pry into the result--as it was of no consequence to any one but himself!

The cave, so graphically described in Tom Sawyer, was one of Sam's
favourite haunts; and his first sweetheart was Laura Hawkins, the Becky
Thatcher of Tom's admiration. "Sam was always up to some mischief,"
this lady once remarked in later life, when in reminiscential mood.
"We attended Sunday-school together, and they had a system of rewards
for saying verses after committing them to memory. A blue ticket was
given for ten verses, a red ticket for ten blue, a yellow for ten red,
and a Bible for ten yellow tickets. If you will count up, you will see
it makes a Bible for ten thousand verses. Sam came up one day with his
ten yellow tickets, and everybody knew he had not said a verse, but had
just got them by trading with the boys. But he received his Bible with
all the serious air of a diligent student!"

Mark Twain, save when in humorous vein, has never pretended that his
success was due to any marvellous qualities of mind, any indefatigable
industry, any innate energy and perseverance. I have good reason to
recall his favourite theory, which he was fond of expounding, to the
effect that circumstance is man's master. He likened circumstance to
the attraction of gravity; and declared that while it is man's privilege
to argue with circumstance, as it is the honourable privilege of the
falling body to argue with the attraction of gravity, it does no good:
man has to obey. Circumstance has as its working partner man's
temperament, his natural disposition. Temperament is not the creation
of man, but an innate quality; over it he has no authority; for its acts
he cannot be held responsible. It cannot be permanently changed or even
modified. No power can keep it modified. For it is inherent and
enduring, as unchanging as the lines upon the thumb or the conformation
of the skull. Throughout his life, circumstance seemed like a watchful