4 February 1881 • Hartford, Conn. (MS: NPV, UCCL 01189)
Ella Lampton doesn’t like me; & it is natural that this feeling should be inherited by the daughter. I have no feeling toward Ella (now) but compassion for her bereavements & hard fortune, & admiration of her courage & spirit in facing disaster with a brave front. However, what I am coming at, is this. We would like to ask the daughter to come here with Annie & spend a week with us—but I don’t wish to extend the invitation if it is likely to be responded to with an affront. Doubtless, with a trifle of ingenuity, you could find out from the daughter, when she c how it would be received—& then hint to me whentherⒶemendation I had better extend the invitation of or keep judiciously still. Understand?
Love to Ma & all.
Of course I only want to know how the daughter would receive it—don’t wish it submitted to Ella in any form, indirect or otherwise.
References
- Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, 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
- Webster, Samuel Charles. Mark Twain, Business Man. Edited by Samuel Charles Webster. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. 1946
- Microfilm Edition of Mark Twain’s Previously Unpublished Letters. Prepared by Anh Quynh Bui, Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, Robert H. Hirst, Lin Salamo, and Harriet Elinor Smith. 8 vols. Berkeley: The Bancroft Library. 2001
MS, Jean Webster McKinney Family Papers, Special Collections, NPV.
MTBus, 136; MicroPUL, reel 2.
See McKinney Family Papers in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.