To the Editor of The World:

Sir: You ask me for a sentiment which shall state how much I have to be thankful for this time. For years it has been a rule with me not to expose my gratitude in print on Thanksgiving Day, but I wish to break the rule now and pour out my thankfulness; for there is more of it than I can contain without straining myself. I am thankful – thankful beyond words – that I had only $51,000 on deposit in the Knickerbocker Trust, instead of a million; for if I had had a million in that bucket shop, I should be nineteen times as sorry as I am now.

Trusting that this paean of joy will satisfy your requirement, I am

Yours truly,

Mark Twain

Mark Twain in a letter to the editor of The New York World, 27 October 1907