January 10 Tuesday – Sam wrote from Hartford to David “Wattie” Bowser, who evidently had sent Sam a frog when Sam was in Canada.

“…they put him in the greenhouse & he lost himself immediately. The gardener hunted for him every day or two, & three days ago he found him. I have seen him, & he is all right & manifestly enjoying himself.”

Sam also had received a photograph and several paintings from David, and perhaps from his teacher, Laura Wright Dake. Sam invited the boy to visit when he came east [MTP].

January 10 and 11 Wednesday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Charles Webster. He was suspicious of American Publishing Co. and suspicious of Dan Slote. He directed Webster to continue looking into his past dealings. He was also nibbling at the hook of the Paige machine:

“Yes, I would wait a little & let Page reduce the terms if he will. (I am convinced that that machine can be made perfect & thoroughly satisfactory—so we will hang along, & not drop it)” [MTBus 182].

Kaolatype hopes were dim, but the Paige machine began to fill Sam’s hopes for fabulous riches.

Sam also wrote to Hjalmar Boyesen. Poor sales of P&P had not yet dampened Sam’s optimism.

I was mightily delighted with your review of my book, and am very glad that the work impresses you so favorably. I was doubly solicitous—anxious, shall I say?—this time, because the thing was a new departure, both literarily and publicationally, for I went for the bulk of the profits, and so published the volume at my own expense, opening with an edition of 25,000 copies, for the manufacture of which I paid $17,500. Yes, I was solicitous, for a while, but that is all gone by, now. I find myself a fine success, as a publisher; and literarily the new departure is a great deal better received that I had any right to hope for…[MTLTP 152n1].