The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-04-23
MAGAZINE REVIEW.
a Mark IVAN stogey story.

Well, that night at the club tine
Hartford Monday Evening club
meeting as ! was saying George, our
colored butler, came to me when supper
was nearly over, and noticed that he
was pale Normally his complexion was.
q clear black, and very handsome, butt
now it had modified t9 old amber He
said:
"Mr. Clemens what are we going TO
dor There II not cigar IN the house
but those old Wheeling long mines.
Can't nobody smoke them but yuu.
They kin 1T tnirty yards 1t u too
late to telephone-we couldn't get any
cigars out from town what can we do
Amt Il best % say nothing, and let on
that we didn't Think
No. ] said, that would not be
honest Fetch out the long mines
which be did.
! had just come across those long
mines few days OF aweck before.
hadn't seen a long nine for years. When
was cub pilot on theAiississippi in the
late sos, had had great affection
for them, because they were not only
to my mind perfect, but you could get
4 basketfu OF them for cent or a
dime, they didn't use cents ont there
in those days. So when I saw them ad-
sertised in Hartford / sent for a thous-
and at once They came out to me in
badly battered and disreputahle look
ing old square pastboard boxes, two
hundred in box George brought q box
which was eayed IN on all sides, look
ing tho worst il could, and began TO
pass them around The conversation
had been brilliantly animated up to
that moment but now frost fell up
.or the company That is to say, not
all OF q sudden. but the frost fell npon
each man a. lie took mp a cigar and held
Il poised in the air--and there, in the
middle, his sentence broke off That
Kind Of thing went on all around the
table. until when George had completed
his crime the whole place was full Of
a thick solcmnity and silence.
Those men began 70 light the cigars
Rev Dr Parker was the first man to
light. He took three or four heroic
whifs then gave il up. He got up with
the remark that he had to 20 to the
bedside Of q sick parishioner He start
ed out. Rev Dr. Burton was the next
man He took only one Whit, and fol-
lowed Parker He furnished pretext
and you could see by the sound of his
voice that be didn't think much Of the
pretext and was rexed with Parker for
getting in ahead with fictitious ailing
client. Rev. Mr. TwitcbeI followed
all. said he had to 20 now because he
must take the midnight train for BIOS
ton, Boston was tire first place that oc-
CURED TO him J suppose,
Il was Gully q quarter TO eleven when
they began to distribute pretexts. At
ten minutes to eleven all those people
were out OF the house. When nobody
was left but George and me ! was cheer
full had no computations OF con.
science, no griefs Of any kind But
George was beyond speech, because he
held the honor and credit Of the family
above his own and he was ashamed that
this smirch had been put upon it.
told him to 20 % bed and try TO sleep
it Off ] went to bed myself At
breakfast Ia the morning when George
sayas passing cup Of coffee, / saw IL
ftremble in his hand. ! knew by that
sign that there was something on his
mind He brought the cup TO me and
asked impressively, "Mr Clemens, how
far IS It from the front door 20 tho up
per gateW
] said, 1t is q hundred and twenty
1ve steps"
he said, Mr. Clemens. you can start
At The front door and you can go
plumb to the upper gate and tread on
one Of them cigars every time.
1t wasn't true IN detail, but in es.
sentias it Vas--Irom Mark Twain's
Autobiography IN The North American
Review for April 10th.