I thank you most sincerely for those pleasant words. They w come most opportunely, too—at a time when I am was wavering between launching a book of the sort you mention, with my name to it, & smuggling it into publicity with my name suppressed. Well, I’ll put my name to it, & let it help me or hurt me as the fates shall direct.

It is not a large book; so I have not scrupled to ask Howells & Joe Twichell to run over the MS & advise me what to modify & what to knock out. I wouldn’t have scrupled, anyway, if the book were a long one, because I must go warily, seeing that this is such a wide departure from my accustomed line. Howells has read it; & he winds up his four pages (mainly of vigorous approval) with the remark: “I think the book will be a great success unless some marauding ass who does not snuff his wonted pasturage there, should prevail on all the other asses to turnⒶemendation up their noses in pure ignorance. It is such a book as I would expect from you, knowing what a bottom of substance there is to your fun; but the public at large ought to be led to expect it—& must be.”

He found fault with two things: some descriptions of English court ceremonials, which he wants shortened; & a story of a boy, a bull & some bees, (which I detached & put into the journal of our Hartford Bazar last June,) which he won’t have in the book at all, because he says it lowers its dignity—so I guess I’ll have to snatch that out.

But what I’m coming to, is this: Will you, too, take the MS & read it, either to yourself—or, still better—aloud to your family? Joe has promised me a similar service. I have read it to Mrs. Lilly Warner. I hoped to get criticisms out of Howells’s children—but evidently he spared them; which was carrying charity too far, seems to me. Ole Brer Twichell promises to read the thing aloud, at home, & I wish you’d do the same for me, if you can. There’s only 7 hours’ reading—an hour per evening soon finishes the job, you see. I’m going to send up to Boston for the MS in a day or two,—if Howells doesn’t return it meantime.

Merry Christmas!