The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-10
MARK TWAIN AS A MEDIUM

From Mark fwain's Autobiography in The
North American Review.
In 1S47 we were living in a large white
house on the corner of Hill and Main
streets-a house that still stands, but ism t
large now, although 1t hasn't lost plank
I saw 1T year ago and noticed that
| shrinkage. My father died in it in March
of the year mnetioned but our family did
not move out of 1t until some months
afterward. Ours was not the only family
In the house, there was another-Dr
Grants. One day Mr.. Grant and DR.. Rey-
burn argued a matter on the street with
sword canes, and Grant was brought
home simultaneously punctured. Old Dr.
Peake calked the leaks, and came every
day for while, to look after him The
Grants were Virginians, like Peake, and
one day when Grant was getting well
enough to be on his feet and sit around
in the parlor and talk, the conversation
fell upon Virginia and old times. I was
present, but the group were probably
quite unconscious of me, I being only a
lad and a negligible quantity Two of the
group-Dr. Peake and Mrs Crawford,
Mrs. Grants mother-had been Of the aud
ience when the Richmond theatre burned
| down, thirty-six years before, and they
| talked over the frightful details of that
memorable tragedy These were eye wit
nesses, and with their eyes 1 saw 1t all
with an intolerable vividness I saw the
black smoke rolling and tumbling toward
the sky, 1 saw the flames burst through
1t and turn red. heard the shrleks of
n ofrfn 7 eli, 41,af, fooa ut
the windows, caught ftfully through the
yelling smoke, I saw them jump to their
death. or to mutilatlon worse than death.
Tho picture is before me yet and can
never fade.
Very well. three or four years later,
was king bee and sole Subject" in the
| mesmeric show; it was the beginning Of
the second week; the performance was
half over just then the majestic DR..
Peake, with his ruffled bosom and wrist
bands and his gold-headed cane. entered,
and deferential citizen vacated his seat
beside the Grants and made the great
chief take it. This happened while l was
trying to invent something fresh In the
way of a vision, in response to the pro-
fessor's remark:
Concentrate your powers Look-look
attentively. There-dont you see some
| thing? acknowledgements Now
then-describe it,
Without suspecting 1t, DR.. Peake, by
entering the place, had reminded me of
the talk of three years before. He had
also furnished me capital and was become
my confederate, an accomplish in my
frauds. I began on a vision, vague and
dim one chat was part of the game at
tho beginning of a vision; 1t isn't best
to see 1t too clearly at first, 1t might
look as IL you had come loaded with it,.
The vision developed, by degrees, and
gathered swing, momentum, energy. 1t
was the Richmond fire. DIR. Peake was
cold, at first and his fine face had a
trace of polite scorn in 1t: but when he
began to recognize that fire. that express
sion changed. and his eyes began to light
up. AS soon as l saw that, I threw the
valves wide open and turned on all the
steam, and gave those people supper of
fire and horrors that was calculated to
last them one whilei They couldn't gasp,
when 1 got through-they were petrified.
DIR. Peake had risen, and was standing
and breathing hard. He said, in great
| voice:
MY doubts are ended. No collision
could produce that miracle. 1t was totally
vet he has described them with the clarity
OF an eye witness-and with what unas-
sailable truthfulness God knows | know!"