Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
Contents
CHAPTER XXII
Overview
A lynch mob charges Colonel Sherburn’s house, but Sherburn’s contemptuous speech exposes their cowardice and scatters them. Huck slips into a circus and witnesses a staged drunk-rider prank. That night the duke and king’s Shakespeare show fails, prompting the duke to devise the bawdy Royal Nonesuch to hook the town.
Summary
A furious mob storms Colonel Sherburn’s house, tearing down his fence and surging forward. Sherburn steps onto his porch with a shotgun, silently staring them down. He delivers a scathing speech calling them cowards who borrow courage from numbers, mocking Buck Harkness as only half a man. The mob loses nerve and dissolves.
Afterward, Huck wanders to a circus, sneaks under the tent, and watches dazzling riders and a quick-witted clown. A supposed drunk insists on riding, causing alarm, but he ultimately reveals himself as a skilled circus man, shedding disguises and performing flawlessly, leaving the crowd delighted and Huck impressed.
That night, the duke and king stage their Shakespeare show to a tiny audience, which laughs and leaves early. Frustrated, the duke judges the town to prefer crude humor. The next morning he prints sensational handbills for a new act, The King’s Camelopard; or, The Royal Nonesuch, pointedly excluding ladies and children to bait curiosity and ensure a paying crowd.
Who Appears
- Huckleberry FinnNarrator; witnesses Sherburn disperse a lynch mob, sneaks into a circus, and observes the troupe’s failed show.
- Colonel SherburnKills Boggs previously; now confronts and humiliates the lynch mob with a withering speech, causing them to scatter.
- The DukeFrustrated by a poor turnout for the Shakespeare show; designs provocative Royal Nonesuch handbills to draw crowds.
- Buck HarknessMob instigator singled out by Sherburn as “half a man,” then slinks off when the crowd disperses.
- The KingPartners with the duke in the failed Shakespeare performance; part of the scheming show troupe.
- RingmasterLeads the circus; is duped by his own performer’s fake drunk-rider gag.
- ClownEntertains the circus audience with sharp, rapid-fire jokes throughout the show.
- Circus rider (disguised as drunk)Pretends to be a dangerous drunk, then reveals expert riding skill in a planned prank.