Portland, Me., 16th
Livy darling—this is one of my pet places. A wretched, rainy, stormy night, but one of the most packed & crowded audiences ever seen in Portland. Lecture went off magnificently.1 Been receiving congratulations till now— 1 A.M.
Goodnight my darling.
Samℓ.
Send Sackett’s letter to Redpath.2
Mrs. Samℓ. L. Clemens
Hartford
Conn.
[postmarked:] [portland me. ]nov 17Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary
Mark Twain must have a wonderful hold upon the
people. It was dismal, uncomfortable, and stormy last night, but
nevertheless an immense audience turned out to listen to Mr. Samuel
L. Clemens. Over two thousand people crowded into City Hall to see
the man who wrote “The Innocents Abroad.” . .
. We never saw an audience enjoy itself more
heartily than did Mark Twain’s last evening.
(“Artemus Ward,” 17 Nov 71, 3) Clemens had previously enjoyed a tremendous success in
Portland, with “Our Fellow Savages of the Sandwich
Islands,” on 22 December 1869 (“M. L.
A.”: Portland Advertiser, 23 Dec 69,
4; Portland Eastern Argus, 23 Dec 69, 3; Portland
Press, 23 Dec 69, 3; L3, 485).
Source text(s):Previous publication:
L4, 494–495; LLMT, 362, brief paraphrase.
Provenance:see Samossoud Collection in Description of Provenance.
Emendations and textual notes:
Hawthorne •
Hawthorn[
]
[torn]
portland me. •
p
[ort]
l
[and e]
[badly
inked]
