Don't forget the other meaning of elect.  With Twain's Calvinistic roots, he would also know the belief that the elect are chosen by God and predestined for either Heaven or Hell - - seemingly arbitrary decisions made before birth like the decision of who is a slave and who is free.  

And it can be impossible to tell by looking which category someone is in.  Even the individual doesn't really know his own destiny until he stands before a Pudd'nhead Wilson or a Jesus Christ (according to my recollection of Calvinism).

thanks, larry                [log in to unmask]

>>> Hilton Manfred Obenzinger <[log in to unmask]> 02/06/00 06:58PM >>>
The folks in Pudd'nhead Wilson are native speakers of English, and they
have plenty of trouble understanding jokes, particularly irony.  No, I
don't think the referecnes are to President Wilson (it's before his time),
but I do believe they are sly allusions to purported America democracy. . . .
  There's much more to this -- and you should look over previous
references to "election" in the novel for the relationship of blood,
status, and choice -- but this should be a start.