sio n . C onsciously or not, he lived w ith it day a fte r day, so he w as able w ith 87 re la tiv e e a se to tr a n s f e r it to the pages of The Gilded A g e. Not only did C lem ens by h is o rig in s and by the c irc u m s ta n c e s of his en v iro n m en t have a p e rs o n a l u n d erstan d in g of and em pathy w ith Gilded Age psychology but he also happened to have had firs t-h a n d 87 It is to be noted th a t the sec o n d a ry conflict betw een L a u ra and a m a le -d o m in a te d so ciety is skillfully w oven into the la r g e r one. 310 ex p erien ce in the sp h e re s of activ ity th at p rovided the raw m a te r ia l of the n o v el's s a tire . He had been b o rn and brought up in fro n tie r M is so u ri. As a M is s is sip p i pilot he had w itn e sse d steam b o at ra c e s and r iv e r d is a s te rs . He had been a W ashington c o rre sp o n d e n t and had seen the D ilw orthys in action, had indeed hobnobbed w ith som e of them . He had been a m in e r. He had tra v e le d the b re a d th of the land and had lived on both c o asts. What he had not d ire c tly ex p e rie n c e d he m ade up fo r in o b serv atio n or in his constant, avid read in g of the news and c u rre n t af f a ir s . The sam e can be said, to a l e s s e r d eg ree, of W arn e r. The l a t te r had been in law p ra c tic e and w as fa m ilia r w ith co u rt p ro c e d u re . He had done surveying on the P a c ific ra ilro a d sy ste m . And so on. The c o a u th o rs ' p e rs o n a l knowledge of th e ir m a te ria l has been com m ented upon Q Q m any tim e s and has been thoroughly e la b o ra te d in the p re s e n t study. The obvious conclusion to be draw n fro m this fact of w riting fro m ex p erien ce would be th at in th e ir f ir s t attem p t at extended fiction 89 C lem ens and W arn e r fell back on th e ir own liv e s as so u rce m a te ria l, w e re it not fo r two other equally im p o rtan t facts. One is that The G ilded Age w as intended as a pointedly s a tir ic a l ro m an h clef and as such drew upon the m o st sa lie n t news s to rie s of the day to stren g th en its s a tire . The other is th a t ju s t as the topical allusions w ere se le c te d d e lib e ra te ly to illu s tra te the p rin c ip a l public abuses of the tim e, even so w ere the m a in ing red ien ts of the novel chosen fro m the m o st c e n tra l O O See, for exam ple, D eL ancey F erg u so n , M ark Twain: M an and L egend (Indianapolis and New York, 1943), p. 170, or M a s te rs , M ark Twain: A P o r t r a i t , pp. 109-113. ^ S u c h a conclusion has been com m only u sed as evidence of the a u th o rs' novitiacy and in ex p erien ce. 311 econom ic and so c ia l phenom ena of the tim e --g o v e rn m e n t-s u b s id iz e d exploitation of the continental fro n tie r by m e a n s of the ra ilro a d , and sp ecu lativ e land p ro m o tio n th ro u g h C o n g re ssio n a l graft. It is no accid en t th a t the novel w as so c e n tra l in its th em e. Though, as h as been said, C lem ens w as devoid of any conscious so c ia l 90 philosophy, or even ra tio n a le , his own o b serv atio n , reading, and e x p e rie n c e d ire c te d him to a diagnosis w hich, if incom plete, w as c o r r e c t as f a r as it w ent. It w ill be re m e m b e r e d th a t the book w as p ublished during the g re a t fin an c ial c r is is of 187 3-74, at the advent of a se v e re 91 econom ic d e p re s s io n of s e v e ra l y e a r s ' duration, and th a t this c r is is had been h e ra ld e d by a W all S tre e t panic in A p ril ju s t as the m a n u s c rip t 92 for the novel had b een com pleted. The d e p re ssio n , w hich w as c la s s ic in its fo rm a tio n and in tern a tio n a l in scope, began in e a r n e s t w ith the 90 His only v e n tu re into the th e o re tic a l re a lm w as h is su g g estio n to en la rg e the su ffrag e in such a w ay as to w eight it in favor of p e rs o n s of "position" and those having h ig h e r ed ucation (see "The C urious R e public of Gondour," A tla n tic , 36:461-463, O ctober 1875 [p a rtic u la rly p. 463]; re p rin te d in The C urious R epublic . . . and O ther W h im sical Sketches [New York, 1919], pp. 1— 11), an u n co n scio u sly a n tid e m o c ra tic p ro p o s a l p ro m p te d by his d is c o u ra g e m e n t at the low p o litic al u n d e r standing of the A m e ric a n e le c to ra te . In this p ro p o sa l, so at v a ria n c e w ith his u su al d e m o c ra c y , he c le a rly show ed the effects of e n v iro n m e n ta l influences. To it should be c o m p a re d h is ideas fo r a b a la n c e -o f-p o w e r "C asting Vote P a r ty " (MTP, quoted in F o n e r, pp. 91-92) and on w om an su ffrag e (see above, p. 152). W ith it, also , should be c o n tra ste d his trib u te to u n iv e rs a l suffrage in C onnecticut Yankee (The W ritings of M a rk T w ain, A u th o r's N ational E dition [New Y ork and London, 1907-1918] [h e re a fte r W ritings], XVI, 219). 91 " . . . the con seq u en ces of the c r is i s en d u red up to the autum n of 1879" (H. M. H yndman, C o m m e rc ia l C ris e s of the N ineteenth C entury [London, 1902], p. 100; cf. W illiam A rch ib ald Dunning, R e c o n stru c tio n , P o litic a l and E conom ic, 1865-1877 [New Y ork and London, 1907], p. 237). *^See above, pp. 5 ff. 312 93 Vienna sto ck exchange p an ic e a rly in May. The cause of the c r a s h w as the sam e both in the eco n o m ica lly advanced co u n tries of E u ro p e and in the United S ta te s --u n c o n tro lle d over speculation, accom panied by sw indling and c o rru p tio n , w hich had p ro d u ced the in tern atio n al boom of 94 1869-73. At the h e a r t of this boom , w hich w as reach in g its clim ax as The G ilded Age w as being w ritte n , w e re , as fa r as the U nited S tates w as concerned, the tw in econom ic m e n a c e s of ra ilr o a d expansion and land p r o m o t i o n . * ^ New Y ork at this tim e w as sw am ped w ith ra ilr o a d s e c u ritie s , and a fte r the V ienna c r a s h they w e re u n m a rk e tab le in E urope. The New Y ork c r is is began w ith the dow nfall of firm s heavily in v ested in the P a c ific railw a y s y ste m s , and following the fa ilu re of Jay Cooke & Co. in S ep te m b er the c r is is rap id ly s p re a d to all s e c to rs of the econo- 96 m y. The re a s o n th a t ra ilro a d s took the le ad in sp ecu latio n and in the ensuing headlong c r a s h w as th at in the United States th e ir developm ent w as e x c e ssiv e , u n p reced en ted , and c e rta in ly u n p aralleled in E urope. The ra ilro a d s w ere, of c o u rse, the key to the opening up of the fro n tie r 93 H yndman, pp. 100-101, 112. ". . . the c r is is of 1873 m a y be called 1 The C r is is '" (T heodore E. B urton, F in an c ial C ris e s and P e rio d s of In d u strial and C o m m e rc ia l D e p re ssio n [New Y ork and London, 1916J, p . 287). ^ H y n d m a n , pp. 105 ff. 95"T he d e p re s s io n w as the n a tu ra l effect of o v erp ro d u ctio n of a g ric u ltu ra l and m a n u fa c tu re d goods, ov erex p an sio n of the ra ilr o a d net and e x c e ssiv e s p e c u la tio n --a ll so c h a r a c te r is tic of the p e rio d s of the Civil W ar and re c o n s tru c tio n . . . . [etc.]" (Louis M. H ack er and B en ja m in B. K endrick, The U nited States Since 1865 [New York, 1932], pp. 54-55). 96 H yndm an, pp. 115-116. 313 97 W est to econom ic exploitation, and fo r once they p re c e d e d settlem en t. In 1869, 4,953 m ile s of ro a d w e re built; in 1870, 5,690; in 1871, 7,670; in 1872, 6,167; in 1873, 4 ,1 9 0 --a to tal of over 28,000 m ile s in five 98 y e a rs , at an expenditure of $1,700,000,000. In the wake of the r a i l ro ad s cam e the land sh a rk s and s e ttle rs . U nless the newly available a re a s w e re quickly populated, th e re would be no fre ig h t or p a s s e n g e rs to tra n s p o rt. So the E a s t w as pro p ag an d ized fo r s e ttle rs , sp ecial r e ductions w e re offered, and in co -o p e ra tio n w ith E u ro p ean steam sh ip lines the ra ilro a d com panies r e c ru ite d im m ig ra n ts, using all kinds of Q Q lu rid appeals including fake te stim o n ia ls. The seem in g ly m iracu lo u s boom p ro d u ced a heightened fo rm of S e lle rs -lik e fro n tie r psychology. "The sp re a d of lu x u ry even in the villages of the fa r W est w as so m e thing astounding. In the c o u rse of this fre n z ie d expansion the national dom ain w as being given away rig h t and left to the co rp o ratio n s and C ongress w as a p p ro p ria tin g v a s t sum s fro m the public tr e a s u r y for p riv a te gain. It w as indeed the " g re a t b a rb e c u e ," or, as Josep h so n calls it, a " s a tu rn a lia of p l u n d e r ." '^ The la n d -g ra n t ra ilro a d s often held the ch o icest p a rc e ls of land fo r th e ir own speculation; four ra ilro a d s alone re c e iv e d by 1870 an am ount of public land equivalent to the sta te s of Ohio, ^ H y n d m a n , pp. 107-108; B urton, pp. 287-288. ^ J a m e s F o rd Rhodes, H isto ry of the United States fro m . . . 1850 to . . . 1877 (New Y ork and London, 1920), VII, 37; C lem ent Ju g lar, A B rief H isto ry of P a n ic s . . ., 4th ed. tra n s . and ed. De C ourcy W. Thom (New Y ork and London, 1916), p. 94. 9^See C alverton, pp. 334 ff. ^ ^ H y n d m a n , pp. 108-109. ^ ^ P o litic o s , p. 101. 314 102 Illinois, Indiana, W isconsi ., a t M ichigan com bined. The scru p u lo u s S enator G rim e s e x p re s s e d the a la rm of m any w hen in the Senate he said, "N e a rly all the g ran ts of lands to ra ilro a d s and w agon ro ad s find th e ir w ay into the hands of ric h c a p ita lists. .. ." The "New Y ork W orld" w as denouncing the lobby of the N o rth e rn P a c ific as a gang of " p lu n d e re rs ," and d e s c rib in g it in the " g a lle rie s , looking down on the scen e like b e a sts of prey."-1^ And behind the sc e n e s W all S tre e t fin a n c ie rs pu lled the s trin g s . Hugh M cC ulloch told Gideon W elles about his own ro le in the m a ch in atio n s. A r a r e and highly rev ea lin g b it of c o n te m p o ra ry testim o n y , the follow ing p a ssa g e w as e n te re d by W elles in his d ia ry of M arch 14, 1867: C e rta in W all S tre e t o p e ra to rs know daily w hat is done in the F inance and Ways and M eans C o m m ittees. He [M cCulloch] gets in fo rm atio n of the tra n s a c tio n s of th at co m m ittee by w ay of W all S tre e t before the c o m m ittee re p o rts to or ad v ises w ith him , . . . S am uel C lem ens knew of th e se developm ents, had p e rs o n a lly w itn e sse d the p r o c e s s e s of the G ilded Age both out in the fro n tie r coun tr y and in the h alls of C o n g ress. W a rn e r had seen his s h a re , too, though w ith le s s c la rity . The c r itic a l question, then, a r is e s : Did C lem ens and W arn e r w rite w hat they did b ecau se it ap p ea red to them as c e n tra l to a p ro p e r diagnosis of the Gilded Age or b ecau se it r e flec ted th e ir own knowledge and ex p e rie n c e of th a t e ra ? This question, how ever, p o se s a false, if enticing, opposition. T h e re is actu ally no choice to be m ade betw een m u tu ally exclusive a lte rn a tiv e s , no re a l 102 Josephson, P o litic o s, p. 104; cf. H ack er and K endrick, pp. 132-133. ^ ^ C la u d e G. B ow ers, The T ra g ic E r a (Boston, 1929), pp. 116, 117. ^ ^ D iary of Gideon W elles (B oston and New York, 1911), III, 65. 315 p o la rity . That the authors w ro te of those asp e c ts of th e ir tim e they knew b e s t th e re is no question; the p rece d in g ch ap ter of this study has d e m o n stra te d this fa c t in detail. That they w ro te of m a tte r s they saw as c e n tra l to th e ir tim e is likew ise c le a r, not only fro m the evidence of the ro m a n h clef in g red ien ts of the novel but also fro m the a u th o rs' own attitude to w ard the w ork. In the p re fa c e to the A m e ric a n edition the a u th o rs stated, w ith a s tra ig h t-fa c e d s a rc a s m w o rth y of Swift: It w ill be seen th at it deals w ith an e n tire ly ideal state of s o c ie ty; and the chief e m b a r r a s s m e n t of the w r ite r s in this re a lm of the im agination has been the w ant of illu s tra tiv e exam ples. In a state w h ere th e re is no fev er of speculation, no inflam ed d e s ire fo r sudden w ealth, w here the poor a re all sim p le -m in d e d and contented, and the ric h a re all h o n est and generous, w here so ciety is in a condition of p rim itiv e p u rity , and p o litics is the occupation of only the capable and the p a trio tic , th e re a re n e c e s s a r ily no m a te ria ls fo r such a h i s to ry as we have c o n stru c te d out of an ideal com m onw ealth. And in the rev ea lin g p re fa c e to the B ritis h edition, a lre a d y r e f e r r e d to, M ark Twain w rote: . . . I have a g re a t stro n g faith in a noble fu tu re fo r m y country. A v a st m a jo rity of the people a re s tra ig h tfo rw a rd and honest; and this late state of things is s tir r in g them to action. If it would only keep on s tir r in g them until it becam e the habit of th e ir lives to a t tend to the po litics of the country p erso n ally , and put only th e ir v e rv b e st m en into positio n s of tr u s t and authority! That day w ill com e. ” This fact, this coincidence of the a u th o rs' ex p erien ce w ith the m o st significant phenom ena of the e a rly G ilded Age, can be explained v e ry sim ply in te rm s of so cial need and inevitable fulfillm ent of that need. The ra p id developm ent of so ciety in the U nited States a fte r the Civil W ar, a developm ent signalized, as has been seen, by w id e sp re a d econom ic exploitation accom panied by official and sem io fficial 10^W ritin g s, X, v-vi. 106The Gilded Age (London, 1873), I, v -v i. 316 corruption, called fo r effective s a tire . In o rd e r to be effective the s a tir e dem anded a w r ite r (or, as it tu rn e d out, w r ite r s ) who could p e r ceive and, hopefully, a tte s t by p e rs o n a l e x p erien ce the p rev ailin g te m p e r of the tim e and its so cial ro o ts. C lem ens and W arn e r had the ideal qualifications; hence they su cceed ed w h e re o th e rs m ight have f a ile d - - w here o th e rs, indeed, had failed. IE th e ir fam ous d ecisio n to co llab o rate on a novel had n e v e r been m ade, such a novel would s till have been w ritte n . It m ight have been w ritte n la te r, it m ight have taken a quite d iffere n t fo rm . A lm o st c e r tainly it would have been in fe rio r. The A m e ric a n people would n ev er have had the glowing sa tisfa c tio n of seeing as p e rfe c t an em bodim ent of the fro n tie r p ro m o te r they knew so w ell as they did in the fam ous Colonel. A ltern ativ ely , C lem ens, who "had a sto ry in m in d ," m ight have p ro d u ced the w ork single-handed; but again the chances a re that w ithout the sustaining stim u lu s of the com petition w ith W a rn e r and the alm o st nightly read in g s, d isc u ssio n s, and votes on the d ay 's c re a tio n C lem en s' e n d -p ro d u ct would have lack ed som e of the z e s t and sp ark le th at give delight to its reading. The point is th at the e r a would have given r is e to som e such lite r a r y r e c o r d out of the s h e e r in e rtia of its developm ent. W hat is the im plication of all this as re g a rd s M ark T w ain's genius? Does it red u ce his ta len t to an accid en t in a d e te rm in istic l i t e r a r y h isto ry ? W as he m e re ly a puppet on the stage of so cial evolve- m ent? Not at all. To m a in tain so would be ab su rd . The a c c o m p lish m en t of The G ilded Age (except fo r W a rn e r's contribution) is p e c u lia rly T w ain's. How m uch the m o re so Tom S aw y er, H uck F in n , C onnecticut 317 Y ankee, P u d d 'n h ead W ilso n . W hat ks to be in fe rre d is the good fortune of A m e ric a n cu ltu re th a t th ro u g h a com plex of c irc u m s ta n c e s it befell the individual Sam uel C lem ens to fulfill the ro le of s a ti r is t of the e a rly Gilded Age. The good fortune of A m e ric a n c u ltu re is m ade vividly c le a r w hen The G ilded Age is c o m p a re d w ith its c o n te m p o ra rie s in the sp h ere of fiction. C h ap ter II of this study h as indicated the p re v a le n t s e n ti m e n ta lism and se n s a tio n a lis m of the novels of the six ties and se v e n tie s. Pointing out the asto n ish in g c o n tra s t betw een the w o rk of such w r ite r s as A ugusta E vans W ilson and E. P. Roe on the one hand and the Tw ain- W a rn e r novel on the o ther, the student of so cially c ritic a l A m e ric a n fiction W alter T ay lo r calls The Gilded Age "unique am ong A m e ric a n 107 novels of its tim e ." It alone, as F o n e r sta te s, "d a re d to deal w ith r e a l p ro b le m s of the e ra , to expose w id e s p re a d c o rru p tio n and the fo rc e s re sp o n sib le fo r it, and to a le r t the people to a sp read in g decay 108 in so c ie ty ." Its only p o ssib le co m p etito r, acc o rd in g to DeVoto, is H enry A d am s' D em o cra cy (1879) and he d is m is s e s the la tte r as "ju st sq u eam ish , a m e r e phobia of c r o w d s ." ^ ^ Though the g e n e ra l them e of p o litic o -eco n o m ic co rru p tio n had a p p e a re d in A m e ric a n fictio n b efo re The G ilded A ge, it had n e v e r r e ceived m o re than p a s sin g attention. As e a rly as 1792, Hugh H enry B rack e n rid g e, in M odern C h iv a lry , p ro c la im e d th a t it is a m ista k e to e le c t le g is la to rs incapable of u n d erstan d in g the n a tio n 's econom ic F ifty Y e a r s , p. 275. Cf. B urnham , p. 33. ^ ^ F o n e r , p. 85. ^ ^ M ark T w ain 's A m e ric a , pp. 286-287. 318 in te re s ts . W ashington Irving in K n ick erb o ck er H oliday (1809) also d e m an d ed econ o m ically com petent solons. J a m e s K irke P aulding, in K o n ig sm ark e (1823), s a tiriz e d public officials for using th e ir public of fice fo r p riv a te gain, his c h a ra c te r W olfgang L angfanger, fo r instance, planning w h arv es fo r nonexistent shipping. The novels of J a m e s F e n i- m o re C ooper m ad e freq u en t allu sio n to in capability in g o v e rn m e n t.'^ And A rtem u s W ard, in sk etch es such as "W illiam B a rk e r, the Young P a tr io t" (1862), exposed Civil W ar p r o f i t e e r i n g . ^ A m ong its im m ed iate c o n te m p o ra rie s in w orks of A m e ric a n f ic tion w e re th re e in p a rtic u la r th at attem p ted to s a tiriz e som e of the abuses tr e a te d in The Gilded A g e. T hese w e re the sh o rt s to ry "An In s p ire d L o b b y ist," by John W. De F o re s t, w hich a p p ea red in the D ecem b e r 1872 A tla n tic , John F e rg u so n H u m e's novel Five H undred M a jo rity , p ublished by P u tn am in 1872, and E dw ard E g g lesto n 's The M y ste ry of M etro p o lisv ille (1873), w hich w as s e ria liz e d in the E gg lesto n b r o th e rs ' m ag azin e, H e a rth and H om e, D ecem b er 1872-A pril 1873. A ll th re e d e p a rte d fro m the u su a l ru n of popular fictio n in having a so cially c ritic a l view point and had c e rta in p a ra lle ls w ith p a r ts of The G ilded A ge. None, how ever, attem p ted a s a tire national in scope, keeping fo r the m o st p a r t to lo c a l or reg io n al p ro b le m s . 112 In De F o r e s t's "An In sp ired L o b b y ist," A nanias Pullw ool, "the m o st s u c c e ssfu l and fam ous lobbyist in W ashington," who has the Devil in him , has been in v e stig ated fo r lo g -ro llin g and filching and ^ ® S ee F lo ry , pp. 65-70. * ^ T ay lo r, Econom ic N ovel, p. 67. ^^A tla n tic , 30:676-684, D ecem b er 1872; re p rin te d in S to rie s by A m e ric a n A uthors (New York, 1900), IV, 137-161. 319 jailed . W hen he is le t out, he goes into the h in te rla n d fo r a se a so n and plunges into the co n test betw een the two tow ns of Slow burg and F a s tb u rg to be m ade State cap ital. W orking on both sid es of the fence, he m a n ip u lates the lobby fo r F a s tb u rg , the begins a s im ila r one fo r Slow burg, w ith the r e s u lt th at w hen the le g is la tu re finally tu rn s down F a s tb u rg 's bill both towns have spent over a h u n d red thousand d o lla rs u s e le s s ly w hile P u llw o o l's cap ital ring, draw ing fro m both sid es, has lin ed its p o c k e ts . To the lob b y ists and m e m b e rs P ullw ool w as m unificent; it se e m e d as if th o se gen tlem en could not be p aid enough fo r th e ir "in flu en ce;" as if they alone had th a t kind of tim e w hich is m oney. Only, w hile d e a l ing lib e ra lly w ith them , the in sp ire d one did not fo rg e t h im se lf. A thousand fo r M r. Sly; yes, M r. Sly w as to re c e ip t fo r a thousand; but he m u st le t half of it stic k to the Pullw ool fin g e rs . The sa m e a r ran g em en t w as m ad e w ith M r. G reen and M r. Sharp and M r. B um m e r and M r. P ic k p u rs e and M r. Buncom be. It w as a gam e of sn ack s, half to you and h alf to m e; and so m e tim e s it w as m o re than sn ack s, - - a thousand fo r you two and a th ousand fo r m e to o .^ ^ In tere stin g ly suggestive of M ark T w ain 's la te r M an T hat C o rru p te d H adleyburg, this se m ia lle g o ric a l s to ry effectively p re a c h e s a g ain st the evils of lobbying. A nanias Pullw ool, how ever, re m a in s only a lay fig u re illu stra tin g De F o r e s t 's th em e, as do the other D ic k en sia n -n am ed c h a ra c te rs , and in no w ay ta k e s on the re a lity and vividness of a S en a to r D ilw orthy. (It w ould be tem pting, playing the gam e of l i te r a r y in fluences, to speculate w h eth er the nam e A nanias Pullw ool su g g ested the nam e B ro th e r B alaam in The G ilded Age w e re it not th at the C alv in ism of C le m en s' fam ily and his own fondness fo r biblical allu sio n quite a d e quately explain the la tte r .) ^ ^ 1 1 o S to rie s by A m e ric a n A u th o rs , IV, 154. * ^ A n a n ia s , in stead of laying the full p ro c e e d s of the sale of his 320 The second c o n te m p o ra ry w ork, F ive H undred M ajority: A T ale fo r the T im e s , w ritte n by J. F . Hume u n d er his pseudonym of W illys N i l e s , i s a novel th a t re le n tle s s ly ex p o ses T am m an y p o l i t i c s . '^ Com pounded of m an y of the in g red ien ts of the sen satio n novel f o r m u la - - m u rd e r, intended bigam y, s e lf-s a c rific e , d is p o s s e s s io n --w ith black v il lains (the T am m an y H all c h a ra c te rs ) and a p u re h e ro and h ero in e (the id e a listic young p o litic ia n Clinton M aintland and his c o u n try -b re d sw eet h e a r t M a rg a re t K ortland), the novel yet contains new elem en ts: expo s u re of rig g ed elections and e le c to ra l g raft, city m achine p o litic s, legal fra m e -u p by p o litic al e n e m ie s, and the m o ra l d eg en e racy of p o litic al c o rru p tn e ss . Though c lu tte re d up w ith the love m otivations d e a r to the se n sa tio n novel audience, it is a w ell m ade s to ry and has two notable c h a ra c te riz a tio n s , the T am m an y sach em B arto n S e a c ris t (who m a y be 117 b a se d on "E leg an t Oakey" Hall) and his co m p letely c o rru p te d daugh t e r - s e c r e t a r y , Kate. The novel is the p rototype of a s u c c e s s io n of novels of the next two decades having as th e ir topic "the en o rm o u s stre n g th of city p o s s e s s io n at the feet of the ap o stles P e te r and John, "kept back p a r t of the p r ic e " (Acts v . 1- 2). 115New York, 1872. v a ria n t subtitle, The Days of T am m an y , is lis te d on the L ib ra ry of C o n g ress catalog c a rd and in G eorge A rth u r Dunlap, The City in the A m e ric a n Novel, 1789-1900 (Philadelphia, 1934) (a published d iss ., Univ. of P enna.), pp. 154, 179. 117 B arto n S e a c ris t is d e s c rib e d as having a h ead "skillfully cut fro m the fin e st and p u r e s t Italian m a rb le , . . . a ta ll and elegantly m oulded p e rs o n of ra th e r d elicate s tr u c tu re " (Five H undred M a jo rity , p. 29). Like Hall, his am bition is to be M ayor of New York. 321 p o litic al rin g s in the sev en ties and th e ir pow er to w re c k hum an 118 liv e s ." As such it is definitely lim ite d in its scope both as a so cial novel and as a p ro g en ito r; still, except fo r its a lm o st to tal lack of h u m o r, its g e n e ra l ap p ro ac h has s im ila ritie s w ith th a t of The Gilded A ge. C om pare, fo r exam ple, the following p a ssa g e w ith the p re fa c e to the A m e ric a n edition of the T w a in -W a rn e r novel: T h e re can be no m o re beautiful sy stem than we p o s s e s s . H ere ju s tice and v irtu e a re alw ays triu m p h an t, fo r the people ru le. The w ill of the m a jo rity is the su p re m e law. M en a re chosen to statio n s of honor and tr u s t w ith sole re fe re n c e to m e rit. The h o n est and c a p a ble a re p ro m o te d --th e u n d eserv in g c a st down. D istinction and pow er a re the re w a rd s of the faithful, w hile p u nishm ent is swift to overtake the v io lato r of public or p riv a te right. In teg rity is the ru le of offi cial life and p r a c tic e - - k n a v e r y the e x c e p tio n --fo r the p e rfe c tio n of hum an w isdom has at la s t been attained. . . . The th ird w ork, E g g lesto n 's M y stery of M etro p o lisv ille , in s ta ll m e n ts of w hich w e re ap p earin g a t the tim e The Gilded Age w as being w ritte n ,^ ® w as in p a r t a study of the crea tio n , r is e , and eventual c o l la p se of a ty p ical fro n tie r boom town, "the inevitable sequel and r e t r i - 121 bution of speculative m a d n e ss ." This subject fo rm s the background ag ain st w hich is en acted a ra th e r g rim m e lo d ra m a of sm all-to w n Dunlap, p. 154. The novels a re John A n d ro ss (1874), by R e b e c c a H arding Davis; An A verage M an (1884), by R o b ert G rant; An A m e ric a n P o litic ia n (1884), by F. M ario n C raw ford; The B ostonians (1886), by H enry Jam es; A New Y ork F a m ily (1891), by E d g ar Faw cett; and The H onorable P e te r S terlin g (1894), by P au l L e ic e s te r F o rd . ^ ^ F ive H undred M a jo rity , p. 92. O ther G ilded Age topics touched on by this novel a re "a m a d and bew ildering s p irit of sp e c u la tion" (p. 90), ignorant tr i a l ju rie s (p. 188) and th e ir m anipulation (p. 191), and c u rre n t sen satio n fiction (p. 60). ^ ® S ee H erro n , p. 204. The novel w as published as a volum e by O range Judd and Com pany (New York, 1873); all re fe re n c e s a re to this edition. 1Z1 M y stery of M etro p o lisv ille , p. 11. 322 p e rs o n a litie s involving such s u r e - f ir e com ponents as the v ic tim izin g and suicide of a young g irl, atte m p te d m u rd e r, jailin g on fa ls e ch a rg e s, and s e lf-s a c rific in g devotion th at re d e e m s all. The "sp ecu lativ e m a d n e s s " th at holds the land s h a rk P la u sa b y in its grip, causing him to s a c rific e to his se lfish gain the w ell-b e in g of those around him and his own in teg rity as w ell, re m a in s n o n eth eless a s o r t of lo cal c o lo r setting. One has the feeling that P la u sa b y c re a te s h is own en vironm ent, ra th e r than the o th er w ay around, and th at he would be a v illain anyw here, u n d er any other c irc u m s ta n c e s. E ggleston, in o th er w o rd s, did not s u c ceed in identifying P la u sa b y w ith the w ay of life th a t p ro d u ced him as M a rk Tw ain did in Colonel S e lle rs . The settin g and plot fra m e w o rk of E g g le sto n 's novel, how ever, do outline the c o u rse of developm ent of the H aw keyes, the S tone's L an d ings, the M ario n C ities and E dens of the p erio d ; and E g g lesto n ad m its th at if he "w ere w ritin g a H isto ry in ste ad of a M y ste ry of M e tro p o lis v ille " he would feel obliged to expand h is sketchy tre a tm e n t of the so- 122 ciological elem en t. In spite of the fact th a t the m e lo d ra m a plays it self out a lm o st independently of its setting, E g g lesto n obviously h ad a sen se of h is to ry and conceived of M etro p o lisv ille as a type of its p erio d . He d e s c rib e s, fo r instance, the land s p e c u la to rs ' a d v e rtis e m e n ts in The W heat County W eakly W indm ill: . . . as fo r the towns, it ap p e a rs fro m th e se a d v e rtise m e n ts th a t th e re w as one on a lm o s t e v e ry sq u a re m ile, and th at e v e ry one of them w as on the line of an inevitable ra ilro a d , had a f i r s t- c l a s s hotel, a w a te r-p o w e r, an academ y, and an indefinite n u m b e r of e t c e te ra s of the m o s t delightful and re m u n e ra tiv e kind. E ach one of th e se v illag es w as in the h e a r t of the g r e a te s t g rain -g ro w in g sectio n 1 ?? M etro p o lisv ille , p. 97; cf. pp. 152-153. 323 of the State. E ac h w as the "n a tu ra l outlet" to a la rg e a g ric u ltu ra l region. E ach com m anded the fin e st view. E ach point w as the h e a lth ie st in the county, and each village w as "u n riv a le d ." . . . In a sh o rt epilogue, "W ords A fte rw a rd s ," E gg lesto n w rite s , in a m a n n er re m in is c e n t of Twain, "M etro p o lisv ille is only a m e m o ry now. The collapse of the land-bubble and the opening of the ra ilro a d s d estro y e d 124 it." And w ith a touch of to p icality he adds the following stro k e to his p o r tr a it of P lausaby: He tu rn ed up a fte rw a rd s as p re s id e n t of a N evada s ilv e r-m in e com pa ny, . . . and I have a vague im p re s sio n th a t he had som ething to do w ith the building of the Union P a c ific R ailro ad . . . . The M y ste ry of M etro p o lisv ille cam e as close as any contem po r a r y w o rk of fiction to succeeding in the re a lm w h ere The G ilded Age holds p re -e m in e n c e . It did not do so fo r two obvious re a s o n s : it con fined itse lf to a reg io n a l (M innesota) study of speculative m a d n e ss, n e v e r venturing to w ard the national c e n te rs of pow er, and it r e s tr ic te d its so cial them e to setting in stead of in teg ratin g it into the hum an sto ry . That M etro p o lisv ille and the o th er ta le s of the day fell so fa r s h o rt of fulfilling the so cial need fo r c ritic a l s a tir e points up the b rillia n c e of M ark T w ain's ach iev em en t in The G ilded A ge, an augury th a t the United S tates had in its m id st a ris in g genius of the f ir s t rank. In addition to the foregoing, th e re a re a few other co n te m p o ra ry fictional w orks of a so cially c ritic a l n a tu re which, though published 1 ^^M etro p o lisv ille , pp. 214-215. ^ ^ M e tro p o lisv ille , p. 320. ^ ^ M e tro p o lisv ille , p. 296. A slightly la te r novel w ith a s im ila r them e w as A P a p e r City (Boston, 1879), by David Locke R oss (" P e tro le u m V. N asby"). 324 slightly la te r than The G ilded A ge, w e re so clo sely su b seq u en t th a t they can be c o n sid e re d independent e ffo rts uninfluenced by the re p u ta tio n of the T w ain -W arn er novel. All of them a p p e a re d as p u b lish ed volum es in 1875. The f i r s t is a fiv e -a c t fa rc e en titled Life in the Lobby, by Donn P iatt, p rin te d (ap p aren tly p riv ately ) in W ashington, D.C., by Judd & D et- w e ile r, P r in te r s . Its author, Donn P ia tt, who has been d e s c rib e d as 1Z 6 "the m o st sen sitiv e, provoking, genial s a ti r is t in A m e ric a ," w as a jo u rn a lis t who w ro te fo r The C apitol u n d e r the p e n -n a m e Edm ond 127 About. As a W ashington c o rre sp o n d e n t, C lem ens m a y w ell have known him , though I have been unable to d isc o v e r any evidence. C e r tainly P ia tt w as as in tim a tely acquainted w ith the W ashington lobby as C lem ens w as, and his little fa rc e contains m any p a ra lle ls w ith the Gilded Age v e rs io n of the sa m e m ilie u . If the play w as e v e r p e rfo rm e d , I have no evidence of the fact; p ro b ab ly it w as w ritte n fo r the e n te rta in m en t of P ia tt's frien d s and co lleag u es and p riv a te ly p rin te d by him fo r p e rso n a l circ u latio n . The b ro ad ly b u rlesq u e p lo t of Life in the Lobby c e n te rs around the effo rts of Colonel R alph Stackpole, "C hief of the Lobby," to en g in eer an Indian ap p ro p ria tio n frau d p u rp o rte d ly in behalf of an actu ally non ex isten t trib e , the Q m ahogs. C ham pion of the m ove in the Senate is the " C h ris tia n S tatesm an " Senator P h in ea s P ila s te r , "an A aro n B u rr, ^ ^ H e n r y W atterson, in C h a rle s F. W ingate (ed.), Views and In te rv iew s on J o u rn a lism (New York, 1875), p. 20. ^ ^ J o h n W. F o rn ey , A necdotes of P u b lic M en (New York, 1873), II, 244. 325 128 129 co v ered all over w ith John W esle y , 1 1 who is known as "Old P ie ty ." His C o n g re ssio n a l m a n eu v erin g is stro n g ly re m in is c e n t of S enator D il- w o rth y 's: P i l a s t e r . We m u st not, how ever, re la x our e ffo rts. Divine P ro v id e n c e fav o rs the p ru d en t. The S p eak er m u s t be se e n so as to se c u re the flo o r at the rig h t m o m en t, and the Hon. Cockeye m u st m ove the p re v io u s q u estio n so as to cut off debate; and above all our fo rc e s m u s t be w ell in hand. . . Colonel S tac k p o le's b ro th e r is the u n scru p u lo u s Indian agent and a r a i l ro a d p ro m o te r. S enator P ila s t e r is h y p o c ritic a lly th re a te n in g an in v estig atio n of h is old frie n d C olonel Stackpole; but S tack p o le's wife, disg u ised as a w om an lobbyist, s e c u r e s dam aging evidence ag ain st P ila s t e r and s u p p re s s e s equally dam aging evidence a g ain st h e r h u s band, thus re so lv in g the situation. The p h ilan d erin g Stackpole, who has been flirtin g w ith his own, d isg u ised w ife, is taken hom e by h e r on his p ro m is e th at he w ill h en ce fo rth behave h im self! M inor ep iso d es involve Dr. G usset, a fem a le w o m an 's rig h ts advocate, who is depicted as a rid icu lo u s fig u re spouting a co n stan t s tr e a m of fe m in is t slogans, and P a t Doolan, an Iris h -A m e ric a n "baggage s m a s h e r ," who ru n s fo r office, urging h is co n stitu en ts to get his p rin c ip le s fro m a bottle at his e x p en se and "im bibe those p rin c ip le s until ye a re fu ll." T h ere a re also stro n g ly chauvinistic tre a tm e n ts of the Indian d elegation (m e m b e rs of the lobby in d isg u ise) and of the N egro w a ite r Scipio, who b eco m es a p ro fe s s o r at H ow ard Institute over night. The m o st notable fe a tu re of the p lay is its biting s a tire on the 1 7 ft P ia tt, Life in the Lobby, p. 55. ^ ^ Life in the Lobby, p. 38. ^ ^ Life in the Lobby, p. 47. 326 Indian lobby, containing a b a re ly disg u ised a ttack on H arlan , "our m o st C h ristia n S e c re ta ry of the in te rio r." D escrib in g the Indian ring, Colo nel Stackpole says: It is n e a r e r p erfectio n , p erh ap s, than any w o rk of the devil ev e r con su m m ated . . . . It m ak es tre a tie s only to b re a k them , and the m oney a p p ro p ria ted , e v e ry d o llar of which is stain ed w ith blood, it divides am ong its fo llo w ers. If the Indians subm it, p ro fit doth acc ru e; if they re b e l and blindly m ake w ar, w a r calls for h e a v ie r c o n tra cts and h e a v ie r a p p ro p ria tio n s, and co rresp o n d in g p ro fits. . . .131 O ther th e m e s touched on th at have p a ra lle ls in The G ilded Age a re the C red it M o b ilier, vote-buying fo r re -e le c tio n , and N egro colonization s c h e m e s.13^ T h e re a re even m entioned one or two S e lle rs -lik e sc h e m e s, w hich alone am ong the m a te ria ls of the play stro n g ly suggest Tw ain influence: the " In te r-O c e a n M u sk ra t and Tadpole N ational E x cavation C om pany" and the "g ran d N ational In te r-o c e a n G igantic P e a sh o o ter C om pany," th at is to p ie rc e the Rocky m ountains w ith huge tubes, along w hich balls filled w ith fre ig h t and m a ils a re to be p ro p elled by c o m p r e s s e d a i r - - c o ld a ir fro m the la k es, hot a ir fro m the P acific coast. The other 1875 w orks a re two novels, De F o r e s t's H onest John V a n e ^ ^ and Jo sia h G ilb ert H olland's S evenoaks, ^ ^ both of which, u n like Life in the Lobby, have been com m ented on by other r e s e a r c h e r s . The f i r s t of th e se, the iro n ic title of w hich r e f e r s to its c o n g re ss m a n 131 Life in the Lobby, pp. 20-21. l ^ ^ Life in the Lobby, pp. 21, 14-15, 19. R eferen ce is also m ade to the F re e d m a n 's Bank (p. 10) (not in The G ilded A ge) and to c u rre n t "dim e n o v e ls," (p. 2 ). in the Lobby, p. 44; (E xcavation Company) p. 38. ^ ^ N e w Haven, 1875. ^ % e w York, 1875. 327 h ero , w as quite a p p are n tly b a se d on the C red it M obilier. The Steam N avigation Com pany, w hich d istrib u te d its sto ck a lm o st openly in C o n g ress, and the Subfluvial Tunnel Road p ro je c t a re the fe a tu re d ex am p les of the c o rru p tio n of gov ern m en t by p riv a te b u s i n ess in te re s ts . . . .*3° Sevenoaks re la te s the s to ry of a fin an cial m agnate who beco m es r ic h by selling sto ck in a fake oil com pany, reju v en atin g an old r a ilr o a d as a 137 speculation, and stealin g inventions. A ll th re e w o rk s, Life in the Lobby, H onest John V ane, and S evenoaks, deal w ith s e rio u s so cial p ro b le m s of the p e rio d but, like th e ir e a r l ie r c o n te m p o ra rie s, fail to p r e sent a s a tire of national scope but in ste ad lim it th e m se lv e s to single 13ft p ro sp e c ts of the to tal scene. N eed less to say, th e ir le v e ls of w ritin g and of hum an insight fall fa r sh o rt of The G ilded A ge. W ith the ap p ea ran ce of The G ilded A ge, th e re fo re , fictio n in the U nited States underw ent a qualitative change. As is tru e of m o s t such tu rn in g -p o in ts, the effect w as not im m ed iately noticeable; but as the decade of the sev en ties p r o g r e s s e d and m e rg e d into the eig h ties the em e rg e n c e of w hat P a rrin g to n has called the " re a lis m of so c ia l p ro - 139 te s t" b eca m e ap p aren t. To be su re , a b a sis had been la id e a r l ie r , in 136Fiory, p. 74. ^ ^ T a y l o r , E conom ic N ovel, p. 63. *38". > _ th e se e a rly w r ite r s u su ally ex p lo re d som e specific econom ic or p o litical p ro b lem , such as frau d u len t land speculation, il lic it m ining sc h e m e s, bad la b o r conditions, the th re a t of m onopoly, or c o rru p tio n in governm ent. Some of them p e rc e iv e d a unifying p rin cip le underlying the v ario u s p ro b le m s; o th e rs c o n sid e re d the p ro b le m s as iso la ted phenom ena. All w e re outspoken in th e ir d is s a tisfa c tio n w ith affa irs of the statu s quo" (E dw ard E. C assady, "M uckraking in the Gilded A ge," A m e ric a n L ite r a tu r e , 13:135, M ay 1941). *39gee P a rrin g to n , pp. 144-145. 328 the six tie s, but only in a h a lf-fo rm e d or incidental s h a p e . O n the stre n g th of The G ilded A ge, indeed, Tw ain has been nam ed "the f i r s t of 141 the 'muckrakers. The novel w as, in the w ords of C alverton, "the p r e c u r s o r of th o se m an y attack s upon the e x e rc is e of pow er, w hich w e re to be m ad e by the n o v e lists and p o litic ian s of la te r g en e ra tio n s" (p. 327). K The G ilded Age s e e m s today ra th e r m ild in its so cial c r i t i c ism co m p a re d to the w orks of F ra n k N o rris , Upton S inclair, or T h eo d ore D re is e r, it is p a rtly b e c a u se the p ro g e n ito r is co m p ared w ith its progeny; w h e re a s the only ju s t c o m p a ris o n of any innovation is w ith its siblings and c o n te m p o ra rie s. It is also, to a g re a t extent, b ecau se the fo rm of the novel is corriedy, to w hich we have grow n u n accu sto m ed as a v ehicle fo r so cial c ritic is m . The s a tir e s of S in clair Lew is seem genial and p e rm is s iv e b e c a u se they follow the m u c k ra k e rs ; his re s to ra tio n of com ic re a lis m h as the a n tic lim a c tic effect of m o s t re s to ra tio n s . The Gilded A ge, how ever, b u rs t upon its audience w ith an e n erg e tic out spokenness and fra n k n e ss th a t is a tte s te d to by the rev iew s and public re a c tio n d etailed e a r l ie r in this study. A nother fact th at m u s t be kept in m in d in c o rre c tly evaluating The G ilded Age is th a t until the tu rn of the cen tu ry the m a jo rity of A m e ric a n n o v elists "held a p o sitio n ," as T aylor points out, "that m ay p ro p e rly be defined as 'L e f t- C e n te r .1" Such n o v elists, although aw a re of the obvious evils of c a p ita listic . . we m a y conclude th at the p ro b le m s involved e ith e r did not se e m to our n o v e lists p a rtic u la rly acute, or th a t the w r ite r s of fic tion fe lt the novel fo rm inadequate to a developed an aly sis and c r i t i cism of the p ro b le m s " (F lory, p. 64). 141 W agenknecht, p. 124. in d u s tria lism , although capable of the s h a rp e s t exam ination of the c o rru p t p ra c tic e s of Big B u sin ess, although deeply co n cern ed over c e rta in d isin teg ratin g effects of in d u stria lism in the lives of both the ric h and the poor, n e v e rth e le s s stopped sh o rt of advocating any fun dam ental change in the econom ic sy ste m . M oderate p o litic o -eco n o m ic re fo rm s , or the allev iatio n s o ffered by settlem en t w o rk and slu m - c le a ra n c e , ap p e a re d to them sufficient. 1^2 T ypical ex am p les a re R o b ert G ran t's An A verage M an (1884), c o n c e rn ing m achine politics; T hom as S tew art D ennison's An Iron C row n (1885), about m anipulation of g o v ern m en t by b u sin e ss; G eorge C ary E ggleston and D olores M a rb o u rg 's Ju g g ern au t (1891), on the ra ilro a d s ' co rru p tin g invasion of le g islativ e bodies; E dgar F a w c e tt's A New Y ork F a m ily (1891), on B oss Tweed; and H am lin G arla n d 's A M em ber of the T h ird 143 House (1892), on the W ashington r a ilro a d lobby. T hese novels a re a fa r c ry fro m such giants as N o rris ' O ctopus, S in c la ir's Ju n g le, and 144 D r e is e r 's T ita n . In d iscu ssin g any line of li te r a r y descent, c ritic s have a p r e d i lection for tra c in g li te r a r y influences both re a l and im agined. M ark Tw ain has com e in fo r h is s h a re of this som ew hat unflattering t r e a t m ent. In re s p e c t of The Gilded Age esp ecially , Tw ain is supposed to have been stro n g ly influenced by his older co n tem p o rary D ickens. The co m p ariso n of Colonel S e lle rs w ith M icaw ber began the m o m en t the novel w as published. The Q ueen, fo r exam ple, in its review says, ^ ^ E conom ic N ovel, p. 61. 143See Dunlap, pp. 157, 163, 178; Flory, pp. 76, 78, 79, 246, 247. The r e fo rm is t novels w e re n um erous; m an y of the m o st p ro m in en t of th e se "novels of ex p o su re" a re lis te d in the bibliography of R obert E. S piller, et al., L ite r a r y H isto ry of the United States (New York, 1948), III, 330-331. *44P u b lish ed re s p e c tiv e ly in 1901, 1906, and 1914. 330 " T h e re is a stro n g fa m ily lik e n e ss betw een this individual and our old frie n d M r. M ic a w b e r," but h a ste n s to add: we m u s t do the p r e s e n t au th o rs ju s tic e to acquit them of p la g ia ris m , for this c h a ra c te r, w hich is a v e ry p ro m in e n t one throughout the novel, is draw n w ith o rig in ality and h u m o u r .^ 5 146 S tu art S h erm an finds "a c e rta in flav o r of D ickens" in the book. And W agenknecht sees a D ickensian influence in S e lle rs ' clock and say s th at "S enator D ilw orthy's sp eech in chap. 53 (or chap. 22 of vol. II) m ight have been m o d eled d ire c tly on the r e m a r k s of the R ev ere n d M r. Chad- band, in B leak H o u se, ch a p te r 19" (p. 270, n. 9). Schdnem ann, how ever, is highly sk ep tical of such influence, e x cept in a g e n e ra l s im ila rity betw een the two a u th o rs' p o rtra y a ls of the p etty b o urgeois m ilie u , and points out th a t the m o s t notable c h a ra c te rs of The Gilded Age a re d raw n fro m life.'*’^ The sym pathy betw een M icaw ber and S e lle rs he tr a c e s , ra th e r , to th e ir com m on d e sc e n t fro m Don Quixote! T h ere is no question of C le m e n s' fa m ilia rity w ith 149 D ickens' novels fro m an e a rly age or of his love of the novelist; but 145 Ja n u a ry 17, 1874, p. 61. 146The C am bridge H isto ry of A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re (New York), III (1921), 6, 14. 147"Die m e is te n d e r C h a ra k te re sind intim g e sc h ild e rte P e rsd n - lich k eiten aus C le m en s' friihem Leben, in sb eso n d ere Colonel S e lle rs , . . . [etc.] Im m e rh in kdnnte d e r V e rfa s s e r in d er A rt d e r Behandlung d er C h a ra k te re von V orgdngern, h ie r von D ickens g e le rn t haben. "Das k le in b h rg e rlic h e M ilieu des ,,G ilded A ge" m ag an die v ielen K leinbiirger in D ickens' W elt e r r in e r n , L a u ra an E m ily im ,,Cop- p e rfie ld ", doch n u r s e h r w enig, . . ." (pp. 44-45). Cf. W alther F is c h e r, [rev, of S chdnem ann,] E n g lisch e S tudien, 61:137, 1926-27. * ^ S c h d n e m a n n , pp. 45-46. See also H em m inghaus, pp. 103-104. 149 D ating at le a s t fro m 1851 (see Dixon W ecter, Sam C lem ens 331 effo rts to find d ire c t influence a re ra th e r silly in the c a se of such a deeply indigenous author and sm a c k of a d e s ire to do him d is c re d it. If one is se a rc h in g fo r p a ra lle ls , the A m e ric a n Notes fu rn ish m o re s t r i k ingly s im ila r co m p a riso n s, such as this d e sc rip tio n of C o n g ress: I saw in them the w heels th a t m ove the m e a n e s t p e r v e r s io n of v irtu o u s P o litic a l M ach in ery th a t the w o rs t tools e v e r w rought. D e s p icable tr ic k e r y at elections; underhanded ta m p e rin g s w ith public of fic e rs ; co w ard ly attack s upon opponents, w ith s c u rrilo u s n ew sp ap ers for sh ield s, and h ire d pens fo r dag g ers; sham eful tru ck lin g s to m e r cen a ry knaves, w hose claim to be co n sid ere d , is, th a t e v e ry day and w eek they sow new cro p s of ru in w ith th e ir venal types, w hich a re the d ra g o n 's te e th of y o re, in everything but sh a rp n e ss; aidings and abettings of e v e ry bad inclination in the p o pular m ind, and artfu l su p p re ssio n s of all its good influences: such things as th e se , and in a w ord, D ishonest F a c tio n in its m o st d ep rav e d and m o s t unblushing fo rm , s ta r e d out fro m e v e ry c o rn e r of the crow ded hall. Still, in such p a s s a g e s , as in the A m e ric a n c h a p te rs of M artin C huzzle- w it, D ickens is only d e sc rib in g fro m p e rs o n a l o b serv atio n the sam e conditions th a t C lem ens d e sc rib e d , also fro m p e rs o n a l ob serv atio n . In th is gam e of l i te r a r y influences, B eau Tibbs has been added 1C1 to M icaw ber as a m odel fo r Colonel S e lle rs. D om estically, S e lle rs ' descen t has b een tr a c e d to the S outhw estern h u m o r is ts - - to A ugustus 153 153 Baldwin L o n g stre e t, to Johnson J. H o o p er's Sim on Suggs, to of H annibal [Boston, 1952], p. 240; also F o n er, p. 16; B ranch, p. 282; M a rk Tw ain of the E n te rp ris e , ed. H enry N ash Sm ith [B erk eley and Los A ngeles, 1957], p. 92; A utobiography, N eider ed., pp. 131, 174-175, 176). ^ ^ A m e ric a n N otes . . . (London, 1903), pp. 104-105. ^ ^ S e e E d w ard H. W eatherly, "B eau Tibbs and Colonel S e lle rs ," M odern Language N o te s, 59:310-313, M ay 1944. l^ D e V o to , M a rk T w ain's A m e ric a , p. 257. ^ "^P arrington, III, 92. 332 154 Jo sep h G. B aldw in's Ovid Bolus. B aldw in's v isio n a ry sp ecu la to r, Ovid Bolus, does indeed uncannily anticip ate the Colonel: B o lu s's lying cam e fro m his g re a tn e s s of soul and his c o m p re h e n siv e n e ss of m ind. The tru th w as too s m a ll fo r him . . . . His w o rld w as not the h a rd , w o rk -d a y w o rld the groundlings live in: . . . he lived am id st the ideal and ro m a n tic . . . . He n e v e r higgled or ch affere d about sm a ll things. He w as as fre e w ith his own m o n e y --if he e v e r had any of his o w n --a s w ith y o u rs. . . . --h e would fum ble in h is pocket, m u tte r som ething about nothing le s s than a $100 bill, and d ire c t the s c o re [for drinks], w ith a lo rd ly fa m ilia rity , to be ch arg e d to his account. . . . He w as p re s e n t at e v e ry im p o rtan t debate in the Senate at W ashington, , . . ^ 5 Yet again, the o rig in als of the B oluses and S e lle rs e s w e re plentiful. As DeVoto has w isely re m a rk e d , Striking p a ra lle ls and s im ila ritie s ap p ea r in lite r a tu r e not b eca u se w r ite r s a re influenced by one an o th er but b ecau se th&Ee a re strik in g p a ra lle ls and s im ila ritie s in hum an ex p erien ce. . . . W hat has been overlooked in this g e n e ra l co n cern w ith influences on C lem ens is his in te re s t in p o litic a l fiction. In M arch 1869 he w ro te Livy th at he w as re re a d in g G u lliv e r's T r a v e ls , w hich had c h a rm e d him as a boy. . . . now I can see w hat a scathing s a tire it is upon the E nglish gov ern m e n t, w h e re a s, b efo re I only gloated over its p ro d ig ies fk its m a rv e ls . P o o r S w ift--u n d er the p la cid su rfa c e of this sim ply- w o rd ed book flows the full tide of his v e n o m --th e tu rb id s e a of his 1 C * 7 m a tc h le ss hate. . . . 1 54 Lynn, M ark Tw ain and S outhw estern H u m o r, pp. 178-179. 155The F lu sh T im es of A labam a and M is s is s ip p i, in A m e ric a n C entury S e rie s (New York, 1957), pp. 2-3, 5, 6 . 156p or ays and R e b u tta ls, p. 388. 157The Love L e tte rs of M ark Tw ain, ed. Dixon W ecter (New York, 1949) (h e re a fte r Love L e t t e r s ), p. 76. (Cf. C le m en s' le tte r of F e b ru a ry 18, 1854, fro m W ashington, p rin te d in O rion's M uscatine 333 Only a y e a r b efo re w ritin g The G ilded A ge, he w ro te h e r th at he w as read in g The M em b er fro m P a r i s , "a v e ry bright, s h a rp , able F re n c h 158 p o litic a l no v el." It w ould seem th at this in te re s t c o n trib u ted to stim u latin g his u rg e to w rite The G ilded A ge, ju s t as h is la te r reading of m e d ie v a l h is to ry h elp ed s tir thoughts th a t took fo rm in A C onnecticut Y ankee. The Gilded A ge, then, standing as it does at the en tra n c e to the ro a d along w hich A m e ric a n so c ia l re a lis m w as to tra v e l, a lm o st s o li ta ry , as a guidepost in the m id s t of uncu ltiv ated field s, is a significant la n d m a rk in U nited S tates li t e r a r y h is to ry . F u rth e rm o re , sin ce in the co n stan t in te rp la y of idea and act, of so ciety and the individual, of c u l tu re and h is to ric a l re a lity , the value of a single phenom enon is m e a s u r able in m o re than one dim ension, The G ilded Age is seen to be im p o r tan t in the developm ent of the a r t of M ark Tw ain as w ell. J u s t as this novel, f a r fro m being a m e re acc id en t of fo rtu n ate c irc u m s ta n c e s , h as been shown to have had inex o rab le c a u se s th a t converged in its f o r m a tion, so too it in tu r n had an a lm o st p re d ic ta b le effect not only upon A m e ric a n fictio n in g e n e ra l but in p a r tic u la r upon its own p rin c ip a l a u th o r. W riting fro m the vantage point of a d iffere n t c u ltu ra l background and a f r e s h c r itic a l m ethod, the Soviet sc h o la r M au rice M endelson sta te s th at The G ilded Age " r e p r e s e n ts the m o s t im p o rtan t stage in the J o u rn a l [M ark T w ain's L e tte rs in the M uscatine J o u rn a l, ed. E d g a r M. B ran ch (ChicagcT, 1942), p. 19J.) le tte r dated J a n u a ry 9 [1872] (Love L e t te r s , p. 172). 334 159 developm ent of Tw ain as a s a ti r is t." This is indeed tru e , in spite of the sh o rtco m in g s of the novel as a w o rk of a rt. T hat it i£ tru e beco m es abundantly c le a r w hen one view s the w o rk in p e r s p e c tiv e - - th a t is, in its p lace along the line of M a rk T w ain's developm ent and in c o m p a riso n w ith his e a r l ie r and la te r w ritin g s. Up thro u g h Roughing It T w ain's b u rlesq u e had re m a in e d b u rle sq u e . T ru e, he had elim in ated m o st of the e a rly cru d ity and h o rs e -p la y s till found lin g erin g as late as the Q uaker 160 City e x c u rsio n le tte r s to the A lta C a lifo rn ia ; Scotty B rig g s' fu n e ra l has an a r ti s tr y unim agined in "The B u rial of Sir A bner G ils tra p ." Yet the a lte ra tio n s in style betw een 1853 and 1872, the developing s u re n e s s in c a ric a tu re , the refining and elim inating of d ro s s a re all w ithin the sa m e g en era l sp h ere of the funny. In The Gilded A ge, how ever, a qualitative change has o c c u rre d . The b u rlesq u e, to be s u re , is s till p r e s e n t but is s tric tly lim ite d to such p a ss a g e s as S e lle rs ' d e sc rip tio n s of his m o s t outlandish p ro je c ts or the dialogue of the W ashington P a rv e n u s. But the book seldom d escends below the level of genuine fa rc e , the b ro ad ly com ic hu m o r of situ atio n view ed fro m a lu d icro u s p e rsp e c tiv e , w hich w as an ticip ated in such e p i sodes as th at of the D octor and "C h risto p h e r C olom bo" in Innocents 161 A b ro a d . Instead, the p re v a ilin g tone is one of high com edy, re su ltin g 1 5 9 11 _ _ > « T T & 3 0 J J 0 we HH W m B e « » tt p e p, e r a b s ] 5 1 e t co6op i e asic He iaiil ntf 3~ra.Tr & c t a H o B ^ ie H n n T e e n a - c a T M p d K a " (Mapk Teen, rev . ed. [M ocksa, 1958], p. 188). E nglish tra n s la tio n by Ivan A. Lopatin. ^® S ee T rav e lin g w ith the Innocents A b ro ad , ed. D aniel M orley M cK eithan (N orm an, Okla., 1958); see also above, p. 105, n. 42. 161 'W ritings, I, 368-371. 335 fro m the in tro d u ctio n of pathos. The com ic is felt fro m w ithin as w ell as seen fro m w ithout, and the p re c io u s e le m e n t of hum an sym pathy, w ithout w hich tru e com edy cannot ex ist, is th e re in good m e a s u re . E ven this noticeable change in the fo rm of hu m o r em ployed, though a sudden a sc e n t to a new, h ig h e r level, o ccu rs w ithin the p ro v in ce of the h u m o ris t r a th e r th an th a t of the s a tir is t. The tru ly im p o rtan t change is one of attitude. The com ic no lo n g e r stays on the su rfa c e , playing lightly over the e c c e n tric itie s and foibles of p e rs o n s se e n at a distan ce, but is u se d as an in stru m e n t to d is s e c t the re la tio n sh ip s of h u m a n beings w ith whom both author and r e a d e r have an inalienable k in ship. F u r th e r than that, the h u m o r b ecom es a w eapon in defense of the b a s ic a lly innocent ag ain st the m alev o len t, of the pitiab ly injudicious but c o n stru ctiv e id e a lis t ag ain st the d e stru c tiv e pow er of v e ste d in te re s t, of the m id d le -c la s s fro n tie rs m a n and tow nsm an ag ain st a c a p ita lis t- co n tro lled n ational p o litic al m ach in e. Tw ain had alw ays la sh e d out at sham and humbug; but w hen sham and hum bug becom e the tools of c o r ruption and a ll-p e rv a d in g sp e c u la tiv e n e ss, his an g er sh a rp e n s rid icu le into the cutting edge of s a tire . The w r ite r of e n te rta in in g b u rle sq u e b e com es a so cial c ritic , and his m ode of e x p re s s io n u n d erg o es a c o r r e sponding tra n sfo rm a tio n . It is u n im p o rtan t that The G ilded Age re v e a ls no o v e rt "plot" of W all S tre e t a g ain st the com m on p e o p le --to the disappointm ent of som e lib e ra l c r itic s . That the sp e c u la tiv e n e ss and c o rru p tio n a re depicted as evils indulged in, fo r the m o st p a rt, v o lu n tarily by the individuals in volved is only a re fle c tio n of life itself. Tw ain is co n cern ed not w ith agitational p ro p ag an d a but w ith re a lis m ; and in hum an so ciety the 336 s u b stru c tu re of so cial activ ity is seldom obvious to the active p a r ti c i pants. H erein, in fact, lie s the insidious fo rc e of ideology: the individ ual com m only adopts the te n e ts of his so ciety w illingly and u n d er the il lusion th at he is doing so e n tire ly of h is own " fre e w ill." It is a m a tte r of conditioned re fle x on a m a s s sc a le . So it is th a t S enator D ilw orthy acts in h is own s e lf - in te r e s t in a p iously h y p o c ritic a l and p o litic ally r e m u n e ra tiv e m a n n e r th at is logical to him and th a t h as led him to in cu l cate a sublim e ta le n t for s e lf-p re s e rv a tio n . C olonel S e lle rs, W ashing ton Haw kins, E li Bolton, Si H aw k in s--th e "good" c h a r a c t e r s - - a r e v ic tim s b ecau se th e ir hum an decency re c o ils at com plete accep tan ce of the indecent values im p o ' ed by ra m p a n t c a p ita lism in its hunt fo r p ro fits. The v ic tim iz a tio n of L a u ra can be tr a c e d a lm o st d ire c tly to the c la sh of so cial values th at c h a ra c te ris tic a lly p ro d u ces n eu ro tic p e r s o n a litie s -- in h e r case com pounded by the p re d ic a m e n t of an in se c u re yet beautiful w om an in a m ilie u rife w ith m a le s u p re m a c ism . In other w o rd s, M ark Tw ain in The Gilded Age tu rn e d fo r the f ir s t tim e to a s e r io u s --o n e m ig h t tru th fu lly sa y s o b e r--e x a m in a tio n of his society, a path fro m w hich th e re w as no p e rm a n e n t re tu rn . F ro m it he p ro c e e d e d to his m o num ental probing of the A m e ric a n co n scien ce in the m ind of Huck Finn, tackling w hat is even y et the n a tio n 's nu m b er one so cial p ro b lem , the N egro question. He w ent on, to the eloquent fable of w o rk in g c la ss o p p re ssio n in The P rin c e and the P a u p e r , to a fu rth e r an aly sis of c a p ita lis t so ciety in A C onnecticut Y ankee, w ith its astonishing p re d ic tio n of w a r and fa s c is m , and to a second a p p ro ac h to the N egro question in the h e ro ic fig u re of Roxana in P u d d 'n h ead W ilson. On the one hand, he had self-in d u lg en t la p se s into n o stalg ia (Tom ..................................................'.... '............................... '...............................................337' S aw y er) and into b u rlesq u e (A m e ric a n C la im a n t). On the o ther, he m ade d ig re s sio n s into polem ic, during w hich he m o m e n ta rily fo rso o k a r t for p a m p h le te e rin g ag ain st im p e ria lis m and colonialism . N ev e rth e le ss, w ith the w ritin g of The G ilded Age the stage had been se t fo r the im m o rta l w o rk of A m e ric a 's f i r s t and, in the m inds of m illio n s, fo re m o st so cial novelist. EPILO G U E THE PL A Y C O LO N EL SE L L E R S On S ep te m b er 16, 1874, nine m o n th s a fte r p u b licatio n of The G ilded A ge, a d ra m a tiz a tio n of the novel opened at the P a r k T h e a tre in New York.'*' It at f i r s t b o re the title of the novel, but, p ro b a b ly b eca u se of the s te lla r p e rfo rm a n c e of John T. R aym ond in the leading ro le , the nam e w as quickly changed to C olonel S e l l e r s . An im m ed iate hit, it ra n stead ily for one hu n d red n in eteen nights, not closing until J a n u a ry 9, 3 4 1875. One of the m o s t su c c e s sfu l p lay s of its decade, it w as rev iv e d n u m e ro u s t i m e s - - i n A ugust 1875 fo r a s ix -w e e k s ru n and in 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, and 1882; and in its f i r s t y e a r it to u re d the country, See G eorge C. D. Odell, A nnals of the New Y ork Stage (New York), IX (1937), 556 f.; also C le m e n s' le tte r to H ow ells, S ep te m b er 20, 1874, in M a rk T w ain-H ow ells L e t t e r s , ed. H en ry N ash S m ith and W il liam M. G ibson (C am bridge, M a s s., I960) (h e re a fte r cited as T w ain- H ow ells), I, 26 and n. 2. Sm ith and G ibson have p re s e n te d a u sefu l out line of the m a in c irc u m s ta n c e s of the p la y 's launching in th e ir appendix (see "The D ra m a tic V ersio n of The Gilded A g e," T w ain-H ow ells, II, 861-863). "T he stag e nam e is 'C ol. S e lle r s ,' and, in a sm u ch as th a t p u re ly A m e ric a n c re a tio n is the conspicuous fig u re in the p ie ce, it is c o rre c tly n am ed a fte r h im " (review " M a rk Twain, the P la y w rig h t," Chicago T r ib u n e , S ep tem b er 17, 1874, p. 7). The New Y ork T im es (rev ., S ep tem b er 17, 1874, p. 6 ) said th a t the p la y " p le a s e d chiefly on account of a c h a ra c te r not at all e s s e n tia l to the m a in s to ry ." ^ A rthur H obson Quinn, A H isto ry of the A m e ric a n D ra m a fro m the Civil W ar to the P r e s e n t Day, re v . ed. (New York, 1936), p. 114; Odell, IX, 557. 4 O dell, IX, 556. 338 339 playing in c itie s as w idely s e p a ra te d as Boston, New O rlean s, and C hi cago.^ Colonel S e lle rs is d e se rv in g of co n sid e ra tio n not only b e c a u se it enjoyed, in C le m en s' own w o rd s, "a su c c e s s seldom achieved in this co u n try " but also b e c a u se it c a s ts light upon c e rta in am biguities in the novel and e s p e c ia lly b ecau se co u n tless thousands of s p e c ta to rs who had n e v e r re a d the novel knew the C olonel and h is fellow c h a ra c te rs fro m th e ir stag e rendition. Yet this p roduction, w hich as d ra m a m o s t a s su re d ly m e r its little attention, has been a lm o st com p letely ignored by Tw ain c ritic s and b io g ra p h e rs, rece iv in g , outside P ain e , b a re ly m o re 7 th an a sen ten ce h e re and th e re . A ccording to the known r e c o rd s , Colonel S e lle rs w as p e r fo rm e d at le a s t at the following tim e s and p la ces: A p ril 19- ?, 1875, Globe T h e a tre , Boston; A ugust 1 6 -O ctober 2, Union S quare T h eatre, New York; N ovem ber 22-?, B rooklyn T h e a tre , Brooklyn; Jan u ary 31- F e b ru a ry 5, 1876, V a rie tie s T h e a tre , New O rleans; F e b ru a ry ? -M a rc h 4, M c V ic k e r's T h e a tre , Chicago; N ovem ber 13-18, B oston T h ea tre, Boston; N ovem ber20-25, B rooklyn T h e a tre , Brooklyn; A p ril 30-M ay 19, 1877, P a r k T h e a tre , New York; M ay 2 8 - June 2, P a r k T h ea tre, Brooklyn; June 4-16, G rand O pera H ouse, New York; A p ril 15-17, 1880, P a r k T h ea tre, Brooklyn; A p ril 26-M ay 1, G rand O pera H ouse, New York; M ay 3-8, N ovelty T h ea tre, W illiam s burgh; S ep tem b er 6-11, G rand O pera H ouse, New York; and O ctober 16-23, 1882, P a r k T h ea tre, New Y ork (see Odell, X [1938], 20, 121, 210-211, 215, 314, 322, 398, 595; XI [1939], 56, 172, 203, 273-274; T. A llston Brown, H isto ry of the New Y ork Stage [New York, 1903], II, 621; III, 195, 197, 207; J o h n S . K endall, The Golden Age of the New O rlean s T h e a te r [Baton Rouge, La., 1952], pp. 456, 462, 482; Eugene T om pkins, The H isto ry of the Boston T h e a te r, 1854-1902 [B oston and New Y ork, 1908], pp. 234, 247; also Boston Evening T ra n s c rip t, A p ril 20, 1875, p. 1; Chicago T ribune, F e b ru a ry 27, 1876, p. 8 ). ^In a le tte r to F ra n k F in la y dated H artfo rd , N ovem ber 10 [1874] (The T w ainian, Vol. IV, No. 1, p. 2, O ctober 1944). ^See, fo r exam ple, W ill M. C lem en s, M ark Twain: His Life and W ork (San F ra n c is c o , 1892), p. 125; John C u rtis Underwood, L ite ra tu re and In su rg en cy (New York, 1914), p. 12; M innie M. B ra s h e a r, M ark Twain, Son of M is s o u ri (Chapel Hill, N .C., 1934), p. 10; E d w ard W agen- knecht, M ark Twain, the M an and His W ork (New H aven, Conn., 1935), p. 76; K enneth R. A ndrew s, Nook F a rm , M a rk T w ain's H a rtfo rd C irc le 340 The facts of the p la y 's o rig in atio n a re th e se: Qn A pril 22, 1874, the C alifo rn ia T h e a tre in San F ra n c is c o announced th a t on th a t and the following evening M r. John T. Raym ond, "the P o p u la r C om edian" then in the th ird w eek of his engagem ent, would p r e s e n t "M r. G. B. D ens- m o r e 's d ra m a tiz a tio n of M ark T w ain 's la te s t s a tire , in four acts and a Q prologue, en titled The G ilded A ge!" D en sm o re w as d ra m a c ritic of the Q San F ra n c is c o Golden E r a . He had a p p a re n tly in all innocence adapted The G ilded Age to the stage, little knowing th a t C lem ens and W arn e r had fo resig h te d ly ta k en out d ra m a tic copyright on the novel a y e a r b e fo re, w hen the book had p ro v e d to be a b e s t - s e l l e r , ^ and th a t he had th e re b y le g ally co m m itted an a ct of p ira c y . David B elasco, who w as playing in San F ra n c is c o at the tim e, gives som e in te re stin g sid elig h ts on the c irc u m s ta n c e s. While th at play w as building D en sm o re talk ed it all o ver w ith m e. As it w as o rig in ally w ritte n it w as in five long acts and had in it a curious m ed ley of m e lo d ra m a . . . . When the s c r ip t v/as eventually re a d to him [Raym ond], all the com m ent he m ade, w ith a few of those choice expletives w hich he knew so w ell how to choose, w as th at he h ated all co u rtro o m scen es, except those in "The M erch an t of (C am bridge, M a ss., 1950), p. 158. Cf. A lb e rt Bigelow P ain e, M a rk Twain: A B iography (New York, 1912), II, 517-518; M a rk T w ain's L e t t e r s , a r r . P a in e (New York, 1917) (h e re a fte r L e t t e r s ), pp. 223 ff.; M a rk T w ain's N otebook (New Y ork and London, 1935), p. 123. The sum m a ry in T w ain-H ow ells is of c o u rse the one exception (see above, n. 1). ®San F ra n c is c o B ulletin, A p ril 22, 1874, p. 4, col. 3; also p. 3, col. 5. Quinn (p. 114) is off by one day w hen he gives A p ril 23 as the date of production, fo r the A p ril 23 B ulletin rev iew s the p e rfo rm a n c e of the evening b efore. 9T w ain-H ow ells, II, 861. *®The copyright of the title of the " D ra m a tic C om position" "The Gilded Age: A D ra m a " is dated M ay 19, 1873. It is accom panied by a p rin te d title -p a g e , w hich gives a b rie f synopsis of the plot. (In the C lem ens P a p e rs , W atkinson L ib ra ry , T rin ity College, H artfo rd , Conn.) 341 V enice" and in B o u cicau lt's "T he H e a rt of M idlothian." . . . It w as in this fra m e of m in d th at he w as fin ally p e rs u a d e d to t r y "The Gilded A ge." Of c o u rse , the play n eeded a lot of re -w ritin g , and I d on't b e lieve anyone re a lly thought it w ould be su c c e ssfu l. It w as put on as a try -o u t b e c a u se the m a n w as in such s o re need of a vehicle, and, like so m any o th er plays w hich a r e p ro d u ced as m a k e sh ifts, it s o a re d its w ay into in sta n t p o p u larity . . . . On A p ril 30 W arn e r w ro te C lem en s, who w as in E lm ira : I see by the San F ra n c is c o p a p e rs th a t The G ilded Age h as b een d r a m a tiz e d and w as to be put on the stage, at once, at the C alifo rn ia T h e a te r. I think one D in sm o re [sic], E d ito r of a Sunday p a p e r, d r a m a tiz e d it. The s to ry is m a in ly th at of L a u ra --le a v in g out the p o liti cal p a rts th a t would c re a te a row . The tra n s p la n te rs d on't se e m to have c o n sid e re d it n e c e s s a r y to consult the au th o rs. P ro b a b ly d o n 't know th a t we have a little copy rig h t stow ed away. L et us see if the thing com es to anything, and if it is w o rth w hile to i n t e r f e r e . ^ M eantim e, C le m en s' old V irginia City frie n d Joe Goodman, fo r m e r e d i to r of the T e r r i to r ia l E n t e r p r is e , w ro te him concerning the p e r f o r m - 13 ance. C h a ra c te ris tic a lly C lem ens w as unw illing to w ait and " se e if the thing com es to anything" but im m ed iately te leg rap h ed , enjoining f u r th e r p e r f o r m a n c e s .^ On M ay 5 he w ro te W a r n e r,^ "I know M r. D. m ighty w ell and he sh a n 't ru n any p lay on m y b r a in s .- - He is the chap who ^ Q u o te d in W illiam W inter, The Life of David B elasco (New York, 1918), I, 64. ^ U n p u b lis h e d le tte r in The M a rk Tw ain P a p e rs , U n iv ersity of C alifornia L ib ra ry , B erk eley (h e re a fte r M T P). *^Paine, II, 517. ^ P a i n e , II, 517. On "M ay 10 o r 11" he w ro te h is b ro th e r, Orion, re g a rd in g "a fra u d in San F ra n c is c o " who had m ade a " g re a t hit" w ith the d ra m a tiz a tio n : "But I've got him foul, b eca u se I co pyrighted the thing as a d ra m a a y e a r ago. He w ill have to la y down his sto len goods" (unpublished le tte r in M TP). C opyright (cT) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Com pany. C lem ens w as e v e r a l e r t for p ira tic a l p ra c tic e . ^ T y p e s c r i p t of unpublished le tte r, M T P . C opyright (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Company. 342 finished B re t H a rte 's s to ry fo r him w ithout B re t's asking it." He told W arn er th at "a San F ra n c is c o frie n d " [Goodman?] had sen t him a C hronicle in w hich it w as sta te d th a t only his own p o rtio n s of the novel w e re used. He th e re fo re p ro p o se d to W arn e r th a t they each re lin q u ish " d ra m a tic o w nership" of c h a ra c te rs c re a te d by the o ther. Then, he continued, "I w ill buy this play of D en sm o re, r e - w r ite it if it is w o rth it - - o r b u rn it, and w rite one m y se lf . . .." He also ask ed W arn er to fo r- 16 w a rd to him a copy of th e ir p rin te d d ra m a tic copyright page. 17 W arn e r im m ed iately a g re e d to this arra n g e m e n t, and C lem ens e n te re d into c o rresp o n d en ce w ith D ensm ore and Raym ond, m eanw hile, 18 acco rd in g to P ain e, sta rtin g on a v e rs io n of his own. Some confusion h as ex iste d as to how m uch use C lem ens m ade of D e n sm o re 's v e rs io n in his o w n .^ The so u rc e of the confusion, w hich is m o re ap p are n t than re a l, s e e m s to have been an a rtic le in the New Y ork Sun of N ovem ber 2, 1874, im plying th at C lem ens had m ade extensive but unacknow ledged use of D e n sm o re 's m a te r ia l.^8 (It m ay be that the Sun w anted to "get" C lem ens for his e a r l ie r attack on the Tw eed Ring in "The R evised C ate- 21 ch ism " and his continuance of the pillo ry in g in The Gilded A ge.) Both C lem ens and Raym ond re p lie d to the insinuation, Raym ond in a le tte r 16 The synopsis of the " d ra m a " given on this title -p a g e (see above, n. 10) contains all the e s s e n tia l m a te ria l of the novel, both C lem en s' and W a rn e r's , indicating th at at that e a rly date no se rio u s co n sid era tio n had been given to the p robable exigencies of d ra m a tic adaptation. 17P aine, II, 518; also L e t te r s , I, 227. 18II, 517. ^ T w a in -H o w e lls , pp. 862 f. ^8P. 1. ^ S e e above, pp. 160-161. 343 to the e d ito r of the Sun, w hich w as p ublished the following day, C lem ens in a le tte r to the ed ito r of the H a rtfo rd P o s t, w hich w as ap p are n tly n ev er sent. Raym ond w ro te th at "not one lin e" of D e n sm o re 's d r a m a ti zation w as u sed in the C lem ens play "except th at w hich w as ta k en bodily 22 fro m the novel . . C lem ens, th at he did "not think th at th e re a re 23 now tw enty sen ten c es of M r. D e n sm o re 's in the p la y ." Though How ells, w ritin g a fte r C lem en s' death, said, "C lem en s n e v e r preten d ed , to m e at any ra te , th at he had the le a s t hand in it," he w as sufficiently vague about the whole incident as to attrib u te D e n sm o re 's play to an 24 "unknown d ra m a tis t," "som e one in U tah." In his unpublished le tte r to the H a rtfo id P o s t C lem ens w rote, . . . I u sed so m uch of his plot th at I w ro te and told him th a t I should pay him about as m uch m o re as I had a lre a d y p aid him in case the play p ro v ed a s u c c e ss . I sh all keep m y w ord. . . . M ost of the plot or skeleton was fu rn ish e d by D en sm o re. . . .^5 He paid D ensm ore $200 fo r his s c rip t and another $200 a fte r the play 2 A becam e a s u c c e s s. D en sm o re thanked him in a le tte r of A ugust 4 ^ Q u o te d in full in W inter, I, 66-67. See also P aine, II, 517; L e tte r s , I, 228; T w ain-H ow ells, II, 862. ^ P a i n e , II, 517-518; T w ain-H ow ells, II, 862. ^ W ill ia m Dean H ow ells, My M a rk Tw ain (New York, 1911), p. 22. Howells a p p are n tly had in m ind an o th er u n au th o rized d ra m a tiz a tio n of The G ilded A ge, w hich w as to be p re s e n te d by the com edian W illie Gill in Salt L ake City beginning F e b ru a ry 8, 1875, but w hich w as stopped by an injunction fro m C lem ens s e rv e d by his le g al agents on the evening it w as to open (Salt Lake Daily H erald, F e b ru a ry 7 and 9, 1875). ^ P a i n e , II, 517-518; T w ain-H ow ells, II, 862. ^ T w a in -H o w e lls , 861. 344 27 "for the v e ry h andsom e m a n n e r" in w hich he had acted. On the sam e day, C lem ens w as w ritin g D en sm o re, a p p a re n tly spoofing him about his in sp irin g c e rta in n ew sp ap er s to rie s th at had im plied p la g ia ris m on C le m en s' p a rt. D is tre s s e d at the ap p a re n t accusation, D en sm o re r e p lied on A ugust 26 th at he did not "in any w ay p ro m p t or su g g est a single n o tice" but on the c o n tra ry had le t it be known th a t he w as "thoroughly sa tisfie d w ith the a rra n g e m e n ts ." As you say the fe a tu re of the p lay is y o u rs. I d on't re c o lle c t th a t I o rig in a te d anything fo r Col. S e lle rs to say u n le ss it m ig h t be som e com m onplace to m ak e connection betw een sc e n e s . The c h a ra c te r is d istin c tly y o u rs and the a rra n g e m e n t of incidents becam e y o u rs by p u rc h a s e , . . . This le tte r of A ugust 26 is of fu rth e r in te r e s t in th a t it re v e a ls D en s m o r e 's d is s a tisfa c tio n w ith w hat he c o n sid e re d R aym ond's som ew hat h a p h a z a rd w ay of sending C lem ens sectio n s of the s c rip t re p re s e n tin g v ario u s s ta te s of cutting and rev isio n . Such a c irc u m s ta n c e m ig h t in p a r t account fo r C le m en s' a s s e r tio n th a t he "e n tire ly re -w ro te his [D e n sm o re 's] play th re e s e p a ra te & : d istin c t times, e s p e c i a l l y as he had p re s u m a b ly begun w o rk on his own b efo re any of D e n s m o re 's s c rip t had a rriv e d . W hen the p lay w as finished, C lem ens w ro te Howells. ^ P a i n e , II, 518; T w ain -H o w ells, II, 862. ^ U n p u b l i s h e d le tte r, M T P . C lem ens, fo rg ettin g th at the Sun a rtic le did not ap p ea r until N ovem ber 2, has noted on the envelope of this le tte r , p o s tm a rk e d A ugust 28: "D en sm o re in an sw e r to m y ch arg e th at he in sp ire d the 'Sun' a r tic le ." ^ P a i n e , II, 518; T w ain -H o w ells, II, 862. Cf. R aym ond's s ta te m e n t (in le tte r to Sun, W inter, p. 67): "I sen t the m a n u s c rip t to M r. C lem ens, but not until a fte r he had fin ish e d his p lay and re a d it to m e, II 345 I d on't think m u ch of it, as a d ra m a , but I suppose it w ill do to hang Col. S e lle rs on, & m aybe even dam n him . He w ill play to le ra b ly w ell, in the hands of a good a c to r. . . A ccording to H enry W atterson, C lem ens designed the p a r t of S e lle rs fo r Edw in Booth. I do not know w hat Edw in Booth thought of S e lle rs, or indeed, w h eth er he so m uch as re a d the p a r t w hich had been intended for him . That Booth and S e lle rs w e re in M ark T w ain's m ind conjointly te lls its own and quite a d ifferen t sto ry . 31 It is c e rta in th at he offered it to L aw rence B a rre tt, who in declining 32 re c o m m e n d e d Raym ond fo r the ro le. This re lu c ta n c e to engage R ay m ond at once is significant co n sid erin g C le m en s' subsequent d is s a ti s faction w ith the co m ed ian 's in te rp re ta tio n of the Colonel, p a rtic u la rly 33 as R aym ond had a lre a d y p ro v ed h im se lf a s u c c e ss in the ro le and had 34 ap p are n tly ap p ro ach ed C lem ens independently to se c u re it. ^ L e t t e r dated E lm ira , July 15 [25?] [1874] (T w ain-H ow ells, I, 20 f.). *2 1 "M a rk T w ain --A n Intim ate M em o ry ," The A m e ric a n M aga z in e , 70:372-373, July 1910; also, in p a rt, M a rse H e n ry --A n A utobiog rap h y (New York, 1919), I, 121. Cf. H enry W. F is h e r, A broad w ith M a rk Tw ain and Eugene F ield (New York, 1922), p. 99: " 'I w ro te it for Edw in Booth. T hat is, I had Edw in Booth in m ind w hen I did the play. But Raym ond w as the s u p e rio r m o n e y -m a k e r. He had the m a s s e s w ith h im --a n d I w as p r e s s e d for fu n d s.1" 32T w ain -H o w ells, I, 21, n. 4. 33"The f i r s t r e a l s u c c e ss of M r. R aym ond's engagem ent [at the C alifo rn ia T h e a tre ] w as achieved la s t night, in the c h a ra c te r 'C olonel S e lle r s ,' w hich m o st happily su its h is p e c u lia r style, and enables him to disp lay those q u alities w hich in old tim e s en d ea red him to us, . . ." (rev. in San F ra n c is c o Evening B ulletin, A p ril 23, 1874). Cf. David Be- la sc o (in W inter, pp. 64-65): "It w as . . . an o th er instance of the p e r sonality of the p la y e r being fitted to the p a rt, and in the ro le [sic] of Colonel M u lb e rry S e lle rs John T. R aym ond found h im se lf and, in c i dentally, fam e and fo rtu n e ." ^ A c c o r d in g to Raym ond, w hen he h e a rd that C lem ens had e n joined D e n sm o re 's play he im m ed iately com m unicated w ith him , even b efo re he had h e a rd fro m D en sm o re, "w ith a view of having him w rite 346 H ow ever, R aym ond w as engaged and r e h e a r s a ls w e re begun. In m id -S e p te m b e r C lem ens, w ith his wife, m ad e a te n -d a y v is it to New Y ork to buy c a rp e ts and fu rn itu re and see how the play w as shaping up. He w ro te O rion la te r: I sta id on the stag e 2 to 4 h o u rs s e v e ra l days in su c c e s sio n showing them how I thought the sp eech e s ought to be u tte re d . The c o n s e quence w as, the p lay w ent rig h t thro u g h w ithout a h itch on the v e ry f ir s t night. They a re b e tte r a c to rs th a n I am , but of c o u rse I w anted the p lay p lay ed m y w ay u n le ss m y w ay w as ra d ic a lly w r o n g .^ He w as a p p reh e n siv e about h is debut as play w rig h t, as indeed he w as about any new fo rm of public e x p o su re. E a r l ie r in the m onth he had w ritte n h is E dinburgh frie n d D r. John B row n th a t he would about as soon spend a night in the S panish Inquisition as sit th e re and be to r tu r e d w ith all the a d v e rs e c r itic is m s I can co n triv e to im agine the audience is indulging in. But w h eth er the play be s u c c e ssfu l or not, I hope I sh all n e v e r feel obliged to see it p e rfo rm e d a second tim e . . . . The P a r k w as a new th e a te r, w hich had f i r s t opened its doors only the p rece d in g A pril; yet so s u c c e s sfu l w as the opening night of The G ilded Age th at S ep te m b er 16 w as thought of th e n c e fo rth as its r e a l be- 37 ginning. Supporting R aym ond w as a w e ll-s e a so n e d c a s t including G ertru d e Kellogg, M ilnes L evick, Sol Sm ith the younger, W elsh E d w a rd s, John M atthew s, and o th e rs , who had b een w alking the b o ard s of W ood's M useum , B ooth's, W allac k 's, N iblo's G ard en s, and the Lyceum a play w ith Colonel S e lle rs as the chief c h a r a c te r " (le tte r tc Sun, W in te r, p. 66). ^ M ark Tw ain to M rs. F a ir b a n k s , ed. Dixon W ecter (San Marines Calif., 1949), pp. 188-189; T w ain -H o w ells, I, 27. ■ ^L etter dated E lm ira , S ep tem b er 4, 1874 (L e t te r s , I, 224-225). ^ Odell, IX, 428, 556; see also Brown, III, 191. 347 38 fo r a n u m b e r of y e a rs . G e rtru d e K ellogg, who had cut h e r acting te e th in W ilkie C ollins' M an and Wife at D aly's F ifth Avenue th re e 39 y e a rs b efo re and had played D esdem ona the p rece d in g seaso n , m ad e a triu m p h as L a u ra second only to R ay m o n d 's S e lle rs. A ccording to the T ribune she "played the h e ro in e w ith infinite sk ill and g ra c e " and " d e s e rv e d all the applause she g o t." ^ 9 As a whole, the play, w hich it w as 41 conceded w as "by no m e an s a m odel d r a m a ," w as p r a is e d as going a g re a t w ay to solve the p ro b le m of the p o ssib ility of the A m e ric a n d ra m a , re s tin g not on the p ile s d riv e n into the m ud and slim e of F re n c h s e n sa tio n a lism , but founded on A m e ric a n so ciety and m a n n e rs . . . . C lem ens, who avow edly "d e te ste d the th e a tr e " yet had a stro n g d e s ire to su ccee d as a p la y w rig h t,^ 3 w as p le a sa n tly s u rp ris e d by this e n co u rag em en t. The w eek end a fte r the re v ie w s appeared, he w rote How ells: I believe it w ill go. The n e w sp a p e rs have been c o m p lim en tary . It is 38Odell, IX, 557 et p a s s im . 39Odell, IX, 12-13, 485. ^®New Y ork T rib u n e , S ep te m b er 18, 1874, p. 4, col. 5. The N. Y. T im es also p r a is e d h e r (S eptem ber 17, p. 6). ^ N . Y. T im e s , S ep te m b er 17, p. 6 . ^ N . Y. T rib u n e , S ep te m b er 18, p. 4, col. 5. ^ 8See H ow ells, p. 16: ". . . he w ould as lief do a sum as follow a p lot on the s ta g e ." C lem ens h im se lf a ttrib u te d his p re ju d ic e to his r e q u ire d th e a te r b eat as a young r e p o r te r on the San F ra n c is c o M orning C all (M ark Tw ain in E ru p tio n , ed. B e rn a rd DeVoto [New Y ork and L on don, 1940], p. 225; also The A utobiography of M ark T w ain, ed. C h arles N eid er [New York, 1959.1 [h e re a fte r A utobiography, N eid er ed.], p. 119). In the la s t days of C le m e n s' life he had a r e c u r r e n t d re a m about "a p lay in w hich the title - r o le of the g e n e ra l m a n a g e r w as always unfilled" (Paine, IV, 1572), and in 1907 he co n fessed to P ain e, " T h e re w as n e v e r any qu estio n w ith the m a n a g e rs about m y p lay s. They alw ays said they w ouldn't a c t" (IV, 1414). 348 sim p ly a settin g fo r the one c h a ra c te r, Col. S e ll e r s - - a s a play I guess it w ill not b e a r a c r itic a l a s s a u lt in fo rce. E xam in atio n of the acting s c rip t of the play b e a rs out C le m en s' own estim ate; it is, d ra m a tic a lly , v e ry little m o re than a p atch ed -u p vehicle 45 fo r the Colonel. Yet the sam e qu alities of authenticity and s a tiric a l insight th a t infused the novel and m ade it a b e s t- s e lle r w e re tr a n s f e r r e d to the play. As a consequence, w hile c ritic s unanim ously d ep lo re d the fa ilu re of the play as d ra m a , they re a d ily conceded its significance as so cial s a tire and its consequently g re a t p o pular s u c c e s s. The la te r evaluations a re re p re s e n te d m o s t a rtic u la te ly by H ow ells' long review 46 in the June 1875 A tla n tic . Though he had p a s s e d up The Gilded Age as a book fo r re v ie w , ^ he w ro te w ith w a rm th and e n th u siasm about "The P la y fro m 'T he G ilded A g e ,'" devoting the e n tire "D ra m a " sectio n of the issu e to it. It is s c a rc e ly m o re than a sketch, a fra m e w o rk a lm o st as naked as th a t w hich the Italians u se d to clothe on w ith th e ir co m m ed ia d 'a r t e ; and it is as unlike good lite r a tu r e as m any other ex ce lle n t acting- p lay s. Yet any one who should judge it fro m the l i te r a r y standpoint, and not w ith an a r tis tic sen se g r e a te r and m o re than lite r a r y , would m isju d g e it. The play is tru e , in its b ro ad way, to A m e ric a n condi tions, and is a fa ir and ju s t s a tire upon our g e n e ra lly reco g n ized s o cial and p o litic al co rru p tio n s. . . . ° ^ L e t t e r dated H artfo rd , S eptem ber 20 [1874] (T w ain -H o w ells, I, 26; L e t te r s , I, 27). 45 A com plete am an u en sis m a n u sc rip t of the play is in M T P (Paine 163). It contains cue m a rk s for R aym ond's e n tra n c e s, and P aine h as noted on the cover: "The S e lle rs play as p e rfo rm e d by M r. Ray- m ond[.l" ^ 35:749- 751; re p rin te d in My M a rk Tw ain, pp. 115-119. “ ^ S e e above, p. 22. 48 H ow ells, My M ark T w ain, p. 116. A ppleton's Jo u rn al (13:23, Ja n u a ry 2, 1875) said, ". . . it is som ething fo r a d ra m a tis t to give a 349 Raym ond m ade his fam e in the ro le of Colonel S e lle rs . H ow ells, fo r exam ple, c la ss e d him w ith S o th ern in L o rd D u n d reary and Jo sep h 49 Je ffe rso n in Rip Van W inkle. 7 C ritic s and audiences alike w ere c a p ti vated by his ren d itio n of the p a rt. W illiam W inter, d ra m a c ritic of the 50 New Y ork T rib u n e , w ro te th a t in acting S e lle rs "R aym ond did s o m e thing th a t w as new ," that, "p o sse ss in g the h u m o r w hich is akin to 51 pathos, he could cau se the laugh th a t is clo se to the te a r ." B ra n d e r M atthew s, who it w ill be re m e m b e re d had d is c u s s e d the S e lle rs ro le w ith Raym ond, c o n sid e re d th at the d ra m a tiz a tio n "had the good luck to be bought by the one a c to r who, by te m p e ra m e n t and train in g , w as cap- n able of doing it ju s tic e ." B orn John O 'B rien, in Buffalo, New York, a y e a r la te r than C lem ens, R aym ond ap p ea red f i r s t under his own nam e at the N ational T h e a tre in Boston in 1853 or 1854. As this tim e w as the heyday of the K now-Nothing p a rty , how ever, he quickly decided to adopt a stage nam e not obviously I r is h .^ 3 In the se a so n of 1861 he w as in L a u ra K eene's com pany as A sa T re n c h a rd in Our A m e ric a n C ousin. He w ent to P a r is glim pse of p o s sib ilitie s in the d ire c tio n of national c h a ra c te riz a tio n s" ; and H a r p e r 's M onthly (50:698, A pril 1875), ". . . [Colonel S e lle rs] r a l lie s to the th e a tre thousands nightly to r o a r in la u g h ter over the ex ag g e ra tio n of an e x tra v ag an t fe a tu re in our A m e ric a n so ciety ." ^ My M a rk T w ain, p . 115. ^ C h a r l e s F. W ingate (ed.), Views and Interview s on Jo u rn a lism (New York, 1875), p. 190. 51 The W allet of Tim e (New York, 1913), p. 297. 5 ^ S c r i b n e r ' s M onthly, 18:328, July 1879. 53K endall, p. 482. 350 w ith S othern and to u re d the p ro v in ce s and England. B efore Colonel S el le r s he had becom e b e st known as Dick S w iveller in the D ick en s-in sp ire d tr a v e s ty D ittle N ell and the M a rc h io n e ss , a p a r t for w hich he w as highly p r a is e d by the New Y ork H e ra ld r e v i e w e r . ^ In spite of R aym ond's phenom enal s u c c e ss , C lem ens w as alw ays, 55 as W a tte rso n say s, "d isg u sted by the Raym ond p o r tr a y a l." M rs. F ield s noted in h e r diary: Raym ond, who is doing the "G ilded A ge," is so h o p e le ssly given "to saving at the spigot and losing at the bunghole" th a t he [C lem ens] is evidently not o v e r-s a tis fie d nor does he count the acting everything it m ight be. ° At the hun d red th p e rfo rm a n c e , C lem ens m ade a c u rta in speech in w hich he b a re ly concealed his ir r ita tio n u n d er a guise of banter: N either can I c ritic iz e and abuse the a c to rs , for I don't w ant to. I could abuse the play, but I have b e tte r judgm ent (L aughter and a p plause), and I cannot p r a is e th e se a c to rs of m ine rig h t h e re in th e ir h earin g and before th e ir fa c e s, fo r th at would m ake anybody w ith flesh and blood unhappy, and, indeed, to p r a is e them would be like p ra is in g the m e m b e rs of m y own fam ily, and glorifying the lady who does our w ashing (Laughter}.^7 In h is A utobiography, w ritte n fo r posthum ous publication, C lem ens sum s up his re a l opinion of Raym ond, an opinion which, by the tim e the p a ssa g e w as w ritten, had been fu rth e r p re ju d ic e d by a com plete b re a k ^ B r o w n , H isto ry of the A m e ric a n Stage (New York, 1870), pp. 304-305; Odell, IX, 141. ^ A m er. M ag., 70:372; cf. M a rs e H e n ry , I, 121. ^ [ M r s . Ja m e s T. F ield s], M e m o rie s of a H o s te s s , ed. M. A. De Wolfe Howe (Boston, 1922), p. 253. ^ Q u o te d in De L ancey F erg u so n , "M ark T w ain's L ost C urtain S p eech es," The South A tlantic Q u a rte rly , 42:265, July 1943. The one hundredth p e rfo rm a n c e took p lace D ecem b er 23, 1874 (Brown, H ist, of N. Y. Stage, III, 191). 351 58 w ith the acto r. The re a l Colonel S e lle rs w as n e v e r on the stag e. Only half of him w as th e re . Raym ond could not p lay the o th er half of him ; it w as above his level. T hat half w as m ade up of q u alities of w hich R ay m ond w as w holly d estitu te . F o r R aym ond w as not a m an ly m an, he w as not an ho n o rab le m a n nor an h o n est m an, he w as em pty and s e lf ish and vulgar and ig n o ran t and silly, ^nd th e re w as a vacancy in him w h ere his h e a rt should have been. . . . ' Alone am ong the c ritic s , Howells se e m s to have sen sed som e of the la ck of genuine pathos in R aym ond's p e rfo rm a n c e th at d istu rb e d C le m e n s --s o m e of the tendency to play the ro le fo r the plentiful laughs in it, plus a few g ratu ito u sly added. Though he w rite s th a t the "w arm , c a re ss in g , affectionate n a tu re of the m a n c h a rm s you in M r. R aym ond's p e rfo rm a n c e ," he ends his review w ith the seem in g ly c o n tra d ic to ry caution that M r. R aym ond m ight t r u s t the sym pathy of his audience in showing all the te n d e rn e s s of the m a n 's h e a rty We a r e loath to believe th at he is not h im se lf equal to showing it. And again, in the m iddle of the review , Howells say s, in p ra is in g the p e rfo rm a n c e : Only one point we m u st except, and we su sp e c t it is not the a u th o r's lapse; th at is w h ere the Colonel b o rro w s te n d o lla rs of Clay Haw kins, and, being ask ed not to m en tio n the re tu r n of it, stops on his w ay out and w ith a glance of low cunning at the audience say s, "W ell, I w on't!" This is thoroughly fa lse and bad, and the stupid laugh it ra is e s ought to m ake M r. Raym ond ash am ed . . . . ^^C lem ens b eliev ed th at R aym ond had ta k en advantage of him . See le tte r to C h arles W eb ster, N ovem ber 30, 1883 (M ark Twain, B u si n e ss M an, ed. S am uel C h a rle s W eb ster [Boston, 1946J [h e re a fte r M T , B usiness M an], p. 228): "He knows th at know, th a t as a lia r he has not his equal, e ith e r in h ell or out of it." ^ A utobiography, N eid er ed., p. 19- ^ My M ark T w ain, pp. 117, 119. ^ M y M a rk T w ain , p. 118. 352 Since this bit of dialogue a p p e a rs in both extant am an u en sis m a n u sc rip ts of the play, it a p p e a rs to have had at le a s t the ta c it a p p ro v a l of C lem ens even though it m a y have o rig in ated w ith Raym ond. A nother in stan ce in the play of w hich the sam e m ig h t be said o c c u rs in A ct V, Scene 1: Hawkins . . . L e t's all go to w o rk and stop chasing f i r s t one and then another Ignis F atu u s. S e lle r s . (A side, re fle c tiv e ly .) Agnes w ho? (E xit [sic] all but S e lle r s . ) S e lle r s . (M using.) We chasing A gnes F a tu o u s - - T h a t's a c a r e le s s w ay fo r a m a n to talk. I n e v e r even h e a rd the w o m an 's nam e b efo re. (E x it)°^ This ex cru c iatin g ly bad pun is only equaled by a drunk scene in A ct IV, which, though ad m itted ly com ic, has no p o ssib le excuse in the s to ry e x cept as an opportunity fo r m o re of R aym ond's high jin k s. Colonel S el l e r s ' e y e -w a te r fo rm u la p ro v e s to be intoxicating. Col. S e lle r s . (Hie!) I've got the lacking ingredient! The e y e -w a te r's a su c c e s s now. I tr ie d it on one eye, and I couldn't see fo r an ho u r. Shows how stro n g it is. I'll lo se th at eye m a y be. But this e y e -w a te r'll cu re anything now - - anything th at a m a n 's got. Take it internally, E x tern ally , and ete rn a lly . I'll r a is e the p r i c e - - . . .. L O B esides P ain e 163 (see above, n. 45) th e re is in M T P a second am an u en sis copy (P aine 163a), w hich is d e s c rib e d below (n. 73). k^Paine 163, M T P, A ct V, pp. 7-8. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Com pany. 353 S e ll e r s . (Holding L a fa y e tte 's hand and b e a m in g .) Ah, L afayette, m y boy, I've foun' (H ie)--I'v e foun' (H ie !) (P a u s e s --s u m m o n s all his f a c u ltie s -- gets on a good re a d y - - ) - - I 'v e foun' (H ie!) (b re a k s into benevolent s m ile )--H o w 's L a u ra ? ° ^ In o rd e r to a p p re c ia te the com plete in a p p ro p ria te n e ss of this scene to the s p irit of S e lle rs one has only to tu rn to an anecdote told by H enry W atterso n about S e lle rs ' orig in al, C le m en s' C ousin Jim Lam pton: When a v e ry young m a n living in a woodland cabin down in the " P e n n y 'rile " reg io n of Kentucky, w ith a wife and two, or th re e , b abies, he w as so c a r r ie d aw ay by an unexpected w indfall th a t he lin g e re d over long in the village, disp en sin g a ro y al hospitality; in point of fact, he "got on a s p re e ." Two or th re e days p a s s e d before he reg ain ed p o s s e s s io n of h im se lf. When at la s t he re a c h e d his hom e, he found h is wife ill in bed and the ch ild ren n e a rly s ta rv e d fo r w ant of food. He said n e v e r a w ord, but w alked out of the cabin, tied h im se lf to a tre e , and w as lite ra lly h o rse-w h ip p in g h im se lf to death w hen the c rie s of the frig h ten ed fam ily called the neighbors and he w as cut loose and brought to re a s o n . He n e v e r touched an in to x icat ing drop fro m th a t day to the day of his d eath .^5 If, as it s e e m s, C lem ens h im se lf w ro te the foregoing m a te ria l fro m the play, he m u s t be held re sp o n sib le fo r encouraging m uch of the s u p e r ficiality in R aym ond's p e rfo rm a n c e fo r w hich he blam ed the a c to r. One can only conclude that such p a s s a g e s a r e due to an o th er of C lem en s' sp o rad ic la p se s into his e a r lie r , cru d e b u rlesq u e. D iscontented though he m a y have been w ith John T. Raym ond, C lem ens w as ju b ilan t at the fin an cial su c c e ss Raym ond w as bringing to the play. C lem ens sen t along an agent, who kept a r e c o r d of the a u th o r 's s h a re of the box office and re p o rte d back to him e v e ry day by p o stcard . k^P aine 163, M T P , Act IV, pp. 3, 5. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M ark Tw ain Com pany. ^ A m e r . M ag ., 70:372-373; cf. M a rse H en ry , I, 123-124. 354 The p o sta ls u sed to com e about d in n e r-tim e , and C lem ens w ould re a d them aloud to us in w ild triu m p h . One h u n d red and fifty d o lla rs --tw o h u n d red d o lla r s - - th r e e h u n d red d o lla rs w e re the gay fig u re s w hich they b o re, and w hich he flaunted in the a ir b efo re he s a t down at table, or ro s e fro m it to b ra n d ish , and them flinging his napkin into h is ch air, w alked up and down to exult in .°° Ln The in itial ru n is said to have brought C lem ens a p ro fit of $70,000. The c ritic a l im p o rta n c e of the play today is in the light it c a s ts on the a u th o r's p ro b ab le intentions in c e r ta in am biguous p a s s a g e s in the novel and the consequent stren g th en in g of in te rp re ta tio n s th at m ight o th e rw ise re m a in p u re ly in fe re n tia l. Some u se of C olonel S e lle rs h as 68 a lre a d y been m ade in the p r e s e n t study fo r this p u rp o se . Two a d d i tional points should be m entioned, how ever. The f i r s t co n ce rn s a s o m e w hat g r e a te r outspokenness in the p lay about r a ilro a d exploitation and the accom panying g o v ern m e n tal graft. C lay . But Col. the whole a p p ro p ria tio n is only $200,000. S e lle r s . T ru e --b u t it b re e d s the r a ilr o a d - - th e ra ilr o a d b re e d s p o p u la tio n -- up goes your to w n --lo ts into the thousands. And th e re you a re ! See? S e ll e r s . No m a n can know w hat a s tra ig h t line is until the E n g in e e rs have been over it. I have ta lk ed w ith Jeff Thom pson, the D ivision E n g i n e e r. Jeff u n d e rsta n d s the w ants of Napoleon. Jeff says ra ilro a d s ought to be ru n for the benefit of the com pany, and the g e n e ra l coun tr y ro u n d --n o t fo r the benefit of tow ns a lre a d y built. Now how is the 88H ow ells, My M a rk Tw ain, pp. 22-23; see also P ain e , II, 518- 519. ^ R o d m a n G ilder, " M a rk Tw ain D etested the T h e a tre ," T h e a tre A r ts , 28:111, F e b ru a ry 1944; cf. W ill C lem en s, p. 192. 68See above, pp. 147 ff., 2 2 7 -2 2 8 , 22 9 -2 3 0 , 289 ff. 355 com pany to m ake m oney out of a ra ilro a d ? Is it by going to old towns w h ere the land is all owned by Tom , Dick, and H a rry ? No Sir! It's by going to new p la c e s w here th e land is owned by the com pany. C lay . And the g o v ern m e n t finds the m illion, w hile the R a il-ro a d com pany owns the town? S e ll e r s . E xactly, m y d e a r boy, exactly. T h a t's w hat G overnm ents a re fo r. It is only w ithin the la s t few y e a rs th a t the scien c e of gov ern m en t has been thoroughly u n d ersto o d . . . The second point h as to do w ith C le m en s' and W a rn e r's b u r lesq u e of c o n te m p o ra ry se n sa tio n fiction. One of the stock th e m e s of the y ello w -b a ck novel w as the titilla tin g su g g estio n of incest. The p o s sib ilities fo r this th em e in L a u r a 's sto ry , w hich re m a in u n re a liz e d in The G ilded A ge, a re m ade u se of in C olonel S e ll e r s . In the scene of L a u ra 's t r i a l (Act V, Scene 2) the defense counsel draw s out of S e lle rs th a t L a u r a 's " m an ia" had fo r m any y e a rs tak en the fo rm of anxiety to find h e r r e a l fa th e r. S e ll e r s . . . . T h e re w e re som e old le tte r s th a t d e s c rib e d him as being a m a n w ith one eye, and a la m e leg. The sight of a s tra n g e r b e a rin g those p e c u lia r tr a d e - m a r k s , so to speak, alw ays se t h e r w ild. She n e v e r could look at a o n e-ey e d m a n w ithout em otion! She n e v e r could con te m p late a gam e leg w ithout w hirlw inds of joy. L et h e r flush a s tra n g e r w ith one eye, and a gam e leg, and s h e 'd hound th at crip p le to the ends of the e a rth , but sh e 'd b rin g him to cover, and m ake him show up. . . When C olonel Selby, L a u r a 's fa lse husband, m a k e s his e n tra n ce (in Act k^P ain e 163, M T P , A ct III, pp. 2-4. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Com pany. ^®Paine 163, M TP, A ct V, pp. 16-17. C opyright (c) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Com pany. Ill), he has a slight lim p and u se s a cane. B esides the co n tra ctin g and com bining of episodes into the sam e scene th at is a n o rm a l fe a tu re of all d ra m a tiz a tio n s, a c o n sid era tio n fa r too detailed fo r this epilogue, the p rin c ip a l changes betw een novel and play a re the following. F i r s t of all, the adopted Clay Hawkins com es into his own. The en tire f i r s t scene of A ct I is a stilted love scene betw een Clay (age 23) and L a u ra (age 16), and C lay's love fo r the h ero in e , rep lacin g th at of the deleted W arn er c h a ra c te r H a rry B rie rly , lead s to the v e rg e of a duel w ith Colonel Selby in A ct III, w hich is p r e vented only by the in terv en tio n of S e lle rs . Clay also re p la c e s W ashing ton Hawkins as a foil fo r S e lle rs in the Hawkeye scen es, enduring the raw tu rn ip d in n er and listen in g to S e lle rs ' sch em e s w ith m o re of sk ep tic is m than awed gullibility. A new c h a ra c te r, John P e te rs o n , s e rv a n t in the D ilw orthy household, is introduced to give te stim o n y as a s u r r e p titious w itn ess of L a u ra 's shooting of Selby (p resu m ab ly to add to the irony of the v erd ict), and a P ro se c u tin g A tto rn ey e m e rg e s as a voluble individual c h a ra c te r. Senator D ilw orthy, though r e f e r r e d to, n ev er ap- 71 p e a rs . And, as m entioned else w h e re in this study, the m u rd e r takes place on stage. A few m in o r changes m ight also be m entioned. W ashington Hawkins becom es L afayette, the nam e of one of the S e lle rs ch ild ren in 72 the novel. S quire Hawkins re m a in s alive throughout the play and is the one who le ts the T en n e ssee Land go for ta x es in the la s t act. The ^ S e e above, pp. 148-149. ^ T h e G ilded A ge, I (The W ritings of M a rk Tw ain, A u th o r's N a tional E dition [New Y ork and London, 1907-191 8J, X), 125. 357 hum anity of Uncle D aniel is co m p letely o b sc u re d by his c o n v e rsio n into a jim c ro w c h a ra c te r in the m in s tre l show trad itio n , who m u s t needs have been played fo r laughs. He is endow ed w ith a s ta m m e r, w hich is m ade the excuse fo r a low com edy b it by Colonel S e lle rs in his drunk scene about a m a n who c u re d h im se lf of sta m m e rin g by le a rn in g to w h is tle .'^ C le m e n s' fa sc in a tio n w ith h is c h a ra c te r Colonel S e lle rs p e r s is te d in te rm itte n tly fo r m o re than two decad es, reach in g one b rie f high point in a second, v e ry bad play, The A m e ric a n C la im a n t, and cu lm in at- 74 ing in a novel of m ix ed v irtu e s b e a rin g the sa m e title . The play, w hich during its s e v e ra l y e a rs of sp o rad ic c re a tio n w as called v a r io u s ly The Steam G e n e ra to r, O rm e 's M o to r, and Colonel S e lle rs as a S ci e n tis t, began as a co llab o ratio n w ith th a t o ther im p o ssib le p lay w rig h t ^ P a i n e 163, M T P, A ct IV, p. 4. Uncle D aniel is liste d in the " C ast of C h a ra c te rs " as "An old S tam m erin g N egro. (He S ta m m e rs if anecdote used, not o th e rw ise.)" The v a ria n t m a n u sc rip t, P a in e 163a, w hich is evidently a la te r v e rs io n and w hich P ain e lab eled as " s c r ip t copies ap p are n tly of two p la y s" (m eaning th at it w as a s s e m b le d fro m two s e p a ra te s c rip ts), dif fe r s la rg e ly in its stren g th en in g of L a u r a 's sto ry . F o r instance, lines a re added in A ct II to re v e a l L a u r a 's d e s ire to be som ebody and not v eg etate in a fro n tie r village; b e tte r m o tiv atio n fo r the shooting (in A ct IV) is p ro v id ed by open insults fro m Selby; and m in o r changes in Act V dialogue un d erlin e the em otional in san ity p le a m o re strongly. 74 M uch of the background of this pro lo n g ed in te re s t is to be found in the re c e n tly p u blished c o rre sp o n d e n c e betw een C lem ens and H ow ells and the ex ce lle n t footnotes th e re to (see T w ain -H o w ells, p a s sim ). See also P ain e, 7 .1 , 706-707, 757 ff., Ill, 918; L e tte rs , I, 347, 352 ff., 424 ff., 437 ff., II, 441, 529-530; H ow ells, M y M a rk T w ain, pp. 22ff.; M ild re d H owells (ed.), Life in L e tte rs of W illiam Dean Howells (G arden City, N.Y., 1928), I, 246, 276-277, 306 ff., 312 f., 324, 339, 354 ff., 382- 383; MT, B u sin ess Man, pp. 204, 227 ff., 253-254, 264, 273 ff., 356-357; B ra n d e r M atthew s, P lay w rig h ts on P lay m ak in g (New Y ork and London, 1923), pp. 174 ff. 358 H ow ells in the fo rm of a nebulous fa rc e b a se d on C le m en s' b ro th e r, the v is io n a ry Orion. Not m u ch cam e of the effort, except to provide the two frie n d s w ith h ila rio u s re c re a tio n , until C lem ens rev iv e d S e lle rs as the c e n tra l c h a r a c te r in p lace of O rion and in tro d u ced the them e of a p a r a - 75 noic A m e ric a n cla im a n t to an E n g lish e a rld o m . H ow ells, w ith good sen se, w ithdrew fro m the joint v en tu re , but C lem ens, w ith c h a r a c te r istic im p u lsiv e n e ss, w ent ahead on his own. M u lb e rry S e lle rs, as a v isio n a ry inventor, b eca m e ex a g g e ra te d to such an e x tre m e c a ric a tu re that R aym ond re fu se d to p lay the ro le of w hat he co n sid ere d a m e re 7 A "lu n atic." The play w as produced, how ever, fo r a few m isb e g o tte n p e rfo rm a n c e s in 1887, w ith A. P. B urbank, an am bitious elocutionist, in the lead. In the novel The A m e ric a n C la im a n t, published in 1892, C lem - 77 ens re w o rk e d the m a te r ia l of the play thoroughly, placing em p h asis 7 5 C lem ens had alw ays been in te re s te d in the them e th a t hum ble folk m ig h t be law ful h e irs to an earld o m , fo r his m o th e r's kin w e re p ro u d of th e ir d escen t fro m the fam ily of the E a r l of D urham (see M ark T w ain's A utobiography, ed. P ain e [New York, 1924] [h e re a fte r A utobi og rap h y ], I, 87, 90-91, 120 ff., N eid er ed., pp. 18, 28-29; N otebook, p. 158; MT, B u sin ess Man, p. 321; W atterson, A m er. M ag., 70:373, M a rse H e n ry , I, 120 ff.; unpublished m e m o ran d u m , M TP, DV 206), and one re la tiv e in s is te d he w as the rightful h e ir (see W atterson, A m er. M ag., 70:373, M a rs e H e n ry , I, 124-125; John W. Chapm an, "The G erm of a Book . . .," A tla n tic, 150:720-721). C lem ens also knew of an A m e ric a n c laim a n t who w as a frie n d of his fa th e r 's fam ily (A utobiography, I, 81- 82). The w in te r he w as in London read in g proofs of The Gilded A ge, he had h is " s e c r e ta r y ," C h a rle s W a rre n Stoddard, collecting n ew spaper clippings about the c u rre n t T ichborne c laim a n t case (see P ain e, II, 496-497, III, 1086; A utobiography, I, 139; N otebook, p. 242; M T, B u si- n ess Man, pp. 380-381; W atterson, A m e r. M ag., 70:373, M a r s e H en ry, I, 125). 7 A P ain e, II, 761; H ow ells, My M a rk T w ain, p. 26. ^ S e e le tte r to H ow ells, M ay 20, 1891 (T w ain-H ow ells, II, 645- 646; L e tte rs , II, 548). 359 on the claim a n t th em e. In spite of the cru d ity of c o n stru c tio n and the unfortunate d e te rio ra tio n of S e lle rs into a ridiculous tra v e s ty of h im self, the novel d raw s a ra th e r good c o n tra s t betw een the deluded a s p i ratio n s of a f r u s tr a te d A m e ric a n p ro m o te r to an a r is to c r a tic in h e rit ance and the a tte m p t of a b o rn noblem an, h e ir to an earld o m , to find a d e m o c ra tic w ay of life fo r h im se lf am ong the A m e ric a n w orking cla ss. The m o d e ra te s u c c e s s of th is novel led A ugustin Daly, iro n ic a lly enough, to co n sid e r negotiating w ith C lem ens fo r d ra m a tiz a tio n 78 rig h ts. But C lem ens had at la s t w ritte n Colonel S e lle rs out of his sy stem and w as no lo n g er in te re s te d . The e n tire account of M ark T w ain 's rela tio n sh ip w ith his c h a r a c te r Colonel S e lle rs, fro m his e a r lie s t im p re s sio n s of Ja m e s L am pton up through the la te r re in c a rn a tio n s, w hich com bined m o re fam ily le g ends, an o th er re la tiv e , by the nam e of L e a th e rs , and the fam ous T ich- borne case, is a s to ry in itse lf and one w ell w o rth telling. But it m u st w ait fo r an o th er tim e - - th e p r e s e n t study is long enough. ^ S e e L e tte r s , II, 562-563. A P P E N D I C E S A P P E N D IX A1 BRITISH COPYRIGHT At the tim e th a t the f i r s t B ritis h edition of The Gilded Age was published, the statu te by w hich B ritis h copyright w as reg u la ted w as the A ct of 1842 (5 and 6 V ictoria, c. 45). This statu te w as not c le a r as to w h eth er it gave p ro te c tio n "to e v e ry author who f ir s t published in the U nited Kingdom, w h e re s o e v e r he m ig h t then be re s id e n t." In 1865 or 1868^ o c c u rre d the fam ous te s t c a se of Routledge v. Low, L.R. 3, H .L 100, concerning violation of the B ritis h copyright of the A m e ric a n a u th o r M a ria C um m ins, who had a ssig n e d the copyright of h e r novel H aunted H e a rts to the London p u b lish e r S am son Low and Com pany and had then gone to M o n treal to re s id e during its publication. S am son Low and C om pany duly re g is te r e d both novel and a ssig n m e n t at S ta tio n e rs' H all and p ro c e e d e d to p u b lish the w o rk in two volum es "at the m o n stro u s p ric e of six te en sh illin g s." S hortly a fte rw a rd s , G eorge Routledge and Sons, "alw ays thinking of the p o o r and need y ," issu e d a one-volum e edition at two shillin g s, w hereupon Low filed a bill in C hancery. The unanim ous d ecisio n of the c o u rt w as that "an alien frie n d (like M iss M a ria C um m ins) who p ublished in the U nited Kingdom w h ilst re sid in g *The c ase is cited in C opinger both as 1865 and as 1868 ([W. A.] C opinger and [F. E .] Skone J a m e s , Law of C opyright, 8th ed. [London, 1948], pp. xix; 16, n. n; 268, n. b; 296, n. f). 361 362 2 in. a B ritish colony is en titled to the benefit of E n g lish co p y rig h t." A pparently on the b a s is of this p re c e d e n t, C lem ens, W a rn e r, and H a r r ie t B eech er Stowe all follow ed the p ra c tic e of "beating a p ath to Q uebec" to be in re sid e n c e th e re on the p u blication date of the volum e 3 they w ish ed to r e g is te r in the United Kingdom. In an ticip atio n of the issu an ce of The G ilded A ge, indeed, C lem ens and W arn e r d rew up a fo rm a l docum ent a tte stin g to p e rm a n e n t re s id e n c e in Canada. And th e ir c o n tra c t w ith Routledge stip u lated th at fo r th re e days b efo re and four days following the a g re e d upon date of publication the au th o rs w e re to re s id e "in som e p a r t of the D om inion of C anada or som e other p a rts of the B ritis h E m p ire " and th a t im m ed iately a fte rw a rd they w e re to "m ake a so lem n D e c la ra tio n b efo re som e com petent au th o rity " th at they 5 had so re s id e d during the sev en days. The affidavit of C anadian r e s i dence re m a in e d unsigned, how ever, and, as has been seen, C lem ens 2 A ugustine B irre ll, M .P ., The Law and H isto ry of C opyright in Books (London and New York, 1899), pp. 149-152. K enneth R. A ndrew s, Nook F a rm : M a rk T w ain's H a rtfo rd C irc le (C am bridge, M a ss., 1950), p. 263. ^In the W a rn e r P a p e rs , W atkins on L ib ra ry , T rin ity College, H artford, C onnecticut. This docum ent re a d s in p a rt: We Sam uel L anghorne C lem ens late of H a rtfo rd C onnec tic u t in the United States of A m e ric a but now of in the D om inion of of [sic] C anada A uthor and C h a rle s Dudley W a rn e r a lso la te of H a rtfo rd a f o r e said but now of a fo re s a id A uthor do solem nly and sin c e re ly d e c la re as follow s: 1. That fro m the day of one thousand eight hu n d red and seventy up to the p re s e n t tim e we have been continually and s till a re re sid in g at in the D om inion of Canada. ^ W a rn e r P a p e r s . 363 took up extended re s id e n c e in London instead. C le m e n s' anxiety about B ritis h copyright of The G ilded Age w as grounded on the fa c t th a t the book w as to be p ublished sim u ltan e o u sly in England and the U nited S tates, a c irc u m s ta n c e th a t conceivably could o b scu re the p r io r ity of the copyright. The R outledge v. Low d ecisio n had " c le a rly a ffirm e d the view " th a t f i r s t publication of a book m u st o c cu r in the U nited Kingdom in o rd e r to a s s u r e B ritis h copyright.^* This anxiety accounts fo r C le m en s' fra n tic elev en th -h o u r p re c a u tio n s to e n s u re exact tim ing of the two editions on opposite s h o re s of the A tlantic Ocean. ^ As the au th o ritativ e C opinger s ta te s , th e re w as a "co m p licated state of c irc u m s ta n c e s , fo r the rig h ts of an author in fo reig n co u n tries v a rie d acco rd in g to the p a rtic u la r tr e a ty or O rd er in Council . . . " (Copinger and Skone J a m e s , 8th ed., pp. 268-269). 7 See below, A ppendix A3. A P P E N D IX A2 THE "FA K E " T IT L E -P A G E The detective w o rk of Denis Woodfield^ has p ro v ed th at copies of The G ilded Age containing a tip p e d -in "fake" title -p a g e w e re bound in H a rtfo rd u n d er c irc u m s ta n c e s th at su g g est double-dealing on the p a r t of E lish a B liss and consequently indicate th a t C lem en s' la te r c ry of swindle m a y have had foundation in fact. The m o st significant c h a r a c te r is tic s of the "fake" title -p a g e s a re the following: (1) W hereas the title -p a g e s of copies to be sold b e a r the lo c al im p rin t of the d istrib u tin g 2 agent in com bination w ith th at of the A m e ric a n P ublishing Company, the fakes c a r r y the im p rin t of the Com pany alone. (2) They a re all dated 1873. (3) They w e re ru n fro m the settin g of type fro m w hich the sam ple title -p a g e in the p ro s p e c tu s -d u m m ie s of the book w as run; and this type had been set in a s e p a ra te shop, fo r it had faces e n tire ly dif fe re n t fro m those of the book's title -p a g e . This in te rn a l evidence, w hich on f i r s t thought ap p ea rs dam aging, is at cu rio u s v a ria n c e w ith other c irc u m s ta n c e s of the book's p u b lic a tion. F o r in stan ce, so m any copies of Innocents A broad and Roughing It ^"T he 'F a k e ' T itle -p a g e of 'T he G ilded A ge': A Solution," P a p e r s of the B ib lio g rap h ical Society of A m e ric a , 50:292-296, 3rd Q uar. 1956. ^ Jaco b Blanck, "The G ilded Age: A C ollation," P u b lis h e r s ' W eekly, 138:186-188, July 20, 1940. 364 365 had been bootlegged th a t w ith The G ilded Age the A m e ric a n P u b lish in g Com pany changed policy. Instead of running the n am es of all th e ir agents on the title -p a g e . . . The books w e re . . . m ade up fo r each w h o lesale agent w ith only his own nam e and th a t of the A m e ric a n P u b lish in g Co. on th em . This m ade it an e a sy m a tte r to tr a c e a guilty agent. F u rth e rm o re , this f ir s t p o licy change m a y account fo r a second one. The title -p a g e s of Innocents A b ro ad and Roughing It had c a r r i e d the sta te m e n t "Issu ed by s u b sc rip tio n only, and not fo r sale in the book s to re s . R esid en ts of any sta te d e sirin g a copy should a d d re s s the p u b lis h e rs , and an agent w ill c a ll upon th e m ." In The G ilded Age this w as red u ce d to the sim ple p h ra s e "Sold by S u b scrip tio n Only." On the o th er hand, the e lim in atio n of the appeal to the p o ten tial buyer to a d d re s s the p u b lish e rs and the deletion of the p h ra s e "not fo r sale in the b o o k -s to re s " can be in te rp re te d as subtly inviting bootleg- 4 ging in o rd e r to in c re a s e to ta l sa le s or at le a s t as leaving the door f a rth e r a ja r fo r s e c r e t connivance on the p a r t 01 B liss. R easoning along such lin es, Jacob B lanck in a m o re re c e n t tre a tm e n t of the su b ject of fe r s the co n jectu re that the p u b lish e rs m a y have v iolated th e ir own injunction re g a rd in g 3W oodfield, PB SA , 50:293. 4 M uch uninvited bootlegging of the A m e ric a n P u b lish in g C om pa n y 's books w as c a r r ie d on, and The Gilded Age w as no exception. A c cording to B lanck (p. 188) " c e rta in agents sold copies to shops (at a cut ra te p ro fitab le to both agent and shop) but in o rd e r to avoid d etectio n in one case the o rig in al title -p a g e w as d eleted and an o th er p rin te d fro m types s im ila r to, but not the sa m e as, th a t of the p u b lish e r [ap p aren tly W oodfield's 'fa k e '--B .M .F .]. In th e se c a n c e l-title s the nam e of one of the illu s tra to rs , W hite, is om itted. In other in sta n ces ren eg ad e agents m e re ly cut th e ir nam e fro m the title -p a g e , thus leaving a re c ta n g u la r hole concealing the so u rc e of the book. . . . " 366 s a le s to bookshops and by m e an s of the v a ria n t title -p a g e hoped to e sc a p e d etectio n and at the sam e tim e throw su sp icio n on an agent. The v e ry s m a ll p e rc e n ta g e of additional p ro fit, how ever, th a t m ight have b een sq u eeze d out of a few h u n d red sm uggled copies would h a rd ly have se e m e d w o rth B lis s ' e ffo rt in an edition running to tens of thou sands and by no m e a n s w ould account fo r the la r g e - s c a le sw indling c laim e d by C lem ens. A sim p le, y et lo g ical explanation m ig h t be th a t the "fake" title - pages w e re tipped into copies intended fo r re v ie w e rs and th at w hen the p ub licatio n date w as changed to 1874, copies of the seco n d (1874) issu e w e re se n t to re v ie w e rs in ste a d and th o se containing the 187 3 title -p a g e u se d to fill o rd e rs re c e iv e d d ire c tly at H artfo rd . It m a y have been le s s expensive to tip th e se e x tra le av es into a few s c o re of an a lre a d y p rin te d f ir s t sig n a tu re b e a rin g the double im p rin t of the com pany and one of its agents th a n to m ake a s p e c ia l s h o rt ru n of the sig n atu re. 5 B ibliography of A m e ric a n L ite ra tu re (New Haven, 1957- ), II, 184, ite m 3357. A PP E N D IX A3 THE DATE OF THE BRITISH EDITION At the tim e th at The Gilded Age w as published, B ritis h copy rig h t could be s e c u re d only if a book w as issu e d f i r s t in the United Kingdom.'*' As the novel w as to be p ublished sim u ltan eo u sly in the United S tates and England, it w as im p o rtan t, th e re fo re , th at the A m e r i can edition should not com e out even one day b efo re the B ritish . The fact th at the sh eets w e re being p rin te d in H a rtfo rd and shipped to L on don fo r binding co n stitu ted som e m e a s u re of control. So anxious w as C lem ens, n e v e rth e le s s , that sim u ltan eo u s publication be a s s u r e d th at he w ro te E lish a B liss fro m London on July 16 asking him alw ays to send duplicate sh eets and c a sts of the p ic tu re s by su c c e ssiv e s te a m e rs so that if one se t w e re lo s t the B ritis h edition would not be held up. He adds: Be s u re to w rite on to Routledge and state as n e a rly as you can the exact day at w hich you can publish. Routledge w ill p ublish on that day or the day b efore. If you change the date of publication te le g ra p h Routledge. On the sa m e day he w ro te W a rn e r asking him to see th at the p lan for duplicates w as c a r r ie d out, adding: . . . don't le t a sh eet be c a r e le s s ly kept b ack fo r a w eek or two, sc a rin g a body to death w ith the idea th at it is lost; but have the sheets sent in th e ir re g u la r o rd e r faithfully. D on't w ait for a qu an tity, but send it rig h t along, sig n a tu re by sig n atu re. *See A ppendix A l. 367 368 F a r th e r on he say s, "if R outledge m a k e s a m ista k e in the publishing day 2 of B liss it m a y co st us our co p y rig h t." An announcem ent by Routledge in the London T im e s , T uesday, D ecem b er 23, 1873, s ta te s : "T his day is P u b lish ed , in 3 vols., cloth p ric e L I 5s. 6d., The G ilded Age: a Novel. By M a rk Tw ain and C h arles 4 W a rn e r." The announcem ent w as re p e a te d v e rb a tim the following day. A p re v io u s announcem ent in the sa m e n e w sp a p e r on T hursday, D ecem - 5 b e r 18, had said, "W ill be re a d y at all the lib r a r ie s on the 20th in s t.," a p re d ic tio n th a t coincides w ith the announcem ent in the D ecem b er 20 issu e of the A thenaeum (published e v e ry Saturday) th at the novel w as "Now re a d y ." The T im es announcem ent of T hursday, D ecem b er 18, w as re p e a te d v e rb a tim on F rid a y , D ecem b er 19, Saturday, D ecem b er 20, and, significantly, M onday, D ecem b er 22. The following Saturday, D e c e m b e r 27, the A thenaeum included the novel in its " L is t of New 7 B ooks," and the P u b lis h e r s 1 C irc u la r lis te d it u n d er "New W orks" g p u blished D ecem b er 18-31 in the issu e of D ecem b er 31. (The m o re selec tiv e m onthly B o o k seller ig n o red it.) O bviously, th e re fo re , a l i t e r a lly sim u ltan eo u s pub licatio n in the U nited States and E ngland w as e f fected, and the issu an ce in the two co u n tries o c c u rre d acc o rd in g to o plan, a p p a re n tly w ithin fo rty -e ig h t h o u rs. U npublished le tte r s in M o rse C ollection, Yale U n iv ersity L i b ra ry ; ty p e sc rip ts in M ark Tw ain P a p e r s , U n iv ersity of C alifo rn ia L i b ra ry , B erk eley . C opyright (7T) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Com pany. It w ill be re m e m b e re d th at C lem ens intended to do all of his p ro o fread in g in England. 3P . 12, col. 4. 4P. 12, col. 3. 5P. 8, col. 2. 6P. 825. 7P . 871. 8Pp. 1092, 1099. ^ The G ilded Age w as p u b lish ed in the U nited States "a day or 369 The foregoing facts c o r r e c t the following m isin fo rm a tio n in M e rle Jo h n so n 's B ib lio g rap h y : The E n g lish edition w as liste d in the P u b lis h e rs ' C irc u la r fo r June 16, 1874, s e v e ra l m onths a fte r A m e ric a n publication. It is d e s c rib e d as th re e volum es, 1873-1874, w hich n o ssib ly m e a n s th at the th re e volum es w e re sim u ltan e o u sly issu ed . ^ The im plied p u b licatio n date of June 16, 1874, though having no re la tio n w ith re a lity , has been acc e p te d as final by la te r in v e stig a to rs such as R o b ert M. R o d n ey .^ The th re e -v o lu m e edition w as the f i r s t B ritish edition, in crow n octavo, published in D ecem b er 1873, as d e sc rib e d above. The edition lis te d in the P u b lis h e rs ' C irc u la r fo r June 16, 1874, w as a second, le s s expensive one in duodecim o at tw elve shillings and 12 a p p e a re d u n d er the heading "New W orks P u b lish ed fro m June 1 to 15." It is d e s c rib e d in B lanck as "Cloth, le a th e r shelfback. A lso, p ic to ria l b o a rd s. two b efo re C h ris tm a s " (A lbert Bigelow P ain e, M a rk Twain: A B iography [New Y ork and London, 1912], II, 500). See above, page 4. The sta te m e n t in Jacob Blanck, B ibliography of A m e ric a n L it e r a tu re (New Haven, 1957- ), II, 185, item 3359, th at "A ccording to P C June 17, 1873, the London and the H a rtfo rd editions w e re to be i s sued sim u ltan e o u sly " a p p e a rs faulty. I have been unable to find any such announcem ent in th at or any other issu e of the P u b lis h e rs ' C ircular. ^ A B ibliography of the W orks of M a rk T w ain, rev . and enl. (New Y ork and London, 1935), p. 20. ^ " M a r k Tw ain in England; A Study of the E nglish C ritic ism of and A ttitude to w a rd M a rk Twain: 1867-1940," unpub. d iss. (Univ. of W is., 1945), p. 290. ^ 3 7 :3 9 . A lso see the E nglish C atalogue of Books (1872-1880, p. 468). ^11, 236, item 3606. The "shelfback" is th at p a r t of a book com pletely exposed to view on a shelf betw een other books; synonym ous w ith sp in e, backbone. A PP E N D IX B THE GILDED AGE MANUSCRIPT The p re s e n tly known extant p o rtio n s of holograph m a n u sc rip t of The Gilded Age a r e in six s e p a ra te d ep o sito ries: the W illard S. M o rse Collection, Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry , New Haven, C onnecticut; the H enry E. Huntington L ib ra ry , San M arino, C alifornia; the L illy C ollection of A m eric an a, Indiana U n iv ersity L ib ra ry , Bloom ington; the M ark Tw ain P a p e rs , U n iv ersity of C alifo rn ia L ib ra ry , B erkeley; the M a rk Twain L ib ra ry and M em o rial, H artfo rd , Connecticut; and the H enry W. and A lb ert A. B erg C ollection, New Y ork P ublic L ib ra ry . Of the six the M o rse C ollection contains the g re a te s t nu m b er of le av es, re p re s e n tin g som e 212 pages of final MS.'*' N ext in size is the group in the H untington L ib ra ry , w hich c o m p rise s the com plete ch ap ters XXIII, XXXIII (II:II), X L (II:IX), XLVIII (II:XVII), LV (ILXXIV), and LVII (II-.XXVI); ch ap ters XXXVII (II:VI) and LX (II:XXIX), com plete except fo r one page each; the 2 Appendix; and th re e se p a ra te p ag es. The L illy C ollection contains the *The actu al n u m b er of le av es is slightly g r e a te r than the n u m b e r of MS. p ages, fo r th e re a re s e v e ra l fra c tio n a lly n u m b e re d le av es, containing la te r additions, in te rs p e rs e d am ong the collection. ^ C o n tain ers HM 1315, HM 1312, HM 1309, HM 1318, HM 470, HM 1317, HM 1311, HM 1315, HM 1310, and HM 453 resp e c tiv e ly . The single pages a re C lem ens (h e re a fte r SLC) MS. page 29 and W arn er (h e re a fte r CDW) MS. pages 1449 and 1450. (F ig u res betw een p a re n th e ses in the te x t r e f e r to the ch ap ter n u m b e rs of Vol. II of the tw o -v o l um e edition of the novel in The W ritings of M ark Tw ain, A u th o r's 370 371 com plete C hapter XXXVI (II:V) plus one page fro m C hapter LVIII (II: 3 XXVII). In the M a rk Tw ain P a p e rs a r e s e v e ra l d is c a rd e d pages and unn u m b ered fra g m e n ts by both C lem ens and W arn e r and a tw o-page plot 4 outline by W a rn e r. In the M a rk Tw ain L ib ra ry and M e m o ria l (C lem - 5 e n s 1 H a rtfo rd re sid e n c e ) a re two C lem ens and th re e W a rn e r p ages. And in the B erg C ollection a re th re e m o re C lem ens pages and two of W a rn e r's Not only is the M o rse C ollection holding of G ilded Age m a n u s c rip t the la r g e s t but it also is the m o s t re v e a lin g in its deletions, em endations, and a lte ra tio n s of diction. Its nucleus c o n sists of '‘our com plete c h a p te rs (XXIV, XXVII, XXIX, XLIV [II:XIII]), two by C lem ens N ational E dition [New Y ork and London, 1907-1918], X and XI.) •2 See above, pp. 93-94. MS. page 1329 is p a ste d on the inside fro n t co v er of a M erle Johnson copy of the f i r s t A m e ric a n edition. On the flyleaf opposite is p en ciled the following note: "P age of m s s in W a r n e rs h a n d - - c o r r e c te d in M a rk Tw ains h a n d --th e only page known in w hich is shown M a rk 's su p e rv isio n of W a rn e r's m s s . A ppears pp. 527- 528 of the book as c o rre c te d . [Signed] M erle Johnson" (David A. R an dall, R a re Book L ib ra ria n , Indiana U niversity, in a le tte r to m e, Ja n u a ry 13, I960). ^ D isc a rd e d SLC pages 293, 305, 309, and 312 (see above, pp. 104, 91-92); d is c a rd e d CDW page n u m b e re d 25 (see above, p. 96); an u n n u m b ered SLC fra g m e n t and two u n n u m b e re d CDW fra g m e n ts (see above, pp. 94, 96); and CDW tw o-page outline (see above, pp. 95-96). All of th e se item s a r e in DeVoto file 137. -’SLC pages 143 and 742 (in file fo ld e rs M -C L -6 and M -C L -5 / M -W A -2 resp ectiv ely ); CDW pag es 316 and 317 (in M -C L -5/M -W A -2) and 714 (in D -W a 3). This co llectio n also contains two CDW pages of c h a ra c te r d e sc rip tio n s and a tw enty-page SLC ch ap ter outline p re p a re d for J. H am m ond T ru m b u ll (see A ppendix D2). 6SLC pages 110, 1070, and 1431; CDW pages 350 and 390. P a g e s 350 and 1070 a re in s e rte d in the B erg C ollection copy of The Gilded Age (John D. G ordan, C u ra to r, in a le tte r to m e, F e b ru a ry 3, 1960). 372 7 and two by W arn e r, plus five s e p a ra te p ages. It is a p a r t of the la rg e collection of M ark Tw ain w o rk s, m a n u sc rip ts, le tte r s , clippings, and c ritic is m a s se m b le d by the late W illard Sam uel M o rse and p re s e n te d to Yale U n iv ersity in 1942 by W alter F ra n c is and M ary E. D illingham Q F r e a r . Since the F r e a r gift, a c c re tio n s to the collection, chief of w hich (in G ilded Age m a te ria l) is the Blum gift, have so fa r added 114 9 pages. Though only about 1/3 of the m a n u sc rip t is contained in the c o m bined holdings of the six d e p o s ito r ie s - -431 out of 1459 page s ^ - - i t is, n M o rse C ollection (h e re a fte r M o rse), co n tain ers 10, 2, 11, 2, and 8 resp e c tiv e ly . C ontainer 10 includes the following holograph affi davit: "T his m a n u sc rip t is the o rig in al auto g rap h p r in te r s copy of chap te r 24th ’The G ilded A ge', published Dec. 1873 [Signed] W alter B liss Dec 3/1912." C ontainer 2 also has C le m en s' original draw ing of the fold-out ra ilro a d m ap in s e rte d in C hapter XXVII of the f ir s t edition (see above, p. 90, n. 16, and Appendix C). C ontainers 2, 10, and 11 a re bound volum es in w hich the co rresp o n d in g p rin te d c h a p te rs fro m the f ir s t A m e ric a n edition have been bound in following the MS. c h a p te rs. C ontainer 8 is also a bound volum e containing SLC MS. pages 137 and 139 and CDW MS. pages 136 and 138 follow ed by the p rin te d pages of C hapter VI of the f ir s t A m e ric a n edition, the co rresp o n d in g SLC lines u n d erlin ed in b la ck ink and the CDW lin es in re d ink. ®For a d e s c rip tio n of the e n tire M o rse C ollection ( F r e a r gift) see G ilbert M cCoy T ro x ell, "Sam uel L anghorne C lem ens, 1835-1910," The Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry G azette, 18:1-5, July 1943. ^The gift of M r. and M rs. W. R o b ert Blum in m e m o ry of W. R o b ert Blum, J r ., is r e f e r r e d to throughout this study as M orse, 12b. This boxed co n tain er holds only loose MS. leav es, a rra n g e d in n u m e ri cal o rd e r, and includes in addition to the la rg e Blum gift, a leaf fro m the G eorge Buell A lvord M e m o ria l C ollection (SLC page 4) and one (SLC page 306) re m o v e d fro m the A ldis copy of the f ir s t edition (gift of Owen F ra n k lin A ldis). (See also B ry an t M orey F ren ch , "The Gilded Age M a n u sc rip t," The Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry G azette, 35:35-41, July 1960.) l^ T h is to tal a p p e a rs to be c e rta in , fo r CDW page 1457 is w ithin two pages of the end of the book, m e a s u re d by W a rn e r's o v e r-a ll a v e r age of 1.8 MS. pages p e r p rin te d page of A u th o r's N ational E dition (see above, p. 101, n. 30). 373 fortunately, v e ry re p re s e n ta tiv e of the to tal m a n u sc rip t, extending fro m page 4 to page 1457. B esides the 11 com plete c h a p te rs and the 2 n e a rly com plete ones, th e re is o ver 2/3 of C hapter LIV (IT.XXIII), n e a rly 1/2 of C hapter XXV, and about 2/5 of C hapter XLV (II:XIV). Of the 63 ch ap te r s of the novel, 43 a re r e p re s e n te d by fro m 1 to 32 pages, 28 of them by 4 or m o re p ag es. The 11 com plete c h a p te rs constitute consecutive sequences of 61, 32, 23, 22, 20, 17, 15, and 7 p ages, and th e re a re b e sides consecutive sequences of 15 pages of C hapter LX (II:XXIX) and of 14 pages of C hapter LIV (ILXXIII), and 14 seq uences of fro m 3 to 10 pages. A nalyzed q u alitativ ely the extant m a n u s c rip t re v e a ls th re e s ig n ificant fa c ts. The f ir s t fact th at e m e rg e s is th a t W a rn e r's la te r ch ap te r s (those a fte r h is initial tw elve) w e re not assig n ed th e ir " a p p ro p ria te p la c e s " until the final collation; fo r W a rn e r habitually n u m b e re d his pages a fre s h w ith each ch ap ter, and his o rig in al folios re m a in on his pages, canceled, alongside the folios of the final collation. The second fact is th a t C lem ens shifted p o rtio n s of his own m a te ria l once or tw ice in advance of the final collation, fo r the pag es in som e of his c h a p te rs c a r r y an in te rm e d ia te se t of folios betw een the o rig in al s e t and the final sequence.'*''*' C le m en s' episodic m ethod len t itse lf to this kind of ^ T h e r e a re six se ts of o rig in al SLC folios: 1-399 (for ch ap ters I-XI); [1 -7?]8-478 (for c h a p te rs XXIV-XXV, XXVII-[XX'VIII], [XXX], XXXII-XXXVII, [XLIl]-X LIII, XLV); 1-28[29"53?]54-75 (for c h a p te rs LI- LII-[LIII], LVI); [l?]2 -8 [?]9 -2 3 (for C h ap ter LX); [1-18?]19 (for C hapter LXI); and [1 — 8?]9[10 — 19?] (for C hapter LXII). (N um erals in b ra c k e ts indicate m iss in g c h a p te rs and pages). C lem ens began n u m bering a fre s h w hen he re s u m e d his p a r t of the novel a fte r (W a rn e r's) C hapter XXIII and continued this second sequence of folios for his own c h a p te rs through C hapter XLV. A fter (W a rn e r's ) C h ap ter L, he began a th ird s e quence of folios, w hich la s te d ap p are n tly until (W a rn e r's) C hapter LVIII. 374 m a n eu v erin g if indeed it did not a ctu ally contribute to it; W a rn e r's g r e a te r se n se of continuity kept him m o re stead ily on a fo rw a rd p ath of plot developm ent. The th ird fa c t is th a t C le m e n s ' claim th a t he w asted a fa r g r e a te r n u m b e r of pages th an W a rn e r is com pletely borne out by the e v id e n c e .^ Both in a q uantitative and in a qu alitativ e an aly sis of the m a n u s c rip t the se ts of page folios a r e the m a g ic key. A pparently the authors n e v e r s a c rific e d a s c ra p of w ritte n m a te r ia l th at could in som e w ay be salvaged. M any tim e s , a half a le af or le s s containing u sab le tex t is p a ste d onto a f r e s h s h e e t and the w ritin g continued, the new, patch ed -u p le af being a ssig n e d a page n u m b e r. Or c o n v ersely , the lo w er p a r t of a le af is p a s te d onto a f r e s h u p p er p a r t w hen a re v is e d opening of a p a s sage o r a new tra n s itio n is called fo r. C onsequently, the p re s e n c e or C h ap ters LX, LXI, and LXII he n u m b e re d individually, in W a rn e r's fashion. T h e re is at p r e s e n t no in fo rm atio n on C hapters LIII and LVI. In term ed ia te SLC folio seq u en ce s occu r betw een the end of C hapter V and the beginning of C hapter XI (139-340), in C h ap ter XXXVI (132-149), and in C hapter L I (25-26). They re v e a l a d isc a rd in g of over 60 p ag es of the o rig in al MS. The o rig in al folios of C hapter XXXVI in d i cate th a t it at f i r s t a p p a re n tly cam e b efo re C hapter XXXII. Betw een the in te rm e d ia te se ts of folios and the final sequence th e re is a fu rth e r d isc a rd in g of pages w hich, w hen added to the d is c a r d ing th a t a p p e a rs betw een the o rig in al and final folios in sectio n s of MS. th at la c k an in te rm e d ia te stage, am ounts to m o re than 135 d isc a rd e d pages. (This to tal has been w eighted by the v e ry low n u m b er of pages a d d ed .) 12 In a sam pling of 284 SLC pag es the lo ss am ounts to 48 p e r cent. C le m e n s' a tte ste d lo s s of 300 pag es out of a th e o re tic a l to tal of a p p ro x im a te ly 1030--300 plus his half of the MS. (ca. 7 3 0 )--am o u n ts to 41 p e r cent. Not enough evidence e x ists re g a rd in g W a rn e r's w astag e to be significant. In four re p re s e n ta tiv e in sta n c e s of his d isc a rd in g or adding, the gain and lo ss about can cel one an o th er, and only two or th re e pages a re involved in any one instance. 375 absence of one folio in an o th erw ise unbroken sequence indicates the re la tiv e e a rlin e s s or la te n e s s of the m a te r ia l on a p a rtic u la r MS. page. W arn e r u se d violet ink, C lem ens black. W a' .. r 's o rig in al folios (by chapter) a re , th e re fo re , also violet, and C lem en s' o rig in al and in term ed iate folios (in seq uences tra n sc e n d in g ch ap ter divisions) a re black. But the folios of the final collation a re violet and in C lem en s' hand. Since C le m en s' o rig in al and in te rm e d ia te folios extended into th re e digits, he ap p are n tly b o rro w ed W a rn e r's pen for the te n -d a y s' "rev am p in g " in o rd e r to m ake the final collation p e rfe c tly c le a r by co l or c o n tra st. The good sen se of this is re a d ily a p p re c ia te d w hen one glances thro u g h the m a n u sc rip t: at le a s t two, often th re e , and so m e - 1 ' I tim e s even four folios ap p ea r on the sam e page. F o rtu n ately , the a u th o rs c o n siste n tly added th e ir new folios to the rig h t of the canceled ones, so the se ts of folios a re in sequence acco rd in g to th e ir o rd e r fro m left to right. Changes in c h ap ter n u m b erin g re v e a l nothing conclusive r e g a r d ing shifts of m a te ria l. F i r s t pag es a re extant fo r only 19 out of the 63 ch ap ters. The fact th at all of th e se f ir s t pages show at le a s t two sets of n u m b e rs b eco m es in sig n ifican t when it is re a liz e d th at they r e p r e sent only a co n siste n t m oving fo rw a rd by one digit of all c h a p te rs fro m 5 to 50. (A pparently addition or division of m a te ria l so m ew h ere before the fifth c h ap ter m ade this re n u m b e rin g n e c e ss a ry .) 13 The only a p p a re n t exception to this state is the sequence of pages fo r C lem en s' f i r s t five c h a p te rs, w hich c a r r ie s only one s e t of folios until next to the la s t page of C hapter V. A P P E N D IX C CO LO NEL SE L L E R S' RAILROAD M AP The im p ro v ise d m a p of the ra ilro a d , w hich Colonel S e lle rs lays out on his dining tab le w ith eating u te n sils and to ilet a rtic le s (Ch. XXVII), has to be v isu a liz e d by to d a y 's r e a d e r of The Gilded Age fro m the d etails of the C olonel's m onologue. In the o rig in al edition, how ever, an actu al folding m ap w as in s e rte d at this point as an illu stratio n . D raw n in pen and ink in C le m e n s' delightfully aw kw ard and a m a te u rish way, it is a lm o st as funny as the C olonel's own d escrip tio n . The Old and New review c o n sid e re d it the "m o st lu d icro u s of all" the co m ical fe a tu re s of the book. Who e lse [but M a rk Twain] would have so co n triv ed to m ix up civil engineering and a schedule of the table and to ile t fu rn itu re of a W e ste rn sp e c u la to r, A.D. 1873? In a thousand y e a rs , this cut w ill have im m en se a n tiq u a ria n value, like the paintings of u te n sils at P o m p eii. . . .• * ■ C lem ens had at f i r s t w ritte n only the b rie fe s t d e sc rip tio n for S e lle rs to speak, sketching in the m ap bit by b it betw een lin es as he w ent along. Then, evidently, the au th o rs felt m o re should be done w ith the draw ings and C lem ens re d re w them as one continuous illu stra tio n 19:387, M arch 1874. * ■ > ^MS. pages 621-623, in M o rse C ollection, Yale U n iv ersity L i b ra ry , New H aven, C onnecticut (h e re a fte r cited as M orse), C ontainer 2. 376 377 3 on a long sh eet of p a p e r. But w ith the draw ings elim in ated fro m b e tw een the lin es the text m u st have se e m e d som ew hat b a re and in ad e quate, fo r at this point in the m a n u s c rip t o ccu rs an in s e rt in W a rn e r's 4 hand filling out the v e rb a l d e sc rip tio n exactly as it is p rin ted . C onsid e rin g th a t in la te r editions the tip p e d -in folding m ap (an expensive item to m a n u fa ctu re) w as dropped, it is fo rtu n ate th at W arn e r, p ro b ab ly in clo se co n su ltatio n w ith C lem ens, w ro te out S e lle rs ' running c o m m e n ta ry in full. It is so w ell done that the r e a d e r can r e lis h the fun in the e p i sode w ithout benefit of illu stra tio n . ^This sh eet, m ade by p astin g two or th re e s m a lle r sh eets to g eth er, w as folded and in s e rte d in the MS. a fte r page 624 to indicate how it should o ccu r in the finished book. P ag e 624 ends: ". . . Now h e re you a re w ith your r a ilro a d com plete, and showing its continuation to H allelujah, and thence to C o rru p tio n v ille :" At the bottom of the page is the note: " (In se rt M ap.)" (M orse, 2). ^MS. page 622 1/2 (M orse, 2), w ritte n on re v e r s e of page 622. A n u m b er of p lace n am es have undergone change in m a n u sc rip t, the m o st notable being "H ogeye" to " B rim s to n e ," "G alilee" to "B abylon," and "C atgut" to "C atfish ," all of w hich m a y have been p a rtly d ictated by a d e s ire to avoid offense, and, m c s t in te re s tin g of all, "S ain t's R est" to " B e ls h a z z a r." "S ain t's R e s t," a nam e u se d p re v io u sly by P e tro le u m V. N asby (W alter F u lle r T ay lo r, The E conom ic Novel in A m e ric a [Chapel Hill, N .C., 1942], p. 127, n. 33), w as to be saved for the capital (Topeka) of the H ap p y -L an d -o f-C an a an (K ansas), hom e b ase of S enator D ilw orthy (see above, p. .118). A PP E N D IX D1 THE C H A PTER M OTTOES As one leafs through The Gilded A ge, the f i r s t thing th at a ttra c ts attention, a fte r the title -p a g e , is a tw o-line quotation in la rg e C hinese c h a ra c te rs p ro m in en tly displayed on the next rig h t-h a n d page, w h ere n o rm a lly the h a lf-title would ap p ear. F u rth e rm o re , at the head of each ch ap ter, d ire c tly below the c h ap ter n u m b er and title, ap p e a rs a q u o ta tion, a d iffere n t one fo r each of the s ix ty -th re e ch a p te rs, so m e tim e s in E nglish, M iddle E nglish, Old E nglish, or one of the re a d ily reco g n ized languages, such as F ren ch , G erm an, Spanish, Italian, Latin, and G reek, but m o re often than not in a language e n tire ly unknown to m o st re a d e rs . This unusual fe a tu re of the book did not escap e the notice of re v ie w e rs . In his Old and New review F re d P e rk in s , who m ay w ell have been in on the joke,'*' called sp ecia l attention to the "g ro tesq u e p aro d y on the m otto b u sin e ss": We stro n g ly su sp e ct that the w r ite r s m a y have p u rc h a s e d an a s s o rte d lot of sp a re m o tto es fro m M r. T rum bull, P ro f. W hitney, or som e of the other C onnecticut lin g u ists. T h ere u sed to be, in "H o rn e 's Introduction," or som e such book, a se t of sp ecim en s of the type u sed in the v ario u s tra n s la tio n s of the Bible, w hich we thought at f ir s t had been tra n s c rib e d ; but we m is s e d the B u rm ese p a ssa g e . But Old F ren ch , A nglo-Saxon, Ethiopic, E r s e , Syriac, a n cient M exican, B asque, R ussian, A rm enian, C hinese, S an scrit, and in p a rtic u la r Chinook and K anaka (which M r. C lem ens could furnish), ^ P e rk in s w as w ell acquainted w ith the Nook F a rm c irc le (see above, p. 26, n. 67). 378 379 N atick Indian, and o th er k in d red language (which M r. T ru m b u ll could fu rn ish ), and even E nglish, o ccu r to us. Still, if M e s s r s . C lem ens and W a rn e r, or e ith e r of them , do h ab itu ally study in th e se and all the other languages of th e ir m o tto es, we beg to apologize, and w ish them jo y .2 A cco rd in g to P ain e, the p u rp o se of the quotations w as "to excite 3 in te re s t and p o ssib ly to am u se the r e a d e r ," but it s e e m s obvious th a t the r e a l intent w as to add to the b u rle sq u e of c o n te m p o ra ry li te r a r y fash io n by a "p aro d y on the m o tto b u s in e s s " then p o pular and o v e r w orked. T h ere s e e m s also to have been a se c o n d a ry p u rp o se, th at of providing a lightly s a tiric running c o m m e n ta ry on the plot. In any event, the p u rp o se la rg e ly m i s c a r r ie d b eca u se the a u th o rs, evidently’ w anting to indulge in a p riv a te joke s h a re d only am ong the in itiated few or e lse hoping to e lic it in q u irie s fro m r e a d e rs , p ro v id ed no tra n sla tio n s. Not until the novel w as re p u b lish e d in the 1899 "au th o rized U niform E dition" of The W ritings of M ark Tw ain w as this o v ersig h t rectifie d , and by th a t tim e the tr ic k had lo st m u c h of its o rig in al v erv e. The m any -to n g u ed quotations w e re " se le c te d fo r th e ir a p p ro p ri- 4 a te n e s s " by a H a rtfo rd neighbor, J. H am m ond T ru m b u ll, "a m a rv e l of 5 lin g u istic lo r e ." who acc o rd in g to P a in e w as "the m o s t le a rn e d m a n 29:387, M a rc h 1874. ■^Albert Bigelow P ain e , M a rk Twain: A B iography (New York, 1912), II, 478. ^ " P u b lis h e r 's N ote," The G ilded A ge, I (The W ritings of M ark Tw ain, A u th o r's N ational E dition [New Y ork and London, 1907-1918J, X), ix. ^ C h a rle s W a rre n Stoddard, E xits and E n tra n c e s (Boston, 1903), p. 71. 380 th a t e v e r lived in H a rtfo rd " and who a cc o rd in g to C lem ens could sw e a r in tw e n ty -se v e n l a n g u a g e s . ^ T rum bull, one of the founders of the M on day Evening Club, w hich fig u re s so fre q u e n tly in Tw ain biography, w as an em in en t h isto ria n , b ib lio g rap h er, philologist, and au th o rity on Indian 7 c u ltu re s, and he p re p a re d the te x ts in black ink fo r re p ro d u c tio n w ith Q p ain stak in g c a re and im peccable a c c u ra c y . At the sam e tim e he p ro - 9 vided the tra n s la tio n s , m o stly his own, w hich w e re not u sed until 1899- To guide T ru m b u ll in his w ork, W a rn e r fu rn ish e d him w ith two pag es of c h a ra c te r d e sc rip tio n s and C lem ens w ith a tw enty-page synop sis of the novel.'*'® T hese notes a r e p re s e n te d h e re fo r the f i r s t tim e, as the second p a r t of this appendix. A c o m p a riso n of the contents of eac h ch ap ter, as outlined by C lem ens, w ith the re s u lta n t m otto w ill go fa r to w ard explaining the a p p a re n t w ant of good judgm ent in the choice 6P ain e , II, 478. 7 M ark T w ain-H ow ells L e tte rs , ed. H enry N ash Sm ith and W il lia m M. Gibson (C am bridge, M ass., I960), I, 120, n. 2; K enneth A n drew s, Nook F a rm , M a rk T w ain 's H a rtfo rd C irc le (C am bridge, M a ss., 1950), p. 256, n. 11. ®The o rig in al holo g rap h copy fo r the m ottoes is in a notebook in the M ark Twain L ib ra ry and M em o rial, H artford, C onnecticut, fo ld er S M -T R -1. ^In the M o rse C ollection, Yale U n iv ersity L ib ra ry , New Haven, C onnecticut (C lem ens 21) a r e the th irty -s e v e n sh eets of com plete copy for the tra n s la tio n s as they a re p u b lish ed in the 1899 edition. They w e re p re p a re d by p astin g on the ch ap ter n u m b er, w ritin g the ch ap ter title und ern eath , pastin g the p rin te d m otto (cut ap p are n tly fro m c o r re c te d proofs) below th is, and finally w ritin g the tra n sla tio n . ^®In M ark Tw ain L ib ra ry and M em o rial, fo ld e rs M -C L -4 and M -W A -1. At the top of W a rn e r's f i r s t page is the following note by T rum bull: "O utline of 'T he G ilded A g e '--th e f ir s t two pages in W a r n e r 's w riting, the o th e rs (1-20) by C lem en s. Sent to m e as a guide to the m o tto e s." 381 of m a te r ia l to be e m b le m a tiz e d in c e rta in c h a p te rs. T ru m b u ll evidently follow ed C le m e n s 'h a s ty outline, not the novel itself. Since C lem ens freq u en tly outlined su rfa c e plot ra th e r than m eaningful content, T r u m bull can h a rd ly be held e n tire ly re s p o n s ib le fo r not alw ays re a liz in g the full p o s sib ilitie s of a given ch ap ter. It m u s t be conceded, how ever, th a t w ithin the lim itatio n s of the outline his se le c tio n w as v e ry astu te, p a r tic u la rly in view of the difficulty of finding adequate quotable lin es fro m the le s s extensive e s o te ric lite r a tu r e s . A P P E N D IX D2 THE OUTLINE OF THE GILDED AGE C h a ra c te r d e sc rip tio n s by Warner:'*' Col. E sch o l S e lle rs is a gen tlem an of kindly n a tu re , w hose im agination ru n s aw ay w ith him , and m a k e s him a conspicuous exam ple of an A m e ric a n v isio n a ry , who h as the pow er of illum inating his p r e s e n t p o v e rty w ith g lo rio u s ex p ectatio n s. His u n tru th fu ln ess is th at of the im agination and not of the h e a rt. W ashington Hawkins is an inventive, inefficient, lo o s e -jo in te d [?] fellow, who lives alw ays in the ex p ectatio n of a g re a t fortune in the T e n n e sse e Lands left by his fath e r. A bner D illw orthy [sic] is a sm ooth S enator, p ro fe s sin g p iety and all v irtu e s , and deep in all su bsidy and o th er sc h e m e s, w hose final e ffo rt to buy h is r e - e le c tio n is exposed. L a u ra H aw kins. A lovely g irl, beautiful w om an som ew hat a c co m p lish ed by reading, b e tra y e d by Col. Selby, b ecom es an e x p e r i m e n te r on m e n 's h e a r ts , a lob b y ist and fin ally k ills Selby, and is tr ie d fo r the m u r d e r and acquitted. H a rry B r ie rly is an a cc o m p lish e d young g ood-for-nothing, g en e ro u s, in s in c e re and full of la rg e p ro je c ts . P h ilip S terling. F ine young fellow , truthful, p lu c k y --th e av era g e young A m e ric a n of good b reed in g and good habits. Ruth Bolton. Q uaker g irl. Quiet, d e term in e d , sp irite d . A s tu dent of m ed icin e. F in ally m a r r i e s P hilip. 2 Synopsis outline by C lem ens: Chap. 1. Scene in Obedstown, E a s t T en n e ssee . S quire Hawkins p u rc h a s e s 75,000 a c re s w ild land as a fu tu re fortune fo r his c h il d ren . S ta rts w ith his fa m ily fo r M isso u ri. Chap. 2. F u n e ra l of a p oor w om an. A doption of h e r son Clay by the Hawkins e s . ^ M ark Tw ain L ib r a r y and M e m o ria l, H artfo rd , C onnecticut, fo ld er M -W A -1 (see A ppendix D l). ^ M a rk Tw ain L ib ra ry , fo ld er M -C L -4 . C opyright (c) 1961 by the M a rk Tw ain Company. 382 383 Chap. 3. Banks of the M is sissip p i. Night sp ecta cle of f i r s t s te a m boat. P r a y e r of old n egro, Uncle D an'l, in behalf of the children. Chap. 4. Jo u rn ey on M is s is sip p i boat. (B o reas.) N a rra tiv e of b o a t-ra c e . E xplosion of the A m aranth. Chap. 5. R esult of explosion, the adoption of L a u ra Van B runt, a child found, by H aw kinses. A rriv a l at M urphysburg, Mo., & in tro duction of Col. E sch o l S e lle rs fk fam ily. Ups & downs of Hawkins & S e lle rs. Chap. 6. Skip 10 y e a rs . L a u ra p ic tu re d at 12. P o v erty . Hawkins re fu se s la rg e offer fo r Tenn. Land. Clay a r r iv e s w ith his earnings & helps them out. Chap. 7. W ashington Hawkins goes to S e lle rs at Hawkeye. Scene of c a n d le -w a rm e d stove & re m a rk a b le clock fo r continuous strik in g . /8. Supper. S e lle rs unfolds C orn, P o rk , Banking & E y e -w a te r sch em e s. Gets W ashington a situ atio n as c le rk in Gen. B osw ell's r e a l e sta te office. Chap. 10. M aj. L ackland d ie s. L a u ra finds le tte r s am ong Judge H aw kins's p a p e rs w hich re v e a l th at he w as not h e r fath e r. - - E ffect of gossip of the village upon h e r. Chap. 11. W ashington dines w ith S e lle rs on tu rn ip s & w a te r. P len ty high talk, though. The plague p rev en tiv e. Chap. 12. Introduction of P hilip S terling & H a rry B rie rly , p re p a rin g to go to M is so u ri in a r a ilro a d operation. Chap. 13. A rriv a l of S. & B. in St Louis & m eetin g w ith S e lle rs. Chap. 14. Introduction of Ruth Bolton, P h ilip 's sw eeth eart, & h e r fam ily, in P hiladelphia, & the firm of P en n y b ack er, B igler & Sm all, railw a y sp e c u la to rs. Chap. 15. Ruth attends m e d ic a l college. Night scene in d issectin g room . Chap. 16. P hilip & H a rry go inland as en g in eers on the Salt L ick P a c ific E xtension, w ith Jeff Thom pson. Goose Run (Colum bus River), Stone's Landing (Napoleon). Schem e of B rie rly & S e lle rs to im prove the navigation & build up the town. Chap. 17. C ontinuation of railw ay . A rriv a l of Survey at Stone's Landing. D escrip tio n of the town & riv e r. S e lle rs & H a rry plan the town on p a p e r & p ro p o se ap p ro p ria tio n fro m C ongress to im prove navigation. Chap. 17-1-/2 18 In terv a l of s e v e ra l y e a rs & m o ck m a rria g e of L a u ra Hawkins w ith Col. Selby. 384 Chap. 18 & 19. Chap. 18. 19- B rie rly a t Hawkeye. His flirta tio n w ith L au ra . (Chap. 19.) V isit of Senator D ilw orthy to Hawkeye. T akes an in te r e s t in the Hawkins fam ily & the navigation schem e. - - R eception & sp eech of Dil. Chap. 21. Ruth attends school at F alk ill. Introduction of A lice M ontague. Chap. 22. V isit of P h ilip & H a rry to F allk ill. Chap. 23. P h ilip goes to New Y ork fk H a rry to W ashington--the l a t te r on Colum bus R iv er S lac k -W ater N avigation schem e. Chap. 23. A rriv a l of W ashington Hawkins in W ashington. [24] D e s c rip tio n of the city. D ilw orthy. P r o g r e s s of a p p ro p ria tio n schem e. Chap. 25. A p p ro p riatio n su ccee d s. S e lle rs & H a rry go to w o rk at Napoleon. No funds. B re a k up in a rio t. S e lle rs quells it. Chap. 26. Ruth re tu rn s hom e. In creasin g e m b a rra s s m e n t of M r. B olton's b u sin ess a ffa irs. Ruth re s u m e s m e d ical studies. Chap. 27. S e lle rs explains, m ap s out 8i illu s tra te s his Salt L ick r a i l w ay to h is wife. Chap. 28. H a r r y 's interview w ith P re s id e n t of the N avigation Co in N.Y., & le a rn s how a p p ro p ria tio n bills a re got through & w hat b e com es of the m oney. Stone's Landing "goes up." Chap. 29. P hilip goes to Ilium P a ., to exam ine B olton's w ild coal lands. - - T h ra sh e s a railw a y conductor. Chap. 30. L a u ra & S e lle rs go to W ashington upon D ilw orthy's in v ita tion. Chap. 31. In P h ila d elp h ia P hilip b re a k s his a rm . P r o g r e s s of his love affair. H a rry goes to W ashington. Chap. 32. L a u ra 's b rillia n t su c c e ss in W ashington Society. Chap. 33. L a u ra v isite d by the 3 A ris to c ra c ie s . M rs. Gen. F u lk e- F u lk e rs o n fk daughter. Hon. M rs. O liver Higgins; Hon. M rs. P a triq u e O reille fk B ridget; M rs. P e te r Gashly, M iss G ashly, M iss E m m elin e G ashly. H isto ry of the O reille fk the other fam ilies; Con v e rs a tio n on p et dogs. Chap. 34. In c re a se of L a u ra 's fashionable reputation. W h isp ers of Tenn. Land sch em e fk of h e r being a lobbyist. W ashington's advent as a b rig h t light in society. 385 Chap. 35. L a u ra r e p o rts p r o g r e s s to D ilw orthy on Land Bill. S ena to r Balloon. T alk of S e lle rs & H icks on p o litic s. Chap. 36. L a u r a 's ta lk w ith b o o k sto re clerk . Chap. 37. L a u ra 's in terv iew w ith C o n g re ssm a n B uckstone. Love p a ssa g e . Chap. 38. L a u ra d is c o v e rs Col. Selby at a recep tio n . Chap. 39. H er in terv iew w ith Selby. F a lls in love w ith him again. W ants him to div o rce or d e s e r t his wife. Chap. 40. Col. S e lle r s 's expansion in the congenial a ir of W ashing ton. P r o g r e s s of the lobby sc h e m e s. Chap. 41. H a r r y 's je a lo u sy of L a u ra . W ants P hilip to com e on. P h il's co n v alescen ce & p r o g r e s s in love affair. Goes to W ashington. Chap. 42. B uckstone & L a u ra co n sp ire ag ain st C o n g re ssm a n T r o l lop. The in erview . L a u ra p ro d u ces the m iss in g fra g m e n t of T r o l lo p 's sp eech in h e r own handw riting 8 * he a g re e s to vote & w o rk if she w ill be silent. She r e p o rts r e s u lts to Dilw orthy. Chap. 43. N otice given of the Knobs In d u strial U n iv ersity of E a s t T en n e ssee bill. E x c ite m e n t about it. All n ew sp ap ers c la m o r a g ain st it. Chap. 44. P hilip in terv iew s L au ra . T rie s to m ake h e r u n fetter H a rry . Chap. 45. E xciting night se s sio n in the H ouse. U n iv ersity Bill crow ded through. Chap. 46. L a u ra 's flight w ith B rie rly in p u rs u it of Col. Selby. P hilip follow s. L a u ra m u rd e rs Selby. A r r e s t of Laura. & H a rry . Selby's dying deposition. N ew sp ap er re p o rts of the m u rd e r. Chap. 47. P h il, gets H a rry out of p riso n . E d ito ria l com m ents on the m u rd e r. S e lle rs & W ashington Hawkins v isit L a u ra . M rs. N ancy Hawkins com es also . L a u ra indicted. P h il goes to Ilium; tak es H a rry along. Chap. 48. B olton's in c re a s e d e m b a r r a s s m e n t through P en n ib a c k e r [sic], B igler Ik Sm all. Love p a s sa g e . P hilip still w orking at the coal m ine. Chap. 49. S trik es coal! Inform s the Boltons, who feel a te m p o ra ry relief. T u rn s out to be no v e in --o n ly a w o rth le ss seam . F a ilu re of M r. Bolton. P h ilip buys the Ilium p ro p e rty at auction. 386 Chap. 50. R esum e of the bad fix into w hich everybody & everything connected w ith this h is to ry has got. P hil, v isits Squire M ontague, who helps him w ith a loan. Love p a ssa g e w ith Ruth in P h ila d e l-- a fte r which, P h il r e tu rn s to the m ine. Chap. 51. S e lle rs & W ashington d isc u ss C o n g ressio n al " p re lim i n a r ie s ." S e lle rs h u rt by a p o litic al suggestion of W ashington's. Chap. 52. W ashington develops as a M o ral A lly of D ilw orthy & f o r sak es the b u tterfly life of fashion. Chap. 53. D ilw orthy goes w e st to the H ap p y -L an d -o f-C an aan to look a fte r re -e le c tio n , at S ain t's R est. M akes Sunday School speech at C attleville. M eets Noble. Chap. 54. L a u r a 's tr i a l for m u rd e r. L e a th e r-h e a d e d ju ry e m p a n eled. Judge O 'Shaunnessy. Chap. 55. E x am in atio n of w itn e ss e s fo r p ro secu tio n . Speech of D ist. Atty. M cFlynn. Opening sp eech of M r. B rah am for defence. W rangle about insanity plea. Chap. 56. M rs . Hawkins & W ashington te stify - - also S e lle rs. W hile la w y ers & Judge squabble over a tech n icality , Col. S e lle rs gets in a w o rd to the ju ry . C losing sp eech e s, charge, & ju ry r e tir e . Chap. 57. S e lle rs W ashington at the capital, aw aiting news of the tr i a l fk D ilw orthy's election. T e le g ra m s a rriv in g e v e ry m om ent. Noble b e tra y s D ilw orthy - - electio n lo st. The news re a c h e s the Sen ate while 3d read in g of U n iv ersity bill is up--fk so th at is killed. L a u ra acquitted. (Enough fun for one afternoon.) Chap. 58. B ringing in of the v e rd ic t fk k issin g of B rah am . L a u ra leav es co u rt room but is not tak en to the State H ospital for C rim in a l L unatics. Interview of le c tu re agent w ith L a u ra . P h ilip stick s to his m ine. - - P a rtin g of L a u ra & m o th e r. Chap. 59. U.S. Senate tr ie s Noble fo r try in g to take a b rib e fro m D ilw orthy. Scene fk Evidence before C om m ittee. S peeches on C om m itte e 's re p o rt. No action. D ilw orthy approved by his own Con science fk co n stitu en ts. Ovation te n d ered . L a s t vote is fo r s a la ry steal. Chap. 60. L a u ra attem p ts to le c tu re . A ss a ile d by m ob. H er death. Chap. 61. Clay Hawkins re tu rn s . W ashington te a r s up tax bill fk r e fu ses to ch ase the T en n e ssee Land lo n g e r. W ill go hom e, m a r r y L ouise fk s ta r t life anew. So w ill S e lle r s -- h e m eans to tack le the law & becom e Chief Ju stic e U.S. T alk about the h a ir trunk. They leave for Hawkeye. 387 Chap. 62. P h il down to h is la s t cent. The m in e rs put in a p artin g b la st fo r him . He fin ally m in es alone. "If he could only s trik e th at one infallible sign!" P u ts in his la s t b la s t & re s o lv e s to quit m ining fo re v e r. D on't even go into tunnel to see w hat the b la s t a c c o m p lished. Sits down outside. T hrow s coat on ground. By & bye picks it u p --fin d s it wet! So he h a s s tru c k the infallible s ig n -- running w a te r. D evelops a g r e a t coal m ine. T e le g ra m stating R uth's d an g erous illn e ss. Chap. 63. P h il flie s to P h ila d elp h ia, n u rs e s Ruth b ack to life - - the Bolton fo rtu n e s com e up. G en eral b lissfu l ending. 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Asset Metadata

Creator French, Bryant Morey (author)

Core Title A Critical Study Of Twain'S 'The Gilded Age'

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program English

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Literature, General,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format dissertations (aat)

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor [Purcell, James N., Jr.] (committee chair), Kooker, Arthur R. (committee member), Lecky, Eleazer (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-550205

Unique identifier UC11363123

Identifier 7206053.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-550205 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 7206053

Dmrecord 550205

Document Type Dissertation

Format dissertations (aat)

Rights French, Bryant Morey

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA