The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1872-11-16
A Letter From Mark Twain.
To the Editor of tho LondoL Spectator.

| SIR-l only venture to intrude upon
you because | come, in one sense, in
the interest Of public morality, and
this makes my mission respectable.
MIR. John Camden HOtten of London
has, Of his own individual notion, re-
published several Of my books in Eng
land. | do not protest against this,
for there is no law that could give eff
feet to the protest; and, besides, pub
fishers are not accountable to the laws
OF heaven or earth in any country, as
l understand it. But my little griev-
ance is this: My books are bad enough
just as they are written; then what
must they be after Mr.. John Camden
Hotten has composed half dozen
chapters and added the same to them
| feel that all true hearts will bleed
for an author whose volumes have
fallen under such dispensation as
this. 1t friend of yours, or if even
yourself, were to write Il book and
set it adrift among the people, with
the gravest apprehensions that it was
not up to what it ought to be intellec-
tually, how would you like to have
John Camden Hotten sit down and
stimulate his powers, and drool two
or three original chapters on to the
| end Of that book7 Would not the
world seem cold and hollow to you 7
Would you not feel that you wanted
to die and be at rest? Little the
world knows OF true suffering. And
suppose he should entitle these chap
tcrs: g Holiday Literature" "True
Story of Chicago" "On Children"
Train Up a Child, and Away He
Goes, and vengeance" and then,
on the strength of having evolved
these marvels from his own conscious
ness, go on and copyright" the en-
tire book, and put in the title-page
picture OF Il man with his hands in
another mans pocket, and the legend
"All Rights Reserved" q only sup
pose che picture; still, it would be
rather. neat thing.) And, further,
suppose that, i'll the kindness of his
heart and the exubcrance OF his un-
taught fancy, this thoroughly we'll
meaning innocent should expunge the
modest title which you had given
your book, and replace it with SO foul
an invention as this, "Scfcamers and
Eyeopeners,n and go and get that
copyrighted, too. Aud suppose that
on the top Of all this he continually
and persistently forgot to offer YOU a
single penny, or ever send you copy
of your mutilatcd book to burn. Let
one suppose all this. Let him sup
pose it with strength enough, and |
then he will know something about
woe. Sometimes when read one of /
those additional chapters constructed
by John Camden Hotten, l feel as if l !
wanted to take broom straw and 60 |
and knock that mans brains out. Not |
in anger, for feel none. oh! not in |
anger; but only to see, that is all. |
Mere idle curiosity.
And Mr.. Hotten says that one non,
tie plume of mine is "Carl Byng." II
hold that there is no atfiiction in this
world that makes Il man feel so down.
troddcn and abused as giving him a
name that does not belong to him.
How would tliis sinful aborigine feel
if ] were to call him John Camden
Hottentot, and come out in the papers
aud say he was entitled to it by di-
vine right7 do honestly believe it
would throw him into brain fever, if
there were not an insuperable obsta-
Gle in the way.
Yes-to come back to the original
subject, which is the sorrow that is
slowly but surely undermining my
health-Mr. Hotten prints unrcyised,
and, in some respects,
spurious books, with my name to them
as author, and thus embitters his GUS
toners against one Of the most inno-
cent Of men. Messrs. George Rout-
ledge e. Sons are the only English
publishers who pay me any copyright,
and, therefore, if my books are to
either suffering or crime
readers of our language, l
would ever SO much rather they did
it through that house, and then l
could contemplate the spectacle calm
ly Us the dividends came in. am,
sir, ETC., SAMUEL L. CLEMENS,
(''Mark Twain').
Curious Controversy.