He got the woman of all the world he most needed, a truly lovely and wise helpmate, who kept him in bounds and headed him straight and right while she lived.

She was the best of housewives and mothers, and the safest of counsellors and critics.

She knew his worth; she appreciated his genius; she understood his limitations and angles.

Her death was a grievous disaster as well as a staggering blow.

He never wholly recovered from it.
IV It was in the early seventies that Mark Twain dropped into New York, where there was already gathered a congenial group to meet and greet him.