Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-10-11
MRS CLEMENS
q Mark TWain's" Tribute to His Wife,
 Who Died a Year Ago.

Tomorrow will be the thirty-sixth anniversary of our marriage. My wife passed from this life one year and eight months ago. in Florence. Italy, after an unbroken illness Of twenty-two months duration. L I saw her first in the form of an ivory miniature in her brother Char ley's stateroom in the steamer Quaker City, in the Bay of Smyrna, in the summer of 1867. when she was in her 22nd year. I saw her in the flesh for the first time in New York in the following December. She was slender and beautiful and girlish-and she was both girl and woman. She remained both girl and woman to the last day of her life. Under a grave and gentle exterior burned inextinguishable fires of sym pathy, energy, devotion. enthusiasm, afid absolutely limitless affection. She was always frail in body, and she lived upon her spirit, whose hopeful ness and courage were indestructible. Perfect truth, perfect honesty, per- feet candor, were born with her. Her judgments of people and things were sure and accurate. Her munitions almost never deceived her. In her judgments of the characters and acts of both friends and strangers, there was always room for charity, and this charity never failed. have com pared and contrasted her with hum dreds of persons, and my conviction remains that hers was the most per- feet character I have ever met. And as she could choose with a glance of her eye, the servants she selected did in almost all cases deserve to re- main, and they did remain. She was always cheerful and she was always able to communicate her cheerfulness to others. During the nine years that We spent in poverty and debt, she was always able to reason me out of my despairs, and find bright side to the clouds, and make me see it.. In all that time, never knew her to utter word of regret concerning our altered circumstances, nor did l ever know her children to do the like. The love which she bestowed upon those whom she loved took the form of worship, and fin that form 1t was returned - returned by relatives. friends and the servants of her household. It was strange combina- tion which wrought into one individ- ual, SO to speak. by marriage-her disposition and character and mine. She poured out her prodigal affec- tions in kisses and caresses. and in a vocabulary of endearments whose profusion was always an astonish- ment to me. I was born reserved as to endearments of speech and ca resses. and hers broke upon me as the summer waves break upon Gibralter. I was reared in that att mosphere of reserve. As I have al- ready said. fin another chapter. never knew a member of my fathers family to kiss another member of it except once. and that at a death-bed. And our village was not a kissing community. The kissing and ca- ressing ended with courtship-along
 with the deadly piano-playing of that day
 She had the heart-free laugh of a sirl. It came seldom. but when it
 broke upon the ear it was as insp<- ! ing as music. heard it for the last time when she had been occupying | her sick-bed for more thar a year.
 and made a written note of it at | the time-a note not to he repeated. North American Review.