title: Humorous Stories and Sketches (Dover Thrift Editions)
author:  Mark Twain 
description: <DIV>After the Civil War, Samuel Clemens (1835-1910) left his small town to seek work as a riverboat pilot. As Mark Twain, the Missouri native found his place in the world. Author, journalist, lecturer, wit, and sage, Twain created enduring works that have enlightened and amused readers of all ages for generations.</DIV>
zlib_text:   Some Rambling Notes Of An Idle Excursion
    by Mark Twain
          SOME RAMBLING NOTES OF AN IDLE EXCURSION
      All the journeyings I had ever done had been purely in the way of
  business.  The pleasant May weather suggested a novelty namely, a trip
  for pure recreation, the bread-and-butter element left out.  The Reverend
  said he would go, too; a good man, one of the best of men, although a
  clergyman.  By eleven at night we were in New Haven and on board the New
  York boat.  We bought our tickets, and then went wandering around here
  and there, in the solid comfort of being free and idle, and of putting
  distance between ourselves and the mails and telegraphs.
    After a while I went to my stateroom and undressed, but the night was too
  enticing for bed.  We were moving down the bay now, and it was pleasant
  to stand at the window and take the cool night breeze and watch the
  gliding lights on shore.  Presently, two elderly men sat down under that
  window and began a conversation.  Their talk w