第29章

AdepartmentintheSt。NicholasMagazineofferedaprizeforacaricaturedrawingofsomewell—knownman。Therewereoneortwoofcertainprominentpoliticiansandcapitalists，andtherewasliterallyawheelbarrowloadofMarkTwain。Whenhewasinformedofthishewrote：

"Notributecouldhavepleasedmemorethanthat——thefriendshipofthechildren。"

Tributescametohiminmanyforms。InhisnativeStateitwasproposedtoformaMarkTwainAssociation，withheadquartersatHannibal，withtheimmediatepurposeofhavingaweeksetapartattheSt。LouisWorld’sFair，tobecalledtheMarkTwainweek，withaspecialMarkTwainday，onwhichanationalliteraryconventionwouldbeheld。Butwhenhisconsentwasasked，andhisco—operationinvited，hewrotecharacteristically：

Itisindeedahighcomplimentwhichyouofferme，innaminganassociationaftermeandinproposingthesettingapartofaMarkTwaindayatthegreatSt。LouisFair，butsuchcomplimentsarenotproperfortheliving；theyareproperandsafeforthedeadonly。Ivaluetheimpulsewhichmovesyoutotendermethesehonors。Ivalueitashighlyasanyonecan，andamgratefulforit，butIshouldstandinasortofterrorofthehonorsthemselves。Solongasweremainalivewearenotsafefromdoingthingswhich，howeverrighteouslyandhonorablyintended，canwreckourreputeandextinguishourfriendships。

IhopethatnosocietywillbenamedformewhileIamstillalive，forI

mightatsometimeorotherdosomethingwhichwouldcauseitsmemberstoregrethavingdonemethathonor。AfterIshallhavejoinedthedeadI

shallfollowthecustomofthosepeople，andbeguiltyofnoconductthatcanwoundanyfriend；butuntilthattimeshallcomeIshallbeadoubtfulquantity，liketherestofourrace。

Thecommittee，stillhopingforhisconsent，againappealedtohim。Butagainhewrote：

WhileIamdeeplytouchedbythedesireofmyfriendsofHannibaltoconferthesegreathonorsuponmeImuststillforbeartoacceptthem。

Spontaneousandunpremeditatedhonors，likethosewhichcametomeatHannibal，Columbia，St。Louis，andatthevillagestationsalldowntheline，arebeyondallpriceandareatreasureforlifeinthememory，fortheyareafreegiftoutoftheheartandtheycomewithoutsolicitation；

butIamaMissourian，andsoIshrinkfromdistinctionswhichhavetobearrangedbeforehandandwithmyprivity，forIthenbecomeapartytomyownexalting。Iamhumanlyfondofhonorsthathappen，butcharyofthosethatcomebycanvassandintention。

Somewhatlaterhesuggestedadifferentfeatureforthefair；onethatwasnotpractical，perhaps，butwhichcertainlywouldhavearousedinterest——thatistosay，anold—fashionedsix—daysteamboat—racefromNewOrleanstoSt。Louis，withtheold—fashionedaccessories，suchastorch—baskets，forecastlecrowdsofnegrosingers，withanegroonthesafety—valve。InhislettertoPresidentFrancishesaid：

Astoparticulars，Ithinkthattheraceshouldbeagenuinereproductionoftheold—timerace，notjustanimitationofit，andthatitshouldcoverthewholecourse。IthinktheboatsshouldbeginthetripatNewOrleans，andsidebyside(notanintervalbetween)，andenditatNorthSt。Louis，amileortwoabovetheBigMound。

InasubsequentlettertoGovernorFrancishewrote：

IthasbeenadearwishofminetoexhibitmyselfatthegreatFair&getaprize，butcircumstancesbeyondmycontrolhaveinterfered……

Isupposeyouwillgetaprize，becauseyouhavecreatedthemostprodigiousFairtheplanethaseverseen。Verywell，youhaveindeedearnedit，andwithitthegratitudeoftheStateandthenation。

Newspapermenusedeveryinducementtogetinterviewsfromhim。Theyinvitedhimtonameapriceforanytimehecouldgivethem，longorshort。Onereporterofferedhimfivehundreddollarsforatwo—hourtalk。Anotherproposedtopayhimonehundreddollarsaweekforaquarterofadayeachweek，allowinghimtodiscussanysubjecthepleased。Onewroteaskinghimtwoquestions：thefirst，"YourfavoritemethodofescapingfromIndians"；thesecond，"YourfavoritemethodofescapingcapturebytheIndianswhentheywereinpursuitofyou。"Theyinquiredastohisfavoritecopy—bookmaxim；astowhatheconsideredmostimportanttoayoungman’ssuccess；hisdefinitionofagentleman。

Theywishedtoknowhisplanforthesettlementoflabortroubles。Buttheydidnotawakenhisinterest，orhiscupidity。Tooneapplicanthewrote：

No，therearetemptationsagainstwhichwearefire—proof。Yourpropositionisonewhichcomestomewithconsiderablefrequency，butitnevertemptsme。Thepriceisn’ttheobjection；youofferplenty。Itisthenatureoftheworkthatistheobjection——akindofworkwhichI

couldnotdowellenoughtosatisfyme。Tomultiplythepricebytwentywouldnotenablemetodotheworktomysatisfaction，&byconsequencewouldmakenoimpressionuponme。

OnceheallowedhimselftobeinterviewedfortheHerald，whenfromMr。

Rogers’syachthehadwatchedSirThomasLipton’sShamrockgodowntodefeat；butthiswasasubjectwhichappealedtohim——akindofhotweathersubject——andhecouldbeaslight—mindedaboutitashechose。

CCXXXIX

THELASTSUMMERATELMIRA

TheClemenseswerepreparingtotakeupresidenceinFlorence，Italy。

TheHartfordhousehadbeensoldinMay，endingforevertheassociationwiththecitythathadsolongbeenapartoftheirlives。TheTarrytownplace，whichtheyhadneveroccupied，theyalsoagreedtosell，foritwasthebeliefnowthatMrs。Clemens’shealthwouldnevergreatlyprosperthere。Howellssays，oratleastimplies，thattheyexpectedtheirremovaltoFlorencetobefinal。Hetellsus，too，ofonesunnyafternoonwhenheandClemenssatonthegrassbeforethemansionatRiverdale，afterMrs。Clemenshadsomewhatimproved，andhowthey"lookeduptowardabalconywherebyandbythatlovelypresencemadeitselfvisible，asifithadstoopedtherefromacloud。Ahandfraillywavedahandkerchief；Clemensranoverthelawntowardit，callingtenderly。"ItwasagreetingtoHowellsthelasthewouldeverreceivefromher。

Mrs。ClemenswasabletomakeatriptoElmirabytheendofJune，andonthe1stofJulyMr。RogersbroughtClemensandhiswifedowntheriveronhisyachttotheLackawannapier，andtheyreachedQuarryFarmthatevening。Sheimprovedinthequietudeandrestfulnessofthatbelovedplace。ThreeweekslaterClemenswrotetoTwichell：

Livyiscomingalong：eatswell，sleepssome，ismostlyverygay，notveryoftendepressed；spendsalldayontheporch，sleepsthereapartofthenight；makesexcursionsincarriage&inwheel—chair；&，inthematterofsuperintendingeverything&everybody，hasresumedbusinessattheoldstand。

Duringthreepeacefulmonthsshespentmostofherdaysrecliningonthewideveranda，surroundedbythosedearesttoher，andlookingoutonthedreamlikelandscape——thelong，grassyslope，thedrowsycity，andthedistanthills——gettingstrengthforthefarjourneybysea。Clemensdidsomewriting，occupyingtheoldoctagonalstudy——shutinnowandovergrownwithvines——whereduringthethirtyyearssinceitwasbuiltsomanyofhisstorieshadbeenwritten。’ADog’sTale’——thatpatheticanti—vivisectionstory——appearstohavebeenthelastmanuscriptevercompletedinthespotconsecratedbyHuckandTom，andbyTomCantythePauperandthelittlewanderingPrince。

ItwasOctober5thwhentheyleftElmira。TwodaysearlierClemenshadwritteninhisnote—book：

TodayIplacedflowersonSusy’sgrave——forthelasttimeprobably——

&readwords：

"Good—night，dearheart，good—night。"

TheydidnotreturntoRiverdale，butwenttotheHotelGrosvenorfortheinterveningweeks。TheyhadengagedpassageforItalyonthePrincessIrene，whichwouldsailonthe24th。ItwasduringtheperiodoftheirwaitingthatClemensconcludedhisfinalHarpercontract。Onthatday，inhisnote—book，hewrote：

THEPROPHECY

In1895Cheirothepalmistexaminedmyhand&saidthatinmy68thyear(1903)Iwouldbecomesuddenlyrich。Iwasabankrupt&$94，000indebtatthetimethroughthefailureofCharlesL。Webster&Co。Twoyearslater——inLondon——Cheirorepeatedthislong—distanceprediction，&addedthatthericheswouldcomefromaquiteunexpectedsource。Iamsuperstitious。Ikeptthepredictioninmind&oftenthoughtofit。

Whenatlastitcametrue，October22，1903，therewasbutamonth&9

daystospare。

ThecontractsignedthatdayconcentratesallmybooksinHarper’shands&nowatlasttheyarevaluable；infacttheyareafortune。Theyguaranteeme$25，000ayearfor5years，andtheywillyieldtwiceasmuchasthat。——[Inearliernote—booksandlettersClemensmorethanoncereferstothisprophecyandwondersifitistoberealized。TheHarpercontract，whichbroughtallofhisbooksintothehandsofonepublisher(negotiatedforhimbyMr。Rogers)，proved，infact，afortune。Thebooksyieldedalwaysmorethantheguarantee；sometimestwicethatamount，ashehadforeseen。]

DuringtheconclusionofthiscontractClemensmadefrequentvisitstoFairhavenontheKanawha。JoeGoodmancamefromthePacifictopayhimagood—byvisitduringthisperiod。GoodmanhadtranslatedtheMayaninscriptions，andhisworkhadreceivedofficialrecognitionandpublicationbytheBritishMuseum。ItwasafineachievementforamaninlaterlifeandClemensadmireditimmensely。GoodmanandClemensenjoyedeachotherintheoldwayatquietresortswheretheycouldtalkovertheoldtales。Anothervisitorofthatsummerwasthesonofanoldfriend，aHannibalprinternamedDaulton。YoungDaultoncamewithmanuscriptsseekingahearingofthemagazineeditors，soClemenswrotealetterwhichwouldinsurethatfavor：

INTRODUCINGMR。GEO。DAULTON：

TOGILDER，ALDEN，HARVEY，McCLURE，WALKER，PAGE，BOK，COLLIER，andsuchothermembersofthesacredguildasprivilegemetocallthemfriends—

these：

AlthoughIhavenopersonalknowledgeofthebearerofthis，Ihavewhatisbetter：Hecomesrecommendedtomebyhisownfather——athingnotlikelytohappeninanyofyourfamilies，Ireckon。Iaskyou，asafavortome，towaiveprejudice&superstitionforthisonce&examinehisworkwithaneyetoitsliterarymerit，insteadoftothechastityofitsspelling。IwishtoGodyoucaredlessforthatparticular。

Iset(orsat)typealongsideofhisfather，inHannibal，morethan50

yearsago，whennonebutthepureinheartwereinthatbusiness。Atruemanhewas；andifIcanbeofanyservicetohisson——andtoyouatthesametime，letmehope——Iamhereheartilytotry。

Yoursbythesanctionsoftime&deserving，Sincerely，S。L。CLEMENS。

AmongthekindlywordswhichcametoMarkTwainbeforeleavingAmericawasthisonewhichRudyardKiplinghadwrittentohispublisher，FrankDoubleday：

IlovetothinkofthegreatandgodlikeClemens。Heisthebiggestmanyouhaveonyoursideofthewaterbyadamnsight，anddon’tyouforgetit。Cervanteswasarelationofhis。

ItcuriouslyhappenedthatClemensatthesamemomentwaswritingtoDoubledayaboutKipling：

Ihavebeenreading"TheBellBuoy"and"TheOldMan"overandoveragain—mycustomwithKipling’swork——andsavinguptherestforotherleisurelyandluxuriousmeals。Abell—buoyisadeeplyimpressivefellow—being。InthesemanyrecenttripsupanddowntheSoundintheKanawhahehastalkedtomenightlysometimesinhispatheticandmelancholyway，sometimeswithhisstrenuousandurgentnote，andIgothismeaning——nowIhavehiswords！NoonebutKiplingcoulddothisstrongandvividthing。SomedayIhopetohearthepoemchantedorsung—withthebell—buoybreakinginoutofthedistance。

P。S。——Yourletterhasarrived。Itmakesmeproudandglad——whatKiplingsays。IhopeFatewillfetchhimtoFlorencewhilewearethere。Iwouldratherseehimthananyotherman。

CCXXX

THERETURNTOFLORENCE

>Fromthenote—book：

Saturday，October24，1903。SailedinthePrincessIreneforGenoaat11。Flowers&fruitfromMrs。Rogers&Mrs。Coe。WehavewithusKatieLeary(inourdomesticservice23years)&MissMargaretSherry(trainednurse)。

Twodayslaterhewrote：

Heavystormallnight。Only3stewardesses。Oursserved60mealsinroomsthismorning。

Onthe27th：

Livyisenduringthevoyagemarvelouslywell。AswellasClara&

Jean，Ithink，&farbetterthanthetrainednurse。

Shehasbeenoutondeckanhour。

November2。DueatGibraltar10daysfromNewYork。3daystoNaples，then2daytoGenoa。

Atsupperthebandplayed"CavalleriaRusticana，"whichisforeverassociatedinmymindwithSusy。Iloveitbetterthananyother，butitbreaksmyheart。

Itwasthe"Intermezzo"hereferredto，whichhadbeenSusy’sfavoritemusic，andwheneverhehearditherememberedalwaysoneparticularopera—nightlongago，andSusy’sfacerosebeforehim。

TheywereinNaplesonthe5th；thencetoGenoa，andtoFlorence，wherepresentlytheywereinstalledintheVillaRealediQuarto，afineoldItalianpalacebuiltbyCosimomorethanfourcenturiesago。InlatertimesithasbeenoccupiedandalteredbyroyalfamiliesofWurtembergandRussia。NowitwasthepropertyoftheCountessMassiglia，fromwhomClemenshadleasedit。

TheyhadhopedtosecuretheVillaPapiniano，underFiesole，nearProfessorFiske，butnegotiationsforithadfallenthrough。TheVillaQuarto，asitisusuallycalled，wasamorepretentiousplaceandasbeautifullylocated，standingasitdoesinanancientgardenlookingoutoverFlorencetowardVallombrosaandtheChiantihills。Yetnowintheretrospect，itseemshardlytohavebeentheretreatforaninvalid。Itsgardenwassupernaturallybeautiful，allthatoneexpectsthatagardenofItalyshouldbe——suchagardenasMaxfieldParrishmightdream；butitsbeautywasthatwhichcomesofantiquity——theaccumulationofdeadyears。Itsfunerealcypresses，itscrumblingwallsandarches，itsclingingivyandmolderingmarbles，andaclockthatlongagoforgotthehours，gaveitamortuarylook。InawayitsuggestedArnoldBocklin’s"Todteninsel，"anditmightwellhaveservedastheallegoricalsettingforagatewaytothebourneofsilence。

Thehouseitself，oneofthemostpicturesqueoftheoldFlorentinesuburbanpalaces，washistoricallyinteresting，ratherthancheerful。

Therooms，innumbermorethansixty，thoughrichlyfurnished，werevastandbarnlike，andtherewerenumbersofthemwhollyunusedandneverentered。TherewasadearthofthemodernimprovementswhichAmericanshavelearnedtoregardasanecessity，andtheplumbing，suchasitwas，wasnotalwaysinorder。Theplacewasapproachedbynarrowstreets，alongwhichthemoreuninvitingaspectsofItalywerenotinfrequent。

Youthandhealthandromancemighteasilyhavereveledintheplace；butitseemsnownottohavebeenthebestchoiceforthatfrailinvalid，towhomcheerandbrightnessandfreshnessandthelovelierthingsofhopemeantalwayssomuch。——[VillaQuartohasrecentlybeenpurchasedbySignorP。deRitterLahony，andthoroughlyrestoredandrefreshedandbeautifiedwithoutthesacrificeofanyofitsromanticfeatures。

]——NeitherwastheclimateofFlorenceallthattheyhadhopedfor。

Theirformersunnywinterhadmisledthem。Traditiontothecontrary，Italy——oratleastTuscany——isnotoneperpetualdreamofsunlight。Itisapttobedampandcloudy；itislikelytobecold。WritingtoMacAlister，Clemenssaid：

Florentinesunshine？Blessyou，thereisn’tany。Wehaveheavyfogseverymorning&rainallday。Thishouseisnotmerelylarge，itisvast——thereforeIthinkitmustalwayslackthehomefeeling。

Hisdissatisfactioninitbeganthusearly，anditgrewasonethingafteranotherwentwrong。Withitall，however，Mrs。Clemensseemedtogainalittle，andwasgladtoseecompany——areasonableamountofcompany——tobrightenhersurroundings。

Clemensbegantoworkandwroteastoryortwo，andthoselivelyarticlesabouttheItalianlanguage。

ToTwichellhereportedprogress：

Ihaveahandsomesuccessinonewayhere。IleftNewYorkunderasortofhalf—promisetofurnishtotheHarpermagazines30，000wordsthisyear。Magaziningisdifficultworkbecauseeverythirdpagerepresentstwopagesthatyouhaveputinthefire(youarenearlysuretostartwrongtwice)，&sowhenyouhavefinishedanarticle&

arewillingtoletitgotoprintitrepresentsonly10centsawordinsteadof30。

ButthistimeIhadthecurious(&unprecedented)lucktostartrightineachcase。Iturnedout37，000wordsin25workingdays；&

thereasonIthinkIstartedrighteverytimeis，thatnotonlyhaveIapprovedandacceptedtheseveralarticles，butthecourtoflastresort(Livy)hasdonethesame。

Onmanyofthebetween—daysIdidsomework，butonlyofanidle&

notnecessarilynecessarysort，sinceitwillnotseeprintuntilI

amdead。Ishallcontinuethis(anhourperday)，buttherestoftheyearIexpecttoputinonacoupleoflongbooks(half—

completedones)。Nomoremagazineworkhangingovermyhead。

Thissecluded&silentsolitude，thisclean，softair，&thisenchantingviewofFlorence，thegreatvalley&snow—mountainsthatframeit，aretherightconditionsforwork。Theyareapersistentinspiration。To—dayisverylovely；whentheafternoonarrivestherewillbeanewpictureeveryhourtilldark，&eachofthemdivine——orprogressingfromdivinetodiviner&divinest。Onthis(second)floorClara’sroomcommandsthefinest；shekeepsawindowtenfeethighwideopenallthetime&framesitinthat。Igoinfromtimetotimeeveryday&tradesassforalook。Thecentraldetailisadistant&statelysnow—humpthatrisesabove&behindblack—forestedhills，&itsslopingvastbuttresses，velvety&sun—

polished，withpurpleshadowsbetween，makethesortofpictureweknewthattimewewalkedinSwitzerlandinthedaysofouryouth。

>Fromthisletter，whichisofJanuary7，1904，wegatherthattheweatherhadgreatlyimproved，andwithitMrs。Clemens’shealth，notwithstandingshehadanalarmingattackinDecember。Oneofthestorieshehadfinishedwas"The$30，000Bequest。"Theworkmentioned，whichwouldnotseeprintuntilafterhisdeath，wasacontinuationofthoseautobiographicalchapterswhichforyearshehadbeensettingdownasthemoodseizedhim。

Heexperimentedwithdictation，whichhehadtriedlongbeforewithRedpath，andforatimenowfounditquitetohisliking。Hedictatedsomeofhiscopyrightmemories，andsomeanecdotesandepisodes；buthisamanuensiswroteonlylonghand，whichperhapshamperedhim，forhetiredofitbyandbyandthedictationswerediscontinued。

AmongthesenotesthereisoneelaboratedescriptionoftheVilladiQuarto，dictatedattheendofthewinter，bywhichtimewearenotsurprisedtofindhehadbecomemuchattachedtotheplace。TheItalianspringwasintheair，anditwashishabittogrowfondofhissurroundings。Someatmosphericparagraphsoftheseimpressionsinviteushere：

Weareintheextremesouthendofthehouse，ifthereisanysuchthingasasouthendtoahouse，whoseorientationcannotbedeterminedbyme，becauseIamincompetentinallcaseswhereanobjectdoesnotpointdirectlynorth&south。Thisoneslantsacrossbetween，&isthereforeaconfusion。ThislittleprivateparlorisinoneofthetwocornersofwhatIcallthesouthendofthehouse。Thesunrisesinsuchawaythatallthemorningitispouringitslightthroughthe33glassdoorsorwindowswhichpiercethesideofthehousewhichlooksupontheterrace&garden；therestofthedaythelightfloodsthissouthendofthehouse，asI

callit；atnoonthesunisdirectlyaboveFlorenceyonderinthedistanceintheplain，directlyacrossthosearchitecturalfeatureswhichhavebeensofamiliartotheworldinpicturesforsomecenturies，theDuomo，theCampanile，theTomboftheMedici，&thebeautifultowerofthePalazzoVecchio；inthispositionitbeginstorevealthesecretsofthedeliciousbluemountainsthatcirclearoundintothewest，foritslightdiscovers，uncovers，&exposesawhitesnowstormofvillas&citiesthatyoucannottrainyourselftohaveconfidencein，theyappear&disappearsomysteriously，asiftheymightnotbevillas&citiesatall，buttheghostsofperishedonesoftheremote&dimEtruscantimes；&lateintheafternoonthesunsetsdownbehindthosemountainssomewhere，atnoparticulartime&atnoparticularplace，sofarasIcansee。

AgainattheendofMarchhewrote：

Nowthatwehavelivedinthishousefourandahalfmonthsmyprejudiceshavefallenawayonebyone&theplacehasbecomeveryhomeliketome。UndercertainconditionsIshouldliketogoonlivinginitindefinitely。IshouldwishtheCountesstomoveoutofItaly，outofEurope，outoftheplanet。Ishouldwantherbondedtoretiretoherplaceinthenextworld&informmewhichofthetwoitwas，sothatIcouldarrangeformyownhereafter。

Complicationswiththeirlandladyhadbegunearly，andintime，nexttoMrs。Clemens’shealth，towhichitboresuchanintimateandvitalrelation，theindifferenceoftheCountessMassigliatotheirneedsbecamethesupremeandabsorbingconcernoflifeatthevilla，andledtocontinuedandalmostcontinuoushouse—hunting。

Dayswhentheweatherpermitted，Clemensdroveoverthehillslookingforavillawhichhecouldleaseorbuy——onewithconveniencesandjusttherightelevationandsurroundings。Therewereplentyofvillas；butsomeofthemwerebadlysituatedastoaltitudeorview；somewerefallingtodecay，andthesearchwasratheradiscouragingone。Stillitwasnotabandoned，andthereportsoftheseexcursionsfurnishednewinterestandnewhopealwaystotheinvalidathome。

"Evenifwefindit，"hewroteHowells，"IamafraiditwillbemonthsbeforewecanmoveMrs。Clemens。Ofcourseitwill。Butitcomfortsustoletonthatwethinkotherwise，andthesepretensionshelptokeephopealiveinher。"

Shehadherbaddaysandhergooddays，dayswhenitwasbelievedshehadpassedtheturning—pointandwastravelingthewaytorecovery；butthegooddayswerealwaysalittlelesshopeful，thebaddaysalittlemorediscouraging。OnFebruary22dClemenswroteinhisnote—book：