Howells did publish his review that June in the Atlantic Monthly, after he had sent Twain a copy of the manuscript and asked him to note his "parting jab"—indeed Howells did find a crevice in which to put Twain's opinion. In fact, earlier in the review, Howells had also included a Twainian criticism of Raymond's added dialogue:
. . . Only one point we must except, and we suspect it is not the author's lapse; that is where the colonel borrows ten dollars of Clay Hawkins, and being asked not to mention the return of it, stops on his way out and with a glance of low cunning at the audience says, "Well, I won't!" This is thoroughly false and bad, and the stupid laugh it raises ought to make Mr. Raymond ashamed. Colonel Sellers is always serious, and apart from what he considers his legitimate designs upon the public purse is as high-souled and chivalrous as Don Quixote.
Ironically, the line in question—"Well, I won't!"—appears in both the pre-production and production manuscripts. Howells' criticism is a valid one, to be sure, but Twain should share in the blame, if not be held entirely at fault in this lapse of character.
As for Howells' "parting jab," it was aimed at Raymond's lack of pathos in the final act of the play. The review later states:
. . . Sellers is not a mere glare of absurdity; you do not want to be laughing at him all the time; and Mr. Raymond might trust the sympathy of his audience in showing all the tenderness of a man's heart. We are loath to believe that he is not himself equal to showing it. (14)
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