He said
that Graham reminded him a lot of Tom Sawyer who, he said, currently
lived down the street from him. Seeing Graham's puzzled expression, he
quickly explained that any imaginary character an author dreams up is
actually a person that the author has tuned into. And that an author
rarely has an original thought in his head but is really very good at
catching glimpses of activities (present, past or future) somewhere in
creation.
As Mark Twain turned to the exit, Graham suddenly remembered a question
that he had wanted to ask. "Oh, Mr. Twain," he called. "I wanted to ask
how you came to use the name Mark Twain. I know your real name is Samuel
Clemens...."
"Well," responded Twain, "no one has ever asked me that question
before--Just kidding," he added quickly, seeing Graham's expression.
"Yes, I am asked it all the time. The name was first used by an old
Mississippi river pilot named Isaiah Sellers, who used to write items
for the _New Orleans Picayune_, in which he told of his adventures. He
signed them Mark Twain, which in the parlance of pilots is a leadsman
call meaning two fathoms, or twelve feet. When I was a cub pilot, I
wrote a burlesque on Captain Seller's articles and published it in a
rival paper under the signature of Sargeant Fathom.
Pages:
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77