August 6 Friday – In Weggis, Switzerland Sam replied to H.H. Rogers’ July 23 (not extant), discussing plans for the deluxe edition of his uniform works, including a letter Samuel McClure had sent “a couple of days ago…from London.” McClure’s letter included a copy of Frank N. Doubleday’s letter to Rogers (not extant) laying out a scheme for the deluxe set which Sam felt was a “bolder one than Bliss’s, yet still not quite bold enough.” Sam suggested 1,000 deluxe sets be made at $ 100 each, not 250 at $200, and no work begun until 250 sets had been subscribed for. He could “find a market through Chatto for a number of sets,” and estimated “there would be $70,000 profit in it, or in the neighborhood.” Sam was “in a sweat to publish the de luxe with Miss Harrison,” but would “keep quiet & kind of rational, & wait & see how the eventualities eventuate.” On the money front, Sam and Livy were feeling much better:

Your splendid news that the Bliss money & what is in your hands foots up to $27,000 & that you are doing a little gambling for Mrs. Clemens has set us both up in spirits, & we are feeling pretty fine. Mrs. Clemens went to ciphering at once & found that by adding to the $27,000 sums lying in the London bank, Langdon’s hands Whitmore’s, she could swell the gross amount to $49,000 & pay off the Webster debt at once. She wanted me to ask you to pay $39,000 straight way, leaving us $10,000 to live on till we get ahead again. But I have advised her to wait & keep still, say nothing—[otherwise she might damage Bliss’s chances; his canvassers will want to use my load of debt as a persuader, and make people buy the book to get me out. By George, it’s a shabby business, but I suppose Bliss would be in a state of consternation if we would suddenly step up to the captain’s office and settle. I judge he would consider himself cruelly betrayed. & you will let us know when the right time has come. (I DIDN’T EDIT THAT OUT.) [Likely Livy did.]]

The rest of the letter involves details for several creditor claims, with Sam still maintaining that (now $9,000) was not owed to Mt. Morris Bank. He asked, was his total indebtedness less than $40,000? He shared plans for the future:

“Meantime, I will write a book—maybe a couple, & a year from now I will prepare from the platform—a farewell shout—& then retire on what’s left, & stop worrying. I have stopped now, for a spell.”

Apparently the bank was in financial difficulty as well, for he added:

It will be a pity if the Mount Morris has to go into the hands of a receiver. I will try to cry. Can’t you get Colby appointed? Because I want a long cry.

Sam closed with some concern for Mrs. Rogers’ health and hoped his letter would not arrive at a bad time

Note: the source illuminates this passage—the parenthetical refers to the crossed out, with the twelve words immediately following the lined section were inserted above the canceled section. Written on the side margin of page 7 of this letter: “P.S. Alas! Mrs. C’s addition was defective—the accumulation is $39,000 not $49,000 [MTHHR 295-9].

Mollie Clemens wrote from Keokuk, Iowa to Sam and the family. A St. Louis paper had announced that Clara Clemens “expected to enter the concert field this winter in Austria.” Mollie thought it “glorious”. Orion had eleven lower teeth removed the day before, and could only have buttermilk for supper. Mollie hoped Livy was being comforted, and mentioned that Jean’s birthday and Orion’s were “nearly the same,” though he “was 72 but didn’t look it.” She told Sam that “there is no waning of your star” [MTP]. Note: Orion’s birthday was July 17; Jean’s July 26.