August 8 Wednesday – In N.Y.C. H.H. Rogers replied to the Aug. 5 from Sam, confessing that the letter he was to copy and send to Twichell about the Virgin Mary being 47 and black had been sent along without copying due to the “disordered condition” of his desk on Monday night. Rogers disagreed with Sam on his conclusions about Mary’s age and color; he felt sure he’d get a reply from Twichell, which would be his “duty to send it to your address.” He related that George B. Harvey had been in this afternoon and seemed to be “rather gloating over some great victory” relating to his choice of 100,000 words of Sam’s Autobiography. He also related that Melville E. Stone, manager of the Associated Press, had called “somewhat depressed” due to a letter (not extant) from Sam. Melville was making arrangements for the A.P.’s Sept. 19 annual dinner at the Waldorf Astoria.

In other words, let me “butt in” and make a suggestion, and I have not a doubt at all but that Mrs. Rogers will approve of what I say, because she never does approve of what you say, and if so, we may be able to influence you. At any rate, Mrs. Rogers is quite angry with you about various matters, and I am sure you will feel influenced when she gets near you. / Yours truly … [MTHHR 614-15].

Clemens’ A.D. this day included: The effrontery of amateur literary efforts—The playing of charades to- night—From Susy’s biography: the presentation of “The Prince and Pauper” at Charles Dudley Warner‘s house [MTP: Autodict2].

Isabel Lyon’s journal: “The King wanted to see my Zarathustra. It pained me to give him up, but I did it, & after the King had looked through it he said, ‘O damn Nietzsche! He couldn’t write a lucid sentence to save his soul.’ Somehow I am glad he doesn’t like Zarathustra. Very, very glad—but I shall be able to quote some passages to him—some telling passages—for Nietzche is too much like himself” [MTP TS 105; also Gribben 508 using older TS page numbers].  

August 8 ca. – In Dublin, N.H. Sam wrote to Calvin H. Higbie.  

Dear Higbie: / I have read it, & the fact is, I am greatly disappointed. It is mainly second-hand news, worked over. In ‘Roughing It’ I have already told about the Wide-West blind lead; & about your locating it; & about our dreams of what we would do when we got the money; & about your going cementing & my going off to nurse Nye; & about the relocating of the blind lead; & about my joining the staff of the ‘Enterprise;’ & about Lake Mono; & about the robbery on the divide—& so forth & so on. To make the re-telling of these things valuable there is only one way, not two: they must be better told than I told them. You have not done that, & any editor would say so at once: & he would add that he could not use matter, anyway, that had already been used. I exhausted that ore-pile, & left nothing behind but waste rock.

You have invented some new things—such as the flap-jacks & the ball—but any editor would strike them out, because such things are without value except when funny, & you have not made them funny. And how could you? You are a straight, honest, practical, sincere man, & no schooling, no training, no diligence would ever qualify you to write humorously—it is out of your line; & even if it were not, you could not pick up that exacting art in a day.

You have made me pretty ridiculous, but I shan’t mind that if the editors will buy your MS. But I clearly perceive that it would damage its chances for me to offer it to them, for the reason that they would certainly ask me for a paragraph in praise of it & I could not furnish it. In print I have never praised anything which I could not praise with heartiness & sincerity. For in my way I am as honest as you are, Cal.

But there is one thing I can do, & this I will gladly do if you say the word. I can send it to the Herald, through my literary agent, & he can say you passed it through my hands to see if there was anything in it that would wound me, & that I found it innocent of reproach in that respect. Shall I do that? Let me hear from you, old friend. / Sincerely yours, … [MTP: TS in A.D. 10 Aug. 1906].