ation to realize
on his reputation seems to have been more than he could withstand. The
_Overland_ had become a valuable property, eventually passing into
control of another publisher. The new owners were unable or unwilling to
pay what he thought he must earn, and somewhat reluctantly he resigned
the editorship and left the state of his adoption.

Harte, with his family, left San Francisco in February, 1871. They went
first to Chicago, where he confidently expected to be editor of a
magazine to be called the _Lakeside Monthly_. He was invited to a
dinner given by the projectors of the enterprise, at which a large-sized
check was said to have been concealed beneath his plate; but for some
unexplained reason he failed to attend the dinner and the magazine was
given up. Those who know the facts acquit him of all blame in the
matter; but, in any event, his hopes were dashed, and he proceeded to
the East disappointed and unsettled.

Soon after arriving at New York he visited Boston, dining with the
Saturday Club and visiting Howells, then editor of the _Atlantic_, at
Cambridge. He spent a pleasant week, meeting Lowell, Longfellow, and
Emerson. Mrs. Aldrich, in "Crowding Memories," gives a vivid picture of
his charm and high spirits at this meeting of friends and celebrities.
The Boston atmosphere as a whole was not altogether delightful. He
seemed constrained, but he did a fine stroke of business. James R.
Osgood & Co. offered him ten thousand dollars for whatever he might
write in a year, and he accepted the handsome retainer. It did not
stimulate him to remarkable output. He wrote four stories, including
"How Santa Claus Came to Simpson's Bar," and five poems, including
"Concepcion de Arguello." The offer was not renewed the following year.

For seven years New York City was generally his winter home. Some of his
summers were spent in Newport, and some in New Jersey. In the former he
wrote "A Newport Romance" and in the latter "Thankful Blossom." One
summer he spent at Cohasset, where he met Lawrence Barrett and Stuart
Robson, writing "Two Men of Sandy Bar," produced in 1876. "Sue," his
most successful play, was produced in New York and in London in 1896.

To earn money sorely needed he took the distasteful lecture field. His
two subjects were "The Argonauts" and "American Humor." His letters to
his wife at this time tell the pathetic tale of a sensitive, troubled
soul struggling to earn money to pay debts. He writes w