to Mary Mason Fairbanks
17 December 1870 • Buffalo, N.Y. (MS: CSmH, UCCL 00551)
Mother dear, I am so sorry that things have interfered over & over again to keep me from writing you. As Ⓐemendationsoon as you left1explanatory note I found myself in a perfect crush & jam of literary work,2explanatory note & I said to myself that everything must give place now to sheer downright labor—& so I stuck to it with all my might, even when I knew I ought to be giving more time & cheer to Livy and mother3explanatory note—& mind you I would not even reply to pressing business letters. But And just as your last letter arrived I shot off to New York to issue a pamphlet, & staid over 7 days—just got back this minute, & wouldn’t even delay to have half a talk with Livy, who is sitting here applauding me & urging me to not stop till Mother Fairbanks is thou thoroughly Ⓐemendationsatisfied that she must write herself “Mother” Fairbanks. But she is hurrying me, too (kissing me all over the head so boisterously that I my pen misses the switch & goes off the track every now & then.)
The baby is doing well, now, but they tell me he was dangerously ill yesterday & they came near telegraphing me to hurry home.
I sent Allie our little wedding offering from New York yesterday (the two Sistine cubs Ⓐemendation cherubs with resting their elbows on a bench & smiling up at the Madonna,.) One of the cubs Ⓐemendation cherubs is to represent Livy’s loving wishes for the blessed couple, & the other is to represent mine to the best of his smile small ability.
We got the wedding invitations to-day, & I think d Dan Slote, Charley & I, will go to Cleveland together. Dan told me to telegraph him, & I shall.4explanatory note
I bought my “Jumping Frog” copyright Ⓐemendationback again from Webb. Am going to melt up the plates. I gave him his indebtedness ($600,) & $800 cash beside, for the his share of the copyright & right of publication. Think of purchasing one’s own property after never having received one cent on from the publication!5explanatory note
Well, mother dear, I’ll close, now, & try hard to do better in future. ForⒶemendation even if we do neglect other friends & correspondents we have the very strongest desire & determination not to neglect you, ever any more. “God bless us, every one.”6explanatory note
Good bye.
We are glad to get the Youth back again, dear Mother Fairbanks, I do assure you— and feel as if we never wanted to let him go again— Mother and I often speak of you and you well know that the words are loving ones— Love and all good and pleasant wishes to Allie, and kind regards to the rest of your household including Mr Ga aylord. Always with love yours
Including the Galaxy “Memoranda” for January 1871, work on Roughing It and the planned volume of sketches, production of the (Burlesque) Autobiography “pamphlet,” and promotion of the scheme for a diamond mine book.
Olivia Lewis Langdon had been visiting since around 24 November (19 Nov 70 to Langdonclick to open link)
Clemens attended Alice Holmes Fairbanks’s wedding in January, but it is not known if he was accompanied by Slote and Langdon (12 Jan 71 to OLCclick to open link).
Apparently the Clemenses were reading “A Christmas Carol.”
MS, Huntington Library, San Marino (CSmH, call no. HM 14268).
L4 , 273–274; MTMF , 142–44.
see Huntington Library in Description of Provenance.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.