January 24 Sunday – Sam wrote from Cleveland to Livy. He was relieved that Livy still had “faith in me.” Livy’s parents had expressed doubts about Sam, that he was a wanderer by nature. Sam answered the accusation:
“Does a man, five years a galley-slave, get in a habit of it & yearn to be a galley-slave always?…And being pushed from pillar to post & compelled so long to roam, against my will, is it reasonable to think that I am really fond if it & wedded to it? I think not” [MTL 3: 75].
Note: This was Sam trying to convince Livy and himself with a disingenuous claim that his travels had been against his will. True, Sam yearned for home and hearth, and was wholly committed to a life with Livy, but he never lost his love of travel, new places, new people, and the pursuit of fame, riches and respectability on his terms.