Great stories and poems and a look into their history
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Elbereth lore
A Elbereth Gilthoniel Silivren Penna Miriel O Menel Aglar Elenath Na Charaed Palan Diriel O Galadhremmin Ennorath Fanuilos Le Linnathon Nef Aear Si Nef Aearon
Twain used different pen names before deciding on "Mark Twain". He signed humorous and imaginative sketches "Josh" until 1863. Additionally, he used the pen name "Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass" for a series of humorous letters. He maintained that his primary pen name came from his years working on Mississippi riverboats, where two fathoms, a depth indicating "safe water" for the boat to float over, was measured on the sounding line. A fathom is a maritime unit of depth, equivalent to two yards (six feet, approximately 1.8 metres); "twain" is an archaic term for "two". The riverboatman's cry was "mark twain" or, more fully, "by the mark twain", meaning "according to the mark [on the line], [the depth is] two [fathoms]", that is, "there are 12 feet of water under the boat and it is safe to pass".
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