AdepartmentintheSt。NicholasMagazineofferedaprizeforacaricaturedrawingofsomewell—knownman。Therewereoneortwoofcertainprominentpoliticiansandcapitalists，andtherewasliterallyawheelbarrowloadofMarkTwain。Whenhewasinformedofthishewrote：
\"Notributecouldhavepleasedmemorethanthat——thefriendshipofthechildren。\"
Tributescametohiminmanyforms。InhisnativeStateitwasproposedtoformaMarkTwainAssociation，withheadquartersatHannibal，withtheimmediatepurposeofhavingaweeksetapartattheSt。LouisWorld’sFair，tobecalledtheMarkTwainweek，withaspecialMarkTwainday，onwhichanationalliteraryconventionwouldbeheld。Butwhenhisconsentwasasked，andhisco—operationinvited，hewrotecharacteristically：
Itisindeedahighcomplimentwhichyouofferme，innaminganassociationaftermeandinproposingthesettingapartofaMarkTwaindayatthegreatSt。LouisFair，butsuchcomplimentsarenotproperfortheliving；theyareproperandsafeforthedeadonly。Ivaluetheimpulsewhichmovesyoutotendermethesehonors。Ivalueitashighlyasanyonecan，andamgratefulforit，butIshouldstandinasortofterrorofthehonorsthemselves。Solongasweremainalivewearenotsafefromdoingthingswhich，howeverrighteouslyandhonorablyintended，canwreckourreputeandextinguishourfriendships。
IhopethatnosocietywillbenamedformewhileIamstillalive，forI