November 7 Wednesday – At 21 Fifth Ave, N.Y. Sam wrote his “pal,” Mary B. Rogers:

Dear pal, there are many nieces in the world, but you are the most patient one there is, & in my opinion the only perfect one.

Yesterday morning came an invitation to Japan, for next March, & I think I came within one of persuading the Admiral to make the trip with me. But he didn’t quite say yes, so I gave it up. I would like to see Japan, but the journey would be too heavy. On the 30 I made all my arrangements to go to Egypt; then the bronchitis smote me, & before sunset I had canceled them all, by telegraph & telephone. There isn’t any excursion I am really prepared for, except the final one; but I don’t care for that one, personally, though I think St Peter would like to see me. Let him wait; other people have to make sacrifices.

Well—yes—I was up a little late, that night, & p’raps a little weary, too, but not too weary to go to your luncheon; it was a trifle of a cold & a threat of bronchitis that lost me that pleasure & gave me a petrifying fright. Mind, I was not frightened at the thought of being killed—I don’t care for being killed—but the thought of the usual 6 weeks in bed is a most substantial terror.

But I am over that fright now, & shall soon be out on the street again. Clara keeps changing my doctors; yesterday she withdrew Halsey & called Quintard. I had a persistent & annoying dry bark for him to exploit, & he said he would send a medicine immediately that would modify it with dispatch. It didn’t come. The bark continued—the rest of the day & all night. At 9 this morning Clara looked in, & said she had had the serenest night she had had for weeks, & it was all owing to a new medicine sent to her by Dr. Q. By the “Mr. Clemens” on the label I saw that it was my medicine, & not hers at all, & not in any way suited to her case, for she only has nervous affections, whereas I have the botts, & the heaves, & the glanders, & some other things like that. Why, Mary, I was near death all night; at one time I did not believe I should live thirty-five years. I did not greatly mind it, on account of St. Peter perhaps waiting up for me & getting anxious, but I couldn’t help wishing I could see you once more before I left. Mariechen, the more I reflect upon St. Peter & his solicitude about me, the more I like him. But formerly I didn’t care for him.

….

I have dictated a while, this morning—the first time for 19 days. On Simplified Spelling. It’s good; I wish I could read it to you. Howells, Aldrich, Carnegie, & Harvey will dine here to- morrow night, & they’ll have to listen to it. It goes to the root of the matter; proposes a reform of the idiotic alphabet. Then the orthography will reform itself. By natural compulsion, you see. I wish to God there were some more wise men in the world. I do find it so lonesome.

The new billiard table—pal, dear, you’ve never seen a table to approach it! You will see, when you come to try it. Affectionately your uncle /  Mark

P.S.

My dear child, I’ve had an awful accident. I have coughed up my conscience. I wouldn’t taken $40 for her, she was just out of the repair shops & had fresh paint on & new rubber tyres & could go like 1830 Groombridge (see astronomy.)

I am prostrated, & not able to address this note, I will ask one of the vassals to do it for me [MTP]. Note: the billiard table was meant to be a Christmas gift from Rogers, but Sam rushed it along, and Paine notes they played the first game on it on Nov. 2 [MTB 1325]. Note: Stephen Goombridge (1755-1832), British astronomer,  discovered a star in the constellation Ursa Major. The star discovery was posted posthumously in 1838.

In the evening Clara Clemens had some friends in for a dinner party: Mr. and Mrs. Norman Hapgood, Mr. and Mrs. George Riggs (Kate Douglas Wiggin), Mr. Rogers (a singer), Miss Lyon, Miss Dorothea Gilder, and Rodman Gilder.

A very pleasant party and good talk. Some of it violent. Because M Riggs and I do not agree about Jane Austin. She respects Jane Austin, whilst it is the one desire of my heart to dig her up. Notwithstanding, I took M Riggs out to dinner. Otherwise, she behaved very well, I, also, it is thought. By 10 the company went, or 10:30; then Rodman and I played billiards— Dorothea, Clara, and Miss Leighton waiting—until much too late, and I invited everybody to continue whilst I went to bed. I shan’t be a party to keeping Clara up so late again.

….

Percy Grant came up to my room at 5 and I made him stay till 7. We had good talk about Pepy’s Diary, and about Howells. He is a charming man [Nov. 8 to Jean]. Note: Lyon’s journal also carries a comment on the “friendly battle” between Sam and Kate over Jane Austen [TS 201].

Clemens’ A.D. of this day included: Simplified Spelling [MTP Autodict2].

Isabel Lyon’s journal:

A dinner tonight. Mr. & Mrs. Riggs—Mr. & Mrs. Norman Hapgood, Dorothea & Rodman Gilder, & Mrs. Francis Rogers. The King & Mrs. Riggs had a friendly battle over Jane Austen, whose books the King abhors & Mrs. Riggs delights in. She looks forward to her annual attack of nostalgia, or something, when she has to lie by & recreate herself, with 2 or 3 volumes of Jane Austen’s books. She wore the same little smilex crown that she wore to the King’s 70th birthday dinner, a year ago, & she was brilliant & interesting, but not very well. Norman Hapgood sat on my right, C.C. next [to] him. He could sit at the King’s table & say that what the King said about Austen was Rot. He could do that. But he didn’t say it to the King. Mrs. Norman H. wore a crown too: her wonderful wealth of black hair—she’s a handsome creature, but she looks too much like Teresa Bini [Cherubini, the maid] the Italian ward. She’s Teresa very much beautified. I liked the dinner very much, afterward we 5 women sat in the living room & talked about everything, mostly, but mainly Bernard Shaw’s “Cleopatra and Caesar” [MTP TS 144].

Frank W.C. Hersey, English instructor at Harvard, wrote to ask Sam if their class might use passages from HF; he listed several page numbers, etc., and was also writing to Harpers for permission [MTP].

James A. Renwick wrote to Sam acknowledging receipt of his check for $291.67 for Nov. rent [MTP].