4 July 1864
This piece is among the more imaginative stories that Clemens succeeded in publishing in the San Francisco Morning Call under the guise of local items. Although ostensibly a news story, Clemens' literary interest is clearly predominant: he is writing a burlesque, or “condensed,” novel in the fashion made popular in the West by Charles Henry Webb and Bret Harte. In fact, Clemens knew that these two men were at this time laboring together on the newly founded Californian, which published nothing but literary material. On 4 September 1864, after Harte became the magazine's editor, Clemens said of him in the Call: “Some of the most exquisite productions which have appeared in its pages emanated from his pen, and are worthy to take rank among even Dickens' best sketches.”1 “Original Novelette” is a modest attempt to follow the fashion of literary burlesque made popular by these men, and it suggests that Clemens was not content with his role as a reporter on a daily journal like the Call.
“The Californian,” San Francisco Morning Call, 4 September 1864, p. 3, reprinted in Appendix A33, volume 2.
The only drawbackⒶemendation there is to the following original novelette, is, that it contains nothing but truth, and must, therefore, be void of interest for readers of sensational fiction. The gentleman who stated the case to us said there was a moral to it, but up to the present moment we have not been able to find it. There is nothing moral about it. Chapter I.—AboutⒶemendation a year ago, a German in the States sent his wife to California to prepare the way, and get things fixed up ready for him. ChapterⒶemendation II.—She did it. She fixed things up, considerably. She fell in with a German who had been sent out here by his wife to prepare the way for her. Chapter III.—TheseⒶemendation two fixed everything up in such a way for their partners at home, that they could not fail to find it interesting to them whenever they might choose to arrive.Ⓐemendation The man borrowed all the money the woman had, and went into business, and the two lived happily and sinfully together for a season. Chapter IV.—Grand Tableau. The man's wife arrived unexpectedly in the Golden AgeⒺexplanatory note, and busted out the whole arrangement. Chapter V.Ⓐemendation—Now at this day the fallen heroine of this history is stricken with grief and refuses to be comforted; she has been cruelly turned out of the house by the usurping, lawful wife, and set adrift upon the wide, wide world, without a rudder. But she doesn't mind that so much, because she never had any rudder, anyhow. The noble maiden does mind being adrift, though, rudder or no rudderⒶemendation, because she has never been used to it. And so, all the day sits she sadly in the highway, weeping and blowing her nose, and [begin page 33] slinging the result on the startled passers-by, and careless whether she lives or dies, now that her bruised heart can never know aught but sorrow any more. Last Chapter.—She cannot go to law to get her property back, because her sensitive nature revolts at the thought of giving publicity to her melancholy story. Neither can she return to her old home and fall at the feet of the husband of her early love, praying him to forgive, and bless and board her again, as he was wont to do in happier days; because when her destroyer shook her, behold he shook her without a cent. Now what is she to do? She wants to know. We have stated the case, and the thrilling original novelette is finished, and is not to be continued. But as to the moral, a rare chance is here offered the public to sift around and find it. We failed, in consequence of the very immoral character of the whole proceeding. Perhaps the best moral would be for the woman to go to work with renewed energy, and fix things, and get ready over again for her husband.
The first printing in the San Francisco Morning Call for 4 July 1864 (p. 2) is copy-text. Copy: PH from Bancroft. There are no textual notes.