June 4 Tuesday – At Quarry Farm Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers.

Well, I am a pretty versatile fool, when it comes to contracts, and business and such things. I’ve signed a lot of contracts in my time; and at signing-time I probably knew what the contracts meant — but 6 months later everything had grown dim and I could be certain of only two things, to-wit: 1. I didn’t sign any contract; 2. The contract means the opposite of what it says.

I perceive, now, that I didn’t sell any royalties, but only deposited them temporarily and took stock as security, the royalties to be returned to me at a certain time if certain conditions failed of effect. …after that, the trade took the form of a sale in my mind. …

It’s a valuable lesson — for to-day. Tomorrow it will be gone from me and I’ll have to learn it over again….I shall withhold my signature from the Contract proposed to me by the Century Co. for the 12 articles [revealed in his June 11 to Rogers as for $12,000] [MTHHR 149-50].

(He also turned down an offer from John Brisben Walker of Cosmopolitan for $10,000 for twelve articles on Australia.)

Sam wrote his boil turned out to be a carbuncle, which “furnished” him “a week of admirable pain.” The carbuncle had been lanced and he’d “squelched three others in their infancy,” and was “discouraging another.” He also had one on the back of his right hand. (Note: carbuncles are staph infections which can spread to other parts of the body; they are normally larger than boils.) He didn’t expect to get out of bed for three or four more days, and bemoaned the time lost. Instead of preparing and familiarizing himself with three readings, one would be the most he might do. At this point he wanted to drastically abbreviate the U.S. leg of the tour:

I must not think of lecturing all the way across to the Pacific; I must go at one bound, to the Pacific, read in 6 northern towns there, stay clear away from Frisco, and sail from Vancouver Aug. 16.

Everything is at a standstill. Pond is sick abed, I am sick abed, we are determining nothing, accomplishing nothing, and the devil is on deck and having everything his own way.

Sam thanked Rogers for thinking of him and of his affairs and for his generosity.

Sam’s business troubles were not yet over, as reflected in this piece in the NY Times, June 4, 1895 p.15 “Business Troubles”:

— An execution has been received by the Sheriff against Samuel L. Clemens (“Mark Twain”) and Frederick T. Hall [sic] as partners in the firm of Charles L. Webster & Co., for $5,046 in favor of Thomas Russell & Son, for binding books and on notes of the firm. [Note: Sam was served with a subpoena on this matter on June 25; see entry].