I have been sick—sick—& sick again—with rheumatism and dysentery. I have spent four-fifths of my six weeks’ residence in Paris in bed. This is an awful set-back. I hired a den a mile from the hotel & went to work as soon as I reached Paris, but my fire went out & I was laid up the very first day. I only got fairly & squarely to work again a week ago, & had to go back to bed again to-day—more dysentery, or rather, a threat of it which frightened me. I am working, every chance I get, & that’s the best I can do. I am hoping to be able to go right along, now,—I believe my diseases are about played out.

I have been able to talk, if I couldn’t write. Been interviewed by the “World” representative. Said interview will not be printed immediately, but because it has one feature in it which seems important enough to be issued simultaneously in London & New York. So that feature will be sent to some London magazine (in order to get it noticed by all English papers) & when the magazine is ready to go to press, then the “World” will publish at the same time. TheⒶemendation “World” representative—he is an old lawyer—does me the honor to think I may possibly have solved the problem of International Copyright, & I,—who am no lawyer,—am of his opinion. We I’m going to lay the matter before some experts, before I take on any airs in the matter. If I have solved it, I can fix those Canadian pirates; & if I haven’t, we must rig a purchaseⒶemendation in some way, to get Canadian copyright.

Perkins says your father didn’t promise to get my stock out of the Pub. Co. free of loss. I ain’t prepared to say he did—& I wouldn’t want him to do a thing he couldn’t do, anyway. But I want him to get me out rid of all of my stock but about 5 or 10 shares at the best figure he can before he leaves the concern. What is that stock worth, now?

I’m thinking over the Riley matter—I think I’ll tell Perkins to let the Co pay themselves the $2000 out of my copyright money, & takeⒶemendation a written release from the contract to write another book. I thought that old matter had been settled long ago. Your father once offered to pay me 10 per cent on the volume of sketches & by jingo I wish I had let him, now—the extra royalty would about clear off the Riley debt. Isn’t the sale of the Sketches near enough to 50,000 copies for the extra 2½ per cent to be added? That would fix it? reimburse me.

I never mentioned your contract & mine to anybody unless it was Twichell, & I don’t think I mentioned it to him. It was not a thing I would be likely to speak of.