The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-09-08
From the New York Herald.

From the New York Herald.
NN ARK TWAIN wrote and pub
IVl nshed a Ourlesque autoo o sra
ply some twenty years ago.
which still brings a good price as
rarity at auction sales This was sheer
romance He has, however, been at work
on a real autobiography, which will pre-
sent important facts and details IN MS
life, although wherever possible, IN the
guise of genial and generous fun.
He began this many years ago, and he
continues to add to it day by day 1t
already reaches to a quarter of a million
words. 1t had originally been his inten-
ton to publish the book posthumously in
its entirety. He has been persuaded
however, to allow selections to appear
serially in the North American Review
beginning with the first issue OF that
periodical-in its altered form as fort
niehtly-on September 7. From an ad-
vace COPY of the Review the Herald Is
enabled to present some extracts from the
first installment.
In mock heroic introduction Mr..
Clemens informs the world that he in
tends this autobiography shall become
model for all future autobiographies,
when 1t is published, after my death.
He also intends that it shall be read and
admired a good many centuries, because
of it's form and method-a form and METH
cd whereby the past and the present are
constantly brought face to face, resulting
in contrasts which newly fire up the In
terest all along, like the contact OF flint
with steel Moreover. this autobiogra-
phy of mine does not select from my
life it's snowy episodes, but deals mainly
in the common experiences which go to
make I'D the life of the average human
being, because these episodes are of
sort which he is familiar with in his own
life. and in which he sees his own life
reflected and set down in print"
.Howells was here yesterday after
noon" continues Mr.. Clemens, land told
him the whole scheme of this autobiog-
raphy and it's apparently systemless sys-
tem-only apparently systemless, for 1t Is
not really that. 1t is a deliberate sys-
tenn, and the law of the system is that |
shall talk about the matter which for
the moment interests me. and cast 1t aside
and talk about something else the moment
its interest for me is exhausted. 1t Is
system which follows no charted course
and is not going to follow any such
course 1t is a system which Is a
complete and purposed jumble-a course
which begins nowhere, follows no speci-
fed route. and can never reach an end
while 1 am alive, for the reason that II
I should talk to the stenographer TWO
hours a day for hundred years, L
should still never be able to set down
tenth part of the things which have in
terested me in my lifetime. l told How
ellis that this autobiography of mine
would live a couple of thousand years,
without any effort, and would then take
a fresh start and live the rest of the
time.
.He said he believed it would, and
asked me If 1 meant to make a library
of 1t.
ssI said that that was my design; but
that If l should live long enough, the
set of volumes could not be contained
merely in city, 1t would require a state
and that there would not be any multi
Millionaire alive, perhaps, at any time
during ltS eAlSltuCc VIM NOuAu NC dDic
to buy a fun set, except on the INSTALL
ment plan.
'Howells applauded, and was full of
praises and Endorsement, which was wise
in him and judicious If he had mani
tested a different spirit, l would have
thrown him out of the window. l like
criticism, but it must be my way"
Discussing genealogy in general and
his own in particular. Mark Twain goes
on to tell story about the late William
Walker Phelps. whom he met when
Phelps was minister at the court of Ber
lin:
zone evening he had me to dinner TO
meet Count s., cabinet minister" he
writes. This nobleman was of long and
illustrious descent. OF course. 1 wanted
to let out the fact that 1 had some an
cestors, too; but I did not want to pull
them out of their graves by the ears, and
never could seem to get the chance to
work them in in way that would look
sufficiently casual. suppose Phelps was
In tina same difficultv--In fact. he Looked