to Martha G. Gray
26 November 1880 • Hartford, Conn. (MS: NHyF, UCCL 11408)
Yes, butⒶemendation I’ve got to have a complete set; & if you don’t send it I will employ some honest man to buy it for me.
It is perfectly delightful to think you are really coming at last—& not as a vague generality with a nebulous date, but in your substantial person & with a fixed time. Good;—we shall keep a pleasant eye on the 9th & the 10th in the calendar as being the days upon one of which you will start for Hartford. Make David come, if you can; for if there’s one thing which rests & heals nor more than medicine or change of scene; & that is, change of people. But if he can’t come, you tell me if you are coming per Erie road, & I’ll go down to Jersey City & meet you. —
With love to David,
My dear Mrs Gray
We are indeed glad that the day is fixed for you coming and we want you both to be sure and come, don’t leave half in Buffalo— The 8th or 9th or any time just along there suits us admirably, because we are not expecting any company just at that time— So come as early as you can & stay as long as you can—
References
- Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, 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
- Microfilm Edition of Mark Twain’s Previously Unpublished Letters.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, David Gray Papers, General Services Administration National Archives and Record Service, NHyF.
MicroPUL, reel 1.
The David Gray Papers—donated to NHyF by David Gray, Jr.—include several dozen letters written to his father and mother. Among these are nine letters from Clemens, one from Clemens and Olivia, and one from Olivia alone.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.