Henry Lee (1826–88) was a self-educated naturalist. He played a large role in the construction of the Brighton Aquarium—which had opened for the first time on 10 August—and became its resident naturalist in December. In addition to providing informative “Aquarium Notes” for visitors, he collected his own specimens for study and published several books and articles on biological topics, aimed primarily at a general audience. Lee also owned a fur business, listing himself as a “skinner, furrier, & beaver cutter” in the London directory (London Directory, 1053; Boase, 2:352; “Opening of the Brighton Aquarium,” London Morning Post, 12 Aug 72, 2; “Obituary,” London Times, 3 Nov 88, 9). Clemens probably first met Lee on 12 September, when he visited Brighton with Edmund Routledge and Tom Hood as Lee’s guest. He could have written this note anytime thereafter until his departure from London on 11 November. For Clemens’s affectionate description of Lee, see Mark Twain’s 1872 English Journalsclick to open link.