Mark Twain's Civil War

"A Curious Experience" (1881)

"A Curious Experience" Mark Twain's longest Civil War fiction is a spy story driven by the same anti-romantic themes as "Lucretia Smith's Soldier" and the author's tirades against Sir Walter Scott. "A Curious Experience" originally appeared in the Century Magazine in November 1881. This is the story which the Major told me, as nearly as I can recall it: In the winter of 1862-3, I was commandant ofFort Trumbull, at New London, Conn. May be our life there was not so brisk as life at "the front"; still it was brisk enough, in its way-one's brains didn't cake together there for lack of something to keep them stirring. For one thing, all the Northern atmosphere at that time was thick with mysterious rumors - rumors to the effect that rebel spies were flitting everywhere, and getting ready to blow up our Northern forts, burn our hotels, send infected clothing into our towns, and all that sort ofthing. You remember it. All this had a tendency to keep us awake, and knock the traditional dullness out of garrison life. Besides, ours was a recruiting station - which is the same as saying we hadn't any time to waste in dozing, or dreaming, or fooling around. Why, with all our watchfulness, fifty per cent of a day's recruits would leak out of our hands and give us the slip the same night. The bounties were so prodigious that a recruit could pay a sentinel three or four hundred dollars to let 179 MARK TWAIN'S CIVIL WAR him escape, and still have enough of his bounty-money left to constitute a fortune for a poor man. Yes, as I said before, our life was not drowsy. Well, one day I was in my quarters alone, doing some writing, when a pale and ragged lad of fourteen or fifteen entered, made a neat bow, and said: "I believe recruits are received here?" "Yes." "Will you please enlist me, sir?" "Dear me, no! You are too young, my boy, and too small." A disappointed look came into his face, and quickly deepened into an expression of despondency. He turned slowly away, as if to go; hesitated, then faced me again, and said, in a tone which went to my heart: "I have no home, and not a friend in the world. If you could only enlist me!" But of course the thing was out of the question, and I said so as gently as I could. Then I told him to sit down by the stove and warm himself, and added: "You shall have something to eat presently. You are hungry?" He did not answer; he did not need to; the gratitude in his big soft eyes was more eloquent than any words could have been. He sat down by the stove, and I went on writing. Occasionally I took a furtive glance at him. I noticed that his clothes and shoes, although soiled and damaged, were of good style and material. This fact was suggestive. To it I added the facts that his voice was low and musical; his eyes deep and melancholy; his carriage and address gentlemanly; evidently the poor chap was in trouble. As a result, I was interested. However, I became absorbed in my work, by and by, and forgot all about the boy. I don't know how long this lasted; but, at 180 "A Curious Experience" length, 1 happened to look up. The boy's back was toward me, but his face was turned in such a way that 1 could see one of his cheeks-and down that cheek a rill of noiseless tears was flowing. "God bless my soul!" 1 said to myself; "I forgot the poor rat was starving." Then 1 made amends for my brutality by saying to him: "Come along, my lad; you shall dine with me; 1 am alone to-day." He gave me another ofthose grateful looks, and a happy light broke in his face. At the table he stood with his hand on his chairback until 1 was seated, then seated himself. 1 took up my knife and fork and-well, 1simply held them, and kept still; for the boy had inclined his head and was saying a silent grace. A thousand hallowed memories of home and my childhood poured in upon me, and 1sighed to think how far 1...