Hell, 3 months is 1866 -- but can someone entertain the thought of suicide
more than once?

Hilton Obenzinger

At 10:28 AM 3/5/2004 -0800, Robert Hirst wrote:
>Our collective best guess when we published Letters 1 was that Clemens was
>off by a part of year in saying he raised the pistol in 1866. The piece of
>contemporary evidence that might correct the year is his letter to Orion
>and Mollie written in October 1865, especially the last page, in pencil,
>written on 20 October 1865, and in that, especially the last paragraph:
>You are in trouble, & in debt--so am I. I am utterly miserable--so are you.
>Perhaps your religion will sustain you, will feed you--I place no
>dependence in mine. Our religions are alike, though, in one
>respect--neither can make a man happy when he is out of luck. If I do not
>get out of debt in 3 months,--pistols or poison for one--exit me. [There's
>a text for a sermon on Self-Murder--Proceed.] (Letters 1, 324)
>
>
>
>Bob Hirst




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hilton Obenzinger, PhD.
Associate Director for Honors Writing, Undergraduate Research Programs
Lecturer, Department of English
Stanford University
415 Sweet Hall
650.723.0330
650.724.5400 Fax
[log in to unmask]