WHAT IS MAN? AND OTHER ESSAYS OF MARK TWAIN

do. I have searched through several bushels of photographs of

the Jungfrau here, but found only one with the Face in it, and in

this case it was not strictly recognizable as a face, which was

evidence that the picture was taken before four o’clock in the

afternoon, and also evidence that all the photographers have

persistently overlooked one of the most fascinating features of

the Jungfrau show. I say fascinating, because if you once detect

a human face produced on a great plan by unconscious nature, you

never get tired of watching it. At first you can’t make another

person see it at all, but after he has made it out once he can’t

see anything else afterward.

The King of Greece is a man who goes around quietly enough

when off duty. One day this summer he was traveling in an

ordinary first-class compartment, just in his other suit, the one

which he works the realm in when he is at home, and so he was not

looking like anybody in particular, but a good deal like

everybody in general. By and by a hearty and healthy German-

American got in and opened up a frank and interesting and

sympathetic conversation with him, and asked him a couple of

thousand questions about himself, which the king answered good-

naturedly, but in a more or less indefinite way as to private

particulars.

“Where do you live when you are at home?”

“In Greece.”

“Greece! Well, now, that is just astonishing! Born there?”

“No.”

“Do you speak Greek?”

“Yes.”

“Now, ain’t that strange! I never expected to live to see

that. What is your trade? I mean how do you get your living?

What is your line of business?”

“Well, I hardly know how to answer. I am only a kind of

foreman, on a salary; and the business–well, is a very general

kind of business.”

“Yes, I understand–general jobbing–little of everything–

anything that there’s money in.”

“That’s about it, yes.”

“Are you traveling for the house now?”

“Well, partly; but not entirely. Of course I do a stroke of

business if it falls in the way–”

“Good! I like that in you! That’s me every time. Go on.”

“I was only going to say I am off on my vacation now.”

“Well that’s all right. No harm in that. A man works all

the better for a little let-up now and then. Not that I’ve been

used to having it myself; for I haven’t. I reckon this is my

first. I was born in Germany, and when I was a couple of weeks

old shipped to America, and I’ve been there ever since, and

that’s sixty-four years by the watch. I’m an American in

principle and a German at heart, and it’s the boss combination.

Well, how do you get along, as a rule–pretty fair?”

“I’ve a rather large family–”

“There, that’s it–big family and trying to raise them on a

salary. Now, what did you go to do that for?”

“Well, I thought–”

“Of course you did. You were young and confident and

thought you could branch out and make things go with a whirl, and

here you are, you see! But never mind about that. I’m not

trying to discourage you. Dear me! I’ve been just where you are

myself! You’ve got good grit; there’s good stuff in you, I can

see that. You got a wrong start, that’s the whole trouble. But

you hold your grip, and we’ll see what can be done. Your case

ain’t half as bad as it might be. You are going to come out all

right–I’m bail for that. Boys and girls?”

“My family? Yes, some of them are boys–”

“And the rest girls. It’s just as I expected. But that’s

all right, and it’s better so, anyway. What are the boys doing–

learning a trade?”

“Well, no–I thought–”

“It’s a big mistake. It’s the biggest mistake you ever

made. You see that in your own case. A man ought always to have

a trade to fall back on. Now, I was harness-maker at first. Did

that prevent me from becoming one of the biggest brewers in

America? Oh no. I always had the harness trick to fall back on

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