NOTEBOOK

that the bells of a nation have tolled in unison beginning
at the same moment, and ending at the same moment.

General Grant is still alive today and the nation holds
its breath and awaits the blow.

Gerhardt wanted me to let him write a note and ask
Col, Fred Grant's permission to make a death mask of
his father. It is something that must be done, of course,
but I could not bring myself to be a party to the request
—there is something so dreadful about it. So I telegraphed
him to apply through Gen. Badeau, instead of making a
personal application. I had before telegraphed Col. Grant,
asking that he let Gerhardt speak with him.

A telegram from Gerhardt tonight says Col. Grant has
personally given him the desired permission. I am very
glad indeed, for the mask must be made when the Gen-
eral dies and it is so much better that Gerhardt, who is
honest and whom the family know, should do it than
some tricky stranger.

He was now all concerned with the manufac-
ture of the Grant memoirs, nearly every page of
the notebook bears suggestions more or less prac-
tical. As the orders were coming in for it in a
real deluge the matter of finding presses and
binders became very urgent.

A large sum of money for manufacturing
was required and this had to be borrowed for the
most part. It required courage as well as credit
to finance this great undertaking, but Mark
Twain, impractical as he was in the matter of
details, never lacked courage, and he never
lacked vision as to results.

The severest censor has been the Boston Advertiser. I
am sorry to impute personal motives to him but I must,
he is merely taking what he imagines is legitimate revenge

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