Clemens, Samuel L.

2 pages of autograph manuscript from A Tramp Abroad (7 3/4 x 4 7/8 in.; 195 x 125 mm), [Europe, 1878-79], approximately 175 words, written in purple ink, with a few corrections and emendations in both purple and black ink, numbered at top margins 1279 and 1281 (originally numbered 1559 and 1561); first leaf with mounting stub on verso, second leaf inlaid.

A fragment of chapter 35 of A Tramp Abroad, printed on pages 392-93 of the 1880 first edition, describing the behavior in a hotel dining room of a man who "was 'tight,' but doing his best to appear sober." Clemens writes that the man seems to suspect the old ladies sitting near him of draining his wine glass, when in fact he has been trying to pour from a bottle that was still corked: "He bent an injured & accusing side-gaze upon that unconscious old lady, which was a study to see. She went on eating & gave no sign. He took up his glass & his bottle, with a wise private nod of his head, & set them gravely on the left hand side of his plate,—poured himself another imaginary drink,—went to work with his knife and fork once more—presently lifted his glass with good confidence, and found it empty, as usual." The page of manuscript between the two here explains that after another attempt to fill his glass, the man assumes his bottle has been emptied by his table companions. "Then, a plaintive look came into his face, & he said, as if to himself, '('ic!) They've got it all!' Then he set the bottle down, resignedly, and took the rest of his dinner dry." Clemens's next anecdote begins with the observation that "It was at that table d'hôte, too, that I had under inspection the largest lady I have ever seen in private life. She was over seven feet high, & magnificently proportioned."

Apart from some minor changes in incidentals (including the expansion of ampersands to "and"), the manuscript is identical to the printed text.