Submitted by scott on

August 20 Monday – Sam was en route aboard the American Line S.S. Paris for Southampton. The fifth day at sea the Paris made 455 miles distance [Ibid.]. The Brooklyn Eagle article (Sept. 9, 1894 p.5 “A Mid-Ocean Letter”) wrote up a charity concert event that included a reading by Sam:

Last Monday [Aug. 20] night a concert was held for the benefit of the Seaman’s Orphanage, Southampton, and the Blue Anchor society, Staten Island. It is only a few years ago that the entire receipts from similar entertainments were devoted entirely to foreign charities and this custom is still observed on some of the Atlantic liners. Inasmuch as fully three-fourths of steamer travelers are Americans it is no more than just that the seamen of charity organizations of our own country should require at least an equal share of the contributions….Thomas F. Gilroy, the mayor of New York, was called upon to introduce General J. R. Hawley as chairman, alluding to him as one who had served his country with distinction and honor, both on the field and in the senate. Miss Cecilia Crotty of Brooklyn opened the concert with a piano solo, Mr. S.L. Clemens (Mark Twain), following in two humorous readings, “The German Lesson” and “The Fish Woman….The sum realized from the concert amounted to $150.”

Day By Day Acknowledgment

Mark Twain Day By Day was originally a print reference, meticulously created by David Fears, who has generously made this work available, via the Center for Mark Twain Studies, as a digital edition.