7 May 1856
Like the previous poem, this one was inscribed in the autograph album of Ann Virginia Ruffner. The text is taken from a photofacsimile of the holograph reproduced in the Hannibal Evening Courier-Post for 6 March 1935.1
Dixon Wecter mistakenly dated this poem in 1853, conjecturing that it was written on the occasion of Clemens' departure from Hannibal in that year.2 The manuscript, which Clemens signed with his initials and dated, indicates that it was written on 7 May 1856 in Keokuk. The article in the Courier-Post makes it clear that the occasion was, in fact, Miss Ruffner's departure from Keokuk. Nevertheless, Clemens' allusion to “destiny” in the first stanza may suggest that his plans for sailing to the Amazon were well formed at this point.
I bid you now, my friend,
And though 'tis sad to speak the word,
To destiny I bend.
And though it be decreed by Fate
That we ne'er meet again,
Your image, graven on my heart,
Forever shall remain.
Aye, in my heart thoult have a place,
Among the friends held dear,—
Nor shall the hand of Time efface
The memories written there.
Good-bye,
S. L. C.
Keokuk, Iowa, May 7, 1856.
The manuscript of this poem, reproduced in photofacsimile in the Hannibal Evening Courier-Post for 6 March 1935 (p. 9C), is copy-text. Copy: PH from MoHist. There are no textual notes, emendations, or alterations in the manuscript.