HARTFORD, March 8, 1886.

DEAR MISS FIELD, -- Oh, dear me, no. That would be the same as saying that because you differ from me upon the rights and equities of a subject, I am at liberty to hold a "poor opinion" of you for voicing your sentiments in the matter.

Your notion and mine about polygamy is without doubt exactly the same; but you probably think we have some cause of quarrel with those people for putting it into their religion, whereas I think the opposite. Considering our complacent cant about this country of ours being the home of liberty of conscience, it seems to me that the attitude of our Congress and people toward the Mormon Church is matter for limitless laughter and derision. The Mormon religion is a religion: the negative vote of all of the rest of the globe could not break down that fact; and so I shall probably always go on thinking that the attitude of our Congress and nation toward it is merely good trivial stuff to make fun of

Am I a friend to the Mormon religion? No. I would like to see it extirpated, but always by fair means, not these Congressional rascalities. If you can destroy it with a book, -- by arguments and facts, not brute force, -- you will do a good and wholesome work. And I should be very far from unwilling to publish such a book in case my business decks were clear. They are not clear now, however, and it is hard to tell when they will be They are piled up with contracts which two or three years -- and possibly four -- will be required to fulfil. I have even had to rule myself out, and am now an author without a publisher. My book is finished and ready, and I have spent nearly ten thousand dollars in its preparation; but it is pigeon-holed indefinitely, to make room for other people's more important books. (In this line of business we generally publish only one -- and never more than two -- books in a year.) I think I could write a very good moral fable about an author who turned publisher in order to get a better show, and got shut up entirely.

Truly yours,

S. L. CLEMENS