Here is the quote (which we all know does not match the biographical details of Clemens' childhood): "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in 7 years." Terry Ballard Quinnipiac University ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 16:22:59 -0800 Reply-To: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> Sender: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> From: Gregg Camfield <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Mark Twain Quote Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit I don't believe that's an authenticated Mark Twain quotation. It probably came from Ayers, _The Wit and Wisdom of MT_, but he makes lots of errors in attribution. Check Rasmussen's fine collection of quotations for confirmation. Gregg Camfield