The times., 1898-02-04


| repose, no fatigue, no distraction-suct
life as enabled Bunyan to write the
Pilgrims Progress" and Cervantes
Don Quixote." By this time the Eng
| lishman's mouth was probably wide
open, to match his eyes. Mark Twain
continued, probably with one eye on his
listener, to see that nothing got dislo-
Gated, that in all probability these two
| great works would never have seen the
| light had it not been for the imprison-
ment of their authors; and, for himself,
/ than such a life; he would change
places with any one of the raiders, and,
with such an opportunity, he thought
| he could write the book of his life.
And then-then, after this grand pyro-
| technic andante diminuendo largo PEN
seroso climax, Mark Twain, with a
| manufactured tear for the lot which
| ought to have been his-Mark Twain
| took his bright presence out of the
room. And the Englishman began TO
| recover, and from his bewildered brain
he gathered the idea that his visitor
| had been talking in a slow staccato
manner.
He could not explain the effect in
any other way. He had never before
heard Marks drawl, and he concluded
! tI:- r.. he had made the discovery Of his
life, true American manner. And
then he considered the subject matter
of the conversation, and wondered
what on earth could have made man
W M troy n1 In Inl,n
want to change places with him. And
then, doubtless, his practical British
mind wandered to a possible scheme
by which needy authors who had
neither money nor time could be board
ed at the public expense and allowed to
write Don Quixotes" and Pilgrims
Progresses, while the rightful occu-
pants of the prison cells went about
their suffering business. II really did
seem too bad from a utilitarian point
of view, that a man like Mr.. Clemens,
who really wanted to stay in prison
cell and write books. should be com
PEELED to go about outside, while he,
whom the world outside really needed,
was shut up with nothing To do. II Mr..
Hitler thinks long enough, he may dis
cover a way by which this arrangement
can be made, and the authors, the pub
lie and the criminals viii ali be CRATE
ful. They put authors in prison in Ger
many, but they set them to picking
oakum. and no man can compose thrill
ing works of the imagination while he
is doing that. But there is a sugges-
tion here which is really good, and
should be considered in the rush and
hurry of our American life. When
man really feels that the world needs
a great work from his pen, and outside
gagements preclude his supplying
this need, let him go to one of those
States in which they do not allow
States prison convicts to employ them
selves in useful labor. and burn hem
house. first leading out all the hens
and tying them to the apple trees. Thus
this author can gain time, and viii
not bother his nearest relatives by
reading them extracts from his work
while the inspiration is going on.
The English mind has a way of TAX
ing our humor seriously and our Sc
riousness humorously but in this case
IL Is not 50 lar out oI tlie way. IL may
come to such a pass, if the fever heat
of American civilization continues to
increase, that every man, while inn
mersed in the cares Of business, will
think of possible future time in which
he viii burn a barn or steal some
horses, and be sent to prison, and have
time to read all the books he has
wanted to read since he was boy,
and write all the essays he has felt
inclined to write when he saw beauu- e.
full sunset or heard the frogs pipe in
the spring. Time was when a man
dreamed of little home in the coun-
try. but land speculation is perilous in
these days. Some rich man might
want it for game preserve. The best
plan is board at the public expense.