Smyrna times., 1870-11-02
Mark Twains First and Last Poem.

sohS VINO known MIN Will readily believe
me; when say that | never composed but
one poem IN all The long third of century
that have lived persons who know me will
be sincerely grateful and, finally, when | saw
that the poem which | composed was not the
one which my father was enamored of, persons
VINO may have known us both will not need tn
nave this truth shot into them with a mDun.
tam howitzer before they can receive it. NV
father and | were always on the most distant
terms when | Was "A boy-a sort of armed mem
trallty, so to speak. At irregular intervals
TINS neutrality Was broken, and suffering ensu-
ed; but will be candid enough to saw that
the breaking and suffering were always divided
up with st'ict impartisity between us-vhich
Is to say my father did the breaking and | did
the suffering. AS general thing | was a
backward, cautious, unadventurous bov: but
once jumped OFT two-stOry stable another
time gave an elephant plug of tobacco
and retired without waiting for an answer:
and still another time pretended to be talking
IN my sleep. and got off a portion of a very
Wretched cOnundrum in hearing of my father.
Let US not pry into the result it was Of no
consequence to any one but me-
But the poem l have referred to as attract
ing my father attention and achieving his ia
v0r was " Hlawatha. Some man who court
ed a sudden and awful death presented him
with an early copy. never lost faith in NV
own senses until | saw him sit down and 90 to
reading it in cold blood-saw him open the
book and heard him read these following lines,
with the same refectiOnless judicial trigidity
with which he always read his charge to the
jury, or administered an oath to witness
Take yOur bow, o Hiawatha,
lake your arrows, jasper headed,
Take your war-clu5, Puggawanguu,
Take your mlttens, Miniekahwan
And your birch-canoe for sailing,
And the Oil of Mshs Mama"
Presently my father took out of his breast
pocket an imposing warrantce deed and fix
ed his eyes upon 1t and dropped into medita-
ton. | knew what it was texan lady and
gentleman had given my half brother Grin
johnson, handsome property in a town in
the North in gratitude to'him for having saw
ed their lives by an act of brilliant herosm.
By and by my father looked toward ME aud
sighed. Then he said
" If had such son as this poet here were
a subject worthler than the traditions Of these
Indians"
II you please, sir, where?"
" In this deed"
SIN the-deed?"
" es in this very Decd" said my father,
throwing it on the table. There is more
poetry, more romance, more sublimIty, more
splendid imagery hidden away in that homoy
document than could be found in all the tradi-
tions OF all the savages that live.
Indeed, sir? Could could get it out,
sir? Could compose the poem, sir, do you
think"
You"
| wilted.
Presently my fathers face softened somewhat
and he said
Go and try. But mind, curb folly. No
| poetry at the expense OF truth. Keep strictly
to the facts. -
said 1 would, and bowed myself out, and
went up stairs.
Hawatha" kept drouing in my head
aud so did my fathers remarks about the sub.
lin ity and romance hidden in my subject, aud
also his injunction to beware of wasteful and
exubCrant fancy. | noticed, just here, that |
| hcedlessly brought the deed away with me.
Now, at this moment came to me one of those
moods Of daring reckessness, such as | refer
red to a while ago. Without another thought,
and in plain defiance of the fact that knew
my father meant me to write the romantic
story OF my half-trother's adventure and sub
sequent good fortune, l ventured to heed
merely the letter of his remarks and ignore
their spirit. | took the stupid "warrantee
deed itself and chopped it up into Hiawa-
THAN blank verse, without altering or leaving
out three words and without transposing six
1t required loads of courage to go down stairs
and face my father with my performance. [
started three or four times before finally got
my pluck to where it would stick. But at last
| said | would go down and read it for him if
he threw me over the church for it. | stood up
to begin, and he told me to come closer. |
edged up little, but still left as much neutral
ground between us as thought he would stand.
Then began. 1t would be useless for me to
try to tell what conflicting emotions expressed
themselves upon his face, nor how they grew
more and more intense as | proceeded; nor
how tell darkness descended upon his connte-
nance, and he cgan to gag and swallow, and
his hands began to work and twitch, as | reel
ed off line after line, with the strength ebbing
cut Of me aud my legs trembling under me:
THE STORY OF GALLANT DEED
THIS INDENTURE, made the teuth
Day of November, in the year
Of our Lord one thousand eight
Hundred and six aud fifty.
Between Joanna S. Z. Gray,
And Philip Gray, her busl and,
OtS@lem city, in the State
kind of lodged, and the boot jack broke
the looking lass. | could have waited 10 sec
what became OF the other missiles if | had
wanted to, but took no interest in such
things.
The New York Mail thinks that gymnastics
for ladies' must be getting fashionable, judging
from the fcats of balancing and posturing per-
formed by the bellies of that city on the rails
of the pews at crowded weddings.
A Hartford sharper has developed the latest
swindle-taking out life insurance policy for
another man, paying for it with forged check,
and getting his commission in good money.