1 The letters from Orion and Mollie have not been found, but Orion’s presumably reported on his position with the newly established Rutland (Vt.) Globe, which he had agreed to edit from its first issue, published on 1 May. On 18 April the Hartford Courant had announced, “Mr. Clemens, brother of ‘Mark Twain,’ who has been editorially connected with the Evening Post of this city for some time past, is about to take the editorial direction of a new daily to be established in Rutland, Vt.” (“Brief Mention,” 2). Orion may have written any of the editorials printed in the Globe in early May—for example: “The Globe’s Politics” and “The Indian Policy” on 1 May (2); “The Smitten Gould” on 2 May (2); and “Cruelty to Animals” and “Editorial Notes” on 5 May (2)—but none can be attributed to him with certainty. (He might also have sent Clemens drafts of proposed editorials that were never published.) During Orion’s editorship (from May possibly through mid-July) the Globe made no mention of him, and published no other work identifiable as his. Orion had been interested in Rutland newspapers since his visit there in July 1872, when he learned that the owner of the weekly Rutland Independent wanted to start a daily newspaper (see (11 Aug 72 to OC, n. 3). As of 1 May this unidentified owner gave up the Independent and began to publish both the daily and the weekly Globe. In 1906 Clemens recalled Orion’s experience in Rutland:

By late July Orion was already negotiating for a different position, this time on the Oil City (Pa.) Derrick (“Personal,” Buffalo Courier, 18 Apr 73, 1; Gregory, 692; OC to MEC, 21 July 73 and 22 July 73, CU-MARK).

2 Unidentified.

3 Mollie may have been in Rutland with Orion, but it seems more likely that she was staying temporarily with Clemens’s family in Fredonia. Clemens’s comment on his mother’s health evidently replied to news from Mollie, to whom Orion was expected to forward this letter. Olivia’s quinsy (a severe throat inflammation) was treated by Dr. Henry Sayles. Her infection may have begun in Hartford, but if so, it was misdiagnosed as diphtheria, which is also characterized at first by a sore throat (OLC to Olivia Lewis Langdon, 23 and 26 May 73, CtHMTH; 22 Apr 73 to Reid [3rd]).