Dreamed Life

I dreamed I was born, & grew up, & was a pilot on the Mississippi, & a miner & journalist in Nevada, & a pilgrim in the Quaker City, & had a wife & children & went to live in a Villa out of Florence—& this dream goes on & on & sometimes seems so real that I almost believe it is real. I wonder if it is? But there is no way to tell, for if one applied tests, they would be part of the dream, too, & so would simply aid the deceit. I wish I knew whether it is a dream or real.

From a letter by Mark Twain to Susan Crane, March 19, 1893, Florence, Italy.

In Mark Twain’s Letters 1886-1900, p. 55; originally published as Mark Twain's Letters, arranged with comment by Albert Bigelow Paine. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1917. Also in The Portable Mark Twain, edited by Bernard De Voto. Original publication: New York, The Viking Press, 1946.