I've been reading v47 of the Mark Twain Journal and just came across Excerpt, "The Brooklyn Story of Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad". Apparently one Stephen M. Griswold claims that Sam missed the meeting with Nicholas because he'd (Sam) had been out partying that night before and did not get back to the ship in time. I don't know but this sounds a bit like after-the-fact sour grapes to me. We do know that a number of the passengers resented Twain's portrayal of the journey. I suspect Griswold may be one such person. I would like to hear of any clarification of this matter.