June 28 Saturday – In Elmira, Sam responded to Howells’ request of June 27 for payment of $2,000 on the work he’d done on the Library of Humor. Faced with mounting costs on the production of HF, the first book of Webster & Co., Sam begged off. Besides the financial pinch, Sam was in no mood to be generous.

“My days are given up to cursings—both loud & deep—for I am reading the H. Finn proofs. They don’t make a very great mistakes, but those that do occur are of a nature to make a man curse his teeth loose” [MTHL 2: 493].

Orion Clemens wrote to thank Sam for the $150 in checks; “All pretty well” He wanted a new picture of the family [MTP].