June 9 Thursday – The last full day at Frederick E. Church’s “Olana” mansion. Sam and Joe Twichell went for a hike. Grace King joined them and wrote about it the next day:

We were at it for about two hours, just meandering through the winding roads up and down the hill, under the grand forest trees, and all around the little lake. When we returned the Osborns were there and we sat on the “ombra” as they call a large square piazza overlooking the river, and talked…. In the evening Mark Twain just let himself out. He is the greatest circus I was ever at. One of his funniest hits was an imitation of the sermon Cable took him to hear in the little Prytania St. Church when he was in N.O.[New Orleans]. More music — more conversation and then a very lingering good night…Mrs Clemens is very prim and precise but an unaffected little woman the very essence of refinement, while her husband is simply a Joaquin Miller…. One can soon discover however, that under his great shock of grey hair lies a very profound vigorous intellect. He is not at all refined, — wore slippers all the time at the Church’s and smokes a pipe, and ate like a corn-field darkey [Bush 35 from Grace King to Nina Ashley King, June 10, 1887]. Note from Bush: “William Henry Osborn (1820-1894) , railroad president, lived at Garrison, N.Y.”; Miller was a friend of the King family during his stay in New Orleans in 1885.

Grace also wrote about Sam telling the story that evening of Orion coming home in the dark and climbing in bed with an old maid aunt assigned to his room.

Henry C. Robinson wrote to Sam having just looked at a circus parade to say he’d never read an article which explained the “genius of the American circus,” and that Sam ought to write it [MTP].