To
Pamela A. Moffett
27 February 1877 • Hartford, Conn.
(MS, correspondence card, in pencil: ViU, UCCL 01409)
Feb. 27
slcMy Dear Sister—I think Livy told me a day or two ago, (or to write Annie,1 or somebody) that the gloves
had [not] been found here (or that they had been found, I cannot be sure at this distance, which it was, but no
matter.) We greatly enjoyed Sam’s visit, but it must have [been] intolerably stupid to him.2 I was in a
smouldering rage, the whole time, over the precious days & weeks of time which Bret Harte was losing for
me—so I was no company for Sam or anybody else.3 Livy thinks, however, that Sam entertained himself with books
& had a tolerably pleasant time. I hope so, I am sure.
l With love to all
Sam
Explanatory Notes
Around the time of this letter to Pamela, Clemens sent Harte a letter, no longer extant. The content may be inferred from Harte’s reply (CU-MARK, in Harte 1997, 145–49): On the back of the ninth and final page of the letter Clemens wrote, in pencil: “I have read two pages of this ineffable idiotcy—it is all I can stand of it. S. L. C.” In early 1877 James R. Osgood and Company had published book versions of Two Men of Sandy Bar and Thankful Blossom. John T. Ford was the proprietor and manager of the National Theatre in Washington, where Charles T. Parsloe was to appear in Ah Sin in May (7 May 1877 to Parsloe).
Source text(s):Previous publication:
MicroPUL, reel 1.
Provenance:
Deposited at ViU by Clifton Waller Barrett on 17 December 1963.
