From Samuel L. and
Olivia L. Clemens
to Mary Mason Fairbanks
22 and 24 March 1870 • Buffalo, N.Y.
(MS: CSmH, UCCL 00448)
Buf. 22d Mch.
Silence, Woman!
(That is to Livy—not you, Mother
dear—she is carrying on here, at a dreadful rate, & saying
“Oh, I do think they are so
lovely!—& Oh, the exquisite
bead-work!” Already, though, I have got her trained so that she tones
down &
almost
stops talking when at the word of command.) ‸{I deny it, I am woman’s rights
Livy}‸ The things are beautiful—however, we [bridegrooms] don’t get anything. [I] think it is disgraceful to be a bridegroom.
Mother dear, I am glad you liked the Revenue article.1 And now I will disclose to you that I am going to edit a department in the “Galaxy.” They are not to advertise that it will be a Humorous department, but simply a department. The humor shall be relieved all along by serious paragraphs, dainty bits subtracted from your letters, poetry, pathos, statistics—everything that an artistic taste may suggest for effect.2 They pay me a good salary & let me have my trash [en] again after they have used it in the magazine. I just came to the conclusion that I would quit turning my attention to making money especially, & go to writing for enjoyment as well as profit. I needed a mMagazine wherein to shovel any fine-spun stuff that might accumulate in my head, & which isn’t entirely suited to the [either] a daily, Weekly, or any kind of [newspaper]. You see I often feel like writing something, & before I set down the first word I think, “No, it isn’t worth while to write it—might do for a magazine, but not a [newspaper.” Do] you see? I can make a living without any trouble, & still write to suit myself—& therefore wouldn’t you do as I am doing, if you were me? I shall still write for the Express, of course, but not every week, perhaps. People who write every week write themselves out, and tire the public, too, before f very long.
However, I have to go to work now, & write an appreciative & complimentary obituary on Geo. Wakeman, journalist, who I never heard of till to-day.—& so I will let Livy finish this. {P. S.—I forgot to state that Mr Wakeman is dead.} That is one reason why I have to write an obituary about him. He would not be so particular about it if he were not departed.3
Sam
llc
Dear Mother Fairbanks
I have detained the letters for Cleveland for a day because I wanted to send a word to you with the rest— I wish that you could see how prettie the bureau cover looks on the bureau, how dainty and delicate ‸all‸ the things are in their proper places— I do thank you all so much, I think nothing is quite so dear to me as the work of friends, to think that their ingenuity their time and their strength should have been ‸put‸ in something for me, always touches me——
Three or four days ago I felt somewhat like a stranger in a strange land,4 and I thought now if we lived in Cleveland I should have Mrs Fairbanks to Mother me— When I had made stupid blunders in trying to find the houses of callers, I could go to her and laugh it off, Mr Clemens is splendid to laugh it off with, but then when it comes to his giving me any practical advice in these matters I find him a little incompetant. He can’t quite understand this call making, he wants to send word to people that we are coming such an evening and we want them to be at home &c. &c. It is funny but ‸and‸ we enjoy[it ⁁ —] I called about two weeks since on a lady,5 did not find her in, so& left my card. I discovered yesterday that I had not been to her house at all. I had been to some ones house that I did not know and had never heard of— I think I shall get the name of leaving my cards at strange houses in rather a peculiar way, if I am not careful—
We do love you in this house hold, and shall be so glad when we can welcome you here— Let us hear from you just as often as you can we are always so happy to get a letter from you—
Lovingly your daughter
Livy—
March 24th 1870
[cross-written over signature and dateline:]
P. S. Livy left this letter open & told me to direct the wedding-card envelop6 & put it in here. I was writing newspaper stuff & heard, but never comprehended a word she said—so I put that thing (without directing it,) in another envelop, & by a great effort succeeded in addressing it to you instead of to Livy herself.
Your loving whelp,
Sam
It is a slander a perfectslander, he was reading a newspaper not writing
Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary
Soon after his first connection with the World he began to write sketches of
a more or less humorous or literary character, and three years ago he commenced a series of similar papers,
contributed to the Galaxy, which were received with considerable favor. In these he displayed
great skill in finding out literary oddities, and showed some degree of quaint humor in his manner of dealing with
them. He had been advised to appear as a public lecturer on subjects of the same nature as those which he had
treated in his magazine articles, and had begun the preparation of a course of popular addresses. (“George
Wakeman,” New York Times, 20 Mar 70, 5) Clemens’s obituary, which he called an “earnest tribute,” appeared as part of his
first Galaxy “Memoranda,” in May 1870 (SLC 1870 [MT00901], 721; Allibone, 3:2536; Mott 1950, 350). For
Wakeman’s Galaxy contributions, see References (Wakeman 1866a–1870c).
Source text(s):Previous publication:
L4, 95–97; MTMF, 127–30; McElderry, xi, excerpt.
Provenance:see Huntington Library in Description of Provenance.
Emendations and textual notes:
bridegrooms • bride-|grooms
I • [followed by possible uncanceled apostrophe]
en • [‘n’ partly formed]
either • eitheerr
newspaper • news-|paper
newspaper.” Do • newspaper.”—|Do
Yrs Son • [sic]
it ⁁ — • [caret with no interlineation]
