>From MT ENCYCLOPEDIA ed by Jim Wilson 1st pub. in the Atl. Month. in Aug. 1880, & reprinted in The $30,000 Bequest(1906), this short story carries on Twain's sardonic criticism of sentimental women; simple-minded religion, including Sunday School stories and glib aphorisms, including the work ethic, as guides to the conduct of life. The title characters are foster brothers, adopted by a couple who teach th em "Be pure, honest, sober, industrious, considerate, and you will never lack friends." Ed Mills follows their precept and is killed by his brother. G.B. breaks laws, enjoys himself and dies on the gallows, with crowds of women begging for a pardon and his family dutifully by a charitable org. This story has received virtuallly no crit. commentary, being a more complicated joke on the heroes than earlier stories but still undeveloped in plot & character. Also see Jim Wilson's _A Reader's Guide to the Short Stories of MT_ Alan C. Reese