MARK TWAIN ON HUMAN WEAKNESS.

Evening Star, Issue 11608, 19 June 1902, Page 8

MARK TWAIN ON HUMAN WEAKNESS.

In the ‘ North American Review ’ Mart Twain deals with a common human weakness.

The day after Prince Henry of Prussia arrived in America an English friend met Mark 3Vain, and, joyously rubbing his hands, said. An Englishman does dearly love a lord, ml after this I shall talk back and say 'How about the Americans?’” The gibe that Englishmen dearly love a lord, says Twain, is about as exclusively true as the other old saying that Americans love the almighty dollar; we all love lords, and wa all love dollars. In other words, we all envy the one, and wa would all get the other. Human nature loves loves power and conspicuousness, and if we cannot have them for our own we like to be near them, and to be taken notice of by them in the sight of other people. On the under-side of tins weakness there lies a petty jealousy. The American humorist also relates the following story:— Once 1 was received in private audience by an emperor. Last week I was telling a jealous person about it, and 1 could see him wince under it, see it bite, see him suffer. I revealed the whole episode to him with considerable elaboration and nice attention to detail. When I was through, he asked me what had impressed me most. I said; “His Majesty’s delicacy. They told me to be sure and back out from the presence, and find the door knob the best I could; it was not allowable to face around. Now the emperor knew it would be a difficult ordeal for me, because of lack of practice; and so, when it was time to part, he turned, with exceeding delicacy, and pretended to fumble with things on liis desk, so that I could get out in my own way, without his seeing me.” It went home! It was vitriol! I saw the envy and disgruntleraent rise in the man’s face; he couldn’t keep it down. I saw him trying to fix something in bis mind to take the bloom off that distinction. I enjoyed that, for I judged that he had his work cut out for him. He struggled along inwardly for quite a while; then he said, with the manner of a person who has to say something and hasn’t anything relevant to say: “You saw he had a handful of special-brand cigars lying on the table?” “Yes; I never saw anything to match them.” I had him again. He had to fumble around in his mind as much as another minute before be could play; then he said in as mean a way as I ever hear a person say anything: “He could have been counting the cigars, you know.” I cannot endure a man like that. It is nothing to him how unkind be is, so long as he takes the bloom off. It is all ha cares for.