In a message dated 9/14/2006 11:33:34 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

On  9/14/06 12:32 PM, "David H Fears" <[log in to unmask]>  wrote:

>> IT was indeed a term Sam  often used in his  letters--it does not appear
>> in his works?? Please elucidate   this gray head with your ivory-tower
>>  enlightenment.

>Your purple prose is mildly endearing, but I said  phrase, not term.  The
>phrase "Nigger Jim," guys, does not appear  in AHF.

I am relieved. I'd supposed some menopausal,  obstreperous, windbag at the
Concord Public Library had sconced Old Jim right  out of the story--or
worse,
coppered him to be Puerto-Rican or  French. My other qualities may be
somewhat
more endearing--however, Sam was fond  of the purple pencil, and that's good
enough for me.

David H Fears

PS...my copy of A Readers Guide to the Short Stories of Mark Twain, by James
D. Wilson 1987, arrived yesterday and I can highly recommend the tome for
anyone wishing publication history, critical analyses and clear discussions
of
each story's relationship to other works by Sam.