I have been interested in how between-group cynicism develops, and in my literature review I studied cynicism across a wide range of disciplines. In psychology, cynicism is often described as a distrust in the motivations of others. Cynicism develops in the individual over time as a consequence of continued and ongoing personal setbacks. When I examine Twain's life I see a general trend across the lifetime toward the development of cynical views toward governments, institutions, imperialism, business, medicine, life in general and finally, humanity. This all corresponds with setbacks in each area that affected Twain directly and as a public citizen. The Mysterious Stranger for me culminates Twain's experiences into a sort of philosophical examination of his views toward humanity and religion. Clearly by then he fit the formula for the development of deep cynicism, having suffered through many personal and ideological setbacks. If we live long enough, and hard enough, perhaps there is no escaping such an end, at least to some significant degree. The recent news about Mother Teresa's challenges in her faith as a result of her own personal challenges and observations over time perhaps provides us with one other notable example. To be a public figure associated with and outspoken about so many social concerns, while managing his own acutely personal setbacks, was perhaps just too much for one person. After all that happened, would we really expect a happy and sappy ending? His readers, I think, can empathize with Twain's ending, one that supplied us with a wealth of lessons to learn should we choose to pursue them. Steve Crawford Jyväskylä, Finland