December 18 Friday – At the Villa Reale di Quarto near Florence Sam finished his Dec.16 to H.H. Rogers.
Dec. 18 Mrs. Clemens was very ill all yesterday afternoon & last night, with white spots in her throat & high fever, mind wandering at intervals. She is better this morning, but very weak. She has no strength wherewith to withstand such attacks. She is far from being as strong as she was when you took her down the Hudson in the yacht. The 14-day sea-voyage was a terrible strain on her, the first-cabin savages kept her awake night & day. We shall travel in a real cattle-boat next time; I want no more contact with ladies & gentlemen & other [two or three words heavily canceled]
I will go down now & see her a moment. Only a moment is allowed. I wish we had stayed at home…. [MTHHR 544-6].
Sam also wrote to Mary Mapes Dodge.
Your dear & welcome letter was delayed. It went to Riverdale, then to Elmira, N.Y., then to New York, & reached my hand just as we were starting for the steamer, Oct. 24th. Since then Livy & I have answered it many times—in our heads & hearts, but not with the pen; for she is never well enough to write letters, & I have been over-crowded with literary work that needed close attention if I would keep in the vein, so I have neglected my letters & pushed my work. Until now. Now comes a suspension of labor, also a suspension of interest in it. For Livy has had a backset. There was a splendid sunshiny day—almost the only one we have seen since we entered this house—& Livy was taken from her bed & conveyed, in her wheel-chair into the garden to enjoy the balmy air & the pink cloud of the roses; & she was out too long, & caught cold, & was fatigued, for she is but a shadow & very feeble; & tonsilitis added itself to her other ailments; with night-sweats & a high temperature for two days & nights. And by consequence she is now back where she was 8 or 9 months ago, & is discouraged, & depressed. We are still permitted to see her for a moment several times a day, but it is not wise, & when the specialist returns from Rome to-morrow he will stop it, I suppose.
During the first week here—November 9 to 16th—she was wheeled to the dining room & took her daily dinner in our company. She resumed that journey lately, & kept it up until this backset; & it was a large journey, too, for her—400 feet the round trip—but we fear it will be long before she can do it again.
I wish we had never come. But the doctors believed it necessary, & we had to submit. The 14-day voyage was very hard upon her, for the passengers were very noisy (as those damned cattle always are) & she got but little sleep. I hope to meet some of them in hell yet.
It is all the news we have, dear Mrs. Dodge, except our love for you—which is not news [MTP].
In N.Y.C. H.H. Rogers wrote to Sam. His son-in-law, William Evarts Benjamin had looked into Sam’s property in Tarrytown and felt it was in good condition and should sell in Spring. The financial situation had not improved; timidity ruled. Rogers expected to see George B. Harvey of Harpers in the afternoon and ask him about Sam’s matters. He added family matters and plans for the holiday and later wrote a P.S.
I have had a talk with Colonel Harvey this afternoon, and he says the book business is pretty good this Fall. He reported to me that he had received a cablegram from you, telling him to deposit money with me. I will undertake to get it [MTHHR 547-8].
Sebastiano V. Cecchi of Haskard & Co., Bankers, Florence wrote to Sam.
In consequence of Miss Clemens instructions about the telephone communication which you desire, I had a conversation with the general manager yesterday, which was not satisfactory, so he could not be induced to promise me to begin placing the wire at once. This morning I called personally on this gentleman, and after a good deal of arguing (they have no fewer than 27 applications at this moment) I succeeded in getting his formal promise to give you the priority…within the month [MTP].
Hélène Elisabeth Picard wrote from Vosges, France to wish Sam and Livy improved health and a good New Year. She wished they could have a meeting of the Juggernaut Club, and also that they might do something, as long as it wasn’t needle work. She quoted “Tommy” from John Kendrick Bangs’ Idiot at Home: “I’d rather be spanked than not noticed at all!”[MTP].