SAMUEL L. "MARK TWAIN" CLEMENS - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 295421

SAMUEL L. CLEMENS (MARK TWAIN)
Rare handwritten letter by the American author talking about being ill with "a very persistent carbuncle" while in Australia.
Autograph Letter signed: "SL Clemens", 2 integral pages, 4x6. Melbourne, Australia, no date but circa 1895. Written to "Dear Miss Bulkley". In full: "I am so disappointed I was fully expecting to be there & have my share of the good times, this afternoon, but I am obliged to lose that pleasure. I have spent the last few days in bed trying to check a very persistent carbuncle - with no success - & I find I must continue that discipline. The society of a carbuncle is full of interest, but to get the fullest enjoyment out of it, one must seclude himself from other society & give all his devotion to that. I hope that I may have the good fortune to find you in, in case I am able to call before we leave Melbourne & so be able to thank you in person for the courtesy & compliment of your kind invitations to me & mine. Sincerely" Samuel L. Clemens (1835-1910), who wrote under the pen name Mark Twain, was a steamboat pilot, journalist, world traveler and renowned lecturer. Above all, he was a skillful essayist and novelist whose lasting contributions to American literature include Tom Sawyer (1875), Huckleberry Finn (1885) and A Connecticut Yankee At King Arthur's Court (1889).Clemens left on a world speaking tour in July, 1895, to raise money to pay off some debts. He was ill for the majority of the tour, suffering from a carbuncle as well as a persistent cold. The tour took him to England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Hawaii and Fiji over the course of one year. One horizontal fold. Lightly toned. Otherwise, fine condition.