April 9 Saturday — In Hamilton, Bermuda Sam inscribed his photo (1906 of him sitting up in bed reading) to Marion S. Allen (Mrs. William H. Allen). “To Mrs. William H. Allen, with the high esteem & guarded affection of / Mark Twain Bermuda, April 9/ 10.” [MTP].
Sam began reading Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). Gribben quotes Paine:
“This book was read by Mark Twain April 9-10-11 in Bermuda” (quotation supplied by Bigelow Paine Cushman). In a flyleaf inscription Paine recorded: “This is the last book he ever read through. He died April 21. When he finished it, he asked me to read it ‘so we can talk about it.’ I began it by his bedside and continued it on the ship. We did talk about it—more or less, and never afterwards of any other” [292].