May 24 Thursday – Sam and Joe returned to Hamilton and boarded the Bermuda, preparing to leave. Charles M. Allen, the U.S. consul, came aboard to say goodbye to Charles Langdon and ask about his mother [MJNJ 2: 32].

At 4 PM the steamship Bermuda, Captain Angrove, sailed from Hamilton, Bermuda “on the Queen’s birthday”. Sam noted that at 7 PM “All the ladies are sea-sick & gone to bed except a Scotchman’s wife.” Then, “7.30. The Scotchman’s wife has caved.” Sam related these events in his notebook and in a September letter to the Hartford Courant [MTLE 2: 154]

Sam reflected on Bermuda in his notebook:

There are several “sights” in the Bermudas, of course, but they re easily avoided. This is a great advantage,—one cannot have it in Europe. Bermuda is the right country for a jaded man to “loaf” in. There are no harassments; the deep peace and quiet of the country sink into one’s body and bones and give his conscience a rest, and chloroform the legion of invisible small devils that are always trying to whitewash his hair…[MTNJ 2: 54-5].

Thomas Bailey Aldrich wrote to invite Sam and Livy for a couple of days in Ponkapog, since Edwin Booth & wife were coming next week; he’d also invited the Howellses [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “Aldrich the Poet”