March 15 Monday – William Dean Howells wrote a short note:

My dear Clemens: /Your own feelings will give you no clew to our enjoyment of the little visit we made you. There never was anything more unalloyed in the way of pleasure—I was even spared the pang of bidding the ladies goodbye.

I’m sorry you’re not coming up to the Aldrich lunch, to which I found myself invited.— Don’t say anything to anybody about the Longfellow book till you hear from me.

Yours ever, / W. D. Howells [MTPO]. Note: Aldrich was leaving for Europe so the lunch was a sendoff. Sam replied on Mar. 16.

John M. Hay wrote to Sam.

Dear Clemens / After thinking about it an hour or so I believe I did not answer your letter about going down the river. If I did I can tell you now why I did not accept. She is three days old and a voice beyond any sane price….

The ladies of the house discern in her the rudiments of great beauty. I am old and my vision is impaired.

She is well and hearty. So is her mother. Of the two the mother is the handsomer and makes less row.

Give my compliments to Mrs. Clemens.

Yours sincerely / John Hay [MTPO].

Stephen Percival Moorhouse (1858-1928) wrote from Boston to Clemens:

Mr. Saml Clemens / Dear Sir:

      A few young people in town are about forming a literary club, and as we cannot decide upon a name, it was proposed that I should write to you and ask your advice.

      The object of the club is improvement combined with pleasure.

      At our meetings we have an entertainment about an hour long, consisting of declamations, readings, music, &c., and then the rest of the evening is spent in social amusements.

      Several names have been proposed, but we cannot find an appropriate one.

      If you will help us out, provided it does not inconvenience you too much, we shall feel greatly indebted to you. / Very truly yours, / S.P. Moorhouse / Sec. [MTP]. Note: for some reason, Clemens thought this request over the line: he wrote on the letter: “This is the worst piece of cheek of all.”

John Gibbon wrote again Sam in mid-March, exact date missing, but file says this is a reply to Clemens’ Mar. 1. Only bottom half of two torn pages are in file. What is there is complimentary of the stage play of GA [MTP].