Mark Twain at the Buffalo Express

by Twain, Mark; McCullough, Joseph B.; Strasburg, Janice McIntire

• ISBN13: 9780875805856
• ISBN10: 087580585X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-04-01
• Publisher: Northern Illinois Univ Pr

Summary

Collected here for the first time are stories, articles, and commentaries Twain wrote during eighteen months as editor of the Buffalo Express. These entertaining writings contain some of his finest humor and social criticism, as well as themes and characters later included in his most beloved works.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Note to the Text	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
Settling in to Editorial Duties August 1869-October 1869
"Salutatory"	p. 5
Removal of the Capital	p. 7
Lady Byron--Mrs. Stowe's Revelations	p. 8
Inspired Humor	p. 9
The "Monopoly" Speaks	p. 11
A Day at Niagara	p. 12
Uncriminal Victims	p. 18
The Byron Scandal	p. 19
[A Fine Old Man]	p. 21
Only a Nigger	p. 22
English Festivities	p. 23
The Prodigal Son Returns	p. 28
The Byron Scandal	p. 29
The Byron Question	p. 30
Journalism in Tennessee	p. 31
More Byron Scandal	p. 37
Butler on the Byron Scandal	p. 38
The Last Words of Great Men	p. 44
Personal	p. 47
"Mr. and Mrs. Byron"	p. 47
The Gates Ajar	p. 51
The "Wild Man"	p. 53
Rev. H. W. Beecher	p. 56
The Ticket--Explanation	p. 59
Engineer Griffin	p. 60
The Latest Novelty	p. 62
Lighting Out for the Lecture Circuit October 1869-January 1870
Around the World: Letter No. 1	p. 67
Mark Twain: His Greetings to the California Pioneers	p. 71
The Legend of the Capitoline Venus	p. 73
Around the World: Letter No. 2	p. 78
The Paraguay Puzzle	p. 84
A Good Letter	p. 86
Hanging to Slow Music	p. 88
Around the World: Letter No. 3	p. 89
Civilized Brutality	p. 93
Browsing Around	p. 95
The Richardson Murder	p. 101
Browsing Around	p. 102
The Law of Divorce	p. 107
Around the World: Letter No. 4	p. 108
Around the World: Letter No. 5	p. 112
Ye Cuban Patriot	p. 117
An Indignant Rebuke	p. 120
The Hyenas	p. 121
An Awful--Terrible Medieval Romance	p. 123
Mrs. Stowe's Vindication	p. 129
Around the World: Letter No. 6	p. 130
A Ghost Story	p. 134
Around the World: Letter No. 7	p. 140
Around the World: Letter No. 8	p. 144
Back to Buffalo February 1870-May 1870
Nasby's Lecture	p. 153
Anson Burlingame	p. 153
The Blondes	p. 157
Personal	p. 159
More Wisdom	p. 159
"A Big Thing"	p. 161
A Mysterious Visit	p. 166
Literary Guide to Williams and Packard's System of Penmanship	p. 170
The Facts in the Great Land Slide Case	p. 172
Mark Twain on Agriculture	p. 176
The New Crime	p. 177
The Story of the Good Little Boy Who Did Not Prosper	p. 182
Curious Dream	p. 186
Curious Dream, Conclusion	p. 191
Murder and Insanity	p. 194
Personal Troubles and Rumors of War May 1870-October 1870
Personal	p. 199
Our Precious Lunatic	p. 204
Street Sprinkling	p. 207
More Distinction	p. 208
How Higgins Gently Broke the News	p. 210
Buffalo Female Academy	p. 211
The Editorial Office Bore	p. 215
How I Edited an Agricultural Paper	p. 217
The European War!!!	p. 222
Obituary	p. 224
To the Reader	p. 227
At the President's Reception	p. 229
Curious Relic for Sale	p. 233
Mark Twain: His Map and Fortifications of Paris	p. 238
The Last Days of Journalism October 1870-January 1871
On Riley--Newspaper Correspondent	p. 243
The Libel Suit	p. 246
A Reminiscence of the Back Settlements	p. 248
A General Reply	p. 250
Running for Governor	p. 254
My Watch--An Instructive Little Tale	p. 259
An Entertaining Article	p. 262
Dogberry in Washington	p. 266
War and "Wittles"	p. 268
The Facts in the Case of George Fisher, Deceased	p. 270
"Waiting for the Verdict"	p. 276
A Sad, Sad Business	p. 277
Mean People	p. 280
The Danger of Lying in Bed	p. 281
Notes	p. 285
Index	p. 307
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

"I am not going to introduce any startling reforms, or in any way attempt to make trouble. I am simply going to do my plain, unpretending duty, when I cannot get out of it.... I shall always confine myself strictly to the truth, except when it is attended with inconvenience."—from Mark Twain's "Salutatory,"Buffalo Express, August 21, 1869