June 21 Thursday – Sam wrote two letters from Elmira to Howells. Sam had read in the newspapers that Bret Harte was trying to get a consulship. Sam tried to convince Howells to write President Hayes to squelch such an appointment, which Sam claimed would be a “disgrace of literature & the country.” Sam listed Harte’s faults, from not paying his debts to lying to being “steeped in whisky & brandy.” Sam claimed that Harte even “gets up in the night to drink it cold.”

With second thoughts, Sam wrote a follow-up letter to Howells at 10 PM:

“Never mind about Harte—I mean never mind about being bothered with the letter [to President Hayes]. I had to have an outlet to my feelings—I saw none but through you—but of course the thing would be disagreeable to you.” Sam urged Howells and wife to “visit any time in the summer and stay a week” [MTLE 2: 82-3].