Mark Twain
Published: 2018-02-27
Total Pages: 254
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Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. But shewouldn't. She said it was a mean practice and wasn't clean, and I must try to not doit any more. That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thingwhen they don't know nothing about it. Here she was a-bothering about Moses,which was no kin to her, and no use to anybody, being gone, you see, yet finding apower of fault with me for doing a thing that had some good in it. And she tooksnuff, too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself.Her sister, Miss Watson, a tolerable slim old maid, with goggles on, had justcome to live with her, and took a set at me now with a spelling-book. She workedme middling hard for about an hour, and then the widow made her ease up. Icouldn't stood it much longer. Then for an hour it was deadly dull, and I wasfidgety. Miss Watson would say, "Don't put your feet up there, Huckleberry;" and"Don't scrunch up like that, Huckleberry--set up straight;" and pretty soon shewould say, "Don't gap and stretch like that, Huckleberry--why don't you try tobehave?" Then she told me all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there.She got mad then, but I didn't mean no harm. All I wanted was to go somewheres;all I wanted was a change, I warn't particular. She said it was wicked to say what Isaid; said she wouldn't say it for the whole world; she was going to live so as to go to the good place. Well, I couldn't see no advantage in going where she was going,so I made up my mind I wouldn't try for it. But I never said so, because it wouldonly make trouble, and wouldn't do no good.Now she had got a start, and she went on and told me all about the good place.She said all a body would have to do there was to go around all day long with aharp and sing, forever and ever. So I didn't think much of it. But I never said so. Iasked her if she reckoned Tom Sawyer would go there, and she said not by aconsiderable sight. I was glad about that, because I wanted him and me to betogether.Miss Watson she kept pecking at me, and it got tiresome and lonesome. By andby they fetched the niggers in and had prayers, and then everybody was off to bed.I went up to my room with a piece of candle, and put it on the table. Then I setdown in a chair by the window and tried to think of something cheerful, but itwarn't no use. I felt so lonesome I most wished I was dead. The stars wereshining, and the leaves rustled in the woods ever so mournful; and I heard an owl,away off, who-whooing about somebody that was dead, and a whippowill and adog crying about somebody that was going to die; and the wind was trying towhisper something to me, and I couldn't make out what it was, and so it made thecold shivers run over me. Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a soundthat a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can'tmake itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about thatway every night grieving.