Of course it is possible to take 19th century vocabulary and behavior and misread them in a 21st century mindset. It's call presentism, and it happens all the time, even among academics. But it is also possible - more likely, even, among good-willed scholars - to simply miss 19th century references to behaviors not commonly discussed or committed to paper. Reading 19th century letters, diaries and fiction, one can be forgiven for thinking that people had sex less often and enjoyed it less than today, since the references to sexual activity come with less frankness or frequency than today. I don't see people making this assertion, however. If people believe that homoeroticism had no practitioners in the 19th century, then it should come as no surprise that there are no references to it in the sources. If, on the other hand, you believe homosexual behavior did exist in the 19th century, careful scholars will find references, however oblique, by thoughtful reading of source material. Absent direct reference to homoerotic behavior, only assertions of likely occurrence are possible. But without babies, much the same could be said of heterosexual relationships from the same era. Interested scholars will find pretty exacting references in several of the books and articles mentioned here. On the subject of the guitar: I did read through all the letters in the Mark Twain Papers, and references to guitars are very scarce. References to music, generally, come infrequently. You can't conclude from this that Sam didn't own and occasionally strum a guitar, but it seems likely that references would be more common if he were a dedicated musician. I also don't recall more than a handful of letters from visitors to the Twain house - even overnight guests - who mention musical accompaniment to the evening. Again, this doesn't prove anything, but it does give a strong indication that the assertions about Sam's musicianship or attachment to a particular guitar are overblown. Andy Hoffman