# New York, Wednesday, February 21, 1906 explained — The Autobiography of Mark Twain

> Chapter companion for The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain.

## What happens

Mark Twain reflects on advice from his father-in-law, Jervis Langdon, about the importance of signing contracts promptly. Langdon recounts how he and other businessmen lost a fortune by postponing the signing of a contract for the Lehigh Valley Railroad, a mistake that cost them millions.

## Themes in this chapter

### Character and Morality

Twain emphasizes the moral and practical importance of fairness in contracts and the wisdom of acting decisively.

### Family and Domestic Life

The chapter centers on a personal conversation between Twain and his father-in-law, highlighting familial bonds and shared wisdom.

## Character check-ins

### Mark Twain

Narrator and author, recalling a conversation with his father-in-law about contracts and business wisdom.

### Jervis Langdon

Twain's father-in-law, who shares a cautionary tale about losing a railway deal by delaying a contract signing.

### Susy Clemens

Mentioned as the subject of Susy's Biography, though not directly appearing in the anecdote.

## Key lines

> When you and the publisher shall have gotten the contract framed to suit you both and no doubts about it are left in your minds, sign it⁠—sign it: today, don’t wait till tomorrow.

Once you and the publisher have agreed on a contract and are confident in its terms, sign it immediately without delay.

_Twain recounts his father-in-law's advice to act promptly on contracts, learned from a costly mistake._

> We had traded a Bank of England for ten minutes’ extra sleep⁠—a very small sleep, an apparently unimportant sleep, but it has kept us tired ever since.

We exchanged the equivalent of a vast fortune for just ten more minutes of rest, a seemingly trivial trade that has left us with lasting regret.

_Langdon's metaphor for the immense cost of postponing the railroad contract signing._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_autobiography_of_mark_twain_se/chapters/volume-ii-new-york-wednesday-february-21-1906
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_autobiography_of_mark_twain_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_autobiography_of_mark_twain_se/chapters