SLC and P. T. Barnum knew one another only casually. SLC and Livy read and reread Barnum's autobiography and, I believe, used it to help mold the public persona and career of Mark Twain. Barnum and SLC shared a wild disdain for people who wrote them begging letters and in the mid-1870's exchanged the most pitiful ones they received. Barnum collected his begging letters and induced SLC to keep his too. I do not believe that SLC stayed at any of Barnum's many mansions -- they had an unpleasant habit of burning down -- and have never heard that Barnum named a room after Mark Twain, but I won't stake my life on either conclusion. Despite the limited degree of friendship between the men, there is no denying the impact Barnum had on SLC's manipulation of the media to achieve notoriety for Mark Twain.