October 11 Wednesday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Howells, covering a lot of ground. First, Sam didn’t think he’d be able to do anything for the January Atlantic issue. He’d spent the whole day “clearing off a fortnight’s accumulating correspondence,” and would take it out on Howells. Sam wrote about the collaboration with Bret Harte in writing a play. He was to contribute the character of Scotty Briggs from Buck Fanshaw’s funeral in Roughing It, and Harte was to put in a Chinaman from his Sandy Bar play, which was adapted by Harte from one of his short stories, “Mrs. Thompson’s Prodigal.” Sandy Bar was “neither an artistic nor a commercial success,” [Walker, Phillip 187] but a minor character, Charles T. Parsloe, in the role of Hop Sing, a California Chinaman, was the bright spot in the play. Harte was then encouraged to write a play around Parsloe and Hop Sing, which became Ah Sin, the stage play.
Sam wrote he’d just finished his plot contribution, working “8 or 9 hours a day” for six days, “& [it] has nearly killed me.” Sam asked Howells to have the words, “Ah Sin, a Drama” printed in the middle of a note-paper page and send it to him to use in the copyright application. Sam didn’t want anyone to know the play was being written.
The rest of the letter dealt with giving a song away that Sam had evidently composed; the servants and how he’d taught his man George to lie to unwelcome visitors; and his condolences that Howell’s biography of Hayes wasn’t selling well. Sam asked for three proofs of his December article, “The Canvasser’s Tale” [MTLE 1: 126].
Sam also wrote a one-liner to James B. Pond; he seemed to “be in a tolerable fair way to compromise with that Baltimore man,” but wasn’t sure yet [MTLE 1: 127].
Arthur Cooper wrote from London to Sam, re: Clews, Habicht & Co. “I beg to inform you that, acting under the Authority of your proxy dated 3rd August 1876, I have this day paid Mr. A. Lidington the sums of £31.15.3 and £9.10.7 respectively, on £254.2.3 amount of your admitted proof in this matter.” [MTP].