Thomas Kinsella (1832–84), a native of Ireland, was hired by the Brooklyn Eagle as a typesetter in 1858, became a law reporter, and in 1861 assumed the editorship, which he retained until his death. Under Kinsella’s direction, the Eagle became Brooklyn’s leading journal and claimed “the largest circulation of any evening paper in the United States” (Rowell, 65).

The misunderstanding is explained by the next two letters, to James Redpath. Clemens had delivered the first of his scheduled Brooklyn lectures on the evening of 1 December, at the Bedford Avenue Reformed Church, for the Brooklyn Library Association, also called the Williamsburgh Library Association. The Brooklyn Times reported that the performance “gave delight” and evoked “ever recurring peals of laughter.” And the Brooklyn Eagle remarked upon “the frequent interruptions of the audience whose senses of appreciation were unmistakeably tickled in the right spot” (“The Sandwich Islands,” Brooklyn Times, 2 Dec 69, 2; “Williamsburgh Library Association Lecture,” Brooklyn Eagle, 2 Dec 69, 3; Lain, 68).