December – The North American Review included the first installment of Mark Twain’s “Christian Science” (p.756-68) series written in 1897-8 in Vienna. The installments ran monthly through the Apr. 1903 issue. A book would result from these articles, though Harpers would delay it till 1907.

Harper’s Monthly Magazine ran Mark Twain’s story, “Was it Heaven? or Hell?” It was collected in The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories (1906) [Budd, Collected 2: 1008]. Note: He received a lot of responses on this.

Sam also wrote to the Missouri Historical Society, thanking them for the compliment of making him an honorary member [MTP].

Sam inscribed his copy of William Schwenck’s (1836-1911) 1902 operetta, Patience; or, Bunthorne’s Bride: “S.L. Clemens / Dec. 1902” [Gribben 259]. Note: Gribben adds that the “Clemens’ household had been familiar with this operetta (produced in 1881) for two decades.

Connecticut Magazine ran “Mr. Howell’s [sic] Literary Appreciation of Mark Twain,” p.409-12 by William Dean Howells, essentially a condensation of his “Mark Twain: An Inquiry” from 1901, with only minimal editorial comment added [Tenney 37].

Maria R. Hemiup wrote to Sam offering an “obituary” for his Harper’s Weekly contest [MTP].