Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-09-25
The Burden Of Guilt.
BY MARK TWAIN.

Finn, the town drunkard, wa
burned to death in the calaboose
The calaboose victim was not
citizen; he was poor stranger
harmless, whisky-sodden tramp
/ knew more about his case thar
anybody else; l knew too mucl
OF it in that bygone day to relish
speaking of it. That tramp wal
wandering about the streets one
chilly evening, with pipe in his
mouth, and begging for a match
He got neither matches nor cour-
tesy; on the contrary, a troop oi
bad little boys followed him
around and amused themselves
with nagging and annoying him
I assisted. But at last some ap-
peal which the wayfarer made for
forbearance, accompanying it
with a pathetic reference to his
forlorn and friendless conditio n
touched such sense Of shame
and remnant of right feeling as
were left in me, and I went away
and got him some matches, and
then hied me home and to bed.
heavily Weighted as to conscience
and unbuoyant in spirit. An
hour or two afterward the man
was arrested and locked up in the
calaboose by the marshal-large
name for constable, but that was
his title.
At two in the morning the
church bells rang for fire, and
everybody turned out, of course
| with the rest. The tramp had
used his matches disastrously:
had set bis straw bed ON fire and
the oaken sheathing Of the room
had caught. When I reached
the ground. two hundred men,
women and children stood mass
ed together transfixed with hor
ror, and staring at the grated
windows of the Jail. Behind the
iron bars and, tugging frantically
at them and screaming for help,
stood the tramp. He seemed
like a black object set against
sun, 80 white and intense was the
light at his back.
The marshal could not be
found, and he had the only key.
A battering- ram was quickly i'm
provised, and the thunder Of its
blows upon the door had SO en-
couraging a sound that the spec.
tators broke into wild cheering
and believed the merciful battle
won. But it was not so. The
timbers were too strong; they
did not yield. II was said that
the mans death grip still held on
to the bars when he was dead,
and that in this position the fires
wrapped him about and consum-
ed him As to this / do not
know. What was seen after L
recognized the face that was
pleading through the bars was
seen by others and not by me.
| saw that face; so situated.
every night for a long time after
ward; and I believed myself as
guilty OF the mans death as if /
had given him the matches pur-
posely that he might burn him.
self up with them. / had not a
doubt that I should be hanged il
my connection with this tragedy
were found out. The happenings
and the impressions of that time
are burned into my memory, and
the study of them entertains me
as much now as they themselves
distressed me then. If anybody
spoke OF that grizzly matter l was
all ears in minute, and alert to
hear what might be said, for /
was always dreading and expect
ing to find out that. / was sus-
pected; and so fine and so deli
cate was the PERCEPTION of my
guilty conscience that it often de !
tected suspicion in the most pur-
poseless remarks, and in looks,
gestures. glances OF the eye,
which had no significance, but
which sent me shiveiing away in
a panic OF fright, just the same.
And how sick it made me when
somebody dropped, howsoever
ca-lessly and barren of intent,
the remark that "murder will
out" For boy of ten years 1
was carrying pretty weighty
cargo.
All this time / was blessedly
forgetting one thing the fact
that l was an inveterate talker in
my sleep. But one night awoke
and found my bed-mate-my
younger brother = sitting up in
bed. contemplating me by the
HgAt OF the moon. L said:
s'What is the matter?"
"You talk so much, I cant
sleep"
came 10 sitting posture in
an instant, with my kidneys in
my throat and my hair on end.
"What did I say? Quick, out
with It. What did I say2"
Nothing much"
'slt's liel You know every
thing"
Everything about what?"
"You know well enough about
what"
about what2 | don't know
what you are talking about. II
think you are sick or crazy. or
something But, anyway, you are
awake, and I'll get to sleep while
| have chance"
He fell asleep, and / laid there
in a cold sweat; turning this new
terror over in q whirling chaos;