December 28 Wednesday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Rev. Nathaniel J. Burton, longtime member of the Monday Evening Club.

And look here: it wasn’t my idea to send you that ridiculous General-Butler toy; it was Stone’s—he wanted to sell it, I reckon. He said some minister ought to have it, to beguile his mind away, for a moment, from the contemplation of the woes & foolishness & littlenesses of the creeping things he is commissioned by his office to save or damn; & so I said send it to Dr Burton…[MTP].

Sam also wrote to Osgood & Co. ready to file another lawsuit after seeing a “Literary Chit-Chat” column in the Dec. 19 New York Herald. The article claimed,

…those who saw the book in manuscript hastened to assure the world that there was no fun in the book, much to Mr. Clemens’ disgust, who wisely thinks that he is nothing if not funny.

Sylvester Baxter, of the Herald, sends me this. Now please set your detective forces to work and find out who that Hartford correspondent is. I judge he is connected with the Am. Pub. Co. of this city. If so, I can make it valuable, as I shall begin suit against that concern pretty soon, now, (keep this to yourselves), for swindling me. Save this Herald scrap and return it to me. By the middle of January I shall experience a let-up in this protracted out-pour of cash, and shall then waltz into that gang with affectionate enthusiasm. Find me that correspondent [MTLTP 147].

Charles Webster wrote four pages about the typesetter and another paragraph on Kaolatype [MTP].

Edwin Pond Parker wrote from Hartford, to thank for P&P—“it is a noble piece of work” [MTP].