Oct. 28.
Dear Howells—
Receive a lesson. This is a plan which I have used to for many years to get the advantage of a bad memory. I keep the hieroglyphics in my pocket, but I don’t have to refer to them.
Mark.
[canceled with three vertical rules:]Pratt & Whitney.
———
They ve raised these rivers here with their tears—joyful
tears—& dissipated the malaria
[on the verso, canceled with three vertical rules:]
As this is the
As
‸As‸ I have long ago sworn off from lecturing
& other forms of lying., I seriously thought, for a
time, of making
‸enlarging‸ the reform complete by going
‸ascending‸ into the pulpit or some other middle ground between
fact & fiction
ascending as far as the truth pulpit toward the ‸remote‸
heights of the
‸the‸ truth; but finally resolved to make the reform complete by
climbing on, clear
[enclosure of three pages: page 1 shows drawings of an eye, wash tub and board, running man, house labeled “Poor house”, and other images and words; page 2 shows drawings of an angel, a church steeple, smoke, a man labeled “tramp”, and other images and words]
[page 3:]
ENGLAND
———————————
He forgives you & we forgive you—all &
everything—& you shall have yr W T. which
you urge upon us—
———————————
My 3 pages of hieroglyphic notes, memorized
to keep a memorized speech straight in my
head—delivered Oct. 26/80 in Hartford.
Mark
Source text(s):Previous publication:
MTHL, 1:334.
Provenance:See Howells Letters in Description of Provenance.
