January 29 Tuesday – At 169 rue de l’Université in Paris Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers.

Your felicitous and delightful letter of the 15th [not extant] arrived three days ago and brought great pleasure into the house. I note what you say about helping me with your heart and head and pocket in the matter of the uniform edition; and I shall surely call on the first two gratefully; and if I find I can’t pull through without invading the third, why then I’ll attack that if the edition promises to justify such conduct.

My scheme is modester than it was. It contemplates a cloth set of 12 volumes (90 to 100,000 words each; small octavo; 300 pages each, small pica:) for $12. No pictures. Single volumes $1.50. And suppress the old editions.

The sets to be sold by subscription: $4 down, and two installments of $4 each. Cash down in full for high-priced-binding sets.

Writing of his planned visit to Rogers’ new house, he advised not to put Harry on the roof — he could sleep under Sam’s bed. Dr. Clarence Rice and Rogers were trustees in the New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital, Rice also a founder. Sam expressed the hope that Rice would be chosen president of the Hospital. Sam and Livy were also concerned that John Brusnahan would recover money lost on the typesetter and advised Rogers to allow Brusnahan “as many months to decide in” to their Chicago enterprise as he wished. Sam also reported progress on JA.

At 6 minutes past 7, yesterday evening, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.

With the long strain gone, I am in sort of physical collapse to-day, but it will be gone to-morrow. I judged that this end of the book would be hard work, and it turned out so. I have never done any work before that cost so much thinking and weighing and measuring and planning and cramming, or so much cautious and painstaking execution. For I wanted the whole Rouen trial in, if it could be got in such a way that the reader’s interest would not flag…

Possibly the book may not sell, but that is nothing — it was written for love.

Sam felt he couldn’t give the martyrdom segment to Harper’s as it was not separable, “it is part of the living body.” He planned to add a few chapters to finish this week and then revision would take a week or ten days. He also advised that the family planned to go to Quarry Farm and spend the winter in their Hartford house if they could afford it. He stressed this last to be private.

Mrs. C. has made acres of figures, and has decided that without horses and coachman we can live there the winter on Paris rates — $1,000 a month. Her calculations have always come out right, I believe, and so she is right about this, I guess.

A friend wants our house from March 1 till Sept. 1 — and that comes very handy. I am quite willing somebody else shall pay our taxes for us a while [MTHHR 123-5].

Note: Sam’s Feb. 3 to Rogers revealed the renters to be John C. Day, Alice Hooker Day and family.