You may drop a note to Mr. Mallory & say I don’t think the Sellers play would be sufficiently profitable to any of us, with the gains divided into thirds. And say to him, likewise that I am now writing a new play by myself (while Howells & I are kept asunder by Cable’s illness,) & that if I finish it to my liking I maybe we can strike up some terms for it which will be mutually satisfactory. It is a 4-act play, & two acts are nearly done. I think I can finish it in a couple of weeks, but of course I can’t tell for sure. I’m kind of boiling with it, & so it gets on paper pretty fast.