St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-12-26
MENTAL TEL EGRAPHY.
Mark Twain Tells Ofan Occurrence
Hard to Explain.


Hard to Explain.
Harper's Magazine.
Now / come to the oldest thing that
ever happened to me. Two or three
years ago l was lying in bed, idly mus
ing one morning-it was the 2d of March
when suddenly a red-hot idea came
whistling down into my camp, and eX-
ploded with such comprehensive eff
fectiveness as to sweep the vicinity
clean of rubbishy reflections. and fill
the air with their dust and flying fraS-
mentS.
This idea, stated III simple phrase.
was that the time was ripe and the
market ready fer certain book; book
which ought to be written at once; Il
book which must command attention
and be of peculiar interest-to wit, a
book about the Nevada silver mines.
The Great Bonanza was new won
der then. and everybody was talking
about it. 1t seemed to me that the per-
son best qualified to write this book was
William If. Wright, Il journalist OF Nlr-
gina, New, by whose side L had Scrlb-
bed many months when L was re-
porter there, ten or twelve years ago.
lie might be alive still; lie might be
dead; could not tell; hut would write
him anyway. | began by merely and
mOdeStlv suggesting that he make such
a book; but my interest grew as / went
Oh, and | ventured to map out what
thought ought to be the plan of the
work, he being an old friend, and not
given 10 taking good intentions for i'll.
even dealt with details. and sug-
geSted the order and sequence which
they should follow. | was about to put
the manuscript in an envelope, when
the thought occurred TO M that if his
book should be written at my SuggeS-
ton. and then no publisher happened
to want it. | should feel uncomfortable:
so | concluded to keep my letter back
until | should have secured publisher.
| pigeOn-hOled my document and
dropped note to my own publisher.
asking him to name day for business
consultation. he was out Of town on a
far Journey. My note remained un-
answered, and at the end of three or
four days the whole matter had passed
out of my mind.
On the 9th of March the pOstman
brought three or four letters. ana among
them a thick one whose SuperscriptiOn
was IN hand which seemed dimly
familiar to me. | could not "place" it
at first, but presently ] succeeded.
Then ] said to visiting relative who
was present:
Now will do a miracle. | will tell
you everything this letter contains
| date, signature and all-without break
ing the seal. 1t is from a Mr.. Wright.
OF Virginia, New, and is dated the I'd
/ of March-seVen days ago.
"Mr. Wright proposes to make q book
/ about the silver mines and the Great
/ Bonanza, and asks what |, as friend,
think OF the idea.
lie says his subjects are to be so and
so. their order and sequence 20 and so,
and he will close with history of the
chief feature of the book, the Great 30
! nanZa."
opened the letter and showed that
had stated the date and contents cor
! rectly. Mr.. Wright'S letter simply con
tanned what my own letter, written on
the same date, contained, and mine still
lay in its pigeon hole, where it had heel
lying during the seven days since it was
written.
There was no clairvOyance about this,
if | rightly comprehend what clairvOy-
ance is. think the clairvOyant pro
fesses actually to see concealed writing
and read it Off word for word.
This was not my case. l only seemed
to know, and to know absolutely, the
contents OF the letter in detail and due
order, but | had to word them myself
] translated them, so to speak, out o.
WTight'S language into my own.
Wught's letter and the one which
had written to him, but never sent,
were substantially the same.
Necessarily this could not come by &C
cident; such elaborate accidents can
not happen. Chance might have dupli-
Gated one or two of the details, but SHIT
would have broken down on the rest.
could not dOubt-there was no ten
able reason for doubling - that Mr.
Wright's mind and mine had been il
close and crystal-clear communicated
with each other acI OSS 5000 miles o
mountain and desert OH the morning o
March ,. | did not consider that bot
minds originated that succession o
ideas. but that one man originate
them and simply telegraphed them t
| the other.
| | was curious to know which brai
was the telegrapher and which the II
ceiver, so l wrote and asked for pal
ticularS. Mr.. Wright's reply shove
that his mind had done the Originatin
and telegraphihg and mine the receiN
! ing.
Mark that significant thing now, cot
slider for moment how manga splendi
"Original" idea has been unconscious
stolen from man 5000 miles away,
. If one should question that this is 81
let him look into the encyclopaedia, an
con once more that curious thing
the history of inventions, which III
, | puzzled every one so much-that is, I'll
, frequency with which the same machil
OF other Continuance has been invente
at the same time by several persons /
; different quarters of the globe.