July 14 Sunday – QC arrived at Genoa at 6 AM.
I would like to remain here. I had rather not go any further. There may be prettier women in Europe, but I doubt it. The population of Genoa is 120,000; two-thirds of these are women, I think, and at least two-thirds of the women are beautiful. They are as dressy and as tasteful and as graceful as they could possibly be without being angels. However, angels are not very dressy, I believe. At least the angels in pictures are not—they wear nothing but wings. But these Genoese women do look so charming. Most of the young demoiselles are robed in a cloud of white from head to foot, though many trick themselves out more elaborately. Nine-tenths of them wear nothing on their heads but a filmy sort of veil, which falls down their backs like a white mist. They are very fair, and many of them have blue eyes, but black and dreamy dark brown ones are met with oftenest. The NY Sunday Mercury published the last of seven sketches of Sam’s, entitled, “Jim Wolf & the Cats” [MTL 2: 11n3; Camfield, bibliog.]. Note: Budd list this as “Jim Wolf and the Tom-Cats,” the same as Sam’s Feb. 23, 1872 speech [“Collected” 1007].
Alta California printed Sam’s article “THE BLIND ASYLUM,” which Sam had dated May 2 [Schmidt]. Camfield lists this as “Letter from Mark Twain” No. 21 and dates it as May 23 [bibliog.].