In a message dated 4/29/1999 6:50:39 PM, [log in to unmask] writes: <<Might it be CHARLES FARRAR BROWNE a/k/a Artemus Ward whom Chris is seeking rather than the "Charles Brown" he listed ?>> I'm not familiar with Charles Artemus whoever--I meant Charles Brockden Brown, author of Wieland and Edgar Huntly, and I only mentioned him because he wrote the century before Twain, was rather influential, and besided, I just got done studying him. I was in a class called "Rise of the American Novel," and was curious whether anyone I studied influenced Twain. Come to think of it, _The Hidden Hand_ seemed to me the most likely candidate out of the books I read. EDEN Southworth's humor and language reminded me of Twain.