12 November 1864
This sketch, the seventh of Clemens' weekly contributions to the Californian, appeared a month after he “resigned” his position as local reporter for the San Francisco Morning Call. It is an elaborate travesty of what Clemens himself referred to as “sensation items,” those long and minutely detailed accounts of the latest bloody murder, usually found on page one. Despite the implicit scorn with which he treats this feature of contemporary journalism, Clemens was himself thoroughly experienced in the form. For example, “Daring Attempt to Assassinate a Pawnbroker in Broad Daylight!” appeared on the first page of the Morning Call for 18 August 1864: Clemens almost certainly wrote it.1
Needless to say, this “only true and reliable account” of Caesar's assassination is not taken from the “Daily Evening Fasces,” but from Shakespeare—in particular, act 3 of Julius Caesar, which is quoted and modernized throughout the “local” report. But Clemens is of course bolder than Shakespeare in his use of anachronism. The sketch contains an onslaught of humorous anachronism ranging from the “second edition” of the Fasces to the invocation of “the Coroner's inquest” and the “Chief of Police.” With this device Clemens strikes glancing blows not only at the practice of “localizing” itself, but at the social and political mores of San Francisco.
Clemens reprinted the sketch, virtually without revision, in the 1867 Jumping Frog book. In reviewing that book the Boston Evening Transcript called this sketch a “capital rendering” of Caesar's assassination “after the fashion of modern newspaper reporters.” The Sacramento [begin page 109] Union suggested only that it was among the sketches “suggestive of [John] Phœnix.”2 Clemens continued to reprint the piece in 1872, 1873, and 1875.
[being the only true and reliable account ever published, and taken Ⓐhistorical collation from the roman “daily evening fasces,” of the date of that tremendous occurrence.]Ⓐemendation
Nothing in the world affords a newspaper reporter so much satisfaction as gathering up the details of a bloody and mysterious murder, and writing them up with aggravatedⒶhistorical collation circumstantiality. He takes a living delight in this labor of love—for such it is to him—especially if he knows that all the other papers have gone to press and his will be the only one that will contain the dreadful intelligence. A feeling of regret has often come over me that I was not reporting in Rome when Cæsar was killed—reporting on an evening paper and the only one in the city, and getting at least twelve hours ahead of the morning paper boys with this most magnificent “item” that ever fell to the lot of the craft. Other events have happened as startling as this, but none that possessed so peculiarly all the characteristics of the favorite “item” of the present day, magnified into grandeur and sublimity by the high rank, fame, and social and political standing of the actors in it. In imagination I have seen myself skirmishing around old Rome, button-holingⒶhistorical collation soldiers, senators and citizens by turns, and transferring “all the particulars” from them to my note-book;Ⓐhistorical collation and, [begin page 111] better still, arriving “at the base of Pompey's statue” in time to say persuasively to the dying Cæsar: “O,Ⓐhistorical collation come now, you ain'tⒶhistorical collation Ⓐtextual note so far gone, you know, but what you could stir yourself up a little and tell a fellow just how this thing happened, if you was a mind to, couldn't you—now do!” and get the “straight of it” from his own lips. And be envied by the morning paper hounds!Ⓐhistorical collation
Ah! if I had lived in those days I would have written up that item gloatingly, and spiced it with a little moralizing here and plenty of blood there; and some dark, shuddering mystery; and praise and pity for some, and misrepresentation and abuse for others, (who didn'tⒶhistorical collation patronize the paper,) and gory gashes, and notes of warning as to the tendency of the times, and extravagant descriptions of the excitement in the Senate-house and the street, and all that sort of thing.Ⓐhistorical collation
However, as I was not permitted to report Cæsar's assassination inⒶhistorical collation the regular way, it has at least afforded me rare satisfaction to translate the following able account of it from the original Latin of the Roman Daily Evening Fasces Ⓐhistorical collation of that date—second edition:
Our usually quiet city of Rome was thrown into a state of wild excitement, yesterday, by the occurrence of one of those bloody affrays which sicken the heart and fill the soul with fear, while they inspire all thinking men with forebodings for the future of a city where human life is held so cheaply, and the gravest laws are so openly set at defiance. As the result of that affray, it is our painful duty, as public journalists, to record the death of one of our most esteemed citizens—a man whose name is known wherever this paper circulates, and whose fame it has been our pleasure and our privilege to extend, and also to protect from the tongue of slander and falsehood, to the best of our poor ability. We refer to Mr.Ⓐemendation J. Cæsar, the Emperor elect.
The facts of the case, as nearly as our reporter could determine them from the conflicting statements of eye-witnesses, were about as follows: The affair was an election row, of course. Ninetenths of the ghastly butcheries that disgrace the city now-a-days, grow out of the bickerings and jealousies and animosities engendered by these accursed elections. Rome would be the gainer by it if her very constables were elected to serve a century, for in our experience we have never even been able to choose a dog-pelter [begin page 112] without celebrating the event with a dozen knock-downs and a general cramming of the station-house with drunken vagabonds over night. It is said that when the immense majority for Cæsar at the polls in the market was declared the other day, and the crown was offered to that gentleman, even his amazing unselfishness in refusing it three times, was not sufficient to save him from the whispered insults of such men as Casca, of the Tenth Ward, and other hirelings of the disappointed candidate, hailing mostly from the Eleventh and Thirteenth, and other outside districts, who were overheard speaking ironically and contemptuously of Mr. Cæsar's conduct upon that occasion.
We are further informed that there are many among us who think they are justified in believing that the assassination of Julius Cæsar was a put-up thing—a cut-and-dried arrangement, hatched by Marcus Brutus and a lot of his hired roughs, and carried out only too faithfully according to the programme. Whether there be good grounds for this suspicion or not, we leave to the people to judge for themselves, only asking that they will read the following account of the sad occurrence carefully and dispassionately before they render that judgment:
The Senate was already in session, and Cæsar was coming down the street toward the capitol, conversing with some personal friends, and followed, as usual, by a large number of citizens. Just as he was passing in front of Demosthenes andⒶhistorical collation Thucydides'Ⓐemendation Ⓐtextual note drug-store, he was observing casually to a gentleman who, our informant thinks, is a fortune-teller, that the Ides of March were come. The reply was, Yes, they wereⒶhistorical collation come, but not gone yet. At this moment Artemidorus stepped up and passed the time of day, and asked Cæsar to read a schedule or a tract, or something of the kind, which he had brought for his perusalⒶhistorical collation. Mr. Decius Brutus also said something about an “humble suit” which he wanted read. Artemidorus begged that attention might be paid to his first, because it was of personal consequence to Cæsar. The latter replied that what concerned himself should be read last, or words toⒶhistorical collation Ⓐemendation that effect. Artemidorus begged and beseeched him to read the paper instantly. [Mark that; it is hinted by William ShakspeareⒺexplanatory note, who saw the beginning and the end of the unfortunate affray, that this “schedule” was simply a note discovering to Cæsar that a [begin page 113] plot was brewing to take his life.] However, Cæsar shook him off, and refused to read any petition in the street. He then entered the capitol, and the crowd followed him.
About this time, the following conversation was overheard, and we consider that, taken in connection with the events which succeeded it, it bears an appalling significance: Mr. PopiliusⒶemendation Lena remarked to George W. Cassius (commonly known as the “Nobby Boy of the Third Ward,”) a bruiser in the pay of the Opposition, that he hoped his enterprise to-day might thrive; and when Cassius asked, “What enterprise?” he only closed his left eye temporarily, and said with simulated indifference, “Fare you well,” and sauntered toward Cæsar. Marcus Brutus, who is suspected of being the ringleader of the band that killed Cæsar, asked what it was that Lena had said; Cassius told him, and added in a low tone, “I fear our purpose is discovered.”
Brutus told his wretched accomplice to keep an eye on Lena, and a moment after, Cassius urged that lean and hungry vagrant, Casca, whose reputation here is none of the best, to be sudden, for he feared prevention. He then turned to Brutus, apparently much excited, and asked what should be done, and swore that either he or Cæsar should never turn back—he would kill himself first. At this time, Cæsar was talking to some of the back-country members about the approaching fall elections, and paying little attention to what was going on around him. Billy Trebonius got into conversation with the people's friend and Cæsar's—Mark Antony—and under some pretence or other, got him away, and Brutus, Decius,Ⓐemendation Casca, Cinna, Metellus Cimber, and others of the gang of infamous desperadoes that infest Rome at present, closed around the doomed Cæsar. Then Metellus Cimber knelt down and begged that his brother might be recalled from banishment, but Cæsar rebuked him for his fawning, sneakingⒶhistorical collation conduct, and refused to grant his petition. Immediately, at Cimber's request, first Brutus and then Cassius begged for the return of the banished Publius; but Cæsar still refused. He said he could not be moved; that he was as fixed as the North Star, and proceeded to speak in the most complimentary terms of the firmness of that star, and its steady character. Then he said he was like it, and he believed he was the only man in the country that was; therefore, since he was [begin page 114] “constant” that Cimber should be banished, he was also “constant” that he should stayⒶemendation banished, and he'd be d—dⒶhistorical collation if he didn't keep him so!
Instantly seizing upon this shallow pretext for a fight, Casca sprangⒶhistorical collation at Cæsar and struck him with a dirk, Cæsar grabbing him by the arm with his right hand, and launching a blow straight from the shoulder with his left, that sent the reptile bleeding to the earth. He then backed up against Pompey's statue, and squared himself to receive his assailants. Cassius and CimberⒶhistorical collation and Cinna rushed upon him with their daggers drawn, and the former succeeded in inflicting a wound upon his body, but before he could strike again, and before either of the others could strike at all, Cæsar stretched the three miscreants at his feet with as many blows of his powerful fist. By this time the Senate was in an indescribable uproar; the throng of citizens in the lobbies had blockaded the doors in their frantic efforts to escape from the building, the Sergeant-at-Arms and his assistants were struggling with the assassins, venerable Senators had cast aside their encumbering robes and were leaping over benches and flying down the aisles in wild confusion toward the shelter of the Committee-rooms, and a thousand voices were shouting “ Po-lice! Po-lice! Ⓐhistorical collation Ⓐtextual note” in discordant tones that rose above the frightful din like shrieking winds above the roaring of a tempest. And amid it all, great Cæsar stood with his back against the statue, like a lion at bay, and fought his assailants weaponless and hand-to-hand, with the defiant bearing and the unwavering courage which he had shown before on many a bloody field. Billy Trebonius and Caius LigariusⒶemendation struck him with their daggers and fell, as their brother-conspirators before them had fallen. But at last, when Cæsar saw his old friend Brutus step forward, armed with a murderous knife, it is said he seemed utterly overpoweredⒶemendation with grief and amazement, and dropping his invincible left arm by his side, he hid his face in the folds of his mantle and received the treacherous blow without an effort to stay the hand that gave it. He only said “Et tu, Brute!” and fell lifeless on the marble pavement.
We learn that the coat deceased had on when he was killed was the same he wore in his tent on the afternoon of the day he [begin page 115] overcame the Nervii, and that when it was removed from the corpse it was found to be cut and gashed in no less than seven different places. There was nothing in the pockets. It will be exhibited at the Coroner's inquest, and will be damning proof of the fact of the killing. These latter facts may be relied on, as we get them from Mark Antony, whose position enables him to learn every item of news connected with the one subject of absorbing interest of to-day.
Later.—While the Coroner was summoning a jury, Mark Antony and other friends of the late Cæsar got hold of the body and lugged it off to the Forum, and at last accounts Antony and Brutus were making speeches over it and raising such a row among the people that, as we go to press, the Chief of Police is satisfied there is going to be a riot, and is taking measures accordingly.Ⓐemendation Ⓐhistorical collation
Historical Collation
Texts collated:
Cal “The Killing of Julius Cæsar‘Localized,’ ” Californian 1 (12 November 1864): 1.JF1 Jumping Frog (New York: Webb, 1867), pp. 94–109. Reprints Cal without demonstrably authorial revision.
JF2 Jumping Frog (London: Routledge, 1867), pp. 92–101. Reprints JF1 with few errors.
JF3 Jumping Frog (London: Hotten, 1870), pp. 75–81. Reprints JF2 without further error.
JF4 Jumping Frog (London: Routledge, 1870 and 1872), pp. 85–93. Reprints JF2 with few errors.
MTSk Mark Twain's Sketches (London: Routledge, 1872), pp. 264–271. Reprints JF4 with authorial revisions.
MTSk MT Copy of MTSk revised by Mark Twain, who made no changes in this sketch.
HWa Choice Humorous Works (London: Hotten, 1873), pp. 509–513. Reprints JF3 with few errors.
HWa MT Sheets of HWa revised by Mark Twain, who made three changes in this sketch.
HWb Choice Humorous Works (London: Chatto and Windus, 1874), pp. 488–491. Reprints HWa with authorial revisions from HWaMT.
HWb MT Copy of HWb revised by Mark Twain, who made no changes in this sketch.
SkNO Sketches, New and Old (Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1875), pp. 162–166. Reprints HWbMT without authorial revisions.
The first printing in the Californian 1 (12 November 1864): 1 is copy-text. Copies: Bancroft; clipping in Scrapbook 4, pp. 23–24, MTP.
Reprintings and Revisions. The sketch was reprinted in JF1, very slightly altered, almost certainly from a clipping of the Californian. No trace of such a clipping survives in the Yale Scrapbook, presumably because the sketch was among those removed from the front part of the scrapbook when whole leaves were cut out. None of the changes—“and” omitted (110.2); “Oh!” instead of “O,” (111.2); “did not” instead of “didn't” (111.11); “are” instead of “were” (112.27); the addition of “to” (112.34)—is convincingly authorial. The change from “and” to “&” (112.24) may be authorial, while the substitution of “an't” for “ain't” (111.2) is demonstrably not authorial (see the textual note). All of the changes in JF1 are, therefore, here attributed to Charles Henry Webb.
The reprinting of the JF1 text is described in the textual introduction. Routledge reprinted JF1 in 1867 (JF2), and Hotten in turn reprinted JF2 in 1870 (JF3). Routledge also reprinted JF2 in 1870 (JF4a) and, using the unaltered plates of JF4a, reissued the book in 1872 (JF4b). None of these texts was revised by the author, although the compositors of JF2, JF3, and JF4a made several small errors: “aggravating” instead of “aggravated” (110.7); “in” omitted (111.16); “Faces” instead of “Fasces” (111.18); “Cimba” instead of “Cimber” (114.9); and “Police!” instead of “Police!” (114.21–22). When Mark Twain prepared the printer's copy for MTSk in March or April 1872, he revised a copy of JF4a and evidently made one large deletion at the end of the first paragraph (110.22–111.6), containing his supposed words to the dying Caesar. Collation suggests that he also corrected two errors (“Faces” and “Police!”) introduced by the JF4a compositor, and it may have been he who altered “sprang” to “sprung” (114.5).
One year later (1873) Hotten reprinted the JF3 text in HWa. His compositors made two small errors: “button-holding” instead of “button-holing” (110.21) and “persual” instead of “perusal” (112.30). When Mark Twain revised this book for Chatto and Windus in the fall of 1873 (HWaMT), he made three changes. He deleted “sneaking” (113.31) and changed “d—d” to “hanged” (114.2). And he again deleted his supposed words to the dying Caesar, this time wholly removing the last two sentences of the first paragraph, as well as the subsequent paragraph about the technique of “localizing” (110.19–111.14). The error “button-holding” was removed with this deletion; the error “Cimba” introduced by JF3 persisted, as did the error “persual.” All of the HWaMT changes were incorporated in HWb, published in 1874.
When in 1875 Mark Twain came to reprint the sketch in SkNO, he entered the title “The Killing of Julius Caesar Localized” as item 24 in the Doheny table of contents (see figure 23C in the textual introduction, volume 1, p. 626). He did not revise the sketch in either HWbMT or MTSkMT, the two sources available to the compositors of SkNO. Since he did not cancel it in HWbMT, the presumption must be that he intended the compositors to use this text, which they did. Collation shows that SkNO contained a faithful reprinting of the HWb text, correcting two errors (“Cimba” and “persual”) introduced by JF3 and HWa, but containing no further revisions by Mark Twain.
The diagram of transmission is given below.