or
bath-room. He arranged with the chief of police to be on hand in another
room; with the rest of the servants quietly to prepare a wedding-feast,
and finally with Lizzie herself to be dressed for the ceremony. He had
already made an appointment with the young man to come to, see him at a
certain hour on a "matter of business," and the young man arrived in the
belief, no doubt, that it was something which would lead to profitable
employment. When he came in Clemens gently and quietly reviewed the
situation, told him of the young girl's love for him; how he had been
sheltered and fed by her; how through her kindness to him she had
compromised her reputation for honesty and brought upon her all the
suspicion of having sheltered a burglar; how she was ready and willing
to marry him, and how he (Clemens) was ready to assist them to obtain
work and a start in life.

But the young man was not enthusiastic. He was a Swede and slow of
action. He resolutely declared that he was not ready to marry yet, and
in the end refused to do so. Then came the dramatic moment. Clemens
quietly but firmly informed him that the wedding ceremony must take
place; that by infesting his premises he had broken the law, not only
against trespass, but most likely against house-breaking. There was a
brief discussion of this point. Finally Clemens gave him five minutes to
make up his mind, with the statement that he had an officer in waiting,
and unless he would consent to the wedding he would be taken in charge.
The young man began to temporize, saying that it would be necessary for
him to get a license and a preacher. But Clemens stepped to the door of
the bath-room, opened it, and let out Twichell, who had been sweltering
there in that fearful place for more than an hour, it being August. The
delinquent lover found himself confronted with all the requisites of
matrimony except the bride, and just then this detail appeared on the
scene, dressed for the occasion. Behind her ranged the rest of the
servants and a few invited guests. Before the young man knew it he had
a wife, and on the whole did not seem displeased. It ended with a gay
supper and festivities. Then Clemens started them handsomely by giving
each of them a check for one hundred dollars; and in truth (which in
this case, at least, is stranger than fiction) they lived happily and
prosperously ever after.

Some years later Mark Twain based a story on this episode, but it was
never entirely