January 1 Sunday – In Florence, Italy Sam wrote a longish letter to Frederick J. Hall, mostly about money — whether to draw from his letter of credit, foregoing his $500 per month draw from Webster & Co., and also where more funds might be had for the company. Sam promised to write Whitmore to send Hall the $1,000 from the Century, along with the half-payment from Mary Mapes Dodge for Tom Sawyer Abroad, $2,000. Sam was trying to keep the company afloat and support the family solely from the work of his pen. He also wrote that his “friend” (probably Matthew Arnot) had declined buying a quarter interest in LAL, whose installment sales were loading the company down with debt. 

I’ve a mighty poor financial head, and I may be all wrong — but tell me if I am wrong in supposing that in lending my own firm money at 6 per cent I pay 4 of it myself and so really get only 2 per cent? Now don’t laugh if that is stupid.

Of course my friend declined to buy a quarter interest in the L.A.L. for $200,000. I judged he would. I hoped he would offer $100,000 but he didn’t. If the cholera breaks out in America a few months hence, we can’t borrow or sell; but if it doesn’t we must try hard to raise $100,000. I wish we could do it before there is a cholera scare.

I have been in bed two or three days with a cold, but I got up an hour ago, and I believe I am all right again. …

You must have done magnificently with the business, and we must raise the money somehow, to enable you to reap the reward of all that labor [MTLTP 331].