editorial rooms, st. nicholas, [scribner & co., 743 & 745 broadway.]
new york, 8th Feb 187 6—
My dear Mr Clemens—
It was a delight to see your name at the end of a letter in new handwriting the other day, for I very much wish an article from you for our book ‸magazine‸—a Mark Twain article—but I fear that this particular MS. can’t be made available for St. Nicholas— The idea is a good one, & the but the skeleton story you give, though just as full of fun as can be, & capital for grown-ups, is not one that I like to ask the children to fill out— The absurdity & humor of the thing would not be recognized by them—but they would set to work by hundreds to write a bloody & sensational novellette that would out-do the dime novels— They would spend days & days upon it, concentrating their young minds upon dreadful details of & feel that they were doing a great & serious work for St. Nicholas. As I know by experience, they would take the idea literally, quite overlooking the comico-burlesque undercurrent—and we should be really putting a premium upon the producing of just such stuff in the way of child-reading that ‸as‸ we are straining every nerve to suppress & crowd out of existence— I write my idea plainly because I believe you’ll see its force and understand me—
BUT, we must have something from you! I look upon this kind offer as a sort of lien— Can’t you tell the boys of some funny supposed personal experience in the manly sports—yachting, boating, private skating, bas ball playing, firing at a mark—pic-nic-ing—private theatricals & high tragedy—horsemanship—breaking a colt or anything that has d fun in it? St Nicholas has girl and boy readers of from 8 yrs to 18— We try to give them good & refined reading & to put in all the fun we can— Should you send a paper for the young folk I need not say that we can carry out your ideas in regard to illustration— Wouldn’t there be good material in “A Boys Vacation,” supposed to be your personal experience in trying to enjoy to the utmost a month’s or a week’s holiday in the summer ‸under difficulties‸? ‸It could be anywhere from 1 page to five in length‸ We could illustrate it with humorous pictures & put it in our July ‸August‸ number. In that case the Mss should be at hand by middle of March or April—
You see I’m not willing to let you go, now that you have walked into my parlor— With thanks for your remembrance and “a lively sense of favors to come,” I am
Yours Truly
Mary Mapes Dodge.
