Orion wrote me that he was writing a story——& sent me 3 or 4 disconnected paragraphs bitten out of it here & there, as specimens. I wrote him that this story seemed to promise quite fairly. So it did—but from a lot of extracts which I have since received I begin to fear (indeed, I almost am sure) fear it is going to be only a wandering, objectless, motiveless imitation of the rampaging French lunatic, Jules Verne.

I saw, in the first place, that he was walking gaily along, exactly in the Frenchman’s footstepsⒶemendation, & with the air of a man who wasn’t aware that there was anything to be ashamed of about it,—but I didn’t make any objection, since the thing was but a sketch. But behold, it is to be a book, as I understand you! Well, even now I won’t object, provided he either does one of two things: publish it anonymously, or make it a satire upon Verne & his frenzies.

To imitate an author, even in a sketch, is not an elevated thing to do; to imitate him to the extent of an entire book is such an offense against good morals, good taste & good manners,—I might say even decency—that I should very much hate to see the family name to such a production.

Orion sends his hero down Symmes’s Hole into the interior of the earth; their his Ⓐemendation compass is wonderfully reversed; they he meets & talks with a very gentlemanly gorilla; he sees & elaborately describes a pterodactyl, &c &c. Orion writes me that one of Verne’s heroes visits the interior of the earth, (through a volcano;) his compass is wonderfully reversed; he meets a gorilla; he sees a pterodactyl, &cc &c.

Can you imagine a sane man deliberately proposing to retain these things & print them, while they already exist in another man’s book?—his justification being that he treats them differently & more elaborately than the other man did!

Well, Orion is absolutely destitute of originality, wherefore he must imitate; there is no help for it; so, let him go ahead & imitate Vernee. But mind you, he has an opportunity to do a very delicious & bran-new thing—an original thing, a thing credentialed with a raison d’etre, & a very welcome thing to a Verne-cursed world waithal—i.e., burlesque Verne & his writings.

I have so written him. If he does this (& does it well), his book will deserve life & respect; but if it remains as it now is, a mere servile imitation of Verne, it will deserve only to be burned by the hangman.

Orion can’t do either book well; but it would be better to fail in the burlesque than succeed in the imitation. But mind you, a rather poor travesty of Verne ought to be kindly received; & goodness knows that there are few easier tasks in the world than to travesty M. Verne.

Our going to Europe is decidedly uncertain; but we expect to sail 11th April; in which case I shall expect to see you in Fredonia a week or so befo before that—I don’t know just what date.

With love to you all—