MARK TWAIN�S LETTERS1876�1880

An Electronic Edition

É

Volume 2: 1877

Edited by theMark Twain Project

Published for theUniversity of California Press

by the Mark Twain Project of The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, California2003

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The texts of letters written or dictated by Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), Olivia L.Clemens, Olivia Susan (Susy) Clemens, Clara L. Clemens, and Jane L. (Jean) Clem-ens�excluding only those letters published before 1923�are © 2001 by Richard A.Watson and The Chase Global Private Bank as Trustees of the Mark Twain Foundation,which reserves all reproduction or dramatization rights in every medium. All editorialtranscription, reconstruction, decipherment, explanatory comment, identification ofcorrespondents, places, and dates are © 2001 and 2003 by The Regents of the Universityof California.

ISBN: 0-520-90099-5

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Introduction

This electronic edition includes the texts of more than seven hundred letters written bySamuel L. Clemens�every letter that is known to survive from January 1876 throughDecember 1880. The edition comprises five volumes, one for each year. Every letter hasbeen meticulously transcribed from the best available source: the original manuscript (orphotocopy of it) whenever possible; a printed source (such as a book, newspaper, ordealer�s catalog) when the manuscript is unavailable. In a few cases, the source is ahandwritten or printed text that contains a paraphrase of Clemens�s words. Thiselectronic edition continues the six volumes published to date in the Mark TwainProject�s print series, Mark Twain�s Letters, which include the letters written between 1853and 1875 (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 1988�2002).Unlike those volumes, however, it does not contain detailed annotation, textualcommentaries, or other documentation, but it employs the same system of transcription,which represents the text of Clemens�s holograph as fully as possible, including hiscancellations (e.g., deletions) and =insertions=. An editorial heading for each letterconfirms, corrects, or supplies the name of the addressee and the date and place ofcomposition, and the name of Clemens�s co-writer or amanuensis, as needed. A sourceline identifies the document from which the transcription was prepared. For moreinformation about the transcription system, see Editorial Signs, Authorial Signs, andEmendation Policy, the sections that immediately follow this introduction.

ÉBy 1876, drawing on his varied experiences as a Mississippi River steamboat pilot, a

gold and silver miner in Nevada Territory, a western journalist known as the �WildHumorist of the Pacific Slope,� and a foreign travel correspondent, Clemens hadestablished himself as one of the preeminent literary figures of the English-speakingworld. He had followed his first book of short pieces, The Celebrated Jumping Frog ofCalaveras County, And other Sketches (New York: C. H. Webb, 1867), with three full-lengthworks sold by subscription, by the American Publishing Company of Hartford,Connecticut, in nearly unprecedented numbers: The Innocents Abroad (1869), an accountof his excursion to Europe and the Holy Land aboard the steamer Quaker City; RoughingIt (1872), based on his experiences in Nevada Territory, California, and the SandwichIslands; and The Gilded Age (1873�74), a political satire written in collaboration with hisHartford friend, neighbor, and fellow humorist, Charles Dudley Warner. In a fourthmajor book, Mark Twain�s Sketches, New and Old (1875), likewise issued by the AmericanPublishing Company, he had compiled his own selection of his best short work. He hadalso written, but not yet published, what came to be known as the definitive �boy�sbook,� The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Meanwhile, he had built a following among magazine

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readers, first in 1870�71 with a monthly �Memoranda� column in the popular Galaxy,and then, beginning in 1874, with regular contributions, especially his �Old Times on theMississippi� series (January�June, August 1875), in the much more high-toned AtlanticMonthly. He was also a familiar presence in the daily press, as co-owner and co-editor ofthe Buffalo Express (1869�70), and through prominently published letters to the editorsof the New York Tribune, the Hartford Courant, and other papers. And in 1874�75 he hadmade a spectacular debut as a playwright with a comedy cobbled from his portion of TheGilded Age. Eventually known simply as Colonel Sellers, for the flamboyant lead characterplayed by John T. Raymond, the play became a staple of the nineteenth-century Americanstage. Raymond toured it and revived it for more than a decade, earning Clemens aconsiderable fortune.

During these years Clemens had also established himself as one of the most popularlecturers on the lyceum circuit. He made three grueling lecture tours of the eastern andmidwestern United States (1868�69, 1869�70, 1871�72), and had two briefer buttremendously successful engagements in England (1872�73), while there for pleasure andto arrange for English editions of his books. These lectures, domestic and foreign,provided useful publicity for the books and were instrumental in making �Mark Twain�a familiar household name.

Clemens�s personal life was as crowded as his professional one. In February 1870 hemarried Olivia Langdon, daughter of a prominent and socially progressive Elmira, NewYork, coal magnate. The newlyweds lived for a little more than a year in Buffalo, NewYork, where their son, Langdon, was born in November 1870. Unhappy in Buffalo, theymoved to Hartford, Connecticut, in the fall of 1871. There they settled in the fashionableand literary Nook Farm neighborhood, home to Warner and Harriet Beecher Stowe,among congenial others. They rented a house while acquiring property and building ahouse of their own. By the time it was ready for occupancy in September 1874, theClemenses had lost their frail son to illness, but had seen the birth of two healthydaughters, Olivia Susan (Susy), in March of 1872, and Clara, in June of 1874.

The years 1876�80 were no less busy and productive, although not without theirfrustrations. In 1876 Clemens saw the publication of the English and American editionsof Tom Sawyer (by Chatto and Windus, of London, and the American Publishing Com-pany), but was irritated by delays in the American version and infuriated when sales weredamaged by competition from an unauthorized Canadian edition. In July of that year hebegan Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, his sequel to Tom Sawyer, and drafted about a thirdof the story by September, when he set it aside. He was soon receiving so many inquiriesfrom readers anxious for this sequel that he resorted to a printed form letter of reply,which he began sending out, while the work was on hold, in 1877 (included here at thebeginning of that year). In 1876 he also wrote 1601, his bawdy burlesque of the court ofElizabeth I, which he circulated privately among friends. And still in 1876, hoping to

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repeat the popular and financial success of the Gilded Age play, he collaborated on a newcomedy with his old San Francisco friend, Bret Harte. The collaboration proved adisaster, artistically and also personally. The play, Ah Sin, the Heathen Chinee, debuted inWashington in the spring of 1877, had a short run in New York that summer, and a briefroad tour that fall, before Clemens pronounced it a failure and withdrew it from thestage. He blamed Harte for the play�s manifold defects, and his bitterness over that andover Harte�s borrowing of money put an end to their long friendship. His attempt tosucceed on his own with yet another play, �Cap�n Simon Wheeler, The AmateurDetective,� which he drafted and revised in about two weeks in June and July 1877, wasalso doomed to failure when he was unable to interest any New York actor or producerin staging it. Abandoning drama then, he turned to historical fiction. In the fall of 1877he began writing The Prince and the Pauper, completing about a third of the story beforesetting it aside in February 1878.

While engaged on these major projects, Clemens found time to monitor sales of�Mark Twain�s Patent Self-Pasting Scrap Book,� which he had invented in 1872, patentedin 1873, and evidently began marketing in 1877, through his Quaker City friend DanSlote�s New York blank book manufactory, Slote, Woodman and Company. In the springof 1878 he published Punch, Brothers, Punch! and Other Sketches, a small selection of oldwork, through Slote�s firm, chiefly as a means of advertising the scrapbook. He alsoproduced a steady stream of articles for the Atlantic Monthly, both unsigned pieces for theanonymous �Contributors� Club,� and signed articles such as �A Literary Nightmare�(February 1876), �The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut�(June 1876), and the four-part �Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion� (October1877�January 1878). The �Rambling Notes� series was an account of Clemens�s May1877 trip to Bermuda �to get the world & the devil out of my head� (23 Apr 77 toCrane), in the company of his close friend Joseph H. Twichell, pastor of Hartford�sAsylum Hill Congregational Church. Their happy experience together turned out to bea rehearsal for the lengthier jaunt the two men made together in 1878, part of theClemens family�s extended tour of Europe that year and the next.

The Clemenses had originally planned a European trip for April 1877, but early in theyear Olivia decided to postpone it and in the spring Clemens made his Bermuda tripinstead. Clemens�s performance in December 1877 at the Atlantic Monthly birthday dinnerfor John Greenleaf Whittier may have given him, at least for a short time, a specialimpetus to revive the plan for a foreign retreat. His humorous speech containingirreverent allusions to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and HenryWadsworth Longfellow was not well received, and Clemens was persuaded that he hadgiven offense and embarrassed his presenter, William Dean Howells, as well as himself:

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I feel that my misfortune has injured me all over the country; therefore it will bebest that I retire from before the public at present. . . . It seems as if I must have beeninsane when I wrote that speech & saw no harm in it, no disrespect toward those menwhom I reverenced so much. And what shame I brought upon you, after what yousaid in introducing me! It burns me like fire to think of it. (23 Dec 77 to Howells)

His 27 December 1877 letter of apology to the three men provides ample testimony ofthe depth of his remorse. They assured Clemens that they had not taken offense,however, and by 5 February 1878 he had rebounded, writing his Quaker City mentor,Mary Mason Fairbanks:

I am pretty dull in some things, & very likely the Atlantic speech was in ill taste; butthat is the worst that can be said of it. I am sincerely sorry if it in any wise hurt thosegreat poets� feelings�I never wanted to do that. But nobody has ever convinced methat that speech was not a good one��for me; above my average, considerably. The true rationale for the European hegira, as Clemens explained, was literary and

financial. On 17 February 1878 he wrote to his mother:Life has come to be a very serious matter with me. I have a badgered, harassed

feeling, a good part of my time. It comes mainly of business responsibilities &annoyances, & the persecution of kindly letters from well-meaning strangers�towhom I must be rudely silent or else put in the biggest half of my time bothering overanswers. There are other things, also, that help to consume my time & defeat myprojects. Well, the consequence is, I cannot write a book at home. This cuts myincome down. Therefore, I have about made up my mind to take my tribe & fly tosome little corner of Europe & budge no more until I shall have completed one of thehalf dozen books that lie begun, up stairs.

The complaint about correspondence was a frequent one, and beginning in 1876 Clemensemployed a secretary, Fanny C. Hesse, in an attempt to relieve the burden. A number ofletters included here are in her hand. But, of course, since he had to dictate those andapprove them before they were sent, the distraction persisted. On 9 March 1878 he wroteMrs. Fairbanks that

the only chance I get here to work is the 3 months we spend at the farm in thesummer. A nine months� annual vacation is too burdensome. I want to find a Germanvillage where nobody knows my name or speaks any English, & shut myself up in acloset 2 miles from the hotel, & work every day without interruption until I shall havesatisfied my consuming desire in that direction.

Clemens hoped to economize on living expenses by shutting down the Hartford housefor two years and putting on furlough most of the staff that kept it running, leaving only�the coachman & family� to �stand guard at the stable, with the horses, & keep theconservatory blooming & the hanging flower-baskets flourishing in the balconies� (20Mar 78 to Stoddard). And so, on 11 April 1878 the Clemens family, accompanied by

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Rosina Hay, the children�s German nursemaid, and Clara Spaulding, Olivia�s friend sincechildhood, sailed for Hamburg aboard the SS Holsatia. They arrived on 25 April to begina sojourn that lasted until 2 September 1879 and took them not just to Germany but alsoto Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England.

The unfinished manuscripts that Clemens took with him probably included, inaddition to Huckleberry Finn and The Prince and the Pauper, �Captain Stormfield�s Visit toHeaven,� which he had worked on intermittently since 1868; a burlesque diary of Methu-selah, begun in 1876 or 1877; a fictionalized biography of his hapless brother, Orion,which he had started and was �charmed� with in March 1877 (23? Mar 77 to Howells)and which Albert Bigelow Paine, his first biographer and literary executor, later entitled�The Autobiography of a Damned Fool�; and a novelization of his unsuccessful SimonWheeler play, which he worked on in late 1877 and early 1878.

Clemens soon gave up the notion of continuing any of these. He decided instead towrite a book along the lines of The Innocents Abroad. But the demands of travel and boutsof rheumatism were to prevent steady and coherent composition. After Twichell arrivedto join the family party, at Clemens�s expense, on 1 August 1878, he and Clemens beganthe five and a half weeks of companionable �tramping� through Germany andSwitzerland that produced much of the matter of the book and suggested its title: ATramp Abroad. Clemens filled his notebooks with observations, hoping to turn them intochapters of the book as they went, but difficulty in composition persisted. On 20 August1878, he wrote to Francis E. Bliss, of the American Publishing Company:

I find it is no sort of use to try to write while one is traveling. I am interruptedconstantly�& most of the time I am too tired to write, anyway. Since Twichell hasbeen with me I have invented a new & better plan for the book. Therefore I shall tearup a great deal of my present batch of MS. & start fresh. I shan�t be able to go towork in earnest until we settle down in Munich in November. Up to this time all ofmy prophecies have failed�so I won�t venture any more.

In Munich, though, he was stalled by the loss of his Swiss notebook, an occurrence thatmade him consider abandoning the travel book entirely. By late January 1879 he hadrecovered it, but the writing continued to come hard and acceptable manuscript did notaccumulate rapidly. In the spring of the year he was only half finished, and by early July,with much remaining to do, he suspended work on the book pending his return home.

For the family, the travel experience was a mixed blessing. Although there was muchto see and much to enjoy, some adjustments were difficult to make. Olivia Clemenscomplained, in letters to her Elmira family (not included here), of unpalatable food anduncomfortable accommodations. She was overwhelmed by the flattering and exhaustingattention she and Clemens sometimes received, particularly in Paris, and grew increasinglyhomesick. In Germany, she studied the language, but with only indifferent success.Clemens also worked at it as time allowed, railing comically at its stubborn intricacy, but

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finally gave up any serious attempt to master it. Only the children, six-year-old Susy andfour-year-old Clara, took to it easily and were soon fluent.

Wherever the Clemenses went, Olivia and Clara Spaulding visited parks and galleriesand other tourist sites. Olivia also shopped. While aspiring to frugality and pleadingpoverty, she relentlessly hunted out furniture, glassware, and decorative items for theHartford house and gifts for her Elmira family. Clemens joined in the costly process,endorsing Olivia�s purchases and adding some of his own, in particular a custom-madeSwiss music box that alone cost $400. In just three months in Paris, he and Olivia spent$4,000. Their purchases eventually filled �12 trunks, and 22 freight packages� and, whenthe steamer SS Gallia reached New York on 2 September, cost Clemens �6 hours workingthem through the Custom-house formalities. . . . I was the last passenger to get away (8o�clock P.M.,) but it was because one of my trunks didn�t turn up for several hours. ButI was lucky to get through at all, because the ship was loaded mainly with my freight�(�Mark Twain Home Again,� New York Times, 3 Sept 79, 8; 4 Sept 79 to Slote). Clearlythe trip abroad had proved to be no economy.

In Elmira and Hartford throughout the fall and winter of 1879, Clemens struggled tocomplete the manuscript of A Tramp Abroad. Finally, on 7 January 1880, he put an endto the �life-&-death battle with this infernal book . . . which required 2600 pages, of MS,& I have written nearer four thousand, first & last� (8 Jan 80 to Howells). He had still toendure the tribulations of the book�s production and the futile attempt to schedulepublication of the English edition so as to secure British copyright and forestall anunauthorized Canadian edition. But well before Tramp was published in mid-March 1880,Clemens was deep into work on one of his deferred manuscripts, informing his brotherOrion on 26 February, �I am grinding away, now, with all my might, & with an interestwhich amounts to intemperance, at the �Prince & the Pauper.�� In July there was a briefand happy distraction: the Clemenses� third daughter was born on the twenty-sixth of themonth. Named Jane Lampton, for Clemens�s mother, but always known as Jean, sheweighed in, Clemens wrote William Dean Howells that day, at �about 7 pounds. That isa pretty big one�for us.� On 17 August, in a lightly canceled passage he intended to beread in a letter to Howells�s wife, Elinor, Clemens facetiously compared Jean to �anorange that is a little mildewed in spots.� Baby notwithstanding, he finished drafting ThePrince and the Pauper on 14 September 1880. By mid-November 1880 he was planning toresume work on Huckleberry Finn, which, he predicted inaccurately, could be finished withonly �two or three months� work� (14? Nov 80 to Moffett). In fact, he did not completethat manuscript until 1883.

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Even while grinding out literature, Clemens continued to be one of the most visibleand talked about American celebrities. �I cannot abide those newspaper references to me& my matters,� he complained to his brother, Orion, in a letter of 9 February 1879. �Ithink that one reason why I have ceased to write to friends & relatives is that I can�t trustthem.� He did have grounds for complaint: in January 1878 the New York Sun printedtwo bogus interviews alleging that he had become editor of the Hartford Courant and thathe planned to run for governor of Connecticut (�Mark Twain�s Enterprise,� 7 Jan 78, 2;�Not Quite An Editor,� 26 Jan 78, 2), and in February 1880, it was rumored that hewould be a candidate for Congress. But of course he never ceased his correspondence,writing regularly to family members and to fellow writers such as Thomas Bailey Aldrich,Howells, Moncure Conway, William Wright (Dan De Quille), and Bayard Taylor, and toother prominent figures such as Boston publisher James R. Osgood, Harper�s Weekly andMonthly editor William A. Seaver, and actor Edwin Booth. He also did not hesitate to puthimself directly in the public eye with letters to editors, which included his 22 July 1876complaint about the postal service to the New York Evening Post; his 14 and 16 Februaryand 22 February 1877 letters to the New York World about the malfeasance of New YorkShipping Commissioner Charles C. Duncan, an old adversary from the Quaker Cityexcursion; his 19 September 1877 letter to the Hartford Courant in aid of a strandedvessel; his 2 February 1879 letter to the Courant about the threat to public safety posedby tramps; his 22 November and 8 December 1879 letters to the same paper with furtherpostal service complaints; and his 30 November 1880 letter to Childhood�s Appealmagazine, agitating for a �Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Fathers� afflicted withcrying babies. Moreover, although he had formally retired as a paid lecturer in 1874 and,as evidenced by two letters included here, was still retired in 1880 (printed card, January1880; 20 Apr 80 to the Press Club of Chicago), he did not shrink from publicperformance, but appeared regularly as an after-dinner speaker and for charitable causes.Moreover, he was willing to end, or at least interrupt, his self-imposed retirement underthe proper circumstances. So in a letter of 12 November 1877 to noted politicalcartoonist Thomas Nast he proposed a joint lecture tour that he confidently predictedwould pack houses and gross a hundred thousand dollars without subjecting him to the�heart-breakingly dreary� grind of solitary travel.

Although the tour with Nast was not arranged, Clemens otherwise stepped forwardpolitically more overtly during this period than ever before. He declared himself forRutherford B. Hayes in the presidential election of 1876, making a speech on civil servicereform at a Hayes rally in Hartford on 30 September 1876, and then, four years later,endorsed James A. Garfield. But he achieved a special prominence in the political spherein Chicago in the early hours of 14 November 1879. At the thirteenth reunion of the CivilWar veterans of the Army of the Tennessee, before a tumultuous crowd, his humorouscelebration of Ulysses S. Grant, in response to the toast �The Babies,� brought down the

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house, Grant himself included. His accounts of the event, in his letters of 14 November1879 to Olivia and 17 November 1879 to Howells, still convey all the drama andexhilaration of the moment. Clemens himself was quick to realize how that success hadenhanced his already larger-than-life image. �I can�t afford to attend any but the verybiggest kind of blow-outs,� he wrote his friend Frank Fuller on 18 November 1879,�neither can I afford to miss the biggest kind of blow-outs.� One such event came on 3December 1879, when he attended the Atlantic Monthly breakfast in Boston for OliverWendell Holmes, making any amends left to make for his 1877 Whittier dinner blunderwith a gracious tribute to Holmes in a speech on �Unconscious Plagiarism.� Anotheroccurred on 16 October 1880 when he spoke welcoming Grant to Hartford during thecampaign for Garfield.

Through it all�the �infernal� books, the family matters, the travel, the businessaffairs, the public appearances, and the public attention good and bad�Clemens�svocation and avocation was his writing. As he told Norwegian novelist Hjalmar H.Boyesen in a letter of 23 April 1880:

I can�t see how a man who can write can ever reconcile himself to busying himselfwith anything else. There is a fascination about writing even for my waste-basket,which is bread & meat & almost whisky to me�& I know it is the same with all ourcraft. We shall find more joy in writing�be the pay what it may�than in serving theworld in ways of its choosing for uncountable coupons.

Some of the best of that compelled, and always compelling, writing is preserved in theletters published here.

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Editorial Signs

The editorial conventions used to transcribe Mark Twain�s letters were designed, in part,to enable anyone to read them without having to memorize a list. The following istherefore offered less as a necessary preliminary than as a convenient way to look up themeaning of any convention which, despite this design, fails to be self-explanatory. Thoseseeking a more discursive explanation of editorial principles are urged to consult theGuide to Editorial Practice included in the print volume Mark Twain�s Letters, Volume 6,pp. 697�724. While the editorial practice of the print edition of Mark Twain�s Letters hasbeen adapted slightly for this electronic edition, the guiding principles are largely thesame.

Editorial Heading

From . . . Clemens is named in the heading only when he wrote jointlywith someone else.

. . . with a note to

. . .Used when two persons are addressed in the same letter, butClemens intended the second to read only the briefer part, orthe �note.�

per . . . Precedes the name or identity of the amanuensis or agent whoinscribed the document sent or received.

2? May Written on this day�give or take a day.

1�3 May Written on any day (or days) within this span.

1 and 2 May Written on both days.

(MS) The source document is the original letter (or a photocopy ofit), almost invariably Clemens�s holograph manuscript.

(damage emended) The source document has sustained significant damage, andthe transcription therefore includes, without brackets,emendation to restore the affected text.

(MS, copy) The source document is a copy made by the author in his ownhand.

(MS, draft) The source document is a draft that the author wrote butretained for himself, sending (or not) a fair copy of the original.

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(MS facsimile) The source document is a photographic facsimile of an MSwhose present location is unknown, and which therefore mayno longer be extant.

(MS of inscriptionin . . .)

The source document is Clemens�s inscription in a book or ona carte-de-visite.

(Paraphrase) The source document is a description of the letter, but containsno actual words from the letter itself.

(TS) The source document is a transcription that has been typed, ortypeset and printed (such as a book, newspaper clipping, orauction catalog), not necessarily made at first hand.

(Transcript) The source document is a handwritten transcription, notnecessarily made at first hand.

(Paraphrase andTS)

The source document is a description of the letter andpreserves some of the words of the original letter, but ismanifestly not a deliberate transcription of it.

CU-MARK The source code gives the location of the source document.Institutions are identified by an alphanumeric code (such asCU-MARK), private collectors are identified by a last name,auction catalogs are described by dealer and date of sale, andpublished sources are given with pertinent bibliographicinformation. A key to the institutional source codes may befound at the end of this volume.

Letter Text

NEW YORK Extra-small small capitals with no initial capitals signify typeset,printed text, such as letterhead or the postmark.

SLC Italicized extra-small small capitals transcribe monograms orinitials printed or embossed on personal stationery.

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blue text Blue text signifies a change from one writer to another. It ismost often used in letters written by Clemens to identify textoriginated by someone else. But in letters written by anamanuensis (designated in the letter heading), it is used toindicate Clemens�s own inscription, usually a signature, andsometimes a postscript as well. Blue is not used for printedtext, which is already distinguished by extra-small smallcapitals.

. . . . Editorial ellipsis points (always centered in an otherwise blankline) signify that an unknown amount of the original letter isjudged to be missing.

a ' two cancedeletions,'

Cancellation is signified by slashes for single characters (andunderscores), rules for two or more characters.

mark i=ng it =up= Insertion is signified by a single caret for single characters, twocarets for two or more characters.

a=ny='m Cancellations and insertions are almost always given in theorder in which they most likely occurred�that is, cancellationfollowed by insertion. In rare cases, as in the example shownhere, they are given in reverse order to increase legibility.

[editorial remarks] Editorial remarks are always represented as italic text withinbrackets. Text modified by editorial description may also beenclosed in brackets: [in margin: All�s well].

ƒ „ Author�s brackets (as opposed to editorial brackets) are used inletter texts from all sources.

[� ]When [I] go[.] Superscript and subscript brackets enclose essential words orcharacters inadvertently omitted by the writer and nowinterpolated by the editors.

"iamond The diamond stands for a character, numeral, or punctuationmark the editors cannot read because it is physically obscuredor obliterated. It never stands for the space between words.

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SamR. Ï

Superscript ell is a special character to prevent confusionbetween one ( 1 ) and ell ( l ). The sign Ï transcribes aparaph or flourish.

J__________ The envelope and full-measure rule signal that everythingtranscribed below them was written, stamped, or printed onthe envelope or on the letter itself at the time of transmissionor receipt. Blue is never used to indicate changes of hand-writing in text transcribed below this sign. It is assumed that allwriting added to the envelope or letter after transmission�such as a docket�is not in Clemens�s hand. Other changes inhandwriting are noted with an editorial comment.

Hartford | Conn. The vertical rule signifies the end of a line in the sourcedocument.

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Authorial Signs

Authorial signs have been translated into their typographical equivalents in nearly alltexts. (Only when a manuscript was manifestly intended for a printer or typesetter havethe author�s markings been retained just as they appear.) Authorial signs present tworelated but distinct problems for successful transcription: (a) how to explicate those signswhose authorial meaning differed from the modern meaning, but can still be recovered,at least in part; and (b) how to represent authorial signs whose earlier typographicalequivalent, if any, remains unknown�at least to the editors. The glossary of Special Sortsand table of Emphasis Equivalents which follow here are intended to solve theseproblems�to alert the reader to those changes in meaning which we can identify, andto describe the handwritten forms for which the typographical forms are taken to beequivalent�or, in a few cases, for which they have been made equivalent because we lacka better alternative.

Special Sorts

asterisks * * *

Always called �stars� by Clemens and by printers generally, asterisks appear in hismanuscript as simple �Xs� or crosses (¡), or in a somewhat more elaborate variant of thecross (‰), often when used singly. In letters (and elsewhere) Clemens used the asteriskas a standard reference mark, either to signal his occasional footnotes, or to refer thereader from one part of a text to another part. (The conventional order of the standardreference marks was as follows: *, �, �, §, **, ¶, and, by the end of the century, L.) Healso used asterisks for a kind of ellipsis that was then standard and is still recognizable,but now virtually obsolete�the �line of stars��in which evenly spaced asterisks occupya line by themselves to indicate a major omission of text, or�for Clemens, at anyrate�the passage of time not otherwise represented in a narrative. For the standardellipsis, we duplicate the number of asterisks in the source, thus: * * * * (see also ellipsis,below). In transcribing the line of stars, however, the exact number of asterisks in theoriginal becomes irrelevant, since the device is intended to fill the line, which is rarely thesame length in the manuscript as it is in the transcription. The line of stars in the originalis thus always transcribed by seven asterisks, evenly separated, thus:

* * * * * * *

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braces }Clemens drew the brace as a wavy vertical line that did not much resemble the brace intype, except that it clearly grouped two or three lines of text together. He drew bracesintended for three or more lines as straight (nonwavy) lines with squared corners, like alarge bracket, usually in the margin. He occasionally used the two- and three-line bracesin pairs, vertically and horizontally, to box or partly enclose one or more words, often ona single line. The one-line brace ({}) was evidently not known to him, and wouldprobably have seemed a contradiction in terms. It appears to be a modern invention, buthas sometimes proved useful in the transcription when the original lineation could notbe reproduced or readily simulated. Otherwise, the transcription always prints a brace andpreserves, or at least simulates, the original lineation.

dashes � � �� ���= ==

Clemens used the dash in all four of its most common typographical forms (en, em, two-em, and three-em), as well as a parallel dash, usually but not invariably shorter than an emdash. The parallel dash appears to be used interchangeably with the much morefrequently used em dash, but almost always at the end of a line (often a short line, suchas the greeting). Its special meaning, if any, remains unknown. Clemens occasionally useddashes visibly longer than his em dash, presumably to indicate a longer pause: these aretranscribed as two-, three-, or (more)-em dashes, by relying on the length of em dashesin the manuscript as the basic unit. That Clemens thought in terms of ems at all issuggested by his occasional sign for a dash that he has interlined as a correction orrevision (|�|), which was then the standard proofreader�s mark for an em dash. Clemensused the dash as terminal punctuation only to indicate abrupt cessation or suspension,almost never combining it with a terminal period. Exceptions do occur, but mostdepartures from this rule are only apparent or inadvertent. For instance, Clemensfrequently used period and dash together in the standard typographical method forconnecting sideheads with their proper text (�P.S.�They have�), a recognized decorativeuse of period-dash that does not indicate a pause. The em, two-em and, more rarely, theen and the parallel dash were also used for various kinds of ellipsis: contraction (�d�n�);suspension (�Wash=�); and ellipsis of a full word or more (�until�.�). Despite someappearance to the contrary, terminal punctuation here again consists solely in the period.On the other hand, Clemens often did use the period and dash combined when thesentence period fell at the end of a slightly short line in his manuscript (�period.� * Newline�), a practice derived from the typographical practice of justifying short lines with an

1American Encyclopaedia of Printing, edited by J. Luther Ringwalt (Philadelphia:Menamim and Ringwalt, J. B. Lippincott and Co., 1871), 217.

xvii

em dash. These dashes likewise do not indicate a pause and, because their function at lineends cannot be reproduced in the transcription, are always emended, never transcribed.Clemens used en dashes in their familiar role with numerals to signify �through� (�Matt.xxv, 44�45�). And he used the em dash�as well as dashes of varying lengths andthicknesses� in lists, to signify �ditto� or �the same� for the name or word above, andin tables to express a blank. See also ellipsis and rules, below.

ellipsis - - - - -. . . . . . * * * *� � � � � � � �� � � �

Nineteenth-century typography recognized a large variety of ellipses (or leaders, depend-ing on the use to which the device was being put). Clemens himself demonstrably usedhyphens, periods, asterisks, en dashes, and em dashes to form ellipses or leaders, in hisletters and literary manuscripts. The ellipsis using a dash of an em or more is also calleda �blank� and may stand for characters (�Mr. C��s bones�) or a full word leftunexpressed. In the second case, the dash is always separated by normal word space fromthe next word on both sides (�by � Reilly�), thereby distinguishing it from the dash usedas punctuation (�now� Next�), which is closed up with the word on at least one side, andusually on both (�evening�or�). When any of these marks are used as leaders, thetranscription does not necessarily duplicate the number in the manuscript, using insteadonly what is needed to connect the two elements linked by the leaders. But for any kindof ellipsis except the "line of stars" (see asterisks), the transcription duplicates exactly thenumber of characters used in the original.

fist L7

Clemens used the �fist,� as it was called by printers (also �hand,� �index,� �index-mark,��mutton-fist,� and doubtless other names), not as the seventh of the standard referencemarks, but for its much commoner purpose of calling special attention to some point ina text. As late as 1871 the American Encyclopaedia of Printing characterized the device as used�chiefly in handbills, posters, direction placards, and in newspaper work,�1 but Clemensused it often his letters. We transcribe it by a standard typographical device, either right-or left-pointing, as appropriate, except in special circumstances.

xviii

paragraph ¶

The paragraph sign is both a mark of emphasis and the sixth of the reference marks. Itis actually �P� reversed (left for right, and white for black) to distinguish it from thatcharacter. Clemens, however, commonly miswrote it as a �P,� drawing the hollow stemwith large, flat feet, but not the left/right or white/black reversal in the loop. Wheneverthe sign is used in a letter, we transcribe it by the standard typographical device. Clemensused the paragraph sign as a reference mark and as shorthand for the word �paragraph,�but most commonly in letters to indicate a change of subject within a passage, one of itsoriginal meanings. When he inserted the paragraph sign in text intended for a typesetter,he was doubtless specifying paragraph indention. But when he used it in a letter, he wasusually invoking that original meaning. The transcription always prints the sign itself, evenwhen it was inserted (¶=) or was manifestly an instruction to a typesetter.

rules (a)

(b) (c)

Double rules (a), parallel rules (b), and plain rules (c), or rule dashes, in manuscript are usually,but not invariably, centered on a line by themselves, serving to separate sections of thetext. When used within a line of text, they are positioned like an ordinary em dash andmay serve as a common form of ellipsis, or to mean �ditto,� or simply to fill blank spacein a line. This last function may be compared with the original purpose of the eighteenth-century flourish, namely to prevent forged additions in otherwise blank space. But as withthe flourish, this function had in Clemens�s day long since dissolved into a mainlydecorative one. Rules appear in Clemens�s manuscript in three distinguishable species,each with two variant forms. We construe wavy lines in manuscript as �thick� rules, andstraight lines as �thin� rules, regularizing length as necessary. (a) Double rules appear inmanuscript as two parallel lines, one wavy and the other straight, in either order. (b)Parallel rules appear in manuscript as two parallel lines, either both wavy or both straight(thick or thin). (c) Plain rules appear as single lines, either wavy or straight (thick or thin).

Emphasis Equivalents

Clemens used the standard nineteenth-century system of underscoring to indicateemphasis, both within and between words. He indubitably understood the equivalentsin type for the various kinds of underscore, but even if he had not, they could probablybe relied on for the transcription of his underscored words, simply because the

xix

handwritten and the typographical systems were mutually translatable. Although we maynot understand this system as well as Clemens apparently did, it is still clear that he usedit habitually and consistently, and that anomalies are much more likely to result from our,rather than his, ignorance or error.

Occasionally Clemens used what appear to be two variations of a single under-score�a broken underscore (not prompted by descenders from the underscored word)and a wavy underscore (more distinctly wavy than normally occurs with any hand-drawnline). If these are in fact variations of a single underscore, they evidently indicate a moredeliberate, or a slightly greater, emphasis than single underscore would imply. They havebeen transcribed in letterspaced i talic and boldface type, respectively, even though wedo not know what, if any, typographical equivalent existed for them (both are marked *in the table that follows). Clemens occasionally used letterspacing, with or withouthyphens, as an a-l-t-e-r-n-a-t-i-v-e to italic, but he seems not to have combined it withitalic; the editorial combination of letterspaced italic therefore always signifies brokenunderscore. Wavy underscore in manuscript prepared for a printer did mean boldface,or some other fullface type, at least by 1900, but it is not clear for how long thisconvention had been in place. And in any case, boldface would now ordinarily be usedfor a level of emphasis higher than CAPITALS or ITALIC CAPITALS. The use ofboldface type to represent wavy underscore is therefore an editorial convention that maynot reflect the emphasis equivalent that the author intended.

Clemens also sometimes emphasized capital letters and numerals in ways that appearto exceed the normal limits of the typographical system as we know it. For instance, whenin manuscript the pronoun �I� has been underscored twice, and is not part of anunderscored phrase, we do not know what typographical equivalent, if any, existed forit. Since the intention is clearly to give greater emphasis than single underscore, renderingthe word in small capitals (I) would probably be a mistake, for that would indicate lessemphasis than the absence of any underscore at all (I). In such cases (also marked * inthe table), we extend the fundamental logic of the underscoring system and simulate oneunderscore for each manuscript underscore that exceeds the highest known typographicalconvention. �I� in manuscript is therefore transcribed as an italic capital with oneunderscore (I). Otherwise, underscores in the original documents are simulated only (a)when Clemens included in his letter something he intended to have set in type, in whichcase his instructions to the typesetter must be reproduced, not construed, if they are tobe intelligibly transcribed; and (b) when he deleted his underscore, in which case thetranscription simulates it by using the standard manuscript convention for deleting anunderscore.

One virtue of the system of equivalents is that it allows the transcription to encodeexactly how the manuscript was marked without resorting to simulation�that is, usinga visual representation of the original. There are, however, some ambiguities in thus

xx

reversing the code: for example, a word inscribed initially as �Knight� or �knight� and thenunderscored three times would in either case appear in type as �KNIGHT�. Clemens alsosometimes used block or noncursive capitals or small capitals, simulating �KNIGHT� or�KNIGHT�, rather than signaling them with underscores. Ambiguities of this kind do notaffect the final form of the text.

MANUSCRIPT TYPE

lowercase roman lowercase

Capitals and Lowercase Roman Capitals and Lowercase

lowercase italic lowercase

Capitals and Lowercase Capitals and Lowercase

*Capitals and Lowercase � � � � � � � � � � � � *Italic Letterspaced

*Capitals and Lowercase ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ *Boldface Capitals and Lowercase

lowercase ROMAN SMALL CAPITALS

Capitals and Lowercase ROMAN CAPITALS AND SMALL CAPITALS

CAPITALS or lowercase ROMAN CAPITALS

CAPITALS or lowercase ITALIC CAPITALS

*CAPITALS *ITALIC CAPITALS

*1, 2, 3, 4, 5 *1, 2, 3, 4, 5

xxi

Emendation Policy

We emend original documents as little as possible, and nonoriginal documents as muchas necessary, but we emend both kinds of copy-text for two fundamental reasons: toavoid including an error, ambiguity, or puzzle that (a) is not in the original, or (b) is in theoriginal, but cannot be intelligibly transcribed without altering, correcting, resolving, orsimplifying it. Although all emendations were recorded in the course of preparing thisedition, this record of emendation is not presently available to readers. Therefore anyemendation that would normally be listed in a textual commentary (as in our printedvolumes) is of necessity �silent� here�in effect, unreported. Nevertheless, nearly all ofthe emendations that have been applied can be categorized according to the generalguidelines described below. Any emendation that is not covered by these categories, oris otherwise exceptional, is noted in a bracketed editorial comment in the text itself.Readers seeking more detailed discussion of our emendation policy should consult MarkTwain�s Letters, Volume 6, pp. 715�22.

Manuscript Sources

The most common category of emendation of the author�s manuscript comprisesstandardization of certain typographical and formatting features. These alterations areusually carried out silently even in our printed volumes. First, special typographicaltreatment has been applied to identify all preprinted text (such as letterhead and returnaddresses) and envelopes. A key to these can be found above. Second, normal paragraphindention is represented as two ems, with variations of one em and three ems oftenoccurring in the same letter; we silently eliminate minor, presumably unintended variationin the size of all indentions. Third, we place datelines, complimentary closings, andsignatures in a default position, unless this position is contradicted by themanuscript�for example, when the closing and signature appear on the same line despitethe existence of sufficient space to allow placement on separate lines. Finally, lineendings, page endings, and page numbers are all silently omitted from the transcription.

Some few authorial errors of omission may be corrected by emendation in the formof interpolation�that is, by supplying an omitted character, word, or words within sub-script or superscript editorial square brackets, �thu[s]� or � �thus[�] ��but only when theeditor is confident that the writer has inadvertently omitted what is thus supplied. Othererrors made by the writer�such as �anvalid� written mistakenly for �invalid� or �with� for�will��are not emended.

Certain additional emendations, of the type traditionally reported in the textualcommentaries of our printed volumes, have been applied to manuscript sources:

xxii

� Clemens�s characteristic period-dash combination at the end of a manuscript line hasbeen removed, as a classic example of something that would become an error ifliterally transcribed. There are several possible reasons why Clemens may have usedthis end-line dash, but we are certain he never intended it to be construed aspunctuation, the unavoidable result if the typesetter or the reader does not recognizethe convention and reads it as a pause.

� The author�s self-corrections (e.g., corrected miswritings) are removed to avoid thefalse implication of revision.

� Emendation is used to resolve compound words that are hyphenated at the ends oflines (�water-*wheel�). Since such division cannot be literally duplicated, the transcrip-tion must include an unambiguous (emended) form (�waterwheel� or �water-wheel�).

� Damaged texts are emended to restore words that were present in the original letter,but which are now missing or illegible. If a damaged text has been emended, thewords �damage emended� appear in the source line of the editorial header.

Nonoriginal Sources

When the source of a text is nonoriginal, such as a newspaper printing or othertranscription, it is often not possible to determine with certainty the contents or style ofthe original manuscript. All possible evidence is considered to determine the most likelyform of the manuscript; when such evidence is deemed insufficient, the source has beenfollowed without emendation.

� Errors introduced by a typesetter, and other errors clearly attributable to thenonoriginal source and not to the author, have been emended �silently,� without theuse of editorial brackets.

� Clemens as a rule did not use typographical styling in private letters. Specialtypographical treatment is therefore removed from nonoriginal sources of privateletters, to restore the likely form of the original. Clemens did, however, occasionallyadd such typographical styling to letters intended for publication (primarily lettersaddressed to newspapers). In these cases, styling such as capitals and small capitals oritalic type applied to datelines and salutations, as well as to elements within the bodyof the text�such as a smaller font for extracts�have been retained withoutalteration, since they may reflect the markings on Clemens�s lost manuscript. At thesame time, Clemens�s styled signature has always been emended to capitals andlowercase, the form he invariably used, even in letters intended for publication.

xxiii

� By 1867 Clemens consistently wrote �&� for �and� in his letters�except where theword needed to be capitalized, or the occasion was somewhat more formal than usual.It follows that in printed versions of Clemens�s text, �and� is a form imposed by thetypesetter, and we therefore emend the word to �&� to reflect Clemens�s habits. Insome instances, a letter may include material not written by Clemens himself, butwhich he incorporated into it. (This occurs most often in letters written forpublication for which a newspaper remains the only source.) In the absence of theoriginal manuscript, we cannot tell whether Clemens actually copied out theincorporated text (using his typical �&�), or whether he simply pasted a clipped versionof it into his own manuscript. In these passages we have therefore chosen to followthe typeset source, and not emend �and� to �&.� We have also not emended �and� incases where the source document is a paraphrase and/or partial transcript of a cataloglisting, in which case we transcribe the catalog entry exactly as it appears.

� Special treatment has been given to �radiating texts��i.e., texts for which multipletranscriptions descend independently from a common source�not necessarily thelost original itself, but a single document nearer to the original than any otherdocument in the line of descent from it. Since each transcription might preservereadings from the original which are not preserved in the other, these cannot beproperly excluded from any text that attempts the fullest possible fidelity to theoriginal. In such cases, all texts judged to have derived independently from the lostoriginal are identified in the source line, and the text incorporates the mostpersuasively authorial readings from among all variants, substantive and accidental.Before this alternative method is followed, however, we require that the independenceof the variant texts be demonstrated by at least one persuasively authorial variantoccurring uniquely in each, thereby excluding the possibility that either text actuallyderives from the other.

xxiv

About This Edition

This edition of letters is the first electronic edition produced by the Mark Twain Projectin The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, which has heretoforebeen devoted to producing printed editions of Mark Twain�s writings. This edition wasproduced under the editorial management of Anh Q. Bui of the Mark Twain Project.Transcriptions of the letters were created by numerous undergraduate and graduatestudents. The editors who reviewed and corrected the transcriptions, verified the letterdates and correspondents, and wrote the introduction were Anh Q. Bui, Harriet ElinorSmith, Michael B. Frank, and Robert H. Hirst. (Hirst is also General Editor of theProject.) The transcriptions were produced in Corel WordPerfect 8, using the Garamondfont family. Adobe Acrobat Distiller 5.0 was used to create the PDF files.

Acknowledgments

This electronic edition could not have been produced without the support of theNational Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency, which hascontinuously funded editorial work on Mark Twain�s writings since 1966. Support forthe project has also come from the generous donations of many individuals andfoundations. Additional thanks go to our colleagues and associates at ebrary, the Univer-sity of California Press, The Bancroft Library, and the Undergraduate ResearchApprentice Program at UC Berkeley. To the small army of students who have tirelesslyworked on this project over the years, we owe a special debt of gratitude.

1877

1877�page 1

Unaddressed1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(Printed form letter with facsimile signature: NPV, #01399)

HARTFORD, .................................................1877. 1DEAR.....................................................2

I HAVE THE HONOR TO REPLY TO YOUR LETTER JUST RECEIVED, THAT IT IS MY PURPOSE TO WRITE A3CONTINUATION OF TOM SAWYER�S HISTORY, BUT I AM NOT ABLE AT THIS TIME TO DETERMINE WHEN I SHALL BEGIN4THE WORK.5

YOU WILL EXCUSE THIS PRINTED FORM, IN CONSIDERATION OF THE FACT THAT THE INQUIRY WHICH YOU HAVE6MADE RECURS WITH SUFFICIENT FREQUENCY TO WARRANT THIS METHOD OF REPLYING.7

Ys Truly8

Mark Twain.9 Ï

1877�page 2

To Dear Sir or Madam1877�1880 � Hartford, Conn.?

(MS, draft form letter: CU-MARK, #00593)

ƒForm.„1

2

=(For replying to seekers after �opinions�)3

(otherwise compliments.=4

Dr Sir or Madam:5

Experience has not taught me =very= much; still it has taught me that6

it is not wise to criticise a piece of literature, except to an enemy of the person7

who wrote it; then, that enem if you praise it, that enemy admires you for your8

honest manliness, & if you dispraise it he admires you for your sound9

judgment.10

Ys T[r]uly11

SLC12

1877�page 3

Samuel L. Clemens and Olivia L. Clemensper Fanny C. Hesseto William E. Hay

1 January 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS of inscription in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,

American Publishing Company, 1876: PSt, #09286)

A Merry Christmas from Mr & Mrs Clemens1

to 2

William E. Hay January 1, 1877.3

u 4

1877�page 4

To Moncure D. Conwayper Fanny C. Hesse

1? January 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: NNC, #01396)

. . . .1

the 3. 10, for telegrams & things, and =send= me a bill of exchange for the rest2

at your convenience.3

Behold the trouble you have made by sending Mrs Clemens the article about4

finger rings! She has long ago lost, or given away, a volume which exhaustively5

treated the subject of finger rings, the customs, traditions & superstitions,6

appertaining to them in all lands, and now she is suffering for that book. She7

had forgotten her loss until you reminded her of it. Now you tell Chatto to8

hunt up =a copy of= that book and send it here, and charge it to me, and you9

shall be forgiven.10

Ever thine11

SamR L. Clemens12

pr F. C. H13

1877�page 5

To Victor Wolffper Fanny C. Hesse

1? January 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: NN, #10739)

SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Victor Wolff Esqr2

Dear Sir�3

I accept with thanks the honor conferred upon me in my election4

to an Honorary membership of the �Cluster Literary Union.�5

Very truly yours,6

SamR. L. Clemens7

Ï8

1877�page 6

To Moncure D. Conwayper Fanny C. Hesse

10 January 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: NNC, #01400)

Hartford Jany 10th 18771

SLC2Dear Conway3

You did not enclose me the decision you speak of, but no matter4

about that. I see I am not so well situated here to fight Belford as you &5

Chatto are. The English copywright stands in your name�=or Chatto�s�so6

you & C. go to work & prosecute Belford and collect that royalty. I couldnt7

do it without having your copywright transferred to me. Commercially8

speaking, Toronto is twice as far from Hartford as it is from London, & you9

& Chatto can prosecute Belford more conveniently than I can. The lawyer10

that won that other decision, is the very lawyer to conduct this suit for my11

benefit: royalties. Therefore I wish Chatto & you would go ahead & prosecute12

Belford in my interest & send the bill to me.13

Can you do it?14

Ys Ever15

SamR. L. Clemens16 Ï17

1877—page 7

To Hjalmar H. Boyesen17 January 1877 • Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CtHMTH, #12673)

=I sent the pamphlets & overshoes to Ithaca.=1

Ï2

Hartford Jan. 17.3

Dear Mr. Boyesen:4

You can’t imagine how much pleasure your visit gave us, & how sorry5

we were to let you go—nor how the whole household missed you when you6

were gone, nor how sincerely we all wished you back again. Whenever you get7

a holiday, mind you we are to have the biggest share of it that you can spare.8

I wrote & asked Bayard Taylor to be our guest (he is to lecture here9

presently), & he has accepted. I was glad to hear what you said about him.10

Harte 11

I have asked him to talk to our Young Girl=s, & I hope he will do it. Warner12

will talk to them next Saturday, & Gen. Hawley will entertain them soon. I13

shall make Howells talk to them when I get him here. Gen. Franklin is going14

to instruct them in military matters, or Gatling guns, or something.15

I don’t know that I can spare Miss Hess—I’ll see about it. I have used16

a pen so little since she has been here that my fingers have lost facility & my17

brain too. Still, if you can’t get Miss Keane there without this sacrifice, I am18

afraid I shall have to submit.19

Harte hasn’t come yet—so the play isn’t yet licked into shape—con-20

sequently I haven’t demanded Howells’s presence. (He is to come when the21

play is ready to be read & criticised.)22

Mr. Millett the artist has 'b made an excellent portrait of me, & besides23

ha'us given us a week of social enjoyment, for his company is a high pleasure.24

We have to lose him tomorrow.25

All the household join in expressions of high =warm= regard for you, &26

wishes for your speedy return to us. If we spend next summer in Elmira,27

you’ll certainly be raided upon in Ithaca, by28

Your sincere friend29

SamR. L. Clemens30 Ï31

1877�page 8

To Pamela A. Moffettper Fanny C. Hesse

19 January 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: CU-MARK, #02801)

Hartford Jany 19th 18771

My Dear Sister.2

I have found the right school for Sammy. It is in Concord N. H. the3

best preparatory school for boys in this country. The Rev H. A. Coit is the4

Master, & Mr H. Evan Cotton who was himself prepared there for College,5

has given me the'is information concerning it. If you think favorably of it, you6

had better write soon to Mr Coit, St Paul�s School Concord N. H., as it is7

somewhat difficult to get an entrance there.8

We are all about as usual�the children have been remarkably well all winter.9

Livy would like to have you say to Annie that she found a difficulty in packing10

the music book so that it would go safely & now that Sammy will so soon be11

here, she will wait & send it by him. With love to all.12

Your affectionate brother13

SamR L. Clemens14

pr F.C.H15

1877�page 9

To Charles E. Perkins22 January 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, postal card, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01402)

Have you sent that document to R for his signature? If not, do not send it yet;1

there is a very important alteration to be made.2

SLC3

J4

US POSTAL CARD. WRITE THE ADDRESS ON THIS SIDE�THE MESSAGE ON THE OTHER | Chas. E. Perkins,5

Esq | 14 State st |City [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. JAN 22 1PM 6

1877�page 10

To Francis E. Bliss24 January 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS facsimile, correspondence card, in pencil: MoPeS, #01163)

Jan. 24 '771

SLC Friend Bliss� 2

Statement & check for $83-odd received. You may send me that3

Bret Harte piece of paper to keep as evidence of his indebtedness to me.4

About how many of Tom Sawyer will Can you furnish me a statement of Saw5

=Tom Say'wyer= by Feb. 1?6

Lockwood the Baltimore tailor has arrived with his suit not his suite.7

Yrs Truly8

SLC9

1877�page 11

To Bayard Taylor24 January 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence cards: CtY-BR and NIC, #01403)

Hartford, Wednesday.1

SLC My Dear Mr. Taylor:2

Good�we shall look for you 31st. I think I told you I was a sort3

of father to our Young Girls� Club here & asked you to give them an hour�s4

talk, or read one or tw of your poems to them in my house some time They=re5

are charming lasses of 16 to 20 yrs. old. They number something over a6

dozen. Boyesen, Harte, Fields, Warner, & I have talked to them, & Howells7

& Hawley have promised. Can you stay over & entertain them Saturday8

morning? Or Friday morning if you can�t spare so much time? Your N.Y.9

train doesn�t leave here till afternoon. I hope you can & will.10

Ys Truly,11

S L Clemens12

Ï13

[remainder in pencil:]14

Wednesday15

P. S. I meant, could you talk to the girls the next morning after your lecture16

of the 31st, in case you wouldn�t have time to stay till Saturday. I could gather17

the girls together as well on Thursday as on Saturday. When I mentioned18

Friday I was thinking that that would be the day following your lecture.19

Ys Truly20

S L Clemens21 Ï22

1877�page 12

Olivia L. Clemens and Samuel L. Clemens to Olivia Lewis Langdon

2 and 4 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: CtHMTH and CU-MARK, #01405)

SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Feb. 2nd 18772

My dear darling Mother3

Your lovely, beautiful exquisite gift came today! I never was more4

surprized or more delighted in my life� Mother how did you come to do it?5

I never dreamed of your giving me a gift on my wedding day, and then such a6

wonderfully beautiful gift.7

I have seen beautiful glass before but I never saw any so daintily artistic8

as this� They did not send the entire set as it was not ready, but samples of9

each� Mr Clemens and I drank a little wine out of the glasses for dinner, he10

using the sherry claret glass I the sherry� Then I had the finger bowl 'f and11

Susie and Clara both had their dear little fingers washed in it too�even as I12

write the finger bowl is standing on the Library table by me. 13

This morning when I went into the nursery I said to Susie, �This is my14

is wedding day Susie, seven years ago today I was married!� �Why are you15

married mamma� �Yes I am married�� [�]Who to, to me�? �No, to Papa��16

�Oh to Papa,� indicating by the tone of voice that it was all right if it was Papa,17

that there would be no breaking up of the family�18

Feb 4th19

Mother's dear it is Sunday night�eight years ago today SamR and I were20

engaged� I am wonderfully happy, but these days are sad because I am so21

full of Father� Seven years ago today you left the Buffalo house and all22

returned to Elmira�23

The glass all came yesterday. I had the table brought down from the24

billiard room a table cloth put on it and all the glass put on it, so all the friends25

that have been in since have seen it� Oh Mother it is so lovely and so what26

I needed but how did you come to do it� What did make you think of it�27

What One more thing added to the long long list that I have to be thankful28

to you for� I love you so much we all love you so much and are so very29

sorry when you go away from us�30

Olivia L. Clemens and SLC to Olivia Lewis Langdon, 2 and 4 February 1877,contd.

1877�page 13

Mr Clemens grows more and more determined to go to Germany next1

Summer� I combat it and say the farm next =Summer= and Germany a year2

from next Summer if we have money enough� I don�t know who will come3

out ahead but I think I shall�4

Sammy Moffett came last night, I do not know how long he will stay but5

I suppose two or three weeks� The children are very well & so sweet &6

happy�7

Good night mother dear how I wish that I could see you and Sue and8

Theodore� I suppose Charlie & Ida are in New York, I was sorry to trouble9

Ida again about the shoes� 10

With deepest love Livy�11

[remainder in pencil:]12

Mother Dear, it is the loveliest glassware I ever saw. It was a happy thought13

in you to b' get it for us, & a happy thing in us to deserve it. Long may we14

continue to deserve & receive! Long may we receive more than we deserve!15

And long may it be left to us to estimate how much our deserving, & to you16

the ability & the inclination to square the rewards with it!17

It was lovely in you, mother, whether we deserved it or not. And so we18

send you our loving thanks,19

SamR. 20 Ï21

1877�page 14

To George S. Merrillper Fanny C. Hesse

8 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: ViW, #04140)

SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Geo S. Merrill Esqr2

Dear Sir3

I am very sorry that a number of engagements will prevent me from4

being present at the annual re-union of the Mass. Press. Association. Please5

present my thanks to the gentlemen of the Committee, for their courteous6

invitation and my sincere regrets that I am not able to accept it.7

Very truly yours.8

SamR. L. Clemens9 Ï10

February 8th 187711

1877�page 15

To George Bentleyper Fanny C. Hesse

12 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: IU-R, #12342)

February 12, 18771SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.2

Geo. Bentley Esqr3

Dear Sir,4

Your kind note of Jany 29. is received, and I beg to thank you for5

taking so much pains with Mr Harte�s matter.6

I will notify him of what has been done.7

The next time I write a miscellaneous article, I shall put off its publication in8

the magazine here, long enough to give an advance copy ample time to reach9

you. I found that the order which I gave, to send me an advance copy of my10

last Atlantic article to be forwarded to you, never reached Mr Howells at all,11

and consequently received no attention. I wrote the order in the margin of the12

proof, thinking Mr Howells would see it. But he sent the proof to the printer13

without observing my corrections etc. 14

Truly Yours,15

SamR. L. Clemens16 Ï17

1877�page 16

To the Editor of the New York World14 and 16 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS: New York World, 18 February 1877, p. 5, #01406)

To the Editor of The World.1

SIR: I see by your report of a lecture delivered in your neighborhood very2

recently, that a bit of my private personal history has been revealed to the3

public. The lecturer was head-waiter of the Quaker City Excursion of ten4

years ago. I do not repeat his name for the reason that I think he wants a little5

notoriety as a basis for introduction to the lecture platform, & I don�t wish to6

contribute. I harbor this suspicion because he calls himself �captain� of that7

expedition.8

The truth is, that as soon as the ship was fairly at sea, he was degraded9

from his captaincy by Mr. Leary (owner of the vessel) & Mr. Bursley (execu-10

tive officer.) As he was not a passenger, & had now ceased to be an officer,11

it was something of a puzzle to define his position. However, as he still had12

authority to discharge waiter-boys�an authority which the passengers did not13

possess�it was presently decided, privately, that he must naturally be the14

�head-waiter;� & thus was he dubbed. During the voyage he gave orders to15

none but his under-waiters; all the excursionists will testify to this. It may be16

humorous enough to call himself �captain,� but then it is calculated to deceive17

the public.18

The �captain� says that when I came to engage passage in the Quaker19

City I �seemed to be full of whiskey, or something,� & filled his office with20

the �fumes of bad whiskey.� I hope this is true, but I cannot say, because it21

is so long ago; at the same time I am not depraved enough to deny that for a22

ceaseless, tireless, forty-year public advocate of total abstinence the �captain�23

is a mighty good judge of whiskey at second-hand.24

He charges that I couldn�t tell the Quaker City tea from coffee. Am I a25

god, that I can solve the impossible?26

He charges that I uttered a libel when I said he made this speech at a27

Fourth of July dinner on shipboard: �Ladies & gentlemen, may you all live28

long & prosper; steward, pass up another basket of champagne.�29

Well, the truth is often a libel, & this may be one; yet it is the truth never-30

theless. I did not publish it with malicious intent, but because it showed that31

even a total-abstinence gladiator can have gentle instincts when he is removed32

from hampering home influences.33

SLC to the Editor of the New York World, 14 and 16 February 1877, contd.

1877�page 17

The �captain� charges that when I came to his office to engage passage1

I represented myself to be a Baptist minister cruising after health. No; Mr.2

Edward H. House told him that, without giving me any warning, that he was3

going to do it. But no matter, I should have done it myself if I had thought of4

it. Therefore I lift this crime from Mr. House�s shoulders & transfer it to5

mine. I was without conscience in those old days. It had been my purpose to6

represent that I was a son of the captain�s whom he had never met, & conse-7

quently hadn�t classified, & by this means I hoped to get a free passage; but8

I was saved from this great villainy by the happy accident of Mr. House�s9

getting in his milder rascality ahead of me. I often shudder to think how near10

I came to saddling an old father on to myself forever whom I never could11

have made any use of after that excursion was finished. Still, if I had him now,12

I would make him lecture his head off at his customary 25 cents before I13

would support him in idleness. I consider idleness an immoral thing for the14

aged.15

Certain of my friends in New York have been so distressed by the16

�captain�s� charges against me that they have simply forced me to come out17

in print. But I find myself in a great difficulty by reason of the fact that I don�t18

find anything in the charges that discomforts me. Why should I worry over19

the �bad whiskey?� I was poor�I couldn�t afford good whiskey. How could20

I know that the �captain� was so particular about the quality of a man�s21

liquor? I didn�t know he was a purist in that matter, & that the difference22

between 5-cent and 40-cent toddy would remain a rankling memory with him23

for ten years.24

The tea & champagne items do not trouble me�both being true &25

harmless. The Baptist minister fraud does not give me any anguish, since I did26

not invent it.27

What I need, now that I am going into print, is a text. These little things28

do not furnish it. Why does the �captain� make no mention of the highway29

robbery which I committed on the road between Jerusalem & the Dead Sea?30

He must have heard of it�the land was full of it. Why does he make no31

mention of the fact that during the entire excursion I never drew a sober32

breath except by proxy? Why does he conceal the fact that I killed a cripple33

in Cairo because I thought he had an unpleasant gait? Why is he silent about34

my skinning a leper in Smyrna in order that I might have a little something to35

start a museum with when I got home? What is the use of making �charges�36

out of a man�s few little virtuous actions when that man has committed real37

indiscretions by the dozen?38

SLC to the Editor of the New York World, 14 and 16 February 1877, contd.

1877�page 18

But where is the use of bothering about what a man�s character was ten1

years ago, anyway? Perhaps the captain values his character of ten years ago?2

I never have heard of any reason why he should; but still he may possibly3

value it. No matter. I do not value my character of ten years ago. I can go out4

any time & buy a better one for half it cost me. In truth, my character was5

simply in course of construction then. I hadn�t anything up but the scaf-6

folding, so to speak. But I have finished the edifice now & taken down that7

worm-eaten scaffolding. I have finished my moral edifice, & frescoed it &8

furnished it, & I am obliged to admit that it is one of the neatest & sweetest9

things of the kind that I have ever encountered. I greatly value it, & I would10

feel like resenting any damage done to it. But that old scaffolding is no longer11

of any use to me; & inasmuch as the �captain� seems able to use it to12

advantage, I hereby make him a present of it. It is a little shaky, of course, but13

if he will patch it here & there he will find that it is still superior to anything14

of the kind he can scare up upon his own premises.15

Mark Twain.16

February 14.17

���18

POSTSCRIPT�TWO DAYS LATER.19

The following paragraph, from the New York Times, has just reached my20

hands:21THE SHIP-OWNERS AND MR. DUNCAN.22

The Ship-owners� Association have sent a long communication to the Senate23Committee on Commerce, in support of the �Ward Amendments� bill. It recites that the24old law gives no right of appeal from the Shipping Commissioner�s decision except to the25appointing power. It charges Commissioner Duncan with appropriating to his own use26large amounts received as fees, in direct violation of the law, and says that it was decided27that the law contains no provision to compel him to refund. It accuses him of paying28salaries to his four sons and others, grossly in excess of the services rendered; of being29arbitrary and unjust in his decisions; of refusing to recognize exemptions specified in the30law, and of renting his offices from the Seamen�s Association, of which he is President, at31a price four times greater than is just, the amount paid being exactly the sum required to pay32the interest on the mortgage and unpaid taxes and assessments of the building owned by33the Seamen�s Association. It quotes a number of contradictory decisions given by courts34in various localities as to the spirit of sections of the law, and mentions several points of the35Amendatory bill, which give assurance that its passage will overcome all future36troubles.�New York Times.37

They do say that people who live in glass houses should not throw38

stones. Mr. Duncan has neglected his own character of to-day to hunt down39

SLC to the Editor of the New York World, 14 and 16 February 1877, contd.

1877�page 19

mine of ten years ago. What my character was in that day can be a matter of1

importance to no one�not even me; but what the present character of the2

Shipping Commissioner of the great port of New York is, is a matter of3

serious importance to the whole public. What the character of the President4

of the Seamen�s Association and master of the Sailors� Savings Bank5

connected with it is, is matter of similarly serious importance to the public.6

That character�Mr. Duncan�s character�is vividly suggested by the charges7

recited in the above extract. I have known and observed Mr. Duncan for ten8

years, and I think I have good reason for believing him to be wholly without9

principle, without moral sense, without honor of any kind. I think I am10

justified in believing that he is cruel enough and heartless enough to rob any11

sailor or sailor�s widow or orphan he can get his clutches upon; and I know12

him to be coward enough. I know him to be a canting hypocrite, filled to the13

chin with sham godliness, and forever oozing and dripping false piety and14

pharisaical prayers. I know his word to be worthless.15

It is a shame and a disgrace to the civil service that such a man was16

permitted to worm himself into an office of trust and high responsibility. It17

is a greater shame and disgrace that he has been permitted to remain in it after18

he was found out and published, more than three years ago (for the present19

charges were made against him and printed as long ago as that).20

If any one imagines that I am moved to speak in this way by Mr.21

Duncan�s �charges� against me, I beg that he will dismiss that idea. A charge22

made by Mr. Duncan must naturally fall dead, for the source it emanates from23

is amply sufficient to sap it of effect.24

Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain).25

Hartford, February 16.26

1877�page 20

To the Editor of the New York World15 or 16 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, draft: CU-MARK, #12683)

To the Editor of the 'w =World:1

Sir: The absurd nature of our civil service system is happily illustrated in2

the fact that a person like this �Captain� C. C. Duncan, of the Quaker City3

Expedition is able to obtain a high & responsible position under it. The4

absurdity is further illustrated in the fact that such a person is able to keep5

such a position after getting it.6

What is the plain meaning of the above charges, after you scrape the7

polite crust from the words in which they are set forth? Simply this: That in8

�approeipriating� other people�s money, Captain Duncan is a thief; that in9

grossly over-paying his sons, he is treacherous to his official duty'; �otherwise,10

a sneak; that in being �arbitrary & unjust� in his decisions, he is a tyrant; that11

in �refusing to recognize exemptions specified in the law,� he is a shabby12

rascal; that in misusing his authority to rent offices from himself (for he is it13

mainly the �Seamen�s Association�) at four times their value, he is a fraud�&14

once more a thief. He begins as a thief, & ends as a thief.15

Such is the plain meaning of the above charges, after being translated16

into pure English. Any one who has known Captain Duncan ten years,�as17

I have�will =not= have not the slightest difficulty in believing that those18

charges describe the man�s character exactly.19

If you are about to hire a cook, you require the candidate to bring refer-20

ences. But when the government proposes to hire a Shipping Commissioner21

& charge him with vast powers & responsibilities, no references are required.22

Anybody will do =answer.= It would have taken but little time to inquire about23

this Duncan. =individual.= Then, if a proper person was really required for the24

place, this creature =man= would not have got it.25

If you hire a cook & find you have made a mistake, you rectify it with a26

prompt discharge. Not so with the civil service system. These serious charges27

were all made against Duncan four or five years ago, & were published in the28

newspapers�yet [cancellation and insertion in pencil] this cancer still =he still= sticks29

to his place.30

I do not know, of my own personal knowledge, that this man is a31

thief�th'aerefore I will bring no charge of that kind against him. But I do32

know of my own personal knowledge that he is a fraud (as I understand33

fraud) & will lie.34

SLC to the Editor of the New York World, 15 or 16 February 1877, contd.

1877�page 21

For instance, he gave out that the Quaker City was a first-class ship. If1

that was not plain, simple fraud, it was at2

It is a curious remark to make, & yet I am obliged to acknowledge that3

in one way these charges raise �Captain� Duncan in my estimation. I am One4

could never suspect that so spiritless a lamb had pluck enough =one so5

lamb-like had it= in him to make �arbitrary decisions� or steal =embezzle= on6

a large, dignified scale. To pick a blind cripple�s =To nip a nickel from a weep-7

ing convert�s= pocket while he prayed over him would be more in his line, one8

would suppose. =Mr.= Duncan must have grown, since the old times. This9

tremendous accession of character bewilders me. must bewilder all who knew10

him in as the meek head-waiter of the �Quaker City.�11

You cannot imagine a creature more little, & shabby & trivial than12

=poorer sort of creature than= he was, ten years ago. During the first day on13

board the �Quaker City,� he was a very great man for about eight or ten14

hours. It was �Captain Duncan� here, & �Captain Duncan� there, & the15

mighty =delighted= man purred around, & gave comm aired his greatness16

=aired himself= on the quarter-deck, & was kittenishly happy. Then the ship17

went to sea, & there came a change. The owner of the vessel (Mr. Leary) &18

the executive officer =(Mr. Bursley)= �took his measure,� summoned him, &19

coll & coolly relieved him of his command. From that day forth, he was a20

cipher. The �captain� driveled feebly about =protested gently against= this21

high-handed usurpation (which indeed it was,) '& =but= got small sympathy22

from the passengers. These preferred to trust their lives to the executive23

officer, who was every inch a man, whereas the �captain� was very manifestly24

a sheep. something infinitely =conspicuously= less. He fell into entire con-25

tempt. =disregard�to put it no stronger.= It was pathetic to see him come out26

on deck & spread his legs =out with his quadrant & strike the nautical attitude=27

& proceed to take the sun, going through his little performance with as much28

grandeur as if =he= thought his reckoning was going to find a place on the29

ship�s log, like any real captain�s. It was sorrowful to see him stand on the30

bridge, when entering a port, just like a real captain, & be obliged to see the31

pilot�s orders all transmitted through Mr. Bursley the executive officer instead32

of himself. He tearfully =often= threatened to require some consul to compel33

Mr. Leary & Mr. Bursley to observe the charter-party & cease from their34

usurpations, but somehow his courage always failed him when it came to the35

scratch. =him= at the critical moment.36

The �captain� was not pa captain; he was not an officer; he was not a37

SLC to the Editor of the New York World, 15 or 16 February 1877, contd.

1877�page 22

passenger. Then what was he? The passengers decided that since he was not1

none of these, & yet had authority to discharge waiter-boys�an authority2

which the passengers had not�he must naturally be the head-waiter. And so3

we =he was= dubbed,= him, privately. It is rather amusing, in these days, to see4

our poor old head-waiter blandly calling himself the �captain of the Quaker5

City� in his lecture-advertisements. Only a born sham could do such a thing6

as that. =However, that little sham pleases him & harms nobody.=7

�Captain� =Mr.= Duncan can do =pray= more,= hip hypocritical praying,8

& talk more nasal cant, =piety,= in a given length of time, than any other man9

on the seaboard�that is, provided he has an audience. He was the loudest,10

the longest, the most irrepressible & inextinguishable suppliant among the11

Quaker City�s pilgrims. We had a prayer-meeting in the ship�s main saloon12

every evening at '7 seven bells. These [insertion in pencil] =meetings= could have13

been made useful to the cause of religion, if the circumstances had been14

different; but the th'rought crept into many humble, seeking hearts, that if 'H15

heaven was to be populated with Duncans it might not be wise to proceed16

rashly in so serious a matter. There were some lowly, simple souls, who17

thought the thing over without levity, & decided that barring certain defects,18

hell had its advantages.19

The head-waiter =Mr. Duncan= has been a rabid total abs=tin=ence gladi-20

ator for forty years, publicly, =& outspokenly. In Italy he primed himself daily21

with the cheap wines of the country�much to his credit, I thought, for it22

argued a relaxing of his =rather= hide-bound morals. But mark you, when he23

got home, he denied it. He denied it flatly. It seems to me that a person who24

would act like that, would almost lie =prevaricate,= upon a pinch.25

Mr. Duncan created the Seamen�s Association himself, & lobbied26

=engineered= it through Congress. He got himself made boss =master= of it. A27

part of the scheme was a bank to be attached to it for the conservation of28

poor Jack�s savings. That is a trifle suggestive. One of my many crimes was29

the contributing of $25 to =to Duncan�s pocket for= that Seamen�s Association30

project. I have done many scoundrelly things, but none that I so blush for as31

this; for I did it with the deliberate conviction that no man would ever I32

consider that there was no justification for my assisting a man like him =that=33

in a project so dangerous to other men�s pockets =the welfare of confiding,34

ignorant sailors.=35

In conclusion, I repeat that Duncan has grown, & grown prodigiously.36

Ten years ago we all thought him only a =trivial,= harmless, over-pious37

SLC to the Editor of the New York World, 15 or 16 February 1877, contd.

1877�page 23

hypocrite & tuppenny fraud; no man could have persuaded us that there was1

stuff in him capable of compelling a grave official body of men to publicly2

recognize him as a glittering & majestic embezzler!3

It may be4

My object in writing this is not a malevole=nt one or a frivolous one. It is5

to protest, in all seriousness, against the removal of Mr. Duncan from his6

office, & against the diminution of his official powers�both the legitimate &7

usurped ones. Why? For the reason that where he is, he cannot injure more8

than six or eight thousand people a year, perhaps, & they only in their tem-9

poral affairs; whereas if he be turned out, he is the sort of man who would go10

to work laboring at once in Sunday schools, prayer meetings, revivals &11

missionary enterprises�anywhere, in fact, that he could make his regular12

=stock in= trade (religi (piety) pay a thousand per cent on his investments of13

it�& the result would be incalculable damage to the cause of religion. Are we14

calmly, coldly prepared to turn this desolation loose upon the land? Ce Can15

we deliberately do this thing & hope for peace of mind here or pardon16

hereafter? This is not a thing to be lightly cast aside as being nobody�s17

business; no, it's is every man�s business who has the welfare of society &18

religion at heart. Do not think that I am over '=-wrought by my fears, for such19

is not the case. The peril is all that I paint it. I am calm,�I have�almost20

coldly calm. My motive is not selfish, I have nothing against Mr.21

Duncan�nothing whatever. I am commanded to love him, as well as all the22

world, & I do love him. And I believe that he loves me, & would die for me.23

Therefore, what I am saying is in the pure interest of society & religion. Are24

=not= temporal injuries less impor'rtant than eternal ones? No one will deny25

that. Then once more I plead that Mr. Duncan may be retained in his present26

place to make it sultry for sailors & their families, & not turned loose upon the27

land =nation= to carry destruction & devastation to the far more vital &28

majestic interests of [remainder of page torn away]29

1877�page 24

To the Editor of the New York World22 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS and MS fragment: New York World, 25 February 1877, p. 5, and CtY-BR, #01408)

[copy-text for 1.2�5.30 is the New York World]1

To the Editor of The World.2

SIR: If you should glance over the letters which have come to me from3

New York & Brooklyn since last Sunday you would be surprised to perceive4

how general is the knowledge of Mr. Chas. C. Duncan�s character in those5

cities, & how frank & outspoken the abhorrence of it. It seems that everybody6

has known, for four or five years that this Shipping Commissioner was dili-7

gently & constantly robbing the till of his office, with the exception of the8

brief intervals of time which he devoted to the Sunday-school of which he9

was (& is) Superintendent. And yet he has been allowed to keep his place.10

This ought to delight those sarcastic people who say we do not live under a11

�form of government� in America, but under a �system of organized imbe-12

cility.�13

I think that Mr. Duncan�s strength has lain in the fact that he robs14

nobody but sailors & the United States Government. Nobody is personally15

interested in the protection of these, else the newspapers would have been16

flooded with the complaints of sufferers, & Mr. Duncan would have been17

driven from his office long ago.18

Penning newspaper letters about this over-pious miscreant is not agree-19

able work, & I would much prefer to leave the present one unwritten; but one20

correspondent desires to know something about the law which made Mr.21

Duncan a Shipping Commissioner, & I am sure that there are others who22

would like to see a synopsis of its provisions. That law was devised by Mr.23

Duncan himself. It is plainly & simply a Black Flag, & the man who has sailed24

under it all these years is�but name him yourself. 25

That infamous law was most ably dissected & its purpose exposed four26

or five years ago, in a pamphlet published by Messrs. Morris & Wilder, attor-27

neys, of New York. That pamphlet will destroy Mr. Duncan & his law if the28

judiciary committees of Congress can be brought to read it.29

The title of Mr. Duncan�s law is a blistering sarcasm: �An Act for the30

Further Protection of Seamen.� Further along the reader will see what �pro-31

SLC to the Editor of the New York World, 22 February 1877, contd.

1877�page 25

tection� means in a Shipping Commissioner�s dictionary.1

1. Under all previous laws the injured sailor could bring his case in a2

court of equity. His only resource now is to a court of law: �his only remedy3

lies in the inflexible terms of a statute of which the court is compelled to be4

a strict & rigid interpreter.� No more equity is permitted, no more �exercise5

of discretion in view of all circumstances of a case.�6

2. Under the old laws a sailor�s rights were clearly defined, & his remedy7

was simple & inexpensive. Under the new, the process is cumbered by all8

sorts of complications & obstructions, & the expenses increased to a prohi-9

bitory degree. �The maze of technicalities to which the seaman is now com-10

pelled to conform could not have been more cunningly devised by an11

organized band of conspirators intent upon perplexing & robbing him!�12

3. This new law gives the sailor not a single right or privilege which he13

did not possess before; but it takes from him certain rights & privileges of14

inestimable value which he did possess before.15

4. The new law creates a disease called a Shipping Commissioner, who16

is to �superintend� the shipping & discharge of sailors, & charge a fee for17

each man shipped or discharged. All these fees come eventually out of the18

sailor�s pocket�& they have always gone into Mr. Duncan�s.19

5. The Shipping Commissioner �may refuse to proceed with any engage-20

ment or discharge unless the fees thereon are first paid.� That is a quotation21

from the law! Jack may finish his voyage, but if he is unable to pay his fee he22

can remain the property of the ship-owner, for Mr. Duncan will not release23

him! This is �protection��to the Shipping Commissioner.24

6. The law gives the Shipping Commissioner $5,000 a year for �superin-25

tending;� but he has charged the country more than $160,000 in four years for26

that needless service, by pocketing the fees.27

7. �All acts done by a clerk or deputy shall be as valid & binding as if28

done by the Shipping Commissioner himself.� Was ever a law more ingen-29

iously devised for the coddling of a lazy pilferer? He was not even willing to30

take the trouble to do the pilfering himself.31

8. A penalty is provided for the punishment of any one who shall solicit32

a seaman�s custom for a sailor boarding-house. That looks well, on its face,33

but�34

9. �Every payment of wages to a seaman shall be valid in law, notwith-35

standing any previous sale or assignment of such wages; & no assignment or36

sale of such wages shall bind the party making the same.� This is not a quo-37

SLC to the Editor of the New York World, 22 February 1877, contd.

1877�page 26

tation from the rules & by-laws of a band of highwaymen, but is the exact1

wording of this most disgraceful statute. Its plain meaning is that the Govern-2

ment denies to the sailor the common human right to do as he pleases with3

his own! The effect is this: Formerly those dreadful boarding-house landlords4

fed & lodged the sailor on credit when his money was all gone, taking an5

assignment of his first advance money (when he should next get a berth) as6

their security. The new law forbids the sailor to give such security now by7

making such security valueless: so the boarding-houses promptly turn him8

adrift when his money is gone, &�the Shipping Commissioner takes care of9

him! Suppose you apply at the Sunday school in Brooklyn & ask Mr. Duncan10

that sarcastic question. No�Jack becomes a tramp. This law has filled the11

country with tramps. It ought to have been entitled �An act for the creation12

of a pirate & for the multiplication of tramps.�13

Everybody has heard of that horrible process of kidnapping sailors,14

called �shanghaeing;� everybody has loathed it, everybody has cursed it. Could15

anybody but a Duncan dream of so foul a crime as the creation of a law to16

legalize shanghaeing? Could anybody but a Duncan be heartless enough, cruel17

enough, shameless enough? I ask you to read this extract from the law framed18

by this bowelless Commissioner, & see if you can realize the fact that such a19

statute as this has blackened the code of America for five years (& almost20

unchallenged):2110. Whenever any seaman neglects or refuses to join, or deserts from or refuses to22

proceed to sea in any ship in which he is duly engaged to serve, or is found otherwise23absenting himself therefrom without leave, the master, or any mate, or the owner, or24consignee may in any place in the United States, with or without the assistance of the local25public officers or constables (who are hereby directed to give their assistance, if required),26apprehend him without first procuring a warrant, and may thereupon in any case, and shall,27in case he so requires, and it is practicable, convey him before any court of justice, & c., and28may, for the purpose of conveying him before such court of justice, detain him in custody29for a period not exceeding twenty four hours, or may, if he does not so require, or if there30is no such court at or near the place, at once convey him on board.31

Let us suppose a case. A shanghaer has engaged to procure a crew for32

an outgoing vessel. He comes, with his little gang of assistants, to an isolated33

place & seizes a man he never saw before�Mr. Longfellow, for instance. An34

officer of the law interferes. 35

Kidnapper�I have been formally constituted mate of the Osprey, & this36

man is one of my crew�a deserter. I propose to take him on board. Here is37

the law�read it yourself.38

Officer�He says he never shipped. You must convey him before a39

SLC to the Editor of the New York World, 22 February 1877, contd.

1877�page 27

court of justice�he requires you to do it. 1

Kidnapper�I answer, according to the law, that �it is not practicable.�2

There is no such court �near this place.�3

Officer�You have no warrant for his seizure.4

Kidnapper�I require none�see the law.5

Officer�You are right. Take him along.6

Let me give an extract from the pamphlet I have before referred to:7Once on board, the mariner is secure. If the voyage be to the East Indies then the8

shanghaed sailor is left to shirk for himself at Bombay or Calcutta, lest if he returned home9in the vessel he might seek to have the mate who kidnapped him punished. It is claimed10that the shanghaeing is prevented by section 53, which provides that if a sailor be carried11to sea without entering into an agreement as prescribed by the act, that the ship shall be12held liable, and for each offense shall incur a penalty not exceeding $200!!!13

Without questioning here the soundness of so novel a doctrine as that a vessel is14liable for the torts or crimes of a mate hired perhaps of a charterer, where is the protection15against shanghaeing? Section 53 does not prohibit kidnapping, but says, in effect:16�Kidnapping is permissible, provided you pay from $100 to $200 apiece for the17kidnapped.� And this money does not go to the sailor, but to the Government.18

At this rate, kidnapping is the cheapest way to get a crew for a long voyage, especially19as the chances are that the vessel will not have to pay anything at all if the kidnapped sailors20are forced to desert in a foreign port. The incentive to the master to force his crew to desert21is not only to save the vessel from the penalty, but to hire cheaper crews abroad.22

One further fact deserves to be considered in this connection. What becomes of the23wages accrued and due to a crew at the time of their desertion? The answer is that,24according to all maritime law, these, of course, are forfeited. Thus the horrible truth creeps25over the mind that in the desertion of the seaman lies an actual source of revenue to the26master�s private pocket; then the still more horrible suspicion that the seaman�s desertion27has been, possibly, reckoned upon, calculated, forced upon him�that human ingenuity has28been at work devising new methods of cruelty for the express purpose of driving this man,29or this crew, to desertion. Should the port be favorable to the securing of cheap substitutes,30the law offers every facility for �securing them on board.� If not, then under section 53 it31offers equal facilities for �securing� the runaways. But the wages of the latter are in either32case forfeited. What a premium is thus placed upon cruelty! What deliberate perils are laid33against the mariner�s life! With what dignity does law now invest the brutal violence of his34despot!35

Please read a paragraph from the summing up of the same pamphlet:36The whole truth is that in not one line of this act can the intelligent reader find for37

the seaman �protection.� Sixty sections are devoted to creating unnecessary officers, fixing38their salaries, fees and perquisites, crushing all who might come in competition with their39gains, and then binding the mariner, hand and foot, through their instrumentality, to the40very class against whom he most needs protection. Of the eight remaining sections of the41

SLC to the Editor of the New York World, 22 February 1877, contd.

1877�page 28

act, one alone, the sixty-first, bestows upon him, as we have seen above, the privilege of1protecting himself by swindling all with whom he comes in contact. It is a noteworthy2feature of this �benevolent� law that the only protection afforded by it to the sailor lies in3a provision that he shall not suffer by his own fraudulent act. But the ship-owner is4�protected� in the possession of his men, and protected also from paying them the high5rates of wages hitherto paid them under the guidance of their landlords; the master is6�protected� in his violence and brutality to them, as well as �protected� in the enjoyment7of their wages when that violence has driven them from him; the mates are �protected� in8the pursuit and recapture of them; both master and mates are �protected� in kidnapping9sailors at all times and �protected� always from the interference of local magistrates; and,10above all and most of all, the Shipping Commissioner is �protected� in the exclusive11enjoyment of the shipping business of his port and all the emoluments arising therefrom.12But the sailor? As well call a lie the truth, or blasphemy pious, as to call this act, either in13whole or in detail, �protection� to him. Such a prostitution of one of the noblest words of14the English language to an act begotten in jobbery, chicanery and selfishness is absolutely15without parallel.16

Still further, this act is obnoxious not only in its centralizing tendencies, in its17interference with the legitimate callings of citizens of the various seaports, in its multiplying18Federal officers, and in its grinding effect upon the mariner, but, as a natural sequence of19all this, it overreaches itself and infringes upon the constitutional and fundamental law. So20far as the sailor is concerned, it is one continuous suspension of the habeas corpus! It21deprives him of liberty without due process of law, �without first procuring a warrant.�22And it adds the infamous permission that this may be done by a mere private citizen.23

This law is a curiosity in every possible way. It makes Mr. Duncan24

arbitrator between the sailor & his employer in cases of dispute. I judge that25

Mr. Duncan is a person whose decision is easily purchasable. This law makes26

this person�s decision final & absolute! The sailor cannot appeal from it! Per-27

haps the reader now perceives the sarcasm which lurks in the title of the28

law��for the further protection of seamen.�29

Perhaps no more infamous law than this has ever defiled the code of any30

Christian land in any age. [copy-text from here to the end is MS] And yet it is the31

work of a man whose stock in trade is sham temperance, sham benevolence,32

religious hypocrisy, & a ceaseless, unctuous drip of buttery prayers.33

SamR L. Clemens34

(Mark Twain.)35

Hartford, Feb. 22.36

1877�page 29

To William Dean Howells22 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS, correspondence card: OFH, #01533)

=P.S.�I suppose you got our letter about the March visit a week or two ago?=1

Hartford, Feb. 22.2

SLC My dear Howells:3

Here�s a shout for Hayes! The fact is I was afraid to shout by4

telegraph last Sunday, I have been fooled so often. I hope he will put Lt. Col.5

Richard Irwin Dodge (Author of �The Great Plains & their Inhabitants�) at6

the head of the Indian Department. There�s a man who knows all about7

Indians, & yet has some humanity in him��(knowledge of Indians, &8

humanity, &' =are= seldom found in the same individual). Come!�it is high9

time we were fixing up this cabinet, my boy.10

Look here�send postal to say you & the madam will be he here 2d or11

3d of March�do, now, please. The play is done. We are plotting out another12

one.13

Yrs Ev'rer14

Mark.15 Ï16

1877�page 30

To John C. Merritt 22 February 1877 � 1st of 2 � Hartford, Conn.

(Paraphrase and TS: CU-MARK, #12556)

The check is dated February 19, 1877 on the National City Bank of1

Brooklyn, New York, to Saml. L. Clemens or order in the amount of 40 cents.2

On the front of the check is the following endorsement:3

�Dr. This shall be religiously devoted to the purpose specified & I shall4

drink your health.5

S. L. C.�6

1877�page 31

To Fanny C. Hesse 22 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(Paraphrase and TS: CU-MARK, #12557)

On the back of the check:1

�Miss H. will please bank this with Bissell & place it to �personal�2

account.3

S. L. C.�4

J5

Saml. L. Clemens | by A. H. Olmsted Atty. | Pay Bank of New York |6

(N.B.A.) or Order | George P. Bissell & Co.7

1877�page 32

To John C. Merritt 22 February 1877 � 2nd of 2 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS: CU-MARK, #01407)

Hartford, February 22, 18771

Dear Sir:2

I have ordered your check to be deposited in my bank & shall not abuse3

your confidence but will purchase that toddy with the money & devote it to4

the drinking of your health and the magnifying of my own comfort.5

Yrs. truly6

Saml. L. Clemens7

1877�page 33

To William Dean Howells26 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, postal card: MH-H, #01311)

Hartford 26th1

Good! I�ll be at the station about 2.30, P.M., March 3d, to fetch you. We are2

all sorry Mrs. Howells cannot come with you. That sideboard which you & I3

ordered in Boston leaves there to-day. I�ve got a project for a summer�s4

holiday with you if you can go. I�ve written a little short Atlantic article, but I5

don�t believe you�ll dare to print it. However, I�ll send it for inspection by &6

by.7

S.L.C.8

J9

US POSTAL CARD. WRITE THE ADDRESS ON THIS SIDE�THE MESSAGE ON THE OTHER | W. D. Howells,10

Esq | 37 Concord ave | Cambridge | Mass. [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. FEB 26 6PM11

1877�page 34

To George W. McCrary27 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: OFH, #09190)

SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Feb. 27.2

My Dear Mr. McCrary:3

I beg you to read the enclosed ar letter, of mine, & try to interest4

yourself in the remedying this evil. in the destruction of this law. When5

Duncan got up his commissionership & Seamen Association projects, all of6

us who knew him, said knew he was purposing to rob somebody; but what7

is everybody�s business is nobody�s business�so nobody interfered. This8

Duncan is one of the vilest men that exists to-day; & I am exceedingly sorry9

that I have numbered myself with the silent ones all these years. However, one10

reason was, that I supposed he was kicked out of office when his villainies11

were exposed 5 years ago.12

I know your hands are full without any additions from me, but my13

motive must be my excuse.14

Truly Yours15

SamR. L. Clemens16 Ï17

1877�page 35

To Pamela A. Moffett27 February 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: ViU, #01409)

Feb. 271

SLC My Dear Sister�I think Livy told me a day or two ago, (or to write2

Annie, or somebody) that the gloves had been found here (or that they had3

been found, I cannot be sure at this distance, which it was, but no matter.) We4

greatly enjoyed Sam�s visit, but it must have [been] intolerably stupid to him.5

I was in a smouldering rage, the whole time, over the precious days & weeks6

of time which Bret Harte was losing for me�so I was no company for Sam7

or anybody else. Livy thinks, however, that Sam entertained himself with8

books & had a tolerably pleasant time. I hope so, I am sure.9

'l With love to all10

Sam11

1877�page 36

To Olivia L. Clemens 11 March 1877 � Boston, Mass.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: Christie�s, New York, December 1991, #02863)

Howells�s 5'1

Sunday.2

SLC Livy darling, we perplexed ourselves all day yesterday over plots &3

counter plots, & dreamed over them all night. Unsatisfactory. We drop back,4

now, to the original proposition�Howells to write the play, dropping in the5

skeleton of Orm�s speeches, I to take him, later, & fill him out. I expect to6

remain at Parker�s in Boston, tomorrow & return home Tuesday. I love you7

my darling.8

Saml9

J10

Mrs. SamR. L. Clemens | Hartford | Conn [return address:] THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY 11

THE RIVERSIDE PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. [postmarked:] BOSTON MASS. MAR 1112

1877�page 37

To William D. Howells 23? March 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, in pencil: MH-H, #01185)

=Let Mr. [about eight words canceled] with a paper signed by more than1

twenty authors. I don�t know (It was about the Switzerland matter.)=2

Friday, AM.3

My Dear Howells:4

Been reading O'aut of the ? aloud to the family & have just finished it.5

All hands bewitched with it. It is wonderful pic dialogue. It didn�t seem6

wonderful (for you) when you read it to me. I think you have a gift or faculty7

of disguising the merit of your productions when you read them aloud. I know8

it, in fact. The Parlor Car was as much as 25 times better, in print, than it was9

when you read it to me.10

My lawsuit is done. The villain got only $300 out of me instead of11

$10,000, & the his lawyer got that. My lawyer�s bill & some little items, added12

to the $300 only swelled my expense to $800�so I got off admirably well.13

I began Orion�s autobiography yesterday & am charmed with the work.14

I have started him at 18, printer�s apprentice, soft & sappy, full of fine15

intentions & shifting religions & not aware that he is a shining ass. Like Tom16

Sawyer he will stop where I start him, no doubt�20, 21 or along there; can�t17

tell; am driving along without plot, plan, or purpose�& enjoying it.18

I had such a good time at your house, but with a biting conscience all the19

time for stopping your wheels.20

Yrs Ever21

Mark22

[in margin of first page:]23

All we Clemenses send warmest regards to all you Howellses.24

1877�page 38

To Edwin Booth7 April 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: VtMiM, #01411)

Saturday AM1

SLC I have called to pay my respects, Mr. Booth, & apologize for my piece2

of supernatural stupidity of last night (for I am sore about it yet, & righteously3

ashamed); but do not hesitate to excuse yourself if you so pref shall so prefer.4

I have traveled about the country lecturing enough to know how perfectly5

justifiably one loathes the intruding stranger who breaks in upon his needed6

repose & his prized seclusion.7

Truly Yours8

SamR. L. Clemens9

(�Mark Twain�)10

Ï11

1877�page 39

To Edwina Booth8 April 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS of inscription in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, American Publishing Company, 1876: ViU, #09285)

Some day, Miss Booth, when you (having become acquainted with my1

many virtues & merits,) shall come to like me as well as I already like you, )' we2

two shall be a couple of right good friends. Then you will say, �I do not value3

this book because it has worth�since that is questionable�but I value it4

because Mr. C�s impulse was kindly & honest & I am satisfied that he would5

have sent me a much better one if he had been able to write it.� (And that will6

be just as true a thing as you ever said�mark my words!)7

Truly Yours8

SamR. L. Clemens9 Ï10

Hartford, Apl. 8'77.11

1877�page 40

To Miss Holmes13 April 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CLjC, #11456)

SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Apl. 13, 1877.2

My Dear Miss Holmes:3

It gives me great pleasure to comply with your request. You will perceive4

that after seven years� devotion to Art I have improved considerably in figure5

drawing. I regard figure-drawing as my specialty, although some think I am as6

good at landscapes & still life.', these persons even carrying compliment so far7

as to say they cannot tell my landscapes from my still life, nor either of them8

from =my= marine views.9

In this portrait the President is not saying �Now I lay me down to sleep.�10

ƒSee note under picture for explanation of the situation.�„11

Ys Truly12

S. L. Clemens13

Mark Twain14 Ï15

. . . .16

1877�page 41

To Mary Mason Fairbanks14 and 17 April 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CSmH, #01412)

Hartford Apl. 14.1

Dear Mother:2

This is prodigious news! But is't is just as it should be. A body can�t marry3

too young, I judge, if he except he be under twenty. I mean, a body who=se=4

place, position & vocation are settled, & a comfortable living assured. Without5

these things, I judge a body can�t marry too late. I lost 15 years of married life6

from not being �fixed� for matrimony, as Charley is. I envy the young folks7

their early start, but I tender my blessing & best wishes, anyway. I would vastly8

like to be present at the marriage, but there will be no such luck for me. I shall9

either be in the neighborhood of New Orleans, then, or hard at work on a10

book.11

No�come to look at the date, I shall be in Washington, April 25, to12

superintend the rehearsals of mine & the play of �Ah Sin,� which will be13

hurled at the public en'ither May 1st or 7th, as shall seem best. I suppose I shall14

remain in Washington & Baltimore till the middle of May, if things seem to15

require it, & I am depending upon Livy�s going with me�but she doubtless16

won�t, because she would find it burdensome to take the children, and�you17

catch her leaving them behind! This reminds me that I would lend Susie to18

you & trust her freely to our Mollie�s auntship; but it ain�t any use of trying to19

get Livy to sleep apart from Susie a night. That is one of those impossible20

things, you know. But you are to send Mollie & her father here, never21

nevertheless. It is the very n' thing�a spring visit to Hartford. Will you, now?22

Won�t you? Speak up, & say you will. I had a wonderful letter from Mollie, &23

I want to see her. It was singularly compact & well expressed. This is a girl to24

be proud of. I�m going to write her before long.', when I shall have cleared my25

decks of some of their load of business obstructions. I will grant you the26

privilege of kissing her for me�& it is no small privilege, I warn you, or one27

to be lightly scattered around. 28

The �Scrap-Book?� Well, well, well�& don�t you really know about that29

yet?�& the newspapers talking about it all the time for the past 8 months &30

Dan Slote a c'lmost neglecting all his other business & his family to attend to31

SLC to Mary Mason Fairbanks, 14 and 17 April 1877, contd.

1877�page 42

the selling of it & the bragging about it. You surprise me, you do indeed. I1

must tell Dan there�s a missionary field in the west.2

�Where do I write?� In the billiard room�the very most satisfactory bi3

study that ever was. Open fire, register, & plenty of light.4

Apl. 17.5

I left this page blank for Livy, who wantd'ed to add a line, but there�s an6

accession of company & so she hasn�t time to turn around hardly, & therefore7

sends love through me to the Fair Banks household,�a along with that of 8

Yr Eldest9

S. L. C.10

J11

Mrs A. W. Fairbanks | Care �Herald� | Cleveland | Ohio [return address:] IF NOT12

DELIVERED WITHIN 10 DAYS, TO BE RETURNED TO [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. APR 17 6PM [and]13

CLEVELAND O. APR 18 7AM 14

1877�page 43

To the American Publishing Company17 April 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(Paraphrase and TS, postal card: Anderson AuctionCompany catalog, 9�11 May 1921, no. 1583, item 153, #09794)

153.�Autograph Note on postcard, signed with initials. April 17, 1877. To1

American Publishing Co., asking that a copy of �Sawyer� and �Sketches� be2

sent to A. C. Grimes.3

1877�page 44

To William Dean Howells 19 April 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: MH-H, #01413)

Apr. 19.1

SLC My Dear Howells:2

Many thanks. I was not intending to intrude on the President, but3

I shall certainly go now & present your letter if there is a reception while I am4

in Washington�& of course there will be, as I shall be there a week or more.5

I am mighty sorry you can�t go. Mrs. Howells ought to go now & not put if't6

off�invitations from Presidents are so kind of seldom, you know. 7

Ys Ever8

Mark9

1877�page 45

To Susan L. Crane23 April 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01415)

Monday,1

18772

SLC Susie Dear�3

On the 10th of May I am going off on a sea voyage, to be gone4

till toward the end of that month. It is to get the world & the devil out of my5

head so that I can start fresh at the farm early in June. My great problem is6

how to leave Livy for 2 or 3 weeks so that my absence will be no detriment7

to her. We can�t think of any company that can compensate her for my8

absence & be able to make her forget that absence but you. Could you come9

& stay here while I am gone? Livy says you had better go to the farm, &10

insists that I shan�t urge you to come here. So I don�t urge, but only ask if you11

can come without inconvenience & without detriment to your plans. With12

love to you all�affectionately13

SamR.14

Ï15

1877�page 46

To Olivia L. Clemens23 April 1877 � New York, N.Y.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01414)

St James,1

Early Bedtime.2

SLC Livy Darling, I am tired out�pretty completely fagged. So I�ll only3

write a line. Since I reached here at 6 I have been talking with people all the4

time�Charley, Dan, Kingman, Fuller & others�& now at 9 oclock, am5

dreadfully sleepy. I am ashamed that a trifling little railway trip should have so6

much effect upon me. But I had a delightful afternoon. I left behind me those7

2 men who have not been absent an instant from my thoughts (& my hate)8

for months�Raymond & Harte�so I read Dum'uas & was serene & con-9

tent. I move on in the morning. I love you darling�I love you all the time.10

Saml11

J12

Mrs. S. L. Clemens | Hartford | Conn [return address:] IF NOT DELIVERED WITHIN 10 DAYS,13

TO BE RETURNED TO [postmarked:] NEW -YORK E APR 24 7AM14

1877�page 47

To Olivia L. Clemens26 April 1877 � Baltimore, Md.

(MS: CU-MARK, #01416)

GUY�S HOTEL, ON THE EUROPEAN PLAN,1MONUMENT SQUARE, SAMUEL C. LITTLE, PROPRIETOR.2

BALTIMORE, Apl. 26 18773

Livy Darling�I have just come in (4 PM.) & found your letter, which was a4

great delight to me. Poor little Susie�tell her to be sure & give you my kiss5

every night; but that she must remember it is mine, not yours. I send her & Bay6

a lot in return, in this letter. Bay must not vomit�not that vomiting must7

necessarily hurts' her, but because it alarms you.8

At noon to-day, after rehearsal, I walked out to the Winans place, &9

found a massive brick wall ten or 12 feet high, in the thick of the city�a wall10

with apparently no openings in it. I followed it a block, turned a corner,11

followed it another block, turned a third =second= corner & followed it nearly12

another block, when I found a great iron gateway & a porter�s lodge of stone.13

The porter & his wife said Mr. Winans was out, & that all the young14

gentlemen were absent from the city. So I started away, but met a coupè 3015

yards from there, & Mr. Winans hailed me from it. He had been here to the16

hotel, having seen my name in the paper. So I entered his ample grounds with17

him�grass, shrubbery & trees everywhere, a summer-house, an ornamental18

rock-work fish-pond with running water, & lots of discolored statues19

glimpsed here & there through the foliage.20

The house was in the midst, & was huge, of course; from the centre of21

the pile of buildings rose a plain factory chimney as tall as a church steeple.22

We entered a hall with light airy rooms on either side; passed into a smaller23

one & washed my hands�automatic machinery for turning on the water.24

Passed through a suite to the dining room, where Miss Celeste, two25

Whistler girls, Miss Ames & a Mr & Mrs. Hicks & Miss Hicks had just seated26

themselves at the familiar round dinner-table that turns on a pivot. The dinner27

was just such as they used to have at Newport. The family were just removing28

for a week or two to their country place, 4 miles from town; so when dinner29

was over all departed, leaving Mr. Winans & me to smoke & drink it out. He30

excused himself to all comers, & we had a quiet, pleasant time.31

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 26 April 1877, contd.

1877�page 48

I wish to say, just here, that the Newport house is a reflection of this one,1

only on a small scale. That is to say, everything is for use, nothing for2

ornament. Everything is sound & substantial, but nothing for show. Nothing ,'3

gaudy, or elegant, or even fine�everything plain, & mighty comfortable. 4

From the dining room we stepped on to a h =an enclosed= semi-circular,5

broad porch, with plo ground glass sides & roof. =(Southern exposure.)= All6

around the bend of this glass house were plain, green-painted wooden tables,7

with 4 chairs to match, to each. To =Two= hundred people can seat themselves8

in roomy comfort at these tables �s & nibble their ice cream & sip their9

wine�so they never invite but 200. This place is for winter parties, day or10

night. You can imagine how light & cheery it is. The =wooden= floor is pierced11

with holes, like a strainer, & through these comes the furnace heat. An12

automatic arrangement keeps this heat at the same figure all the time. Over13

head, around the great circle, extends in a curve, about a hundred gas lamps,14

whose chimneys are passed into holes in a great she curved sheet-iron cylinder15

which conveys all the heat away.16

Then we went off somewhere (still on the first floor) & entered a huge17

oblong saloon, with ceiling about 25 feet high�r' a room capable of seating18

250 people. In one end of it was a fire place that would accommodate our19

bedstead.20

That cross 21

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 26 April 1877, contd.

1877�page 49

X represents an iron back. On =The space on= 'eE=ach side of that back is1

occupied by mirrors. The insides of the jambs are also faced with mirrors�&2

so perfect is the draft that these never =none of these mirrors ever= get3

smoked. At the bottom of that iron back I have tried to represent a mighty4

log, as =nearly as=big & as long as myself, that lay on the andirons. There was5

a lot of other wood in front of it. The andirons do not run straight back6

horizontally, but slope downward from the front to the log, thus7

So the wood never tumbles down =in front= when you have piled it high�the8

slope will not allow it. An invention of Mr. Winans�s.9

Within the fire-place, on each side of the andirons, is a little settee,10

without a back. A giant =Twichell= could stand upright in the fire-place. In11

front, a few feet, is framed a sheet of plate glass as large as the rug that lies12

before our library fire. This keeps off the heat without hiding the fire. On each13

side stood a nest of 3-legged tables that occupied no more room than a14

wash-tub woud would�yet there were eighteen tables in each bunch. 15

They were gold colored. Each table is big enough for coffee &16

sandwiches�or you could combine several of them so as to accommode two17

or more people: 18

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 26 April 1877, contd.

1877�page 50

Here 1

you have 6 of them. This amounts to a card table. (An invention of Mr. W.�s.)2

This room is lighted by 8 great chandeliers, with 18 gas burners to3

each�total, 144. But this is not all. All around the cornice overhead are gas4

burners�so that there are between 400 & 500 =300 & 400= burners in the5

room. Of course the cornice burners are pretty high up to get at.' =for6

lighting.= So Mr. W. invented an arrangement. In onc'e corner of the room7

you turn a knob & a tin trough at the ceiling comes out of its concealment &8

inverts itself over the rows of gas burners. You turn another knob & send in9

the corner & a stream of gas rushes up a tube�it strikes the inverted trough10

& flies along, from one burner to the next. You stand in the corner, touch a11

match to that little stream of ascending gas, & flash! go the 200 gas burners12

in the twinkling of an eye. It is like lighting a train of powerder. You turn the13

original knob & the inverted tin trough over the burners retires into14

concealment again. 15

In one place is a large rug. All the rest of the plain wood floor is pierced16

=uncarpeted. The entire floor is pierced= with holes for warm-water heat to17

come up. Well, the established temperature of the entire house is 70 =saloon18

is 70 degrees,= & is kept at that, always. Suppose you put 250 people in this19

room & light the big fire & 400 gas burners. You don�t have to bother about20

whether it is going to get too hot or vi not.'�An automatic invention of Mr.21

W.�s stands there to take care of that. Close to the wall is a long, broad ribbon22

of brass, fastened in an upright position. =frame.= Alongside of it is just such23

a ribbon made of paper. When the room warms up to above 70, the brass24

ribbon begins to expand, & automatically turns a cock & lets a thread of water25

begin to flow out of a fa s'cet & into a pipe which carries it to an iron bucket26

suspended in the cellar. The bucket is so nicely hung, that the moment the27

water begins to trickle into it, it answers to the weight & begins to descend28

slowly; this acts upon a wire which begins to retard & reduce the circulation29

of heat in the hot air pipes. As soon as the temperature has got down to 7030

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 26 April 1877, contd.

1877�page 51

ag in the saloon again, the water ceases to flow, the iron bucket automatically1

empties itself & all is well.2

If The humidity of the atmosphere is required to stand at a certain point.3

The moment it becomes too humid, the dampness affects the paper ribbon4

& it sets a stream to trickling into another iron bucket, & this operates upon5

some machinery in the cell e'ar which restores the humidity to the right figure.6

If you wish to go down cellar to see the wilderness of water tanks &7

various sorts of pipes (used only for that saloon�the rest of the house has its8

own apparatus) you turn a knob, & a' =straightway a= table & a couple of9

chairs make you shudder by proceeding to turn slowly & solemnly down on10

their sides to the floor. They are fastened to a trapdoor which opens & closes11

noiselessly by automatic arrangement of weights & spring.12

Around about the saloon are two or three pianos & such things. In one13

side of the saloon is a great recess or alcove, ten feet above the floor, with a14

balustrade in front. Up there is for a band. It was full of drums & all sorts of15

instruments. On the opposite side of the room is a= a very large church16

orgam'n. You press a knob, which turns on the water-power, & you are ready17

to play�you don�t need anybody to blow a bellows. The organ has two18

benches�the usual one at the organ, & another one three or 4= feet behind19

that one. Therefore two persons can play on the organ at once�so you have20

the might & majesty of two distinct great organs going at once.21

Then we passed into a great square, lumber-like room which was a good22

deal like a chimney, or an elevator. It was 60 feet high or more, & had a rough23

scaffolding in it as high as a house. This is to be the great orgam'n, & there�s a24

world of odds & ends & queer complications in that rubbishy room. Mr. W.25

(who doesn�t know music), =(he built the present organ also),= has designed26

this organ as an architect would design a house; �has it all in his head,� he27

says; hires men (not organ builders) & makes them work strictly after his28

plans. The key-board is like this�=(I may say, exactly like this )' ,= barring a few29

inaccuracies):=30

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 26 April 1877, contd.

1877�page 52

That centre pile is 3 banks of keys. The two sides are each 3 banks of keys,1

too, but they work the stops. See? You don�t have to pull out pegs, you only strike2

keys. You can instantly take off a row of twenty-five stops with a sweep of3

your finger-nail along a bank of stop-keys. There�s an enormous number of4

stops, but all are as convenient to the hand as you can imagine.5

The biggest pipe is finished, now, & a lot more are progressing. Mr. W.6

has contrived a bewildering apparatus, with weights, springs, electrical wires7

& what not, to determine & the sizes the openings in the pipe8

should be. It is a most perplexing looking nes mess of traps.9

The big pipe looks like our cold-air box set on one end, with another one10

like it added to it to lengthen it. It is square & seems to be wood, though the11

other pipes look like zince'. Mr. W. touched a spring & turned on the12

water-power; touched another spring which gave voice to the big pipe, & you13

should have heard the rich thunders roll & tumb roll forth & felt the building14

quake!15

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 26 April 1877, contd.

1877�page 53

We went up a winding stairway of so slight a slant that water molasses1

wouldn�t have flowed down it, & entered a room which was like a workshop2

that had been struck by lightning. It had all manner of tools & traps &3

contrivances in it, & among other things a large, long-necked inverted glass4

funnel filled with infant brook-trout 5

the size of Susie�s little finger. The stream of water comes in at the bottom in6

a strong current & escapes at the spout which I have marked. Mr. W. raised7

these fishes from the eggs. He had been raising them =fishes= in the common8

way before (in one of his outhouses,) but was satisfied that they did not grow9

as fast as in their natural state. He watched, & decided that they never touched10

their food unless they could catch it before it touched bottom. So he11

contrived this thing for an experiment. The upward-flowing current of water12

keeps the food always suspended, like motes in the air, & the fishes are13

content. They grow more in a week=, now,= than they did before in a month14

by the old plan. He feeds them on dried lv liver, powdered.15

Everywhere you go in this house you find mysterious knobs, springs,16

cranks & other sorts of automatic deviltries; & the thermometers, barometers,17

temperature & humidity regulators, & similar creatures fairly swarm in every18

nook & upon every coign of vantage.19

We entered Mr. W.�s bedroom. Under Chaos is no name for it! Yet it20

was orderly to him. He could knew where to put his hand on each of the21

million things in it. The bedstead stood in the centre of the room. Under it22

(same size as the s' bed) was a water tank six inches deep, let into the23

floor .=�cold water. Immersed in the water was a raft of hot-water pipes. The24

usual automatic process keeps the temperature & humidity at the25

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 26 April 1877, contd.

1877�page 54

Winans-bedroom-regulation figure�65 degre s'es of temperature, & I�ve1

forgotten the humidity figure.2

The floor of the room is double�two floors a foot apart. He can pull3

a cord, by his pillow & throw a draft of street-air between those floors. The4

cords hang thick about his nose when he is abed. He can pull one & open a5

ventilator; pull another & close it; pull another & fetch a draft of air from6

within the house that has had its wintriness toned down by being sucked7

through a long gallery by an arrangement connected with the huge chimney8

I have spoken of. He can pull another cord & a board outside his door will9

fold down & expose the words� �I �Asleep.�10

This bedroom is the size of our library, but imagine the things there are11

in it! You couldn�t get a tenth of them into our library. Because you wouldn�t12

know how. There�s a row of work benches, loaded with things in process of13

construction. Under this row are embrasures crammed with all imaginable14

tools. There is a charming little steam-engine which doesn�t run by steam but15

by water-power, & it buzzes away like a good fellow, whirling a turning-lathe16

which was all littered up with ringlets of iron shavings. There was a tall17

cupboard of drawers, & every drawer packed full of brass & iron joints, tubes,18

cocks, & every conceivable =sort of= thing.' that is made of those metals. Near19

by was a thing which you could step on, & instantly your weight was20

registered on a dial. I think likely I stepped on considerable many21

thermometers, barometers, automatic health-registers & so-on, but I didn�t22

notice. They were all around. There was a thing on a gas burner to make tea23

in. Mr. W. goes to bed at 8 or 8.30, & is called at 4 A.M by his watchman, who24

builds a cup of tea & butters some bread while Mr. W. dresses. Then Mr. W.25

takes his tea & bread & immediately gets at work with that lathe, &c. 26

Near his room we passed by a large room whose door was open &27

within I saw a regular carpenter shop�a world =clutter= of pine lumber &28

shavings, & a man planing away on a work-bench.' of the ordinary sort.29

Miss Celeste�s sitting room was crowded with books, musical instru-30

ments, & all manner of things.31

Presently we went out into the cellar & saw the great boiler & furnace32

that heat the water, =for the house,= & the steam engine which drives the33

machinery in a building fifty yards from the house in the grounds. We started34

thither, & in the roadway Mr. W. lifted an iron slab & showed me a tunnel35

with 4 or 5 great iron pipes in it, for water, gas, steam, &c. The tunnel is big36

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 26 April 1877, contd.

1877�page 55

enough to walk in, & you can get in it & go all over that great place, under1

ground. When a pipe needs mending, this is convenient.2

He has turned a long glass-built grapery into a workshop; & in it we3

found 8 men hard at work in iron, brass & wood, & assisting themselves with4

steam machinery.5

We walked through a system of hot houses & graperies & came to a6

building wherein Mr. W. takes his horseback exercise under a glass roof when7

it is too wintry outside. 8

Then to his skating rink, a great wooden circle elevated a few feet above9

ground. He floods this shallow basin to a foot�s depth with water & lets it10

freeze, in the skating season.11

Then to a building which was put up for the =late= artist Ames to work12

in. It is still full up =of= pictures & artist traps. 13

And finally to the stables where where =were= about 8 or 10 carriages &14

10 horses.15

Mr. W.�s own coupè has a plate-glass top�an invention =of his= for16

getting sunshine without snow, in winter. You pull a string & slide a blue silk17

curtain along if you want to temper the sunshine.18

The rims of the wheel-tires project slightly, & are notched at each spoke,19

thus: 20

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 26 April 1877, contd.

1877�page 56

See the idea? This wheel never goes sliding aggravatingly along a street-railway1

rail; the notch catches, & over she goes. That is another invention of Mr. W.�s.2

I am so given to forgetting everything that I resolved I would tell you3

something about this wonderful establishment before I had a chance to forget4

it.5

Mr. Winan�s eye is as kind as ever. He & the others asked all about you6

& the children. I told them all I knew. Mr. W. was sorry you didn�t come with7

me�& so was & am I, for that matter.8

I don�t doubt it costs money to run that place & pay those 20 or 30 =309

or 40= workmen & servants; but then I noticed a chap counting 24 crip'sp new10

one-thousand dollar bonds before Mr. W., who said: �Put them in the safe,11

& bring me the numbers.� Perhaps these things help.12

Well I love you, my darling, I do indeed; & likewise I love s'S=usie & I13

love the Bay him put�n in shum an� pulled out a plum �n� said14

Ever Yours in Earnest15

32 pages MS. Saml. 16

Ï17

J18

Mrs. SamR. L. Clemens | Hartford | Conn | [paraph] [return address:] IF NOT19

DELIVERED WITHIN 10 DAYS, TO BE RETURNED TO [postmarked:] BALTIMORE MD. APR 27 9AM 20

1877�page 57

To Charles E. Perkins 26 April 1877 � Baltimore, Md.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01417)

Baltimore, Apl. 261

SLC Dr. Sir�Please tell Bergen that you have written me & are awaiting2

instructions.3

Truly Yrs4

SamR. L. Clemens5

Ï6

1877�page 58

To Olivia L. Clemens27 April 1877 � Baltimore, Md.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01418)

Friday Night.1

SLC Livy My Darling, I had a jolly adventure last night with a chap from2

the �Eastern Shore��you must remind me to tell you about it when I get3

home. I spent 4 hours in the State Prison to-day, after rehearsal, but it would4

take a book to hold all I saw & heard. Am too tired to-night to write�will5

only say I�m homesick, & that the old song lies when it says that �absence6

conquers love.�7

Saml8

Ï9

[crosswritten:] Thanks for your second letter which is just received 10

J11

[in ink] Mrs. S. L. Clemens | Hartford | Conn. | [paraph] [return address:] IF NOT12

DELIVERED WITHIN 10 DAYS, TO BE RETURNED TO [postmarked:] BALTIMORE MD. APR 28 9AM13

1877�page 59

To William Dean Howells 27 April 1877 � Baltimore, Md.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: MH-H, #01419)

Baltimore, Apl. 27 (On the stage of1

Ford�s Theatre, 11 in the morning.[)]2

SLC My Dear Howells�I am needed every moment during these daily3

rehearsals, but I must steal a second to wish you were here at this instant.4

There�s a combat going on, of the most furious & earnest nature, between5

two men in every-day clothes, who rave & roar & fell each other with6

imaginary chairs & shoot each other with imaginary pistols & pretend to fall &7

die in agony & be thrown into the Stanislaus river���& by George all the8

other actors & actresses sit within 6 feet of them & calmly converse about the9

reasonable price of board in Baltimore!10

Ys Ever11

Mark.12

1877�page 60

Samuel L. Clemens and Olivia L. Clemens to Mrs. Wetherbee

May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS, inscription on verso of photograph of Mark Twain: C, #11503)

For Mrs. Wetherbee1

With kindest remembrances of2

Mr. & Mrs. Clemens,3 Ï4

May �775 Ï6

WARREN�S7239 WASHINGTON STREET8

BOSTON, MASS.9

UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF10MR. S. B. HEALD.11

1877�page 61

To William Dean Howells 1 May 1877 � Baltimore, Md.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: NN-B, #01422)

Baltimore May 1'761

SLC My Dear Howells: Found I was not absolutely needed in Washington,2

so I only staid 24 hours, & am on my way home, now. I called at the White3

House, & got admission to Col. Rodgers, because I wanted to inquire what4

was the right hour to go & infest the President. It was my luck to strike the5

place in the dead waste & middle of the day, the very busiest time. I perceived6

that Mr. Rodgers took me for George Francis Train & had made up his mind7

not to let me get at the President; so at the end of half an hour I took my8

letter of introduction from the table & went away. It was a great pity all round,9

& a loss to the nation, for I was brim full of the Eastern question. I didn�t get10

to see the President or the Chief Magistrate either, though I had a sort of11

glimpse of a lady at a window who resembled her portraits.12

[crosswritten:] Yrs Ever13

Mark14

Ï15

1877�page 62

To Charles E. Perkins4�16 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01423)

Jan. 17'76, invested $10,000. Ill.1

July 62

May 13'76 �O�� 5,000 O3

June 15'76 �O�� 3,000 O4

July 27 O �O�� 3,000 O5

Apl. 11'77 �O�� 5,000 O6

Dec. 12-'76�O�� 5,000 Bissell7 ������8

$31,0009

[on verso:10

Nov. 3'76 int. on loan���- $81.5011

July 4 � Ill int.����� 404.12

Jan. 3'77 O O ����� 450.13

Feb. 3. O O 13514

Apl 12 O O 180.15

May. 2 O O 9016 ����17

1340.50]18

(See other side of this page.)19

You perceive, Mr. Perkins, as per above, that in the last 16 months (since20

Jan. 17, 1876,) we have invested through you with Burnham, $26,000 & with21

Bissell, $5,000; total, $31,000. Miss Hesse�s accounts are so intolerably mixed22

that I can make neither head nor tail of them, but as far as I can see, we have23

received only $1340.50 interest .= on that aggregate. I wish you would straighten24

up the interest account & tell me what interest we have received, item by item,25

& the dates of the reception, so that I can start fresh.26

Ys Truly27

S L Clemens28

Ï29

SLC to Charles E. Perkins, 4�16 May 1877, contd.

1877�page 63

$1340 seems to be about right, with nearly as much more to fall due July 1,1

but I am rather guessing at Miss Hesse�s items than proceeding on dead moral2

certainties.3

1877�page 64

To Orion Clemens5 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card: CU-MARK, #01426)

May 5.1

SLC My Dear Bro�2

It was my private secretary�s carelessness�but I enclose them.3

I have a very bad cold in the head, therefore cannot enter into4

particulars; the time is needed for swearing.5

Yr Bro6

Sam.7

Ï8

J9

Orion Clemens, Esq | Keokuk | Iowa [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. MAY 5 6PM10

1877�page 65

To William Dean Howells 5 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CU-MARK, #01425)

Keokuk, May 2, 1877.1

My Dear Brother:�2

I enclose a picture of the leech that draws the blood that Col. Sellers3

makes.4

I went to all the job offices in town this morning, and meant to go to the5

Gate City (morning paper) but found that three or four subs were watching6

the Constitution�an evening paper�for a chance, and became discouraged.7

I left my address to be sent for if there should be a spurt'. =anywhere.= It8

seemed like Sunday all round.9

In your absorption preparing your new play I suppose you forgot me this10

quarter. If you can spare me the usual checks I will get Judge Newman at the11

August term to appoint me to assist in defending some scoundrel for mis-12

demeanor or felony (the latter penitentiary, the former under that degree)13

[OC�s parenthetical remark underlined by SLC, with accompanying comment in margin:14

the legal instinct to explain.] and see what luck I can have in criminal practice.15

I see bigger fools than I am sit to be prosecuting or district attorneys and get16

good wages. It seems improbable, but it is so.17

Love to all,18

Your Brother,19

Orion.20

When the papers say anything about your play can�t you send it to me?21

I hear of things here, vaguely. I never see anything. 22

[in top margin of second page:]23

Here is as pathetic a conjunction, Howells, as ever was: this forced hilarity &24

this broken-hearted face.25

2½ years civil �practice� has yielded him just one case. He will try criminal26

law, now, poor fellow.27

Mark.28

Ï29

1877�page 66

To Charles T. Parsloeper Telegraph Operator

7 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(TS: Washington National Republican, 8 May 1877, p. 1, #01428)

Hartford, Conn., May 7, 1877.1

Chas. T. Parsloe, National Theatre, Washington, D.C.:2

Have been laid up several days, & am still on sick list. I had two speeches3

cut & dried in case I was at opening�one to bewail a failure, the other to4

glorify a success. Let me know to-morrow which one I would have had to use.5

Better to put it to vote from the stage. 6

S. L. Clemens.7

1877�page 67

To the American Publishing Company12 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, postal card, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01429)

May 121

Please send Cloth �Sketches� & �Sawyer� to Hon. J. R. Goodpasture, Nash-2

ville, Tenn., & charge to3

S L Clemens4

Ï5

Also, send me statement &c on Tom Sawyer to April 1.6

J7

US POSTAL CARD. WRITE THE ADDRESS ON THIS SIDE�THE MESSAGE ON THE OTHER | American8

Publishing Co | 284 Asylum St. | City [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. MAY 12 6PM 9

1877�page 68

To William B. Franklin12 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS, correspondence card: Ct, #10581)

May 12.1

SLC Dear General:2

We have 3 rooms in our house which will prove to anybody that3

Marcotte knows his business thoroughly. If you have occasion to say any4

word about the furnishing, I wish you would remember that Marcotte in New5

York & the Household Art Co in Boston are furnishers who ought to have6

a chance to bid. But thunder & blazes! These folks c are bound to go7

to the wall before the gaudy rubbish of � � � never mind, I won�t8

mention names, though I could. New York is full of bastard9

furniture-constructors & decorators.10

Ys Truly11

S L Clemens12

Ï13

1877�page 69

Unaddressed13? May 1877

(Printed form letter, postal card: CU-MARK, #08684)

MR. CLEMENS HAS GONE AWAY ON A SEA VOYAGE OF UNCERTAIN DURATION, BUT WILL ANSWER YOUR LETTER1AS SOON AS HE RETURNS TO THIS COUNTRY. 2

J3

US POSTAL CARD. WRITE THE ADDRESS ON THIS SIDE�THE MESSAGE ON THE OTHER 4

1877�page 70

To Orion Clemens14 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS on printed form letter, postal card, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01430)

MR. CLEMENS HAS GONE AWAY ON A SEA VOYAGE OF UNCERTAIN DURATION, BUT WILL ANSWER YOUR LETTER1AS SOON AS HE RETURNS TO THIS COUNTRY.2[crosswritten:]3

Profanity is more necessary to me than is immunity from colds.4

SLC5

To take your remedy �by & large,�� I should say death, will would be easily6

preferable to it.7

J8

US POSTAL CARD. WRITE THE ADDRESS ON THIS SIDE�THE MESSAGE ON THE OTHER | Orion Clemens, Esq9

| Keokuk | Iowa [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. MAY 14 6PM10

1877�page 71

To George P. Bissell and Companyper Charles E. Perkins

15 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: CtHMTH, #01431)

Hartford Conn1

May 15, 18772

Messrs G P Bissell & Co3

I hereby authorize C E Perkins to endorse checks payable to me for4

deposit�5

SamR. L. Clemens6

Ï7

1877�page 72

To Charles E. Perkins15 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01432)

May 15.1

SLC Dr Sir: Please drop Harte a line (45 Fifth avenue, New York) & say I2

have gone off on a sea voyage, leaving all my business in your hands; that his3

telegram has been forwarded to you; that in reply you have to say that I left4

instructions with you to credit his indebtedness to me with any moneys5

received during my absence from the play of �Ah Sin.�6

Please keep a memorandum of deposits, so that I can have it when I7

return & know what source each item came from.8

Ys Truly9

S L Clemens10

1877�page 73

To Olivia L. Clemens17 May 1877 � New York, N.Y.

(MS, correspondence cards, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01433)

SLC Thursday.1

Livy darling, it is 8.30 AM & Joe & I have been wandering about for half an2

hour with satchels & overcoats, asking questions of policemen; at last we have3

found the eating house I was after. Joe�s country aspect & the seal-skin coat4

caused one policemen to follow us a few blocks. He talked s' to somebody5

then & disappeared�so I judge we are �shadowed� & shall be in the station6

house presently.7

I thought of you all night, my darling, on account of the lightning�&8

especially that time the thunder crashed so. When on my way to Joe�s house9

I was sorry I did not leave instructions with Lizzie or Mary to go to your10

room in case it thundered. I do hope you are having a good rest this morning,11

& that dear old Sue will soon be with you.12

We shall loaf around to Mr. Sage�s business place, presently. O, the13

market! We have passed by such mountains of delicacies this morning.14

Breakfast is here, piping hot!�so goodbye sweetheart�shall send another15

card by & by.16

Sam17

J18

Mrs. SamR. L. Clemens | Hartford | Conn [postmarked:] NEW YORK MAY 17 1130AM19

1877�page 74

To William Dean Howells 29 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: NN-B, #02509)

SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1May 29.2

Confound you, Joe Twichell & I roamed about Bermuda day & night &3

never ceased to gabble & enjoy. About half the talk was��It is a burning4

shame that Howells isn�t here;� �Nobody could get at the very meat &5

marrow of this pervading charm & deliciousness like Howells;� �How6

Howells would revel in the quaintness, & the simplicity of this people & the7

Sabbath repose of this land!� �What an imperishable sketch Howells would8

make of Capt. West the whaler, & Capt. Hope with the patient, pathetic face,9

wanderer in all the oceans for 43 years, lucky in none; coming home defeated10

once more, =now,= minus his ship�resigned, uncomplaining, being used to11

this;� �What a rattling chapter Howells would make out of the small boy12

Alfred, with his alert eye & military brevity & exactness of speech; & out of13

the old landlady; & her sacred onions; & the visiting & her daughter; & the14

visiting clergyman; & the ancient pianos of Hamilton & the venerable music15

in vogue there�& forty other things which we shall leave untouched or touch16

but lightly upon, we not being worthy;� �Dam Howells for not being here!�17

(this usually from me, not Twichell.)18

O, your insufferable pr i=de, which will have a fall some day! If you had19

gone with us & let me pay the $50 =which= the trip, &= the board & the various20

nick-nacks & mementoes the excursion would cost, I would have picked up21

enough droppings from your conversation to pay me 500 per cent profit in22

the way of the several magazine articles which I could have written, whereas I23

can now write only one or two & am therefore largely out of pocket by your24

proud ways. Ponder these things. Lord, what a perfectly bewitching excursion25

it was! I traveled under an assumed name & was never molested with a polite26

attention from anybody. Love to you all.27

Yrs Ever28

Mark.29

Ï30

1877�page 75

To John A. McPherson29 May 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS: San Francisco Alta California, 9 June 1877, p. 1, #01436)

Dear Sir: �Mark Twain� was the nom de plume of one Captain Isaiah1

Sellers, who used to write river news over it for the New Orleans Picayune; he2

died in 1863, & as he could no longer need that signature, I laid violent hands3

upon it without asking permission of the proprietor�s remains. That is the4

history of the nom de plume I bear. 5

Yours, truly,6

Samuel L. Clemens.7

May 29th.8

1877�page 76

To Thomas Bailey Aldrich3 June 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: VtMiM, #01437)

SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1June 3.2

My Dear Aldrich: Behold I have come home from a pleasure trip to Bermuda3

to find I could have had one without going all that distance or taking all that4

trouble. Both of us, the wife & I, are as sorry as to =two= people can be that5

we missed those good times which you & madame prepared for the elect.6

Mrs. Clemens was moved to accept the invitation & go along alone. 7

Day after tomorrow we leave for the hills beyond Elmira, N.Y., for the8

summer, where I shall hope to write a book of some sort or other to beat the9

people wh with. A work similar to your new one in the Atlantic is what I10

mean, though I have not heard what the nature of that one is. Immoral, I11

suppose. Well, you are right. Such books sell best, Howells says. Howells says12

he is going to make his next book indelicate. He says he thinks there is money13

in it. He says there is a large class of the young, in schools & seminaries14

who�But you let him tell you. He has ciphered it all down to a15

demonstration.16

With the warmest remembrances to the pair of you�17

Ever Yours18

Saml L. Clemens.19 Ï20

1877�page 77

To Henry Wadsworth Longfellow4 June 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CtHMTH, #01438)

SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1June 4, 1877.2

Dear & Honored Sir:3

I beg your pardon in advance, if I am offending, but it seems a pity that4

this Swiss mission should go to anybody but Mr. Howells, who is so well5

fitted for it, & whose candidacy has but one flaw, the high respectability of his6

relationships. 7

I cannot help thinking that if you & Mr. Lowell, Mr. Whittier, & Mr.8

Holmes would sign a joint note to the President suggesting the appointment9

of Mr. Howells, he would be much more than likely to consent.10

I hope you will pardon me for intruding this, Mr. Longfellow, since I11

could not think of any of any other plan that promised so well. With great12

respect13

I am Truly Yours14

SamR. L. Clemens.15 Ï16

(�Mark Twain.�)17

Ï18

1877�page 78

To William Dean Howells6 June 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: MH-H, #01439)

June 6'77.1

My Dear Howells:2

No sir, I wasn�t blackguarding you for delaying to answer. Exactly3

the re'sv=erse. My letter was hardly out of my hand till I was saying, �There, it4

is gone, & I have forgotten to say, <This needs no answer��so I have gone &5

laid one more burden upon a man whose guards were in the water6

already�will never t' neglect that P.S. again !'.� The debt was discharged7

when you sent the Hammond pamphlet�& I so considered it. I took that to8

be your answer.9

Autobiog�s? I didn�t know there were any but old Franklin�s & Benvenuto10

Che Cellini�s. But if I should think of any I will mention them with pleasure.11

I am more delighted about Barrett & the play than I can express. I hope12

you get good terms out of him, & have drawn your contract from the13

standpoint that he is the blackest-livered scoundrel on earth. That is the14

standpoint of our contract with Parsloe, who is a mighty good fellow & as15

gentle as a lamb.16

Blast a man who lets on that he is going to buy a man�s house, & then17

doesn�t do it. However, there is a hell. That thought calms me even in my18

bitterest moments. 19

I have written two Numbers of my �Random Notes of an Idle20

Excursion� (you see that does not indicate whither the ship is bound &21

therefore the reader can�t be saying �Why all this introduction�are we never22

coming to Bermuda?�) The reader never discovers whither the ship is bound,23

until the last paragraph of the second number informs him. It begins to look24

as if this Excursion may string out to 4 or 6 Numbers. Will re-read & correct25

& forward 1 & 2 when I get to Elmira. (We leave for there to-day.)26

Now if you should print these things, couldn�t you set them up 2 or 327

months before you are going to use them, so that I can have duplicate proofs28

& simultane with Temple Bar? The love of our crowd to yours.29

Yrs Ever30

Mark.31

1877�page 79

To Charles E. Perkins12 June 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: CtHMTH, #01440)

Elmira, June 121

Dr Sir�Enclosed is the $20.2

When is the dramatic vacation coming! It will be a relief to get Bergen3

down to $15 a week.4

W' Clara Clemens is quite sick with a raging fever this (Sunday) morning.5

Pulse 150. We take her to the farm this afternoon if doctor permits.6

Ys Truly7

S. L. Clemens8

Ï9

over10

11[verso of page blank; crosswritten on recto:]12

Whenever receipts fail to pay Raymond�s wife, I' you need not pay her out of13

my pocket. I suppose you notified Raymond to stop her salary14

S.L.C15

1877�page 80

To William Dean Howells14 June 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS, in pencil: MH-H, #01441)

The Farm,1

Elmira, June 14. 18772

My Dear Howells:3

Good for you. There are no better terms than those you got, except4

an equal division of profits�& the latter method costs a body $2000 a year5

for an agent�s salary & expenses & is more wear & tear & trouble than6

keeping hotel.7

Yes, autumn October suits me for these sketches. Shall send you the first8

two numbers tomorrow. I revised them to-day, & began No. 3. Isn�t there9

some Montreal magazine I can sell or give them to, & thus beat Belford Bros.,10

thieves, of Toronto?11

Sell the type-writer for $20? Yes. Do not lose this opportunity of swin-12

dling that reptile. I didn�t lend you that thing; I gave it to you because you had13

been doing me some offense or other, & there seemed no other way to14

avenge myself; but I am placable now & am willing to take $10, you to take15

the other ten for commission, bother, express-expenses &c. Let us compro-16

mise on that.17

We had to remain at Mother�s in Elmira until yesterday, to let our18

youngest have a run of fever & get back her strength. But we are housed here19

on top of the hill, now, where it is always cool, & still, & reposeful & be-20

witching.21

The love of we�uns unto you�umsns.22

Yrs Ever23

Mark24

1877�page 81

To James B. Pond19 June 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(TS: The Redpath Lyceum, 1877�78, p. 2, #11871)

Elmira, N. Y., June 19, 1877.1

My Dear Pond:2

Can�t lecture till the reverses come. They haven�t arrived yet. Am sum-3

mering here in calm contentment, far from the platform & its seductions.4

Long may you wave!5

Yours sincerely,6

Mark.7

1877�page 82

To William Dean Howells 21 June 1877 � 1st of 2 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: CU-MARK, #01066)

SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Elmira, June 21.2

My Dear Howells:3

Three or four times lately I have read items to the effect that Bret Harte4

is trying to get a Consulship. To-day�s item says he is to have one.5

Now if I knew the President, I would I would venture to write him, for6

he has said that in the matter of information about applicants for office he7

values the testimony of private citizens as well as that of Members of8

Congress.9

You do know him; & I think your citizenship lays the duty upon you of10

doing what you can to prevent the appoint disgrace of literature & the country11

which would be the infallible result of the appointment of Bret Harte to any12

responsible post. Wherever he goes his wake is tumultuous with swindled13

grocers, & with defrauded innocents who have loaned him money. He never14

pays a debt but by the squeezing of the law. He borrows from all new15

acquaintances, & repays none. His oath is worth little, his promise nothing at16

all. He can lie faster than he can drivel false pathos. No =He is always steeped17

in whisky & brandy; he gets up in the night to drink it cold.= =No= man who18

has ever known him respects him. =Harte is a viler character than Geo. Butler,19

for he lacks Butler�s pluck & spirit.=20

You know that I have befriended this creature for seven years. I am21

=even= capable of doing it still�while he stays at home. But I don�t want to22

see him made sent to foreign parts to carry on his depredations. He told me23

many months ago that he was to have a consulship under Mr. Tilden, but I24

gave myself no concern about the matter, taking it as a mere after-breakfast25

lie to whet up his talent for the day�s villainies; & besides, I judged that his26

character was so well known that he would not be able to succeed in his27

nefarious design. But these newspaper items have an alarming look. Come,28

now, Howells, do a stroke for the honor of the guild. Put me under oath if29

you will. I will cheerfully make affidavit to what I have said.30

Ys Ever31

SamR. L. Clemens32

Ï33

1877�page 83

To William Dean Howells21 June 1877 � 2nd of 2 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS, in pencil: CU-MARK, #11173)

SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.110 P.M.2

My Dear Howells�3

Never mind about Harte�I mean never mind about being bothered4

with the letter. I had to have an outlet to my feelings�I saw none but5

through you�but of course the thing would be disagreeable to you. I must6

try to get somebody to plead with the President who is in the political line of7

business & won�t mind it. I have partly framed a public letter of advice to8

Harte, (to print when he is appointed.) I told him, when we were writing the9

play together, that nobody would appoint him to an office, or ought to.10

To-night I read a little of my Bermuda MS to our little domestic crowd11

& got no applause�they are a dull lot�then I read the W your Wilden Mann12

article in the current number, which was received with shrieks of laughter &13

extravagant praise�Oh, a name goes for everything with these people. If I had14

written it they wouldn�t have seen anything in it. Yet there are good things in15

it�I admit that.16

They all want you & Mrs. Howells to come any time this summer & stay17

a week with us here at the farm on the summit of the hill, & longer if you can.18

Perfectly glorious here�perfectly bewitching. Can you? Will you? Won�t you?19

Come�say yes. Love to you both.20

Ys Ever,21

Mark.22

Ï23

1877�page 84

To William Dean Howells 27 June 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: NN-B, #02510)

Elmira, June 271

My Dear Howells:2

If you should not like the first 2 chapters, send them to me & begin3

with Chap. 3�or Part 3, I believe you call these things in the magazine. I have4

finished No. 4, which closes the series, & will mail it tomorrow if I think of5

it. I like this one, I liked the preceding one (already mailed to you some time6

ago) but I had my doubts about 1 & 2. Do not hesitate to squelch them, even7

with derision & insult.8

To-day I am deep in a comedy which I began this morning�principal9

character, that old detective�I skeletoned the first act & wrote the second,10

to-day; & am dog-tired, now. Fifty-four closed' pages of MS in 7 hours. Once11

I wrote 55 pages at a sitting�that was on the opening third =chapters= of the12

gi Gilded Age novel. When I cool down, an hour from now, I shall go to zero,13

I judge.14

When does Barrett open in your piece in N. Y (or Boston). I calculate to15

be there.16

Ys Ever17

Mark.18

1877�page 85

To Joseph H. Twichell27 June 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: CtY-BR, #01444)

Elmira, June 271

Dear old Joe�2

Your letter came today�thanks for it, & thanks for the generous3

thanks you filled it with, & which I do not deserve in the least, but accept &4

enjoy just as happily & gratefully as if I did. It was much the joyousest trip I5

ever had, Joe�not a heartache in it, not a twinge of conscience. I often come6

to myself out of a reverie & detect an undertone of thought that had been7

thinking itself without volition of mine: =viz:= If we had only had ten days of8

those walks & talks instead of four!9

I sent those 2 articles to Howells & have completed our trip in 2 more10

since I came here. I like the last two ever so much; but I have written to11

Howells & suggested the destruction of the 2 I read to you. In my closing12

chapter I have got in your story of the 2 dying soldiers & the coffin; if that13

doesn�t travel the rounds, then this is an unappreciative world. I got in the14

cabbage palms in due & solemn state; & the white houses; & Alfred; & the15

soup & chicken of St George�s & that young girl there; & Moore�s chair which16

we didn�t see; & the absent tramps; & a blast at our health officer, & upwards17

of several other things. I like those 2 chapters.18

You grieve us to death with your news about Dean Sage. I am conscious19

of a stubborn inward refusal to accept of this impending dispensation�a sort20

of resentment about it that is afraid to formulate itself. There are so many we21

could spare!�& that he should be singled out! This is wicked, no doubt, but22

it is at least honest. And justifiable.23

We all of this household send love & God bless you�s to your & yours.24

Ys Ever25

Mark.26

Ï27

=Exitu-Israel has just come�many thanks, Joe�I�ll give you an opinion.28

Been reading a lot of French rot here & am glad to get this.=29

1877�page 86

To William Dean Howells29 June 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.(MS, envelope only: ViU, #10182)

J1

W. D. Howells, Esq | Box 160 | Newport | R.I. [return address:] Return to |2

S. L. Clemens | Elmira N.Y. [postmarked:] ELMIRA N.Y. JUN 29 10AM 3

1877�page 87

To UnidentifiedJuly 1877 � Unknown place

(MS facsimile: Bruno�s Weekly, 22 January 1916, p. 1, #09284)

Always acknowledge a fault frankly. This will throw those in authority off1

their guard & give you opportunity to commit more.2

Ys Truly3

SamR L Clemens4

Mark Twain5

Ï6

July �77.7

1877�page 88

To Charles E. Perkins4 July 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01445)

Elmira, July 4.1

Dr. Sir�2

I have learned something about insurance. My brother-in-law here has3

had a building insured for $12,000 or the past 6 years. Lately it burned down.4

They calmly called a consultation-gang of insurance-thieves to sit on the case5

& they decided that labor &c are so cheap, now, that the building�s was only6

worth $8,000! That�s what they paid him�with a request that he would sit up7

nights & whistle or pray for the balance, according to the will of God.8

Now therefore, please reduce our insurance TO the following figures:9

Barn ��� $12, $6,00011

Furniture �� 10, $12,00012

����13

$18,00014

Leave the house as15

it was before � 30,00016

����17

Total $48,000.18

If there�s any question about the furniture being over-estimated, reduce it19

still further. It can�t be replaced for $30,000. Certainly not $25,000.20

Yrs21

S L Clemens.22

1877�page 89

To William Dean Howells 4 and 6 July 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS, letter: NN-B; postscript: MH-H, #02511)

Elmira, July 4.1

My Dear Howells�2

It is splendid of you to say those pleasant things. But I am still plagued3

with doubts about Parts I & II. If you have any, don�t print. If otherwise,4

please make some cold villain like Lathrop read & pass sentence on them.5

Mind, I thought they were good at first�it was the second reading that6

accomplished its hellish purpose on me. Put them up for a new verdict. Part7

IV has lain in my pigeon-hole a good while, & when I put it there I had a8

Christian�s confidence in 4 aces in it; & you can bet =be sure= it will skip9

toward Conanticut tomorrow be=fore= fore any fresh reading any fatal fresh10

reading makes me draw my bet.11

I�ve piled up 151 MS pages on my comedy. The first, second & fourth12

acts are done, & done to my satisfaction, too. To-morrow & next day will13

finish the 3d act & the play. I have not written less than 30 pages any day since14

I began. Never had so much fun over anything in my life�never such15

consuming interest & delight. (But Lord bless you the second reading will16

fetch it!) [in margin and crosswritten: And just think!�I had Sol Smith Russell in17

my mind�s eye for the old detective�s part, & hang it he has gone off pattering18

with Oliver Optic, or else the papers lie.]19

I read everything about the President�s doings there with exultation. He20

looms up grand & fine, like the old-time benefac old-time national21

benefactors of history. Well, it�s a long time since we�ve had anybody to fell22

feel proud of & have confidence in. I mean to take my fill now while my the23

meal�s hot & the appetite ravenous.24

I wish that old ass of a private secretary hadn�t taken me for George25

Francis Train. If ignorance were a means of grace I wouldn�t trade that26

gorilla�s chances for the Archbishop of Canterbury�s.27

I shall call on the President again, by & by. I shall go in my war paint; &28

if I am obstructed, the nation will have the unusual spectacle of a private29

secretary with a pen over one ear & a tomahawk over the other.30

I read the entire Atlantic this time. Wonderful number. Mrs. Rose Terry31

Cooke=�s= wa story was a ten-strike. I wish she would write 12 old-time New32

England tales a year.33

SLC to William Dean Howells, 4 and 6 July 1877, contd.

1877�page 90

Good-times to you all! Mind if you don�t run here for a few days you will1

go to hell hence without having had a fore-glimpse of heaven. 2

Mark.3

P.S�2 days later, being July 6�4

My play is finished; 4-Act Comedy, with 14 characters; conceived,5

plotted out, written & completed in 6½ working days of 6½ hours each; just6

a fraction under 250 MS pages besides the pages that were torn up & the few7

pages of odds & ends of notes, such as one sets down in the midst of his8

work for future reference; it is an average of 5 Atlantic pages each day. I think9

it was a prodigious dash of work; I�m the tiredest man in America. My old10

fool detective pervades the piece from beginning to end�always on hand &11

busy.12

I go to New York Monday (St James Hotel,) & take MS with me. Shall13

visit theatres for a week or ten days & see if I can find a man who can play the14

detective as well as Sol Smith Russell could doubtless have done it�though15

I never have seen him. If the play�s a success it is worth $50,000 or more�if16

it fails it is worth nothing�& yet even the worst of failures can�t rob one of17

the 6½ days of booming pleasure I have had in writing it.18

Mark19

Ï20

I meant it for a comedy�but it is only a long farce. Wish you�d come to21

New York & go to theatres.22

1877�page 91

To Charles E. Perkins 7 July 1877 � 1st of 2 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil, and enclosure, printed tax bill, withSLC note in pencil: CtHMTH and CU-MARK, #01448)

Elmira, July 71

SLC Dr Sir�I am astounded to learn that the Hartford property, all bought2

with Livy�s money, still stands in my name. I supposed I had deeded it to her3

long ago, but she & Mr. Crane say it ain�t so. Therefore please send me 'ƒ (=to4

St. James Hotel, New York) the necessary documents to sign in order to deed5

the whole thing to her her, complete :=�to wit:�not forgetting the low6

ground b' across the stream bought some time ago of Mr. Hall or through him,7

I forget which. 8

I shall go to New York Tuesday & remain at St. James some days. I send9

you check to pay taxes with�but don�t pay it to a collector who will steal it.10

Yrs11

SLC12

[enclosure: tax bill, recto and verso, reproduced at 75%]13

SLC to Charles E. Perkins, 1st of 2, 7 July 1877, contd.

1877�page 92

[crosswise on recto of enclosed tax bill, misdated:]1

Mr. Perkins, please pay this with enclosed check for $1,110.38.2

S. L. Clemens3 Ï4

June 7, 18775 Ï6

1877�page 93

To Charles E. Perkinsper Telegraph Operator

7 July 1877 � 2nd of 2 � Elmira, N.Y.(MS, copy received: CtHMTH, #01447)

FORM 10.1THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC TELEGRAPH COMPANY.2

IN CONNECTION WITH THE DIRECT UNITED STATES CABLE,3AND THE DOMINION TELEGRAPH COMPANY OF CANADA.4

THOMAS T. ECKERT, PRESIDENT. ALBERT B. CHANDLER, SECRETARY.5THE RULES OF THIS COMPANY REQUIRE THAT ALL MESSAGES RECEIVED FOR TRANSMISSION6

SHALL BE WRITTEN ON THE MESSAGE BLANKS OF THIS COMPANY, UNDER AND SUBJECT TO THE7CONDITIONS PRINTED THEREON, WHICH CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN AGREED TO BY THE SENDER8OF THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE.9

D. HOMER BATES, GEN. SUP�T, ATLANTIC DIVISION, NEW YORK. 10CHAS. A. TINKER, GEN. SUP�T, CAPITAL DIV�N, CHICAGO. 11

R. P. HAMMOND, GEN. MANAGER, PACIFIC DIV�N, SAN FRANCISCO.12

NUMBER. SENT BY TIME. RECEIVED BY CHECK.13 36 P 1244 J 4pd 2514

15DATED, Elmira NY REC�D AT [stamped:] 4 CENTRAL ROW,16

HARTFORD.17TO Chas. E. Perkins July 7 187 7.18

14 State19

Telegraph me b'=Bergens address20

S E Clemens21

1877�page 94

To William Dean Howells 11 July 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: NN-B, #02512)

Elmira1

Wednesday PM.2

My Dear Howells:3

It�s finished. I was misled by hurried mis-paging. There were ten pages4

of notes, & over 300 pages of MS when the play was done. Did it in 42 hours,5

by the clock; 40 pages of the Atlantic�but then of course it�s very �fat.�6

Those are the figures, but I don�t believe them myself, because the thing�s7

impossible.8

But let that pass. All day long, & every day, since I finished (in the9

rough), I have been diligently, altering, amending, re-writing, cutting down. I10

finished finally to-day. Can�t think of anything else in the way of an11

improvement. I thought I would stick to it while the interest was hot�& I am12

mighty glad I did. A week from now it will be frozen�then, revising would13

be drudgery. (You see I learned something from the fatal blunder of putting14

Ah Sin aside before it was finished.)15

She�s all right, now. She reads in 2 hours & 20 minutes & will play not16

longer than 2¾.' =hours.= Nineteen characters; 3 acts; (I doubled one.) (I redu17

(I bunched 2 into 1.)18

To-=morrow I will draw up an exhaustive synopsis to insert in the printed19

title-page for coy'pyrighting, & then on Friday I go or Saturday I go to New20

York to remain a week or ten days & lay for an actor. Wish you could run21

down there & have a holiday. �Twould be fun.22

My wife won�t =have= b'B=alaam Ass; therefore I call the piece �Cap�n23

Simon Wheeler, The Amateur Detective.�24

Yrs 25

Mark.26

Ï27

1877—page 95

To Olivia L. Clemens15 July 1877 • New York, N.Y.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01450)

Sunday P.M.1

SLC Livy darling, I took the Erie transfer coach at on =the= Jersey City, =side,=2

& liked it. It is big, roomy, clean. It came by ferry boat to 23d street, &3

deposited me at the hotel without delay—myself & trunk for 75 cents. I go4

to Hartford in the morning, but I loathe the trip. It is now about the middle5

of the afternoon; breakfasted in bed, & have just got up. Baggage car took fire6

yesterday. The play was in danger. However, I could have re-written it without7

great difficulty. Am expecting fu Fuller every moment, now. I love you,8

darling, & was so sorry you were “low” when I left. Cheer up!9

Saml.10

Ï11

J12

Mrs. Saml. L. Clemens | Elmira | N. Y. [postmarked:] NEW-YORK E JULY 16 7AM13

1877—page 96

To Clara L. Clemens16 July 1877 • New York, N.Y.

(MS, envelope only: Sotheby’s, New York,October 1996, #11992)

J1

Miss Clara Botheker Clemens | Care J. Langdon & Co | Elmira | N. Y.2

[postmarked:] NEW-YORK E JUL 16 10 AM3

1877—page 97

To Olivia Susan (Susy) Clemens16 July 1877 • New York, N.Y.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: Sotheby’s, New York, October 1996, #01451)

Monday AM.1

SLC Susie dear, you & Rosa and Bay must keep a sharp lookout on the2

young birdlings up at the pond & see them begin life. They are ready to fly,3

now. Keep the squirrel supplied with nuts, if he comes around. If you have a4

very fine sunset, put a blanket over it & keep it till I come. Aunt Sue will give5

you one. I saw a lovely sunset yesterday, reflected in the water of the Jersey6

marshes. It was a beautiful, still evening—no sound but just one cow singing,7

& some frogs—(frosches.)8

There are some bells close here, & a man who rings chimes. That man9

will die some day, & then he will wish he had behaved himself. I saw a cat10

yesterday, with 4 legs—& yet it was only a yellow cat, & rather small, too, for11

its size. They were not all fore legs—several of them were hind legs; indeed12

almost a majority of them were. Write me.13

Papa.14

1877�page 98

To Richard Edwardsper Olivia L. Clemens

16 July 1877 � Elmira, N.Y. (MS, correspondence card: CLjC, #11826)

Quarry Farm1

Elmira July 16th2

SLC Mr Richard Edwards3

My dear Sir4

The permission you ask to use three pages from my5

Mississippi Sketches in your reader I c' have great pleasure in granting�6

Very sincerely yours7

SamR. L. Clemens � per O.L.C.8

1877�page 99

To Olivia L. Clemens17 July 1877 � 1st of 2 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01452)

Hartford, Tuesday.1

If you don�t think this is a nice kettle of fish, you don�t know anything2

about fish, Livy my darling. From 3 oclock yesterday till 12 last night I put in3

a good part of the time questioning & cross-questioning the servants4

(including Patrick & wife) & the Chief of Police. The chief of police & his5

detectives have a �theory,� of course: to wit�George is preparing to gut the6

house & throw the crime upon imaginary burglars. I haved done so much jaw7

& listened to so much jaw that when I went to bed I made two resolutions to8

make a choice from, & then dismissed the subject & took my whisky. Now9

I have awakened refreshed & shall presently get up.10

I find myself �set� in the opinion I went to bed with: there has been no11

burglar in the house, but only one or both of l' Lizzie�s two loafers. Here is12

some of the testimony I have taken: The alarm went off very early one mor-13

ning, before we went away; it was Lizzie�s Willie going out of the basement14

door; George saw this. George, Patrick, & the two Marys & Rosa all believed15

Willy was sleeping with Lizzy her occasionally here in the house, before we16

went away. I' It is believed that he was the �burglar� of last Thursday night.17

(I believe the �burglar� of Friday to be an imaginary one, invented by both18

Lizzy.) Mrs. Perkins has seen two persons resembling L�s loafers, enter the19

house at noonday. Patrick & Mary have seen Lizzy sitting on the balcony of20

the N. E. room with her loafer in the daytime, & been scoffed at by them.21

The two loafers played billiards all day, 4th July, on my table. George hid the22

balls that night & Lizzy complained about it next day, accusing George of23

favoring his own friends with the game�the which George makes oath to be24

untrue. George testifies that he one day saw Patrick wearing my25

walking-shoes; asked where he got them; he said Lizzy gave them to him with26

the remark that I had ordered that they be given to a tramp or anybody that27

might want them.28

I have questioned29

I shall question Lizzy once more, privately, this morning; if she denies30

these things, I will confront her with all the witnesses. If she gives notice or31

I discharge her (the latter is what I would do if [I] was sure you would32

approve), she must leave here before I do, & I shall search her trunk33

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 17 July 1877, 1st of 2, contd.

1877�page 100

immediately after the conversation. I�ve got a special officer in the house1

nights till I get home & consult with you.2

I believe in George & the cook, & Patrick, very thoroughly�but I3

haven�t heard this morning�s testimony, yet, you see. George, Lizzy & Mary4

all agree that the 3 ruffians of July 4 who used insulting yells & cries with my5

name in them, did it from the street, totally without provocation or any of our6

people being in sight; they kept it up half an hour; then George shot at them7

twice, but unluckily failed to get them; they threatened him, then, & he went8

down in the yard & very gallantly defied the gang.9

I haven�t had so much chin-chin for some years. Charley Warner told me10

everything, down town, before I came out, so I thought that I have enjoyed11

it very much; I am judge, jury, & lawyer for both sides. Moreover, the Court12

of Appeals being in Elmira, I have p' a pretty swinging jurisdiction here; & it13

sets me up & makes me feel my oats.14

Had a pleasant short visit at the Perkins�s yesterday evening, & a rattling15

time at Twichell�s.16

I love you my darling; ever so much I love you; I love you & I miss17

you�& yet it chuckles me with comfort to be in this big authority for once.18

Saml19

J20

Mrs. SamR. L. Clemens | Elmira | NY. [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. JUL 17 12M21

1877�page 101

To Olivia L. Clemens 17 July 1877 � 2nd of 2 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, in pencil: CU-MARK, #05443)

Tuesday noon.1

Livy darling, I believed you would be sorry to have Lizzy�s trunk searched &2

was about to telegraph & ask you, when Lizzy asked that it be done. I was3

glad of that. She & I have had a sweltering morning�s work of it overhauling4

the whole linen closet & everything in the trunk room. It�s a real summer day.5

I tried to make Lizzy confess that the �burglar� was her friend, but she6

stood it out. She could not deny that she let him out of the house very early7

one morning, & explained it in this way. She went or was sent for to the8

nursery one evening (it was later than he ought to have remained) & while she9

was gone the alarm was put on. She knew no other way to do than to leave10

him in her room all night & go herself & sleep with Mary. I�ve got to ask Mary11

if this is so.12

I heard her through & then told her (as she was very anxious that she be13

not condemned without being heard & judged by you), that she might go out14

of the house & wait till you & I should talk together & then I would let her15

know our decision. I said her wages should continue till that decision was16

arrived at.17

She will go this evening. My present purpose is to send Mary out of the18

house (on wages or not as you & I shall determine,) until we return. (Shall run19

over & consult Mrs. Perkins about this, in a few minutes.[)]20

It is my idea to leave George in the house, either alone or with another21

colored man, as you think best. In that case I shall discharge the police officer.22

I remembered having seen respectable German women with their23

husband & little children at Heublein�s more than once, so I laid no stress24

upon that point further than to say I thought the �friend� indiscreet to take25

her there.26

I laid no stress anywhere except upon the fact of the friend being in the27

house all night before we went away & her not coming to explain it herself;28

that thing, & her offering him my billiard room so hospitably gave me an29

impression amounting almost to a certaint=y that the �friend� was the30

�burglar.� I said I wouldn�t allow a sweetheart of anybody�s in the house again31

except in the kitchen & then only when we were at home.32

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 17 July 1877, 2nd of 2, contd.

1877�page 102

I gave Lizzie $5; she lent me 50 cents yesterday (which reduces that to1

$4.50.)2

Lizzie has shed a good many tears this morning, but I told her I was not3

influenced by the malice of the other servants, but only by the facts, & she4

created them. She freely admitted that the facts had a bad look & that she alone5

was to blame for them.6

I think you will agree with me that it will be best to discharge her, after7

a week or two. The fortnight will let the thing blow over to some extent & let8

her down easier than an immediate discharge. The latter course might destroy9

her. I shall tell her that now that she is out of the house she had better marry10

that man at once, else scandal will be busy with her name right away.11

Well, I will run over & see Mrs. Perkins. I suppose I shall go to New12

York tomorrow, but if I had time I would like to see that friend & ask what13

he proposes to do about Lizzy. I don�t know but I will have her send him to14

me to-night.15

I love you meine darling just as lov the same as what is.16

Saml.17

Ï18

J19

Mrs. S. L. Clemens [cancellation and insertions in another hand:] Elmira =Canan-20

daigua= | N. Y. | =care | H. Gridley Esq?= [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. JUL 17 1PM21

[and] ELMIRA N.Y. JUL 18 2PM22

1877�page 103

To Olivia L. Clemens17 and 18 July 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01453)

Tuesday Afternoon.1

Half an hour later.2

Have been to see Mrs. Perkins. She approves. Therefore Mary goes to her3

friends tomorrow to remain till we return (excuse bad writing, for I am in a4

horse-car�it has stopped on a switch now) home, & George stays in the5

house; at present with the policeman (whom we will soon send away).6

I sent for Mary awhile ago & took her evidence. Then sent for Lizzy &7

said �Littl �Lizzy, your friend slept with you the night he left this house so8

early in the morning.� She confessed.9

She had lied so valiantly, & carried her difficult part so well & with such10

excellent temper that I began to pity her, now, especially when she said she11

was lost irretrievably & her betrayer was manifestly never going to marry her.12

I told her it was now of course necessary to discharge her at once & send13

her out of the house. She acknowledged that there could be no other course.14

15

Then I laid a plan for her to follow during the next two hours, & tell16

nobody what it was. (I have been detective Simon Wheeler for 24 hours,17

now.)18

Tuesday.19

Midnight, July 1720

Then I walked part way down town & got some information I needed.21

Walked home, g' noted down some facts from Lizzy�s lips; gave wrote a note22

& gave it to her, to be delivered in case of necessity, but not otherwise. Then23

took that street car & went down to the Court House & paid a man to do a24

few minutes� work for me (Do you follow these detective maunderings,25

�Jany?�)26

Then went to barber shop & got shaved. Then took a hack in a pouring27

rain & drove to telegraph office; then to the bank; then to Chief of Police.28

Concerted a plan, & said I would send him a note & a hack inside of 3029

minutes. Drove home. Where�s Lizzy? �Gone, 20 minutes ago, sir.� Perdition!30

�George, jump into the hack & fly! Take this note & give it to the Chif'ef of31

Police; take a detective, go to 575 Main street, & from there get on Lizzy�s32

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 17 and 18 July 1877, contd.

1877�page 104

track & give her this other note. Beware�don�t fail!��(Ah, what a Simon1

Wheeler I was getting to be!)2

Then I went down town to take dinner with a friend (told George where3

I should be). Sat there with him ages & ages chaffing and joking about things,4

& watching the clock.5

At six, sharp, enter George. George: �They�re on their way, by another6

conveyance; your ri hack�s at the door.�7

Enter at the same moment, a domestic. Domestic: �Dinner is on the8

table.�9

I didn�t wait for dinner. I said �Keep co mine cool on a plate till I come.�10

Gave George some directions & then rushed home in the hack. W' Went11

to our N. E. room & watched, through the window, stroking & petting stray12

kit, but almost unconscious of it. One hack�another hack�a buggy�a13

grocer�s wagon�another buggy, in the pouring rain. They all pass by. What14

in the nation is the matter? By & by a street car. Good!�No, it stops at Forest15

street�lets out a man. I curse that horse-car & think something has failed16

somewhere. Now comes a man walking up the yard. Good! Don�t know him,17

but any arrival promises something. 18

Enter Mary, excited: �They�re here! Where shall I put them?� I��Put19

them in the study�but let me get there first. You & George be within20

call�but out of sight. If you are in the kitchen, come a-booming at 3 taps of21

the study bell.� They say they will be in the kitchen�(that was merely on22

account of the dramatic grandeur of those 3 bell-taps.)23

�Where shall we put the other man?� I��Put him in the library & leave24

the door open.�25

I stand in the study. Enter Lizzy, with a tall, muscular, handsome fellow26

of 35. �This is my friend, Willie Taylor, Mr. Clemens.�27

I shake hands with a lying cordiality, shut the door, seat him, begin to28

talk; he ugly, wanting to quarrel, I sweet & calm, resolved beforehand that to29

lose my temper was to lose my game�& I had started in to win. He snarled;30

I looked him sweetly in the eye & rebuked him to gentleness, almost; f' fought31

shy of the subject; I gently brought him back to it; he talked of a �put-up job;�32

I said he could not mean me. He begged pardon, & said he did not. I coaxed33

him, I argued, I pleaded, half an hour. I sprung a good joke on him. He had34

to laugh. I had a cigar in his hand & a lighted match under his nose before he35

was to the middle of his laugh. Lizzy had been crying straight along; now she36

laughed; he laughed again; I pretended to laugh.'�but I was deep in a serious37

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 17 and 18 July 1877, contd.

1877�page 105

business & it came hard. Four times I worked him almost up to the point I1

wanted him�made him choke & cry a little occasionally�& four times I2

failed & lost�but the fifth time he said, hesitatingly, �I - - I believe I�ll do3

it�yes,�' I am willing, though��4

He never finished that sentence. I sho snatched open the door rang three5

bells (& INSTANTLY enter George & Mary!; I snatched the door leading to6

Mother�s bath-room open & said �the Rev. Mr. Twichell will come in.�'�here7

is the license��=(which I had procured in the afternoon.)=8

Enter Joe & marries them, in presence of the witnesses�this bride-9

groom murmuring a moment later, �But it was a put-up job.�10

Lizzy cried through the service & the prayer, & then her husband put his11

arm about her neck & kissed her & shed a tear & said �Don�t cry.�12

Enter George with champagne & glasses, deliv places his waiter first13

before Lizz & says, �Champagne if you please, Mrs. Taylor.� Whereat, general14

jollity.15

Then I drank long life & health to the couple, gave them a hundred16

dollars apiece trifle (for they�d only four dollars between them) told them to17

go to - - - anywhere that they could be happy, & then Joe & I marched back18

to his house & he ate dinner; but the strain was all over, now, & a dish of soup19

sufficed for me.20

Then I read my play to Joe & Harmony (how like a Simon Wheeler I�ve21

been all day!) & then I came home & here I am in bed.22

Do you see my plan? The man in the library was a detective in plain23

clothes. If persuasion had failed with Mr. Taylor, my purpose was to lock the24

door & say �You either leave this room a married man or you leave it a' with25

an officer, &= charged with being in this house at midnight in March with a26

dishonest intent�take your choice.�27

But I love you, Livy dear, ANYway.28

SamR29

Now I go to sleep.30

J31

Mrs. SamR. L. Clemens [cancellations and insertions in another hand:] Elmira| N. Y.32

| =Care | H. Gridley Canandaigua N.Y= [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. JULY 18 11AM33

[and] ELMIRA N.Y. JUL 19 10AM34

1877�page 106

To Ainsworth R. Spofford18 July 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: DLC, #12308)

=One dollar enclosed.1

Ï=2

Elmira, N. Y.3

July 17'8, '77.4

SIR: I, Saml. L. Clemens (Mark Twain), am the author of a Light Tragedy5

entitled �Cap�n Simon Wheeler the Amateur Detective,� the which I desire to6

copyright. To this end I enclose a printed copy of the title-page for deposit in7

your office.8

Ys Truly9

SamR. L. Clemens10

Ï11

Of Hartford, Conn.12 Ï13

1877�page 107

Clara L. Clemens19 July 1877 � New York, N.Y.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: Sotheby�s, New York, October 1996, #01454)

New York, July 19.1

SLC Bay Clemens, I have bought two bath tubs & two dolls & sent them2

by express .'�they are for you & Susie. One of the dolls is named Hosannah3

Maria & is in quite delicate health. She belongs to you. She was out driving &4

got rained on, & caught a very severe cold. It settled on her mind. When she5

had partly recovered, she caught a new cold, which paralyzed the sounding-6

board of her ears & the wobbling nerve of her tongue. She has never heard7

or spoken since. I have consulted the best physicians. They say constant &8

complicated bathing will fetch her.9

Papa10

1877�page 108

To Olivia Susan (Susy) Clemens19 July 1877 � New York, N.Y.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: Sotheby�s, New York, October 1996, #01455)

New York, July 19.1

SLC Susie dear, Your doll is named Hallelujah Jennings. She early suffered2

a stroke of some sort, & since that day all efforts of the best physicians have3

failed to take the stiffening out of her legs. They say incessant bathing is the4

only thing that can give her eventual relief. Her child, Glory Ann Jennings, is5

sickly & must be b never be bathed. She cries a good deal in a quiet way, but6

if you pinch her face together you can vary the expression & make her smile,7

after a sickly fashion. Hosannah Maria�s child, (named Whoop-Jamboree), is8

similar. I send the children with their mothers. I kiss you all.9

Papa.10

1877�page 109

To Olivia L. Clemens 27 July 1877 � New York, N.Y.(MS, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01456)

Friday Eve.1

Now, my darling, for the first time I consider that I�ve got a hold'iday.2

And the first thing I do with it is to write to my sweetheart. Isn�t that3

praiseworthy?4

To-day�s rehearsal went along pretty satisfactorily; but I notice that when5

an actors begins with getting a word =or an emphasis= wrong, you�ll wear your6

soul out before you get him corrected. Now at the first rehearsal, these things7

occurred, to-wit:8

Mrs. Plunkett�Little did I think, when I shied the skittle at his head�&c9

I�Skillet, madam, skillet, please!10

Mr. Plunkett�We s' timbered her up, & then stoped stopped her up11

=out=�&c12

I�StOped, please!13

Mrs. Plunkett�It was preforeorDEStinated beforehand.15

I�Take that emphasis away from there & put it on the second syllable16

of the last word�beFOREhand!17

Mrs. Plunkett�This most momentuous occasion�18

I�MomentAry, madam!19

And so forth & so on. Every day I have made the same old corrections=. ,20

over & ov Mrs. Plunkett is the worst old fool I ever saw, except the Mrs.21

Plunkett in Baltimore�both are fine actresses, with high reputations. They22

are ignorance gone to seed. Still I have only lost my temper two or three23

times.24

I think we have got a fine cast. Mr. Fawcett was to have played25

Ferguson, a miner, but we have got old Davidge, a man much better known.26

The �second miner� (Boston,) is taken by Vining Bowers, who has a large27

reputation�I thought he was one of the great men of the earth when I was28

a boy. The �third miner� (the v'V= igilantè judge), is going to play his part29

deliciously. Our Miss Tempest is very pretty, exceedingly ladylike & refined,30

& has nothing in the least stagey or unnatural about her. Mrs. Tempest is a31

very fine, large, handsome woman of 50, with a pleasant voice & way, & no32

stage-frills or fo offensivenesses. Mrs. Plunkett is as much as 55, & is going to33

play her part well. Miss Plunkett must have been created for her part. She is34

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 27 July 1877, contd.

1877�page 110

a perfectly honest, kindly, sincere, coarse, vulgar, low-born English wench,15

large, nobly built, with a beautiful fair face, fair complexion, & an opulence of16

golden tresses.17

The villain of the piece is a tragedian, & is a little stagy. He is the only18

stagey one in the lot. Mr. York is young, handsome, frank, open, & manifestly19

a gentleman. He is to play the part of a gentleman, too; for Mr. York has been20

through my mill & is no longer the snob Mr. he was when he left Mr. Harte�s21

pen. Our Judge Tempest with be all that could be desired.22

Mr. Harte will pay me $50 a day for my work here, or I will know the23

reason why��that is, if the play succeeds.24

I have written my speech for the opening night. It is very short�&25

nothing in it. But there�s really nothing to say. I�ve got a ne new swallow-tail,26

but I know I could not endure it in that sweltering theatre. I shall wear white27

linen. You see, if I wear a swallow-tail it is plain I expected to be called out,28

maybe wanted to be. My! but the laundry here does make my white linen lovely!29

The driven snow doesn�t begin with it.30

Dear old Joe, I must write him .=�regars Liberty, my darling, I am very31

much obliged to you for marrying me, & I love you, love you, love you!32

Saml.33

Ï34

[enclosure:]35

DALY�S FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE.36

NEW YORK, Jul 27 1877.37

MEMORANDUM FOR Mark Twain, 38

WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OF Stephen Fiske39

My Dear Author: 40

Please send by bearer (& as soon as you come in) FIFTY of the orchestras41

for Tuesday and you shall have that number for some other night. The orders42

for seats are so heavy that we cannot spare so many for Tuesday43

Yours44

Fiske (Plunkett[)]45

[in margin:] Livy dear, I started in to corr corral a world of dead-heads (the first46

night of Sellers we had none but dead-heads in the house), but you perceive47

we are going to play to some money, this time. 48

SLC49

SLC to Olivia L. Clemens, 27 July 1877, contd.

1877�page 111

J15

Mrs S. L. Clemens | Elmira | N.Y. [postmarked:] NEW YORK JUL 27 12PM16

1877�page 112

To Olivia L. Clemens 30 July 1877 � New York, N.Y.(MS, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01459)

Monday.1

Livy my darling, I don�t make any excuse, I only say I have worked like a dog,2

through this blistering weather & come home, whether early or late with the3

feeling that I couldn�t write. I am just from the theatre now, 5 PM. I coached4

those actors five hours in that close, hot oven, & before that had been away5

up town on foot, on a business errand. To-night we hears rehearse again�al-6

so tomorrow. I believe the 3 first acts will go off nicely�& that is the main7

point; if the curtain goes down handsomely on the 3d act, all will be well. It8

will not go down handsomely on the last act�I think I can foresee that. The9

last act is exceedingly difficult, being cut all up into ejaculations, & O�s, &10

exclamations, & rushes, & shouts, & noise, & it seems impossible to drill the11

people into doing it right. There will be gaps of silence, & mistakings of cues12

that will be pretty distressing. Still, we are having a much more thorough13

rehearsal tha t'n we had of Col. Sellers. Daly stays right by & attends strictly14

to business. He makes them do a scene over three or four times, till they get15

it right.16

Harte has not put in an appearance.17

Our officer writes me that George & Mary were gone on a pic-nic 2418

hours, the other day. I am going to keep the officer on duty there every night19

till we go home. It will be best, now that Lizzy�s affair is in all the papers.20

My darling I do love you; I do love you with all my heart, & am so sorry21

I have caused you distress. I won�t do it again, sweetheart.22

Saml23

Ï24

J25

Mrs. S. L. Clemens | Elmira | N.Y. [postmarked:] NEW YORK JUL 30 12PM26

27

1877�page 113

To the Night Editor of the New York World with a note to bearer

31 July 1877 � New York, N.Y.(MS, in pencil: CLSU, #03779)

Will the night editor of the World be so kind as g' to give the bearer (for1

Boston Post) a slip of my speech, or the opportunity to copy it, if it will not2

inconvenience you too much.3

Very Truly Yrs4

Mark Twain5

Ï6

[on outside of letter as folded:]7

Give this to the World�s night editor.8

SamR. L. Clemens9

Ï10

1877�page 114

To UnidentifiedAugust 1877 � Unknown place

(MS: PBL, #09283)

[about half a page left blank]1

Leaving a blank above for any remarks which may occur to me, I sign2

them meanwhile3

Ys Truly4

SamR. L. Clemens5

Mark Twain6 Ï7

Aug. 77.8

1877�page 115

To George M. Fenn2 August 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CtHMTH, #02366)

SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Aug. 2.2

Mr. Dear Mr. Fenn:3

I would greatly like to do that, but I very seldom write a miscellaneous4

article now-a-day-s, & the I am already under contract in London & America5

for all such things that I do write. So you see I can�t. 6

I wish you would remember me gratefully to friends in the Savage &7

Whitefriars�especially Henry Lee, if he will only be good & not so lazy & tell8

me what amount of money it was I once borrowed of him =in= Paris & told9

Dolby to repay him & Dolby writes that he forgot it�& I�ve forgotten the10

amount & Lee is too indolent to drop me a line�& I never will borrow11

money from such a lazy man again! I think Lee means to �lay low & keep12

dark� & get rich on the interest. A literary child has no show with one of13

those old cunning financial frauds.14

Ys Truly15

SamR. L. Clemens16

Ï17

1877�page 116

To Paul Apfelstedt2? August 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS, correspondence card: ViU, #01460)

Hartford, U.S., Aug. �771

SLC Dear Sir: From my study, which has also a �schoene Aussicht� (if I am2

translating rightly), I greet you, & comply with your request with great3

pleasure. 4

Very Truly Yours5

SamR. L. Clemens6

Mark Twain7

Ï8

[written diagonally in bottom left corner:]9

Ï10Paul Apfelstedt, Esq11 Ï12

1877�page 117

To George Bentley3 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: IU-R, #12343)

(We remain in this our summer home till Sept. 7.„1

2

Elmira, N.Y. Aug. 3.3

My Dear Mr. Bentley:4

This is the first of a series of four articles which are to begin six weeks5

hence (Sept. 15 or 17) in the OCTOBER number of the Atlantic. If you desire,6

you can �simultane� in Temple Bar, beginning about that date, Sept. 15.7

I told Howells he must let me have slips for you at least 4 weeks (& I8

preferred 6) before printing, & he said he would.9

If you shouldn�t want these, will you be so kind as to send them to Mr.10

Chatto for one of his two magazines?11

Very Truly Yrs12

SamR. L. Clemens.13 Ï14

1877�page 118

To Augustin Dalyper Telegraph Operator

3 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.(MS, copy received: DFo, #01462)

FORM 10.1THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC TELEGRAPH COMPANY.2

IN CONNECTION WITH THE DIRECT UNITED STATES CABLE,3AND THE DOMINION TELEGRAPH COMPANY OF CANADA.4

THOMAS T. ECKERT, PRESIDENT. ALBERT B. CHANDLER, SECRETARY.5THE RULES OF THIS COMPANY REQUIRE THAT ALL MESSAGES RECEIVED FOR TRANSMISSION6

SHALL BE WRITTEN ON THE MESSAGE BLANKS OF THIS COMPANY, UNDER AND SUBJECT TO THE7CONDITIONS PRINTED THEREON, WHICH CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN AGREED TO BY THE SENDER8OF THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE.9

D. HOMER BATES, GEN. SUP�T, ATLANTIC DIVISION, NEW YORK. 10CHAS. A. TINKER, GEN. SUP�T, CAPITAL DIV�N, CHICAGO. 11

R. P. HAMMOND, GEN. MANAGER, PACIFIC DIV�N, SAN FRANCISCO.12

NUMBER. SENT BY TIME. RECEIVED BY CHECK.13 1 NF 1255 M 144 Pd 29314

15DATED, Elmira NY 3 REC�D AT 5th Ave16

TO A Daly care S Fiske 5th Ave 'J Aug 3 187 .17

Copy telegram which I have sent Parsole instead of blowing18

water seize your brazier and blow a cloud of ashes the men after19

sprawling and butting into each other as already played will have20

their eyes full of ashes and in their blind fury will proceed to21

snatch each other by the throat a natural thing for such ruffians22

to do thereupon you smiling down upon them a moment may23

sweetly say me gotti gagment me no can no waitee or words to24

that effect and be sliding out as the curtain strikes the floor25

Please try this tonight and telegraph me the result the present26

ending would be full of points and a fine success in San27

Francisco where it would be understood, but we must manage28

to improve on it here be sure and try the above suggestion29

tonight unless you think of something stronger30

S L Clemens31

1877�page 119

To William Dean Howells3 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: NN-B, #02513)

Elmira, Aug. 3.1

My Dear Howells:2

I have mailed one set of the slips to London, & told Bentley you would3

print Sept. 15 for =in= October Atlantic, & he must not print earlier in Temple4

Bar. Have I got the dates & things right?5

I am powerful glad to see that No. 1 reads a nation sight better in print6

than it did in MS. I told Bentley we�d send him the slips each time 6 weeks7

before day of publication. We can do that, can�t we? Two months ahead8

would be still better I suppose, but I don�t know.9

�Ah Sin� went a-booming at the Fifth Avenue. The reception of Col.10

Sellers was calm compared to it. If Bret Harte had suppressed his name (it11

didn�t occur to me to suggest it) the play would have received as great12

applause in the papers as it did in the theatre. x The criticisms were just; the13

criticisms of the =Great= New York press =dailies= are always just, always14

intelligent, & always square & honest�notwithstanding by by a blunder15

which nobody was seriously to blame for I was made to say exactly the16

opposite of this in a Baltimore paper =newspaper= some time ago. =Never said17

it at all, & moreover I never thought it.= I could not publicly correct it before18

the play appeared in New York, because that would look as if I had really said19

that thing & then was moved by fears for my pocket & my reputation to take20

it back. But I can correct it now, & shall do it; for now my motives cannot be21

impugned. When I began this =letter= it had not occurred to me to use you in22

this connection, but it occurs to me now. Your opinion & mine, uttered a year23

ago, & repeated more than once since, that the candor & ability of the New24

York critics were beyond question, is a matter which makes it proper =enough=25

that I should speak through you at this time. Therefore if you will print this26

=paragraph= somewhere, it may remove the impression that I say unjust things27

which I do not think, merely for the pleasure of talking.28

29

There, now. Can�t you say�30

31

�In a letter to Mr. Howells of the Atlantic Monthly, Mark Twain32

describes the reception of the new comedy �Ah Sin,� & then goes on to say:�33

&c34

SLC to William Dean Howells, 3 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 120

Beg1

=Beginning at the x with= The words, �The criticisms were just.�2

Will you cut that paragraph out of this letter & precede it with the3

remarks suggested (or write better ones,) & send it to the Globe or some4

other paper? You can�t do me a bigger favor; & yet IF IT IS IN THE LEAST5

DISAGREEABLE, YOU MUSTN�T THINK OF IT. But let me know, right away, for6

I want to correct this thing before it grows stale again. I explained myself to7

only one critic (the World)�the consequence was a noble notice of the play.8

This one called on me, else I shouldn�t have explained myself to him. [in9

margin: Mrs. Clemens says, �Don�t ask that of Mr. Howells�it will be10

disagreeable to him.� I hadn�t thought it, but I will bet two to one on the11

correctness of her instinct. We shall see.]12

I have been putting in a deal of hard work on that play in New York, &13

have left hardly a foot-print of Harte in it anywhere. But it is full of incurable14

defects: to-wit, Harte�s deliberate thefts & plagiarisms, & my own15

unconscious ones. I don�t believe Harte ever had an idea that he came by16

honestly. He is the most abandoned thief that defiles the earth. 17

My old Plunkett family seemed wonderfully coarse & vulgar on the stage,18

but it was because they were played in such an outrageously & inexcusably19

coarse way. The Chinaman is killingly funny. I don�t know when I have20

enjoyed anything as much as I did him. The people say there isn�t enough of21

him in the piece. That�s a triumph�there�ll never be any more of him in it.22

John Brougham said, �Read the list of things which the critics have23

condemned in the piece, & you have unassailable proof that the play contains24

all the requirements of success & a long life.�25

That is true. Nearly every time the audience roared I knew it was over26

something that would be condemned in the morning (justly, too) but must be27

left in�for low comedies are written for the drawing-room, the kitchen & the28

stable, & if you cut out the kitchen & the stable the drawing-room can�t29

support the play by itself.30

There was as much money in the house the first 2 nights as in the first31

10 of Sellers. Haven�t heard from the third�I came away.32

Yrs Ever33

Mark.34

Ï35

1877�page 121

To Charles E. Perkins3 August 1877 � 1st of 2 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01463)

Elmira, Friday1

Dr Sir�2

Just back from New York. I have a letter from you (with insurance3

estimates) end of June, reminding me of the $150, which I immediately4

answered, & supposed I enclosed the check of which the enclosed is the stub.5

You wrote me 7 days later, about interest deposits (at (date July 7' 6) remind-6

ing me again, but I judged you had received the check by that time. I enclose7

another check, now, for $150. Please inquire at the bank what ever became of8

the former check. I have a great dread on my soul that you collected it while9

in a state of hot Scotch whisky, & then forgot all about it. I know all how that10

is, by experience. 11

All well here & send love to the Perkinses.12

Ys Truly13

S L Clemens14 Ï15

1877�page 122

To Charles E. Perkins3 August 1877 � 2nd of 2 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01464)

Elmira, Aug. 3.1SLC2

Mine & Bret Harte�s shares from the new play �Ah Sin� will come to you3

from Parsloe. Please place both shares to my credit at Bissell�s & tell me the4

amount. Harte shan�t have a cent till his entire indebtedness to me is paid.5

Ys Truly6

S L Clemens7 Ï8

If Harte inquires, tell him that is my verdict.9

1877�page 123

To Elisha Bliss, Jr.6 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.(MS, in pencil: Sotheby�s, New York,

December 1993, #01465)

Elmira, Monday.1

Friend Bliss:2

I guess you can�t fix them at Toronto. As I understand it, the English3

copyright would have been good in Canada if Conway had registered it there 604

days before publication�which he didn�t do.5

Mr. =Andrew= Chatto of Chatto & Windus, the present owner of the6

English copyright was in New York last week; has gone to Canada & will7

presently visit Toronto. If you telegraph Stephen Fiske, Fifth Avenue Theatre,8

New York, I guess he can tell you where to communicate with Chatto, & I9

guess Chatto can tell you all about that law.10

Entry at Stationer�s Hall & �simultaneous� publication makes a11

copyright which will not be meddled with in England�no matter about being12

on the soil at the time.13

SLC14

1877�page 124

To Moncure D. Conway6 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS, correspondence card: NNC, #01466)

Elmira, N.Y., Aug. 6 (I think,1

SLC but do not know.)� Can�t you do a fellow a kindness? I want a2

gold watch that will tell the minutes, the hours, & the DAYS OF THE MONTH.3

Stemwinder. �Stops� & second-hand no object. If it will simply tell me the day4

of the month, & wind in the stem, I will manage to guess the time of day. To5

cost not more than £100. =(& as much less as is reasonably possible for a6

good article.=[)] [in margin: My wife makes me a present of this watch.] I7

suppose it can�t be had for the money, but some time when you are down in8

the city or over in Switzerland or Paris I wish you�d see. If you succeed I�ll9

send the money & you wear the watch till you find a friend willing to wear it10

over-sea & gouge the duty. 11

Bret Harte & I are cordial enemies; so I had to rehearse & bring out our12

play by myself at the Fifth Avenue last Tuesday. It is proving a bigger success,13

even than �Col. Sellers� was. Chatto was there. Chatto is a fine man & a14

gentleman. I like him. We had a chat at the Lotos Club next day. I have left15

precious little of Harte in �Ah Sin,� & what there is he stole from other16

people. He is an incorrigible literary thief�& always was. I saved a raft of17

newspaper notices to send to you�saved them so carefully I can�t put my18

hand on them now. But when found will send. 19

I�ve written a new play, by myself, but shall let it lie & ripen under20

correction several months. Judges say the chief character is enormous. (I�m21

one of those judges.)22

If Raymond should go to England, I can show him a trick or two. 23

Love to you all. Madam says we go to Germany (via England) next year.24

(She is boss.)25

Yrs Ever26

Mark.27

P.S.�Have offered to �simultane� 4 Atlantic articles with Temple Bar,28

beginning with October number. You look out for them. The two last are29

good. I wish there were enough for Chatto or Bentley to make a 6d primer out30

of.31

SLC.32

Ï33

The enclosed, from N.Y. Evening Post is a fair sample; they all abuse the34

play, & that fills the house. The audiences are exceedingly enthusiastic.35

1877�page 125

To Mary P. (Mollie) Fairbanks6 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: CSmH, #01467)

Elmira, Aug. 6'771

Well, my darling, this is about the only really idle day I have had for many2

months. It would not be idle, but for the fact that we run over to Ithaca3

tomorrow for a 2-day visit, & it isn�t worthwhile to begin anything new till we4

get back. I have been in New York the past three weeks licking that dreadful5

play of Ah Sin into shape & rehearsing it 4 hours a day with the actors. The6

moment it was launched before the public I skurried home, glad the trouble-7

some thing was off my hands. It seems to be a real success, since it keeps on8

filling the theatre this hot weather. I have written a new play by myself since9

we came to the farm, but I think I will let it lie & ripen under correction some10

months yet before producing it. I have a vast opinion of the chief character11

in it. I want to play it myself, in New York or London, but the madam won�t12

allow it. She puts her 2½ down with considerable weight on a good many of13

my projects.14

I wonder what you�ve been reading, my charming sister. I haven�t been15

reading anything. Too busy. One mustn�t read when he has so anything to do.16

It distracts. More than that�it burns intellectual fuel; then you have only a17

warm fire under your work when you could just as well have had a hot one.18

One shouldn�t have a single interest in the world outside of his work. He19

should work 3 months on a stretch, dead to everything but his work; then loaf20

diligently 3 months & go at it again. Only Bunyan, Sir Walter Raleigh, the21

author of Don Quixotte, & a few other people have had the best of22

opportunities for working, in this world. Solitary imprisonment, by compul-23

sion, is the one perfect condition for perfect performance. No letters, no24

telegrams, no bores, no responsibilities, no gaddings about, no seductive25

pleasures beckoning one away & dividing his mind. Then his work becomes26

his pleasure, his recreation, his absorption, his uplifting & all-satisfying27

enthusiasm. He is miserable only when the work-day closes. And yet a man28

so circumstanced need never be actually miserable; for he can weave his29

fancies & continue his work in his head until sleep overtakes him. He lives in30

a fairer world than any that is outside, he moves in a goodlier company than31

any that others know, & over them he is king & they obey him. If it were not32

SLC to Mary P. (Mollie) Fairbanks, 6 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 126

for Livy & the cubs, this sun should not set before I would kill somebody in1

the second degree.2

I cannot quite say I have read nothing. No, I have read half of Les3

Miserables, two or three minor works of Victor Hugo, & also that marvelous4

being�s biography by his wife. I have read Carlyle�s wonderful History of the5

French Revolution, which is one of the greatest creations that ever flowed6

from a pen. I followed that with Mr. Yonge�s recent �Life of Marie Antoin-7

ette,� which is without exception the worst =blindest= & slovenliest piece of8

literary construction I ever saw, & is astounding in another way: it starts out9

to make you a pitying & lamenting friend of Marie, &' but only succeeds in10

making you loathe her all the way through & swing your hat with unap-11

peasable joy when they finally behead her.12

I followed that with �In Exitu Israel,� a =very able= novel by Baring-13

Gould, the purpose of which is to show the effect of some of the most14

odious of the privileges of the French nobles under l�ancien regème, & of the15

dischurching of the Catholic Church by the National Assembly in �92. I16

preceded this with one of Dumas�s novels, �The Taking of the Bastille,� &17

another which illustrated the march of the rioters upon Versailles, the18

massacre upon the Champ de Mars, the frightful scenes of the 10th of August19

& 2d of September &c.20

I followed all these with a small history of France in French & a story by21

Madame de Genlis, also in French, neither of which cast much light upon my22

subject or amounted to much. I would have done well to stop with Carlyle &23

Dumas. The others only confuse one�except some chapters in Taine�s �An-24

cient Regime,� a book I forgot to mention. 25

You may easily suppose I hate all shades & forms of republican govern-26

ment, now�or rather with an intensified hatred, for I always hated them. To27

make matters worse, I read as much of Motley�s Dutch Republic as I could28

stand, on my way to Bermuda, & would have thrown the book into the sea29

if I had owned it, it did make me so cordially despise those pitiful Dutchmen30

& their execrable Republic. Pittsburgh & the riots neither surprised nor greatly31

disturbed me; for where the government is a sham, one must expect such32

things.33

Mind, I believe this: Republican government, with a sharply restricted34

suffrage, is just as good as a Constitutional monarchy with a virtuous &35

powerful aristocracy; but with an unrestricted suffrage it ought to perish,�&36

will perish because it is founded in wrong & is weak & bad & tyrannical.37

SLC to Mary P. (Mollie) Fairbanks, 6 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 127

Tell your mother I am doing what every good citizen ought to do�try-1

ing my best to win you & the rest of the rising generation over to an honest2

& saving loathing for universal suffrage.3

I am just finishing Charles Reade�s Woman Hater, which has a handful4

of diamonds scattered over every page, & have also begun Picciola in French.5

Well, my old darling, I won�t pester you any further this time, but will6

only pile up here a cargo of love for you & our mother & the rest, & sign7

myself lovingly,8

Saml. L. C.9

Ï10

1877�page 128

To Francis D. Millet7 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.(MS facsimile: CU-MARK, #01468)

Elmira, N.Y. Aug. 7.1

My Dear Millet:2

Your letter was mighty welcome�& as coincidences never cease in3

this world of chance, we received one by the same mail from your brother-4

in-law in the Boston Custom House.5

We have just read of the big battle, whose name begins with a V., & I6

write, now with the gravity becoming a person who is possibly addressing7

himself to a corpse. I have written to corpses ,' before, unwittingly, but I find8

a peculiar grandeur in addressing a corpse that may be decorating a field of9

battle.10

There was a time when I would have liked to be there with you &11

Forbes, Macgahan, & Jackson, but that time has gone by. I haven�t done any12

corresponding since I went to Ostend to receive the Shah & the Herald folks13

rung some very vile & offensive sentences into my account of that matter.14

We are all extravagantly well, & all send love to our old friend moulder-15

ing among the other decaying heroes upon the field of blood. Bay does some16

gaudy recitations, now, & Susie grows musical apace. Neither of them has17

forgotten you.18

The play of �Ah Sin� which Bret Harte & I had just finished when you19

came to our house, was produced at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York, a20

week ago, & was received with great enthusiasm by a large & brilliant21

audience. I made a speech, among other things. The weather is very hot, but22

the play draws like a blister, nevertheless. I�ve just finished another play. It has23

some good points in it; but I shan�t bring it out for some months yet�maybe24

a year. It won�t hurt to let it ripen under correction.25

Joaquin Miller has written a play, which is to be produced at Wood�s26

Museum, New York, the 27th of this month. I�ve forgotten the name of it.27

Howells has written a play for Lawrence Barrett. Howells made good28

pecuniary terms with him, & Barrett says is vastly pleased with the play.29

Petroleum V. Nasby wanted me to write a play with him, but I didn�t30

believe we�d amount to anything together, & I see by the papers he has got31

another collaborateur. All the world�s a stage & everybody is writing plays for32

it.33

SLC to Francis D. Millet, 7 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 129

I never hear of Prentice Mulford now-a-days. Bierce is in San Francisco.1

Mrs. Clemens says please don�t fail to send your photograph according2

to promise. We recognize the �famille de coeur��& there�s no lie about that,3

in your case, depend upon it.4

Charley Stoddard hasn�t turned up yet. So I suppose he must still be on5

the other side.6

Well, good fortune & God be with you!7

Ever Yours8

S. L. Clemens9

Ï10

To the Remains of our friend the late Frank Millet, Care of the Vultures.11

1877�page 130

To Charles E. Perkins11 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS, postal card, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01469)

Apply to Chas. T. Parsloe, 39 McDougalls' st, New York�I don�t know that1

joint-agent�s name myself.2

SLC3

J4

US POSTAL CARD. WRITE THE ADDRESS ON THIS SIDE�THE MESSAGE ON THE OTHER | Chas. E. Perkins,5

Esq | 14 State st | Hartford | Conn [postmarked:] ELMIRA N.Y. AUG 11 10AM6

1877�page 131

To Augustin Daly15 August 1877 � New York, N.Y.(MS, postal card, in pencil: DFo, #01471)

7 AM Wedn� sy.1

I can only tender my regrets & compliments, & say I am this moment leaving2

for that bourne from whence no traveler returns when sober (Elmira, N.Y.)3

Excuse haste & a bad postal card.4

Ys Truly5

S. L. Clemens6

Ï7

J8

US POSTAL CARD. WRITE THE ADDRESS ON THIS SIDE�THE MESSAGE ON THE OTHER | [address nearly illegible;9

only the following words are faintly visible:] Fiske | 5th Ave Theatre | City [post-10

marked:] NEW-YORK E AUG 15 9AM 11

1877�page 132

To Charles E. Perkins18? August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS, annotated bank statement, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01472)

SOLD TO S. L. Clemens Esq1BY GEO. P. BISSELL & CO.,2

BANKERS,3307 MAIN STREET, HARTFORD, Aug 17 1877

4

Sylvester Johnson Bond 40005

int 4ds 3 526

����7

Chs in ofc 4,003 52 8 ��������������9

Bonds in our vault for you10

G P. Bsl11 Ï12

Mr. Perkins, do as you please with these bonds. Perhaps you may prefer to13

put them with our others.14

SLC15

1877�page 133

To Francis D. Clark20 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: CSfCP, #10338)

SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Elmira, N.Y. Aug. 20.2

Francis D. Clark, Esq3

Dr Sir: Your favr'or of the 13th has just been forwarded to me from the4

St. James, New York, & in reply I regret to be obliged to say that other s'5

engagements have put it out of my power to accept the courteous invitation6

of the Society of Pioneers.7

With many thanks for the compliment of the invitation,8

I am9

Ys Truly10

SamR. L. Clemens11

Ï12

J13

[letter docketed:] Mark Twain14

1877�page 134

To John T. Lewis24 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS of inscription in Mark Twain�s Sketches, New and Old, AmericanPublishing Company, 1875: CtHMTH, #09282)

To John T. Lewis1

from2

Mark Twain3 Ï4

Elmira, Aug. 24, 1877.5 Ï6

1877�page 135

To John Brown25 and 27 August 1877 � Elmira, N. Y.

(MS: NN-B, #01473)

Quarry Farm1

Elmira, N. Y., Aug. 25'77.2

Dear Doctor John:3

I thought I ought to make a sort of record of it: the pleasantest way to4

do that would be to write it to somebody; but that somebody might let it leak5

into print, & that we wish to avoid. . . . . . . . . . . There is Dr. John�he is6

safe�so let us tell Dr. John about it.7

Day before yesterday was a fine summer day away up here on the8

summit. Aunt Marsh & Cousin May Marsh were here visiting sister Susie9

Crane & Livy (my wife, you may remember) at our farm house. By & by10

mother Langdon (who is Livy�s mother), came up the hill in the barouche11

with Norah the nurse-maid & little Jervis (Charley Langdon�s little boy)�12

Timothy the coachman driving. Behind these came Charley�s wife & little girl13

in the buggy, with the new, young, s' spry gray horse�a high-stepper. =Theo-14

dore Crane arrived a little later.=15

Our two cubs, Susie (=�Megalopis�)= & Clara, were on hand with their16

nurse Rosa. I was on hand too. Susie Crane�s trio of colored servants17

ditto�these being Josie, housemaid; Aunty Cord, cook, aged 62, turbaned,18

very tall, very broad, very fine every way (see some account of her in �A True19

Story Just as I Heard It� in my collected Sketches); and the laundress Chock-20

late (as Clara calls her�she can�t say Charlotte), still taller, still more majestic21

of proportions, turbaned, very black, straight as an Indian�age 24�a superb22

creature to look upon. Then there was the farmer�s wife (colored) & li her23

little girl Susan .= (it being customary, in this region to name girls after Susie24

Crane.) Wasn�t it a good audience to get up an excitement before?�good25

excitable, inflammable material?26

Lewis was still down town, 3 miles away, with his two-horse wagon, to27

get a load of manure. Lewis is our =the= farmer (colored). He is of mighty28

frame & muscle, stocky, stooping, ungainly, has a good manly face & a clear29

eye. Age about 45 or 47, & the most picturesque of men, when he sits in his30

fluttering work-day rags, humped forward into a bunch, with his aged slouch31

SLC to John Brown, 25 and 27 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 136

hat mashed down over his ears and neck. It is a spectacle to make the1

broken-hearted snick smile.2

Lewis has worked mighty hard & remained mighty poor. At the end of3

each whole year�s toil he can�t show a gain of fifty dollars (£10.) He had4

borrowed money of the Cranes till he owed them $700�& he being con-5

scientious & honest, imagine what it was to him to have to carry this6

stubborn, hopeless load year in & year out.7

Well, sunset came, & Ida the young & comely, (Charley Langdon�s wife)8

& her little Julia & the nursemaid Norah, drove out at the upper gate behind9

the new gray horse & started down the long hill�the barouche receiving its10

load under the porte-cochère, & all the Quarry Farm tribe, white & black,11

grouped upon the grass in front. Ida was seen to turn her face toward us12

across the fence & intervening lawn�Theodore waved good-bye to her.', for13

he did not know that her sign was a speechless appeal for help.14

The next moment Livy said, �Ida�s driving too fast down hill!� She15

followed it with a sort of scream, �Her horse is running away!�16

We could see 200 yards down that descent. The buggy seemed to fly. It17

would strike obstructions & apparently spring the height of a man from the18

ground.19

Theodore & I left the shrieking crowd behind & ran down the hill20

bareheaded & shouting. A neighbor appeared at his gate�a tenth of a second21

too late !=�the buggy shot vanished past him like a thought. My last glimpse22

showed it for one instant, far down the descent, springing high in the air out23

of a cloud of dust, & then it disappeared. As I flew down the road, my24

impulse was to shut my eyes as I turned them to the light right or left, & so25

delay for a moment the ghastly spectacle of mutilation & death I was26

expecting.27

I ran on & on, still spared this spectacle, but saying to myself �I shall see28

it at the turn of the road; they never can pass that turn alive.� When I came29

in sight of that turn I saw two wagons there bunched together�one of them30

full of people. I said, �Just so�they are staring petrified at the remains.�31

But when I got amongst that bunch, there sat Ida in her buggy &32

nobody hurt, not even the horse or the vehicle! Ida was pale but serene. As33

I came tearing down, she smiled back over her shoulder at me & said, �Well,34

you�re alive yet, aren�t you?� A miracle had been performed�nothing less.35

SLC to John Brown, 25 and 27 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 137

You see, Lewis-the-prodigious, humped upon his front seat, had been1

toiling up, on his load of manure; he saw the frantic horse plunging down the2

hill toward him, on a full gallop, throwing his fore-feet breast-high at every3

jump. So Lewis turned his team diagonally across the road just at the �turn,�4

thus forming a V with the fence�the running horse could not escape that,5

but must enter it. Then Lewis sprang to the ground & stood in this V. He6

gathered his vast strength, & with a perfect Creedmoor aim he siezed the gray7

horse�s bit as he plunged by, & fetched him up standing!8

It was down hill, mind you; ten feet further down hill neither Lewis nor9

any other man could have saved them, for they would have been on the10

abrupt �turn,� then. But how this miracle was ever accomplished at all, by11

human strength, gen generalship & accuracy, is clear beyond my comprehen-12

sion�& grows more so the more I go & examine the ground & try to believe13

it was actually done. I know one thing well; if Lewis had missed his aim he14

would have been killed on the spot in the trap he had made for himself, & we15

should have found the rest of the remains away down at the bottom of the16

steep ravine.17

Ten minutes later Theodore & I arrived opposite the house with the18

servants straggling after us, & shouted to the frantic =distracted= group on the19

porch, �Everybody safe!�20

Believe it? Why how could they? They knew the road perfectly. We might21

as well have said it to people who had seen their friends go over Niagara.22

However, we convinced them; & then, instead of saying something, or23

going on crying, they grew very still�words could not express it, I suppose.24

Nobody could do anything that night, or sleep, either; but there was a25

deal of moving talk, with long pauses between�pictures of that flying car-26

riage, these pauses represented�this picture intruded itself all the time &27

disjointed the talk.28

But yesterday evening late, when Lewis arrived from down town, he29

found his supper spread, & some presents of books there, with very compli-30

mentary writings on the fly leaves, & certain very complimentary letters, &31

divers & sundry bank notes of dignified denomination pinned to these letters32

SLC to John Brown, 25 and 27 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 138

and fly-leaves�& one said, among other things, (signed by the Cranes), �We1

cancel four hundred dollars of your indebtedness to us,� &c, &c.2

(The end whereof is not yet, of course, for Charley Langdon is out West3

& will arrive ignorant of all these things to-day.)4

The supper room had been kept locked & imposingly secret & mys-5

terious until Lewis should arrive; but around that part of the house were6

gathered Lewis�s wife & child, Chocklate, Josie, Aunty Cord & our s' Rosa,7

canvassing things & consuming with curiosity, =waiting impatiently.= They8

were all on hand when the curtain went up. 9

Now Aunty Cord is a violent Methodist, & Lewis an implacable �Dunker10

Baptist.� These two are inveterate religious disputants. The revealments11

having been made, Aunty Cord said with effusion�12

�Now let folks go on saying there ain�t no God! Lewis, the Lord sent you13

there to stop that horse.�14

Says Lewis�15

�Then who sent the horse there in sich a shape?�16

But I want to call your attention to one thing. When Lewis arrived the17

other evening, after saving those lives by a feat which I think is the most18

marvelous of any I can call to mind�when he arrived, hunched up on his19

manure wagon & as grotesquely picturesque as usual, everybody wanted to go20

& see how he looked. They came back & said he was beautiful. It was so,21

too�& yet he would have photographed exactly as he would have done any day22

these past 7 years that he has occupied this farm.23

Ï24

Aug. 27.25

P. S.�Our little romance in real life is happily & satisfactorily completed.26

Charley has come, listened, acted�& now John T. Lewis has ceased to27

consider himself as belonging to that class called �the poor.�28

It has been known, during some years, that it was Lewis�s purpose to buy29

a thirty-dollar silver watch some day, if he ever got where he could afford it.30

=To-day= Ida has given him a sum- =new,= sumptuous gold Swiss stem-winding31

stopwatch; & if any scoffer shall say �Behold this thing is out of character, �32

there is an inscription within, which will silence him; for it will teach him that33

it is the =this= wearer that aggrandizes the watch, not the watch the wearer.34

I was asked, beforehand, if this would be a wise gift, & I said, �Yes, the35

very wisest of all; I know the colored race, & I know that in Lewis�s eyes this36

SLC to John Brown, 25 and 27 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 139

fine toy will throw the other more valuable testimonials far away into the1

shade. If he lived in England, the Humane Society would give him a gold2

medal as costly as this watch, & nobody would say �It is out of character.� If3

Lewis chose to wear a town clock, who would become it better?�4

Lewis has sound common sense, & is not going to be spoiled. The5

instant he found himself possessed of money, he forgot himself in a plan to6

make his old father comfortable, who is wretchedly poor, & lives down in7

Maryland, 500 miles away. His next thou act, on the spot, was the proffer to8

the Cranes of the three hundred dollars of his remaining indebtedness to9

them. This was put off by them to the indefinite future, for he is not going to10

be allowed to pay that at all, though he doesn�t know it.11

A letter of acknowledgment from Lewis contains a sentence which raises12

it to the dignity of literature:13

�But I beg to say, humbly, that inasmuch as divine providence saw fit to14

use me as an a= instrument for the saving of those presshious lives, the honner15

conferd upon me was greater than the feat performed.�16

Good-bye, dear Doctor. You must tell the family, & the Judge, & Mr.17

Barclay about our great black hero, whom we are so proud of.18

Ever lovingly Yours,19

SamR. L. Clemens20

Ï21

1877�page 140

To William Dean Howells and Elinor M. Howells25 and 27 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: NN-B, #02515)

Elmira, Aug. 25'771

My Dear Howellses:2

I thought I ought to make a sort of record of it for future reference; the3

pleasantest way to do that would be to write it to somebody; BUT that4

somebody would let it leak into print, & that we wish to avoid. The Howellses5

would be safe�so let us tell the Howellses about it.6

Day before yesterday was a fine summer day away up here on the7

summit. Aunt Marsh & Cousin May Marsh were here visiting =Susie Crane &8

Livy= at our farm house. By & by mother Langdon came up the hill in the9

�high carriage� with Nora the nurse & little Jervis (Charley Langdon�s little10

boy)�Timothy the coachman driving. Behind these came Charley�s wife &11

little girl in the buggy, with the new, young, spry gray horse�a high-stepper.12

Theodore Crane arrived a little later. 13

The Bay & Susie were on hand with their nurse, Rosa. I was on hand,14

too. Susie Crane�s trio of colored servants ditto�these being Josie,15

housemaid; Aunty Cord, cook, aged 62, turbaned, very tall, very broad, very16

fine every way (see her portrait in �A True Story Just as I Heard It� in my17

Sketches); and Chocklate =(the laundress,)= (as the Bay calls her�she can�t say18

Charlotte), still s' taller, still more majestic of proportions, turbaned, =very19

black,= straight as an Indian��age, 24. Then there was the farmer�s wife20

(colored) & her little girl, Susie.21

Wasn�t it a good audience to get up an excitement before? Good22

excitable, inflammable, combustible material?23

Lewis was still down town, three miles away, with his two-horse wagon,24

to get a load of manure. Lewis is the farmer (colored.) &' He is of mighty25

frame & muscle, stocky, stooping, ungainly, has a good manly face & a clear26

eye. Age about 45�& the most picturesque of men, when he sits in his27

fluttering work-day rags, humped forward into a bunch, with his aged slouch28

hat mashed down over his ears & neck. It is a spectacle to make the29

broken-hearted smile.30

Lewis has worked mighty hard & remained mighty poor. At the end of a'31

=each= whole year�s toil he can�t show a gain of fifty dollars. He had borrowed32

SLC to William Dean Howells, 25 and 27 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 141

money of the Cranes till he owed them $700�& he being conscientious &1

honest, imagine what it was to him to have to carry this stubborn, hopeless2

load year in & year out.3

Well, sunset came, & Ida the young & comely (Charley Langdon�s wife)4

& her little Julia & the nurse Nora, drove out at the gate behind the new gray5

horse & started down the long hill�the high carriage receiving its load under6

the porte cochère. Ida was seen =to= turn her face toward us across the fence7

& intervening lawn�Theodore waved goodbye to her, for he did not know8

that her sign was a speechless appeal for help.9

The next moment Livy said, �Ida�s driving too fast down hill!� She10

followed it with a sort of scream, �Her horse is running away!� 11

We could see two hundred yards down that descent. The buggy seemed12

to fly. It would strike obstructions & apparently spring the height of a man13

from the ground.14

Theodore & I left the shrieking crowd behind & ran down the hill15

bareheaded & shouting. A neighbor appeared at his gate�a tenth of a second16

too late!�the buggy sped by =vanished past= him like a rocket =a thought.= My17

last glimpse showed it for one instant, far down the descent, springing high18

in the air out of a cloud of dust, & then it disappeared. As I flew down the19

road, my impulse was to shut my eyes as I turned them to the right or left, &20

so delay for a moment the ghastly spectacle of mutilation & death I was21

expecting.22

I ran on & on, still spared this spectacle, but saying to myself �I shall st23

see it at the turn of the road; they never can pass that turn alive.� When I24

came in sight of that turn I saw two wagons there bunched together� one of25

them full of people. I said, �Just so�they are staring petrified at the remains.�26

But when I got amongst that bunch, there sat Ida in her buggy &27

nobody hurt, not even the horse or the vehicle. [in pencil: =OVER= Ida was pale28

but serene. As I came tearing down she smiled back over her shoulder at29

me & said, �Well, you�re alive yet, arn aren�t you?� OVER AGAIN] A miracle had30

been performed�nothing less.31

You see, Lewis,-the-prodigious, humped upon his front seat, had been32

toiling up, on his load of manure; he saw the frantic horse plunging down the33

hill toward him, on a full gallop, throwing his heels as high as a man�s head at34

every jump. So Lewis turned his team diagonally across the road just at the35

�turn,� thus making a V with the fence�the running horse could not escape36

SLC to William Dean Howells, 25 and 27 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 142

that.' =but must enter it.= Then Lewis sprang to the ground & stood in this V.1

With =He gathered his vast strength, and with= a perfect Creedmoor aim he2

siezed the gray horse�s bit as he plunged by =by= & fetched him up standing!3

It was down hill, mind you; ten feet further down hill neither Lewis nor4

any other man could have saved them, for they would have been on the5

=abrupt= �turn,� then. But how this miracle was ever accomplished at all, by6

human strength, generalship & accuracy, is clear beyond my compre-7

hension�& grows more so the more I go & examine the ground & try to8

believe it was actually done. I know one thing, well; if Lewis had missed his9

aim he would have been killed on the spot =in the trap he had made for10

himself,= & we should have found the rest of the remains away down at the11

bottom of the steep ravine.12

Two=Ten=minutes later Theodore & I arrived opposite the house, with13

the servants straggling after us, & shouted to the [one word canceled and torn away]14

=distracted= group on the porch, �Everybody safe!�15

Believe it? Why how could they? They knew the road perfectly. We might16

as well have said it to people who had seen their friends go over Niagara.17

However, we convinced them; & then, instead of saying something, or18

going on crying, they grew very still�words could not express it, I suppose.19

Nobody could do anything that night, or sleep, either; but there was a20

deal of moving talk, with absent long pauses between�pictures of that flying21

carriage, these pauses represented�th=is=ese picture intruded itself all the time22

& disjointed the talk.23

But yesterday evening late, when Lewis arrived from down town he24

found his supper spread, & some presents of books there, with mighty =very=25

complimentary writings on the fly-leaves, & certain letters & certain very26

complimentary letters, & more or less greenbacks of dignified denomination27

pinned to these letters & fly-leaves,�& one said, among other things, (signed28

by The Cranes)�'��We cancel $400 of your indebtedness to us,� &c &c.29

(The end whereof is not yet, of course, for Charley Langdon is west &30

will arrive ignorant of all these things to-day.)31

SLC to William Dean Howells, 25 and 27 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 143

The supper-room had been kept locked & imposingly secret &1

mi'ysterious until Lewis should arrive; but around that part of the house were2

gathered Lewis�s wife & child, '& Chocklate, Josie, Aunty Cord & our Rosa,3

canvassing things & waiting impatiently. They were all on hand when the4

revealment came. curtain rose.5

Now Aunty Cord is a violent Methodist & Lewis an= fanatic =implacable=6

Dunker-Baptist. These two are inveterate religious disputants. The reveal-7

ments being =having been= made, Aunty Cord said with effusion�8

�Now let folks go on saying there ain�t no God! Lewis, the Lord sent you9

there to stop that horse.�10

Says Lewis�11

�Then who sent the horse there in sich a shape?�12

But I want to call your attention to one thing. When Lewis arrived the13

other evening, after saving those lives by a feat which I think is the most14

marvelous of any I can call to mind�when he arrived, hunched up on his15

manure wagon & as grotesquely picturesque as usual, everybody wanted to go16

& see how he looked. They came back & said he was beautiful. It was so,17

too�& yet he would have photographed exactly as he would have done any day18

these past 7 years that he has occupied this farm.19

Ï20

Aug. 27.21

P. S.�Our little romance in real life is happily & satisfactorily22

completed. Charley has come, listened, acted�& now John T. Lewis has23

ceased to consider himself as belonging to that class called �the poor.�24

It has been known, during some years, that it was Lewis�s purpose to buy25

a thirty-dollar silver watch some day, if he ever got where he could afford it.26

To-day Ida has given him a new, sumptuous gold Swiss stem-winding27

stop-watch; & if any scoffer shall say �Behold this thing is out of character,�28

there is an inscription within, which will silence him; for it will teach him that29

this wearer aggrandizes the watch, not the watch the wearer. 30

I was asked, beforehand, if this would be a wise gift, & I said, �Yes, the31

very wisest of all; I know the colored race, & I know that in Lewis�s eyes this32

fine toy will throw the other more valuable testimonials far away into the33

shade. If he lived in England, the Humane Society would give him a gold34

medal as costly as this watch, & nobody would say �It is out of character.� If35

Lewis chose to wear a town clock, who would become it better?�36

SLC to William Dean Howells, 25 and 27 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 144

Lewis has sound common sense, & is not going to be spoiled. The1

instant he found himself possessed of money, he forgot himself in a plan to2

make his old father comfortable, who is wretchedly poor & lives down in3

Maryland. His next act, on the spot, was the proffer to the Cranes of the $3004

of his remaining indebtedness to them. This was put off by them to the5

indefinite future, for he is not going to be allowed to pay that at all, though he6

doesn�t know it.7

A letter of acknowledgment from Lewis contains a sentence which raises8

it to the dignity of literature:9

�But I beg to say, humbly, that inasmuch as divine providence saw fit to10

use me as ^ a instrument for the saving of those presshious lives, the11

honner conferd upon me was greater than the feat performed.�12

That is well said.13

Yrs Ever14

Mark.15

Ï16

1877�page 145

To William Dean Howells29 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: NN-B, #02516)

Elmira, Aug. 29.1

My Dear Howells:2

Just got your letter last night. No, dern that article, it made me cry when3

I read it in proof, it was so oppressively & ostentatiously poor. Skim your eye4

over it again & you will think as I do. If Isaac & the prophets of Baal can be5

doctored gently & made permissible, it will redeem the thing; but if it can�t,6

let�s burn all of the article except the tail-end of it & use that as an7

in s'troduction to the next article�as I suggested in my letter to you of day8

before yesterday. (I had this proof from Cambridge before yours came.)9

Boucicault says my new play is ever so much better than Ah Sin; says the10

Amateur detective is a bully character, too. An actor is chawing over the play11

in New York, to see if the old Detective is suited to his abilities. Haven�t heard12

from him yet.13

If you�ve got that paragraph by you yet, & if in your judgment it would14

be good to publish it, & if you absolutely would not mind doing it, then I think15

I�d like to have you do it�or else put some other words in my mouth that16

will be properer, & publish them. But mind, don�t think of it for a moment if17

it is distasteful�& doubtless it is. I value your judgment more than my own,18

to as to the wisdom of saying anything at all in this matter. To say nothing19

leaves me in an injurious position�& yet maybe I might do better to speak20

to the men themselves when I go to New York. This was my latest idea, & it21

looked wise.22

We expect to leave here for home Sept. 4, reaching there the 8th�but we23

may be delayed a week.24

I wish I knew whether the �house� will send the �advance� sheets to the25

�Canadian Monthly� or whether I am to do it. Do you know? It is perfectly26

easy for me to do it, but no need of both of us doing it.27

Curious thing. I read passages from my play, & a full synopsis, to28

Boucicault, who was re-writing a play which he wrote & laid aside 3 or 4 years29

ago. (My detective is about that age, you know). Then he read a passage from30

his play, where a real detective does some things that are as idiotic as some of31

my old Wheeler�s performances. Showed me the passages, & behold, his man�s32

name is Wheeler! However, his Wheeler is not a prominent character, so we�ll33

SLC to William Dean Howells, 29 August 1877, contd.

1877�page 146

not alter the names. My Wheeler�s name is taken from the old Jumping Frog1

sketch.2

I am re-reading Ticknor�s diary, & am charmed with it; though I still say3

he refers to too many good things when he could g' just as well have told them.4

Think of the man traveling 8 days in convoy & familiar intercourse with a5

band of outlaws through the mountain fastnesses of Spain�he the fourth6

stranger they had encountered in 3' thirty years�& compressing this priceless7

experience into a single colorless paragraph of his diary! They spun yarns to8

him this unworthy devil, too.9

I wrote you a very long letter a day or two ago, but Susie Crane wanted10

to make a copy of it to keep, so it has not gone yet. It may go to-day, possibly.11

We unite in warm regards to you & yourn.12

Yrs Ever13

Mark14

Ï15

1877�page 147

To Mary E. (Mollie) Clemens and Jane Lampton Clemens30 August 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: CU-MARK, #01476)

Elmira, Aug. 30.1

My Dear Mollie:2

I write for Livy, who has her hands full getting ready to leave for3

Hartford on the 4th.4

Livy thinks your health & strength are a bar to your attempting the new5

house. 6

She says your energy & capacity are amply sufficient to enable you to7

succeed, & succeed handsomely; but, considering the bar above mentioned,8

she would advise rather against the new enterprise than in favor of it.9

She says, If you got such an establishment on your hands & then fell10

sick�what then?11

[3a pages missing]12

out. I believe you could take the new house & make run it ably & make money13

out of it if you have a fair degree of strength�but when I reflect that with $4214

a month from me, & $50 from Orion earned in a but like Livy I doubt if you15

have these.16

With love from us,17

SamR.18

Ï19

P. S. I wrote 5 pages, Mollie, but tore up 3a.20

SLC21

Ï22

Dear Ma�If you don�t quit tearing around with the other young people,23

you will make yourself sick, sure. However, we are glad you are having such24

a good time, & hope it will continue. Why don�t you want to go to George25

Hawes�s? Livy & I & the children send love. 26

Yrs Son 27

SamR.28

Ï29

J30

Mrs. O. Clemens | Care Orion Clemens, Esq | Keokuk | Iowa [postmarked:]31

ELMIRA N.Y. SEP 1 11AM [on verso:] SLC32

1877�page 148

To Mary Mason Fairbanks3 September 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.

(MS: CSmH, #01477)

Elmira, Sept. 3.1

Dear Mother:2

It is 16 hours� journey to Cleveland from here, & with a stroke of your3

reckless pen you cut it down to 6! We are always wanting to go out there to4

the end of the world, but it is too far for Livy�s strength�at least by land. But5

I propose to tackle the difficulty from the other side. It cannot be as far from6

San Francisco as it is from here; so we are going around, in the spring, &7

approach you from Asia.8

I may not do this, but it is an elegant idea, nevertheless. No, our plan for9

the spring is this: To leave, the 1st of May, & settle down in some good old city10

of Germany, & never stir again for 6 months. Then come home. Clara11

Spaulding will doubt=less go with h' us. Of course you and Mollie wouldn�t12

consent to settle down in a German town for 6 months, but why not go along13

in the same ship with us, tarry a spell, make your little distressful European14

pilgrimage, then pick us up & fetch us home? Bring the head of the house, or15

Charley & his wife, to take care of the gang�for I should lose some of the16

crowd if I tried to take charge of it. If I don�t get you people I will take a17

full-fledged guide, right from New York. I�m not a good executive officer. [in18

left margin: (A lie repented of.)]19

Mother is up here on the hill, this being the last day of our summer20

vacation. She sends her especial & particular loves' ,= Livy joins her, & so do21

I,�to you & Mollie & all.22

When are you coming to Hartford to visit us?23

Why do you always dodge this question?24

We certainly would have come to see you if it had been within the25

possibilities.26

We go home tomorrow.27

Ever as Ever28

SLC29 Ï30

J31

Mrs A. W. Fairbanks | Care �Herald� | Cleveland | Ohio. [postmarked:] ELMIRA32

N.Y. SEP 4 10AM [and] CLEVELAND SEP 33

1877�page 149

Olivia L. Clemens and Samuel L. Clemensto Louise A. Howland and Robert M. Howland

3? September 1877 � Elmira, N.Y.(MS: CU-MARK, #04656)

SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Quarry Farm. Elmira2

Dear Mrs Howland.3

We were delighted to get your letter with the beautiful picture of your4

little girl in it�5

I have been waiting, before writing to thank you, to get some new6

pictures of our little girls, we have made one effort which was not successful7

so I have decided not to wait any longer but to send you an old one� The8

one that I enclose was taken about a year and a half ago�it was very good of9

the children at the time we thought�10

I should indeed like exceedingly to resume our acquaintance� When11

you come East I wish that you would come up to Hartford and spend two or12

three days with us. Do you often come to New York? I feel as if San13

Francisco people thought very little of taking that trip which seems to us so14

great an undertaking�15

We are here on the East Hill near Elmira spending our Summer, we16

leave now for Hartford in a day or two�17

Please remember me to Mr Howland.18

With very pleasant memories of the few hours that we spent together I19

remain yours very truly20

Olivia L. Clemens21

�Great country�hey Bob?� The picture of our eldest child is good, but22

that of the other is in some respects a libel.23

Your little girl is a mare'vel of grace & beauty.24

I warmly greet you both.25

Yr friend26

Sam.27

Ï28

1877�page 150

To Etta Booth10 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CU-MARK, #01479)

SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Sept 10'772

My Dear Etta:3

Your letter has almost made a grandfather of me, it carried me so far4

back into the wasted centuries. It is now fourteen years since I first saw you5

in Virginia City. It was at a ball�but that does not indicate your age, for6

children attended balls there, & you were a child then�8 years of age, I think.7

But fourteen years is a long time, & brings memorable changes. You are8

young, yet, & are willing to talk about them; but I have reached the age where9

one puts such things out of his mind & keeps them out�for they remind10

him=, not= that he is growing old, but that he is old. However, I mean to keep11

your address in mind, & the next time I am in New York, with a visiting hour12

to spare, I will call & we will go over that old ground & sow gray hairs.13

Remember me most kindly to your mother, & believe me yours in the14

affection of a friendship unimpaired.15

S. L. Clemens16 Ï17

1877�page 151

To Charles Warren Stoddard10 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card: CU-MARK, #11958)

Hartford Sept 10.1

SLC Dear Charley: The subscription houses are doing nothing�they say2

they can�t sell books of travel or any other kind, except old standard things3

like Commentaries on the Bible�& only enough of them to keep alive. If you4

will run up here & see me I�ll fill you up with good advice & Scotch whisky,5

but I can�t promise you a publisher, in such times as these. We will go & see6

as many as you please, though.7

I shall be exceedingly grateful for that Tichborne book, I assure you. It8

will be better than a scrap-book.9

If you see John McComb, send him up here,�or bring him.10

I�ve just got home from vacation, & this is No. 1 of a ton of letters to be11

answered.12

Yrs Ever13

Mark.14

Ï15

1877�page 152

To George Bentley15 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: ViU, #01480)

SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Conn., U.S. Sep. 15.2

My Dear Sir:3

I sent you No. 1 of a series of 4 articles which I have been writing for4

the Atlantic Monthly, & with this I enclose No. 2. I saw Mr. Chatto in New5

York lately, & told him he could have these advance sheets for one of his6

magazines in case you did not wish to use them. I have just written Mr.7

Chatto that I have not heard from you & therefore cannot inform him8

whether you want the advance sheets or not. I have suggested that he inquire9

of you.10

Truly Yours11

SamR. L. Clemens12

(�Mark Twain.�)13

Ï14

It is possible, Mr. Bentley, that my letter miscarried, since you may have15

moved from New Burlington street. I will simply direct this to The Editor of16

Temple Bar, to make sure.17

1877�page 153

To Jane Lampton Clemens15 September ?1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card: NPV, #10939)

Hartford Sep. 15.1

SLC My Dear Mother:2

I am afraid you get sick too often to greatly enjoy your visit. But3

everybody is in the same luck, these days. Livy & I have had our turn lately,�4

all the neighbors likewise. However, our children keep excellent health.5

Enclosed I send you $100. Love to all.6

Affly7

Sam.8 Ï9

1877�page 154

To the Editor of the Hartford Courant19 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS: Hartford Courant, 20 September 1877, p. 2, #01481)

NEW YORK, Sept. 18.�A Wilmington, N. C., dispatch says that the schooner Jonas1Smith, with a black crew of thirteen and only one white man, was spoken by Pilot Joe2Burris, twenty miles south of Cape Fear, last Friday. They claimed to be from Boston for3Savannah, out three weeks and had lost their bearings. Burris gave them the bearings, and4the vessel squared away for the south. As it did so and the backs of the black crew turned5from him, the white man on board made signals for Burris to return. On Saturday the6cutter Colfax sailed in search of the schooner, but returned on Monday, and will not give7any account of her trip. A schooner named the Jonas Smith, was reported off Faulkner�s8Island, August 18, with her foreboom patched and mainsail torn, since when nothing has9been heard of her.10

To the EDITOR of THE COURANT:�11

The above appeared in the telegraphic columns of our evening papers12

yesterday. THE COURANT�s telegrams from Wilmington add some particulars13

this morning:�14

Some of her sails had been blown entirely away, while others hung in shreds from the15masts, only a few being at all serviceable. Near the water line weeds and grass a foot long16were growing from the hull, evidencing that she had been a long time out of port.17

The affair has caused considerable discussion here, and there are many surmises as18to the character of this vessel and her ultimate destination; but the opinion most generally19received is that the crew of negroes are mutineers, and that the white man seen on board20was retained by the crew when they mastered the vessel for the purpose of navigating her.21

It sounds like a dreadful mystery, but I can throw some light upon it22

which may dispel some of its darker features. These poor fellows are not23

mutineers. I know them to be men of good character. Four months & a half24

ago I was at sea, with Rev. Joseph H. Twichell of Hartford, in the steamship25

Bermuda, Captain Angrove. We had sailed from Hamilton, Bermuda on the26

Queen�s birthday, May 24. At 4 p. m., May 25, twenty-four hours out, our27

position was 250 miles northwest from Bermuda. When I read the above28

telegrams, I said, �Here is something I have been watching the papers for29

during a great many weeks.� I hunted up my old note-book of our Bermuda30

voyage & turned to the date May 25. There I found a rude pencil sketch of a31

disabled vessel, & this note concerning it:�32

�Friday, 25.�Jonas Smith, ten days out from Bermuda, 250 miles. Signal of distress33flying (flag in the main rigging with the Union down.) Went out of our course to see her.34Heavy ground swell on the sea, but no wind. They launched their boat, stern first, from the35

SLC to the Editor of the Hartford Courant, 19 September 1877, contd.

1877�page 155

deck amidships (of course it filled with water at once), & then a man took hold of a rope1that was rove through a block at the starboard end of the foreyard arm, & swung himself2off over the sea like a spider at the end of his thread. The vessel�s deck stood up as high as3a house, she was so empty. Naturally, she rolled fearfully in the ground swell. That man4would swing far out over the waves & then go rushing back again like a pendulum & slam5against the ship�s side. The boat never was there when he arrived. However, he made his6trip at last, & began to bail out. Two others followed him in the same precarious spider7fashion. They pulled off to our ship, & proved to be two colored men & a Portuguese, who8was blacker than both of them put together. They said they had sailed from Bermuda for9New York ten days before, with five days� provisions! They were about out of everything10now�had a little bread left & a cask & a half of water. The vessel had an absurdly large11crew�we could see as many as a dozen colored men lying around taking it easy on her12deck. We loaded four barrels of potatoes into their boat, together with some 300 pounds13of salt junk & a great quantity of sea-biscuit, but no water, for it was stowed where we14could not well get at it. We saw the sun go down on the rolling & tumbling hulk, & later15caught a final glimpse of her, black & ragged in the broad track of the moon. Shall we ever16hear of those negroes again?�17

One of the three men who came to us in the boat was the captain &18

owner of the hulk. We questioned him freely, & all that he said was confirmed19

afterwards by three of our passengers who knew all about the matter. The20

poor old tub had been condemned officially in Bermuda & sold at21

auction�& queerly enough, not as a whole, but piece-meal, as one may say.22

For instance, one man bought the top-masts (& all the sails, I think); another23

had bought an anchor; another such odds & ends as sky-lights & such things;24

& this colored man had bought what was left, viz., the empty hulk & the25

stumps of the fore & mainmasts. He paid £42 for his bargain. Then he26

bought three old rags, & made one do duty as a spencer on the mainmast,27

another as a jib, & the third as a sort of flying-jib, or jib-stay-sail, whichever28

you please to call it. These had become rags indeed, when we saw them, &29

poetically appropriate to the wandering, food-soliciting, ocean-tramp which30

the poor old outcast has been all these months that have since dragged by.31

One of our passengers said that the new owner of this solemn property was32

offered a sufficiency of ballast for his purposes, for $25, but he was not able33

to afford it, & so went to sea in all his perilous emptiness. His idea was to take34

the creature to New York & sell her at a profit, either as a coaster or to be35

broken up.36

We did not hear of any white man being on board, but of course there37

may have been one. (I don�t count that Portuguese.) But there were fifteen38

colored men at first, if I remember rightly. I asked Captain Angrove how he39

SLC to the Editor of the Hartford Courant, 19 September 1877, contd.

1877�page 156

could account for that extraordinary crew when five men would have been1

more than enough. He said it was easily explained: it was a great thing for2

those colored islanders to go abroad & see the world�that is to say, New3

York; that without doubt their only pay was their pleasure excursion.4

So this four months� horror is a Pleasure Excursion�imagine that!5

I said I should think that unless the winds were very favorable those rags6

would not enable the hulk to overcome the ocean currents; that when she7

struck the Gulf stream she might be carried south; that the provisions would8

soon run out again, & so, taking all things into consideration, that crew might9

be looked upon as doomed, perhaps. But Captain Angrove said that their10

main trouble would be their danger of getting out of the track of vessels: if11

they could manage to keep in that, they could borrow food & water & extend12

their excursion indefinitely.13

Your telegram says: �Near the water line, weeds & grass a foot long were14

growing from the hull, evidencing that she had been a long time out of port.�15

One easily perceives from this that when Captain Burris thought the hulk�s16

skipper said he was from Boston (where he hadn�t been at all,) the real word17

used was �Bermuda�; & that when the skipper seemed to say he was �three18

weeks� out, he really said three months. You know how the winds distort a19

message at sea when the speaker can afford no better speaking trumpet than20

his cylindered hands. I remember that the colored skipper used no trumpet21

when he spoke us. I wonder he didn�t tell Captain Burris he was three years22

out instead of three weeks; it must have seemed about that long.23

What that poor fellow probably said, was that he was from Bermuda &24

was trying to make Savannah�for he had found out that he wasn�t going to25

make New York & was very anxious to get to the nearest port he could find.26

What an excursion it is! Four months ago the hulk was 10 days out &27

was 250 miles northwest of Bermuda; a week ago she was 250 miles south of28

that position, & when Captain Burris spoke her she was 500 miles from29

Bermuda & directly west of it! She was then 4 months & 1 week out from30

port.31

I have heard of a good many dismal pleasure trips, but this one heads the32

list. It is monumental. The hulk was spoken just a month ago, off Faulkner�s33

Island. If we could overhaul the log-books of the mercantile marine, we34

should doubtless find that she has been spoken & relieved with provisions a35

dozen times during her strange voyage. It is a great pity the cutter Colfax did36

not continue to chase her up till she found her. That hulk can�t run; she can37

SLC to the Editor of the Hartford Courant, 19 September 1877, contd.

1877�page 157

only drift her lubberly & unmanageable way down the Gulf Stream. There can1

be small difficulty about finding her. And if ever the tired old tramp is found,2

I should like to be there to see him in his sorrowful rags & his venerable beard3

of grass & sea-weed, & hear those ancient mariners tell the story of their4

mysterious wanderings through the solemn solitudes of the ocean.5

Mark Twain.6

Hartford, September 19. 7

1877�page 158

To William Dean Howells19 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, in pencil: NN-B, #02517)

Hartford Sept. 19.1

My Dear Howells: All right�shan�t send anything to that San Frisco/s club.2

I don�t really see =how= the story of the runaway horse could read well3

with the little4 details of names& places &5 things left out.They are an a6 the true life ofall narrative.7 I t w o u l d n � tquite do to8 print them atthis time.9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

L 18

19 7 20

21

22

23

We� l l t a l k24 about it whenyou come.25 D e l i c a c y � asad, sad false delicacy�robs literature of the two best things among its26

belongings: Private house Family-circle narratives & obscene stories. But no27

matter; in that better world which I trust we are all going to I have the hope28

& belief that they will not be denied us. ¶.�Say�Twichell & I had an29

adventure at sea, 4½ months ago, which I did not put in my Bermuda articles,30

because there was not enough to it. But the press dispatches bring the sequel31

to-day, & now there�s plenty to it. A sailless, mastless, chartless, compassless,32

Obituary.Mary Langdon passed from earth to

heaven at 600 a.m. Sept. 12th, 1877. Hermaiden name was Lee. She was born nearPoughkeepsie, Dutchess county, N.Y., July 20,1790. Her husband Mr. Amos Langdon, diedin March, 1867. They had moved fromDutchess county to Newfield, Tompkinscounty in 1831, and in 1838 to a place nowwell known as Langdon hill, near Breesport,Chemung county, N.Y. For more than fortyyears she had been a most worthy and de-voted member of the M. E. Church. Herhome for quite a number of years has beenwith her daughter, Mrs. Ulysses Breese; and itwas from their filial care and elegant residenceat West Junction that she exchanged earth forHeaven. It was also there that the funeralservices were held on the 13th, and fromthence the precious remains were borne to the�Scotch burial ground� in Erin, accompaniedby numerous relatives and friends. Peace beher memory and blessings on her posterity.

ERIN; Sept. 13, 1877.

I am not theauthor of thatnoble obitu-ary�thoughdeceased wasa relative.

SLC to William Dean Howells, 19 September 1877, contd.

1877�page 159

grubless old condemned tub that has been drifting helpless about the ocean1

for 4 months & a half, begging bread & water like any other tramp, flying a2

signal of distress permanently, & with 13 innocent, marveling, chuckle-headed3

Bermuda niggers on board, taking a Pleasure Excursion! Our ship fed the4

poor devils on the 25th of last May, far out at sea & left them to bullyrag their5

way to New York�& now they ain�t as near New York as they were then by6

250 miles! They have drifted south & west 750 miles & are still drifting south7

in the relentless Gulf Stream! What a delicious magazine chapter it would8

make�but I had to deny myself. I had to come right out in the papers at9

once, with my details, so as to try to raise the government�s sympathy10

sufficiently to have better succor sent them than the cutter Colfax, which11

went a little way in search of them the other day & then struck a fog & gave12

it up.13

If the President were in Washington I would telegraph him.14

When I hear that the �Jonas Smith� has been found again, I mean to15

send for one of those darkies to come to Hartford & give me his adventures16

for an Atlantic article.17

Likely you will see my =to-day�s= article in the newspapers.18

Ys Ever19

Mark.20

Ï21

The revenue cutter Colfax went after the Jonas Smith thinking there was22

mutiny or other crime on board. It occurs to me now that since there =is= only23

mere suffering & misery & nobody to punish, it ceases to be a matter which24

(a republican form of ) government will feel authorized to interfere in further.25

Dam a republican form of government.26

1877�page 160

To Rutherford B. Hayes20 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, copy, in pencil: CU-MARK, #01483)

(Copy of telegram to President of U. S.[)]1

2

The starving crew of t'=The Jonas Smith can be found in a very little while if3

your excellency will order the cutter Colfax to search again. The crew are good4

men, subjects of a friendly power (England) & are only starving, not5

committing crime. The Smith is a sailless, chartless, =foodless= unmanageable6

hulk, & has been drifting helpless for four months from Bermuda, begging7

her bread as she goes. I know the ship & her history. Our government has8

moved to the relief of distress like this before, hence I am emboldened to9

make this appeal. With great respect. Signed S. L. Clemens, Hartford.10

1877�page 161

To John Sherman20 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: DNA, #01484)

SLC/MT FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1Sept. 20'77.2

Sir: I have the honor to submit to you a copy of a telegram which I this3

day sent to the President; also his Excellency�s reply; & finally a newspaper4

article which explains both. I was most honestly & sincerely sorry to add a5

grain to the President�s burdens, which are heavy enough already, & am as6

sorry to add one to yours; but I hope that my object will in some degree7

justify me in both cases.8

With great respect,9

SamR. L. Clemens10 Ï11

=P.S. The Colfax searched once but was defeated by fog.', as the latest12

telegrams explain.=13

The Hon. the Sec�y14

of the Treasury.15

Washington.16

[enclosure 1:]17

(Copy of Telegram.)18

���19

Hartford, Sep. 20.20

To His Excellency21

The President: 22

The �Jonas Smith� can be found in a little while if your Excellency will order23

the cutter Colfax to search again. The crew are good men, subjects of a24

friendly power, (England), & are only starving, not committing crime. The25

Smith is a sailless, chartless, foodless, unmanageable hulk, & has been drifting26

from Bermuda helpless for four months from Bermuda, begging her bread as27

she goes. I know the ship & her history. Our government has moved to the28

relief of distress like this before, hence I am emboldened to make this appeal.29

With great respect,30

SamR. L. Clemens31 Ï32

SLC to John Sherman, 20 September 1877, contd.

1877�page 162

[enclosure 2, per Telegraph Operator, copy received:]1

2BLANK NO. 1.3

THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY.4THIS COMPANY TRANSMITS AND DELIVERS MESSAGES ONLY ON CONDITIONS, LIMITING ITS LIABILITY, WHICH HAVE5

BEEN ASSENTED TO BY THE SENDER OF THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE.6ERRORS CAN BE GUARDED AGAINST ONLY BY REPEATING A MESSAGE BACK TO THE SENDING STATION FOR7

COMPARISON, AND THE COMPANY WILL NOT HOLD ITSELF LIABLE FOR ERRORS OR DELAYS IN TRANSMISSION OR8DELIVERY OF UNREPEATED MESSAGES.9

THIS MESSAGE IS AN UNREPEATED MESSAGE AND IS DELIVERED BY REQUEST OF THE SENDER UNDER THE10CONDITIONS NAMED ABOVE.11

A. R. BREWER, SEC�Y. WILLIAM ORTON, PRES�T.12137 21513

DATED Chattonooga Tenn 187 714

RECEIVED AT 640 Sep. 2015

TO SamR L. Clements16

1718

Despatch received Please communicate with Secy. of Treasy at Washington19

& the proper course will be taken.20

R. B. Hayes21

17 Coll22

RM23READ THE NOTICE AT THE TOP.24

J25

[letter docketed:] C. 189, vol. 20. R.M. [and] 1362 | B'21 | TREASURY DEPARTMENT26

RECEIVED SEP 22 1877 | T | Hartford, Sept. 20'77 | Saml L. Clemens | Submits27

copy of telegram to the President and his reply, together with a newspaper28

article which explains both. | 2 Encl. & newspaper slip [and] 1362. | B'21 |29

TREASURY DEPARTMENT RECEIVED SEP 22 1877 | C. 189, vol. 20. R.M. | T | Hartford Sept.30

20O 1877 | Samuel L. Clemens | Submits copy of a telegram to Prest. and31

Requests that Cutter Colfax search for the �Jonas Smith�32

C. 190, vol. 20. L.R.33

H 136 O O O34

B. 273 O 18. Les.35

H. 107 O O O36

Y. 23 O O O37

O 24 O O O38

C. 147 O O O39

R.M40

1877�page 163

To Charles E. Perkins20 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CtHMTH, #01485)

Sept 201

Mr Perkins, please tell Bergen to add two dollars ($2) per week to his2

wages after Oct. 2d.3

Yrs4

S. L Clemens5 Ï6

1877�page 164

To Charles E. Perkins21 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01486)

Sept 21.1

SLC Dr Sir�I have told Bergen to report once a year or such a matter�it2

ain�t worth while to do it oftener as dramatics go these times�3

Ys 4

S L Clemens5

Ï6

1877�page 165

To John Sherman22 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: DNA, #01487)

SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD1.2

[enclosure simulated, line by line:]3

The publication of Mark Twain�s interesting4letter about the schooner Jonas Smith has5brought out some further information re-6gard to the ocean-tramp. Mr. Clemens was7right in believing the vessel reported off North8Carolina to be the same that he encountered9while returning from the Bermudas last May.10But a search through the marine list in New11York developes the fact that she arrived at12that port in May, and afterward went to Bos-13ton, and is now on her way from Boston to14Savannah. 15

Sept. 22'77.16

Sir: I am very sorry to discover that that vessel is not in any trouble, but17

has really been to Boston & is now seeking Savannah. I naturally feel18

humiliated, sir, in the by the safety of these people, although I feel that I am19

in no wise responsible for it. 20

Still, I hasten to apologize for having troubled you, sir, with anything21

connected with these shameful people.22

With great respect,23

SamR. L. Clemens24

Ï25

The Hon. The Secretary 26

of the Treasury.27

J28

[letter docketed:] 898 a'22 [and] | 898 | a'22 | TREASURY DEPARTMENT RECEIVED SEP 24 187729

| C. 190 vol 20 RM. [and] 1 clipping RM [and] 898 | a'22 | TREASURY DEPARTMENT30

RECEIVED SEP 24 1877 | C. 190. vol. 20 RM | T | Hartford | Sept 22 1877 | SamR31

L. Clemens | apologizing for troubling Dep. in connection with sch �Jonas32

Smith�33

34

SLC to John Sherman, 22 September 1877, contd.

1877�page 166

C. 189, vol. 20. L.R.1

H 136 O O O2

B. 273 O 18. Les3

H. 107 O O O4

C. 147 O O O5

6

NO. OF ENCLOSURES, 1 Clipping7

R.M.89

1877�page 167

To Charles E. Perkins24 September 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS, postal card, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01488)

Sept 24.1

Edwards wrote, a week or ten days ago that he was sending some money. Did2

you receive it?3

S L Clemens4 Ï5

J6

US POSTAL CARD. WRITE THE ADDRESS ON THIS SIDE�THE MESSAGE ON THE OTHER | Chas. E. Perkins,7

Esq | 14 State st | City. [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. SEP 25 12M [docketed:] SLC | Sept8

24. Recd & ans 25. 779

1877�page 168

To Matthew H. BartlettOctober 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS of inscription in The Innocents Abroad, American Publishing Company, 1876: CtHMTH, #09280)

To Mr. Bartlett, who has robbed the historical command �Away with him to1

the Tower!� of all its terrors�this,2

With the grateful acknowledgments of 3

Mark Twain4

Ï5

Hartford, Oct. 1877.6

1877�page 169

To Matthew H. BartlettOctober 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS of inscription in Mark Twain�s Sketches, New and Old, AmericanPublishing Company, 1875: Mac Donnell, #11172)

To Mr. Bartlett1

With Compts of2

S. L. Clemens3 Ï4

Oct 1877.5

1877�page 170

To Charles E. Perkins3? October 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CtHMTH, #01489)

Over1DORÉ GALLERY, 35, NEW BOND STREET,2

LONDON, Sept. 21. 18773

Sir,4

Agreeably to your instructions we duly forwarded the engraving �Xt.5

leaving the Prætorium� to the care of Messrs Routledge & Co; but they de-6

clined to honor the your draft on them for amt. of our a'c�7

We have therefore sent the Proof out to you direct by Messrs Davies8

Turner & Co., whose local Agents will present the order for payment on9

delivery of the case�which we shall be obliged by your duly honoring.10

We are, Sir11

Yours obedtly12

for Fairless & Beeforth13

IGF.14

SamR L. Clemens Esq.15

[on verso:]16

Dr Sir:17

The Routledges wrote me the other day that they had refused to pay18

this bill & I replied that they had done rightly.19

These people said they would furnish the picture to me in 2½ years, or20

at the outside 3; & upon this understanding I gave them an order on Rout-21

ledge for the money. I don�t know that there is any evidence but my mere22

memory & oath, as to that contract; but I will not pay any part of this bill or23

receive the picture unless you think their case is good in law. Shall I pay, or24

refuse?25

Ys Truly26

S. L. Clemens27 Ï28

1877�page 171

To Charles E. Perkins4 October 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, postal card: CtHMTH, #01491)

Please re-mail that letter to me. I believe I will not concede the �dramatic�1

year yet.2

S L Clemens3

Ï4

J5

US POSTAL CARD. WRITE THE ADDRESS ON THIS SIDE�THE MESSAGE ON THE OTHER | Chas. E. Perkins,6

Esq | 14 State st | City [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. OCT 4 6PM7

1877�page 172

To Minnie Wakeman-Curtis5 October 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(Paraphrase and TS: Edgar Wakeman, The Log of An Ancient Mariner,A. L. Bancroft and Company, 1878, p. 12, #01493)

Some effort was made to collect the �yarns he spun,� but it was finally1

abandoned as impracticable. The gentleman who has already been mentioned,2

uses the following language respecting them: �I can mention some stories, but3

the happy details have all faded away. * * * His best stories were so dramatic4

in manner, that they can only be talked, they cannot be written; they talk with5

fine effect, but they lose a vast amount of their force as soon as they are on6

paper, for there was a charm about his telling of them which pen and ink7

cannot convey. * * * He made you cry and laugh at the same time. It is easy8

to make people laugh; it is very hard to make them do both.�9

1877�page 173

To Charles E. Perkins5 or 6 October 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01492)

CHARLES E. PERKINS,1ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR AT LAW,2

14 STATE STREET,3HARTFORD, CONN., S' Oct 5 18774

S. L Clemens E5

Dr Sir6

Your note is recd You say that the print sellers agreed to send the7

print in two or 3 years�but you dont say when that was or whether the 38

years are up�or how long Write me the particulars more fully�9

Yours truly10

C. E. Perkins11

The agreement was made more than 5 years ago; they put in their first12

appearance with the picture a month ago & Routledge refused to cash my13

order drawn in their favor.14

SLC15

1877�page 174

To Charles E. Perkins 14 October 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01494)

Dr Mr. Perkins�1

If you approve this, please communicate it to Messrs. Davies &2

Co�& in your own language if you prefer.3

Ys Truly4

S L Clemens5 Ï6

[enclosure, in ink:]7SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.8

Oct. 14'77.9

Dr Sirs: I remember having the soul persecuted out of me in London =510

years ago,= by a genteel tramp who wanted to sell me an engraving. To get rid11

of this p'rersecutor I agreed to take his ware�which was to be furnished to12

me in 2½ years from that time. When three had gone by I was glad�for the13

tramp had failed of his agreement .= & now I never14

I will give for=if=ty dollars, currency, for that box & contents, free of all15

dues & charges (& then anybody can have it for $'20 =cents= who will take it16

off my hands.) I cannot receive the box upon any other terms.17

With thanks for your offer to advance for me, I am, Dr Sirs,18

Ys Truly19

S. L. Clemens20 Ï21

1877�page 175

To William D. Howells 15 October 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: MH-H, #01496)

=P. S. When you come, remind me to show you my �Undertaker�s Tale��&1

tell me what is the trouble with it.=2

Oct. 153

SLC My Dear Howells�I am entirely glad, a hundred times over! I saw the4

item in the papers 2 days ago & was going to send jubilations, but I was afraid5

of the confounded after-claps that come later, sometimes & spoil everything.6

But a house full of money, & so soon as the second night, is one of those7

Scripture truths that lay all doubts on the shelf. I�m mighty glad�there�s no8

two ways about that.9

I�ve got some good news too�(but keep it to yourself for the10

present)� �Ah Sin� is a most abject & incurable failure! It will leave the11

stage permanently, within a week.', & then I shall be a cheerful being again.12

I�m sorry for poor Parsloe, but for nobody else concerned.13

Yrs Ever14

Mark.15

1877�page 176

To Charles E. Perkins18 October 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01497)

Oct. 18.1

SLC Dr Sir�Send this or tear it up, as your judgment shall dictate.2

If you decide to send it please tell them to hold the picture subject to Mr.3

D. Vorce�s order for a few days.'�(=for I should have him place it for sale in4

New York.)5

Please drop me a line when you receive this.6

Yrs7

SLC8

1877�page 177

To Charles E. Perkins20? October 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, in pencil: CtHMTH, #03233)

I suppose they ought to give up the order1

on Routle[d]ge now. SLC.2

P.O. BOX 2193. SHIPPING & COMMISSION MERCHANTS. FOREIGN CARRIERS. 3OFFICE OF THE AMERICAN-FOREIGN & EUROPEAN EXPRESS, 4

DAVIES, TURNER & CO. 40 & 42 BROADWAY,56

CHIEF OFFICES: PARIS, 19 RUE BERGÈRE. 7NEW YORK, 40 & 42 BROADWAY. BRANCH OFFICES & AGENCIES IN ALL 8LIVERPOOL, 20 WATER STREET. THE PRINCIPAL TOWNS OF EUROPE &C.9LONDON, 79 GRACECHURCH ST. E.C. 10

9 335 OXFORD ST. W C. 11NEW YORK 19th Oct. 187712

Mr SamR L. Clemens13

Hartford. Conn.14

Dear Sir,15

We have since writing on 12th received draft endorsed to our order16

drawn by you in London 4th Oct 1872 for sixteen pounds, in payment for the17

engraving �Christ leaving the Prætorium.� The note is drawn on Mess Geo18

Routledge & Sons, London.19

Mr Perkins raises the question as to the time of delivery. Mess Fairless &20

Beeforth have on previous occasions advised us that they never promise21

engravings by any specified time, as they are unable to do so, as the22

completion of the plate depends upon the engraver and if they were to hurry23

him they should risk the finish of the plate.24

We shall feel obliged by your honoring the above draft and take the25

picture, as we have instructions to put the first in circulation26

Respectfully yours27

Davies & Co28

1877�page 178

To Charles Warren Stoddard20�22 October 1877 � 1st of 5 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS of inscription in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, American PublishingCompany, 1876: InU-Li, #09289)

To CW Stoddard1

from his friend2

S. L. Clemens3

Ï4

1877.5

1877�page 179

To Charles Warren Stoddard20�22 October 1877 � 2nd of 5 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS of inscription in The Gilded Age, American Publishing Company, 1876: NN-B, #09281)

To C. W. Stoddard1

from 2

S. L. Clemens3

Ï4

Oct. 18775

1877�page 180

To Charles Warren Stoddard20�22 October 1877 � 3rd of 5 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS of inscription in The Innocents Abroad, American Publishing Company,1876: Anderson Auction Company catalog, 10�11

November 1924, item 182, #09765)

182�The Innocents Abroad. Illustrated.1

8vo, cloth. Hartford, 18762

AUTOGRAPH PRESENTATION COPY, inscribed: �To Chas. Warren Stoddard from3

his friend Mark Twain. Hartford, Oct. 1877.�4

1877�page 181

To Charles Warren Stoddard20�22 October 1877 � 4th of 5 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS of inscription, probably in Mark Twain�s Sketches, New and Old,American Publishing Company, 1875: Goodspeed�s catalog,

no. 250, p. ix, #10337)

FIRST EDITION.1

PRESENTATION COPY, with inscription on fly-leaf: �To C. W. Stoddard, from S.2

L. CLEMENS, 1877.3

1877�page 182

To Charles Warren Stoddard20�22 October 1877 � 5th of 5 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS of inscription in Roughing It, American Publishing Company, 1876:Anderson Auction Company catalog, 10�11 November 1924,

no. 1873, item 183, #09764)

183�Roughing It. Illustrated.1

8vo, cloth. Hartford, 18762

AUTOGRAPH PRESENTATION COPY, inscribed: �To C. W. Stoddard, from S. L.3

Clemens. Oct. 1877.�4

1877�page 183

To Charles Warren Stoddard22 October 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card: CU-MARK, #01490)

Monday, P.M.1

SLC Dear Charley: My wife has plunged me into an abyss of genuine2

remorse, by saying, �What! didn�t you go to the station with Mr. Stoddard?�3

I said, �You know I only go when there are ladies, or when the gentlemen do4

not know the way.� �'She said, �But this is such a dismal day. It is so forlorn5

to send anybody away alone.� I realized it in an instant & I have felt like a6

brute ever since�but I do assure you my conduct was innocent & only7

heedless�but it was hellish, nevertheless. Now you promise me to come again8

& give me one more chance. Will you? 9

Yrs Ever10

Mark.11

Ï12

We all thoroughly enjoyed your visit, my boy�all the tribe of us.13

1877�page 184

To Elinor M. Howells26 October? 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS of inscription in Mark Twain�s Adhesive Scrap Book, Slote, Woodman andCompany, 1877: MH-H, #10846)

I beg to place this copy of my last & least objectionable work before1

Mrs. Howells with my kindest regards2

Saml L. Clemens3

Hartford 1877.4

1877�page 185

To Mary Mason Fairbanks31 October 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CSmH, #01500)

Oct. 31. '77.1

Dear Mother:2

No, it is not �absurd� to offer that or any other best effort of3

anybody to the public for trial & judgment. Try it. If it fails, then offer your4

=the= very worst you can do. No, I take that back. You can never write5

anything half so nauseous & idiotic as Helen�s Babies�therefore you have6

only one string to your bow�your best.7

I will write the introduction gladly.8

Whom shall you publish with? An eastern, or a Cincinnati house? The9

latter might be best, perhaps, but if you prefer the former, you should offer10

the book to Osgood I think.11

You must not get mad if the venture yields only fame & not money.12

Bayard Taylor�s noble translation of Faust filled the English-speaking world13

with his fame�but he told me his copyright has only yielded him five dollars14

thus far. Charley Warren Stoddard made quite a name for himself with his15

South-Sea Idyl. He was here the other day, & had just collected his two-years�16

copyright�six dollars.17

But there�s a good safe rule to follow�considering that Providence18

always makes it a point to find out what s' you are after, so as to see that you19

don�t get it .': Publish for fame, & you may get money; publish for money &20

you may get fame: but the true trick is, publish for love, & then you don�t care21

a (I can�t seem to get hold of the word I�m after) whether you get anything or22

not.23

There�it�s a wise son that can instruct his mother. But there be such, an�24

you will take the pains to search them out.25

You say, �What I want you to tell me, is,� &c., &c., & then you ask a26

question which nobody can answer, & which does not need an answer,27

anyway. The only sound question is, Will the world like the book for its own28

sake & putting all other considerations aside? Nob' single individual can29

answer that. If Helen�s Babies & Pope�s translation of Homer, & Paradise30

Lost, & Lamb�s works, had been submitted to me, I would have burned them31

with a savage =maniacal= joy & scalped their authors. See what the world32

would have lost. If I were a publisher would I submit a MS to my one poor33

SLC to Mary Mason Fairbanks, 31 October 1877, contd.

1877�page 186

solitary �reader?� No�I would pass it around to fifty people, of different1

ranks & circumstances, & abide by the verdict of the majority.2

That is the court before which a book is tried at last, anyway. So the only3

thing worth listening to is the author�s word that his book is the best he can4

do�then hurl it before the general court, & sit down & wait for the result.5

So I close as I began:'�it is worth while to publish one�s best�&6

without submitting the matter to individual judgments, since they can exercise7

but one function: that is, too' kill; whereas the public add the greater function:8

it can immortalize as well as kill.9

No, I ain�t afraid to �write frankly.� I always do�to strangers & friends10

alike. I say �Please don�t value any individual�s verdict�it is worthless. Many11

a sterling brand of tobacco would have been lost to the world if it had been12

placed before the judgment-seat of the most intelligent lady in the land.13

Therefore consider your book a sterling brand of tobacco & your individual14

judge a brilliant but chuc in some things chuckleheaded lady.�15

I remember that I liked your letters well�barring the lack of malignity16

& profanity�a thing which is bound to make one�s literature too uniformly17

smoothe & gentle. But when your proof-sheets issue, I will brisk them up a18

little in these respects if you like.19

You fire away with your book, & don�t be afraid. When the proof-sheets20

come, I�ll write that introduction. You must always refer offensively to Capt.21

Duncan; & when I' it comes my turn in the introduction I will give him a lift22

that will enable him to find out what Mars�s new moons are made of. Love to23

you all�including, with particular emphasis�Molly.24

SamR. L. C.25

1877�page 187

To UnidentifiedNovember 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CLjC, #12465)

[sketch of a sleeping cat by SLC, labeled: A CAT; sketch of cat with arched back by1

Thomas Nast, labeled: This a dog. Th. Nast.]2

[image reproduced at 60%]3

If by �we,� Mr. Warner means Hartford generally, it would have bec'tter4

become him to speak for himself alone, & not wantonly hurt the feelings of5

such of us who =as= can �draw & paint.�6

SamR. L. Clemens7

(�Mark Twain.�)8

Ï9

Hartford, Nov. �7710

1877�page 188

To William Dean Howells 1 November 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: MH-H, #01501)

My Dear Howells�1

I don�t know whether this is old or new. Joe Twichell got it from a2

Cleveland clergyman, who said it was very recent. If you print it, put it where3

I have marked it in the proof, & send a proof of it to Canada & forward one4

to me for London. If it is too powerful, squelch it & let me have the MS again.5

Some Simsburg ass printed the story of Daniel in the Lion�s Den6

yesterday in the Hartford Times, & did it so wretchedly & nastily & witlessly7

that I suppose the whole nation of Helen�s Baby�s admirers will welcome it as8

a very inspiration of humor & read & copy it everywhere.9

Your visit was entirely too short. I do hope you will all be able to make10

a long one when you come in December. We�ll make Johnny & Winnie enjoy11

it.12

This tribe sends loving regards to yours.13

Mrs. Gilman has fitful glimmerings of reason, in which she straightway14

plunges into schemes for paying the swindled creditors, & is soon a frantic15

maniac again.16

Ys Ever17

Mark.18

Ï19

1877�page 189

To Andrew Chattoper Fanny C. Hesse

7 November 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: ViU, #01502)

Nov 7th 18771SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.2

Dear Mr Chatto3

It is a= right down generous offer you make & if the books didn�t4

cost much I accept with pleasure,' .= b'B=ut if they were expensive it would not5

be fair to let you t' pay the whole cost of a blunder which was not yours but6

a subordinate�s�in which case let us divide the expense, & shake hands7

across the bloody chasm.8

It was not about the Tom Sawyer act with me that I was inquiring, for that is9

all correct. I was simply anxious to know if Conway had paid himself his10

royalty or if you had paid it to him. The main thing was I wanted him to get11

it. I did not care anything about the details, I only wanted to know that he got12

it.13

Have received your checks for 5.qs. and £7.10.0. Thanks, they are satisfactory,14

especially the latter. The larger a check is, the more I like it; & the more I15

honor & glorify the sender, & the more it stirs me up to high literary achieve-16

ment in that man�s behoof.17

Very truly yours.18

SamR L. Clemens.19

Pr F. C. H20

1877�page 190

To Moncure D. Conwayper Fanny C. Hesse

8 November 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(TS: CU-MARK, #01503)

November 8th, 18771SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.2

My dear Conway,3

In a letter of yours a year old, I have accidentally run across this sentence4

appended to a remark about the First edition of Tom Sawyer. �The telegrams5

sent you by me are not included of course, & I am sorry to say my books are6

confused about these said telegrams. As well as I can make out they amount7

to £2.11.0 which with 16s paid for carriage of picture plates and telegrams to8

Chatto in emergencies would amount to about £3.10.s. But this is subject to9

your reccollection of the telegrams I sent you & need not be considered of10

importance.� When I came across that sentence, it struck me as likely as not11

I had forgotten to write you anything in answer to it. So I thought I would12

drop you a line now & say that if this matter never has been settled, I wish13

you would take that £3.11.s out of the next Sawyer money due me from14

Chatto. Of course I ought to have written you at the time & said15

this�possibly also I did do it, but to make things perfectly certain I do it now.16

All well here, & send kindest regards.17

Yours ever18

Saml. L. Clemens.19

Pr F. C. H.20

1877�page 191

To E. S. Sykes9 November 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CU-MARK, #01504)

Nov. 9.1

E. S. Sykes, Esq�2

Dr Sir:3

Mr. Burton�s note puts upon me all the blame of the4

destruction of an enterprise which had for its object the succor of the Hart-5

ford poor. That is to say, this enterprise has been dropped because of the6

�dissatisfaction with Mr. Clemens�s stipulations=.�= & requirements Therefore7

I must be allowed to say a word in my defence.8

There were two �stipulations��exactly two. I made one of them; if the9

other was made at all, it was a joint one, from the choir & me choir and me.10

My individual stipulation was, that my name should be kept out of the11

newspapers.12

The joint one was, that sufficient tickets to ensure a good sum should be13

sold before the date of the performance should be set. ƒUnderstand, we14

wanted a good sum�I do not think any of us bothered about a good house; it15

was money we were after.„16

Now you perceive that my concern is simply with my individual stipu-17

lation. Did that break up the enterprise?18

Eugene Burton said he would sell $300 worth of the tickets himself. Mr.19

Smith said he would sell $200 or $300 worth himself. My plan four for Asy-20

lum Hill Church would have ensured $150 from that quarter. All this in the21

face of my �stipulation.� It was proposed to raise $1000; did my stipulation22

render the raising of $400 =or $500= in a dozen churches impossible?23

My stipulation is easily defensible. When a mere reader or lecturer has24

appeared 3 or 4 times in a town of Hartford�s size, lik he is a good deal more25

than likely to get a very unpleasant snub if he shoves himself forward on26

about once or twice more. Therefore I long ago made up my mind that I'27

whenever I again appeared here, it should be only in a minor capacity & not as28

a chief attraction. Therefore, when I ( argument) agreed agreed to29

appear with Mr. Mitchell�s choir at Asylum Hill church, I stipulated that my30

name should not appear in print. By a shameful juggle I was daily paraded in31

SLC to E. S. Sykes, 9 November 1877 contd.

1877�page 192

the newspapers in the most disgusting way, though my name was not printed.1

I said, then, that next time, I would stipulate that the spirit of the compact2

should be kept'., as well as the letter.3

Now I placed that =harmless & very justifiable= stipulation before the4

committee the other day; they carried it to headquarters & it was accepted5

there. I am not informed that any objection was made to it, or that it was6

regarded as an offense. It seems late in the day, now, after a good deal of7

trouble has been taken & a good deal of thankless work done by the8

committees, to suddenly tear up the contract & then turn & bowl me down9

from long range as being the destroyer of it.10

If the enterprise has failed because of my individual stipulation, here you11

have my proper & reasonable reasons for making that stipulation.12

If it has failed because of the joint stipulation, put the b' blame there, & let13

us share it collectively.14

I think our plan was a good one. I do not doubt that Mr. Burton still15

approves of it, too. I believe the objections come from other quarters, & not16

from him. Mr. Twichell used these =following= words in last Sundays sermon,17

(if I remember correctly):18

�My hearers, the prophet Deuteronomy says this wise thing: �Though19

ye plan a goodly house for the poor, & plan it with wisdom, & do take off20

your coats & set to build it, with high courage, yet shall the croaker presently21

come, & lift up his voice, (having his coat on,) & say, Verily this plan is not22

well planned�& he will go his way; & the obstructionist will come, & lift up23

his voice, (having his coat on,) & say, Behold, this is but a sick plan�& he will24

go his way; & the man that knows it all will come, (having his coat on,) will25

come, & lift up his voice, (having his coat on,) & say, Lo, call they this a26

plan?�O saw my leg off!� then will he go his way; & the places which knew27

him once shall know him no more forever, because he was not, for God took28

him. Now therefore I say unto you, Verily that house will not be builded.�' And I29

say this also: He that waite=th for all men to be satisfied with his plan, let him30

seek eternal life, for he shall need it.�31

This portion of Mr. Twichell�s sermon made a great impression upon32

me, & I was grieved that some one had not wakened me earlier so that I33

might have heard what went before.34

Ys Truly35

S. L. Clemens36 Ï37

1877�page 193

To Thomas Nast12 November 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: NN-B, #02518)

Hartford, Nov. 121

My Dear Nast:2

I did not think I should ever stand on a platform again until the3

time was come for me to say, �I die innocent.� But the same old offers keep4

arriving that have arrived arriven every year & been every year declined�$5005

for Louisville, $500 for St Louis, $1000 gold for 2 nights in Toronto, half6

gross proceeds for New York, Boston, Brooklyn, &c. I have declined them7

all, just as usual�though sorely tempted, as usual.8

Now I do not decline because I mind talking to an audience, but9

because, =(1.)= traveling alone is so heart-breakingly dreary, & (2), shouldering the10

whole show is such a cheer-killing responsibility.11

Therefore, I now propose to you what you proposed to me in Novem-12

ber �67�ten years ago =(when I was unknown,)=�viz., that you stand on the13

platform & make pictures, & I stand by you & blackguard the audience. I14

should enormously enjoy meandering around, (to big towns�don�t want to15

go to little ones)�with you for company.16

My idea is, not to fatten lecture-agents & lyceums on the spoils, but put17

all the ducats religiously into two equal piles & say to the artist & the lecturer,18

�Absorb these.�19

For instance�this being the plan: Pay the lecture bureau 2 per cent of20

gross receipts to engage halls & arrange dates & route for us. Take an agent with21

us to tend door, at & shoulder all details, at $70 or $75 per week, he to pay his22

own expenses. Perform at a dollar a ticket, & only in towns= capable of fur-23

nishing from eight to 1200-dollar audiences.24

Have 50-cent =or 75c= admissions, also, in halls & theatres where there25

are galleries, if considered expedient.26

Take a hall in New York for 2 weeks (with privilege of extending the27

time if it is were =if= necessary); go from there elsewhere, & come back &28

finish there with 2 to 3 weeks more, at the end of the trip.29

Begin Feb 1st & perform 100 times (not including Wednesday &30

Saturday matinées)�call the gross result $100,000 for 4 months & a half, &31

the profit from $60,000 to $75,000. (I try to make the figures large nough32

enough, & leave it to the public to reduce them.)33

SLC to Thomas Nast, 12 November 1877, contd.

1877�page 194

I lectured 2 nights in Steinway Hall once, on for half of the gross1

receipts. We packed the house both nights at a dollar a head. The rent of the2

hall was either $200 or $250 per night, & the advertising little or nothing,3

because there was not time to do much. Now I think =know= you & I could4

pack that hall 6 nights & 2 matineés�& double this ti that time in a smaller5

hall. [in margin: We could clear $3000 apiece for a Steinway week with no6

trouble at all.]7

We can pack Music Hall in Boston =(it seats near about 2500)= 2 nights8

& one matinée, or run a week in a smaller hall.9

New York,� � 12 days (or 24)10

=(small hall & 4 matinees)=11

Baltimore� � 2 (& 1 matinee)12

Washington 2�13

Boston�� 2 (& 1 matinèe)14

=(Music Hall)=15

Providence� 116

Chelsea�� 117

Portland� 118

Binghamton 119

Elmira��� 120

Buffalo�� 221

Cleveland� 222

Pittsburgh� 223

Columbus� 124

Detroit�� 125

Chicago�� 6' 4 (& 2' 1 matinee/s)26

St Louis� 427

Cincinnati� 4 (& 1 mat.)28

Louisville� 2 (or 3)29

Toronto� 230

Hamilton� 131

New Haven� 132

Stamford� 133

Bridgeport� 134

Hartford� 135

SLC to Thomas Nast, 12 November 1877, contd.

1877�page 195

New York 12 (again)1

[(] & 4 mat)2

����3����4

Total 75.5

I have no map by me, else I could easily pick =out= & add 25 one-6

thousand dollar towns scattered about n'N= ew England & along that route.7

You & I can cram any house in America just as full as it can hold.8

I did not put in Philadelphia because Pugh owns that town, & last winter9

when I made a little reading-trip he only paid me $300 & pretended his10

concert (I read 15 minutes in the midst of a concert) cost him $600 a vast11

sum, & so he couldn�t afford any more. I could get up a better concert with12

a barrel full of cats.13

I am deep in a book, which I can have ready for the printers & the14

dramatist (for I want it dramatised) by the end of January, & be ready for you15

then, if you like the project.16

I have imagined two or three pictures & concocted the accompanying17

remarks to see how the thing would go. I was charmed.18

Well, you think it over, Nast, & drop me a line. I am not proposing a19

novelty in business. In California & Nevada I always ran my own show, took20

all the risks myself & pocketed the whole profit. My agent got nothing but a21

salary. I know this business from A to Z.22

By George, wW= e should have some fun!23

Yrs Truly24

SamR. L. Clemens25

Ï26

1877�page 196

To Orion Clemens13 November 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, envelope only: CU-MARK, #10110)

J1

Orion Clemens, Esq | Keokuk | Iowa [return address:] IF NOT DELIVERED WITHIN 10 DAYS,2

TO BE RETURNED TO [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. NOV 13 6PM3

1877�page 197

To Thomas Bailey Aldrich17? November 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card: VtMiM, #01507)

Saturday, 4 P.M.1

SLC My Dear Aldrich�2

Your book came at 10 this morning, just as I was feeling rested3

enough to get up & plow along on my great romance. So I ordered breakfast4

& a pipe to be brought up to the bed�which would give me a chance to5

glance at the book. Result: I have read every line of the bewitching thing &6

have lost my day�s work & am not in the least sorry. I would spend another7

work-day in bed to read its mate. It is a delicious situation where that young8

fellow gets into the asylum�I should have been tempted to enlarge his9

experiences there. 10

Yrs Ever11

Mark12

Ï13

1877�page 198

To Charles E. Flower22 November ?1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, draft: CSmH, #01282)

Hartford, Nov. 22.1

My Dear Mr. Flower:2

Since I received your letter I have corresponded with some New York3

newspaper men about the Memorial, & sent them the documents.', asking4

them to write editorials. In reply, they5

1877�page 199

To Unidentified1 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS facscimile, correspondence card: Charles Hamilton, Collecting Autographs and Manuscripts, University of Oklahoma Press,

1961, p. 118, #09279)

SLC The great question of the day does not disturb me; for I believe there1

can =will= be no eternal punishment, except for the man who invented steel2

pens.3

Ys Truly4

S. L. Clemens5

Mark Twain.6

Ï7

Dec 1 77.8

1877�page 200

To D. F. Appleton5 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS: Seventy-second Anniversary Celebration of the New-England Society in the City of New York at Delmonico�s Dec. 22, 1877, p. 84, #01508)

SLC FARMINGTON AVENUE, HARTFORD.1

Dec. 5, 18772

D. F. Appleton, Esq.3

Dear Sir: Remembering Mr. Curtis�s great speech, and other great and4

enjoyable features of the New-England Society�s last annual banquet, it is with5

very real regret that I am obliged to deny myself the privilege of being present6

at this year�s dinner; but I have an offensive business engagement for that day7

in Hartford. Most people would shirk this, under the temptation which your8

invitation offers, but I have young George Washington�s disease (which is9

much rarer now than Bright�s), and my word is the one unfracturable thing10

about me. ƒI do not know what Bright�s disease is, but anyway, I do not feel11

bright enough this morning to be afraid I have got it.„12

Still, I shall not be without my share in the pleasures of the occasion for13

my private telephone will be connected with your banqueting hall, if my plans14

and purposes succeed. It has an improvement of my own invention which I15

call the Olfactorium, and I shall sit by my own fireside, with a few friends whom16

I have taken the liberty to invite to your celebration, and we will smoke our17

pipes and sip our lemonade, applaud your speeches judiciously, and refresh18

ourselves with a fragrant sniff of each of your courses as it comes on your19

table. We shall also have one privilege which will be denied to your20

(otherwise) more fortunate guests: for if an orator ventures to spread himself21

out over the edges of the regulation ten minutes, he must be proportionately22

interesting, or we will shut down the lid on him and wait for the next speaker.23

Since we shall necessarily not be in the list of guests appointed to respond to24

toasts, we shall sorrow to be unable to contribute a sentiment or two to the25

general entertainment, but there is a new song here which you may not have26

heard, and if you care for music we shall be very glad indeed to sing it for you,27

by telephone. I am not right sure of the name of it, but I think it is called �In28

the Sweet By-and Bye.�29

Again thanking the Committee for the compliment of their invitation, I30

am, with great respect,31

Mark Twain.32

1877�page 201

To Olivia Lewis Langdon5 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01509)

Dec. 5.1

Mother Dear,�2

We are getting along about as usual. All hands pretty well. The shaving-3

stand you got for me is just the needed thing. It suits exactly. It compels the4

morning shave. Consequently, I have not missed shaving on any morning5

since I have possessed it. I thank you very much�& you may believe Livy6

does also.7

We vastly enjoyed Mr. Slee�s visit�but you knew that before. We have8

had a letter from Mrs. Slee, & I hope she will come, too, next time.9

Love to you & all the rest .=�& punch up The about the telephone. I will10

sing you to sleep, nights, from the farm.11

Lovingly12

Saml.13

Ï14

=Livy disapproved of the other sheet of this letter, so I tore it up. She�s awful15

particular!=16

17

I wish I could have been at your telephone exhibition. Your account18

gave me a very vivid appreciation of the marvels of the instrument�the most19

vivid of any I have had yet, I think.20

Ï21

1877�page 202

To Andrew Chattoper Fanny C. Hesse

10 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: NN-B, #02519)

Hartford 9' Dec 10th'771

Dear Mr Chatto,2

Thanks for the check (£15.0.0.) and for the other half of the Arabian3

Nights, since you are determined to do penance. I may possibly have an4

article soon. I wrote it a couple of days ago, but I may not publish it for a5

month or two.6

Yours very truly7

SamR L. Clemens.8

Pr F.C.H.9

1877�page 203

To Orion Clemensper Fanny C. Hesse

10 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS: CU-MARK, #01511)

Hartford Dec 10th 18771

My dear brother.2

Please ask your papers to give this item a start. Get some discreet3

friend�dont go yourself�to go to that canvasser & be ingenious enough to4

get out of him the address of th=eat �Franklin Publishing Company��= that is5

to say the name of the thief that calls himself the Franklin Pub. Co =�& his6

private or official address. I mean [to] find out where this man gets his books7

from. It is most likely that he gets them from a subordinate thief�but at the8

same time the head qua[r]ters are of course out west somewhere & not in New9

York. So it is not' doubt possible to get the head qua[r]ters address which is10

what I want.11

�The Post� does not make a living�has not paid expenses for two or three12

years.13

Get your Editors to make editorial reference to the fact that that book is being14

canvassed for, in Keokuk & the contracts made with the canvasser are binding15

upon nobody.16

Your brother17

SamR L. Clemens.18

Pr F C. H.19

1877�page 204

To Unidentifiedper Fanny C. Hesse

11 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS, draft: CU-MARK, #08617)

Hartford Dec. 11th 18771

To the Editor of��2

Sir,3

A fraudulent concern calling itself =�the Franklin Publishing Co� of4

New York is canvassing the West for a book entitled �Elbow Room, or the5

Innocents at Home by Mark Twain.� I never have written any such book; I6

never have had any dealings whatever with the above firm, and whoever buys7

one of those books or pays for one after being deceived into subscribing for8

it, will do himself a wrong, & confer profit where it will be but ill deserved. I9

hope the western newspapers generally, will do me the great courtesy &10

kindness to copy this.11

Respectfully12

Mark Twain.13 Ï14

1877�page 205

To Orion Clemens19 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card: CU-MARK, #01512)

Wednesday.1

SLC Dr Bro�If I write all the books that lie planned in my head, I shall see2

the middle of the next century. I can�t add another, until after that. I couldn�t3

write from another man�s idea, anyway. But go ahead & write it yourself�that4

is, if you can drop other things. Your law is not in your way; but if you write5

a book worth reading it will only be by eschewing temperance, amateur theat-6

ricals, religion, & other dissipations.', & giving your entire mind to the one7

thing. Don�t think of it as a book�think of it as an amusement, a thing with8

no object, a thing done9

. . . .10

J11

Orion Clemens, Esq | Keokuk | Iowa [return address:] IF NOT DELIVERED WITHIN 10 DAYS,12

TO BE RETURNED TO [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. DEC 21 12M13

1877�page 206

To Charles F. Adams20 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: ViU, #01513)

Hartford, Thursday AM1

SLC Chas F Adams Esq2

Dr Sir: I thank you very much for your courtesy. Several oth of3

the pieces are familiar to me, & I shall be glad to make the acquaintance of the4

rest.5

Ys Truly6

S. L. Clemens7 Ï8

J9

Chas. F. Adams, Esq | 105 Arch st | Boston [in upper left corner:] Personal |10

[flourish] [return address:] IF NOT DELIVERED WITHIN 10 DAYS, TO BE RETURNED TO [postmarked:]11

HARTFORD CONN. DEC 20 6PM [docketed:] Mark Twain12

1877�page 207

Nathaniel W. Starbird, Jr. 20 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card: CU-MARK, #01514)

Hartford, Dec. 20.1

SLC =Mr. N. W. Starbird, Jr�=2

Dear Sir: Please send to me by express the brass fender (54½ inches3

long,) which you showed to me & Mr. Howells, editor of the �Atlantic4

Monthly� Tuesday morning. In' enclose check for the stipulated price ($60.)5

Please ship it at once, so that I can make a Christmas present of it &6

escape further expense under that head.7

Ys Truly8

SamR. L. Clemens9

Ï10

1877�page 208

To Moncure D. Conway21 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS, correspondence card: NNC, #01515)

Hartford, Dec. 21.1

SLC Dear Conway�I�ve a letter from Routledge wanting the Old Times2

on Mississippi & my Bermuda articles for a book.' =on a royalty.=3

Now my impression is, that my English matters are in your hands, on the4

same per centage paid you for attending to Tom Sawyer. It is also my im-5

pression that you are about to open negotiations with Chatto, & doubtless6

with Routledge too, for this very book (with the addition of a nice unique7

short story which I shall send to Chatto for his magazine about a week hence.)8

Please tell me at once if I' my impressions are correct, so I can answer9

Routledge.10

Yrs 11

S L Clemens12

1877�page 209

To William Dean Howells 23 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: NN-B, #02520)

Sunday Night.1

My Dear Howells:2

My sense of disgrace does not abate. It grows. I see that it is going to3

add itself to my list of perman'nencies�a list of humiliations that extends4

back to when I was seven years old, & which keep on persecuting me5

regardless of my repentancies.6

I feel that my misfortune has gone injured me all over the country;7

therefore it will be best that I retire from before the public at present. It will8

hurt the Atlantic for me to appear in its pages, now. So it is my opinion & my9

wife�s, that the telephone story had better be suppressed. If Will you return10

those proofs or revises to me, so that I can use the same on some future11

occasion?12

It seems as if I must have been insane when I wrote that speech & saw13

no harm in it, no disrespect toward those men whom I reverenced so much.14

And what shame I brought upon you, after what you said in introducing me!15

It burns me like fire to think of it.16

The whole matter is a dreadful subject�let me drop it here�at least on17

paper. 18

Penitently Yrs19

Mark.20

Ï21

1877�page 210

To Olivia Lewis Langdon25 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: CU-MARK, #01517)

Xmas Morning.1

Mother dear, the Satsuma ware is exquisitely beautiful. One likes to sit down2

& study each stroke & tint & delicate line in it '& as we do a' with a marvelous3

picture. We thank you much more than we can put on paper, you may be sure4

of that. The two quilts are too lovely for indiscriminate use; I shall use them5

myself, exclusively. I think that that dainty Japanese fish came from you; & so6

I will thank you for it, anyway, �jus� e� same.� The Emperor�s handwriting7

suggests yours, foreignized.8

It was a wonderful box you =you people= sent, & we had a charming time9

making discoveries in it. I have taken Ida�s House Beautiful & Baby Days &10

Ik Marvel�s Book, & shall give Livy & the children copies of my works in11

place of them. Theodore could hardly have sent me a book more to my liking12

than Miss Martineau�s Western Travels�I am charmed with the calm way she13

sharpens the hob-nails in her No. 13s & walks over our late fellow citizens. I14

am considering whether15

[top third of page, about 35 words, cut away]16

Well, we are having a pretty booming sort of a Christmas, both in the17

library & the nursery. We send you all a power of love, & the merry wishes of18

the season, with prayers for many happy returns. 19

Affectiona'l=te=ly20

SamR.21

Ï22

=P.S.=23

The ordering of father�s picture from Le Clere, by the boys, was an inspiration24

worthy of the time & of them.25

1877�page 211

To Harriet Lewis25 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(TS of inscription in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, American PublishingCompany, 1877: Walpole Galleries catalog, 19 July 1927,

no. 459, item 359, #10339)

359. �. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; illustrated; 8vo, handled. Hartford,1

1877.2

Presentation copy from Mark Twain, �Hattie L. Lewis, Merry Christmas,3

1877.�4

1877�page 212

To Ralph Waldo Emerson;duplicate letters sent to

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes27 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: MH-H, #01184)

Hartford, Thurd'sday, 27th1

To Mr. Emerson, Mr. Lon f'gfellow, & Dr. Holmes:2

Gentlemen: I come before you, now, with the mien & posture of the3

guilty�not to excuse, gloss, or extenuate, but only to offer my repentance. If4

a man with a fine nature had done that thing which I did, it would have been5

a crime�because all his senses would have warned him against it beforehand;6

but I did it innocently & unwarned. I did it as a' innocently as I ever did7

anything. You will think it is incredible; but it is true, & Mr. Howells will8

confirm my words. He does not know how it can be true, & neither does any9

one who is incapable of trespassing as I did; yet he knows it is true. But when10

I perceived what it was that I had done, I felt as real a sorrow & suffered as11

shap sharp a mortification as if =I had done it with a guilty intent. This12

continues. That the impulse was innocent, brings no abatement. As to my13

wife�s distress, it is not to be measured; for she is of finer stuff than I; & yours14

were sacred names to her. We do not talk about this misfortune�it scorches;15

so we only think�and think. 16

I will end, now',. I had to write you, for the easement of it, even though17

the doing it might maybe be a further offense. But I do not ask you to forgive18

what I did that night, for it is not forgivable; I simply had it at heart to ask you19

to believe that I am only heedlessly a savage, not premeditatedly; & that I am20

under as severe punishment as even you could adjudge to me if you were21

required to appoint my penalty. I do not ask you to say one word in answer22

to this; it is not needful, & would of course be distasteful & difficut'lt. I beg23

you to consider that in letting me unbosom myself you will do me an act of24

grace that will be sufficient in itself. I wanted to write such a letter as this, that25

next morning in Boston, but one of wiser judgment advised against it, & said26

Wait.27

With great & sincere respect28

I am29

Truly Yours30

SamR. L. Clemens31

Ï32

1877�page 213

To William Dean Howells 28 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.

(MS: NN-B, #02521)

Hartford, Friday.1

My Dear Howells:2

Your letter was a godsend; & perhaps the welcomest part of it was3

your consent that I write to those gentlemen; for you discouraged my hints in4

that direction that morning in Boston�rightly, too, for my offense was yet5

too new, then. Warner has tried to hold up our hands like the good fellow he6

is, but poor Twichell couldn�t say a word, & confessed that he would rather7

take nearly any punishment than face Livy & me. He hasn�t been here since!8

It is curious, but I pitched early upon Mr. Norton as the very man who9

would think some generous thing about that matter, whether he said it or not.10

It is splendid to be a man like that�but it is given to few to be.11

I wrote a letter yesterday, & sent a copy to each of the three. I wanted to12

send a copy to Mr. Whittier also, since the offense was done also against him,13

being committed in his pres=ence,= & he the guest of the occasion, besides14

holding the well nigh sacred place he does in this people�s estimation; but I15

didn�t know whether to venture or not, & so ended by doing nothing. It16

seemed an intrusion to approach him, & even Livy seemed to have her doubts17

as to the right best & properest way to do in the case. I do not reverence Mr.18

Emerson less, but I' somehow I could approach him easier.19

Send me those proofs, if you have got them handy; I want to submit20

them to Wylie; he won�t show them to anybody.21

Had a very pleasant & considerate letter from Mr. Houghton, to-day, &22

was very glad to receive it.23

You can�t imagine how brilliant & beautiful that new brass fender is, &24

how perfectly naturally it takes its place under the carved oak. How they did25

scour it up before they sent it! I lied a good deal about it when I came26

home�so for once I kept a secret & surprised Livy on a Christmas morning!27

I haven�t done a stroke of work since the Atlantic dinner; have only28

moped around. But I�m going to try to-morrow. How could I ever have�29

Ah, well, I am a great & sublime fool. But then I am God�s fool, & all30

His works must be contemplated with respect.31

Livy & I join in the warmest regards to you & yours.32

Yrs Ever33

Mark34

Ï35

1877�page 214

To Charles E. Perkins28 December 1877 � Hartford, Conn.(MS, postal card, in pencil: CtHMTH, #01521)

28th1

Nothing from Bergen Since Dec. 8�3 weeks. How do you account for that?2

I would be glad to hear that the party is out of luck.3

SLC4

Does the daily postal card come?�& does it cast no light?5

J6

US POSTAL CARD. WRITE THE ADDRESS ON THIS SIDE�THE MESSAGE ON THE OTHER | Chas. E. Perkins,7

Esq | 14 State st. | City [postmarked:] HARTFORD CONN. DEC 29 12M8

1877�page 215

Source Codes

The following list defines the source codes used in editorial headings throughout thisedition.

SOURCE NAME

ArU University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark.AuMS State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Vic., AustraliaBentley Private collectionBoas Private collectionC California State Library, Sacramento, Calif.CCamarSJ Saint John�s Seminary, Camarillo, Calif.; formerly Doheny

collection, now dispersedCLjC Copley Newspapers Incorporated, James S. Copley Library, La

Jolla, Calif.CLSU University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.CLU-S/C University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Special

Collections, Los Angeles, Calif.Craven Private collectionCSadM Calaveras County Museum & Archives Library, San Andreas,

Calif.CSfCP Society of California Pioneers, Alice Phelan Sullivan Library, San

Francisco, Calif.CSmH Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif.Ct Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Conn.CtHC Hartford Seminary Foundation, Hartford, Conn.CtHi Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Conn.CtHMTH The Mark Twain Memorial (Mark Twain House), Hartford,

Conn.CtHSD Stowe-Day Memorial Library and Historical Foundation,

Hartford, Conn.CtLHi Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield, Conn.CtY Yale University, New Haven, Conn.CtY-BR Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library,

New Haven, Conn.CU-BANC University of California, Berkeley, Bancroft Library, Berkeley,

Calif.

1877�page 216

CU-MARK University of California, Berkeley, Mark Twain Collection,Berkeley, Calif.

CU-SB University of California, University Library, Department ofSpecial Collections, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Daley Private collectionDavis Private collectionDFo Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.DGU Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.DLC United States Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.DNA United States National Archives and Records Service, National

Archives Library, Washington, D.C.Heritage Book Shop Heritage Book Shop, Los Angeles, Calif. Howard Private collection Hyman Private collectionIaDaPM Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science, Davenport,

IowaICN Newberry Library, Chicago, Ill.IGa Galena Public Library District, Galena, Ill.InFwLW Louis A. Warren Lincoln Library and Museum, Fort Wayne,

Ind.InU-Li Indiana University, Lilly Library, Bloomington, Ind. IU-R University of Illinois, Rare Book and Special Collections Library,

Urbana, Ill.Jacobs Private collection, now dispersed Karanovich Private collectionKeniston Private collectionKoslosky Private collectionKyHi Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, Ky. MB Boston Public Library and Eastern Massachusetts Regional

Public Library System, Boston, Mass. MH-H Harvard University, Houghton Library, Cambridge, Mass. MiU University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. MNS Smith College, Northampton, Mass.MoCgS Southeast Missouri State College, Cape Girardeau, Mo.MoHH Mark Twain Home Foundation, Hannibal, Mo.MoHM Mark Twain Museum, Hannibal, Mo.MoPeS Saint Mary�s Seminary, Perryville, Mo.MoSW Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.MWA American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.

1877�page 217

N New York State Library, Albany, N.Y.NBuU-PO State University of New York at Buffalo, Poetry Library,

Buffalo, N.Y.NElmC Elmira College, Elmira, N.Y.NFred Historical Museum of the D.R. Barker Library, Fredonia, N.Y.NHyF General Services Administration, National Archives and Record

Service, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, N.Y. NIC Cornell University Library, Ithaca, N.Y. NjP Princeton University Library, Princeton, N.J. NN New York Public Library, New York, N.Y. NN-B New York Public Library, Albert A. and Henry W. Berg

Collection, New York, N.Y. NNC Columbia University, New York, N.Y. NPV Vassar College Libraries, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. NvL2 American Museum of Historical Documents, Las Vegas, Nev.OFH Rutherford B. Hayes Library, Fremont, Ohio PBL Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.PHi Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. PPiHi Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pa. PSt Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. Sachs Private collectionScott Private collectionSlotta Private collectionT Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tenn.Thomson Private collectionTxU-Hu Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of

Texas, Austin, Tex.Uk4 University of Reading, Reading, United KingdomUkENL National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, United KingdomViU University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.ViW College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.VtMiM Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt.WHi State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.WU University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.