To
Joseph H.
Sprague and Others
21 February 1875 • Hartford, Conn.
(Hartford Courant, 23 Feb 75, UCCL 01196)
I accede to your request with pleasure. Many months ago I permanently quitted the lecture field, [& ]said I would not appear upon a platform any more unless driven there by lack of bread.2 By the spirit of that remark I am debarred from delivering this proposed lecture, & so I fall back upon the letter of it & emerge upon the platform for this last & final time because I am confronted by a lack of bread—among Father Hawley’s flock. Most people lie by the spirit & the letter too, but I am not one of that kind; for I have been very carefully brought up. I wish to impose upon you the condition that the expenses of this enterprise shall be paid out of four or five private pockets (mine to be one of them), to the end that all of the money that comes in at the door shall go to Father Hawley’s needy ones, unimpaired by taxes on its journey. I am glad to know that you are going to put the tickets at one dollar; for what we are after, now, is money for people who stand sorely in need of bread & meat, & so the object justifies the price. As this will probably be the last time I shall ever have the opportunity of hearing sound wisdom & pure truth delivered from the platform, I wish to buy a ticket to this lecture, & I herewith send money for the purchase. I am aware that I could get in for nothing, & still be acting in a measure honorably; but when I run my lecture over in my mind & realize what a very bonanza of priceless information it is, I find I cannot conscientiously accept of a free pass.
Respectfully,
To Messrs. Joseph H. Sprague, George G. Sill, H. C. Robinson, & others.3
Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary
As was stated yesterday, Mr. Samuel L.
Clemens has consented to give a lecture in this city, the entire
proceeds of which are to be given to Father Hawley for the
benefit of the needy poor whom he seeks to relieve. The letter
of some of our citizens to Mr. Clemens inviting him to lecture
again for this cause, and his characteristic reply, are printed
below.
letter to mr. clemens.
Hartford, Feb.
19th, 1875. Mr. Samuel L. Clemens:— Dear Sir: Two winters ago you gave a lecture
here in behalf of our city poor, which was pecuniarily, and
otherwise, a memorable success. The fact that while still
comparatively a stranger among us you manifested such
willingness to assist in a time of great necessity, suggests to
us the possibility that now that you are an established citizen
of Hartford, you may be willing to help the same good cause
again. A favorable response to this invitation will be greatly
appreciated by your fellow citizens. Clemens had previously lectured for the benefit of
Hawley’s “flock” on 31 January
1873. The signers of the present invitation were: Joseph H. Sprague,
mayor of Hartford and president of the Atlas Insurance Company;
George G. Sill, an attorney and lieutenant governor of Connecticut
from 1873 to 1877; Henry C. Robinson (1832–1900), an
attorney, mayor of Hartford from 1872 to 1874, and a director of the
Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company and the Connecticut Fire
Insurance Company; the Reverend Nathaniel J. Burton, pastor of the
Park Congregational Church; Rowland Swift, president of the American
National Bank; Austin Dunham (1805–77), president of the
Willimantic Linen Company, partner in Austin Dunham and Son, wool
merchants, and vice-president of the Aetna Life Insurance Company;
the Reverend William L. Gage, pastor of the Pearl Street
Congregational Church; F. B. Cooley, president of the National
Exchange Bank and a trustee of Warburton Chapel; Nathaniel Shipman
(1828–1906), a United States district court judge; the
Reverend William W. Turner, a former teacher, steward, and, from
1854 to 1863, principal of the American Asylum for Deaf and Dumb;
Flavius A. Brown, of Brown and Gross, booksellers; Yung Wing, the
official in charge of a delegation of Chinese students sent by the
Chinese Educational Commission to study in the United States, and a
close friend of Twichell’s; Frank W. Cheney, assistant
treasurer of Cheney Brothers, Silk Manufacturers, and a director of
the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company and the
National Fire Insurance Company; George P. Bissell, president of his
own bank and a trustee of Warburton Chapel (Geer 1874, 34, 39, 52, 61, 70, 123, 129, 133,
137, 141, 182, 183, 185, 187, 188, 274, 275; Burpee, 1:436, 3:13–14, 38,
41–42; Trumbull, 1:385, 428, 514, 573; L5, 289–90 n. 1, 522 n. 1; Strong, 85). For more on the lecture, see
6 Mar
75 to Seaver.
Very truly yours,
Joseph H. Sprague,
George G. Sill,
Henry C. Robinson,
N. J. Burton,
Rowland Swift,
Austin Dunham,
William L. Gage,
F. B. Cooley,
N. Shipman,
William W. Turner,
F. A. Brown,
Yung Wing,
F. W. Cheney,
George P. Bissell.
Source text(s):Previous publication:
L6, 392–394; “Letter from Mark Twain,”
New York Times, 24 Feb 75, 5; “Mark
Twain,” Cleveland Herald, 27 Feb 75, 2;
Grass Valley (Calif.) Union, 10 Mar 75.
Provenance:Twichell’s papers were passed on to his children. Although CtY
received some items in 1951 from Joseph H. Twichell and Mrs. Charles Ives,
his son and daughter, the main collection was donated in 1967 by Charles P.
Twichell, his grandson.
Emendations and textual notes:
Hartford • Hartford
Gentlemen • Gentlemen
& • and [here and hereafter]
Mark Twain • Mark Twain
