August 27 Monday – At Dollis Hill House in London, England Sam wrote two letters to T. Douglas Murray, the first bears Sam’s note at the top: “Never sent; I hadn’t the heart. He never meant any harm; he was only ignorant & stupid. /

S.L.C., Sept. 7.” The unsent letter:

I will not deny that I am alarmed. Please do not lose any time in ordering your type-writer to send me the original of the “Introduction” [to the Official Trials of Joan of Arc] so that I can put it in a safe place, where it will not be exposed to further school-girl attempts at “editing” it. …

I will hold no grudge against you…for I believe you innocently meant well….Your lack of literary training, literary perception, literary judgment, literary talent, along with a deficient knowledge of grammar & of the meanings of words—these are to blame, not you [MTP].

The second letter, less harsh than the first:

I am afraid you did not quite clearly understand me. The time-honored etiquette of the situation—new to you by reason of inexperience—is this: an author’s MS is not open to any editor’s uninvited emendations. It must be accepted as it stands, or it must be declined; there is no middle course. Any alteration of it—even to a word—closes the incident, & that author & that editor can have no further literary dealings with each other. It was your right to say that the Introduction was not satisfactory to you, but it was not within your rights to contribute your pencil’s assistance toward making it satisfactory.

Therefore, even if you now wished to use my MS. in its original form, untouched, I could not permit it.

Nor in any form, of course.

Sam asked that his original be returned “when convenient” and that any copies, amended or otherwise, be destroyed, “lest they fall into careless hands & get into print” [MTP].