Clemens was an indefatigable
correspondent, and his last letter was slipped in at the bottom of a
tall stack.
"It would not be quite accurate to say that Mark Twain's letters were
the talk of the town; but it was very rarely that readers of the paper
did not come into the office on Mondays to confide to the editors their
admiration of the writer, and their enjoyment of his weekly
contributions. The California newspapers copied these letters, with
unanimous approval and disregard of the copyrights of author and
publisher."
It was the Western humour, and the quaintly untrammelled American
intelligence, focussed upon diverse and age-encrusted civilizations,
which caught the instantaneous fancy of a vast public. It was a virgin
field for the humorous observer; Europe had not yet become the
playground of America. It was rather a _terra incognita_, regarded with
a sort of reverential ignorance by the average American tourist. By the
range of his humour, the pertinency of his observation, and the vigour
of his expression he awoke immediate attention.
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