April 1 Tuesday – George W. Cable, in a stunt “to pay off his debt of gratitude for his recent entertainment in the Clemens’s home,” [MTB 768-70] arranged for 150 friends of Sam’s to write him on April Fool’s Day requesting his autograph. The MTP has a copy of the formal flyer Cable had printed, sent to “150 persons of the literary and journalistic guild, in Boston, Hartford, Springfield, New York, Brooklyn, Washington and other cities.” Some of those who responded requested quite specific needs for poetry, original sentiment, chapters copied from his books, etc. Powers observes:

“Clemens, notoriously thin-skinned about jokes at his expense, elected to be amused, and the friendship [with Cable] solidified” [MT, A Life 485]. (See Mar. 31 and below for list.)

Twichell wrote about the joke:

“This amiable ‘April Fool’ proved very successful. A large number of letters and some telegrams came from the literary folk and many of them were of charming wit. M.T. was pleased with the joke, and well he might be, for it was a great compliment” [Yale, Copy at MTP].

Sam wrote from Hartford to Andrew Chatto about securing Canadian copyright and sending “early sheets” of Huck Finn. “…we shall have this book in type & printed, many months before we issue it” [MTP].

More of Cable’s “April Fools” joke wrote to Sam: J.W. Beach; Stephen Fiske; Henry P. Gray (telegram); Celeste A. Hendricks; Charles de Kay; Sara T. Kennedy; E.K. Lockwood; Helena Modjesky; G.W. Sheldon for New York Commercial Advertising (telegram); Ellen D. Stedman; Virginia Waring; Charles Dudley Warner [MTP].