CHAPTER 2 | The Writings of Mark Twain (beta)

Explanatory Notes Ⓔ
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Apparatus Notes Ⓐ
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CHAPTER 2

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CHAPTER 2

Let us skip Ⓐtextual note a number ofⒶalteration in the MS years.

London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town—for thatⒶalteration in the MS day. It had a hundred thousand inhabitants—some thinkⒶalteration in the MS double as many.Ⓐalteration in the MS The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty,Ⓐalteration in the MS especially in the part where Tom Canty livedⒶtextual note, which was not far from London Bridge.Ⓐalteration in the MS The houses were of wood, with the second story projecting over the first, and the third sticking its elbows out beyond the second. The higher the houses grew, the broader they grew. They were skeletons of strongⒶalteration in the MS criss-cross beams, with solid material between, coated with plaster. The beams were painted red or blue or black, according to the owner’s taste, and this gave the housesⒶhistorical collation Ⓐemendation a very picturesque look. The windows were small, glazed with little diamond-shaped panes, and they opened outward, on hinges, like doors.Ⓔexplanatory note

The house which Tom’s father lived in was up a foulⒶalteration in the MS little pocket called Offal Court, out of Pudding LaneⒺexplanatory note. It was small, decayed, and rickettyⒶalteration in the MS, but it was packed full of wretchedlyⒶalteration in the MS poor families. Canty’s tribe occupied a roomⒶalteration in the MS on the third floor. The mother and father had a sort of bedstead in the corner, but Tom, his grandmother, and his two [begin page 50] sisters, Bet and Nan, were not restricted—they had all the floor to themselves, and might sleep where they chose. There were the remains of a blanket or two and some bundles of ancient and dirty straw, but these could not rightly be calledⒶalteration in the MS beds, for they were not organized; they were kicked into a general pile, mornings, and selections made from the mass at night, for service.Ⓐalteration in the MS

offal court.

Bet and Nan were fifteen years old—twins. They were good-hearted girls, unclean, clothed in rags, and profoundly ignorant. Their mother was like them. But the father and the grandmother were a couple of fiendsⒶhistorical collation Ⓐemendation. They got drunk whenever they could; then they fought each other or anybody else who came in the way; they cursed and swore always, drunk or sober; John Canty was a thief, and his mother a beggar. They made beggars of the children, but failed to make thieves of them. Among,Ⓐalteration in the MS but not of,Ⓐalteration in the MS the dreadful rabble that inhabited the house, was a good old priest whom the king had turned out of house and home with a pension of a few farthings, and he used to get the children aside and teach them right ways secretly. Father Andrew also taught Tom a little Latin, and howⒶalteration in the MS to [begin page 51] read and write; and would have done the same with the girls, but they were afraid of the jeers of their friends, who could not have endured such a queer accomplishment in them.

All Offal Court was just such another hive as Canty’s house. Drunkenness, riot and brawling were the order, there, every night and nearly all night long. Broken heads were as common as hunger in that place. Yet little TomⒶalteration in the MS was not unhappy. He had a hard time ofⒶtextual note it, but did not know it. It was the sort of time that all the Offal Court boys had, therefore he supposed it was the correct and comfortable thing. When he came home empty handed at night, he knew his father would curse him and thrash him first,Ⓐalteration in the MS and that when he was done the awful grandmotherⒶemendation would do it all over again and improve on it; and that away in the night his starvingⒶalteration in the MS mother would slip to him stealthily with any miserable scrap or crust she had been able to save for him by going hungry herself, notwithstanding she was often caught in that sort of treason and soundly beatenⒶalteration in the MS for itⒶalteration in the MS by her husband.

“with any miserable crust.”

No, Tom’s life went along well enough, especially in summer. He only begged just enough to save himselfⒶhistorical collation Ⓐemendation, for the laws against mendicancy were stringent, and the penalties heavy; so he put in a good deal of his time listeningⒶalteration in the MS to good Father Andrew’s charming old tales and legends about giants and fairies,Ⓐalteration in the MS dwarfs and genii, and enchanted castles, and gorgeous kings and princes. His head grew to be full of [begin page 52] these wonderful things, and many a night as heⒶalteration in the MS lay in the dark on his scant and offensive straw, tired, hungry, and smarting from a thrashing, he unleashedⒶalteration in the MS his imagination and soon forgot his aches and pains in delicious picturings to himself of the charmed life of a petted prince in a regal palace. One desire came in time to haunt him day and night: it was, to see a real prince, with his own eyes. He spoke of it once to some of his Offal CourtⒶemendation Ⓐtextual note comrades; but they jeered him and scoffed him so unmercifully that he was gladⒶalteration in the MS to keep his dream to himself after that.

He often read the priest’s old books and got him to explain and enlarge upon them. His dreamings and readings worked certain changes in him, by and by. His dream-people were so fine that he grew

“he often read the priest’s books.”

[begin page 53]

“saw poor anne askew burned.”

to lament his shabby clothing and his dirt, and to wish to be clean and better clad. He went on playing in the mud just the same, and enjoying it, too; but instead of splashing around in the Thames solelyⒶ Ⓐ for the fun of it, he began to find an added value in it because of the washings and cleansings it afforded.

Tom could always find something going on around the May-poleⒶemendation in Cheapside, and at the fairs, and now and then he and the rest of London had a chance to see a military parade when some famous unfortunate was carried prisoner to the Tower, by land or boat.Ⓐalteration in the MS One summer’s day he saw poor Anne Askew and three men burned at the [begin page 54] stake in Smithfield, and heard an ex-Bishop preach a sermon to them which did not interest him. Yes, Tom’s life was varied and pleasant enough, on the whole.

By and by Tom’s reading and dreaming about princely life wrought such a strong effect upon him that he began to act the prince, unconsciously. His speech and manners became curiously ceremonious and courtly, to the vast admiration and amusement of his intimates. ButⒶalteration in the MS Tom’s influence among these young people began toⒶalteration in the MS grow, now,Ⓐalteration in the MS

“brought their perplexities to tom.”

day by day; and in time he came to be looked up to, by them, with a sort of wondering awe, as a superior being. He seemed to know so much! and he could do and say such marvelous things! and withal, he was so deep and wise! Tom’s remarks, and Tom’s performances, were reported by the boys to their elders, and these also presently began to discuss Tom Canty, and to regard him as a most gifted and extraordinary creature. Full grown people brought their perplexities to Tom for solution, and were often astonished at the wit and wisdom of his decisions. In fact he was become a hero to all who knew him except his own family—Ⓐthese, only,Ⓐ saw nothing in him.

Privately, after a while,Ⓐalteration in the MS Tom organized a royal court! He was the prince; his special comrades were guards,Ⓐalteration in the MS chamberlains, equerries, [begin page 55] lords and ladies in waiting, and the royal family. Daily the mockⒶalteration in the MS prince was received with elaborate ceremonials borrowed by Tom from his romantic readings; daily the great affairs of the mimic kingdom were discussed in the royal council, and daily his mimic highness issued decrees to his imaginary armies, navies, and viceroyalties.

After which, he would go forth in his rags and beg a few farthings, eat his poor crust, take his customary cuffs and abuse, and then stretch himself upon his handful of foul straw, and resume his empty grandeurs in his dreams.

And still his desire to look just once upon a real prince, in the flesh, grew upon him, day by day, and week by week, until at lastⒶalteration in the MS it absorbed all other desires, and became the one passion of his life.

“longing for the pork-pies.”

One January day, on his usual begging tour, he tramped despondently up and down the region round about Mincing Lane and Little East Cheap, hour after hour, barefootedⒶalteration in the MS Ⓐemendation and cold, looking in at cook-shop windows and longing for the dreadful pork-pies and other deadly inventions displayed there—for to him these were dainties fit for the angels; that is, judging by the smell, they were—Ⓐalteration in the MSfor it had never been his goodⒶalteration in the MS luck to own and eat one. There was a cold drizzle of rain;Ⓐalteration in the MS the [begin page 56] atmosphere was murky; it wasⒶalteration in the MS a melancholy day. AtⒶalteration in the MS night TomⒶalteration in the MS reached home so wet and tired and hungry that it was not possible for his father and grandmotherⒶalteration in the MS to observe his forlorn condition and not be moved—after their fashion; whereforeⒶalteration in the MS they gave him a briskⒶalteration in the MS cuffing at once and sent him to bed. For a longⒶalteration in the MS time his pain and hunger, and the swearing and fighting going on in the buildingⒶalteration in the MS kept him awake; but at last his thoughts drifted away to far, romantic lands,Ⓐalteration in the MS and he fell asleep in the company of jeweled and gilded princelings whoⒶalteration in the MS lived in vast palaces, and had servants salaaming before them or flyingⒶalteration in the MS to execute their orders. And then, as usual,Ⓐalteration in the MS he dreamed that he was a princeling himself.Ⓐalteration in the MS

All night long the glories of his royal estateⒶalteration in the MS shone upon him; he moved among great lords and ladies, in a blaze of light, breathing perfumes, drinking in delicious music,Ⓐalteration in the MS and answering the reverent obeisances of the glittering throng as it parted to make way for him, with hereⒶalteration in the MS a smile, and thereⒶalteration in the MS a nod of his princely head.

And when he awoke in the morning and looked upon the wretchedness about him, his dream had had its usual effect—it had intensified the sordidness of his surroundings a thousand fold. Then came bitterness, and heartbreak, and tears.Ⓐalteration in the MS

Historical Collation CHAPTER 2

Ⓐ houses (A, E, C) ● house (MS)

Ⓐ fiends (A, Eb-c, C) ● devils (MS, Pr, Ea)

Ⓐ himself (A, Eb-c, C) ● his hide (MS, Ea)

Ⓐ solely (Pr, A, E, C) ● merely (MS)

Editorial Emendations CHAPTER 2

Ⓐ houses (A) ● house

Ⓐ fiends (A) ● devils

Ⓐ grandmother (I-C) ● grand- | mother

Ⓐ himself (A) ● his hide

Ⓐ Court (A) ● court

Ⓐ solely (Pr) ● merely

Ⓐ May-pole (I-C) ● May- | pole

Ⓐ barefooted (I-C) ● bare- | footed

Alterations in the Manuscript CHAPTER 2

Ⓐ number of] interlined in ink 3 above canceled ‘matter of near ten’.

Ⓐ —for that] follows canceled ‘for that’.

Ⓐ think] followed by a canceled comma.

Ⓐ double as many.] interlined in ink 3 above canceled ‘more than that.’

Ⓐ dirty,] the comma possibly mended from a period.

Ⓐ London Bridge.] interlined in ink 3 above canceled ‘The Tower.’

Ⓐ strong] followed by a comma canceled in ink 3.

Ⓐ foul] follows canceled ‘little’.

Ⓐ ricketty] originally ‘rickety’; the additional ‘t’ squeezed in.

Ⓐ wretchedly] follows canceled ‘pauper’.

Ⓐ a room] follows canceled ‘one’.

Ⓐ be called] follows canceled ‘be cons’.

Ⓐ service.] followed by canceled ‘There was generally a fight over the selection, too, between the grandmother and the sisters.’

Ⓐ Among,] follows canceled ‘There was’; the comma added.

Ⓐ but not of,] interlined.

Ⓐ a little Latin, and how] interlined.

Ⓐ Yet little Tom] in the MS ‘Little Tom’ follows canceled ‘Tom’; ‘Yet’ interlined; ‘L’ not reduced to ‘1’.

Ⓐ first,] the comma added in ink 3.

Ⓐ starving] interlined.

Ⓐ beaten] follows ‘kicked and’ canceled in ink 3.

Ⓐ for it] interlined.

Ⓐ listening] follows canceled ‘reading’.

Ⓐ fairies,] followed by canceled ‘and about’; the comma mended from a semicolon.

Ⓐ as he] follows canceled ‘he’.

Ⓐ unleashed] follows canceled ‘gave bridle to his’.

Ⓐ was glad] follows canceled ‘kept his’.

Ⓐ Tower, by land or boat.] originally ‘Tower.’; the comma added on the line and ‘by land or boat.’ interlined; two periods inadvertently left standing.

Ⓐ But] interlined.

Ⓐ began to] interlined.

Ⓐ now,] interlined.

Ⓐ family—] the dash apparently mended from a period; followed by canceled ‘only’.

Ⓐ only,] interlined.

Ⓐ after a while,] interlined.

Ⓐ guards,] interlined.

Ⓐ mock] interlined.

Ⓐ at last] interlined.

Ⓐ barefooted] actually ‘bare- | footed’; ‘bare-’ written in ink 3 and ‘footed’ written on the following page in ink 1; ‘footed’ follows a passage written in ink 1 and canceled in ink 2: ‘house there were twenty-two families. In describing the Hubbards and their quarters and their odious ways, all these twenty-two wretched families have been described. ¶ One day Jim tramped all about Whitechapel, bare- | ’; ‘odious’ interlined above canceled ‘dreadful’.

Ⓐ they were—] interlined.

Ⓐ good] interlined above canceled ‘rare’.

Ⓐ rain;] the semicolon added; followed by canceled ‘all day;’.

Ⓐ it was] follows canceled ‘every’.

Ⓐ At] interlined above canceled ‘That’.

Ⓐ Tom] interlined in ink 2 above canceled ‘Jim’.

Ⓐ father and grandmother] interlined in ink 2 above canceled ‘parents’.

Ⓐ —after their fashion; wherefore] interlined in ink 3 above a canceled semicolon.

Ⓐ a brisk] interlined in ink 3 above canceled ‘a sound’.

Ⓐ long] originally ‘longer’; ‘er’ canceled.

Ⓐ going on in the building] interlined in ink 2 above a canceled comma.

Ⓐ far, romantic lands,] interlined in ink 2 above canceled ‘Arabia and Persia’.

Ⓐ who] interlined in ink 3 above canceled ‘that’.

Ⓐ or flying] ‘or’ interlined above canceled ‘and running’; ‘or’ possibly substituted for ‘and’ before ‘running’ was canceled.

Ⓐ as usual,] interlined in ink 3 following a comma added in ink 3.

Ⓐ himself.] the period added in ink 3 to replace a canceled exclamation point.

Ⓐ royal estate] follows canceled ‘rega’.

Ⓐ music,] followed by canceled ‘that’; the comma possibly added later.

Ⓐ here] interlined.

Ⓐ and there] follows canceled ‘here’.

Ⓐ him, his . . . tears.] interlined in ink 3. Mark Twain originally wrote ‘him his dream had’ in ink 1. He canceled that in ink 1 and followed it with ‘him, it was not the same it had been before. His dream had intensified its sordidness a thousand fold. He well nigh cried his eyes out, and his heart was like to break.’ Then in ink 2 he mended the period after ‘before’ to a semicolon and following it squeezed in the word ‘for’, neglecting to lower the ‘H’ of ‘His’ to ‘h’. Later in ink 2 he canceled ‘for His dream had intensified’ and interlined ‘for this, which was much the finest dream he had dreamed yet, had intensified’. Finally, in ink 3 he canceled the entire passage ‘him, it was . . . break.’ and interlined ‘him, his . . . tears.’

Textual Notes CHAPTER 2

Ⓐ Let us skip] At the top of the manuscript page on which chapter 2 begins, Mark Twain wrote in pencil “View of London?”—possibly a suggestion to the illustrators.

Ⓐ Canty lived] At the top of the manuscript page beginning here, Mark Twain wrote in pencil the cue words “Tom Canty.” Apparently an editor at the Osgood company (or the printer, when five pages of the manuscript were submitted to him) later wrote in pencil on the verso “4½ × 6½ | S. p. modern | 1700–1800 letters.” The specifications refer to the size of the block of type on each page, the type size and face (small pica modern), and the approximate number of letters per page in the first American edition.

Ⓐ time of] Preceding “of” near the bottom of manuscript page 14 is a bracket, first written in pencil and then redrawn in green crayon—evidently a printer's mark made when pages 10–14 were submitted to the printer for evaluation.

Ⓐ Offal Court] As in the first American edition here and at 60.37, 60.38, 63.2, 70.1, and 75.18. The manuscript reads “Offal court” in these six instances. (In eleven other instances the manuscript and first American edition both read “Offal Court.”) Though Mark Twain may not have been responsible for the change, the reading of the first American edition has been adopted as a necessary correction.

Explanatory Notes CHAPTER 2

Ⓔ The houses . . . like doors.] This description of London dwellings was probably based on William Harrison's Description of England (chapter 12, “Of the Manner of Building and Furniture of Our Houses”), first published in 1577 as part of the first volume of Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles.

Ⓔ Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane] Pudding Lane, infamous as the squalid street where the Great Fire of London began in 1666, lies between the Tower and London Bridge. Offal Court is probably Mark Twain's invention, but the name is appropriate since, as John Stow notes in his sixteenth-century Survey of London, “the butchers of East Cheap have their scalding house for hogs in Pudding Lane, and their puddings, with other filth of beasts, are voided down that way to their dungboats on the Thames” (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1890, p. 216).

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