Page:Boys Life of Mark Twain.djvu/217

 In May he considerably increased his income by undertaking a department called "Memoranda" for the new Galaxy magazine. The outlook was now so promising that to his lecture agent, James Redpath, he wrote:

And in a second letter:

The little household on Delaware Avenue was indeed a happy place during those early months. Neither Clemens nor his wife in those days cared much for society, preferring the comfort of their own home. Once when a new family moved into a house across the way they postponed calling until they felt ashamed. Clemens himself called first. One Sunday morning he noticed smoke pouring from an upper window of their neighbor's house. The occupants, seated on the veranda, evidently did not suspect their danger. Clemens stepped across to the gate and, bowing politely, said: