per
Telegraph Operator
21–22 February 1869 • (2nd of 3) • Elmira, N. Y. (Paraphrase: Geneseo N.Y. Genesee Valley Herald,
24 Feb 69, UCCL 05164)
In answer to a telegram, inquiring if he should be advertised immediately, he says: “Advertise liberally and without fear.”1explanatory note
Since it seems naive of the Young Men’s Association to ask whether to advertise “immediately” a lecture date that Clemens had just confirmed for seven days hence, the possibility remains that he may have sent only one telegram, on Sunday (21 February) or Monday (22 February), in which he both confirmed the date and answered their question about advertising. On the other hand, these young sponsors certainly were naive, and Clemens himself was being both apologetic and, by his own admission, somewhat muddled. He wrote to Olivia on 2 March that he had been “so bewitched” by her from 19 to 22 February that he “could think of nothing connectedly & collectedly but you.”
References
- 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
- LaVigne, Gary W. “Mark Twain’s Visit to Geneseo.” Livingston (N.Y.) Republican, 7 September, 1, 6. Reprinted in Twainian 20 (November–December): 1–4. 1961
- 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
Paraphrase, “Mark Twain’s Lecture,” Geneseo (N.Y.) Genesee Valley Herald, 24 Feb 69, 3, PH of newsprint in the History Research Office, County of Livingston, Geneseo, N.Y.
see source text; LaVigne, 6, paraphrase; L3 , 110–111.
The original telegram is not known to survive.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.