To William Dean Howells
27 February 1874 • Hartford, Conn.
(MS: OFH, UCCL 01058)

Feb. 27.

My Dear Howells:

I am in a sweat, & Warner is in anothrer. I told Redpath some time ago that I would lecture in Boston on any two days he might choose, provided they were consecutive days1—I never dreamed [of ] of his choosing dates during Lent, since that was his special horror—but all at once he telegraphs me & writes me, & hollers at me in all manner of ways that I am booked for Boston, March 5 of all days in the [year. ] —& to make matters just as mixed & uncertain as possible, I can’t find out to save my life whethrer he means to lecture me on the 6th also or not.

Warner’s been in here swearing like a lunatic, & saying he had written you to come on the 4 th——& I said, “You leatherhead, if I talk in Boston both afternoon & evening March 5, I’ll have to go to Boston the 4 th”—& then he just kicked up his heels & went off cursing after a fashion I never heard of before. Now let’s just leave this thing to Providence for [ 4 ] 24 hours—you bet it will come out all right.2

Ys Ever

Mark.

Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary

Editorial Signs

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1 See 1 Feb 74 to Redpath.

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2 Shortly before 17 February, Charles Dudley Warner had invited William Dean and Elinor Howells to visit him and his wife, Susan, in Hartford for a few days, beginning on Thursday, 5 March. Howells accepted on 17 February, stipulating that he would be accompanied not by his wife, but by Boston publisher James R. Osgood. On 27 February, Warner asked Howells to come a day earlier, thinking that would make it possible for the Clemenses to attend a dinner party before Clemens left for Boston to lecture. (He gave only a single lecture there, on the evening of 5 March.) Howells replied on 28 February, proposing instead that he and Osgood defer their visit for a week. For the arrangement that was finally adopted, however, see 4 Mar 74 to Howells, n. 1 (Howells 1979, 54; Warner to Howells, 19 Feb 74, 27 Feb 74, MH-H; Howells to Warner, 25 Feb 74, 28 Feb 74, CtHT-W; MTHL, 1:14 n. 1, 15 n. 2 top).

Description of Texts and Provenance

Source text(s):

MS, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Fremont, Ohio (OFH).

Previous publication: L6, 52–53; Duffy, 4; MTHL, 1:14.

Provenance:owned by William Dean Howells II (Howells’s grandson) in 1948.

Emendations and textual notes:

of • [f] [ torn]

year. • [deletion implied]

4 • [partly formed]