To
Jane Lampton Clemens and Pamela A. Moffett
24 February 1879 • Munich, Germany
(Transcript by Albert Bigelow Paine: CU-MARK, UCCL 09211)
Munich, Feb. 24.
Dear Mother & Sister—
Sam has been with us a week or ten days & won [everybody] completely. He is a lovable boy. His few months knocking around on his own hook have been a valuable education to him. It has brought out his manliness—it has made a very manly fellow of him. He is able to take care of himself, now, & is not afraid to try, I think. I am so glad he has had to hoe his own row unassisted.
There’s nothing like it in the world to keep a human being from being a stick. Sam conducts himself in a simple, unaffected way in company which is very attractive. He shows in many ways that at 18 he has added to his great capacities & acquirements that thing which most people only get at twice his age—wisdom. I hope he will have to fight his own way without help for a few years yet. I hope none of you will ever do [anything] for him which he can do for himself—or let anybody else do it. And I hope you won’t do [anything] which he can do for you. Put him in the fore-front all the time, & make him take the brunt of everything.
There’s the making of a man in him—though I doubted if he ever would be a man when I saw him last in Fredonia— Livy & Clara Spaulding are mourning because Sam is to be with us so short a time—indeed, we all are.
We leave for Paris (address, care Monroe & Co, Bankers) next Thursday. Tomorrow Sam takes boarding, lodging & German conversation for as long or short a time as he pleases, in the family of that finest character & perfectest woman in Europe, the Baroness Freundenberg.
He will see much company there, many with good minds, & all of them with the soundest good hearts in the world. We are all well & send love. O hang it, I forgot—the children are both sick—been sick ten days, with ear-aches & terrific colds. There, now, Ma, I have written in a very small hand—I forgot you are hard of hearing.
Affectionately
Sam.
Of course we send love to Annie & Charley & the babies.
Textual Commentary
Source text(s):Previous publication:
MicroPUL, reel
1, transcript and paraphrase from Pamela A. Moffett to Samuel E. Moffett, 22 Mar 79, UCLC 30093.
Provenance:See Paine Transcripts in Description of Provenance.
Emendations and textual notes:
everybody • every body
anything • any thing
anything • any-thing [probably hyphenated at the end of a line in the MS]
