editorial office of the atlantic monthly.
——
47 franklin street, boston.
March 22, 1880.
My dear Clemens:
I have been feebly trying to give the Atlantic readers some notion of the charm and the solid delightfulness of your book; and now I must tell you privately what a joy it has been to Mrs. Howells and me. Since I have read it, I feel sorry for I shall not be able to read it again for a week, and in what else shall I lose myself so wholly? Mrs. Howells declares it the wittiest book she ever read, and I say there is sense enough in it for ten books. That is ‸the idea‸ which my review will try to fracture the average numbscull with.—Well, you are a blessing. You ought to believe in God’s goodness, since he has bestowed upon the world such a delightful genius as yours to lighten its troubles.
Love from both ‸of‸ us to Mrs. Clemens. We wish we could come to see you, but we are many promises deep to the Warners, and our first visit must be to them. We shall hope for you ‸here‸ by mid-April.
Yours ever
W. D. Howells
