Robert Champ's explanation doesn't seem at all far-fetched. After all, Hank is mistaken for a fire-breathing dragon when he lights his pipe. He may in fact be the serpent in the garden. Look at the Edenic way in which Twain describes Arthurian England when Hank first arrives there. At least, the description of the countryside approaching Camelot has Edenic overtones. By the time the Boss is finished with England, it is in ruins. Richard Tuerk