1 On 5 November Clemens became an honorary member of the Scroll and Key, a secret society for Yale College seniors and alumni, founded in 1842 for the pursuit of fellowship, moral and literary self-improvement, and charity. Clemens’s membership was sponsored by Joseph Twichell, who had been active in the society since 1859, his senior year. Twichell requested permission for Clemens to join under a provision that allowed for the election of public figures who had attained eminence in literature or art (Maynard Mack, 46, 214–15 n. 14).

2Clemens enclosed his card, together with some “paragraphs”—possibly reviews of his Cleveland lecture—which do not survive (see the next letter).