January 17 Thursday – Sam spoke without prepared remarks to the Keokuk printers at a celebration of the 150 th anniversary of Ben Franklin’s birth. It was perhaps Sam’s first after dinner speech, presaging his fame as a platform speaker. Sam Clemens as “Mark Twain” would be a great entertainer, perhaps the first American icon of the twentieth century.

By this time he was back in Orion’s employ, working alongside his seventeen-year-old brother, Henry Clemens, at 52 Main Street on the third floor. “Henry and Sam slept in the office, and Dick [Higham] came in for social evenings. These were likely to be lively evenings.” A young man named Edward Brownell from the ground floor bookstore also joined the evening entertainment [MTB 104-7]. Brownell once told Sam he was “too lazy to ever write a book” [107].

Professor Isbell, a music teacher on the second floor objected loudly to the noise, so that the next night the boys set up a game of ten pins using empty wine bottles, with rocks for balls (Henry declined to play.) Sam and Dick Higham ignored the teacher banging on the door. The next night they marched and drilled, no doubt causing much racket. When the teacher tried being pleasant with his objections, saying it disturbed his students, Sam said, “Why didn’t you mention it before? To be sure we don’t want to disturb the young ladies.” They gave up the ruckus, with Sam even joining in one of the singing classes [MTB 105].