January 29 Tuesday – H. Billard wrote from N.Y. asking Sam for a contribution for a book to be sold at the American Institute’s Fair Feb. 18 to 26. [MTP].

William (Will) Bowen wrote to Sam on the letterhead of Commercial Ins. Co., S.F. (2 letters enclosed). “Dear Sam, Here is something I found several years ago in Fayetteville, Ark. Possibly you have not seen it — if not, I think you will enjoy it. / I found it in a Scrap Book of Col Van House and had it copied by the ‘offen’ whose letter accompanys.” Sam wrote “Poem on Creator by Russian Poet” on the env. [MTP].

Orion Clemens wrote to Sam (Jane Clemens to Trabue ca. Jan. 28 enclosed):

My Dear Brother: / I concluded to wait, and see if I had only dreamed that you wrote the letter to me about the strange scene around the machine, and its wonders, and the other letter to Mollie about our future, and if the check came $200 sure enough, then I was awake, and the two letters were not dreams. … / Ma has been making it lively, day and night, for her attendant, for a week, except the last two nights, when she was only up about twice each night. Her cough and rheumatism are better [MTP].

Alexandra Gripenberg wrote to Sam: “How very kind of you to write to me such a long and delightful letter. I published it instantly in one of our papers, of which I sent you a copy. I thought you would like to have it for fun, although you can not read it…you know it is rather rare to have Mark Twain as a contributor to a Finnish paper” [MTP]. Note: Sam had responded to a charge of plagiarism for the one-legged turkey tale; that he stole the idea from Boccacio’s Decameron.