Gribben (MT's Library, 1980) cites sources showing Twain was familiar with
Sterne as early as the 1860s, praising both Tristam Shandy and Sentimental
Journey.

There was a question a few days ago (I've been on the road, looking briefly
at email every other day) about Paine's source for the text of a Twain
letter. Paine wrote to numerous recipients of Twain's letters and "borrowed"
them for his 1912 biography and his 1917 edition of the letters. He made
full transcriptions of most of them (he edited them heavily when published,
as I think most in this Forum are painfully aware) and then returned the
originals to their owners (sometimes it took some prodding). Paine's
transcripts are now at MTP, providing full texts for dozens --in fact, I
think hundreds-- of letters that have never been published in full. Perhaps
the source is Paine's unpublished transcript?

I have an archive of transcripts of 200+ Twain letters compiled by a circle
of Twain collectors in the 1920s/30s, for which the original letters may or
may not survive. They are fragile and arranged by date. I'm happy to search
them if given a specific date and name of recipient.

Kevin Mac Donnell
Austin TX