January – Possibly this month Sam wrote from Hartford to Isaac H. Bromley, who had originated the popular expression, “Punch, brothers! Punch with care!” To Sam’s consternation, the line was often attributed to him. He advised Bromley,

“The next time you write anything like that for God’s sake sign your name to it…” [MTLE 1: 27].

Sam wrote a story (“Punch Brothers! Punch with Care,” which later became “Literary Nightmare” ) based on the narrator, Mark Twain, seeing a catchy jingle in the morning newspaper. Like a virus, the jingle damaged Mark’s memory until it passed into the head of his friend the Reverend during a walk. The friend returns to Twain in a frantic state, his life upset by the jingle. Twain solves the problem by taking the Reverend to some university students, where the jingle-virus passes into their heads. See Feb. 1876.

Conductor, when you receive a fare,
Punch in the presence of the passenjare!
A blue trip slip for an eight-cent fare,
A buff trip slip for a six-cent fare,
A pink trip slip for a three-cent fare,
Punch in the presence of the passenjare!

CHORUS

Punch brothers! Punch with care!
Punch in the presence of the passenjare!