In reading William Dean Howells' _The Rise of Silas Lapham_ for
the first time, I was delighted to see Penelope Lapham say: "I don't
see any p'ints about that frog that's any better than any other frog."

Was "The Jumping Frog" enough of a cultural fixture in 1885 for
readers to easily recognize that line, or do you suppose its inclusion
in _Silas Lapham_ was just a friendly private gesture toward Twain?

Chuck