C.H., 

Twain maintained definite ideas of how his habits worked or didn¹t work for
him. As a public speaker, he found two glasses of champagne worked ³as an
admirable stimulant to the tongue² and ³the happiest inspiration² for an
after-dinner speech. But for the writer Twain, wine was ³a clog to the pen,
not an inspiration.²  Smoking, however, was the ³best of all inspirations
for the pen.²  

Ben


On 9/3/10 10:18 AM, "Chet Manchester" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Does anyone on the forum know if Sam Clemens ever abused alcohol, especially
> toward the end of his life?  Did he turn to the bottle to ease his pain or
> grief?  When he lectured, was he ever known to appear on stage drunk?  Did
> he ever use alcohol to calm his nerves before a public performance?  Lastly,
> is there any possibility that he successfully hid an alcohol addiction from
> his family and others?
> 
> Thanks for any insights and sources you can offer on this subject.
> 
> - C.H. Stewart