Elmira, Aug. 11.
Friend Bliss—
I meant to telegraph Mr Langdon’s death to you, but was kept too busy.
This is a house of mourning, now. My wife is nearly broken down with grief & watching.1
However, I believe I [did.] telegraph you.
I wrote that publisher that your bid was lower than his, but not enough lower to justify me in deserting you. He wrote back a hot answer, saying “he was surprised to hear me confess that his bid was the highest, & in [the] same letter say that I had awarded the book to you.” I sent him back a warm one in which I said I was surprised at his infernal impertinence—& then I showed talked sassy to him for a page or so & wound up by saying I judged he would be able from the foregoing to form a sort of vagu shadow of an idea of my private opinion of him & his kind. If he don’t go mighty [sh slow] I will print something personal about him.2
Say—I learn from Constantinople that the celebrated guide, “Far‐Away Moses” goes to the American Consulate & borrows my book to read the chapter about himself to English & Americans, & he sends me a beseeching request that I will forward that a copy of that chapter to him—he don’t want the whole book, but only just that to use as an advertisement. Can’t you take the loose sheets of that form & send them to him with my compliments (you ‸or Frank‸ can write the autograph,) care of the American Consulate?3
Ys
Mark.
Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary
Source text(s):Previous publication:
L4, 183–184; MTLP, 38.
Provenance:The MS evidently remained among the American Publishing Company’s
files until it was sold (and may have been at that time copied by Dana Ayer;
see Brownell Collection in Description of Provenance). The Ayer
transcription was in turn copied by a typist and both the handwritten and
typed transcriptions are at WU.
Emendations and textual notes:
did. • [deletion implied]
the • the the
sh slow • shlow
