Jules and Marc,

See the "Mark Twain and Bermuda" page by Keith Forbes at

http://www.bermuda-online.org/twain.htm

The section, "Manuscript entitled 'Our Friend Mark Twain' published
in London," discusses a manuscript written by Marion Schuyler Allen
(mother of Helen Allen) that is held by the Bermuda Archives.  In Mark
Twain A-Z, Kent Rassmussen wrote that "Twain was rumored to have
behaved improperly with a girl in Bermuda named Helen Allen, but
evidence for this is inconclusive."

Forbes says "the manuscript has been worked on in Bermuda and the
USA by two Twain experts, Professor Hamlin Hill, author of the
definitive biography God's Fool and Gretchen Sharlow, director of the
Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College."  It might be
worthwhile to check with the center at Elmira.  I know they obtained
some letters Twain wrote to people in Bermuda and they may have
additional information about the manuscript and any other Twain
materials that might be there.

Forbes seems to have visited the primary sites visited by Mark Twain
and mentions some things that have survived since Twain's time.  For
example, "During his first visit, Twain viewed the enormous rubber
tree (still there) in the grounds of Par-la-Ville Park, in front of where
the Bermuda Historical Society now stands."  He also has some
recent photos of Bay House, where the Allens lived.

Other parts of the bermuda-online.org site might also be useful for
visitors to Bermuda -- info on libraries and museums, historic
buildings, etc., etc.  The page about photography has some
potentially valuable advice on avoiding damage to film during airport
security checks.  He says that hand-inspection of film and cameras is
now only done for people who have media credentials.  You might
want to get any photos you take developed there before leaving.  And
if you want to dress like the locals, don't miss the page about real
Bermuda Shorts. :-)

http://www.bermuda-online.org/shorts.htm

Some other online materials that might be of interest:

Memories of Mark Twain in Bermuda, by Elizabeth Wallace
http://www.twainquotes.com/bermuda/bermindex.html

Bermuda: "That happy little paradise", by the Mark Twain Project
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/Exhibits/MTP/bermuda.html

Panoramic Photographs of Hamilton, Bermuda (1911 -- a year after
Twain's last visit)
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-
bin/query/r?ammem/pan:@FIELD(SUBJ+@band(+Bermuda+Islands+
+Hamilton.+))

If that link doesn't work because of line-wrapping, it's listed on my
page:

Mark Twain's Bermuda
http://www.boondocksnet.com/twainwww/homes_bermuda.html

Jim Zwick