February 25 Saturday – Bret and Anna Harte and their two sons, Woodie and Frankie, arrived in Boston around 11 AM. A crowd was at the train station to welcome Harte, including 33-year-old William Dean Howells, assistant editor of the Atlantic under James T. Fields. Sam and many others had followed the notices of Harte’s progress by rail since he left San Francisco on Feb. 2 [Powers, MT A Life 295]. Note: Some biographers have made much of the idea that Harte’s rise motivated Sam and affected his publishing strategy or enhanced his insecurities. Biographers often enjoy inflating pet ideas.