April 25 Saturday – Sam wrote from Elmira to Edgar “Ned” Wakeman. Sam repeated that he could not take on Wakeman’s book and would not put his name to a book that someone else had written, but he did refer Wakeman to Elisha Bliss, warning that Eastern publishers rarely took on a book from an unknown man, and when they did the royalties were low [MTL 6: 119].

Mollie Clemens wrote:

Dear Sam

Your[s] of the 23rd is just received. Orion is not here, but I opened it & read it.

Dear Sam you are a noble, generous glorious man—and all of your actions toward us manifests christian charity.

I regret exceedingly that Ma has written to you in opposition to our going West. She is quite mistaken in thinking I would not want to go to the old place again. . . .

I utterly hate myself for having been so meek, & wavering, so afraid so cowardly about taking responsibility, all my life. I seem to have had no moral courage.

Here lately I have been trying to overcome this weakness, and I shall overcome it all, with the help of the Almighty One. I know it is not Christian to be weak and I shall be strong.

I had on that weakness in a measure while in Hartford and did not go into any kind of enthusiasm; but I foolishly attributed it to being so fatigued by my twenty miles ride on Saturday: then too Sam I thought it was too bad to ask you to spend so much money for us, when you had no assurance in the world that you would ever get it all back. I wanted the property bought in you[r] name, and any improvements we might add would be yours if we never paid for it; and took it off your hands.

I have in my heart believed we could meet the payments of the interest, and pay you interest, after the second year at the furthest. But I only had my hope to go upon, and therefore kept up the idea that you were to have the deed to you, and if you had the deed, then you pay all for it, and us pay you interest as soon as we could; or rent, whichever it might be called. . . .

Your words were truth & wisdom when you said one could not afford to use up their lifes blood for no more than Orion is doing or getting now, no matter how agreeable it may be at the present.

It is not strange that Orion should fear for you to take such a risk for us, when every thing he undertakes fails: and he lives the most dreadful life of fear; when he has a situation at any thing, he is in that everlasting state of fear fear FEAR. Of course with the same interests at stake I have more or less of the fear too. Last night as we talked about getting into the country what work we would do in the day time what books read at night, and had plenty of pleasant anticipations I said “then you will not be afraid of losing that situation will you.” He said no it would be like a new existance to him.

Another letter came from Ma yesterday just full of the nice times we would have in a country home. But she still thought I would not want to go back to the old place.

I take it that your offer is made in great kindness, and hope you will accept my refusal in the same spirit.

Not a single kindness, from you & dear sweet Livy, but is remembered & treasured, with all the gratitude I can feel, but never express; but while God gives me health & strength, and what reason I have, I cannot accept any assistance from you, that I have not the utmost faith, that you will at least receive dollar for dollar; and in the way you offer there is not even a shadow of hope for you to get it back.

We sent yesterday, letters about the Iowa property. You will have decided about that, before this reaches you. I wish you would look to your own interest a little, in whatever you decide upon in the matter.

I am so sorry we are such a trouble to you—but; help us get a farm—my faith is strong, and I would go into it, with earnestness and love, and a determination to give it a fair five years trial, at the least.

Of course pa praises his place, the location, the fruit and improvements. I yearn for indipendance.

Love to all / Affectionately / M. E. C. [MTPO].

 Orion Clemens wrote to Sam.

My Dear Brother:— / I gratefully thank you for the kind offer in your letter received to-day; but it is too generous for me to accept.

As you desire me to write freely, I will say that several days ago I took two pages of the manuscript I sent you yesterday to a book publisher, to see if he would want anything on that plan. He was out of the city, and would not return till to-day or Monday or Tuesday, when he was to go away again for three or four weeks. As it is now, I shall not probably revisit him sooner than the expiration of the latter period, if at all. If I had seen him then and he had encouraged me to proceed, my preference of preferences would have been to work on at the Post, as I am now doing, from 9:30 till 2:10, for three or six months or a year, if the exploration of the vast subject should necessitate so long a time, using my afternoons and evenings in visiting the Astor and Cooper Institute free libraries, or reading books at home from the Mercantile library, searching through geology, books of travel, and any other books I could find with facts bearing on my theories, making rough notes and writing them up formally, in mornings, &c., as rapidly and as well as practicable—brandishing as free a quill as ever any goose struck a horse’s heels with: this would be my idea of elysium, if I felt that the work I was doing was not going to be still-born. Now you can judge whether a book continued in the strain I sent you is likely to be a waste of time. If you think time so devoted would not be thrown away,—

However, I suppose it is not worth while to talk any more about that. My next preference would be the Keokuk place, if we could get through the first year. My plan would be to work on the garden and chicken business during the day and refresh my memory in law at night, so that in two or three years, by the time we got the garden and poultry arrangement so it would pay to hire work done, I could be well enough up in the law to take an office in town, and go down mornings and return evenings. I could not become at this late time of life a distinguished lawyer, but I might make a comfortable living with it and the garden and the poultry and the house free of rent.

Mollie requests me to say that she has not thought of failure in the farming enterprise. She has, I may add on my own motion, been sanguine and elated with the prospect of independence, and a beautiful home by the Mississippi, the canal and the railroad, and with the hope of getting me out of the printing office.

The combined law, garden and poultry project could be tried in and near New York or Hartford as well as in and near Keokuk; or it might be that editorial work could be substituted on an evening paper for law.

I am very sorry, indeed, to have taken up so much of your thought, which might be better employed on higher, or at least less depressing and worrying subjects.

Affectionately, / Your Brother, / Orion.

P. S. Going to Keokuk would be a sort of gloomy exile for me; bu[t] Mollie would be happy there; and she is right in saying I do not support her; and that she had rather do the managing there….[MTPO].

John M. Hay wrote to Sam.

My dear Clemens / That affair of the Windsor Hotel will be a grief to me forever. Mrs. Hay never received Mrs. Fairbanks’ letter and so we did not understand your note to mean anything positive. I learned by accident however that you were there and so posted up to find you, and you were not. Charlie F. came in to see me and said the letter had been directed to West 25th and we live [at] 111 East 25th St.

I shall simply never get over it. I was crazy to see something of the two ladies, and you know what is my private opinion of all the time I dont spend with you. / Yours faithfully / John Hay [MTPO].