"How old are you, Sandy?" It was the first time I ever struck a still place in her. The mill had shut down for repairs, or something. (19.5)
Pretty simple question, but it throws Sandy for a complete loop. And remember, this is one of the few people in Arthur's time who Hank actually respects. How can he handle the rest of the yahoos in this era? Well okay, he handles them by fooling them with his pseudo magic, but still…
"It's a Factory where I'm going to turn groping and grubbing automata into men." (17.11)
More than once Hank cuts through class labels like peasant and lord and uses the term men to refer to educated equals. Here he's also using terms like factory and automata, which are connected to the Industrial Revolution (which was in full swing during Twain's time). Could there be some irony here, since the Industrial Revolution wasn't really known for its equality?
"Put him in the Man-factory." (13.10)
Hank refers to his schools as man-factories, as if they can be built like tools on an assembly line. Twain might be taking a dig at the Industrial Age here: workers are just interchangeable parts, no different than the peasants in Arthur's age. He might also be suggesting that education makes the man.