January 20 Sunday – Isabel Lyon’s journal:

Early—at 9—C.C. went back to Katonah. R.G. [Rodman Gilder] went with her. At ten I went into the King’s room, he had a waiting look within him & after I had gone over some mail—a late yesterday batch—he picked up the paper & read a political article from The Times, seasoning it all along with the keen comment that is his. I do not become accustomed to his wisdom; no, daily I am amazed at his insight into men & political situations. He gave me a long & splendid political talk; and then I  handed him a letter from a Canadian, one Mr. Kennin who wrote to say that the sweet verses Mr. Clemens had believed were written by Susy, were written by [blank space] & that he believed Mr. Clemens would be glad to know it. And he was. For as the King said, he would not want Susy to be claiming from the grave a thing that was not hers. He went on to say that the particular reason for his dislike of Stedman is due to the fact that the King wrote him, just after we came home from Italy, asking if he could tell him who wrote the verses & Stedman wrote him such an indifferent letter, one claiming all honor for Stedman the Anthologist & evincing no interest for anyone’s but Stedman’s poems.

Along about 12 o’clock the King got into & out of the tub & went to his room & his bed again. “The Librarian” as he calls Katherine, is away just now for she isn’t well—but when she’s here she rubs the King’s head dry after his bath & so I took her place & rubbed his damp hair into a glory of a white & beautiful fluff. He worked later on Auto batches & later still Col. Harvey came in and the King’s worries are at an end over the N.A. Review & its dockings of the Ms. The plan has been made to pay the King $2,000.00 a month until one hundred thousand words have been turned in, & that will provide the needed amount to build the house at Redding.

At 6 o’clock the King started in Mr. Rogers’s auto for the Rogers house where he is to spend the night. He can’t drive out any more & come home too. It racks him so for the next day, & fixes him so that he cannot dictate. It is so lonely without him, when he goes to spend a night away. I went into his tobaccoed room, & it was better to be there than to be in a thousand chapels with incense. Yesterday I told C.C. that perhaps the King will take her over to Europe in the spring. The King & I, it would be, & she was glad [TS 16-18].