October 19 Wednesday – From Florence Sam wrote to Richard Watson Gilder of Century, enclosing “The £1,000,000 Bank Note” story.

Well, you see, what little I have written lately was kind of forced into the Syndicates because they seduce a person by the large wage they pay, which is double & treble what the magazines grant to the laborer in the literary field. Naturally I prefer to be in the magazines, but you see how it is.

Sam didn’t see why Gilder wouldn’t like the tale, and he said so, calling it “noble & elegant.” But if he didn’t want to buy it would he send it to Webster & Co. He commented on the coming US presidential election:

I am hoping Mr. & Mrs. Cleveland will be elected, & I am also expecting it. I have been trying to get some Republican to pair with me, but find them all too sagacious to pair with a person in Europe. I thought maybe our old colored servant George might do me the favor but found that he & his immediate colored political following had gone over to the Cleveland side themselves [MTP]. Note: Cleveland was the Democrat candidate.

Sam’s notebook from Florence:

Oct. 19. Sent L 1,000,000 Note to Century — between 9 & 10,000 words. / Sent “A Curious Story[”] to Harper 8,500 words. / Sent Californian’s Story &c to Webster & Co. [NB 32 TS 32].

Frederick J. Hall wrote to Sam (letter not extant), but from the text of Sam’s Oct. 31 response, some of the content is given. Hall sent financial news and some news about the Chicago developments with the Paige typesetter [Oct 31 to Hall].