TRANS Nr. 17: 1.11. - Gerlinde Ulm Sanford: Mark Twain in Vienna

I was originally attracted to the topic of this essay because I found that Mark Twain's stay in Vienna had been examined only rather briefly in older essays and books on Mark Twain. In the past few years, however, this situation has changed. Carl Dolmetsch's book "Our Famous Guest" Mark Twain in Vienna(1)is devoted entirely to this period in Mark Twain's life.There are also other recently published materials such as Cynthia Ozick's book, Fame & Folly, which contains a substantial chapter on "Mark Twain's Vienna"(2) and A Companion to Mark Twain,(3)which in Part IV, "Mark Twain and Travel," includes a Chapter on “Mark Twain in Continental Europe,” among other works.

Despite this greater coverage, I feel that Mark Twain's very friendly relationship with the Austrian journalist and feuilletonist Eduard Pötzl deserves greater attention than it has received to date. Likewise, the surprisingly negative attitude toward Mark Twain shown by the Austrian writer and journalist Karl Kraus merits amplification and further examination, since the coverage to date omits a number of commentaries. This essay, therefore, provides a brief general background about Twain in Vienna but focuses mainly on the friendship of Twain and Pötzl and on the animosity of Kraus toward the American humorist.

Between the years 1897 and 1899, Mark Twain lived in Vienna for about twenty months. As a well known luminary, he met many famous personalities during his extended visit and made numerous friends. One of his closest friendships was with the Austrian journalist and feuilleton writer Eduard Pötzl (1851-1914), as can be documented by the letters and notes between the two men that have come to light just recently.

Shortly after Twain's arrival in Vienna, on October 2, 1897, Eduard Pötzl, a renowned journalist working for the Neues Wiener Tagblatt, published in the Sunday feuilleton a humorous article on Mark Twain: "Der stille Beobachter" ("The Quiet Observer"). In it Pötzl "narrates an imaginary incident in which Twain, standing on a city bridge to observe the passing scene, notebook in hand, is greeted by two typical city workmen who endeavor to converse with him in Weanerisch (Viennese dialect). The result is a hilarious series of misunderstandings and befuddlements."(4) Eduard Pötzl is pretty much forgotten today, yet during his active years as Viennese journalist and author, he was popular and very well liked. He first pursued studies in law but did not stay to complete his degree. Instead, he took a clerical job with the Austrian railway and then in 1874, only twenty-three years old, he became a writer and journalist for the Neues Wiener Tagblatt. He remained associated with this paper throughout his life, rising in his career up to feature editor. Pötzl was not Jewish, yet despite many instances of rising anti-Semitism in Vienna, Pötzl was distinctly philo-Semitic. This trait aroused the anger of Georg von Schönerer who in 1888, together with a gang, broke into the office of the Neues Wiener Tagblatt with the intent to destroy the presses. Emperor Franz Joseph thereupon annulled Schönerer's patent of nobility.—It might well be the case that Pötzl's philo-Semitic disposition attracted him especially to Mark Twain, as he, like a number of people in Vienna, might have believed Mark Twain to be Jewish. This misunderstanding came about, because Twain's real name, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was well known to many, who falsely suspected that his pseudonym "Mark Twain" was a cover name to distract from his Jewishness.

Upon my request, Robert Hirst, the General Editor of the Mark Twain Papers at the Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkley kindly granted me access to these letters between Twain and Pötzl, although a number of them have not yet been published. An electronic edition of Mark Twain's Complete Letters is now in progress and will hopefully be completed within the next few years. The publication of Twain's letters to Pötzl will be part of this ambitious Bancroft project. In the following I will limit myself to introducing and commenting briefly on these notes and letters, in order to make Mark Twain aficionados look forward to their eventual publication.

The following letter of Twain to Pötzl has already been published(5) in the NEWSLETTER OF THE FRIENDS OF THE BANCROFT LIBRARY, but I am quoting it here in full because it contains interesting information and also serves as a good representative example of Twain's humor:

This letter shows clearly that Twain and Pötzl shared a penchant for humor. I was not able to locate "Darf ich rauchen," but from the title and from Twain's anecdote, one may easily draw some conclusions about the content of Pötzl's feuilleton. In this short text Twain leads the reader from one comical surprise to the next. First surprise: by consulting several doctors, he achieves permission to drink anything he wanted, except water. Second surprise: Consulting only one doctor is to be considered thoughtless. Third surprise: Not having any doctor is the very Past-Mastership of wisdom, whereby Past-Mastership is comically ambiguous, "past" meaning in this context either "beyond" or else "by-gone."

The next of these newly found letters is also published.(7) In this letter, postmarked October 4, 1897, Twain again thanks Pötzl for books and "the Feuilleton" as well as for Pötzl's offer to show him Vienna. He continues: "I shall be very glad to have you along when I get arrested on the bridge, because you will be able to explain the case to the police (and divide the punishment[)]." This remark, as well as Twain's wish to "get out on the bridge"—a little bit further down in the same letter—refers to the above mentioned "Feuilleton" on Mark Twain with the title "Der Stille Beobachter" ("The Silent Observer") that Pötzl had just published the previous day. In this sketch, Pötzl depicts Twain "standing on a city bridge observing the passers-by, writing in his notebook, and being greeted by two workmen who attempt, without success, to talk with him in German."(8)

As the letterhead indicates, the letter was written around 5 p.m. Twain reports to Pötzl that the gout has finally left him and that he "could" leave his bed now, and that he "shall" within the hour. Thus we find out that Twain was not exactly an early riser. Yet for the next day, he promises to be done with breakfast and also "dressed & glad" to receive Pötzl by eleven a.m. He wants to "get out on the bridge"!

The next letter, still unpublished, is dated October 8, 1897.(9) Twain and his wife Olivia and his daughters Clara and Jean are still living in the Hotel Metropole that overlooks the Donaukanal (Danube Canal) near the Schwedenbrücke (in 1897 this bridge was called Ferdinandbrücke; it was renamed Schwedenbrücke in 1920). Twain reports that he and his family have now been assigned quarters "charmingly & spaciously & economically" on the second floor, "Stock III," and that they plan to stay there at least a month. Eventually, however, Mrs. Clemens "will wish to see the Continental & the Persian Exquisite," as they, "like the rest of the world," were quite "willing" to improve themselves whenever possible. Twain thanks Pötzl's chief for his assistance in finding a suitable place "& we are going to continue to hope & believe that we shall get housed exactly to suit our taste and our strictest notions of economy. The first of these details is substantially accomplished in our present new quarters, but the second one not quite."

On October 14, 1997, Twain's wife, Olivia L. Clemens, wrote a letter to Pötzl(10) because her husband was under time pressure. We learn that Pötzl has a cold and Mrs. Clemens regrets that this will keep him from taking advantage of the beautiful weather. She informs Pötzl that Twain presently is not in the position to contribute anything to the Viennese papers because he has promised so much "to America as fast as he is able to write it." The letter concludes with the assurance that the Clemens daughters (Clara and Jean) would be happy to see the Viennese Carnival under Pötzl's "auspice" and that she hoped to have the pleasure of Pötzl's visit at the Hotel Metropole as soon as he can overcome his cold.

On October 15, 1997 Pötzl wrote back in German to Mrs. Clemens(11) thanking her for her note from yesterday and expressing hope to be again "besuchsfähig" ("capable of visiting") by the following Monday. He then continues his letter by recommending "einen Freund Amerikas" ("a friend of America"), the famous dentist "Dr. E. M. Thomas, Imperial Councler" [sic] ("Kaiserlicher Rath")" who spent his youth in America, who was a "glühender Verehrer" ("glowing fan") of Twain's genius, and who would request to be permitted to pay a courtesy call. Pötzl concludes the letter with the request to remember him to Twain and the two young ladies. He signs off as "Ihr ganz ergebener Ed. Pötzl" ("Your entirely devoted Ed. Pötzl").

In a note from October 15, 1897 written at the Hotel Metropole,(12) Twain declines an invitation with regrets on behalf of his wife and his daughters and continues: "In regard to the other question I at present call to mind none." It was neither possible to find out what invitation is meant, nor which question Twain is alluding to here.

In a letter, postmarked on the envelope November 17, 1897,(13) Twain's daughter, Clara Clemens, writes from the Hotel Metropole to Pötzl in German. She would like him to reaffirm that indeed he would be able to help her to get tickets that are otherwise hard to obtain. She would like to find out whether one or two tickets would be available for a Philharmonic concert on a Sunday so that she could pick them up right away. She would be "ausserordentlich dankbar" ("extraordinarily thankful") for his friendliness and effort. She then adds that her mother, Olivia Clemens, hopes that he could again come for a visit soon so that they could then go together to the museum and spend a few hours there.

On a photograph(14) of himself given to Eduard Pötzl, Twain wrote: "Feb. 1898. To Ed. Pötzl, with the love of S. L. Clemens." On the back Twain parodies the biblical saying from Matthew 19:24: "Again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven." Twain's version says that it is easier "for a camel to enter the Kingdom of Heaven through the eye of a rich man's needle than it is for any other foreigner to read the terrible German script."

In a note dated February 26, 1898, Twain's wife Olivia(15) invites Pötzl for an evening visit and informs him that also "Mr. Grünfeld"(16) had announced his visit. In the event that Pötzl did not want to practice his English she would try to manage as well as possible with her "bad German."

Twain himself writes to Pötzl on March 6, 1898,(17) addressing him now with a familiar "Dear Pötzl." Obviously Pötzl had intended to come for a visit but departed when he discovered that the Clemenses already had visitors. Twain expresses his regret that Pötzl did not come in, as "no strangers—but only friends" were present. We also learn that Clara Clemens plans to go to a ball—it is Carnival time—and that Twain himself intends to spend some time at the ball, if Mrs. Clemens' aching throat continues to improve. On the envelope, sent to Neues Wiener Tagblatt, Pötzl is addressed with "Esq."

On March 15, 1898(18) Olivia L. Clemens expresses her husband's regrets for having missed Pötzl the previous evening. She had hoped that Pötzl would help persuade Twain to go to Budapest to give a reading. Without Pötzl's support Twain decided not to go to Budapest on this occasion. He did, however, travel to Budapest in March 1899.

From December 25, 1898, there exists a brief but touching Christmas note from Twain to Pötzl.(19) It alternates between standard English and German phrases of politeness. The German "Küss die Hand" (kiss the hand) is directed toward the ladies, "Hab' die Ehre" (I have the honor) refers to Twain himself, who signs with his first name "Mark" only, thus indicating the continued growth of the friendship between himself and Pötzl.

On May 23, 1899, a Tuesday,(20) Twain wrote a note to Pötzl from the Hotel Krantz. (This hotel was located in the center of Vienna, at Neuer Markt 6. After having spent the summer of 1898 in Kaltenleutgeben, the Clemenses had moved on October 14, 1898 into the Hotel Krantz.) Twain addresses Pötzl again as "Dear Pötzl" and says that he would consider it a "great & pleasant favor" if Pötzl could come to dinner on Wednesday. Twain was to depart for London only two days later. Inviting Pötzl so close to the end of Twain's stay in Vienna, once more indicates the importance of the friendship between Twain and Pötzl.

Since Twain had been granted an audience with Emperor Franz Josef on May 25, 1899, he rescheduled his departure for London for Friday afternoon, May 26, 1899. Carl Dometsch provides a detailed report about the audience.(21)

On May 26, 1899, the day of his departure, Twain writes once more to Pötzl. This letter was published in The New York Times on June 11, 1899(22) as part of a report on Twain's farewell to Vienna:

The next known note by Twain to Pötzl comes from New York and is dated, according to the Bancroft project, approximately December 3, 1900.(25) One may conclude from it that Pötzl had asked Twain to write an article for a Viennese paper. Twain, however, had to decline because of his contract with Harper's Magazine that did not permit him to write for any other magazine. The note assures Pötzl that he was often thought of and spoken of in the Clemens family and ends "with kindest regards & Christmas greetings."

On December 17, 1900 the Bancroft Library came into possession of a typewritten letter of Pötzl to Twain,(26) written on stationary of the Viennese Newspaper Neues Wiener Tagblatt. The letter, here in my more or less literal translation, reads:

Approximately on June 21, 1904 Twain wrote from Florence, Italy a printed form letter to many friends. Pötzl was one of these friends.(29) This form letter was written in reply to condolences that Mark Twain received after the death of his wife Olivia on June 5, 1904 in Florence. They had been married for 34 years.

In this letter, Mark Twain extends thanks to all who had expressed their condolences. He regrets not to be able to thank with his "OWN HAND AND PEN EACH FRIEND" and requests that this general "ACKNOWLEDGMENT MAY BE ACCEPTED AS A TOKEN OF THE GRATITUDE, UNEXPRESSED & INEXPRESSIBLE, WHICH IS IN MY HEART." At the bottom of this form letter as it was sent out to Pötzl, Twain scribbled: Good-bye, dear Pötzl, if we meet no more."

On November 30, 1905 Mark Twain celebrated his seventieth birthday.(30) Of course, he received numerous congratulations "from friends, & from strangers who also are friends." In a form letter dated December 18, 1905 and addressed "To you, & to all my other known & unknown friends" and closing with "Your & their obliged friend Mark Twain," Twain thanks all those well-wishers. To the letter sent to Pötzl he added a personal note.(31) This personal note to Pötzl—the last one in the Twain / Pötzl correspondence—is dated much earlier, namely, December 6, 1905. Twain refers to an article that Pötzl had published in a Viennese newspaper, most likely the Neues Wiener Tagblatt, calling it "a beautiful & most valued appreciation" and assuring Pötzl that he has read it "with delight." In addition, Twain writes nostalgically: "The sound of your voice in print brings back Vienna, & you, & Leschitizky(32) to me & fills me with memories of blessed days!" Twain is happy and thankful that they "have had" such blessed days, yet he knows also that they will never come again.

Carl Dolmetsch shows in his above-mentioned book that all in all Twain was extraordinarily revered and celebrated in Vienna. The very famous Austrian writer and journalist Karl Kraus (1874-1936), however, did not share the general fascination about Mark Twain's presence in the city. In his newspaper, Die Fackel (The Torch), Kraus launched several severe attacks at Mark Twain.(33)

On April 1, 1899, April Fool's Day, Karl Kraus had started his magazine Die Fackel (The Torch). This magazine—in red cover, and devoted to attacking corruption in the Hapsburg Empire, corruption among journalists, nationalism of the pan-German movement, and any form of hypocrisy—was an immediate success. Karl Kraus himself was almost exclusively the sole contributor. The magazine appeared irregularly until 1936, all in all 922 issues.

In No. 3, 1899 Kraus wrote an article with the title "U.A.,".the abbreviation for "unter anderem" or "unter anderen" ("among other things" or "among other persons"). The article begins:

Further on in his article, Karl Kraus criticizes the Neue Freie Presse for commenting in flattering ways on Mark Twain's every step in Vienna. He condemns Mark Twain's bad judgment of the political conditions in Austria and condemns even more that the press, by printing these remarks by Mark Twain, exposes Austrian politics to the ridicule of the readers. Especially scandalous he finds that the press reported Twain's saying at one interview "Österreich hätte bis heute keinen einzigen großen Mann hervorgebracht"(35) Kraus criticizes Twain's jokes about the German language, Twain's mockery of Viennese culture and customs. Kraus claims that only in Vienna— in no other city of Europe—the "Anerkennung seines [Twain's] längst bankerotten Könnens" (the "recognition of Twain's long bankrupt ability") could have brought forward such a ridiculous revival. He speaks of the "geschmacklosen Groll des Humorgreises" ("tasteless resentment of the senile humorist"), etc. Kraus's article is several pages long, and not only Twain, but a good number of other personalities have to endure his scorn. At the very end, in order to mock Twain's mocking of the German language, Kraus coins a new word "Herrn Mark Twain zuliebe" ("for the sake of Mark Twain"): "Regulativexportpanzerschiffchinagründungsschwindelära."

Carl Dolmetsch, in his book "Our Famous Guest" Mark Twain in Vienna, devotes a chapter to Karl Kraus's puzzling very negative and very critical attitude towards Mark Twain. In this chapter entitled "Diogenes in Vienna," Dolmetsch writes: "What personal contact Mark Twain actually had in Vienna with Karl Kraus cannot now be ascertained. Kraus was then but twenty-five and not the established writer, like Eduard Pötzl, that Twain would have sought out. ... Details in 'U.A.' indicate its author was present at Twain's Concordia speech and at least one of the American humorist's charity benefit readings in Vienna, but if Kraus took either of these occasions to be introduced to Twain, as many of his press colleagues did, he did not record the fact, and neither did Twain."(36)

One may assume that Twain read Kraus's "U.A" satire, yet according to our present information on Twain, he did not register any reaction to it. One might with Dolmetsch speculate why Twain kept his silence: "Were the sarcasms of this brazen upstart beneath his contempt? Was he at a loss for an appropriate response to such seemingly unprovoked criticism? Or did he perhaps recognize more than a kernel of truth in Kraus's indictment of the way Twain and the liberal press in Vienna exploited one another to their mutual advantage?"(37)

Dolmetsch points out that Mark Twain and Karl Kraus shared a number of similarities: Both writers exposed human foibles of various sorts, while nonetheless being rather self-centered, both writers were extremely successful at public readings. Both excelled in aphoristic style.

Karl Kraus was a Jew who later turned Catholic and finally became a socialist agnostic. In 1897, "Eine Krone für Zion (A Crown for Zion), a pamphlet ridiculing Theodor Herzl's Der Judenstaat and the Zionist movement it helped initiate, won Kraus’s approval from both the anti-Zionist Jews and the anti-Semites. ... The extent and nature of Karl Kraus's anti-Semitism are too large and complex a subject to discuss adequately here, though certainly, as Theodor Lessing(38) said, Kraus was a 'shining example of Jewish self-hatred.' ... Anti-Semitism was also almost certainly a covert factor in Kraus's Fackel assault on Mark Twain."(39) We might remind ourselves once more that Samuel Clemens took on the pen name Mark Twain. To people only superficially acquainted with him, this name change might have been interpreted as an attempt to abandon and disguise his Jewish origin. While Mark Twain's seeming Jewishness might have aroused Eduard Pötzl's philo-Semitic disposition, it might well have stirred up Karl Kraus's anti-Semitism.

Later on, Dolmetsch writes that—apart from the numerous references to Mark Twain in his long article "U.A."—"Kraus made only one further direct reference to Mark Twain in his magazine."(40) This is not quite correct. Checking the online-version of Die Fackel, several more instances can be found. Furthermore, these additional references to Mark Twain in Die Fackel do not necessarily support Dolmetsch's claim that Kraus had perhaps "tempered his disdain for the American humorist."(41)

In No. 4, 1899, on page 25, a commentator mentions a women's club that uses Mark Twain as bait by writing on each of the club's invitations: "Mark Twain has promised to appear," which the commentator finds somewhat "schofel" ("horrid").

Later in the same number, on page 27, one finds two comments that simultaneously reached the editorial office. One reads: "Sie überschätzen Mark Twain." ("You overestimate Mark Twain." The other one reads: "Sie unterschätzen Mark Twain." ("You underestimate Mark Twain.")

In No. 5, 1899, on page 22, we read: "Mark Twain ist von Wien abgereist." ("Mark Twain has departed from Vienna.")

In No. 63, 1900, on page 25, we learn that Neues Wiener Tagblatt had invited Twain to contribute something for its Christmas edition. However, Mark Twain declined.

In No. 123 of Die Fackel, 1902, page 22, Kraus refers in the context of another "fehlerhaften Diagnose" ("faulty diagnose") to Twain's famous reply to the false announcement of his death. Mark Twain corrected this wrong announcement with the following note to the New York Journal, June 2, 1897: "James Ross Clemens, a cousin of mine was seriously ill two or three weeks ago in London, but is well now. The report of my illness grew out of his illness, the report of my death was an exaggeration." Karl Kraus refers to this famous Twain quote in Nr. 123: "Mark Twain depeschierte einmal nach Europa: »Nachrichten von meinem Tode stark übertrieben«" ("Mark Twain once telegraphed to Europe: »news of my death are greatly exaggerated«").

In No. 203 of Die Fackel, 1906, page 22, Kraus criticizes a certain unjustified, coarsely exaggerated, and dastardly written report on an interview between the reporter and the hero of the preceding story by saying that it sounded in every sentence like an exaggeration "die etwa Mark Twain einen amerikanischen Wahlagitator von meinen Beziehungen zum Cabaret auftischen lassen könnte" ("that for instance Mark Twain could allow an American election-agitator to serve up an opinion about my [=Kraus's] relationships to the cabaret").

The last remark on Mark Twain in Die Fackel, occurs inNo. 413, 1915, page 96. Karl Kraus reports smugly on a breakfast that Gräfin Wydenbruck(46) remembers fondly: "»Unvergeßlich« ist ihr zum Beispiel »auch ein Frühstück mit Mark Twain und Peter Nansen,(47) bei dem die beiden großen Dichter drei bis vier Stunden auf einem Fleck beisammen gesessen waren und sich gegenseitig ihre Erlebnisse erzählt hatten«."(48)

A number of Mark Twain's works reflect his stay in Vienna. To mention just a few: His famous presentation on the German language: "Die Schrecken der deutschen Sprache."(49) He gave this talk, the so-called Concordia Speech, on October 31, 1897 in Vienna and spoke in German. Furthermore, Mark Twain's presentation "German for the Hungarians"(50) as well as a few other works evoke his impressions of Austria. Especially noteworthy among these is e.g. an important essay with the title "Stirring Times in Austria", published in Harper's Magazine in February 1898. In this essay, Twain writes about the growing political strains in Vienna that later led to World War I and the end of the Habsburg Monarchy.

(6) According to Robert Hirst, the books mentioned here "may have included Bummelei and Launen, published in 1896 and 1897." http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/events/bancroftiana/121/twaindrink.html.

(7) This letter is identified as: CU-MARK, #12357. The envelope is postmarked October 4, 1897. This is a Monday. At the right top of the letter Twain wrote: "Monday, 5 p.m." Published in: NEWSLETTER OF THE FRIENDS OF THE BANCROFT LIBRARY, Number 121, Fall 2002, p.10, electronic edition: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/events/bancroftiana.html.

(8) Robert Hirst, "Permission to Drink Anything," Mark Twain's Letters to Eduard Pötzl, in: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/events/bancroftiana/121/twaindrink.html.

(9) CU-MARK, #12358. The letter is postmarked October 7, 1897. Twain might have been mistaken with the date.

(10) CU-MARK, #12362.

(11) This letter came to me without any identifying number. Carl Dolmetsch transcribes and translates it, albeit slightly differently, Dolmetsch, p. 263f.

(12) ViU, #05298.

(13) CU-MARK, #12364.

(14) MS, inscribed photograph: Johannes Pötzl, #11617. Johannes Pötzl is Eduard Pötzl's grandson.

(15) MS, mourning border: Johannes Pötzl, #11616.

(16) This refers most likely to the pianist and composer Alfred Grünfeld (1852-1924).

(17) TS: CU-MARK, #11640.

(18) CU-MARK, #12363.

(19) CU-MARK, #12359.

(20) To Eduard Pötzl, 23 May 1899, Vienna Austria (MS, mourning border: Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek, #12597).

(21) Dolmetsch, p. 306ff.

(22) MS, CU-Mark, and New York Times, 11 June 1899, #12360. In this essay quoted from: http://www.twainquotes.com/18990611.html.

(23) To Eduard Pötzl, 26 May 1899, Vienna, Austria (MS, CU-MARK, and New York Times, 11 June 1899, #12360).

(24) The end of the last sentence in the letter as available in the Bancroft Library, under CU-Mark #12360, deviates slightly from the version in the New York Times: " . . . what my plan is—then they will find out that I have invented a way to suddenly exhaust the life-principle of the atmosphere & kill the whole human race in four minutes."

(25) To Eduard Pötzl, 3? December 1900, New York, N.Y. (MS facsimile: Johannes Pötzl, #11618).

(26) This letter bears only the date as identification.

(27) The German address used by Pötzl is not very common: "Viellieber Meister!"

(28) Lutz, Robert, a publisher in Stuttgart. He published e.g. Mark Twains Skizzenbuch. Stuttgart: Lutz, 1898, and Mark Twains humoristische Schriften. Stuttgart: Lutz, 1903.

(29) To Eduard Pötzl, ca. 21 June 1904, Florence, Italy (MS facsimile, mourning border, printed form letter: Johannes Pötzl, #11619).

(30) In New York, Twain’s 70th birthday was celebrated at Delmonico’s restaurant. There, wearing the white suit he so often is depicted in, he gave his famous birthday speech.

(31) To Eduard Pötzl, 18 December 1905, New York, N.Y. (MS, holograph facsimile form letter, with additions by SLC: CU-MARK, #12361).

(32) Theodor Leschetizky, actually Teodor Leszetycki (1830-1915) a famous Polish musician and composer who also befriended Twain during his stay in Vienna.

(33) Carl Dolmetsch allots an entire chapter to the relationship between Kraus and Twain. Dolmetsch, p. 245ff.

(34) Die Fackel, Heft 3, 1899, quoted from the online-version: http://corpus1.aac.ac.at/fackel/. In English, my translation, this text reads: >>"Present among others was Mark Twain."—Where? Here and there. At the opening of an art exhibition, at the soiree of a state-dignitary, at the auction of the [Charlotte] Wolter estate, at the concert of the Russian church singers, at a great fire, at a baby's baptism, at the visit of a penitentiary, and at the banquet of the Budapest journalists ... in a word: everywhere. I discovered that some Viennese papers have, for reasons of practicality, stereotyped this pleasant marginal comment "Present among others [u.a.] was Mark Twain," while others have decided that henceforth it would be enough to merely state that the absence of the American humorist from a particular event might be possible at any rate.
So far, to be sure, we could not come up with enough personalities who, if they were not able to do anything else for their time, were at least ready any time to be present among others [u.a.]; and, in order to meet a long-felt need, Mark Twain hurried to Vienna and courageously and resolutely placed himself into the ranks of those who lead an existence "among others" ["u.a."]. And thus it has happened for some time now that hardly a day passes on which the papers would not bring into the house the merry tidings that the overseaish humorist has appeared here and there and has then of course returned to his hotel.<<

(35) Die Fackel, Heft 3, 1899, quoted from the online-version: http://corpus1.aac.ac.at/fackel/. My translation: "Austria had produced, up to now, not a single great man."

(36) Dolmetsch, p. 247.

(37) Dolmetsch, p. 248.

(38) Theodor Lessing (1872-1933), German-Jewish philosopher and political writer, murdered in Marienbad.

(39) Dolmetsch, p. 250

(40) Dolmetsch, p. 260.

(41) Dolmetsch, p. 260.

(42) My translation: "Mark Twain is still busy with announcing to English and American interviewers his opinion on the German language's long sentences and on his other experiences in Vienna. According to the 'Daily Chronicle,' Mark Twain makes the following judgment about the Austrian capital: >>One cannot possibly live a few years in Vienna without being completely captivated by the charm of the city and its people. One settles down here very well, one is content to be here, and never again leaves completely.<< According to the 'New Yorker Staats Zeitung' [Twain claims]: >>Vienna is the most corrupt place on the whole wide globe, and I can maintain, political corruption there is even worse than anywhere in the United States.<<"

(43) This statement refers to the Viennese Jews who frequently lived in the area of the Schottenring in the so-called Leopoldstadt and / or had their business or their shops there.

(44) Wilhelm Singer, editor of the Neues Wiener Tagblatt.

(45) "The great humorist, however, sent instead of an article >>Christmas Greetings<< to Vienna, the short contents of which read thus: "Happiness and well-being to all my friends in the entire Empire. The same I wish to my enemies—on Christmas Day, yet not a single day longer.<< To the fans of Jewish anecdotes, this brainwave of an American humorist, who—as one recognizes now, not without good reason—was originally called Samuel Longhorne, will seem somewhat familiar; it reminds one conspicuously of the most pious wish of the inhabitants of the Schottenring: >>May you reach a hundred years, but immediately!<< It still needs to be examined whether Mark Twain was set on this tone through his prolonged connection with the 'Neuen Freien Presse,' or whether it was only the written invitation by Mr. Singer that caused the corresponding inspiration."

(46) Wydenbruck-Esterházy, Misa, Countess.

(47) Nansen, Peter (1861-1918), writer.

(48) ">>Unforgettable<< she finds for example "also a breakfast with Mark Twain and Peter Nansen where both great writers had been sitting together at one spot and had told to each other their experiences.<<"

(49) http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/?id=12&xid=2909&kapitel=3&cHash=2d0e3bf477schreckn

(50) http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/?id=12&xid=2909&kapitel=2&cHash=2d0e3bf4772

1.11. American and Austrian Literature and Film: Influences, Interactions and Intersections

Mark Twain in Vienna

Notes and Letters between Twain and Eduard Pötzl; Karl Kraus on Twain

Abstracts: