April 29 Saturday – Sam wrote from Elmira to Whitelaw Reid, enclosing an article for the Tribune, which argued for saving Edward H. Ruloff (1819-1871) from hanging in a sensational murder case. Ruloff possessed a brilliant mind—“one of the most marvelous intellects that any age has produced,” wrote Sam, who proposed an intriguing solution for the law to be satisfied and the “gifted criminal still be saved”—Sam would find a man who would gladly substitute his life for Ruloff’s [MTL 4: 383-5]. Note: the letter is interesting for Sam’s support of capital punishment as well as the unique solution in a particular case. Still, Ruloff had killed a clerk during a robbery, as well as his wife and child years before. Sam hoped his letter, if printed in the Tribune, would “start the talk at every breakfast table in the land….”