December 21 Friday – Sam wrote from Hartford to James R. Osgood, offering a rare apology for his remarks. Evidently, he had questioned Osgood’s integrity. Powers points out that sales of LM “languished at 30,000 copies” [MT A Life, 469]. In a letter now lost, Sam accused Osgood of mismanaging the book. Osgood was “astonished” and defended himself; he’d written on Dec. 8 that if the sales were a failure, it was not due to “lack of intelligent, conscientious and energetic effort on our part” [470]. Sam then offered his apology:

No, I shall not do or wittingly say anything to interrupt our friendly relations. I am sorry I made that remark, since it hurts you; but it was not new matter—it had been conveyed, before, through Webster. And I said to Webster distinctly, “I will not have ill blood with Osgood, nor any but honest speech, plain but without bitterness—State my case,—leave the rest to Osgood and me” [MTLTP 164].

Sam recommended they get together and talk the matter out, that “writings do not successfully interpret the feeling of the writer” [165]. Sam was extremely disappointed and felt both P&P and LM had been publishing failures.

I am peculiarly situated. The Prince and Pauper and the Mississippi are the only books of mine which have ever failed. The first failure was not unbearable—but this second one is so nearly so that it is not a calming subject for me to talk upon…I have never for a moment doubted that you did the very best you knew how—it is impossible to doubt that—but there were things about the publishing of my books which you did not understand. You understand them now, but it is I who have paid the costs of the apprenticeship [MTLTP 164-5].