December 28 Monday – At the Villa Reale di Quarto near Florence Sam wrote to George B. Harvey.
If Wood is confirmed, this is a pæan of drunken joy; if it’s the other way, it is a wail, a lament; in either case it is a note of contempt for the President & his catamite.
You may find it injudicious to print it. You are on the spot & will know. In case of non-printing, please return it to me, for there might come a time during election-year when the atmosphere might change & in your judgment make it available.
Naturally you want first-rate short-story talent. Then examine a New York police-story (Irish) in the Evening Post of Dec. 14, & hunt up that writer. I think it would be very difficult to tell a story better than that one is told.
If you are proud of the Xmas Weekly & Monthly, I believe you’ve the right.
Mrs. Clemens has suffered a set-back & lost 3 months—no, more than twice that. She is discouraged, & that takes some of the spirit out of the rest of us. However, we are sure she is going to take another start now. The salutations of the season to you all! & warm regards [MTP].
Note: General Leonard Wood had been nominated for Major General rank by President Roosevelt. He had previously been promoted to Brigadier General by McKinley passing over many others. Confirmation for Major General rank met resistance in the Senate; charges were made which led to investigations, including inquiries in Cuba. Wood would not be confirmed until Mar. 18, 1904 [NY Times, Mar. 19, p.5, “Wood’s Nomination is Confirmed by Senate”]. Sam thought twice about the piece he’d written on Wood; from the following NB entry he decided not to send it to Harvey:
Sam’s notebook: “Sent to Harper ‘Major Gen. Wood, M.D.,’ 1035 words—to be returned if arrive too late for usefulness. ($310.50.) / Didn’t send it” [NB 46 TS 31].