I've held off adding to the discussion of Moncure D. Conway and now don't
have my sources at hand.  But Andy Hoffman's interest in the Conway-Twain
connection draws this thread back to the surface.  I don't know how/when
Twain may have connected with Conway, but I do know that Conway was an
early friend of Howells.  Conway was editor of the Cinncinati _Dial_ c.
1859-1860 and published a couple of Howells' poems there; while in
England a few years later, Conway tried (unsuccessfully) to help Howells
find a publisher for a book of poetry.  See footnotes in the _Selected
Letters_ of Howells published by Twayne.

Your resident (lurking) Howellsian,
Peg Wherry
Weber State University
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