20 July 1871 • Elmira, N.Y. (AAA 1925, lot 28; MTL , 1:189–90, UCCL 00638)
RedpathⒶemendation tells me to blow youⒶemendation up. Here goes!Ⓐemendation I wanted youⒶemendation to scare Rondout off with a big price. $125 ain’tⒶemendation big. I got $100 the first time I ever talked there & now Ⓐemendation they’veⒶemendation a much larger hall. It is a hard town toⒶemendation get to—I run a chance of getting caught by the ice &Ⓐemendation missing next engagement.Ⓐemendation Make the price $150Ⓐemendation, &Ⓐemendation let them draw out.1explanatory note
Rondout agreed to pay $150 for Clemens’s lecture on 22 November. His previous appearances there had been on 2 December 1868 and 12 January 1870 (Redpath and Fall 1871–72, 5–6; L2 , 423; L3 , 486).
Adopted readings followed by ‘(C)’ are editorial emendations of the source readings.
No copy-text. The text is based on two transcripts, each of which derives independently from the MS:
The rationale for emendations to remove MTL styling is given in Description of Texts. P2 introduces the letter as “Elmira, July 20, To Friend Fall, reading in part.”
L4 , 437.