FROM THE PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION OF
"MARK TWAIN’S SKETCHES."
If I were to sell the reader a barrel of molasses, and he, instead of sweetening his substantial dinner with the same at judicious intervals, should eat the entire barrel at one sitting, and then abuse me for making him sick, I would say that he deserved to be made sick for not knowing any better how to utilize the blessings this world affords. And if I sell to the reader this volume of nonsense, and he, instead of seasoning his graver reading with a chapter of it now and then, when his mind demands such relaxation, unwisely overdoses himself with several chapters of it at a single sitting, he will deserve to be nauseated, and he will have nobody to blame but himself if he is. There is no more sin in publishing an entire volume of nonsense than there is in keeping a candy-store with no hardware in it. It lies wholly with the customer whether he will injure himself by means of either, or will derive from them the benefits which they will afford him if he uses their possibilities judiciously.
Respectfully submitted,
THE AUTHOR.
*Note: A download may not start for up to 60 seconds.
*Note: It may take up to 60 seconds for for the email to be generated.
Chicago: Mark Twain, Mark Twain’s Speeches Original Sources, accessed July 1, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=NMYFAZG8ZICTQM5.
MLA: Twain, Mark. Mark Twain’s Speeches, Original Sources. 1 Jul. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=NMYFAZG8ZICTQM5.
Harvard: Twain, M, Mark Twain’s Speeches. Original Sources, retrieved 1 July 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=NMYFAZG8ZICTQM5.