Omaha daily bee., 1906-09-30
MARX TWAIS'S LIFE STORY
SELECTIONS from Opening Chapters Of "An
immortal AutobiOsrsph1."
DO SOI MvtNI cOLONlL stLLIRs
Reliably Ihformed trhst Ne Ha. .
Glorious Ancestry. which Makes
Hin Feel Good-One Treated
~ an Equal.


The arst installment of Mark Twain's
autobiography appears in the current
North American Review. According 70 the
editor, Mr.. Clemens began to write his au-
tobioeraphy many years ago, and he con-
tinues to add to Il day-by day. II was his
original intention to permit, no publication
of his memoirs until after his death. but
after leaving 'pier No. 70" he concluded
that a considerable portion might now
suitably be given to the public.
He has written about a quarter OF n
million words at present. He expects 10
complete the million before he finishes his
story. no portion OF which will be pub
iished In book form during the authors
lifetime.
He begins at the beginning, though he
announces that he does not propose to be
consecutive, but to hop, skip and jump as
much as ever he pleases. Back of the
Virginia Clemenses." he says, "is a aim
procession OF ancestors stretching back to
Noah's time According to tradition, some
of them were pirates and slavers In Eliza
beth's time. Also. according TO tradition,
one OF them-Geoffrey Clemens BY name
helped 70 sentence Charles l to death.
II have not examined into these tradi-
tons myself. partly because was indo-
lent and partly because ! was busy polish
ing UP this end of the line. trying to make
II snowy But the other Clemenses claim
70 have made the examination. Therefore
I. have always taken for granted that I
did help Charles out Of his troubles, by
ancestral proxy
This has not had a good effect upon
me. for It has made me vain, and that is a
fault II has made me set myself above
ancestry than and has moved me to
take them down peg upon occasion and
say things to them which hurt them be-
fore company
Twain's Ancestors.
"A case Of the kind happened in Berlin
several years ago. William Walter Phelps
was our minister at the emperor's court
then, and one evening he had me to dinner
TO meet Count s.. a cabinet minister. This
nobleman was of long and iliustrious de-
scent. H
''Of course, wanted to let out the fact
that l had some ancestors, 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.
II suppose Phelps was In the same din
Guilty In fact he looked distraught now
and then-just as a person looks who wants
to uncover an ancestor purely by accident
and cannot think Of way that will seem
accidental enough
but at last, after dinner, he made a
try. He took us about his drawing room
showing us the pictures. and finally stopped
before rude and ancient engraving.
ut was picture of the court that tried
Hba ri xxsoa a,,.fH ,f ALL
In Puritan SLOUGH hats and below them
three bare-headed secretaries seated at a
table. Mr.. Phelps put his finger upon
one of the three and said. with exultiug
Indifference:
IAN ancestor OF mine
II put my finger on a judge, and retorted
! with scathing languidness.
"'Ancestor Of mine. But It is a. small
matter. have others 81
1T was not noble in me to do it. have
always regretted 1t since. But 1t landed
him I wonder how he felt7 However, 1t
made no difference In our friendship. which
shows that he was fine and high. notwith-
standing the humblensss of his origin.
And II was also creditahle In me, too that
could overlook 1t. made no change In
my bearing toward him, but always treated
him as an equal.
MY mother was a native Of Kentucky,
and married my father in Lexington In 1923
when she was 2Os years old and he "a
Neifher OF them had an overplus Of prop
erty. She brought him two or three negroes
but nothing else, think.
A Shattered boom.
'srheyo removed to the remote and Sc
clqded village OF Jamestown, in the noun
tain solitudes OF east Tennessee. There
u
~ I was a later vintage do not remem-
Der anything about It. I was postponed
postponed to Missouri Missouri was an un-
known new state and needed attractions.
n think that my eldest brother, Grin,
my sisters Pamela and Margaret and my
brother Benjamin were born In Jamestown.
There may have been others, but as 10
that am not sure. 1t was a great lift for
that little village TO have my parents come
there II was hoped that they would stay,
% that IL would become city. II was
supposed that they, would stay. !,
"And so there was BOOM but by ana
by they went away, ana prices went down
and Il was many years before jamestown
spt another start, have written about
Jamestown In The Giided Age book Of
mine but 1t was from hearsay.- mot frum
personal knowledge. 49, =
r.'My father left a Ape estate behind him
n the region round about Jamsstown--oveI
100000 acres. When he died In isi7 he bad
erned il about twenty years. The taxes
slmost nothing as year for the whoIe)
and he had always paid them regulars
and kept hts title perfect He had always
said that the land would not become valu.
sbie In his time but that It would be q
eommodious provision for his children sons
Gay. F ~ -
HAND now. In which ease womb not b,
wii'ing autobiographies for a living Ny
fathers dying charge was. Cling to the
tand and wait; let netting beguiie IL away