October 13 Friday – United Cigar Stores Co. in the Flatiron building, N.Y.C. wrote asking for permission to use Sam’s letter endorsing the La Tunita cigars. On or just after this day Isabel V. Lyon responded for Sam: “Mr. Clemens would like to do so—but the request comes so frequently that he has had to decline them all” [MTP].

Isabel Lyon’s journal: Mr. Clemens had lunch down at the Joe Smith’s today. He came down stairs ready to go with his hair all damp. The wind was blowing a cold blast and terror went into my soul, for he helped to start his long siege of bronchitis last winter by going out with damp hair. But he was good and let me run for Teresa to rub it dry with warm towels as he sat and read to me a little article on the just punishment for automobile breakers of the speed law. When Teresa was through with her task his hair was like living silver. Oh, so beautiful [MTP TS 105, 107 (no p. 106)].

Ambrose Lee, supervising inspector in the N.Y.C. Tenement Housing Dept., wrote from NYC to ask Sam for an interview to suggest as subject for his consideration for an article [MTP].

Sir Henry Irving, born John Henry Brodribb, died of a stroke during a performance while on tour in Bradford. He had just uttered Becket’s dying words “Into thy hands, O Lord, into thy hands.” He died an hour later and spoke no more. He was 67. See Sam’s Oct. 17 and Oct. 19 to MacAlister, with Clara’s enclosed in the latter about Irving. Sam first saw Irving on Sept.28, 1872 in a performance of Charles I and wrote it was “a curious literary absurdity.” See also other entries on Irving, volumes I & II.