THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
MARK TWAIN
Part 111. A Tribute to His Wife and Daughter
T. : ' >W will be the thirty-sixth anni
>f our marriage My .-.::•_■ passed
life ■:■■■ ye ir and eight m
ago, i] rence, Italy, a:*- ~ m unbr >ken ness cJ
tweni ■ nths' duratioi [Mr ■.m ns died
■
I r firsi in tl : - fan iv -rv miniature
■ ■ - ■ .• .• tate room in the s1
: :r. the Bay iSi ma, in the vj
:: ■ ■ '.■ wls in her 1 nd year I
:.■''• flesh for the fir I I ime in N< w York in
flje : ■.' \> ■ ■■■ - She v.as slender and
girlish— she was b >th fjirl and
n m line : both girl and w man to the
lasl - life. Under a grave and gentle ex
terior L inext og i hable fires of sympathy,
cneq >n, enthusiasm, and absolutely limit-
She was always fra.! in '•>••!■■" ai i
n her spirit.
and
■ : , truct
• truth, per
• :• rfc t can
ties of her
bich were
:• ■• ■
Hi • •ni of pc •-
ngs were sui
tnd rate. Her ii
tuiti .•:, • :.•
'- • In her
of the eh v
; -- '■ ts of b ■•'
-' ■ I strangers
-]■■•■-. :
■■ rity, :.i^d thi
'•■ ■-• • - : lilt I I
I red and con
r with hun
dre^: • -. . and my
□ remains that
■ ■ ■ .•■ mo • pei -
: ■ .' ter I have
And I may
'- ■ - he was the
: ■ ' ■ dignified
> • i :. .-.■■ «••.-. ■
'• : Her character
-•: a were "f
il not only in-
I iut c im»
■ rvant
- • rvi •• who
remain in it.
•'■ : • ■.' I boose
. c of Lor eye,
be .<■'.'■■ ted
tost all ca •
remain, and
remain She
i beerful, and
always able to
c her cheer*
'^'■■■- Lhers. During
t:;t ' nn •■ years that we
•pent :. poverty and
•■■ i . always able
•- ■ • oui of my
■ r , and find a bright side to th< uds, and
; cc it. Ii all that time I never knew her
1 : I ■: regret concerning ' ■ iltered cir
■ ■ . nor did 1 ever know her i hildren I ■ do
Pot she had taught them, and they drew
■ ■ ■ ide from her. The k>ve which she be
■ - ■.. tho .>• whom s!:e loved took the form <>i
■*** hip, and :r. that form it war, returned — returned
, friend . and the servants <-f her house
'■ l sti mg< - : ' 'in .• . a which wrought into
'■ : ' ndual, so to :]»-.ik, \>y marriage, her dis
- md character, av.-\ r:;:rn-. She poured out
■ iigal affections in kisses and care c and
• ■ ibulary <>i endearments wh >se profusion
■ • Jways an a tonishment to me. I was born
to endearments of speech and caress« > s,
■ ' ■ broke u{*m me a-, the summer waves break
vIu I / ' r - Gibraltar. i wa r.-.,r<-.l in that atmosphere
' J i reserve. A* I have already said in an >ther chap
■■| ■ .
■ ■ ■ ■
...
■ .
■ • ■ . I l girl r ime
I rd it for th<
■
Led
The Honeymoon
Ti >-M< >RR< t\V will ' f " '
ver ar\". We wen i n I in her I
I train to B i ' ■ .
>.i.»\. Mrs. Clemens. »nU CUra: Taken in IMTH
.1 »n family.and
We were I
where I was to be one of the editors of
Buffalo Expn ." and . ncr of 1
paper. I ; but I had
. ■ hold arrange ■ e thi
i . letter. 1 had
.ust- of a^ re ;pe< table a ■
i editor woul I
■ ' tation in Buffal ■.
■ nto sevei ■ >ver
Amei it seemed 1
• he «.•■ irnei
re were, — I
zing that friend of mine in verj un< i
apparent!) had n<> definite local I
Hut there was :i conspiracy, — and my bride knew
<.f it, but 1 was in ignorance. ll<-r father, Jervis
i >n, had boug! I
fi ■- • the fa ■. . '.■■ ■ ■ ■ Del •.• . and
had laid in a cook and 1 ■ • iid . . i .. md
electric young . n • m Iri hman, Patrick
McAleer, and ■■■■• were being driven all uver that
city in order thai ne leighful >f those pc p!e ■-.! :
h ive • ::■■• to go to i ' ■ nd see thai the gas
was lighted all ■■■■■• I .-. : . tot supper prepared
fur the rrnwii. We an • i .• ! i • an I when I en
tered that fairy pla c n in lignati >n rea hed :.r^!:
water mark, and wii i v . re erve I delivered
my opini nto that frii c for 1 ■.; tuptd
as to {''.:: ■: mi • a b nI ng house wl I •
would be far ■•;• r>f my r--.i h Then Mi Langdon
..... a v<:v prettj b \ and opened it,
and took from it a deed »f the house Sothecoi I
ended very pleasantly, md we v d ■•■•■■ I • -!;';»-i
The company leparted at* vi i In . •.•. and left
•: alone in ... |uarter Then Bllen the >"i.
came in to get ordei I i
the mi irning's market n^
— an! neither of v-> knew
whether beefsteak was
sold by the barrel or b)
the yard We expose i
our ignorance, and Ellen
was full ■; Irish delight
over it. Patrick M
Aleer, that brisk young
Irishman, came in to get
his orders for next day
and thai was "iir fir
glimpse of him.
Susy Clemens*! Sad End
OUR fir,! child. Lang
don Clemens, was
born the seventh of No
vember, 1870, and lived
twenty-two ■ inths
Susy was !>'irn the nine
teenth of March, 1872
and passed from lift- in
the Hartford home, the
eighteenth of Aug I
is.,ii. \V:th her, when
the end cam< were Jean
and Kat y Leary, an 1
John and Ellen (the .' ir
dener an I his ■ •
Clara and her m >t her an 1
i arrived in England
from around the world
on tiic thirty-first ol
July, and took a house
in Guildford. A week
later, when Susy, Katy,
and Jean should have
been arriving from Amer
tea, we got a letter in
stead.
It explained that Susy
was slightly ill — nothing
of consequence. But we
were disquieted, and be
gan to cable for latei
news. Tliis was Friday.
All day no answer an i
the ship t'> leave South
ampton next day, at noon. Clara and her mother
began packing, to lit.- ready in cast- the news should
be bad. Finall; came a cablegram saying, "Wait
for cablegram in the morning." .This was not satis
factory — not reassuring. 1 cabled again, asking
thai the answer be sent to Southampton, for the day
was now closing. I watted in the post office that
night till the doors were closed, toward midnight, in
the hope that good news might still come; but there
was no message. We sat .silent at home till one in
the morning, waiting— waiting for we knew not
what. Then we took the earliest morning train,
and when we reached Southampton the message
wa> there. It said the recovery would be long but
certain. This was a great relief to me: bui not t->
my wife. She was frightened She and Clara went
aboard the steamer at once and sailed for America
to nurse Susy. 1 remained behind to search for a
larger house in Guildford.
That wa s the fifteenth of Augusi 1896 Three