Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-01-31
TWAIN'S GIRL FRIENDS
Mark Twain Dearly Loved Children
as PIaymates.

Mark Twain Dearly Loved Children
as Playmates.
Like many another great man, Marx
Twain was fond of children. He never
outgrew childhood, and he always
chose young playmates where they
were TO be found. He formed curious
societies Of these girl friends Back
In the ninedes, when he was living In
Europe. he created q club which was
to consist of one (only one) girl In each
country Of the globe, the duty Of said
member being to write occasionally to
the chief of1cer, who faithfully replied
to these random and Tar faring mes
sages- OF course these little girls were
swept into womanhood presently, but
even to the last years Of his life the
member who signed herself France"
remained faithful to the law.
Another club of girls. little girls, be
came one of the chief interests during
bis final years. 1t had its beginning
in Bermuda during one of his frequent
visits to those happy Islands. 1t was
called the Angel Fish club, after a
gorgeous swimmer of those waters, and
he gave to each member an angel fish
pin as society badge. 1t was a sue
cessful club, and on his return to
America he elected other members.
enough to make twelve in all.
His home at Redding, Conn, Storm
field, had been originally named In
nocence at Home, and as Angel Fish
headquarters Innocence at Home it
always remained. Members with their
parents visited him there, and the bill
lard room, where the fishes" were
likely to spend most of their time
knocking the balls about, under the
chief members instruction, was called
the Aquarium, and gay prints of
many Bermuda fishes were hung along
the walls to carry out the idea. Each
member had the privilege of selecting
one of these as her patron fish and of
identifying it with her name.
1t was in Bermuda one day when he
was walking along the beach with one
of his angel fish members that he pick
ed up small iridescent double shell,
delicately hinged together. he sepa-
rated it and handed his companion half.
You will be going away from me
pretty soon, Margaret" he said, land
growing up, and | won't know you
any more. / shall see a great many
Margarets, and now and then one Of
them will say she is my Margaret, but
will say. No: you resemble my Mar
garet, but you are bigger than my
Margaret, and l can't be sure Then I
will take out this shell and I will say,
IF you are really my Margaret you
will have the other half of this shell,
and it will fit exactly Then If she
has the shell and it fits I shall know
that it is really my Margaret, no mat
ter how many years have gone by or
how much older she has grown"
All this he said very gravely and
earnestly. and the little girl took the
shell thouGhtfully and promised to
keep it always. Next morning when
she came running up to meet him on
the hotel veranda he looked at her
Questioningly.
You look like Margaret" he said.
"but I can't be sure. If you are really
my Margaret you will have a shell
gave her once-the mate to this one
He got no further. The talisman was
promptly produced, and it fitted ex-
actly. He returned to America. and
somewhat later Margaret received a
letter-One of the pretty letters he was
always writing to children. In it he
said:
! am always making mistakes. When
was in New York six weeks ago I was
on a corner Of Fifth avenue and saw a
small girl-not a big one-start across
from the opposite corner. and / exclain-
ed to myself joyfully. THAT is certainly
my Margaret" so l rushed to meet her.
But as she came nearer began to doubt