From contemporary comments by those who heard him, I think the slowness of
his speech was what set it apart from others with a southern or Missouri
accent.

This month's Harper's (September) has some excerpts (p. 16) from the
forthcoming book on MT's Interviews (U-Alabama Press), gathered under the
heading "Mark's Twang" and the slowness is the feature that dominates there
as well.

No insult intended, but I've met some southerners (I am one) and some
Missourians who spoke so slowly I wanted to push a button in between their
words, to start them up again. I have met some Texans who spoke so fast that
I likewise wanted to push a button to make them stop.

The thing I find most striking is that those who describe his speech in
private conversation give very similar accounts to those who heard it on the
lecture platform. Perhaps the dramatic pauses were longer on the platform
(and maybe not), but from what I've read, I gather that Twain sounded pretty
much the same in private and in public.

One hint to the pace of his speech might be found in his personal copy of
SKETCHES (1875) that he marked for public readings. He heavily edited the
piece "How I Edited an Agricultural Paper" adding about as much as he
deleted (generally increasing the name-calling and exaggerating the
exaggerations even further) and then marked the delivery time at the top of
the first page-- "20 mins."

So, fellow Twainians, you can all stand in front of mirrors with
stop-watches and read that piece aloud until you get it to exactly 20
minutes and you'll have an idea of just how slow (or fast) he spoke. For the
twang and the rest of it you're on your own.

Kevin Mac Donnell
Austin TX