In the morning she awoke, and once again Deanna had breakfast waiting for her. They were both caught up in the excitement, knowing that it would soon be time to make the actual trip.
They returned to the room where Joseph was waiting for them. With him was a smiling young woman whom he introduced as Wendy Hiller Wallingford. "Wendy," she corrected, "and I'm very glad to meet you both," she said to Alex and Deanna.
"Wendy is the Alien Literature graduate student who discovered the evidence of tampering at the 'Twain Crosstime' as it's come to be called," he said. She's here today because she's
one of our foremost experts on Sam Clemens' personal life."
Alex shook hands with a young woman who was thin and pale and seemed to squint. Her features were delicate and fair, but she really looked like she spent much too much time indoors.
"We had many hours of discussions about this briefing before you even arrived here," Wendy began. "We disagree on just how much background you should have before your trip. You are supposed to enter their lives as an average fourteen-year-old girl. If you were an expert on Mr. Clemens' home and family, suspicions would be raised. Especially if we accidentally taught you some things that were not public knowledge at that time. Understand?"
Alex nodded. Wendy continued, "We agreed, therefore, that we would go over some of his books that were generally read by kids at that time. As you know, without your different kinds of electronic entertainment, kids back then read much more. We can't cram you with the classics ..."
Joseph interrupted, "I think you'll find that Alex is much more widely read than many children of her age in her world."
"That's a relief," Wendy said enthusiastically. "If we just make sure that you're up-to-date on some of his writings, then we can begin to fill you in on Mr. Clemens' character."
Wendy began with The Prince and the Pauper, which was not only very widely read among children of that time period, but was a favorite in the Clemens household. She explained that this was a story concerning a prince who wanted to have time off from his duties as a prince, and a poor youth, Tom Canty. Their appearances were identical. As a prank they exchanged places, but found it very difficult to get back to their actual places.
Alex had read the story before, but found the reminders useful.
Next, Wendy reviewed both Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. These were the books, especially the second one, that made Mr. Clemens famous in his time, and established him as a giant of American literature. Except, of course in Alex's era, when censorship established him as a literary outcast.
Wendy then touched briefly on The Innocents Abroad and
Roughing It. While these were not necessary reading for children of the day, most children would at least have heard of both as part of the popular literature of the time.
"Now, the most important part," Wendy said. "You should know something of Mr. Clemens himself. He was someone who could easily be flattered, and you'll have no trouble being welcomed to his home if he knows that you've read his books, and liked them."
"That's no problem," said Alex. "I have read some of his books, I've visited his home, and for many years my uncle has told me about him."
"That makes my job easier," Wendy said, "but let's talk about Mr. Clemens, the father, first."
"I remember my uncle telling me something. The reason he became such a Mark Twain fan is that my uncle once had some extra time to spend in Hartford. So to pass time, he went to Mark Twain's house, even though he didn't particularly care about Mark Twain. He was really impressed by the house, inside and out. But he was most impressed by how Mark Twain was with his daughters. My uncle had two young daughters, so of course he identified with Mark Twain. He always called that identification 'wishful thinking'."
"That's right," Wendy said. "Mr. Clemens was really a model father, even though he had such a full schedule. When he was home, he spent the evenings and weekends with his girls. At the time we're talking about, Susy was 14, Clara was 12, and Jean was 6. Jean was very much the baby of the house. Susy was the oldest, and her father's favorite. Susy had many of her mother's characteristics. He cared very much about both their opinions of his works. Mrs. Clemens was his editor; it was her job to go through his writings and remove things people might find offensive. Of course, Mr. Clemens would often write outrageous things, just so Mrs. Clemens could take them back out. Susy was often disappointed in some of the things Mrs. Clemens crossed out, but later Susy wrote that she came to agree with her mother's opinion."
"You know about the story sessions, don't you?" Wendy asked.
"Where the girls would challenge Mr. Clemens to make up stories about the pictures above the fireplace?" Alex asked.
"That's right. The story had to start with one picture, include all the knick-knacks and bric-a-brac on the shelves in- between exactly in order, then end with the second picture. That was one of the high points of their family life." Wendy's voice choked. "And you may get to be there," she said, with tears in her eyes.
After a moment to compose herself, Wendy continued, "Mr. Clemens was always concerned with the girls' education. While Mrs. Clemens was in charge of many things, such as German lessons, Mr. Clemens was concerned with art, literature, and England."
"Why England?" Alex asked.
"There was a family trip planned to England," Wendy answered. "But even more important, at the time it was felt that America hadn't really developed it's own culture, and that refined people studied English culture. I can tell you an interesting story. Mr. Clemens was determined that his daughters should know the English monarchs in order, and the years of their reign. At Quarry Farm, where they spent their Summer months, Mr. Clemens had a series of white pegs driven into the ground alongside the road that wound through the farm. Each peg had the name of an English monarch, starting with the first king on the peg nearest the house. The distance to the second peg was the number of years, in feet, that the monarch reigned. The pegs continued up the road, each one spaced a distance representing the number of years in feet. The last peg was near Mr. Clemens' study. This one was Queen Victoria's, and there was no peg marking the end of her reign, since she was still the Queen. Mr. Clemens felt that the eye remembered better than the mind, so his children would have this better way of remembering the monarchs and the length of their reign. In addition, they could do their studying out-of-doors, and also get exercise at the same time."
"What a wonderful idea!" Deanna exclaimed.
"He was full of such ideas," Wendy commented. "For a time, the children each had to bring a date from history to the breakfast table, and tell the family about that date."
"Was he away from home very often?" Alex asked.
"Yes, he did a lot of lecturing, and made a number of trips to gather information for his books. Whenever he could, he took Susy or Clara or everyone along with him. When Susy was six, the family travelled to Germany for some time," Wendy answered.
"In 1886, Susy was writing a biography of her father," Wendy continued. "This was very important to both of them. Susy often commented, both in writing and to her mother, that Mr. Clemens was doing certain things, or saying certain things, just so she would put it in the biography. And she was probably right."
"There are some other things you should know," Wendy said. "Mr. Clemens was born in the South, in Missouri, and his speech always had a slow, southern drawl. His background included times on the Mississippi River and in the Wild West. He became a rough Westerner, and his speech and writing often included vulgarities and slang. Much of his attraction to Mrs. Clemens, and to New England, was the belief that they would polish him, and make a cultured gentleman of him. He felt that Susy shared many of these traits with her mother. At the same time, he was proud of his background, and proud to be one of the common men."
"He was always a performer, whether on stage, with his family, or with friends. He enjoyed being the center of attention. Once, when Susy asked him why he didn't attend church, he said it was because he only liked to hear himself talk. Susy thought it was only half-joking."
"Those are some of the more important things to know about Mr. Clemens," Wendy concluded. "Do you have any questions?"
"No, I don't think so. I think I know more about him now than I did before, but I don't know if I know enough to be comfortable with him," Alex answered.
"Don't forget, you're just supposed to be a regular kid, and you shouldn't know much more than general knowledge that a child would pick up. And you certainly shouldn't know anything about what happens after 1886. That's why we've been careful to limit our discussion to that time period."
Wendy discussed other matters with Alex, including how young girls dressed (with pictures), how they acted among their elders, and other matters of behavior. Young ladies were expected to be young ladies, distinctly different in all ways from boys. Even their games differed, since young girls were not to put themselves into 'compromising' positions where 'unseemly physical contact' might take place. Games that involved both boys and girls were usually very safe, such as charades. Girls were always deferential and polite. Refined young ladies were expected to know the classics, play a musical instrument (especially the piano), and be able to sing presentably well. Alex was not much of a singer, and knew how to hammer out a basic tune on the piano, but it was felt best if she avoided musical situations.
Finally, when Wendy felt Alex was prepared, she said, "I wish you all the luck in the world. If this mission is successful, you'll accomplish something wonderful and important. You're a very courageous young lady to do this."
"Thank you," Alex said, and she and Deanna left to rejoin Igor.