[NEW YORK; end of September, 1887.]
MY DEAR S. C.,—Your delightful letter has just come, and finds
me in a New York Hotel, waiting the arrival of a sculptor
(St. Gaudens) who is making a medallion of yours truly and who
is (to boot) one of the handsomest and nicest fellows I have
often seen. I caught a cold on the Banks; fog is not for me;
nearly died of interviewers and visitors, during twenty-four
hours in New York; cut for Newport with Lloyd and Valentine,
a journey like a fairy-land for the most engaging beauties,
one little rocky and pine-shaded cove after another, each
with a house and a boat at anchor, so that I left my heart in
each and marvelled why American authors had been so unjust to
their country; caught another cold on the train; arrived at
Newport to go to bed and grow worse, and to stay in bed until
I left again; the Fairchilds proving during this time kindness
itself; Mr. Fairchild simply one of the most engaging men in
the world, and one of the children, Blair, _aet._ ten, a great
joy and amusement in his solemn adoring attitude to the author
of _Treasure Island_.
Here I was interrupted by the arrival of my sculptor. I have
begged him to make a medallion of himself and give me a copy.
I will not take up the sentence in which I was wandering so
long, but begin fresh. I was ten or twelve days at Newport;
then came back convalescent to New York. Fanny and Lloyd are
off to the Adirondacks to see if that will suit; and the rest
of us leave Monday (this is Saturday) to follow them up. I
hope we may manage to stay there all winter. I have a splendid
appetite and have on the whole recovered well after a mighty
sharp attack. I am now on a salary of £500 a year for twelve
articles in _Scribner's Magazine_ on what I like; it is more
than £500 but I cannot calculate more precisely [it was £700].
You have no idea how much is made of me here; I was offered
£2000 for a weekly article—eh heh! how is that? but I refused
that lucrative job. They would drive even an honest man into
being a mere lucre-hunter in three weeks; to make _me gober_
is I think more difficult; I have my own views on that point
and stick to them. The success of _Underwoods_ is gratifying.
You see, the verses are sane, that is their strong point, and
it seems is strong enough to carry them.
A thousand thanks for your grand letter, ever yours,