April 4 Saturday – Isabel Lyon’s journal: Bermuda: We went out to the Euryalus again to the children’s party this time—and it was a rough little voyage. 15 of us had to cramp-up in a tiny cabin and our stomachs felt badly. But we got inside the breakwater and onto the flagship and officers Gray and Boyer and Beatty showed us about and were very good to us and made the children adorably happy. We went into the Bake room, and into the “Sick-Bay,” and we climbed into the turrets and saw the beautiful great guns and heard about the workings of them, and then all the children and the King and we women (Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Marsh, Mrs. Butterfield and I) sat down to tea and 14 kinds of cake. It was so good to see the King in his happiness sitting between Helen Allen and Dorothy Darrell, and putting his panama hat on top of Helen’s nob-on-her-head as a hat rack, and he eating cakes and drinking ginger pop, and loving it all.
Going out in that rough little sea, the King sat in a corner of the cabin reading Woodrow Wilson “Mere Literature,” and he didn’t seem to realize that he had a lot of giggling youngsters there—or more likely he never read a word but took it all in with the tail of his eye and the tail of his ear [MTP: IVL TS 41-42].
Daniel Frohman for the Lyceum Theatre wrote to Sam. “I am to-day in receipt of your letter of March 31st. I did not know that Jervis Langdon was your nephew and so I just happened to treat him with unusual politeness.” His enthusiasm was somewhat held back by the $20,000 price of the Hope-Jones organ; he wondered if it were adaptable to the theater. He added, “I shall convey to Margaret Illington your message…” [MTP]. Note: Margaret Illington was at this time Mrs. Daniel Frohman.
Hellen Elizabeth Martin wrote to Sam. In part: “We arrived at home on Sunday morning April 5th, We stayed five days in New York and had a fine time there. We found our cat had run away on Saturday evening, We did not get him back until Monday morning. Our dog was delighted at our coming back. How are you feeling. I was very sick on the boat and so was Mother, it was very rough coming back.” [MTP; not in MTAq].
Frances Nunnally wrote from St. Timothy’s school to Sam.
Dear Mr. Clemens,— / Your letter reached me this morning, and I am awfully sorry to have to tell you that I will not be able to come to New York at all during the holidays. I did not know this until two days ago, when Mother wrote and said she thought I had better come home. I certainly am disappointed that I will not be able to pay you a visit, for I had been looking forward to it with a great deal of pleasure. We have about decided to go abroad right after school closes in June, and as I will not have time to go home then, Mother things it best that I come at Easter. So I will have to give up my trip to New York.
Must stop so this letter will get mailed right away.
Hoping you will have a very pleasant ocean trip up, I am / With love, / Francesca [MTAq 132].