The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-07-26
THE K OF THE wo
Mark Twain's Preparations
Possible Encounter with
the Comet.
From the New York Sun,

HARTFORD, June Z1.-Deslrlng toj
opinion of that celebrated amateur \
mer, Mr.. Samuel Langhorne Clemens
new comet, 1 ' visited his house this i
just before daybreak. His passionau
ness for observing celestial phenomd
well known. l was confident l we'd
him at his telescope in the turret d
the northeast corner of his extiaa
III ansion. A few well directed blows
him to the window. "Hello!" sd
I" Come up; but don't wake
baby. Mind the sixth stair OH the
flight; it creaks a Hades Of a falsettd
saying, he let down his door key at
of a string.
When l reached the turret my fried
no longer in the turret. He was sitlu
open scuttle leading to the roof, smd
cigar. With both hands he grasped
pole. When it grew lightsrI perceiN
it was a boat hook. His face had
look and his long legs hung listlessly
the scuttle way. You look tired,
said l. Have you been at 1t all MID
All night ?" said he with a gro
consisted of a vowel and two cod
sounds. "All night? This makes the
consecutive night that l haven't clos
an eye. It's wearing on me. This d
responsibility is undermining my d
ton. My of duty is as stroul
next mans but sometimes feel like
go my grip, even if the CONDEMNED
slides into the revised version of bril-
All night? Good night! Some
nightw
There was a degree of exasperation
tone which the circumstances did mott
warrant. "Well," said l, "there's no
for anger. Nobody compels you to sit
in the malarious morning atmosphd
early dew"
He looked for a minute as if lie va
to break out with a torrent Of obju
Then he mastered his wrath, and
down upon me with All expression
ancholy pity. "The tail Of the conr
he, sadly waving the end OF his pole
the northern sky; sis, according to mi
lations, A, OOO,O 900 miles long, yet, ii
reach more than = quarter of the way
the skulls of some people that | know
reckless ignorance of mankind ama
more and more the older l grow. vi
l 60 to bed? Yes, it would be a
easy and natural thing to go TO bed, T.
it now? Perhaps l had better go
And he laughed derisively.
"What in the lam Of common u
you driving at, Clemens ?" l demand
"Oh, nothing at ALL" he replied. wh
donic wave of his pole. "Nothiug
that while the mad revelry of the Td
on below, and the multitude pursues
ed avocations precisely as though a L
catastrophe was not imminent, one
watcher sits up here in his lonely towd
ing danger and mourning great fatigue
sake of his infatuated fellow beings.
have been such examples of devotiCl
tory, but they are rare, and it has alwd
left to posterity to recognize them
present moment l fill the post of LOO
the planet, young man. You'll find
in the census the exact number of tel
liens whose existence depends upon
lance. That's all I'm driving at.
1 saw now pretty we'll how things VI
my friend. So, to humor him, | gH
marked 81 always knew your lila1
Mark. Yet l must say that this lad
taking surprises me-"
He immed.a.el became atfaDle
confident al. There Is a good de1
true Christian spirit Of self-denlal id
there, 10Y You see, they are
about the tail. I've ciphered OIL thai
l understand every inch of it. Itss
suppose that the tail isn't solid, al
tough, too. Do you imagine that t1
could go bullying through space at tA
200 miles a minute without k, ock1
out of a tail that was vapor?
bank OH to the real end of the NJ
and Boston 4 O'Clock express, start \
even forty miles an hour, and see
your fog bank would travel with
motive. Yet they ask us to swalloF
fernal nonsense about the comets
observation of this fellow, and also
gia's comet, seven years ago, have
, me that comets tails are fastened
and are of a fibrous and durable natl
, Hartford beefsteak."
"And what do you propose to do
pole ?" l asked.
, "Great Cesar" he exclaimed.
a tail 100000 miles long, 3,OOO,V
thick, and tough as whip leather,
about in tn wake of that piraticalc1
time she tacks overhead, don't you
necessity of keeping a cool-headed
cular man on deck here to fend on
the cussed thing whisks this way
: Railroad progress continues in