2.

next go to town I can find when he moved; I went to a ball (Sara King's "coming out" party,) at the Fourteenth street house in 1869, but I think he moved to 26th street in the early seventies.

I remember one thing which was very effective in the Shaughaun; in his great love scene with Ada Dyas Montague stood behind her, and made an impassioned speech while he played with a long end of the black velvet ribbon which went around her neck and hung nearly to the end of her frock—finally kissing it, before she turned; as most love-making had been more downright, face to face, this scored. There were no less than three "matinée idols" that winter; Charles Thorne as the Chevalier Something in the Two Orphans, Montague and Rignold. And I think we had the great tableaux for the Centennial exhibition in April, 1875 or it may have been a month earlier; they were at the Club House opposite where the Madison Square Garden now is, at 26th street and Madison Avenue.

Do you want to know about them? they were very "smart".

The Beecher case opened in Brooklyn January 11th, 1875, and dragged along all that winter; in February, when Rignold began, it was bitter cold. Oddly enough, Daly's didn't seem to be going in 1875, although I should have thought so; I'll look again, to be sure. There—that's the result of a morning's delving at the Yale Library, in the files of the Times, and in Ward McAllister's "Society as I have found it"—little did I think I'd ever consult him! and such bosh I never tackled. It was just to be sure about the Patriarchs. I have all the cards of the Assemblies at 21. I was on the Committee of Management from the first to the end, and the changes in the list of subscribers are amusing; I remember we kept Mrs Vanderbilt, the great Gracie's mother-in-law, waiting for two years at least.

As Arthur Train is a lawyer, and has also had to do with "movies," I've sent him the contract which Thos. E. Green proposes for you, just to see whether he thinks it just or not; of course Walter can advise you further if I go so far as to send it, which will depend somewhat on what Train's answer is. I forgot last time to thank you for the darling photographs of

3.

Choumaï and Toots, with you smilingly thrown in, and I am terribly pleased
that you've asked Bain to send me Henry's letters; I meant to order them
from him, but hadn't done so, and would infinitely rather have them from
you.

Let's gather and surmise a little—when do you think you'll
probably go to the Berensons? My proposed and dreamed-of summer means
first YOU, then Aix, for I'm rather queer in my left leg at times, and I
must let Murkett have several weeks with her people, for she hasn't seen
her mother for four years. Lucy Whitridge wants me to be at Aix when she
is, and she prefers June there—personally I like July, for the heat is
part of the cure, and there are better plays and music at the Casino, but
that doesn't matter. Just let me know when you expect to be away, and I'll
make my time suit yours. And begin to make notes now of the various lit-
the furnishings which you may want me to bring you out; of course I'll
send you the Social Register, properly indexed, when it comes along.

Here's a story for you. A man making a war speech was much annoyed
by the persistent crying of a small baby in one of the front rows, so he
stopped and said to the mother "Madam, is there no way to keep that child
quiet?" And she answered "Yes, sir, but my dress buttons up the back."

2.

I said "That's all right—here is what you I got here the other day, and some new copy which you have not seen", and I drew the sheets out of the big envelope, and laid them before her. Oh, my girl, I wish you could have seen her twitch off the pencilled comment, crumple it up and throw it in to the waste paper basket beside her! Of course she didn't know I knew her name was Jane, but the action was a confession, to my immense delight, and I looked so innocent! This reminds me of a remark which Mrs Hylan, our present Lady Mayoress, made to the Queen of the Belgians when she was here. They were driving together, and the Queen was civilly praising the magnificence of New York, and Mrs Hylan feelingly responded "Queen, you've said a mouthful."

The Age is very interesting, and your memory quite amazing; you recall things I had entirely forgotten, and you bring back that time as if it were last week. I wonder how many people will recognize old Aunt Mary, and August Belmont—and I do remember your mother's saying that when she was a girl one knew all the carriages in town. I hope more will come out soon! By the way, Mr Jewett asked me to tell you that Mr Sears has permanently retired, on account of ill health, and Jewett is now Vice President of Appleton's with more power than the preceding Vice had, and he hopes you will always send directly to him, and then he will send to me, and I to the Pictorial, which is to give me back your copy. "Jane" said they always published novels in only four monthly installments; your is to begin in June or July, which would finish it in October or November. She said that, as it seemed likely to be long, they might have to "cut out a few hundred words here and there," and I said they must not alter anything you had written, and that I must be the judge as to the cutting. Trix gave me a fine birthday present last week, of five days in town, at the Club, and blew me off to several plays; now we seem to be in for a blizzard, for it is only two degrees above zero, and snowing fast.

Bless you, my dearest girl, and all good wishes for your New Year.

Paris, January 14th 1920

Dearest Minnie,

Your letter enclosing the changes you have made in
the first chapters of "The Age of Innocence" has just come.

In the meanwhile you will have received my letter telling
you that I had decided to make the date in the opening scene
uncertain and you will also, I hope, have had the revised copy
of Book I, with the opening sentence:

"On a January evening of the early 'seventies Christine Nilsson was singing...."

This will do away with the necessity of substituting Kellogg
for Nilsson, and also of putting other obscure names in the place
of well-known ones. What I especially want is to give the atmo-
sphere of New York in my youth, keeping the names that have remain-
ed familiar and not using those that have long since been for-
gotten. For instance, I never heard of Marie Krevs, and I do
very vividly remember that of Joachim, though he may not have
played as early as the 'seventies. However, you can substitute Ole
Bull for Joachim, and that will make it all right.

Then it takes away all the character from Beaufort's
invitation to supper if he says "Opera singers" instead of
"Campanini and Scalchi". These two names, by the way, were given
to me by Rawlins Cottenet, who ought to be very familiar with
the early musical history of New York; but if they do not appear
until later we might replace the names by Campanini by Brugnoli,
Scalchi is all right.

At any rate, the whole flavour of the book will be lost
if dull names are substituted for vivid ones, and by leaving the
date of the year uncertain I allow latitude enough to use any
names that were familiar to me in my girlhood. Moreover I do
not think accuracy of date in such matters is nearly as important
as the rendering of the atmosphere. The unimaginative person who
writes a letter to point out that so-and-so did not sing in New
York till 1880 is of very little importance.

I wrote you a real letter last week and this is only
to acknowledge yours about "The Age of Innocence", and to clear
up possible doubts. In the latter part of the book there will
be no chronological difficulties as I put in all the local colour
in the beginning. I am so glad you like it, but I wonder if the
public will be interested in so far-off things.

Copy of part of a letter sent to Mrs. Wharton from Mrs. C. Jones

New York ,February 4th, 1921

Dearest Edith,

This morning Claubert sent down the contract for the Age to Appleton's and Jewett and I went over it very carefully, clause by clause; we sent it back to the American Play Co for a few verbal changes, and I am to sign it for you tomorrow. And by the way, Hiltman and Jewett think it would be well if you were to send me, at your convenience, and if you can do it without taking a journey, a limited power of attorney, giving me the right to sign for you in literary, theatrical and cinema matters; Claubert is, I believe, willing to accept your authorization of me in the letters and cables which you have sent me and Jewett and Marbury, but after all they are not as bindingly legal as a power of attorney.

The contract goes very thoroughly into all cinema and foreign rights, and stipulates that if Claubert does not sufficiently push the play within two years from the date of its production next November, that all rights are to revert to you; in other words, he can't pigeonhole it.

PAVILLON COLOMBE

SBRICE-SOUS-FORÊT (S&O)

TÉLÉPHONE:SBRICE-SOUS-FORÊT,12

October 30th, 1933

P.S.- All this time I am forgetting to thank you for the
prospect of the Christmas ham! My mouth waters at the
thought, and I only hope that my present cook, who is
excellent, will do better justice than the young English
cook I had last winter, who did not succeed with it, though
even in her unskilful hands it was better than any other
kind of ham. So many thanks in advance.

TELEPHONE
2750 STUYVESANT

21, EAST ELEVENTH STREET.

Charles Frohman, Inc,

in account with Edith Wharton;

Pittsburg, week ending November 24th, $ 568.20.
Empire Theatre, New York, week ending Dec. 1st, 698.40.
" " " " " " 8th, 745.08.

2.011.68.

(2,011.68)

(E.W. owes M.C.J. for Norton Drawing sent to Jewett, $60.96.)