Mr。Howells—thatpoemofhisisadmirable;that\'sthewaytotreataperson。Howellshasapeculiargiftforseeingthemeritsofpeople,andhehasalwaysexhibitedtheminmyfavor。HowellshasneverwrittenanythingaboutmethatIcouldn\'treadsixorseventimesaday;heisalwaysjustandalwaysfair;hehaswrittenmoreappreciativelyofmethananyoneinthisworld,andpublisheditintheNorthAmericanReview。Hedidmethejusticetosaythatmyintentions—heitalicizedthat—thatmyintentionswerealwaysgood,thatIwoundedpeople\'sconventionsratherthantheirconvictions。
Now,Iwouldn\'twantanythinghandsomerthanthatsaidofme。I
wouldratherwait,withanythingharshImighthavetosay,tilltheconvictionsbecomeconventions。Bangshastracedmeallthewaydown。Hecan\'tfindthathonestman,butIwilllookforhiminthelooking—glasswhenIgethome。ItwasintimatedbytheColonelthatitisNewEnglandthatmakesNewYorkandbuildsupthiscountryandmakesitgreat,overlookingthefactthatthere\'salotofpeopleherewhocamefromelsewhere,likeJohnHayfromawayoutWest,andHowellsfromOhio,andSt。ClairMcKelwayandmefromMissouri,andwearedoingwhatwecantobuildupNewYorkalittle—elevateit。Why,whenIwaslivinginthatvillageofHannibal,Missouri,onthebanksoftheMississippi,andHayupinthetownofWarsaw,alsoonthebanksoftheMississippiRiver—itisanemotionalbitoftheMississippi,andwhenitislowwateryouhavetoclimbuptoitonaladder,andwhenitfloodsyouhavetohuntforitwithadeep—sealead—butitisagreatandbeautifulcountry。Inthatoldtimeitwasaparadiseforsimplicity—itwasasimple,simplelife,cheapbutcomfortable,andfullofsweetness,andtherewasnothingofthisrageofmoderncivilizationthereatall。Itwasadelectableland。IwentouttherelastJune,andImetinthattownofHannibalaschoolmateofmine,JohnBriggs,whomIhadnotseenformorethanfiftyyears。I
tellyou,thatwasameeting！ThatpalwhomIhadknownasalittleboylongago,andknewnowasastatelymanthreeorfourinchesoversixfeetandbrownedbyexposuretomanyclimes,hewasbacktheretoseethatoldplaceagain。Wespentawholeafternoongoingabouthereandthereandyonder,andhuntingupthescenesandtalkingofthecrimeswhichwehadcommittedsolongago。Itwasaheartbreakingdelight,fullofpathos,laughter,andtears,allmixedtogether;andwecalledtherolloftheboysandgirlsthatwepicnickedandsweetheartedwithsomanyyearsago,andtherewerehardlyhalfadozenofthemleft;therestwereintheirgraves;andwewentupthereonthesummitofthathill,atreasuredplaceinmymemory,thesummitofHoliday\'sHill,andlookedoutagainoverthatmagnificentpanoramaoftheMississippiRiver,sweepingalongleagueafterleague,alevelgreenparadiseononeside,andretreatingcapesandpromontoriesasfarasyoucouldseeontheother,fadingawayinthesoft,richlightsoftheremotedistance。IrecognizedthenthatIwasseeingnowthemostenchantingriverviewtheplanetcouldfurnish。IneverknewitwhenIwasaboy;ittookaneducatedeyethathadtravelledovertheglobetoknowandappreciateit;andJohnsaid,\"CanyoupointouttheplacewhereBearCreekusedtobebeforetherailroadcame？\"Isaid,\"Yes,itranalongyonder。\"\"Andcanyoupointouttheswimming—hole？\"\"Yes,outthere。\"Andhesaid,\"Canyoupointouttheplacewherewestoletheskiff？\"Well,Ididn\'tknowwhichonehemeant。Suchawildernessofeventshadintervenedsincethatday,morethanfiftyyearsago,ittookmemorethanfiveminutestocallbackthatlittleincident,andthenIdidcallitback;itwasawhiteskiff,andwepainteditredtoallaysuspicion。Andthesaddest,saddestmancamealong—astrangerhewas—
andhelookedthatredskiffoversopathetically,andhesaid:\"Well,ifitweren\'tforthecomplexionI\'dknowwhoseskiffthatwas。\"Hesaiditinthatpleadingway,youknow,thatappealsforsympathyandsuggestion;wewerefullofsympathyforhim,butweweren\'tinanyconditiontooffersuggestions。Icanseehimyetasheturnedawaywiththatsamesadlookonhisfaceandvanishedoutofhistoryforever。Iwonderwhatbecameofthatman。Iknowwhatbecameoftheskiff。Well,itwasabeautifullife,alovelylife。Therewasnocrime。Merelylittlethingslikepillagingorchardsandwatermelon—patchesandbreakingtheSabbath—wedidn\'tbreaktheSabbathoftenenoughtosignify—onceaweekperhaps。Butweweregoodboys,goodPresbyterianboys,allPresbyterianboys,andloyalandallthat;anyway,weweregoodPresbyterianboyswhentheweatherwasdoubtful;whenitwasfair,wedidwanderalittlefromthefold。