To
Augustin Daly
per Telegraph Operator
3 August 1877 • Elmira, N.Y. (MS, copy received: DFo, UCCL 01462)
per Telegraph Operator
3 August 1877 • Elmira, N.Y. (MS, copy received: DFo, UCCL 01462)
form 10.
the atlantic and pacific telegraph company.
in connection with the direct united states cable,
and the dominion telegraph company of canada.
thomas t. eckert, president. albert b. chandler, secretary. the rules of this company require that all messages received for transmission shall be written on the message blanks of this company, under and subject to the conditions printed thereon, which conditions have been agreed to by the sender of the following message. d. homer bates, gen. sup’t, atlantic division, new york. chas. a. tinker, gen. sup’t, capital div’n, chicago. r. p. hammond, gen. manager, pacific div’n, san francisco.
dated, Elmira NY 3 rec’d at 5th Ave to A Daly care S Fiske 5th Ave J Aug 3 187 .
Copy telegram which I have sent ParsoleⒶemendation instead of blowing water seize your brazier and blow a cloud of ashes the men after sprawling and butting into each other as already played will have their eyes full of ashes and in their blind fury will proceed to snatch each other by the throat a natural thing for such ruffians to do thereupon you smiling down upon them a moment may sweetly say me gotti gagment me no can no waitee or words to that effect and be sliding out as the curtain strikes the floor Please try this tonight and telegraph me the result the present ending would be full of points and a fine success in San Francisco where it would be understood, but we must manage to improve on it here be sure and try the above suggestion tonight unless you think of something stronger1explanatory note S L Clemens
thomas t. eckert, president. albert b. chandler, secretary. the rules of this company require that all messages received for transmission shall be written on the message blanks of this company, under and subject to the conditions printed thereon, which conditions have been agreed to by the sender of the following message. d. homer bates, gen. sup’t, atlantic division, new york. chas. a. tinker, gen. sup’t, capital div’n, chicago. r. p. hammond, gen. manager, pacific div’n, san francisco.
| number. | sent by | time. | received by | check. |
| 1 | NF | 1255 | M | 144 Pd 293 |
dated, Elmira NY 3 rec’d at 5th Ave to A Daly care S Fiske 5th Ave J Aug 3 187 .
Copy telegram which I have sent ParsoleⒶemendation instead of blowing water seize your brazier and blow a cloud of ashes the men after sprawling and butting into each other as already played will have their eyes full of ashes and in their blind fury will proceed to snatch each other by the throat a natural thing for such ruffians to do thereupon you smiling down upon them a moment may sweetly say me gotti gagment me no can no waitee or words to that effect and be sliding out as the curtain strikes the floor Please try this tonight and telegraph me the result the present ending would be full of points and a fine success in San Francisco where it would be understood, but we must manage to improve on it here be sure and try the above suggestion tonight unless you think of something stronger1explanatory note S L Clemens
Explanatory Notes
1 On 5 August Parsloe wrote Clemens that this new ending for the second act of Ah Sin was tried “yesterday afternoon and again last night.” The consensus of those
involved with the production was that “it is an improvement but it can be improved
still further” (CU-MARK). A surviving prompter’s copy of Ah Sin has a different
ending to the second act. In that version there is no blowing of water or ashes, and
Ah Sin attempts to thwart the threatening miners with a flat iron while “shrieking
&
gibbering Chinese” (SLC 1876–77).
Emendations and Textual Notes
Ⓐ Parsole • sic
MS, the copy received, telegram blank filled out by the receiving telegraph operator, Augustin Daly Letters and Papers, DFo.
Daly 1917, 236, partial publication; MicroPUL, reel 1.
The Daly papers were acquired by Henry Folger at various sales in the early twentieth century.