MARK TWAIN

This was the "Fireside Conversation in the
Time of Queen Elizabeth." The "Divine" was
Joseph H. Twichell, of Hartford, to whom it was
sent, as a letter. Several private editions have
been printed. Mark Twain's statement that he
sent it to an editor is to be heavily discounted,
though it is not unlikely that as a joke he showed
it to Mr. Alden of Harpers or to one of the editors
of the Century Magazine.

March 28, 1879 (Paris Salon)

Went to sec pictures rushed into Palais d'Industrie, end
of afternoon—last chance to get them in. Stairways
crowded—street full of vans and the vans full of pictures.
Every time a poor picture came in everybody groaned.
Perfect howl went up sometimes when particularly poor
one came—it was snatched and passed from hand to hand.
Picture of wood-sawing—everybody made a sound like
sawing. Picture of St. Jerome and skull—lot of students
followed it, weeping on each other's shoulders. There was
a row last year, so it was announced that this year only
people having pictures would be admitted—so there came
fifty students each carrying a ten-cent chromo, very care-
fully. There were acres of pictures, any artist may send
two or three, but not more—I think they said two was
the limit. A jury of the first artists of France (elected
by the exhibitors) will examine these 6000 or 7000 pic-
tures between now and May n, and retain about 2000
and reject the rest. They can tell a good or a bad one at a
single glance—these are at once set aside and the real
work begins, the culling the best from among those that
lie somewhere between the perfectly good and the per-
fectly bad. And a tough job it is. An artist can't vote for
the jury till he has exhibited more than twice. Pictures
are often rejected for want of room. These can be offered
again, next year. Among the acres we saw one which had

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