To
William Dean Howells
1? October 1880 • Hartford, Conn. (MS, possibly not sent, with an undated note
to Susan L. Crane: CU-MARK, UCCL 12507 and 12508)
1? October 1880 • Hartford, Conn. (MS, possibly not sent, with an undated note
to Susan L. Crane: CU-MARK, UCCL 12507 and 12508)
written in brown ink, on the
outside as folded, of an MS consisting of 2 leaves:
Dear Howells—
We came through all right, & Mrs. C begins to show improvement already.
S
Mark.
written below the note to
Howells, in purple ink:
Here it is, Susie dear.
S L C
written in brown ink on the
rectos of the 2 MS leaves:
For the Atlantic Monthly.
Poetry department.
Love Song.
I ask not, “Is thy faith hope still sure, Thy love still warm, thy faith secure?” I ask not, “Dream’st thou still of me?— Longest alway to fly to me?”— Ah, no—but as the sum includeth all The G good gifts of the Giver, I sum all these in asking thee, “O sweetheart, how’s your liver?”
For if thy liver worketh right, Thy faith stands sure, thy hope is bright, Thy dreams are sweet, and I their god, Doubt threats in vain—thou scorn’st his rod. Keep only thy digestion clear, No other foe my love doth fear.
But Indigestion hath the power To mar the soul’s serenest hour— To crumble adamantine trust, And turn its certainties to dust— To dim the eye with nameless grief— To chill the heart with unbelief— To banish hope, & faith, & love, Place heaven below & hell above. Then list—details are naught to me So thou’st the sum-gift of the Giver— I ask thee all in asking thee, “O darling, how’s your liver?”
For the Atlantic Monthly.
Poetry department.
Love Song.
I ask not, “Is thy faith hope still sure, Thy love still warm, thy faith secure?” I ask not, “Dream’st thou still of me?— Longest alway to fly to me?”— Ah, no—but as the sum includeth all The G good gifts of the Giver, I sum all these in asking thee, “O sweetheart, how’s your liver?”
For if thy liver worketh right, Thy faith stands sure, thy hope is bright, Thy dreams are sweet, and I their god, Doubt threats in vain—thou scorn’st his rod. Keep only thy digestion clear, No other foe my love doth fear.
But Indigestion hath the power To mar the soul’s serenest hour— To crumble adamantine trust, And turn its certainties to dust— To dim the eye with nameless grief— To chill the heart with unbelief— To banish hope, & faith, & love, Place heaven below & hell above. Then list—details are naught to me So thou’st the sum-gift of the Giver— I ask thee all in asking thee, “O darling, how’s your liver?”
Mark Twain
References
- University of California, Mark Twain Papers, The Bancroft Library, Berkeley
- 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
- Lillard, John F. B. The Medical Muse: Grave and Gay. New York: I. E. Booth. 1895
- Brownell, George H. “Mark Twain’s Love Song.” Twainian 3 (April): 5–6. 1944
- MTHL. Mark Twain–Howells Letters. Edited by Henry Nash Smith and William M. Gibson, with the assistance of Frederick Anderson. 2 vols. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 1960
- Neider, Charles, ed. Mark Twain: Life As I Find It. Garden City, N.Y.: Hanover House. 1961
- Scott, Arthur L. On the Poetry of Mark Twain, with Selections from His Verse. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 1966
- 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, possibly not sent, with an undated note to Susan L. Crane, CU-MARK.
Lillard 1895, 44, partial publication; Brownell 1944, 5–6, partial publication; MTHL , 2:857, partial publication; Neider 1961, partial publication; Scott 1966, 103, partial publication; MicroPUL, reel 1.
See Mark Twain Papers in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.