The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1907-04-05
/ MARK TWAIN PRANK
The Great Humorist When a Boy
Posed as a Medium
lust WANTED TO SHOW orr.
His Own story of E4is Temptation and
Fall, the Way He Improved His op-
pertunity and the Dramatic Climax TO
His Performances.

IT'S ferfofnlAnces
An exciting event in our village
lIannlban was the arrival of the mes
nerIzer. think the year was 1870.
lie advertised his show and promised
marrels; admission, as usual. % cents:
children aud negroes hale price. The
village had heard of mesmerism in
general way but had not encountered
II yet. Not many people attended the
FIRST night, hut next day they had 80
many wonders to tell that eyerybody's
curiosity was fired. and after that for
i fortnight the magician had prosper
oHs times. was fourteen or fifteen
years old-the age at which boy is
Wiling 10 endure all things. suffer al!
things, short of death 10y FIRE. If there
iy he may Ne conspicuous and show
or before the public and SO when
Gaw the subjects perform their fool:
lsh mites on the platform aud make
the people laugh and shout and admire
/ had n burning desire to be subject
myself. Every night for three nights
/ sat Ia the row Of candidates on the
platform and held the magic disk IN
the palm Of my hand and gazed ut II
ali;i tried to get sleepy. but 1t was a
r3,!rc. remained awake and had to
retire defeated. Ike the majority. Also
had 10 sit there and he gnawed will,
envy Of Hicks. our journeyman. had,
TO sit there and see him scamper anl
jnmp when Simmons the enchanser
exclaimed See the snake-see the
snake and hear him say, "My, how
teaGtifnir in reSponae to the sugges-
;icn that he was Observing splendid
sunset and so On-the whole Insane
business.
On the fourth night temptation canc.
;nd was not strong enough 10 resist.
When | had gazed at the t;isIs awhile
pretended TO he sleepy and began b
uod. Straightway came the professor
AMI began to make passes over nv
bead and down my body and legs and
slFms, finishing each pass with a snao
Of his fingers in the air. 80 discharge
She surplus electricity. Then he began
10 draw" me with the disk. holding K
a his fingers and telling me could
rot take my eyes or 1t, try as / might.
20 ! rose slowly, bent and gazing. and
followed that disk all over the place.
lust MS | had seen others do. Then
was put through the other PAGES. Upon
suggestion fled from snakes. passed
buckets at n fire. became excited over
hot steamboat races. made love to
imaginary girls and kissed tllcul. fished
from the platform and landed mudcats
that Ortweighed R:e. and so on, all the
customary marvcls. but net III tho cus-
tOmary way. was cautious at first
and watchful, being afraid thc profess.
or would discover that was an i'm.
pnstor and drive me from the platform
IN disgrace but rs soon as realized
that was not in danger I set myself
the task of terminating Hicss' ugccaI.
ness as a subject and of usurping hts
place.
It was sufficiently casy tasb. H:ctrs
was born honest: without that L.
cambrance. so some people said. Hicks
saw what lie saw and reported ac-
cordingiy: | saw more than was WIS.,
lille and added TO 1t such details as
could help. Hicks had no imagination:
l had double supply. lie was born
calm; was horn excited No vision
could start rapture in him, and lie
was constipated as to language any,
way. but If saw Il vision r cmptied
the dictionary on to ii and lost the
remnant OF my mind into the bargain.
At the end OF my first half hour
Hicks was thing of the past, fallen
hero. broken Idol. and knew Il and
Wa glad and said in my heart, "suc-
cess TO crime." lIicks~couii neyer
have been mesmerized to the point
where lie could kiss an imaginary girl
In public or q real one either. but l
was competent. Whatever Hicks had
failed In ] made IT point to succeed
In. let the cost be what It might phys
ically or morally.
In 1917 we were living in large
white house on the corner OF Eli ana
Main streets. My father died ia II ID
March OF the year mentioned, but our
family dIa not move out Of 1t until
some mo:ltas afterward. Ours was not
the only family In the house; there
was unother-Dr. Grants. One dav
Or. Grant and Or. Reybun Argued a
mater on tie street with sword canes.
and sirantwn b-aSglil home nultifari-
ausly puactred. Old DR.. Peake CALI
Cd Ia leGS; ana came every day Tor
awhile to look after him. The Grant,
were Nirgininns, like Peal;e, and one
day when Grant was getting wei
enough TO DC on his feet ana STA
around in tie parIor AMI talk the con.
yersntion fell upon Virginia anl oil
times. was present but the grora
was probably quite unconscious Of me.
| being only u Lad and negligible
quantity. Two of rthe group. Or. Peaxe
and Mrs. Crawford Mrs. Grunt's moth.
er. had been Of the audience when the
Richmond tlieater burned down years