January 14 Wednesday – In Riverdale, N.Y. Sam wrote a note to Livy.
Livy dear, there’s a new effect—the sea has come ashore. Water, blown by the wind is crinkling curves & long lines, is frozen white, & a stretch of it is the slope of the grassy hill gives the aspect of a section of green sea with wimpling white-caps chasing each other over it.
I love you dearheart, I love you dearly. / Y
Rice was lovely, and (as Henry Robinson said about Charley Clark) “as funny as a frog” [LLMT 341].
Sam also replied to William Digby, who had written Dec. 20.
Yes, I know—as do you, and many others—but there are thousands upon thousands who believe they know that the answer was the other one. Thousands?—indeed there are several millions of them. And they would be prompt to say, too, that in excusing the lying done in that tale I brought a judgment upon myself. The story was published as of Xmas Day. On that day my wife had been lying feeble & helpless in bed nearly 5 months, & it had been 3 months since I or any one except a daughter, the doctor, & a trained nurse had seen her face; on that Xmas Day my other daughter was lying near to death in a remote part of the house, (pneumonia) & the diligent lying of the tale was going on! The mother does not suspect that for three weeks there has been another trained nurse in the house. She thinks Jean (the sick daughter) is having fine times outside with the neighboring young people, skating, skeeing & tobogganing—the other daughter gives her a full account of it every day. For the last ten days I have been allowed to see my wife ten minutes every day. Yesterday she spoke of a play, & said “Send Miss Lyon with Jean to the matinèe to-morrow.” I came very near saying “Why, Jean can hardly sit up in bed, yet”—but I caught myself in time & gave the promise [MTP]. Note: possibly William Digby (1849-1904) English journalist.
Sam also wrote to Frederick W. Peabody, glad to have the documents sent on Christian Science. Sam had meant to publish only one more article on C.S., but “it is growing into a book,” and so would let it “go on growing as much as it wants to.” He hoped to issue the book in the spring, but it would not be published until 1907 [MTP].
Sam also wrote to Muriel M. Pears.
Clara is a rascal; she is still in debt to you. But the fact is, that in this house we are all a long, long way behind. Doctors, trained nurses, anxiety, hard work—we have known nothing else for months. We have written hardly any letters—we hadn’t the heart.
Sam then told about his article published in the Christmas Harper’s (“Is it Heaven? or Hell?”) and on the lying that had to take place in his own house, very much the same as in the story, on Christmas Day, due to Jean’s illness and Livy still being a shut-in, though improving to the point where he got to see her ten minutes a day. He related almost letting Jean’s illness slip and of Clara’s control.
The other day Mrs. Clemens said to Clara, “I don’t believe I have heard Jean romp down the back stairs for weeks—why, I am certain I haven’t.” Clara said,
“She is afraid of disturbing you; she always goes down the main stairs, now.” “Tell her she is a dear good thoughtful child, & I think it is lovely of her.” There—isn’t it tragedy & comedy strangely mixed? [MTP].
Sam also wrote of “having tragedy & comedy curiously mixed, under this roof,” to Hélène Elisabeth Picard, whom he often addressed as “France,” as she was the Juggernaut Club member for that country. Otherwise, his letter here covers the same ground as his to Muriel Pears of this day (above) [MTP].
Sam also wrote to Theodore Weld Stanton.
I recall the matter. You were to say for the Messrs. Fischer to go ahead; that I was willing. Miss Marbury has charge of all my dramatic business of a serious sort, therefore I have asked her to put herself in communication with Mr. Bienstock and arrange the matter.
We hear a good deal about [Joseph] Verey these latter months, from London. He has descended to the grade of hog, (he hadn’t far to go) and is dying like one. But he was a mighty good courier in 1878, and had some trifle of value remaining when he took me down the Rhone [MTP].
Howard E. Wright wrote from NYC to Sam. “I am in receipt of your cheque for $9500 on account of your subscription to Plasmon Shares. Those shares will now be issued to you together with shares to cover your previous payments of $5000 and $500.” In reply to Sam’s request for a statement of affairs from the company, Wright had written Samuel Bergheim to solicit such a statement, which he said was the “right of all shareholders” [MTP]. Note: Wright had erred in asking before for only $500 when he meant $5,000.