The Mysterious Stranger
THE
Mysterious Stranger
A ROMANCE
BY
MARK TWAIN
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
N. C. WYETH
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
The Mysterious Stranger
Copyright, 1916, by Harper & Brothers
Printed in the United States of America
Published October, 1916
Illustrations
| Eseldorf was a Paradise for Us Boys | Frontispiece |
| The Lightning Blazed Out Flash upon Flash and Set the Castle onFire | Facing p. 20 |
| On the Fourth Day Comes the Astrologer from His Crumbling OldTower | “38 |
| Marget Was Cheerful by Help of Wilhelm Meidling | “60 |
| The Astrologer Emptied the Whole of the Bowl into the Bottle | “74 |
| There Was a Sound of Tramping Outside and the Crowd Came SolemnlyIn | “108 |
| “Life Itself Is Only a Vision, a Dream” | “148 |
The Mysterious Stranger
IT was in 1590—winter. Austria was far away from the world, andasleep; it was still the Middle Ages in Austria, and promised to remainso forever. Some even set it away back centuries upon centuries andsaid that by the mental and spiritual clock it was still the Age ofBelief in Austria. But they meant it as a compliment, not a slur, andit was so taken, and we were all proud of it. I remember it well,although I was only a boy; and I remember, too, the pleasure it gave me.
Yes, Austria was far from the world, and asle