February 22 Thursday – In Hartford, Sam typed a letter to Charles Webster. Sam’s ex-attorney, Charles Perkins, had made an offer to reorganize the Kaolatype Company, and Sam wanted Webster to investigate whether to “knock the thing in the head.” More said about the alarm system, the batteries, the quitting bells, the alarm clock. Also Sam was concerned about a subscription for the magazine The Portfolio, An Artistic Periodical, London, to J.W. Bouton, editor (see Gribben 555-6) that either he or Slote might have paid for. He advised Webster that he and Osgood:

“…will be down about the First of March, and then I propose to go and see Slote and Company” [MTBus 209-10].

Sam also wrote to Orion, who had been having mental problems when writing about religion, and had some far out ideas on the subject, including the idea that Jesus taught sexual abstinence as a condition for gaining heaven. Orion wrote that he would put his ideas into a lecture, as suggested by Dr. George of the Keokuk Constitution. Orion’s letter angered Sam, and he responded:

“Your Dr. George is a fool…your lecture would destroy you, and me too. Try to guard yourself jealously against two things—lecturing and writing; for you cannot achieve even a respectable mediocrity in either” [Fanning 202].

Sam enclosed an oath for Orion to sign to refrain from any literary work, lecturing or asking Sam’s advice for the remainder of 1883 and all of 1884.

“…and abide by it—then we shall have peace. You are as good and kind as you can be, but you have no more this-worldly faculty than a babe” [202].

Sam also wrote to an unidentified person, sending bio. information on a “Form for Literary damned Societies that discuss you & your works” [MTP].

Sam also sent a saying from “On the Decay of the Art of Lying” to another unidentified person:

“The man who speaks an injurious truth lest his soul be not saved if he do otherwise, should reflect that that sort of a soul is not strictly worth saving” [MTP]. Note: In The Stolen White Elephant.