January 17 Friday – A Hartford Courant reporter called on Sam in the afternoon, seeking answers about the dispute with Edward H. House over the dramatization contract for P&P. (See Jan.18 entry.)

Sam forwarded Hudson’s Jan. 16 letter to R.W. Nelson of the Thorne Typesetting Co., writing on the bottom:

Come, Mr. Nelson, I shall have to get you to rush this order a little, or this gentleman may think I haven’t any influence with you. / P.S. Please return this letter to me, Mr. Nelson. I maliciously value it on account of that remark about the afflicted Mergenthaler play-thing [MTP].

In Boston, William Dean Howells wrote a short note to Sam:

I’m going to New York next Wednesday night to dine there Thursday. Perhaps you’d be willing to have me stop off a night at Hartford on my way home? [MTHL 2: 627]. Note: Sam’s answer is not extant. Howells attended a Jan. 23 Union League Club dinner honoring Edwin A. Abbey, who was visiting New York.

The New York Tribune on page 1 printed “Author against Author,” voicing Edward H. House’s accusations of duplicity on Sam’s part over dramatizing P&P through Abby Sage Richardson [Scharnhorst, Interviews 115]. See Jan. 18 Courant article for summary.

S.J. Life wrote from Rye, N.Y. to Sam inviting him to attend their school’s production of P&P [MTP].

Harry Myers for YMCA, Nashville, Tenn. wrote to Sam asking him to “help us by getting our crowd together and amusing them for an hour or so,when we pull them for funds and all will be lovely” — this to raise a capstone for their now completed building [MTP].

Daniel Whitford wrote to Sam sending check for royalty on P&P for last week (unspecified amount) [MTP].

Frederick J. Hall wrote on Savoy Hotel, London stationery to Sam, “disgusted with the delays” – delays with the ship, with Edward Marston having the grip and the resulting lost week. In the meantime Hall got acquainted with Andrew Chatto, who had called several times on Marston in their behalf. Marston laughed at Hall’s beginning guarantee of $5,000 as well as $10,000 guarantee plus half the profits. Hall felt he’d done all he could, whether they got the book or not [MTP].