August 5 Monday – In Elmira Sam wrote to William Dean Howells. The letter reflects the degree to which Sam depended on Livy and/or Howells as social censors of his work.

Mrs. Clemens will not listen to reason, or argument; or supplication: I’ve got to get you to read the book [CY]. … The proofs, thoroughly corrected, & then revised & re-corrected, shall go to you as revises, from time to time, from the office in New York.

If Mrs. Clemens could have sat down & read the book herself, I could have got you off, maybe but she has not had an hour’s use of her eyes for reading since she had pink-eye six months ago. So she is afraid I have left coarsenesses which ought to be rooted out, & blasts of opinion which are so strongly worded as to repel instead of persuade. I hardly think so. I dug out many darlings of these sorts, & throttled them, with grief; then Steadman [sic] went through the book & marked for the grave all that he could find, & I sacrificed them, every one. So you see your work has been lightened for you the best I could. Now then. God be with you! [MTHL 2: 608-9].

Andrew H.H. Dawson for N.Y. District Attorney wrote Sam inviting him to an unspecified banquet and to solicit a donation (see Aug. 9 for Sam’s check).

Frederick J. Hall wrote again to argue for selling CY as a trade publication rather than their more usual subscription method [MTLTP 258n2].

The editor of American Garden wrote a follow up letter asking Sam to opine on “the question of abolishing the disfiguring fences in villages, suburban towns and country highways.” He had not answered a prior request (not extant) [MTP].