February 18 Monday – At 1410 W. 10th in N.Y.C., Sam sent his decline-to-lecture form letter (see Feb. entry) to Wallace E. Mason, attorney and principal of the High School in Leominster, Mass. Note: (pronounced by natives and the editor’s daughter who lives there, as “Lemon stah”—displaying a native eschewing for the letter ‘R’) [MTP].

Sam also wrote another letter to the N.Y. Tribune editor, observing that “several of your correspondents are still troubled about the Ament matter.” Sam had written to the mission headquarters in China and wrote he would publish whatever they said about Ament, and that he would “be as glad as any one if the result shall exonerate Mr. Ament & leave him blameless” [MTP]. Note: Sam’s letter is not the same as the unpublished article, “The Case of Rev. Dr. Ament, Missionary,” written this month [MT Forum posting by Zwick 26 Nov 2007].

Sam gave a speech at a Players Club dinner honoring David Alexander Munro (d.1910), general manager, then editor of the North American Review and assistant editor after George B. Harvey purchased the journal in 1899 [Fatout, MT Speaking 668]. Sam’s notebook: “Monday night, 7.30 Players, Mr. Munro” [NB 44 TS 6].

Frank T. Bayley, “an admirer of Mr Clemens” wrote from Denver, Colo. to express the hope that Sam would “take pains to learn the truth” in the Ament matter “and should he find himself in error will be just enough to make such amends to Mr. Ament and the cause he represents” [MTP].

William P. Lovett wrote from Rochester Theological Seminary (NY) to thank him for “Sitting in Darkness” article [MTP].