October 3 Saturday – Sam wrote from Hartford to William Dean Howells about possible submissions for the Atlantic. Howells had written seeking “some such story as that colored one” for the January issue. Sam replied:

“…the house is still full of carpenters. So we’ll give it up. These carpenters are here for time & eternity; I am satisfied of that. I kill them when I get opportunities, but the builder goes & gets more.”

Sam also wrote that the Warners were “about to leave & we are in grief.” The good friends and neighbors sailed on Oct. 8 for Europe and would not return until July 1, 1876. Howells had mentioned, “even President Grant recognized the excellence of the Sellers character in your play” [MTL 6: 247-8].