Speaking as a 5’8 1/2” person with hazel eyes that change with clothing and weather, I assure you that the size can be bothersome until one learns that MT was the same height. 

Up until then, I often stood on the outside of my feet lest fallen arches affect the result. And when a medical professional wanted to record my height, I put my shoes on for that last 1/2”. 

My hair was once recorded as auburn , though  it never was. Then it started to turn red, blond, brown and gray, which I took as a sign of nature’s indecision and ignored it until now. Nature finally chose silver white. 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 10, 2019, at 3:10 PM, Robert H. HIRST <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Two small points. The 1867 passport application looks to be filled out and
> even signed not by Clemens, but by Duncan. That might explain why the eye
> color is given a "Gray" and the hair color as "Dark brown" (clearly not in
> SLC's hand). But a second point is that the stature (height) is given as "5
> ft 8 1/2 inches, English." Everyone should know that to someone of that
> height, the 1/2 inch is, well, very important and not to be omitted.
> 
> RHH
> 
> On Wed, Jul 10, 2019 at 11:15 AM Barbara Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> 
>> Actually, there is more evidence for red hair including his essay in the
>> _Hannibal Daily Journal_ in 1853 "Oh, She Has Red Hair."
>> Also this passage:
>> 
>> I was born red-headed--maybe that accounts for my passion for the gorgeous
>> and ornamental.
>> - quoted in _Abroad with Mark Twain and Eugene Field_ (Fisher, 1922).
>> 
>> Both online at:
>> http://www.twainquotes.com/Redheads.html
>> 
>> As to height, I again refer to both the 1867 and 1891 passport applications
>> where he wrote 5'8" on both.
>> 
>> As an aside, the 1867 passport eye color entry looks like the word "dark"
>> before gray is struck out.
>> 
>> Barb
>>