March 22 Tuesday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Mary Mason Fairbanks, now in London, England. Sam’s was an obvious response to her (not extant) letter. He mentioned problems about Mary’s daughter Alice living anywhere but Cleveland and possible separation or divorce, no doubt heavy concerns for Mary.
It is a most pitiable case; hard for you, & hard for Alice too. But don’t you see? — Alice cannot go anywhere but Cleveland to live
Sam also showed enthusiasm about his every-Wednesday Browning Class.
It meets in my billiard room every Wednesday morning, & one lady comes 9 miles & another one 36 to attend it. I study & prepare 30 or 40 pages of new matter for each sitting — along with a modest small lecture, usually — & then re-read poems called for by the class. I suppose I have read Rabbi Ben Ezra & Up in a Villa a couple of dozen times, & Abt Vogler, Caliban in Setebos, & some others nearly as often….Prof. Corson is coming to give us a reading [MTP]. Note: It’s not set just when the Browning Classes began or how long they lasted, but this letter implies they were of many months standing at this point. Prof. Hiram Corson (1828-1911) of Cornell, author of An Introduction to the Study of Robert Browning’s Poetry (1886). Gribben thinks Sam may have read Corson’s recently published book [160].
About this day, Sam and Livy sent a calling card of congratulations to “Miss Manse” (Mary Emily Mantz) on her engagement to Samuel Moffett. This was likely part of the package Sam refers to in his letter to Moffett of this day. Sam sent “Many congratulations!” on his nephew’s engagement. [MTP; MTMF 260-1]. They would marry on Apr. 13, 1887.
Orion Clemens wrote to Sam, “glad that you don’t mind a little thing like $25,000” (embezzlement); Ma went to a ladies’ church society this afternoon; Postals noted from Pamela, N.Y. to Calif. [MTP].
Sarah Knowles Bolton wrote from Cleveland, Ohio thanking Sam for his photograph and hoping that his publishing house would “take up the life of Beecher” [MTP].
Richard W. Gilder for Century Magazine wrote to Sam, “Many thanks for the whale story” — when and where was it published prior, he asked [MTP]. See Mar. 18 entry.
Arthur L. Shipman wrote to Sam having seen notices in the papers that Sam would be in the Boston Authors’ Reading on Mar. 31 — had Sam forgotten his Kent Club date at Yale? Sam wrote on the envelope, “Arthur Shipman. Write him at once” [MTP]. Note: Sam planned to do both and did both.