A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthurs Court
contributor: Eric Lease Morgan (Infomotions, Inc.)
creator: Twain, Mark
date: 0000-00-00
extent: 661545
format: text/plain
language: en
publisher: Wiretap Electronic Text Archive
rights: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/GPL/2.0/
source: yankee.mt
subject: king
subject: time
subject: man
subject: clemens
subject: public
subject: domain
subject: york
subject: electronic
subject: edition
subject: dell
subject: wiretap
subject: spies
subject: released
subject: june
subject: preface
subject: ungentle
subject: customs
subject: touched
subject: tale
subject: historical
subject: twain
subject: mark
subject: connecticut
subject: yankee
subject: arthurs
subject: court
subject: american
subject: literature
type: text
local mirror: twain-connecticut-31.txt
concordance: http://infomotions.com/alex/cgi-bin/concordance.pl
plain html: twain-connecticut-31.htm
sort title: Connecticut Yankee In King Arthurs Court, A
full text: The INTERNET WIRETAP First Electronic Edition of A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT by MARK TWAIN (Samuel L. Clemens) Copyright, 1889 and 1899, by SAMUEL L. CLEMENS This text is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN. From The Writings of Mark Twain Volume XVI Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York Electronic Edition by <dell@wiretap.spies.com> Released to the public June 1993 PREFACE THE ungentle laws and customs touched upon in this tale are historical, and the episodes which are used to illustrate them are also historical. It is not pretended that these laws and customs existed in England in the sixth century; no, it is only pretended that inasmuch as they existed in the English and other civilizations of far later times, it is safe to consider that it is no libel upon the sixth century to suppose them to have been in practice in that day also. One is quite justified in inferring that whatever one of these laws or customs was lacking in that remote time, its place was competently filled by a worse one. The question as to whether there is such a thing as divine right of kings is not settled in this book. It was found too difficult. That the executive head of a nation should be a person of lofty character and extraordinary ability, was manifest and indisputable; that none but the Deity could select that head unerr- ingly, was also manifest and indisputable; that the Deity ought to make that selection, then, was likewise manifest and indisputable; consequently, that He does make it, as claimed, was an unavoidable deduction. I mean, until the author of this book encountered the Pompadour, and Lady Castlemaine, and some other executive heads of that kind; these were found so difficult to work into the scheme, that it was judged better to take the other tack in this book (which must be issued this fall), and then go into training and settle the question in another book. It is, of course, a thing which ought to be settled, and I am not going to have anything particular to do nex…