April 2 Sunday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Joel Chandler Harris, in Atlanta. Twichell recently returned from a trip down South where he called on Harris with a suggestion of Sam’s that Harris appear on stage with him and read the Remus stories. Trouble was, Harris was exceptionally shy.
Jo Twichell brought me your note and told me of his talk with you. He said you didn’t believe you would ever be able to muster a sufficiency of reckless daring to make you comfortable and at ease before an audience. Well, I have thought out a device whereby I believe we can get around that difficulty. I will explain when I see you [MTP].
Harris was planning on going to Canada over copyright matters, and Sam invited him to meet with him and Osgood in New Orleans sometime between May 1 and 6. Osgood knew all about how to approach copyright in Canada, Sam said.
Our idea is to strike across lots and reach St. Louis the 20th of April—thence we propose to drift southward, stopping at some town a few hours or a night, every day, and making notes.
To escape the interviewers, I shall follow my usual course and use a fictitious name (C. L. Samuel, of New York.) I don’t know what Osgood’s name will be, but he can’t use his own.
If you see your way to meet us in New Orleans, drop me a line, now, and as we approach that city I will telegraph you what day we shall arrive there.
I would go to Atlanta if I could, but shan’t be able. We shall go back up the river to St. Paul, and thence by rail X-lots home. (I am making this letter so dreadfully private and confidential because my movements must be kept secret, else I shan’t be able to pick up the kind of book-material I want.)
If you are diffident, I suspect that you ought to let Osgood be your magazine-agent. He makes those people pay three or four times as much as an article is worth, whereas I never had the cheek to make them pay more than double [MTP].