May 7 Saturday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Webster. His opinion of Slote had, by this time, gone completely dark.

Dear Charley— / The fact that we are into Dan near $900, reconciles me to the other things. He must never have a cent of that while he lives.

   Come up here Monday—we can get through our talk before 6 P.M.—I leave then, for South Manchester [Conn.] to be gone till midnight.—or, come Tuesday, if you prefer.

   While you are here you must buy my scrapbook patent of me. Do not forget this.

   I enclose $500—mainly to pay superannuated bills with, maybe.

   You must run across McLaughlin, some time, & have a talk with him. He can tell some things, I guess [MTBus 155].

Note: South Manchester was where the Cheney brothers founded their silk mill; it was also the site of many paper mills. Sam’s business might have been with either, but after business hours would suggest the business was personal.

Sam also wrote from Hartford to James R. Osgood, discussing desired payment on some sort of magazine article. “…any rate you can beguile these people out of, above $20 a page, will be entirely satisfactory to me.” This was the page rate Howells gave Sam for the first story accepted in the Atlantic Monthly. Sam added,

“Now you said you wanted a letter of mine to frame. All right—just hang this one up; for it ain’t a screed exhibiting a man’s literary gait that you want for such a purpose, but a screed which will exhibit his moral lay-out” [MTP].

James Ahern, “practical plumber and gas fitter” Hartford, billed Sam $36.67 for long list of plumbing work, paid this date, no date on bill [MTP]. Note: Ahern often billed for work done many weeks or months before.