September 23 Saturday – In Dublin, N.H. Isabel V. Lyon wrote for Sam to Thomas S. Barbour of the Congo Reform Assoc. in Boston.
M . Clemens directs me to write for him saying that he has been considering whether he could be made an honorary president, or a second president, so that he could be connected with the Congo Reform Association without doing any work, but could be of service by giving the use of his name. Will you kindly tell M . Clemens what you think of it? [MTP].
Isabel Lyon’s journal: This morning brought a letter from Mr. Duneka in which he wrote with a happy word of appreciation of “Eve’s Diary.” He finds it beautiful. This evening Mr. Clemens said he thought the corrections for “Adam’s Diary” ought to be published in the same issue of Harpers mag. as the Eve’s. Tonight at twilight when I spoke of a clipping from the N.Y. Times about an Englishwoman, Miss Allonby, who wrote a book “The Fulfillment”, but couldn’t publish it while she lived because people couldn’t stand the truth of it, and she recently committed suicide in order that the book might be given to the world, Mr. Clemens got up from the couch, saying that only from the grave can one have freedom of speech, or thinks one can. Miss Allonby won’t have it, for her relatives are to edit the book “very carefully” and then he read me an article on that very subject—Freedom of Speech, a wonderful, beautifully written little essay. It forms an explanation for not being able to publish the Deity article. It’s because it’s too full of the great things that men know to be true, but can’t say they know it. What cowards we are. “Civilization is Repression” you have to jam down and out of sight the action of the strongest laws of your being and the great cry of truth [MTP TS 101-102]. Note: “The Fulfilment” (1905) by Edith Allonby (1875-1905); not in Gribben. The Times article ran on Sept. 21, 1905 under the heading, “An Author’s Suicide.” Allonby was a schoolteacher in Lancaster, England.
A. Cooper wrote to Sam on or after this day, sending letters written to the assistant district attorney NYC, together with “Dates of Incidents” from 1887 to Sept. 1905 in the “Lexow” inquiry. No note to Clemens was given, so it may be that Cooper thought this case of alleged police corruption should be read by Clemens [MTP].
Sam began the 17,000+ word “A Horse’s Tale” after receiving Minnie Maddern Fiske’s Sept. 20 letter asking for such a story that she might use in her campaign against bullfighting in Spain. He completed it on Sept. 30, after “an eight-day drive & rush” [Oct. 1 to Clara].
Isabel Lyon’s journal: notes she spoke to Clemens about a New York Times article, unspecified [Gribben 505: Lyon’s journal TS 101: MTP].
M . Clemens directs me to write for him saying that he has been considering whether he could be made an honorary president, or a second president, so that he could be connected with the Congo Reform Association without doing any work, but could be of service by giving the use of his name. Will you kindly tell M . Clemens what you think of it? [MTP].
Isabel Lyon’s journal: This morning brought a letter from Mr. Duneka in which he wrote with a happy word of appreciation of “Eve’s Diary.” He finds it beautiful. This evening Mr. Clemens said he thought the corrections for “Adam’s Diary” ought to be published in the same issue of Harpers mag. as the Eve’s. Tonight at twilight when I spoke of a clipping from the N.Y. Times about an Englishwoman, Miss Allonby, who wrote a book “The Fulfillment”, but couldn’t publish it while she lived because people couldn’t stand the truth of it, and she recently committed suicide in order that the book might be given to the world, Mr. Clemens got up from the couch, saying that only from the grave can one have freedom of speech, or thinks one can. Miss Allonby won’t have it, for her relatives are to edit the book “very carefully” and then he read me an article on that very subject—Freedom of Speech, a wonderful, beautifully written little essay. It forms an explanation for not being able to publish the Deity article. It’s because it’s too full of the great things that men know to be true, but can’t say they know it. What cowards we are. “Civilization is Repression” you have to jam down and out of sight the action of the strongest laws of your being and the great cry of truth [MTP TS 101-102]. Note: “The Fulfilment” (1905) by Edith Allonby (1875-1905); not in Gribben. The Times article ran on Sept. 21, 1905 under the heading, “An Author’s Suicide.” Allonby was a schoolteacher in Lancaster, England.
A. Cooper wrote to Sam on or after this day, sending letters written to the assistant district attorney NYC, together with “Dates of Incidents” from 1887 to Sept. 1905 in the “Lexow” inquiry. No note to Clemens was given, so it may be that Cooper thought this case of alleged police corruption should be read by Clemens [MTP].
Sam began the 17,000+ word “A Horse’s Tale” after receiving Minnie Maddern Fiske’s Sept. 20 letter asking for such a story that she might use in her campaign against bullfighting in Spain. He completed it on Sept. 30, after “an eight-day drive & rush” [Oct. 1 to Clara].
Isabel Lyon’s journal: notes she spoke to Clemens about a New York Times article, unspecified [Gribben 505: Lyon’s journal TS 101: MTP].
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