February 3 Friday – Sam’s 6 PM Friday Evening Club (drinking, smoking, billiards for men) included: Charles Hopkins Clark, asst. editor of the Hartford Courant; Joe Twichell; Edwin Pond Parker, Congregationalist clergyman; Samuel C. Dunham and Henry C. Robinson attorneys; and William T. Hamersley, state attorney for the Superior Court of Connecticut [MTNJ 2: 445n24]. This meeting provided an introduction to Louis Fréchette. From Twichell’s journal about the gathering:

Dined at M.T.s with a company of gentlemen, invited to meet Mr. Frechette the poet laureate of Canada. Mr. Frechette is a thickset man of medium height—full faced—looks German-ish—very respectable, though rather still—laughs well. M.T. never was so funny as this time. The perfect art of a certain kind of story telling will die with him. No one [illegible word] can equal him, I am sure [Yale, copy at MTP].

Sam wrote from Hartford to John Russell Young, thanking him for his “beautiful volumes.” Sam reciprocated with one of his own, probably P&P and said he’d send another next year. Sam confessed the Tribune had mentioned him “only 5 times in the 2 ½ months; & in the 5 mentions didn’t say anything that could annoy” him “in retaliating.” Sam didn’t want to destroy the notes just yet, though. Explaining why he hadn’t been down to New York, his guest Edward House had been “quite sick” and “not out of bed for 4 days” [MTP]. Note: Sam and Livy were in New York from about Feb. 14 to 18 (see entries).

Charles E.S. Wood at West Point wrote to Sam inviting him to a ball (“an Officers Hop”) on Feb. 22.

“Mrs. Wood has gone to Baltimore to stay till April and I want you and Mr. Twichell and Mr. Blackburn and Mr. [A.W.] Drake Art Supt of the ‘Century’ and Mr. Jones, a young artist lately from Russian & Parisian wilds to occupy my sanity, destroy the terrapins, play whist and use up that Scotch Whisky you left here” [Leon 225-6]. Note: “terrapins” were bowling pins.