To Thomas Bailey Aldrich
25 May 1879 • Paris, France
(MS: DLC, UCCL 01658)

[profile bust of jockey with sporting cap printed on stationery; body completed in pencil by SLC]

My Dear Aldrich—

Tauchnitz replies, “I will certainly write to Mr. Aldrich.” I told him you wanted to replace some of the Sketches with others of a later date which you liked better.

Things go better with me than they did. The whole trouble was the maddening street-noises. Moved bed-room & work-room to the other side of the house, & now I sleep like a lamb & write like a lion—I mean the kind of lion that writes, if any such. Struck MS-page 1959 yesterday, which means that 600 or 700 pages more will finish the book (say six weeks.) We are to sail in the Gallia August 21. We ‸(all the tribe)‸ felt an awful vacancy here when the Aldriches left, you can depend on that. Good-bye & good voyage to you both—you must be sailing about this time.

Yrs ever

Mark

Figaro prints my Gambetta [Duel] to-day. It is said to be an excellent translation.

Textual Commentary

Editorial Signs

Description of Texts and Provenance

Source text(s):

MS, Roy J. Friedman Collection, DLC.

Previous publication:AAA/Anderson Galleries catalog, 11–12 November 1937, no. 4346, lot 76, partial publication; MicroPUL, reel 1.

Provenance:Part of the Albert Bigelow Paine Collection offered for sale by AAA/Anderson Galleries in 1937, the MS later became part of the Roy J. Friedman Collection, which was donated to DLC by Frances R. Friedman on 15 June 1992.

Emendations and textual notes:

Duel • Duel | Duel [rewritten for clarity]