Litchfield enquirer., 1872-10-17
Mark Twain and his English Editor.
To the Editor of the Spectator:

To the Editor of the Spectator:
 SR,-I only venture to intrude upon you because come, in some sense, in the interest of public morality, and this makes my mission respectable. MT. John Cam den Hotten, of London, has, Uf his own individual motion, republished several of my books in England. I do not protest against this, for there Is no law that could gile effect to the protest: and, besides, pub- fishers are not accountable to the laws of heaven or earth in any country, as under stand it. But my little grievance is this; My books are bad enough just as they are l written: what must they be after M. John Camden Hotten has composed half doz- en chapters and added the same to them? feel that all true hearts will bleed for an 1 author whose volumes have fallen under such dispensation as this, If a friend of | yours, or If even you yourself, were to write book and send it adrift among the people, with the gravest apprehensions l that It. was not up to what it ought to be l intellectually, how would you like to have John Camden Hotten sit down and stimu- 1 late his powers, and drool two or three 1 original chapters on to the end of that book? Would not the world seem cold and hollow to you? Would you not feel that 1 you wanted to die and be at rest? Little the world knows of true suffering. And suppose he should entitle these chapters Holiday Literature. ''True Story of Chi cago," ':On Children, ''Train up a Child, and Away he Goes," and 'sVengance, "and then, on the strength of having envolved these marvels from his own consciousness, go and copyright" the entire book, and put in the title page picture of man with his hand in another mans pocket, and the legend s'An Rights Reserved" q only suppose the picture: still it would be a neat thing). And, further, suppose that in the kindness of:his heart and the exuber- ance of his untaught fancy, this thorougly well-meaning innocent should expunge the modest title which you had given your book, and replace it with so foul an inven- tion as this, 3Screamers and Eye Openers and went and got that copyrighted, too. And suppose that, on top of all this, he continually and consistently forgot to offe1 you single penny or even send you a copy of pour mutilated book to burn. Let us suppose ell this.-Let him suppose it with strength enough, and then he will know something about woe. Sometimes when read one of those additional Chap ters constructed by John Camden Hotten, I feel as if wanted to take broom straw and go 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 nom de- plume of mine is 'sCarl Byng." hold that there is no affliction in this world that makes man feel so down-trodden and abused as the giving him name that does not belong to him. How would this sinful aborigine feel if were to call him John Camden Hottentot, and come out in the papers and say he was entitled to it by di- vine right? do honestly believe it would throw him into brain fever, if there were not an insuperable obstacle in the way.
 Yes-to come back to the original sub- ject, which is the sorrow that is slowly but surely undermining my health-Mr. Hot ten prints unrevised, uncorrected, and in some respects spurious books, with my name to them as author, and thus embitters his customers against one of the most in- nocent of men. Messrs. Geoge Routledge & Son are the only English publishers, who pay me any copyright, and therefore, if my books are to disseminate either suffering or crime among readers of our language, would ever SO much rather they did it through that house, and then could contemplate the spectacle calmly as the dividends came in. am, sir, etc.,
 Samuel l.. Clemens, (''Mark Twain,
 London, September 20, 1872