November 17 Wednesday – Sam responded to a request from the wife of David Gray, Martha “Mattie” G. Gray, sending a sketch for the Buffalo Bazaar Bulletin. Sam wrote that if she would “desert David & come & see us, since he won’t come with you” he would read “The Little Prince & the Little Pauper” (please don’t mention the title—I may publish it in a magazine without any signature appended).” Sam added “The children are well, & Jean is as fat & gross as a goose that is getting ready to be paté de fois gras’d”. The sketch enclosed, “For Struggling Young Poets” ran in the Dec. 10 issue of the Bazaar Bulletin [MTLE 5: 198-200].

Sam also wrote to James R. Osgood telling him to look in a big library or find a bookseller for copies of his books. Sam had agreed to publish with Osgood, but wanted to keep the information a secret from the American Publishing Co. as long as possible, so as to have access to the books. Osgood may have suggested that Sam have Frank Bliss send him certain books, but Sam felt it might give him away [MTLE 5: 201].

Paid to Mrs. A. Fletcher, New York, $4.84 for “ladies hygienic undergarments” [MTP].

James Noonan, Hartford painter? (listed in 1875 City Directory as blacksmith) $18.11 for work on house, Nov. 9, 10, 13, 15, 16 [MTP].

Mary Mapes Dodge for St. Nicholas wrote to Sam, that although they had a full slate to publish for 1881 and even part of 1882, she’d be happy to see the opening chapters of P&P and go from there [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env., “Mary Mapes Dodge concerning ‘The Prince & the Pauper’ ”; this suggests Clemens inquired of Dodge for the publishing of P&P, perhaps serially. See Nov. 19 entry to Dodge.