The Mysterious Stranger Manuscripts (Literature) (65 page)

The first thing to do is to feed this vanity-show, by microbes he
is God's especial pet

He is to find the diseases & tortures & microbes, & old Ferg will
explain their function in rushing the glory of God

The Chronicle of Young Satan

Group A

This first group is probably the earliest set of working notes for "The Chronicle of Young Satan." It was written in pencil on a sheet of heavy buff paper identical to the original pp. 1-96 of the manuscript, probably in November 1897 before the composition of the first chapter. Later notes were added in ink after the first chapter was written, but before the second was begun.'
These ink additions have been rendered in boldface type. A-2, on the verso, includes notes and a canceled paragraph from Mary Baker Eddy's Science and Health.

A-1

I

A-2

Ch. V.

We'll sing the wine-cup & the lass

(Finite belief can never do justice to (t)Truth in any direction.
It limits all things & would compress Mind, which is infinite, beneath a skull-bone. Such belief can neither apprehend nor worship the Infinite, & seeks to divide the one Spirit into many, to accommodate its finite sense of the divisibility of soul & substance.)

Group B

This group of notes is composed of five half-sheets of lightweight, cream-colored stock identical to MS pp. 86-376 and 387-392. B-1, written in ink, is a plan for continuing the story, and was apparently written before Mark Twain reserved ten pages from his first section of the story and began the second section of manuscript in May 1899.3
The other four pages are written in pencil. The note "Tell me my fortune for one day ahead-& Sep's for life. Did it." and the notes about Satan's glimpses into the past and future anticipate the episodes in the manuscript written after June 1900. Thus, the notes were probably written after Mark Twain laid the manuscript aside in October 1899, but before he resumed work in June 1900.

B-1

NOTES.

A Public inquire, Who is he?

Police want his details in their book. Refuses. Arrested. A

S. will come "every day."

Jealousy of WiP

S. after 3 days furnishes details of the 4 games, with notes to Wil, whose envy & jeal are further inflamed.

S. gets generally acquainted-also with Peter.

W. tattles about the extraordinary music, to array pub. opinion
against S. Talks this to draw fury away from Marget & settle it
upon S.

S. associates freely with the worst & the best-they are all
trivialities to him.

Says animals are far below the angels, but far above men.

The days go on. People want to deed the village to the Virginbut Prince Konigsberg objects, being owner.

Young princess Adelheid falls in l[ove] with S. He is indifferent,
of course.

Trial of Peter-he not present. Is begged by the boys to go & confer an immense happiness upon him to pay for his captivity & make
him forget it. "I will-what shall it be?" "You choose it." He confers
a happy insanity-imaginary kingship. Will not restore him-knows
a happy insanity is best for all men. (Uses the figure of temporary
kingship in a play as difference bet. man & angel, whose glory is
permanent.

B-2

God has never kept the Sabbath. Doesn't even bank his fires Sat
night, like the furnaces. [Written on separate MS page used by ABP
to identify the working notes, and with the notation in his hand
"Notes Mys. Stranger."]

B-3

I

On a trip to the Garden of Eden the eating of the apple is reproduced, & they notice that it is bitter, for Adam makes a wry face.
He eats but half & throws it away. F. picks it up, furtively, & long
afterward gets Satan drunk & he eats it-the idea being to give him
the Moral Sense & Christianise him.

When sober he recognizes what has happened, & bitterly re proaches them. His great powers are gone, disease invades him, he
has no way to earn his living; he begs it; will not accept help from
them; becomes swiftly old & feeble; people no longer afraid of him;
he is persecuted, but remains a heretic; so they torture him, convict
him, damn him & burn him.

B-4

2

A Adam's Fall. A

Did the higher animals cat of the apple? No. But Adam's eating
it brought suffering & death to them? Yes. Where is the justice in
that?