To William Winter
5 December 1879 • Hartford, Conn.
(MS, correspondence card: ViU, UCCL 01734)

Hartford, Dec. 5.

My Dear Winter: I have been reading the poem again, & am pushed by some force stronger than desire or inclination, to write a word & thank you personally for doing it. It is a master-work; it does not seem to have a flaw in it anywhere: it to me it is perfect. I would give anything if I could read it to my wife—as I do with all things that seem perfect to me—but in each verse there is a rock upon which my voice would be wrecked—I do not see how you ever read it without breaking down. The r[h]ythm, the music, the pathos, the affection, the noble eloquence—it is so filled with these, from the first line to the last, that it moves me out of all self-control. I saw it was great, that night, but it is greater still, now, for although I drew up near you I lost many words.

Sincerely Yours,

S. L. Clemens.