July 27 Saturday – In Tuxedo Park, N.Y. Sam wrote to daughter Clara at the Hotel Victoria, Boston.
Clara dear, Clara very dear, I am in bed with a bronchitis caught in mid-ocean, but am not going to stay in bed after to-day. Nein, I will get up & sail for Bermuda next Thursday, & take Colonel Harvey along for courier, if I can’t shake off the cough in the meantime.
A jelmul in London gave me a very valuable trinket—a fine & genuine old Wedgewood locket —& I’ve brought it home for you. You can have it at any time. The jelmul is related to either the Wedgewoods or the Darwins, & that is how he came to possess it. It is valuable because it is rare.
I am very very glad you are profoundly absorbed in your art & your labors, & care for no other pleasures, no other dissipations. It is as I used to be with the pen, long ago, & it is life, LIFE, LIFE!—there is no life comparable to it for a moment. Genius lives in a world of its own, in palaces of enchantment, & has dominion over the slaves of the ring & the lamp, who do not tarry nor argue, when summoned, but came with fine & thunder and earthquake, & merely say, “I hear & obey!” & take the orders & pile more palaces, terrace upon terrace, tower upon tower, pinnacle upon pinnacle, into the sky, & tint them, & gild them, & mail them with jewels, & set them ablaze in the flooding sunlight; & whatever else is wanted, there those splendid hellious are, to fetch it. Everybody lives, but only Genius lives richly, sumptiously, imperially.
The Cleveland’s can’t go, so Mrs. Cleveland writes; but this was to be expected after such a summer as he has been having. But we can get Choate; he said he would come to the rescue if Mr. Cleveland failed us. So I am comfortable.
With best regards to Mr. Wark, & many & many kisses for you— / Father [MTP].
Sam also wrote to Dorothy Quick in Plainfield, N.J., about this day:
Dorothy, dear, will you come & make me a visit? Do you think your mother could spare you a week? Miss Lyon is 43 years old & quite able to take care of you. She would take the best of care of you, for she has been a governess, & knows all about it. I would send her to Plainville (or Plainfield) to fetch you; she would take you back at the end of your visit. Will you come? If you can’t come for a whole week will you come for half a week? But I hope you can make it a whole one.
It is beautiful here—lakes, woods, hills, & everything! Yes, quite beautiful & satisfactory, but I miss you, all the same.
I hope you will remember me most kindly to your mother, & to you grandfather & grandmother; & that you will allow me to keep my place as / your ancient & / affectionate friend / SL Clemens [MTAq 45].
Sydney Brooks’ article, “England’s Ovation to Mark Twain,” ran in Harper’s Weekly, p. 1086- 9. Tenney: “On MT’s cordial reception when he received an honorary degree from Oxford, with an account of his speech at a Pilgrims’ Club banquet. Includes sketch of MT chatting with King Edward at Windsor, and photograph of MT in the procession at Oxford just after the degree was awarded” [44].
Isabel Lyon’s journal: Tino [ABP]. The King came stealing quietly up to my study after I was about to get into bed, to get a paper knife to cut the leaves of “The Golden Bowl” with. A woman, Miss Olny [sic Olney], came today asking to see Mr. Clemens, not for an interview, only to shake hands with him. She introduced herself to me with a card of Dan Frohman’s, and with Chancey Oling’s name written on it and begged for the privilege of seeing him. I took the card up to Mr. Clemens after telling her that he was not seeing strangers and probably would not see her. He looked at the card reluctantly said, “oh, bring her up, if she’s a friend of Dan Frohmans.” She was not without attraction and succeeded in interesting him when she said she was making a collection of the imprints of the hands of famous men and her collection would not be complete without his, and produced her prepared sheets of paper, chatting along and completely disarming him, and he talked a little while she made the imprints of his right hand. Mr. Clemens graciously allowed me to make 2 imprints of his hand [MTP 87].
E. Grace Clark wrote from Lynchburg, Va. to ask if he would “stop over” in her city and “give a lecture” for the sick fund of the Graduate Nurses Assoc. since she learned from the newspapers that he would attend the Jamestown Exposition on Sept. 23 [MTP]. Note: IVL: “Answd. Sept. 4, 1907”
Katherine Leckie for The Delineator wrote from NYC to solicit a “Christmas sentiment” for their December number [MTP].
Chauncey Olney wrote from NYC to ask Sam to sign his picture from Science Magazine, enclosed, since she’d lost the earlier one [MTP].
Robert H. Sexton for the Robert Fulton Monument wrote having learned of Sam’s intention to attend the Robert Fulton Day celebration on H.H. Rogers’ yacht. He informed of Cornelius Vanderbilt’s intention to be there in his yacht, The North Star and a possible yacht race [MTP].
Isabel Lyon’s journal: noted that she was surprised to observe Sam “stealing quietly up to my study after I was about to get into bed, to get a paper knife to cut the leaves of ‘The Golden Bowl’ with” [Gribben 350]. Note: The Golden Bowl by Henry James (1905).