December 17 Tuesday – The N.Y. Times, p.2 “Authors’ Readings” included the entire text of Sam’s letter sent to the readings at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, explaining his reasons for not coming. Ex-Mayor Low read Sam’s letter, which complained that of “about twelve Authors’ readings,” not “a single one of them…was rationally conducted.” He decried the running over of allotted time by most readers.

Henry Whitney Cleveland wrote a follow up postcard to Sam:

I wrote to you and not to the Firm, because Geo. MacDonald gave us a half introduction in 1875, — because anything in your writing is valuable, even if the blotter has left very little ink — because I am not the Mayor of Louisville, but only Keeper of the Public Records [MTP]. Note: Cleveland had written on Dec. 10 on the Mayor’s letterhead.