19 December 1877 • Hartford, Conn. (MS, correspondence card: CU-MARK, UCCL 01512)
slcDr Bro—If I write all the books that lie planned in my head, I shall see the middle
of the next century. I
can’t add another, until after that. I couldn’t write from another man’s idea, anyway.
But go ahead &
write it yourself—that is, if you can drop other things.1explanatory note Your law is not in your
way; but if you write a book worth reading it will only be by eschewing temperance,
amateur theatricals, religion,
& other dissipations., & giving your entire mind to the one thing.2explanatory note Don’t
think of it as a book—think of it as an amusement, a thing with no object, a thing
done
unknown amount of text missing
Orion Clemens, Esq | Keokuk | Iowa return address: if not delivered within 10 days, to be returned to postmarked: hartford conn. dec 21 12m
In his letter of 9 December, Orion had enclosed the first six pages of “The Kingdom of Sir John Franklin,” his story of arctic exploration and descent to the center of the earth. On 15 December he wrote (CU-MARK):
Sam, I’ve been seized with an idea. Can’t you take my “Kingdom of Sir John Franklin,” use it as a skeleton or as memoranda, expand it (with stories told by the imprisoned crew? &c) into a book, send it out in your name and mine (with some nom de plume, if that is best) (or all in your own name, if you prefer that) give me such part of the profits as you please, and enable me to pay you and the government and my other creditors, and leave me something over?
Orion’s indebtedness to the government was a holdover from 1861–64, when he was secretary and sometimes acting governor of Nevada Territory. In 1869 the United States Treasury Department had requested that he repay $1,330.08, mostly for alleged overpayment to Nevada printers for printing and binding copies of the territorial laws. The Clemens brothers’ 1869–70 attempts to resolve the matter had not been successful (RI 1993, 620–22; 9 Nov 1869 to PAM, L3, 388 n. 1).
In his 15 December letter, Orion remarked:
I have been active in temperance work. My short speeches have amused them and they have forced upon me a Yankee character in a temperance drama to be played at the opera house next Monday evening. Tuesday evening I am to speak at Warsaw (5 miles,—expect to walk) and Saturday evening—why that’s this evening—can’t go—I fear. at Alexandria, Mo, 4 miles below here. Next Friday evening week I am to be showman for a stereoptican exhibition for the benefit of the Red Ribbon Club. There will be 3,000 programmes distributed over the city, with cards I have helped to get up to pay expenses, and will put my own in as attorney at law, “special attention to collections.”
MS, correspondence card, CU-MARK.
MicroML, reel 4.
See Moffett Collection in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.