March 10 Tuesday – At the invitation of ship’s captain, John Gay, Sam spent much of the day aboard a British Cruiser, the HMS Cressy, enjoying laughter and stories in the Officers’ Mess [Mar. 12 to Quick]. William Evarts Benjamin accompanied him. The Cressy was one of three warships anchored at the Dockyard, Ireland Island, Sandys Parish [D. Hoffman 115-16]. Note: since he did not mention his time aboard ship in the following three letters, they were likely written in the a.m. before boarding. Sam would mention this time aboard the ship to Dorothy Quick in his Mar. 12 letter.
At the Princess Hotel in Hamilton, Bermuda Sam wrote to daughter Jean .
Jean dear, we are having an exceedingly good time, & the weather is perfect now. It is American June weather. There’s a plenty of people—every Monday 250 arrive from New York, & half as many sail for New York next day. We make delightful friends, then they fly homeward, & we make a new accumulation in their places. We go driving or sailing or tramping every day, & also we go to teas & lunches, but not to dinner—we don’t go out at night, but stay at home & play cards & billiards.
Mr. Rogers is improving, & likes it here. I believe I can persuade him to stay till near the middle of April; but at first he wanted to get back home. I hope you are having good & satisfactory times & are happy. I have a note from Clara, & she is evidently in fine spirits.
Lovingly, with hugs & kisses / Father [MTP].
Sam also replied to the Mar. 4 from Frances Nunnally.
Yes, you dear Francesca, I got the letter, & was very glad to have it. But if the pin had been lost it wouldn’t have mattered, because I find I am likely to be here a month yet, & therefore could get another.
I am very glad no harm came of your fire, but I hope you won’t have any more accidents of that kind. It makes me very uncomfortable to hear about it & think of the risks.
I wish you were here, dear. You wouldn’t ever be idle. We are busy everyday—sailing, driving, walking, lunching, dancing tea-ing, & so on; & at night we stay at home. We decline night- invitations, & go to bed by 10.30 or 11. Miss Lyon is getting strong & healthy, & Mr. Rogers is improving so decidedly that he is glad he came, & I expect to persuade him to stay until April 11.
The weather is perfect now. It is New York June weather, & I think there is no such thing possible as improving upon that.
Goodnight, Francesca dear. / With love / SLC [MTP; MTAq 119].
Sam also wrote to Dorothy Quick.
Dorothy dear, I am so sorry, sorry, sorry you are sick. I know you ought to come here. This heavenly climate & fine air would soon make you strong & well. It is doing wonders for Miss Lyon & Mr. Rogers. Can’t you come? I don’t expect to go home before the 1st or 10th of April. I hope your mother can bring you. You are a frail little creature, & you need to get away from doctors & let generous & wise Nature build you up & make you strong. Come to me, you dear Dorothy! You will be so welcome.
Miss Lyon is getting strong & robust, & Mr. Rogers is improving so decidedly that he has stopped talking about going back home—so I am hoping & expecting to keep him here until April 11th. We are having very lively times every day—sailing, driving, walking, lunching, dancing; & at night we play billiards & cards & never go out, to dinners or anywhere else. I am now so strong that I suppose I could pull up one of these islands by the roots & throw it half way to New York. In fact I know I could.
Write you? Certainly I shall. I don’t intend to ever be too busy to write to my dear Dorothy.
Good-bye, with lots & lots of love— / SLC [MTP; MTAq 118].
Isabel Lyon’s journal: The King and Benjamin went out to the Cressy to lunch with the regular mess and were escorted by Mr. John Gay, and Fleet Surgeon Finlayson. They went gaily off in the admiral’s launch, and when he came back the King said that the day had been perfect. We waited for over an hour to be called for by that admiral’s launch. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman, Lafreda, and Madelon Wier and Elizabeth—to go out to the Cressy for tea—but the boat didn’t come, and we had a sad sense of defeat, so we sat on the porch and had a riotous dish of tea with rum in it, and watched for the King to come back to us. These days are sweet— even the days with a sense of defeat [MTP: IVL TS 33]
Irene Gerken left the islands on this day. The New York Times of Apr. 19, 1908, p.4 would run a photo of Sam and Irene on the dock in Bermuda, possibly taken on this day.
The ledger books of Chatto & Windus show that 1,000 additional copies (3s.6d.) of Pudd’nhead Wilson were printed, totaling 12,000 [Welland 238].