According to Morris, Bierce did indeed marry 'rich', since Mollie Day
was the daughter of a wealthy mining engineer and what Morris calls a
"socially ambitious wife."  Twain and Bierce probably met in San Franscisco
right before Twain headed east to sail on the Quaker City.  I would think
that he was very much aware of Bierce's comments on his marriage,
considering
the close ties Twain had to the _News Letter's_ publisher and through
friends
such as Harte.

Bierce and Twain's mutual acquaintances stretched to England, where, in
1872,
Bierce contacted one of London's most notorious publishing pirates, John
Camden Hotten.  Hotten had taken advantage of a limp international
copyright law to publish (at no cost to himself) Twain's _Innocents Abroad_,
breaking it into two separate volumes, _The Innocents Abroad: The Voyage
Out_ and _The New Pilgrim's Progress: The Voyage Home_.  He failed to pay
any royalties to Twain.  Fuming, Twain headed for London to sort him out,
writing to the London _Spectator_ about his temptation "to take a broomstraw
and go and knock that man's brains out.  Not in anger, for I feel none....
but only to see, that is all. Mere idle curiosity."  With evil intent,
nonetheless, Twain dubbed him "John Camden Hottentot."

There is also a devilishly juicy account of Twain and Bierce meeting on
the lecture podium - I will post more later.

Beth Regish