Funny simply for the last and most obvious reason you mention...  the common
perception that he was anti-religion.  But also funny to me because it was a
Presbyterian church (as opposed to, say, a Catholic church). Despite (or
because of) his own Presbyterian leanings, as you well know, Twain seemed to
make Presbyterians the butt of his jokes rather often, both in his wiritngs
and in private, always in a good-natured way. I have a large panel from a
parcel that he sent to R W Gilder. It's marked "glass" and Gilder is
addressed as "the disciple of sin" and Twain's return address describes
himself as "Presbyterian Bishop of Hartford." And he wanted this "glass"
(and its contents) returned to sender if that disciple of sin wasn't home.

The article was also sad because this structure is one of the very few
surviving genuine links to Twain's Nevada days, and they were ready to tear
it down. Orion's house still stands as a law office, but the print shop that
so many tourists go to see is a "new" structure that replaced the original
that burned down in the late 19th century. I hope those thorny issues get
resolved and this church is saved.


Kevin Mac Donnell
Austin TX 78730