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that; I supposed you would die, or something. I am really more
sorry and ashamed than I can make it appear." So the beautiful plan
was put aside, though it was not entirely abandoned for a long time.
We now come to the incident mentioned in Mark Twain's letter to
Aldrich, of December the 18th. It had its beginning at the Atlantic
dinner, where Aldrich had abused Clemens for never sending him any
photographs of himself. It was suggested by one or the other that
his name be put down as a "regular subscriber" for all Mark Twain
photographs as they "came out." Clemens returned home and hunted up
fifty-two different specimens, put each into an envelope, and began
mailing them to him, one each morning. When a few of them had
arrived Aldrich wrote, protesting.
"
The police," he said, "have a way of swooping down on that kind of
publication. The other day they gobbled up an entire edition of
The Life in New York.'"
'
Whereupon Clemens bundled up the remaining collection--forty-five
envelopes of photographs and prints-and mailed them together.
Aldrich wrote, now, violently declaring the perpetrator of the
outrage to be known to the police; that a sprawling yellow figure
against a green background had been recognized as an admirable
likeness of Mark Twain, alias the jumping Frog, a well-known
Californian desperado, formerly the chief of Henry Plummer's band of
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