I didn’t think about their there being any hurry; & besides, I wasn’t expecting any delay. I got the cover-design last Sunday—mailed it to New York that evening; expected it to be in our artist’s hands by 9 a. m. Monday; expected it to be out of his hands (in the form of a type-metal facsimile,) some time during Wednesday; I hoped it would reach Chelsea that night, be cast in brass & finished-up on Thursday & be in your hands & ready for the press on Friday.

But everything went wrong, of course. The design did not reach our artist until some time on Tuesday; the Thanksgiving or Prayer-holiday stopped the work on it yesterday, no doubt; & now comes a telegram to say it won’t be ready for the brass founder till Monday.

So I am instructing my nephew to take the spelter-cast to Boston Monday night, & get it cast in brass, in Chelsea, Tuesday.

I am not foreseeing any difficulty about it; but if our work should be inferior & unsatisfactory to you, you can fire away & have the plate cut, by the die-sinkers. Webster will bring you the original design.

I shall be sorry if it turn[s] out that I have caused you a week’s delay, but hellandamnation I wasn’t dreaming of such a thing.