January 8 Thursday – In Hartford Sam responded to an invitation (not extant) by Thomas L. Gulick.

…It could bring peace to this family who have heard me sigh for the Islands every year for twenty years, yet have never heard me sigh to return to any other place I had seen before. But I know we can never go — although I shall never entirely give up the intention [MTP]. Note: tragically, Sam would be at anchor off the Sandwich Islands in 1895, but quarantine would prevent his disembarking.

Sam also signed a one-liner written by Franklin G. Whitmore to an unidentified man, thanking for the New Years’ greeting and the comic calendar [MTP].