From this time forward, Samuel L. Clemens is seen in a new environment,
in association with new ideas and a new civilization. The history of
this second period does not fall within the scope of the present work.
It has just been narrated with brilliancy and charm by his close
associate and most intimate friend, Mr. William Dean Howells, in his
admirable book 'My Mark Twain'. In the subsequent portion of the
present work attention will be directed solely to those features of Mark
Twain's life which have a direct bearing upon his career as a man of
letters, and which throw into relief the progressive development of his
genius.
The South and the West contributed to Mark Twain's development, and
added to his store of vital experience, in greater measure than all the
other influences of his life combined. From the inexhaustible well of
those experiences he drew ever fresh contributions for the satisfaction
of the world. His mind was stocked with the rich, crude ore of early
experience--the romance and the reality of a life full of prismatic
variations of colour.
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