On Sat, Dec 4, 2021 at 8:32 PM John’s Mail <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>
>
> now available at:
>
> https://archive.org/details/societyasihavefoundit_2111_librivox
>
> Society as I Have Found It
> Ward McAllister (1827 - 1895)
>
> Mark Twain illustrator Dan Beard recalled discussing McAllister’s book
> with Twain. “It was before Webster & Company failed that Ward McAllister’s
> book (Society as I have Found It) appeared, and when he (Twain) sauntered
> into my studio one day, I said:
> ‘Mr. Clemens, have you read Ward McAllister’s book?’
> ‘Yes; have you?’ he replied.
> ‘Indeed, I have. I have read it through several times, and intend to read
> it again. It is one of the most humorous books I ever read.’
> ‘That’s so,’ said Mark, ‘that’s so. Now, I will tell you something. I
> spent three months writing a satire on that book of Ward McAllister’s. And
> when I got through, I again read McAllister’s book, and then my satire, and
> then tore the blamed thing up. Some things are complete in themselves and
> cannot be improved upon, and I take off my hat to Mr. McAllister.’” (ref. A
> Bibliography of the Work of Mark Twain by Merle Johnson)
>
>
>
>
> +++++
> “ When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands
> explained.”
>  – Mark Twain
>
> John Greenman
> 207-974-9911
> My Archive.org audio recordings
>
-- 
Arianne Laidlaw A '58