Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-12-26
AN ADVANCE PAYMENT.
Mark Twain, His Good Brother ana
the Broken SuEar Bowl.

the Broken Sugar Bowl.
My mother had n good deal OF trou-
BILE with me, but think she enjoyed 1t.
She had none at all with my brother
Henry. who was two years younger
than 1. and / think that the unbroken
monotony OF his goodness and truth
fulness and obedience would have been
burden to her but for the relief and
variety which furnished in the other
direction. I was a tonic. was valu-
able to her. never thought OF It be-
fore, but now ] see Ii. never knew
Henry to do vicious thing toward me
or toward any one else but he fire.
quently did righteous ones that cost me
as heavily. 1t was his duty to report
me when / needed reporting and neg
lected to do 1t myself, and he was very
faithful In dlscharging that duty. He
Is Sid In Tom Sawyer" But Sid was
not Henry. Henry was a very much
finer and better boy than ever Sid was
1t was Henry who called my moth
er's attention TO the fact that the
thread with which she had sewed my
collar together TO keep me from going
In swimming had changed color. Ny
mother would not have discovered it
but for that, and she was manifestly
piqued when she recognized that that
prominent bit Of circumstantial evil
dence had escaped her sharp eye. That
detail probably added a detail to my
punishment. 1t is human. We gener-
ally visit our shortcomings on some
body else when there is a possible ex-
cuse for II. But no matter 1 took 1t out
OF Henry. There is always compensa-
ton for such as are unjustly used. I
often took it out OF hlm-sometimes as
an advance payment for something
which I hadn't yet done These were
occasions when the opportunity was
too strong temptation. and I had to
draw on the future. did not need to
copy this idea from my mother and
probably didn't. Still, she wrought
upon that principle upon occasion.
If the incident of the broken sugar
bowl is In TON Sawyer"-I don't re-
member whether it is or not-that is an
example OF 1t. Henry never stole sug-
ar. He took 1t openly from the bowl.
His mother knew he wouldn't take sug-
ar when she wasn't looking, but she
had her doubts about me. Not exactly
doubts. either. She knew very well I
would. One day when she was not
present Henry took sugar from her
priced and precious old English sugar
bowl, which was an heirloom i'm the
family, and he managed to break le
bowl. 1t was the first time had ever
had a chance to tell anything on him,
and / was inexpressibly glad. I told
him / was going to tell on him, but he
was not disturbed. When my mother
came in and saw the bowl lying on the
moor In fragments she was speeches.
Tor minute. I allowed that silence to
work. 1 judged it would increase the
erect was waiting for her to ask
WHO cid that2" so that I could fetch
out my news. But II was an error OF
calculation. When she got through with
her silence she didn't ask ANYTHING
about It. She merely gave me a crack
on the skull with her thimble that I
felt all the day down to my heels. Then
1 broke out with my injured innocence
expecting to make her very sorry that
she had punished the wrong one. ex-
pected her to do something remorsefuI
and pathetic. l told her that was not
the one-it was Henry. But there was
no upheavaL She said without emo
ton; Its all right. 1t isn't any mat
ter. You deserve II for something
you've done that / didn't know about
and II you haven't done 1t. why, then
you deserve 1t for something that you
are going to do that / shan't hear
about."-From Mark Twain's AutobI-
osraphy In North American Review.