In 1885 Thomas Handford published an interview with Sam Clemens' mother
and his wife which appeared in a book sold by subscription through
the R. G. Badoux Company of Chicago titled _Pleasant Hours with
Illustrious Men and Women_. In the interview Jane Clemens stated
her son was more like Huck Finn than Tom Sawyer and also related how
she tried to exact a promise from Sam in the presence of his father's
coffin. Livy is quoted as stating that Tom Sawyer's Aunt Polly and
Mrs. Hawkins in _Gilded Age_ are direct portraits of Sam's mother Jane.
It is difficult to discern whether Handford conducted this interview
himself or whether it is a reprint from something printed previously.
Anyone familiar with the first appearance of this interview?
Barb