December 12 Thursday – A day or two before, Livy wrote (letter not extant) to Col. John M. Wilson that Sam was too ill to keep his Dec. 14 engagement at West Point. Wilson answered on this day:

My dear Mr. Clemens:

      Mrs. C’s letter is just received and I regret that you are ill.

      I trust that you will be yourself once more, and that the pleasure of hearing you address the Cadets will be only temporarily postponed [Leon 240].

A.W. wrote from Wash. to Sam via Gen. John J. (McCook) that Senator Jones was on his way east [MTP].

Karl Gerhardt sent Sam a clipping about the need for “increased facilities for doing the government printing.” Gerhardt wrote above the clipping, “50 Type setters will about fill this bill” [MTP].

Katherine K. Walker wrote to Sam with compliments for “the magazine installment of your delicious Arthurian Yankee” which “beguiled” her and gave her “anticipation” for the future [MTP].

Gen. John M. Wilson for West Point wrote to Sam having received Livy’s note that Sam was ill; he hoped that “the pleasure of hearing” Sam “address the cadets will only be temporarily postponed” [MTP].