Honestly, I think it is about the watermelon. And, by the way, the racial stereotype breaks down. I'm a Caucasian Southerner (I don't say white because all of us humans are just different shades of brown). I share Mr. Twain's esteem for the watermelon. But when I was growing up, one of my best friends as an African-American man who worked for my grandfather and then my father and who would not touch a watermelon with a ten foot pole. Twain talked about watermelon a lot:The true Southern watermelon is a boon apart, and not to be mentioned with commoner things. It is chief of this world'd luxuries, king by grace of God over all the fruits of the earth. When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat. It was not a Southern watermelon that Eve took: we know it because she repented. I know how a prize watermelon looks when it is sunning its fat rotundity among pumpkin vines and “simblins;”* I know how to tell when it’s ripe without “plugging”** it; I know how inviting it looks when it is cooling itself in a tub of water under the bed, waiting; I know how it looks when it lies on the table in the sheltered great floor-space between house and kitchen, and the children gathered for the sacrifice and their mouths watering; I know the crackling sound it makes when the carving knife enters its end, and I can see the split fly along in front of the blade as the knife cleaves its way to the other end; I can see the halves fall apart and display the rich red meat and the black seeds, and the heart standing up, a luxury fit for the elect; I know how a boy looks, behind a yard long slice of that melon, and I know how he feels for I have been there. I know the watermelon which has been honestly come by and I know the taste of the watermelon which has been acquired by art. Both taste good, but the experienced know which tastes best. When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat. On Sun, Nov 25, 2018 at 10:16 AM James N. Powell <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > 我園の真桑も盗むこころ哉 > wagasono no makuwa mo nusumu kokoro kana > > Even in my own field, > I pick a melon > As if stealing. > > ~ Buson > > Tr. Shoji Kumano > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Dave Davis > Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2018 7:08 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Clemens and persistent racism? > > Wiser heads will know more, but that sounds to me more like the voice of > Paine than the voice of Twain. Are the narratives quoted found in the > Autobiography (the full dictations, which have recently been published)? > > DDD > > https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/t/twain/mark/paine/chapter214.html > > > On Sat, Nov 24, 2018 at 6:14 PM John Greenman <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > from “the watermelons” (which Paine quotes in chapter CCXIV. MARK > > TWAIN AND THE MISSIONARIES in his Biography) Clemens says: > > “...This was down South, in the slavery days. It was the nature of the > > negro then, as now, to steal watermelons…." > > > > Question: have y’all concluded that this 1901 concept accurately > > reflects Clemens’ racial feelings are was there some other reason for > his wording?? > > > > thanks, > > > > -j > > > > +++++++++++++++ > > Coincidence is a messenger > > sent by Truth > > > > [log in to unmask] > > > > Mark Twain Audiobooks from Librivox > > > > My Mark Twain audio recordings at Archive.org > > > -- William B. Robison, PhD Department Head / Professor of History Department of History and Political Science Southeastern Louisiana University SLU 10895 Hammond LA 70402 985-549-2109 phone 985-549-2012 fax [log in to unmask] http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/depts/hist_ps/index.html http://www.tudorsonfilm.com/ http://www.impairedfaculties.com/ History teaches students to read intelligently, think analytically, write clearly, accurately assess past trends, rationally predict future developments, and understand the real world. Now *that* is workforce-ready! History does offer us very real lessons, but they are seldom simple and straightforward. To understand and benefit from them, you have to know your history very well. That is why history matters as much as math, science, technology, or any other subject. "A young horse is fast, but an old horse knows what's going on." – Muddy Waters