November 28 Friday – In Elmira Olivia Lewis Langdon died. She was 80. Livy and her sister Susan Crane were with her, and Susy and Clara Clemens were on their way (they may have left this day or Nov. 29). A telegram (not extant) was sent to Sam in Hartford. He answered:

Livy darling, my heart goes out to you [MTPO].

In the evening Sam attended what he called a “matchlessly beautiful wedding,” between Miss Elizabeth Cheney, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Knight D. Cheney of South Manchester, and Alfred Cowles of Chicago. Dr. Edwin Parker performed the ceremony. A raft of Cheney’s attended as did the Charles Warner’s, the A.C. Dunham’s, Joe Twichell and the Misses Twichell, the Trumbull’s, and others [Hartford Courant Nov. 29, p.1 “Cowles-Cheney”]. Note: Sam, not listed in the Courant article but mentioned the wedding in his Nov. 29 to Livy

Frederick J. Hall wrote to Sam that the “exact amount of royalty paid to Mr. Stedman and Miss Hutchinson,”: $7,439.75 to the pair plus $500 divided between them for the completion of each volume, as per contract, making, “in round figures, $13,000 out of it so far, an amount Hall thought was more than any literary work they’d engaged in before. Mrs. Custer had received $1,832.84 to date [MTP]. Note: these amounts were obviously requested by Sam.

William J. Bok for Bok Syndicate Press, N.Y. wrote to apologize for a paragraph published to which Sam evidently objected to in a letter dated Nov. 20 that Bok mentioned. Bok included printed material from his “Bok’s Literary Leaves,” which was blue-penciled on a paragraph about Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher not writing her “Reminiscences” of her late husband until a “month or two ago” [MTP]. Note: perhaps Sam felt such a revelation might devalue her book.

Orion Clemens wrote to thank Sam for the $200 monthly check received.

I have sent out of it $10 to Puss, and have paid to the undertaker $75 and to the Doctor $40 on their accounts, leaving $114 yet due them.

Mollie and I join in hoping this birthday finds you in less suspense and anxiety than those of which your face bore such cruel marks the last 2 times we saw you [MTP].