UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN COLORADO

J. ROSS BROWNE AND MARK TWAIN:

SIMILARITIES OR INFLUENCE?

A PAPER SUBMITTED

IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

DEPRATMENT OF HISTORY

BY

SABRINA D. JAMES

PUEBLO, COLORADO

APRIL 2001

INTRODUCTION

Nineteenth century American, traveler and author of humorous journals, lecturer. Many people would think of Mark Twain when asked who was described above. However, the description equally applies to a lesser-known writer- J. Ross Browne. Browne traveled to and wrote about many of the same places that Mark Twain wrote about and in much the same style. However, J. Ross Browne did his work prior to Twain's. This paper will attempt to show that Mark Twain was influenced by J. Ross Browne's humorous writings of travel in the Holy Land.

BIOGRAPHY

In order to compare the two writers' styles, one could begin by comparing their lives. J. (John) Ross Browne was born February 11, 1821 at Beggar's Bush, just outside of Dublin, Ireland, to a middle class family. His father, Thomas, was forced to leave the country in 1833 due to disagreements with the Crown. The elder Browne founded an organization to protest the required tithe to the Anglican Church. The government tried him and found him guilty of seditious libel and enticing to riot. He was sentenced to one year in jail. Only a few months of the sentence was served. Thomas Browne was released on the condition that he leave the country. The family settled in Louisville, Kentucky. Ross Browne's literary hero was Robinson Crusoe, whose tale captured his fancy as a boy in Ireland. He used to reenact Crusoe's adventures on sandbars in the Ohio River near his home in Kentucky. His higher education consisted of lessons taught by his mother and sisters in the Young Ladies Seminary, which they began in Louisville. This education was cut short by Browne's desire to see the world.

Browne left home in 1838 and began to earn his living as a hand on flatboats traveling up and down the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Before he was twenty years old, he had traveled over "two thousand miles of the United States, six hundred miles of the distance on foot and sixteen hundred in a flat-boat." ⁽¹⁾

J. Ross Browne had an intense desire to see the world and decided a good way to accomplish that was to become a writer. He took a position as police reporter for the Louisville Advertiser, and later followed his father to Washington, D. C. where he obtained a job with the Globe, reporting on the United States Senate. While here, he met with a fellow traveler and they made plans to save their money and take a tour of Europe. They believed the trip would be comfortable if each gentleman contributed six to eight hundred dollars. When the time came for their departure, however, they had only forty dollars between them. They decided to work their way to Europe and hired on as sailors on a whaling ship traveling to the Indian Ocean. This journey began in mid July 1842. The adventures experienced by Browne on this seventeen-month trip were recounted in his first published work in 1846, Etchings of a Whaling Cruise, with Notes of a Sojourn on the Island of Zanzibar.

After his return from the whaling trip, Browne and Lucy Mitchell were married in 1844. This marriage would result in nine children and last through many years of travel and periods of separation until Browne's death. Letters written to Lucy indicate that Browne was a devoted husband who was unable to stay in one place for very long. In 1849 he received an appointment as a Revenue Agent on the Pacific Coast. His sail from New York to San Francisco around Cape Hope was the basis for another book, Crusoe's Island, published in 1864.

This trip to the western United States would begin a time of prolific writing for Browne. He was chosen to be the recording secretary for the California Constitutional Convention in 1849, which led to the publishing of A Report of the Debates in the Convention of California. Browne had been wise enough to retain the right of publishing on this work, which rendered him sufficient funds to start on his long awaited European journey.

J. Ross Browne returned to Washington, and in 1851, embarked for Italy with his wife and family. He settled them in Florence, where a fourth child would be born, while he spent nearly a year touring the countries of the Mediterranean as a correspondent for The National Intelligencer, and Harper's Monthly Magazine. This trip will be further explored later in this paper. The journal kept on these excursions became his most famous work, Yusef, or the Journey of the Frangi: A Crusade in the East, which was published in 1853.

The Browne family returned to Washington in 1852 when J. Ross began traveling throughout various western states as an agent of the United States government. In June of 1855, he and his family permanently relocated to the West, settling in Oakland. While working for the government, Browne was also writing and publishing many articles, mostly for Harper's Monthly. A decision was made to move for a period of time to Europe. This was done primarily to give his seven children the advantage of traveling abroad. Browne traveled while there as a correspondent for a number of newspapers and journals to support his family. These included The San Francisco Bulletin, The Sacramento Union, and Harper's Monthly. The collection of articles later became books, An American Family in Germany, and The Land of Thor, published in 1866 and 1867, respectively. The Brownes were in Europe from July 1860 until late 1863.

Following the family's return to California, Browne spent the next several years working as an Indian agent and studying the economic conditions of mining districts in California and Nevada. It was during this time that his career as a lecturer began. It was about this time, in 1866 that Mark Twain and J. Ross Browne finally met. Twain was preparing for his first public lecture when he happened upon Browne in San Francisco. Browne invited Twain to Oakland with him for a visit before the lecture in order to practice facing a crowd by giving his lecture to Browne's houseful of children.

In 1868, President Johnson appointed Browne as United States minister to China. He and his family traveled to Peking at their own expense. This prestigious post was short-lived, however. Browne, being unable to do anything less than report the truth, found that both facts and information were regarded as irrelevant and impertinent in official correspondence. ⁽²⁾ He was replaced and returned to California after only a little more than a year.

Browne's endless energy burned out suddenly on December 9, 1875. He was returning home from a business trip when he was stricken with appendicitis and died that night.

J. Ross Browne and Mark Twain led similar lives, though some years apart. Twain was born, Samuel Clemens, in 1835 in Hannibal, Missouri. Like Browne, Twain spent time traveling up and down the Mississippi River. They also both had careers as newspaper correspondents, lecturers, and authors. Twain traveled to the American West in 1861 and made a journey to the Holy Land in 1867.

Arguments have been presented to the effect that any similarities in the writings of J. Ross Browne and Mark Twain can be attributed to the similar lifestyles and time period of the two authors. Those in favor of this position argue that since both men lived at about the same time, they were both influenced by the style of humor and exaggeration. The point of view is also put forward that since Twain and Browne both lived on what was, in the early 1800s, the American frontier of the Mississippi River, they would naturally have many of the same word and analogy choices based on similar background. This writer, however, disagrees with these arguments. Many of the similarities between the two authors' works on the Holy Land seem to be beyond coincidence.

ITINERARY

J. Ross Browne traveled to Palestine in 1851. His journal, Yusef, or the Journey of the Frangi: A Crusade in the East, hereafter referred to as Yusef, details that expedition. Browne's tale begins in Sicily, and then details the travel to Malta and Athens, before his arrival in Smyrna. The steamship Browne was on stopped in Constantinople, the City of the Sultan. Browne's first view of the city was wonderful, but he soon discovered that appearances can be deceiving. He advises future travelers to never go beyond the first full view of Constantinople. To see, is bliss; to smell, is reality; to touch, is misery in the last degree.⁽³⁾

On November 23^rd, Browne landed in Beirut, where he met his dragoman, or guide, Yusef Simon Badra, for whom his journal was named. Browne then details the travels of his small group, consisting of himself and two companions, as well as Yusef and the muleteers hired to pack their supplies. The group journeyed to Baalbek, Damascus, the Sea of Galilee, and Nazareth. The party traveled on to Djenin, Nablous, and Jerusalem. Jericho and Bethlehem were side trips from Jerusalem. They returned to Beirut by way of Jaffa, Tanturra, and Tyre. Browne then steamed to Alexandria with the intent of traveling up the Nile, but received news of his wife's illness in Florence, Italy, and returned there.

Mark Twain's book of travel in the Holy Land, The Innocents Abroad, published in 1869, gives much more detail about the group's travels in Europe before reaching Palestine. The itineraries become similar with the description of the Capuchin convent on Sicily. Twain's ship travels to Naples before reaching Athens and on to Constantinople. The itinerary differs again with Twain and his group steaming through the Bosporus into the Black Sea and down to Ephesus. Once in Lebanon, the journeys of Twain and Browne become similar again. Twain went to Baalbek, Damascus, and the Sea of Galilee, then on to Jerusalem. A side trip to Jericho, the Dead Sea and Bethlehem was taken. The group then traveled to Jaffa, where their ship, Quaker City, awaited to deliver them to Alexandria. Twain rode the train to Cairo, and then steamed home to New York.

As can be seen from the preceding itineraries, both Browne and Twain visited many of the same sites in the Holy Land in much the same order. This has been advanced as a reason for the similarity in their writings on this subject. However, it must be remembered that they traveled in different ways and in different times. Large contrasts between the two were in the amount of time spent in travel and their traveling companions. J. Ross Browne traveled with only two other adventurers, his dragoman, Yusef, and a small group of Arab servants, while Mark Twain journeyed with seven other people while on his pilgrimage through the Holy Land, as well as two dragomen and fourteen servants. He arrived in the Holy Land on the Quaker City, one of the first pleasure cruises to the area. Twain spent just over three weeks on his journey through the Holy Land. Browne's trip was done at a more leisurely pace, spending about six weeks in the Holy Land, carrying most of his needs in a knapsack. One could call Browne the adventurer and Mark Twain the tourist.⁽⁴⁾

Browne's journey was made only a few years after the Ottomans had regained control of the Holy Land from Egypt. It was before the beginning of the period of large numbers of tourists traveling the region. Travel at this time was still considered an adventure to be undertaken by only a few. Twain's trip was part of a tourist package with the express purpose of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They traveled along a new road to Jerusalem lined with telegraph poles. His visit to Damascus took place just six years after the Christian inhabitants had been killed by the thousands.⁽⁵⁾ These major differences in travel, even to the same sites, should have led to some different views. However, that does not seem to be the case. A study of a few of the quotes from each book will demonstrate that Twain's work could have been strongly influenced by J. Ross Browne.

A QUESTION OF INFLUENCE

Browne himself was aware of the unacknowledged "borrowing". He wrote to his wife from London in 1870. I met Mark Twain a day or two ago at Judge Turner's. He is just the same dry, quaint old Twain we knew in Washington. I believe he is writing a book over here. He made plenty of money on his other books; some of it on mine.⁽⁶⁾ This reference would seem to be about Twain's The Innocents Abroad, which had been published in 1869.

Other critics have used the words borrowing, influence, and close similarity to describe linkage between the works of Browne and Twain. Francis Rock, in his biography of Browne, writes, "they both express themselves concerning identical things in a similar humorous manner."⁽⁷⁾ Duncan Emrich in his Comstock Bonanza states:

Walter Blair, author of Native American Humor: 1800-1900, says of Browne:

It should be remembered, however that Browne wrote and published each of his books several years prior to Twain's writing.

A direct comparison of quotes from both books indicates some of the difficulties in determining whether Browne had a marked influence on Twain. Beginning with his stated purpose for writing, Browne says he is writing for the amusement of his friends and

describing faithfully what fell under his own observation.⁽¹⁰⁾ Writing some fifteen years later, Twain writes that I have seen with impartial eyes, and I am sure I have written at least honestly, whether wisely or not.⁽¹¹⁾ It is clear from these quotes that both men are claiming to write honestly and truthfully, yet both clearly use exaggeration as they are writing. While similar on the surface, it is difficult to know whether Browne has influenced Twain, because other writers of the time also claim to be unbiased in their writing.

Another passage that seems similar is the descriptions of both men's visit to the Capuchin monastery in Palermo. This monastery is famous for its catacombs filled with bones and bodies. Browne mentions one particularly jolly skull with "a grotesque laugh of derision."⁽¹²⁾ Twain describes a skull with a "weird laugh."⁽¹³⁾ Both men vividly portray the various bodies and skulls. Browne mentions "the hair matted in horny tufts," "the sunken sockets of the eyes," and "teeth grinning between parched lips."⁽¹⁴⁾ In Twain's telling, he notes "tufts of hair stuck to the skull," "eyes deep in the sockets," and "lips shriveled away from yellowed teeth."⁽¹⁵⁾ These passages seem to be almost identical. However, it is difficult to declare influence. The subject matter does not allow for a very wide range of descriptors. It is possible that both men are simply relating what they saw with the limited language available.

Browne tells of leaving his ship at Smyrna, regardless of a quarantine placed on the city. This obstacle only increases his desire to see the city, so he decides to remain until the next boat. Twain, likewise jumps ship, though in his case the quarantine was on Athens. He and three companions snuck ashore for one night. The descriptions of these episodes both emphasize defiance of authority.

The two men write of their opinion of the city of Constantinople. Browne recommends that travelers "never go beyond the first full view of Constantinople. To see, is bliss; to smell, is reality; to touch, is misery in the last degree."⁽¹⁶⁾ Twain writes, "its attractiveness begins and ends with its picturesqueness. From the time one starts ashore till he gets back again, he execrates it."⁽¹⁷⁾ Though both men express similar sentiments, it is hard to determine direct influence.

Both authors have similar views on the first sighting of Damascus. Browne tells of a Sheik who said when he saw the city: "I will proceed no further; I will die here, for if I go on I shall be unable to enjoy Paradise."⁽¹⁸⁾ Twain's version talks of Mohammed saying "man could only enter one Paradise; he preferred to go to the one above."⁽¹⁹⁾ Again, these quotations seem marked similar. It is difficult to decide whether Twain was rewording Browne?s story, or relating a common folktale told by the residents of the area to all visitors.

J. Ross Browne's book, Yusef, was widely available and was frequently reprinted. It is highly likely that Mark Twain read Browne's work on the Holy Land years before his own travel. It is also a fact that Twain had heard Browne speak and could have been influenced in this manner.

Through the preceding quotations from J. Ross Browne and Mark Twain, one can see the strong influence that the earlier writer had. Both men had very similar writing styles. They used exaggeration and story telling. Browne and Twain both wrote travel narratives, though with the exception of Innocents, Twain usually fictionalized his accounts. Both used humor to help tell the story and to get their points across to the reader. Even allowing for the fact that both men traveled to many of the same places, the descriptions of some of those places seem too closely related. J. Ross Browne deserves a better-known place among the writers of the nineteenth century.

1.Francis J. Rock, J. Ross Browne: A Biography, (Washington, D. C.: The Catholic University of America, 1929), 14.

2.bid, 46.

3.J. Ross Browne, Yusef, or a Journey of the Frangi: A Crusade in the East, (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1871), 120.

4.Franklin Walker, Irreverent Pilgrims: Melville, Browne, and Mark Twain in the Holy Land, (Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1974), 7.

5.Ibid, 172.

6.Lina Fergusson Browne, J. Ross Browne: His Letters, Journals, and Writings, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 1969), xx.

7.Rock, 65.

8.Duncan Emrich, Comstock Bonanza: Western Americana, (New York: Vanguard Press, 1950), 4-5.

9.Browne, Lina, xx.

11.Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad, (New York: The Heritage Press, 1962), Preface.

12.Browne, Yusef, 21.

13.Twain, 225.

14.Browne, Yusef, 21.

15. Twain, 225.

16.Browne, Yusef, 120.

17.Twain, 268.

18.Browne, Yusef, 254.

19.Twain, 342.