Although the Scribners did not publish Mark Twain's books, the humorist
was a frequent visitor to the retail store, and occasionally he would
wander back to the publishing department located at the rear of the
store, which was then at 743 Broadway.
Smoking was not permitted in the Scribner offices, and, of course, Mark
Twain was always smoking. He generally smoked a granulated tobacco
which he kept in a long check bag made of silk and rubber. When he
sauntered to the back of the Scribner store, he would generally knock
the residue from the bowl of the pipe, take out the stem, place it in
his vest pocket, like a pencil, and drop the bowl into the bag
containing the granulated tobacco. When he wanted to smoke again
(which was usually five minutes later) he would fish out the bowl, now
automatically filled with tobacco, insert the stem, and strike a light.
One afternoon as he wandered into Bok's office, he was just putting his
pipe away. The pipe, of the corncob variety, was very aged and black.
Bok asked him whether it was the only pipe he had.
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