1 George Bentley (1828–95) had become head of the London publishers Richard Bentley and Son upon his father’s death in 1871. A businessman of energy and perseverance, he greatly improved the company’s reputation and financial position. He had been the editor of Temple Bar: A London Magazine for Town and Country Readers since 1866, when the firm had purchased it.

2 Samuel C. Thompson, whom Clemens had dismissed in mid-July (see 16 July 73 to Warner, n. 2).

3 See 7 July 73 to Bliss, n. 1. Thompson’s transcription of the sketch is not known to survive; it was never published in Temple Bar. Bentley had invited such submissions, as Clemens recalled in an 1876 letter to him: “You remember a visit which Joaquin Miller & I paid you once. You asked me then to send you advance sheets of such sketches as I might write for magazines here, & I always purposed doing it, but continually forgot it” (26 Apr 76 to Richard [an error for George] Bentley, ViU).