April 15 Monday – In Hartford, Sam wrote his thanks to Abraham G. Mills for the “good time!” he and Twichell had at the Baseball Dinner on Apr. 8. He apologized for “sliding out without a thank-you or a world of good-night to you” but they didn’t want to interrupt him so asked a Mr. Lynch to do the honors for them [MTP].

Sam also wrote to Susan L. Crane. Livy was ailing again, this time from pinkeye; she was under the care of Hartford physician William T. Bacon, who Sam said, “forbids her to read or write.” She and Sam had missed seeing the Cranes in New York on the previous Saturday, and Sam said “she took it hard.” The bulk of his letter described Jean’s written handiwork on the envelope and the reason for her expression:

  I send you the envelop, as well as Jean’s letter, because of the remarks all over the back of it — repetitions of the fact that Mr. & Mrs. Clemens had gone to New York; that is, I send the envelop because all that idle scribbling made it so picturesque & Jeanish. But it turns out that it wasn’t idle scribbling, after all — it had a purpose. Livy was up, a minute ago to kiss Jean a final good — night, & said to her:

  “Jean, why did you scribble all that on the back of your envelop about our having gone to New York?”

  “Because that hotel sent my other letter back, Mamma.”

  So you see, it was a double letter: the inside for Livy, the outside for those mullet-heads of the Murray Hill [MTP].

Webster & Co. wrote to Sam: “We are all rather ashamed of this weeks report. However our collections have been good as you will see, also we have taken many orders on L.A.L.” [MTP].