Most of the adventures recorded in this book really occurred; one or two were experiences of my own the rest those of boys who were schoolmates of mine. Huck Finn is drawn from life; Tom Sawyer also but not from an individual-he is a combination of the characteristics of three boys whom I knew and therefore belongs to the composite order of architecture. The odd superstitions touched upon were all prevalent among children and slaves in the West at the period of this story.