"Your letter made me laugh, and so did me good, like a medicine. By
turning to the latter pages of my bulky book you will find the gist
of Mr. P.'s errand here. He desired first to explain the matters to
me, then to refer to Mr. S., then to take two new men, but I persuaded
him out of them all.... He was to communicate with Mr. Russell to-day,
and I expect to hear the result to-morrow. I am in hopes to have the
thing begun on Saturday, if we can make forty ends meet. Mr. Parry
thinks it will take several days, as he says they shall bring out their
books for examination;--shall not confine themselves to the prescribed
custom of publishers to pay ten per cent. but shall bring in other
things, I don't know what,--their figures, I suppose, to show what an
unprofitable thing publishing is. He was uncertain whether Mr. Rogers
would consent to act. I begged Mr. P. to say to him that I should not
consider it any hostility to me. Mr. P. suggested that I write it to
him and I did. Can you appear on Saturday, in case they agree to meet?
I don't want to come out myself. I send you here a little book for you
to look upon like John Rogers, and I think that will answer far better
than I could. I will send you also my accounts in case you might want
them. I believe you have the contracts. You can read the statement I
suppose, or simply present it and let them read it themselves....
"I would have preferred that you should see Mr. Parry, but I could
find no sufficient excuse for not seeing him myself, and I feared it
might be offensive to insist upon your presence.... But as it was, Mr.
Parry apparently had no mischievous intent. He said they should pay if
the arbitrators so decided, but seemed particularly desirous that I
also should agree to accept the decision and fully to exonerate B. & H.
in case the decision should be for them, and that I should say so to my
friends and those who had been made acquainted with my dissatisfaction.
Of course it would be infamous not to do that. I was very favorably
impressed. It seems as if they must be honest or he could not appear
as he did, but I assure you I did not 'gush' in the least. I told him
I should accept the decision as far as regarded the past before this
year, but all the world could not convince me that they had met me
fairly and satisfactorily since I began to investigate; that I thought
their course had been such as to aggravate and even to originate
suspicion."