December 29 Sunday – At 21 Fifth Ave, N.Y. Sam wrote to Frances Nunnally; his letter informs of a short trip he took the day before, and of his dinner plans for this evening.
Ah, you dear Francesca, you & your mother gave me a pleasant surprise in that beautiful & valuable addition to my winter comforts, & I thank you cordially ; & I wish also to thank you, dear, for the fine album of Rembrandts. I am the better, bodily & spiritually, for these welcome remembrances.
Yesterday I went with 70 other slaves of Harper & Brothers to Lakewood to lunch Mr. Howells out of the country & give him God-speed. The distance was greater than I was expecting it would be: multiplied by 2 or 3 it would have reached Baltimore, & so if you had been in Catonsville I would have gone on. But you had already escaped South; you had probably already started before I wrote you the other day.
If you see Uncle Remus Harris you must give him a good hearty Xmas hand-squeeze for me, for I am very fond of him.
Half-hour later. I wish you were here, so that I could have you at dinner this evening & show you off, as I did to those admiring families in London. It’s a small dinner, for stage friends:
John Drew & his wife, Will Gillette, & Billie Burke—excellent folk, & Billie is as good as she is pretty. And Gillette is such a bright talker. He has just gone from the room, it is 1.30 p.m.; & now I will get up & play billiards with Mr. Paine.
I may have to go to Washington by & by, & then I will fall off the train at Baltimore & have a glimpse of you.
With my kindest regards to your mother, & my love to you, dear, … [MTP].
Sam also wrote to Dorothy Quick.
Happy New Year, Dorothy dear!
I miss you so, you dear child—I miss you all the time, you little rascal.
Your mother said you could come again, before the end of January—you will be very welcome, honey [MTP].
Charles J. Langdon wrote to Sam. (Only the envelope survives maked “Personal” on each side) [MTP]. Note: Lyon wrote several names on the env., which may or may not refer to the missing letter: “Walkers, Marjorie [sic Margery] Clinton, Fluffy, Guinesses, Sampson, Riggses, Colliers, Doubledays” and “Masons / Templetons / Waylands” and “Miss Herts / Sunday P.P.” and “Miss Burbank, J.Q. Adams, Doubledays” – guest lists?
Alex Sinclair wrote from Toronto to Sam, having enjoyed reading CS. He enclosed a clipping “Going to Church in Toronto” (in file) from the Toronto News of Dec. 28 which he thought might interest [MTP].