Authors, American -- 19th century -- Biography; Humorists, American -- 19th century -- Biography; Twain, Mark, 1835-1910
suffering so intensely with sorrow and compassion for the little
prisoner that she was not able to wait any longer for the distressed
sounds which she had counted upon to inform her when there had been
punishment enough and the reform accomplished. She opened the closet to
set the prisoner free and take her back into her loving favor and
forgiveness, but the result was not the one expected. The captive had
manufactured a fairy cavern out of the closet, and friendly fairies out
of the clothes hanging from the hooks, and was having a most sinful and
unrepentant good time, and requested permission to spend the rest of the
day there!
_From Susy's Biography of Me._
But Mamma's oppinions and ideas upon the subject of bringing up
children has always been more or less of a joke in our family,
perticularly since Papa's article in the "Christian Union," and I
am sure Clara and I have related the history of our old family
paper-cutter, our punishments and privations with rather more pride
and triumph than any other sentiment, because of Mamma's way of
rearing us.
When the article "What ought he to have done?" came out Mamma read
it, and was very much interested in it. And when papa heard that
she had read it he went to work and secretly wrote his opinion of
what the father ought to have done. He told Aunt Susy, Clara and I,
about it but mamma was not to see it or hear any thing about it
till it came out. He gave it to Aunt Susy to read, and after Clara
and I had gone up to get ready for bed he brought it up for us to
read. He told what he thought the father ought to have done by
telling what mamma would have done. The article was a beautiful
tribute to mamma and every word in it true. But still in writing
about mamma he partly forgot that the article was going to be
published, I think, and expressed himself more fully than he would
do the second time he wrote it; I think the article has done and
will do a great deal of good, and I think it would have been
perfect for the family and friend's enjoyment, but a little bit too
private to have been published as it was. And Papa felt so too,
because the very next day or a few days after, he went down to New
York to see if he couldn't get it back before it was published but
it was too late, and he had to return without it. When the
Christian Union reached the farm and papa's article in it all ready
and waiting to be read to mamma papa hadn't the courage to show it
to her (for he knew she wouldn't like it at all) at first, and he
didn't but he might have let it go and never let her see it, but
finally he gave his consent to her seeing it, and told Clara and I
we could take it to her, which we did, with tardiness, and we all
stood around mamma while she read it, all wondering what she would
say and think about it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account