Martin, My apologies for not getting back to you sooner.  The new semester
hit me like a ton of bricks, as they say.  I wholeheartedly agree that
Twain's essay should be better known, and it needs the commentary and
annotations you give it to grasp its full significance.  I wasn't sure about
the italicized  portion on the hypothetical reader, but you won me over at
the end, partly because it is so well written.  Despite your comment not to
check for typos, I found a couple:  where you write that you have checked
every word and punctuation mark, you write "very" instead of every;  and in
Twain's essay appears the word "againt" instead of against, though that may
be in the original.  More important, there are many instances of hyphens
where dashes are needed.


Now the question that hangs over the project is where to publish it.  I
can't be encouraging about the University of Missouri Press. To speak
confidentially, I'm not even sure there will be a Missouri Press this time
next year.  (Don't let this get out please.)  Prospects out of Columbia
University publishes longer pieces, in fact I believe Terry Oggel published
his unexpurgated version of "The United States of Lyncherdom."  Another
possibility is the series of pamphlets published out of Elmira College.  You
might approach Barb Snedecor about it, since Michael is no longer with us.
If I think of other possibilities, I will contact you.

All the best, Tom