St. Valentine’s Day,
Washington, Dec. 5.
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Dear Miss Emma—
I [ ha ]suppose I have made you, mad, too, maybe, but with all my heart I hope I haven’t. You wasn’t particularly civil to an old & defeated chess antagonist, the day you left the ship, but I declare to goodness (pardon the expression,) I cannot bear malice for that. Mr. Beach told me in New York, that even Mrs. Fairbanks felt hurts about that best-natured squib that ever was written (I refer to the one in the [Herald],) & Charlie, Langdon has not dropped me a line.1 Mrs. Fairbanks has, though, & scolds—scolds hard—but she can’t deceive this Prodigal Son—I detect the good nature & the forgiveness under it all.
I lost the sermon at Mr. Beecher’s, because I left for Washington long before Sunday came round.2
Nothing but the happy occurrence of St Valentine’s Day at this unexpected season of the year could have given me an excuse to write to a young lady whom I have known so long, esteemed so well & met in so many continents, I suppose, though it seems absurd enough to me that one should be privileged only once a [year ]to say a friendly word in cases like these.
But I wanted to know whether you are maliciously disposed or not—& moreover I wanted to know whether you have barred pew No. 54 against me or not.3 Beware how you close the church against the [ seeker a ] sinner, old fellow—you wot not what mischief you may do.
I perceive by the almanac that St Valentine’s Day will continue in force until just a week from [to-day]. That is mighty ‸particularly‸ fortunate for me, Miss Emma, because now you can sit down and dash off an answer to this, immediately. And I am perfectly well satisfied that you are kind enough & good enough to do it, too.
I [am ]behaving myself, now, in a whi way which would entirely satisfy Mrs. Fairbanks.
Yours, with all respect & esteem,
Sam.
L. Clemens,
224 F street, Washington
(over).
P.S. It was not I that wrote the critical article in the Herald signed “A Passenger.” It was Dr Jackson.4 I do
S. L. C.
Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary
Click to add citation to My Citations. 1
Emma (Beach) Thayer recalled in 1907 that at night on board the ship
Clemens “used to play chess with me and I now think that he
purposely let me win—I was only seventeen” (Thayer
to A. B. Paine, 22 June 1907, Davis 1967, 2). For the Herald letter, see 20 Nov 67 to JLC and family (2nd of 2).
Click to add citation to My Citations. 2
Clemens left New York for Washington on Thursday evening, 21 November. On
the Sunday following his departure, the “ordinances of
baptism and the Lord’s Supper” were “to
be administered in the Plymouth Church” by Henry Ward Beecher
and “the water used will be from the River Jordan, and the
wine from the city of Jerusalem. Captain Duncan, of the steamer Quaker
City, brought these supplies.” The topic of
Beecher’s sermon on that occasion is not known. The Beaches
had been attending Plymouth Church since 1854, although Emma was not
formally admitted until 1866, when she became of age (“Mr.
Beecher’s Church To-morrow,” New York Evening Post, 23 Nov 67, 3; Thompson, 238).
Click to add citation to My Citations. 3
Pews in Plymouth Church were auctioned every January for a fixed
valuation plus a premium. In 1867 the Beaches occupied pew number 56
(not 54), for which they paid $100 rent and a $280
premium (“Sale of Pews in Beecher’s
Church,” New York World, 10 Jan 67, 2;
Thompson, diagrams following 236, 240).
Click to add citation to My Citations. 4
“The Quaker City Pilgrimage. A Malcontent
Passenger’s Story of the Excursion—The
Serio-Comic Features of the Enterprise” appeared as a
letter to the editor in the New York Herald
for 21 November (Abraham Reeves Jackson 1867).
Source text(s):MS, Estelle Doheny Collection, The Edward Laurence Doheny Memorial Library,
St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo, Calif. (CCamarSJ).
Previous publication:
L2, 126–127; MTMF, 2, brief excerpt; Christie, lot 1186, excerpts.
Provenance:see Doheny Collection, pp. 511–12.
Emendations and textual notes:
ha • [possibly ‘kn’]
Herald • Her[a◊]d [torn]
year • yea[◊] [torn]
seeker a • [possibly ‘seeker o’]
to-day • to-|day
am • a[m] [torn]
