17 December 1873 • London, England (MS: NHi, UCCL 01009)
I shall go to the provinces about ten days hence, & lecture 2 or 3 times each in Glasgow, EdinburghⒶemendation, Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Manchester, Liverpool, &c—that is if we can get halls upon dates that suit us—otherwise we’ll talk in other big towns.
I sail for home in the Abysinnia ⒶemendationJan 17.1explanatory note I find I don’t like the idea of buckling in on another long siege in New York after this heavy one. So what I want to do, is, to talk in Steinway Hall on a Thursday, & Friday evenings, Saturday afternoon (& possibly ) Saturday night. Then talk possibly Monday & Tuesday in Boston & retire permanently from the platform—for it is my very last. Any time in February will suit me. How does it strike you?2explanatory note
Your answer can’t reach me here, I think. Send it to Hartford.
letter docketed: boston lyceum bureau. james redpath jan 22 1874 and Twain Mark | London | Eng. | Dec. 17 1873
Clemens ultimately changed both his lecture plans and his departure date: see 30 Dec 73 to Fitzgibbonclick to open link.
Clemens appeared on the platform only once in early 1874, on 5 March in Boston (“Roughing It—Lecture by Mark Twain,” Boston Evening Transcript, 6 Mar 74, 8).
References
- New York Historical Society, New York, N.Y.
- 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 5: 1872–1873. Edited by Lin Salamo and Harriet Elinor Smith. The Mark Twain Papers. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Also online at MTPO[bib32371]. 1997
MS, New York Historical Society, New York City (NHi).
L5 , 523.