. . . .
I don’t know of any correction that I can offer. I perceive that the writer has discovered my besetting weakness, which is unreflecting [&] rather ungraceful irritability.
I have some pleasant ones, but modesty compels me to hide them from the world, so no one gets the benefit of them but myself.1
. . . .
Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary
A quiet, reserved and irritable man, he gave his
fellow citizens little opportunity to annoy him with their
attentions or questions. Although courteous upon all occasions he
was wont to turn a cold shoulder to the staring Paul Prys. The
writer has often seen some luckless offending individual scourged
beneath the stinging lash of his sarcasm. Mr. Clemens is a bitterly
sarcastic man—humorists, as a rule are so—and
his uncurbed independence of expression often leads him into
unpleasant encounters. His editorial career, when he was one of the
proprietors of the Buffalo Express
illustrated this quality to a very notic[e]able extent.
The manner in which he wielded the journalistic sceptre was more
that of an impatient autocrat than an humble American citizen. (Globe 1 [Apr 73]:
6) William Caryl Cornwell (1851–1932) was the
editor and illustrator of the Globe, which named
his brother Edward L. Cornwell as its publisher. (In 1869, when Clemens
probably met him, Cornwell was a bank clerk, and more recently had been
a bookkeeper for the Third National Bank of Buffalo.) The first issue of
their magazine appeared in Buffalo on 3 April, and William Cornwell
evidently sent Clemens a copy, asking for comment. If Clemens replied
promptly, he probably wrote this letter before mid-April; he certainly
wrote it before 29 April, because the next day the contents of the
second issue of the Globe (published on 2 May)
were reported to include “A Letter from Mark Twain to the Globe” (“The
Globe,” Buffalo Courier: 4 Apr 73, 2;
30 Apr 73, 2; 2 May 73, 2). Only the extract that the Globe printed is known to survive, introduced by Cornwell
himself: We have received a letter from Mr. Clemens, from
which, although it is addressed to the Editor personally, we cannot
but make a very brief but very characteristic extract. He says in
reference to the article concerning himself in the April number of
the Globe: ... Those who know Mr. Clemens can testify to the
thorough good fellowship and unfailing good humor which make him so
pleasant a companion, as well as to the staunch adherence which he
manifests as a friend. During his stay among us afflictions in his
family prevented an extended intercourse, but those who did meet the
distinguished humorist will never forget to be his friends.
(“Editor’s Portfolio,” Globe 1 [May 73]:
28–29) Although the Globe continued
publication until March 1875, Cornwell did not go on to become a
journalist, but remained in banking. In 1877 he became a cashier for the
Bank of Buffalo, which he then managed until 1892. In the latter year he
organized the City Bank of Buffalo, becoming its president. Two years
later he helped found the New York State Bankers’
Association, serving as its first president. Cornwell enjoyed painting
for recreation throughout his life, and in 1910 invented a new method
for reproducing works of art on glass. No further communication between
him and Clemens is known (Severance, 231; Buffalo
Directory: 1869, 43, 260; 1871, 303; 1872, 38).
Source text(s):Previous publication:
L5, 329–330.
Emendations and textual notes:
& • and
isn’t • is’nt
