January 27 Tuesday – Sam reached Hartford, Livy, baby Susy, and home. Livy put the stops to Sam’s plans to immediately lecture in New York and Boston (or so Sam claimed) [MTL 6: 21].

Sam also wrote to James Redpath, who pressed Sam for lecture commitments upon his return from England. Sam had telegraphed Redpath and followed it up with a letter of explanation. Sam withdrew the offer he’d made from London on Dec. 17 and repeated the line he’d sent to Livy: “There isn’t money enough in America to hire me to leave you for one day” [MTP, drop-in letters; MTL 6: 21].

January 27–April 15 Wednesday – During this period Sam answered the letter from his mother that read “kill Susy for me”—“kill,” rather than “kiss.” Figuring her son would know what she meant, and not one to look over or revise a letter, Jane sent the letter. Annie Moffett recalled Sam’s hilarious answer:

“I said to Livy, ‘it is a hard thing to ask of loving parents, but Ma is getting old and her slightest whim must be our law’; so I called in Downey and Livy and I held the child with the tears streaming down our faces while he sawed her head off” [MTBus 16; MTL 6: 22].