She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not what you would call unrefined.  She was the kind of person who keeps a parrot. –FE ch. 57

He was as shy as a newspaper is when referring to its own merits –FE ch 6

“Classic.” A book which people praise and don’t read. –FE ch. 25

There are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate: when he can’t afford it, and when he can. –FE ch. 56

There are several good protections against temptations, but the surest is cowardice. –FE ch. 36

Often, the surest way to convey misinformation is to tell the strict truth. –FE ch. 59

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. –FE ch. 52

Editor’s Note

And so we leave Mark Twain in the early twilight of his life, working on his last and least successful travel book, Following the Equator, using work as a sedative for prolonged grief at the loss of daughter Susy, still expatriated and bruised from the failure of his publishing firm, hiding out in London, fatigued from an exhausting world tour, and feeling every one of his 61 years.

David H. Fear

Day By Day continues with Volume III (1897-1904)