ABSTRACT
In response to a discursive and ill-argued attack on the vulgarity of 'modern' humour in the Melboume Review (January 1885, x, 94-100), the Saturday Review critic cited, among others, Mark Twain's works as possessing popular appeal and elevated quality. When he forwarded the Saturday Review article to Mark Twain, Brander Matthews conjectured 'that it is the work of ... Mr. Andrew Lang' (18 March 1885).
