To
William A. Seaver
5 December 1875 • (2nd of 2) • Hartford, Conn.
(MS and MS facsimile: WU and Tollett and Harman, lot 156, UCCL 01286)
Dec. 5.
Why, you old thing, I haven’t ceased to love you.1 I always pray for you, too, when I get a chance. This is why you prosper. And besides, I’ve sent you my Sketches, today, with my name wrote in them2——a thing which you’ve never done for me, in any of your [bankrupt] last wills & testaments & things. There, now!
Ever yrs lovingly
Mark
Rev. Wm. A. Seaver
(Free-Will [Babtist])
& President Adriatic Ins. [Co)] 187 Broadway
New York. [in upper left corner:] Personal
[rule]
[in lower left corner:] Down cellar.
[flourish]
[return address:] if not delivered within 10 days, to be returned to
[postmarked:] [hartford conn. dec] 7 11am
Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary
Seaver’s postscript alluded to the breakfast Clemens had failed to attend (10 Nov 75 to Seaver). In his Harper’s Weekly
“Personal” columns he mentioned Clemens four times in 1874 and not at all in 1875. In his Harper’s Bazar “Personal” columns he mentioned him four times in 1874 and seven times in
1875. He also wrote three items about Clemens in the “Editor’s Drawer” of Harper’s Monthly (for transcriptions of all the items see 1 May 74 to Seaver and Appendix G).
Source text(s):Previous publication:
L6, 598–99.
Emendations and textual notes:
bankrupt • [‘u’ over miswritten ‘ru’]
Babtist • [sic]
Co) • [redundant close parenthesis]
hartford conn. dec • har [tf] ord conn. d [e] c [badly inked]
