See Touring with Cable and Huck for review.

Mr. Cable rendered a number of Creole songs and recited "Mary's Night Ride" with remarkable dramatic intensity. Before commencing the recitation he said that the story of the life of John and Mary Richling had been told him by a friend. Mary's home had been in Milwaukee, and it was to Milwaukee she had come in the midst of her trouble, leaving her husband to battle so manfully alone in New Orleans. It was from Milwaukee she started out so bravely to reach her husband in the trying times of the war. He had looked forward to a visit to the city which had been the home of his heroine, with a hope that he might grasp the hand of that noble woman."

Thursday, January 29, 1885:  

See Touring with Cable and Huck for review.

" Mark Twain and George W. Cable repeated their pleasing entertainnment at the Academy of Music, last night, giving a number of new selections. The audience was much larger than on the previous night and appeared to heartily enjoy the readings."

During the performance off stage, George Cable wrote to his wife, Lucy, of the struggle: Now here is the strangest thing! A house full of people, seemingly highly entertained but feeble in their final applauses. Mark was not called back & I, following, was so feebly encored that I did not feel justified in doing more than bowing. Fact is Mark is under a cloud tonight — feels it, confesses it, but cannot explain it. He doesn’t take hold of his hearers and swing them as usual. There! he gets it at last. Even now it came as a kind of after thought from the audience after they had entirely ceased clapping. But it came good and heartily. Strongest, heartiest kind of a reception to “Mary’s Ride.” Now Mark is on to finish; but I know he is going to come off wringing his hands with vexation. Fact is our hard railroad travel is telling on us — has let out — slackened — our nerves. Queerly, but truly, we feel it most after a partial resting spell... The clock strikes ten. The end is only a few moments away. Finis. Mark explains it all. He had a warm bath an hour before the reading. He’ll never take another [Turner, MT & GWC 92-3].

Scharnhorst [Page 444 The Life of Mark Twain - The Middle Years 1871-1891] reports that Sam's warm bath occurred after they had "railed  a hundred miles to Rockford, Illinois, for a one-night stand."