there are also extant many, many reports, lots from newspapers, that are reviews of Twain's performances -- and many of these make very specific remarks about his "sound" and so on. many of these kinds of reviews are quoted in books on Twain's lecturing, such as Fatout's _MT on the Lecture Circuit_. There are, by the way, numerous recordings of James Whitcomb Riley, the public performer that Twain especially esteemed. Perhaps those might give a clue regarding Twain's style, sound, and delivery. Twain was known to perform some of Riley's poems on occasion. . . . --Hal Bush