21 November–6 December 1875 • Hartford, Conn. (MS: NNWH, UCCL 10433)
“Charity covers a multitude of sins.” Therefore, it is but the plainest & simplest wisdom to keep a supply of it on hand. I know a man who has kept his supply intact all his life, & never parted with a grain of it. This man prospers. Now let all take advantage of this present Ⓐemendation Charity Fair to buy & lay in a real good stock of it.
From 6 through 22 December, an elaborate “Hebrew Charity Fair, in aid of the Mount Sinai Hospital” was held at Gilmore’s Garden, in the Hippodrome in New York. It offered a profusion of items for sale, including fine art, and netted the hospital one hundred and ten thousand dollars. Clemens’s letter was inserted in a commemorative autograph album, presumably compiled as a counterpart to an album of original sketches by prominent artists that was valued at two thousand dollars and awarded as a prize. The fair was announced as early as 21 November, so Clemens may have written his letter, in response to a request for a sentiment, between that date and 6 December, although he may have written it somewhat earlier (New York Times: “Charity Fairs,” 21 Nov 75, 12; “Amusements,” 6 Dec 75, 7; “The Hebrew Charity Fair,” 7 Dec 75, 8; “For the Sake of Charity,” 8 Dec 75, 7; New York Evening Post: “The Mount Sinai Hospital Fair,” 7 Dec 75, 2; “The Hebrew Charity Fair,” 10 Dec 75, 4; “Close of the Hebrew Fair,” 23 Dec 75, 1; New York Tribune: “Close of the Hebrew Charity Fair,” 23 Dec 75, 8).
MS facsimile, Walter Hampden-Edwin Booth Theatre Collection, Walter Hampden Memorial Library, New York City (NNWH).
L6 , 593–594.
The present location of the MS, inscribed in a commemorative autograph album, is not known; the photocopy was donated to NNWH in January 1968 by Dr. George Baehr.