Camb. Jan 6.
1878.
Dear Mr Clemens,
I am a little troubled, that you should be so much troubled about a matter of such slight importance. The newspapers have made all the mischief. A bit of humor at a dinner table is one thing; a report of it in the morning papers is another. One needs the lamp-light, and the scenery. These failing, what was meant in jest, assumes a serious aspect.
I do not believe that anybody was much hurt. Certainly I was not, and Holmes tells me he was not. So I think you may dismiss the matter from your mind, without further remorse. It was a very pleasant dinner, and I think Whittier enjoyed it very much
With kind regards to Mrs Clemens,
Yours very truly
Henry W. Longfellow
