Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1872-10-24
MARX, Twain and His English Editor.

Mark twain and His English Editor.
To the Editor Of the London Spectator. W. cas-
SIR: only venture t. intrude upon
you because / come, in some sense, In
the interest of public morality, and
TINS makes my mission respectable.
Mr. John Camden Hotten, of London.
has, Of his own individual motion, re.
published several of my books in En-
sland. do not protest against this,
lot 1nere IS no lay that could give effect
20 the protests, and, besides, publishers
are not accountable TO. the. laws of
heaven or earth in any country. as | un-
aerstand if. But my little grievance is
ms My books are bad enough lust
| as they are written; then what must
| they be after Mr.. John Camden Hotten
has composed half a dozen chapters and
| added the same to them I feel that
| all true hearts will bleed for an author
whose volumes have fallen under such
a dlspensation as this. If friend of
yours, or If even you yourself, were to
write a book and set it adrift among
the people, with tae- gravest apprellen-
SONS that it was notup to what it ought.
to De intellectually, how would you ike
10 nave John Camden Hotten sit down
and stimulate his powers, and drool two
or three original chapters on to the end
| OF that book Would not the world
seem cold and hollow to YOU? Would
you not feel that you wanted to die and
oe at rest? Little the world knows Of
true suffering. And suppose he should
entltle these chapters Holiday Litera-
ture, True Story OF Chicago" Son
Children" y" Train up Ohild, and Away
ne Goes," and vengeance and then,
on the strength Of having evolved these
marVals 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 "Ali Rights Reserved
4 only suppose the picture; still it
would be rather neat thing.) And,
further, suppose that in TIE kindness of
his heart and the exuberance of his IN
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 in
Fentlon as this, ''Screamers and Eye
openers" and went and got that copy
righted, too. And suppose that on the
top of all this he continually and per-
slstently forgot to offer you a single
penny or even send you copy Of your
mutllated book to burn. Let one sup
pose all this. Let him suppose it with
strength enough, and then he viii know
something about woe. Sometimes when
read enc OF those additional chapters
constructed by John Camden Horten,
| feel as if wanted to take broom
straw and 60 and knock that mans
brains out. Not in anger, for I 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 Carl Byng.n L
hold that there is no aftiiction 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 Hot
tentot, and come out in the papers and
say he was entitled to it by divine right2
| 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
subject, which is the sorrow that is
slowly but surely undermining my
health--Mr. Hotten prints unrevised,
uncorrected, and in some respects
| spurious books, with my name to them
as author, and thus embitters his Gus
toners against one of the most innocent
Of men. Messrs. George Routledge Il
Sons are the only English publishers
who pay me any copyright, and there
fore, if my books are to disseminate
either suffering or crime among readers
OF our language, l would ever so much
rather they did it through that house,
and then | could contemplate the spec
tacle calmly as the dividends came in.
am, sir, ETC.,
SAMUEL L. CLEMENS ("Mark Twain"l.
London, Sept. %, 1872.