Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-03-19
A MARK TWAIN PRANK

Il lv|lH Il ! vvHlH | nHNN
The Great Humorist When a Boy
Posed as a medium"
JUST WANTED TO SHOW OFF.
His Own Story Of His Temptation and
Fall, the Way He Improved His, OPP
portunity and tho Dramatic Climax "a
HE Performances.
An exciting event In our village
lHanniball was the arrival Of the mes
merizer. l think the year was 1850.
He advertised his show and promised
marveis; admission, as usual, 25 cents;
children and negroes half price. The
village had heard Of mesmerism In d
general way, but had not encountered
1t vet. Not many people attended the
first night. but next day they had SO
many wonders to tell that every body's
curiosity was fired, and after that for
d fortnight the magician had prosper
GUS times. / was fourteen or fifteen
years old the age at which a boy is
willing to endure all things. suffer all
things, short Of death BY fire, II there
by he may be conspicuous and show
of before the public and so when
saw the subjects perform their fool
fish antics on the platform and make
the people laugh and shout and admire
had burning desire to be subject
myself. Every night for three nights
sat In the row OF candidates on the
platform and held the magic disk In
the palm OF my hand and gazed at. 1t
and tried to get sleepy, but 1t was a
failure. remained awake and had to
retire defeated, like the majority. Also
had to sit there and be gnawed with
envy OF Hicks, our journeyman. II had
to sit there and see him scamper and
jump when Simmons the encfianter
exclaimed. See the snake see the
shaker and hear him say, my, how
beautiful" In response to the sugges-
ton that he was observing a splendid
sunset, and 30 on-the whole insane
business.
On the fourth night temptation came,
and ! was not strong enough to resist.
When had gazed at the disk awhile
I pretended to be sleepy and began to
nod. Straightway came the professor
and began to make passes over my
head and down my. body and legs and
arms, finishing each pass with snap
OF his fingers In the air, to discharge
the surplus electricity. Then he began
to draw me with the disk, holding 1t
In his fingers and telling me / could
not take my eyes off It, try as might.
So rose slowly, bent and gazing; and
followed that disk all over the place,
just as had seen others do. Then I
was put through the other PAGES. Upon
suggestion i fed from snakes, passed
buckets at q fire, became excited over
hot steamboat races, made love to
imaginary girls and kissed them, fished
from the platform and landed mid cats
that outweighed me, and SO on, all the
customary marvels, but not In the Gus
tOmary way. was cautious at first
and watchful, being afraid the profess
or would discover that I was an Inn
poster and drive me from the platform
In disgrace, but as soon as realized
that was not in danger / set.myself
the task Of terminating Hicks useful
ness as q subject and Of usurping his
place. All;
It was sufficiently easy task. Hicks
was born honest; III without that In
cumbrance. SO some psople said. Hicks
saw what he saw and reported ac-
cordingly; saw more than was Wis
ible and added to it such details as
could help. Hicks had no imagination;
I had double supply. he was born
calm; I was born excited. No vision
could Start a rapture In him, and he
was constipated ais to language any
way, but IL / saw vision emptied
the dictionary on to 1t and lost the
remnant Of my mind into the bargain.
AT the end Of my first half hour
Hicks was q thing Of the past, fallen
hero. broken idol, and knew 1T and
was glad and said Ii my heart, aSnc-
cess to crimeY Hicks could never
have been mesmerized to the point
where he could kiss an imaginary girl
in public or real one either, but
was competent. Whatever Hicks had
failed IN made It q point to succeed
In, let the cost be what 1t might phys
ically or morally 81,
In iS47 we were living In large
white house on the corner Of Hill and
Main streets. Ny father died In It In
March Of the year mentioned, but cur
family did not move out Of It until
come months afterward. Ours was moi
the only family In the house; there
was another DR.. Grants. One day
DR.. Grant and DR.. Reyburn argued .
matter on the street with sword canes
and Grant was brought home multifari
/ ously punctured. Old DR.. Peake calk,
ed the leaks and came every day FOL
awhile to look after him. The Grants
were Virginians, like Peake, and one