The Mysterious stranger - Chapter 9

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Episode Transcript

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Chapter nine of The Mysterious Stranger byMark Twain. This is a LibriVox recording.
All LibriVox recordings are in the publicdomain. For more information or to
volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by Patrick seventy nine, Chapter
nine. It was wonderful the masterySatetan had over time and distance, for

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they did not exist. He calledthem human inventions, and said they were
artificialities. We often went to themost distant parts of the globe with him
and stayed weeks and months, andyet were gone only a fraction of a

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second. As a rule, Well, you could prove it by the clock
von day. When our people werein such awful distress, because the witch
Commission were afraid to proceed against theastrologer and Father Peter's household, or against
any indeed but the poor and thefriendless, they lost patience and took to

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witch hunting on their own score,and began to chase a born lady who
was known to have the habit ofcuring people by devilish arts, such as
bathing them, washing them, andnourishing them, instead of bleeding them and
purging them. Through the ministrations ofthe barber surgeon in the proper way.

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She came flying down, with thehowling and cursing mob after her, and
tried to take refuge in houses,but their doors were shut in her face.
They chased her more than half anhour. We were following to see
it, and at last she wasexhausted and fell, and they caught her.

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They dragged her to a tree andthrew a rope over the limb,
and began to make a noose init, some holding her meantime, and
she crying and begging, and heryoung daughter looking on and weeping, but
afraid to say or do anything.They hanged the lady, and I threw

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a stone at her, although inmy heart I was sorry for her.
But all were throwing stones, andeach was watching his neighbor, and if
I had not done as the othersdid, it would have been noticed and
spoken of, Oh Satan. Wellhe burst out laughing. All that were

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nearby turned upon her, him,astonished and not pleased. It was an
ill time to laugh, for hisfree and scoffing ways and his supernatural music
had brought him under suspicion all overthe town and turned many, well privately

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against him. The big blacksmith calledattention to him, now, raising his
voice so that all should hear,and he said, what are you laughing
at? Adswa moreover, please explainto the company why you threw no stone?
Are you sure I did not throwa stone? Yes, you needn't

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try to get out of it.I had my eye on you, and
I I noticed you shouted to others. Three witnesses, said Satan, Mueller,
the blacksmith, Climb, the butcher'sman, Fifer, the weaver's journeyman.

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Three very ordinary liars, are thereanymore? Never mind whether there are
others or not, and never mindabout what you consider us. Three is
enough to settle the matter for you. You'll prove that you threw a stone?

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Are itch? I'll go hard foryou that so, shouted the crowd
and surged up as closely as theycould get to the center of interest.
And first you will answer that otherquestion, cried the blacksmith, pleased with

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himself for being mouthpriests to the publicand hero of the occasion. Are you
laughing at? Satan smiled and answeredpleasantly. Oh, to see three cowards
stoning a dying lady when they wereso near death themselves. Oh, you

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could see the superstitious crowd shrink andcatch their breath under the sudden shock.
The blacksmith, with the show ofbravardo, said, pooh, what do
you know about it? I everythingby profession. I am a fortune teller,

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and I read the hands of youthree and some others when you lifted
them to stone the woman. Oneof you will die tomorrow week, another
of you will die tonight, andthe third has but five minutes to live.

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And yonder is the clock. Oh, it made the sensation. The
faces of the crowd blanched and turnedmechanically towards the clock. The butcher and
the weaver seemed smitten with an illness, but the blacksmith braced up and said

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with spirit, it's not long towait for prediction number one. If it
fails, young master, you willnot live a whole minute after. I
promise you that. No von saidanything. Oh, watch the clock in
a deep stillness, which was impressive. When four and a half minutes were

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gone, the blacksmith gave a suddengasp and clapped his hand upon his heart,
saying, give me breath, giveme rule boom, and began to
sink down. The crowd surged back, no one offering to support him,
and he fell lumbering to the groundand was dead. Ah. The people

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stared at him, then at Satan, then at one another, and their
lips moved, but no words came. Then Satan said, three saw that
I threw no stone. Perhaps thereare others. Let them speak. It

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struck a kind of panic into them, and although no one answered him,
many began to violently accuse one another, saying, you said he didn't throw
it, and getting for reply itis lie. I will make you eat
it. And so in a momentthey were in a raging and noisy turmoil,

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and beating and banging one another,and in the midst was the only
indifferent one, the dead lady,hanging from the rope, her troubles forgotten,
her spirit at peace. So wewalked away, and I was not

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at ease, but was saying tomyself. Oh, he told them he
was laughing at them, but itwas a lie. He was laughing at
me. Oh. That made himlaugh again, and he said, yes,
I was laughing at you, because, in fear of what others might

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report about you, you stone thewoman when your heart revolted at the act.
But I was laughing at the otherstoo. Oh, why because their
case was yours? How is that? Well, there were sixty eight people
there, and sixty two of themhad no more desire to throw a stone

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than you had, Satan. Oh, it's true. I know your race.
It is made up of sheep.It is governed by minorities, seldom
or never by majorities. It suppressesits feelings and its beliefs, and follows

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the handful that makes the most noise. Sometimes the noisy handful is right,
sometimes wrong, but no matter,the crowd follows it. The vast majority
of the race, whether savage orcivilized, are secretly kind hearted and shrink

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from inflicting pain. But in thepresence of the aggressive and pitiless minority,
they don't dare to assert themselves.Well, think of it. One kind
hearted creature spies upon another and seesto it that he loyally helps in iniquities

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which revolts both of them. Speakingas an expert, I know that nineteen
nine out of one hundred of yourrace was strongly against the killing of witches
when that foolishness was first agitated bya handful of pious lunatics a long time
ago. And I know that eventoday, after ages of transmitted prejudice and

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silly teaching, only one person intwenty puts any real heart into the harrying
of a witch. And yet apparentlyeverybody hates witches and wants them killed.
Someday a handful will rise up onthe other side and make the most noise.

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Perhaps even a single daring man witha big voice and a determined front
will do it, and in aweek all the sheep will wheel and follow
him, and which hunting will cometo a sudden end. Monarchies, aristocracies,

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and religions are all based upon thelarge defect in your race, the
individual distrust of his neighbor, andhis desire for safeties or comfort sake to
stand well in his neighbour's eye.These institutions will always remain, and always

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flourish, and always oppress you,affront you, and degrade you, because
you will always be and remain slavesof minorities. There was never a country
where the majority of the people where, in their secret hearts loyal to any

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of these institutions. I did notlike to hear our race called sheep,
and said, I did not thinkthey've were still it is true, Lamb
said, Satan, look at youin war, what mutton you are,

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And how ridiculous in foro, howthere has never been a just one,
never an honorable one on the partof the instigator of the war. I
can see a million years ahead,and this rule will never change. In

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so many as half a dozen instances, the loud little handful, as usual
will shout for the war. Thepulpit will warily and cautiously object. At
first, the great, big,dull bulk of the nation will rub its

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sleepy eyes and try to make outwhy there should be no war, and
will say, well, earnestly andindignantly, it is unjust and dishonorable,
and there is no necessity for it. Then a handful will shout louder.
A few fair men on the otherside would argue the reason against the war

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with speech and pen, and atfirst will have a hearing and be applauded.
But it will not last long.Those others will outshout them, and
presently the anti war audiences will thinout and lose popularity. Before long you

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will see this curious thing, thespeakers stone from the platform, and free
speech strangled by hordes of furious men, who in their secret hearts are still
at one with those stoned speakers asearlier, but do not dare to say

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so. And now the whole nationpulpit, and all will take up the
war cry and shout itself hoarse,and mob any honest man who ventures to
open his mouth, And presently suchmouths will cease to open. Next the

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statesmen will invent cheap lies, puttingthe blame upon the nation that is attacked.
And every a man will be gladof those conscience soothing falsities, and
will diligently study them, and refuseto examine any refutations of them. And
thus he will by and by convincehimself that the war is just, and

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will thank God for the better Sleepyenjoys after this process of grotesque self deception.
End of chapter nine