23 November 1869 • Boston, Mass. (MS facsimile, transcript and paraphrase: Swann Galleries, 4 May 2017, lot 414; and Hamilton 1964, lot 32, UCCL 00376)
paraphrase: Mark Twain explains that his lecture agent, Redpath, opens most of his letters, thus creating discrepancies.
Confound it, I would a heap rather have lectured for the boys, of course—have always been laying for a chance to do it . . . my lecture list hasn't a single unoccupied night in it—therefore, you old rip, how can your servant lecture for the boys?1explanatory note . . . But you better not write me down, you freebooters, & you better not tear down my bills, either, unless you want to stand a small trial for incest—Ⓐemendationor arson, or whatever the technical term for such a crime may be. Go slow!
No, my boy, write me up Ⓐemendation—that is the way to achieve the affection & reverence of your country. Protect my bills (pay them, for instance,) & uphold mine honor & my reputation. That Ⓐemendation is the way to bring down your gray hairs with satisfaction to the grave.
Forgive your crying servant, & accept his love & tender his cordial remembrances to all the boys in the Row—not excepting old Riley, of course.Ⓐemendation
All variants between the source texts are reported below. Adopted readings followed by ‘(MTP)’ are editorial emendations of the source readings.
References
- Hamilton, Charles. Charles Hamilton Auction. Sale no. 4 (21 May). New York: Charles Hamilton Autographs. 1964
- Machlis, Paul, ed. Union Catalog of Clemens Letters. Edited by Paul Machlis. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press. [In some cases, UCCL catalog numbers cited in this volume supersede those assigned in 1986 and reflect corrections or additions to the catalog since publication. An updated version of the catalog can be consulted via the Letters Search page at MTPO.] 1986
- SLC (Samuel Langhorne Clemens). Mark Twain’s Letters, Volume 3: 1869. Edited by Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, and Dahlia Armon. The Mark Twain Papers. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Also online at MTPO[bib32371]. 1992
- Bryan, Wilhelmus Bogart. A History of the National Capital from Its Foundation through the Period of the Adoption of the Organic Act. 2 vols. New York: Macmillan Company. 1916
- SLC (Samuel Langhorne Clemens). Mark Twain’s Letters, Volume 2: 1867–1868. Edited by Harriet Elinor Smith, Richard Bucci, and Lin Salamo. The Mark Twain Papers. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Also online at MTPO[bib32371]. 1990
- Congressional Globe. The Congressional Globe: Containing the Debates and Proceedings of the First Session Forty-Second Congress; with an Appendix, Embracing the Laws Passed at that Session; also, Special Session of the Senate. 2 vols. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Congressional Globe. 1871
The letter is based on two partial texts, an MS facsimile and a transcript and paraphrase:
see source text; L3, 402–403.
The MS was sold at auction by Charles Hamilton Autographs in 1964; its present location is not known.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.