May 10 Monday – Sam wrote from Bliss’ office in Hartford to Mary Mason Fairbanks.

“Have 500 pages of proof—only about 200 more to read—& so the thing is nearly done….Livy is no stronger than she was six months ago—& it seems hard, & grieves me to have to say it. I cannot talk about it with her, though, for she is as sensitive about it as I am about my drawling speech & stammerers of their infirmity.”

 Sam also wrote to Abel Fairbanks, concluding no further interest in obtaining a share of the Cleveland Herald [MTL 3: 211-3]. Sam wrote James Redpath, agreeing to the use of his name in lecture advertisements, and suggesting a pay rate of $100 per lecture. Sam discussed his planned trip to California and mentioned the completion of the “Pacific RR” at Promontory, Utah [MTL 3: 214-18].

May 10–June 1 Tuesday – Sometime during this period Sam wrote from Elmira or Hartford to Elisha Bliss, estimating 200,000 words left in Innocents, and directing the “infernally unreliable” printer’s proofreader to look up the word “tabu” if he didn’t know the meaning [MTL 5: 683].