Page:Boys Life of Mark Twain.djvu/199

 Mark Twain returned to America to find himself, if not famous, at least in very high repute. The Alta and Tribune letters had carried his name to every corner of his native land. He was in demand now. To his mother he wrote:

He was in Washington at this time, having remained in New York but one day. He had accepted a secretaryship from Senator Stewart of Nevada, but this arrangement was a brief one. He required fuller freedom for his Washington correspondence and general literary undertakings.

He had been in Washington but a few days when he received a letter that meant more to him than he could possibly have dreamed at the moment. It was from Elisha Bliss, Jr., manager of the American Publishing Company, of Hartford, Connecticut, and it suggested gathering the Mediterranean travel-letters into a book. Bliss was a capable, energetic man, with a taste for humor, and believed there was money for author and publisher in the travel-book.

The proposition pleased Mark Twain, who replied at once, asking for further details as to Bliss's plan. Somewhat later he made a trip to Hartford, and the terms for the publication of The Innocents Abroad were agreed upon. It was to be a large illustrated book for subscription sale, and the author was to receive five per cent, of the selling price. Bliss had 167