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Show A TRUTH f U L TRIO. MAKK TWAIN, NASBY AND ELI PEEKING TELLING TRUTHS. By Eli Perkins, for A. P. Burbank, the Elucutionul. Omaha, Mas., July 41, 1932 While ciroliiufi around Oibkoab yesterday yes-terday I was surprised to meet iwt very distinguished and truthful iu-diviiiua's. iu-diviiiua's. Surprised, I say, because I supposed tuese genliemen wen thousands ol miles away. These men were Mark Twain, sometimes called the Great TrulbltUer of the Sierras, and P. V. Nasby, generally known ts the Great International Truthteller at Large from tbe state of Ohio. Now, I thought Mark Twain was doing missionary work in New Jersey, and j I had been informed that Mr. Nasbv had gone to labor in tbe temperance field in Italy with Mr. Murphy. Not withstanding my surprise at seeing them, I was glad to have a chance to sit at their leel and hear the truth defended. de-fended. Alter we had talked a spell Mr. Twain laid down his cigar aud told us atout a feet horse be once owned in V rgiuia city. Said he: "Gentlemen, this horse of mine was tough bitted, and ne went so fast that I bad to guide him by electricity-had electricity-had to have wire lines and keep a battery in tbe wagon all the time in order toatop him." "Why didn't you slop him by hollering who a!" I asked. "Stop him by hollering who a!" exclaimed Mr. Twain. "Why I could not holler loud enough to make that horse bear me. He traveled so fast that no sound ever reached him from behiud. He went faster tnan the sound, sir. Holler wbo-a and he'd be in the next town before the sound of your voice could reach the dashboard. dash-board. 'Travel fast?' I should say he could. Why I once started from Virginia city for Meadow creek right in front of one of the most dreadful rain-storms we ever had on the Pacific coast. Wind and rain? Why the wind blew eighty miles an hour and the rain fell in sheets. I drove right in front of that Btorm for three hours just on the edge uf that hurricane hurri-cane and rain for forty miles." "Didn't vou get drenched?" "Drenched? No, airl What did I keep that last borse for? Why, I tell you, I drove right in front of that rainstorm. I could lean forward and let the sun shine on me, or lean backward and feel rain and catch hailstones. When the hurricane slacked up the horse slacked up, too, aud when it blew faster I just said 'G Ik 1' to the horse and touched the battery, and away we went. Now I don't want to lie about my hone, Mr. Perkins, and don't aBk you to believe what I say, but I tell you truthfully lhat when I got to Meadow oreek my linen duster was as dry as powder. Not a drop of rain on the wagon seat either, while the wagon box was level full of hailBtonea and water, or I'm a , a " "Look here, gentlemen," interrupted inter-rupted Mr. Nasby; "speaking of the trutn, did you eier hear about my striking that man in Toledo?" I We said we had not. "Well, sir, it waB this way: There was a man there one of those worldly, skeptical fellows, who questioned my veracity one day. He said he had doubts about the truthfulness truthful-ness of one of my crossroads incidents. , Ho didn't say it publicly, but pri vately. I'm sorry for the sake of his wife and family now that be said it at all and sorry for the man, too, because he wasn't prepared to go. If he'd been a Christian it would have been diflerent. I say I didn't wantto strike this man, because it's a bad habit to get into this making a human chaos out ot a fellow man. But be questioned my veracity, and the earthquake came. I struck him once just once. I remember he wsb putting down a carpet at the time and had his mouth full of carpet tacks. But a man can't stop to discount carpet tacks in a man's mouth, when he questions ycur veracity, can he? I never do. I simply struck the blow." "Did it hurt tho man much?" I asked. "I dou't think it did. It was too sudden. Tbe bystanders aaid if I was going to strike a second blow they wanted to move out of the stale. Now, I don't want you to believe me, and I don't expect you will, but to leil you the honest truth, Mr. Perkins, Per-kins, I squashed that man right into a door mat, and his own wife, who wtiH tackiog down ouo edge of tbe carpet at tbe time, came right aloni: and took him for a gutta percha ru, and actually lucked bim down in Iront of the door. Poor woman, she never knew Bbe was tacking dowu her own husband! What became ol the tacks in hi3 mouth? you ask. Well, the next day the boys pulled them out of the bottoms o? his over-31:00:. over-31:00:. and " "Gentlemen!" I interrupted, "it does mc good (o hear such truths. 1 1 beiieve every word you say, and I fcol ' that I ought to exchange truths with you. Now, did you ever hear how I went to prayer-meeting at New London, Lon-don, Conn., in a rainstorm?" They s:d they had not. "Well, gentlemen," I said, "ono day I e'.nrted for the New London prayer meeting on horseback. Y hen I got about half way there, there came up a fearful storm. The wind blew a hurricane, the rain fell in torrents, tor-rents, tbe lightning gleamed through the eky, and I went and crouched down behind a large barn. But pretty toon the lightning struck the ham, knocktd it into a thousand splinters, and sent my horse whirling ovor into a neighboring corn-patch." "Did it kill you, Mr. Perkins?" asked Mr. TwaiD, the tears roiling down bis checks. "No, it didn't kill me," I said, "but I was a good deal discouraged." "Well, what did you do Mr. Per kin;?" "What did I do? Weil, gentla-men, gentla-men, to ttil the honest Connecticut truth, I went right out into the pasture, pas-ture, look cfl my coat, humped up my bare back and look eleven clipj of lightning right on my bare backbone, back-bone, drew tho electricity all out of the sky, ond then got on to my hor6e and rode into New London in lime to lead at ihe evening prayer meeting." Aiisc and eing! Eli Peeking, |