February 25 Thursday – Villa Reale di Quarto near Florence: Sam began a letter to H.H. Rogers that he finished on Feb. 26.
I wish you could get through with that wearisome Boston matter & have a rest. If you were not such a fighter—but you are, & you cannot be changed. It wouldn’t be best anyway, I reckon. I was glad to gather from the Sun that you were getting the best of the Montana crowd at last, but I did not see what you said. I would like to—we have been in such a sweat here for a month that I have sometimes been obliged to let the papers go unread. First I cabled Stanchfield to decline Butter’s offer, but then I began to think maybe you might not approve—so I called him to do as you should direct. It is one of those investments of mine that I am ashamed of, & would like to forget. Damn!
Well, we have been in a sweat for a month! The Countess Massiglia (the American bitch who owns this Villa) found that she could afflict me with all sorts of trivial & exasperating annoyances because I couldn’t raise a row lest it get to Mrs. Clemens & give her a fatal backset; & couldn’t leave the place because Mrs. Clemens cannot be moved from her bed—but at last when the Countess ordered the telephone company to remove my telephone (I had just got it in & needed it to send hurry-calls to doctors with), it was one feather more than I could stand. I got the weightiest lawyer in Italy, & game was called.
The Countess is doing the sweating, now. She “hollered” yesterday—but it is too late. She has made my life a burden to me for 3 months.
Meantime, on top of this we have several times been extremely uneasy about Mrs. Clemens. The past week has been awful—she has had bad nights, & been obliged to sit up in bed for hours, in order to get her breath—& she is only a shadow. Three nights ago her pulse went up to 192 , & nothing but a subcutaneous injection of brandy brought her back to life life. Her pulse usually oscillates between 115 & 140. But she is doing fairly well yesterday & to-day.
I am in bed a week (bronchitis, as usual), but hope to be out again in a fortnight.
I expect to drive the Countess off this place (she lives over her own stable, 50 yards from one end of the Villa.) Her presence poisons the whole region. I am backing some peasant-suits against her—2 civil & one criminal—& when those are through I have some more up my sleeve. She appealed to the priest, yesterday, to placate me & call me off—which he declined. He & I are good friends. She hasn’t any.
I expect to move out of this Villa as soon as Mrs. Clemens can be moved. I have examined 2 & 3 a day for 2 weeks, & have found the right one I think. I shall soon know, when I get out of bed. I shall leave Quarto, but I expect to drive the countess off the place first. She knows that if I leave it she will have a difficult time trying to rent it again—for she knows I will prove to any applicant that he will be an ass to take it on any terms [MTHHR 557-9]. Note: Henry A. Butters with the Plasmon Co. had offered to restore 250 shares of stock to Sam if he would make an additional investment (see Jan 29 to Stanchfield). Sam would refuse: see Mar. 21 to MacAlister.
Sam also wrote to H.E. Fisher of the Conklin Pen Co., letter not extant but referred to in Conklin’s Mar. 12 reply.
Sam’s notebook: “Livy is getting along pretty well, now” [NB 47 TS 7].