April – In Rome, sometime during the month, Livy wrote an undated letter on Sam’s behalf to Daniel Willard Fiske (1831-1904), librarian and professor at Cornell, who was in Rome at the time. After the 1881 death of his wife, Jennie McGraw, Fiske spent a great deal of time in Italy collecting manuscripts. He bequeathed a large collection to Cornell, known now as the Fiske Collection. He was instrumental in organizing the first American Chess Congress in 1857 and edited Chess Monthly with champion Paul Morphy from 1857-61.

I am going to venture to tell you how very unhappy Mr Clemens has been about his unfortunate speech to you yesterday.

I write because it is always so hard to say such a thing face to face.

Livy quoted Sam as saying that his words to the professor had been intended as “complimentary” yet were “certainly put into the most awkward language that could be invented.” The end of her letter shows that Joseph Verey had brought the rest of the family from Berlin, and that the next day’s plans were made:

However I could not let it rest so, and if you had heard him talking to my sister and my daughter last night at dinner you would have seen how entirely he had taken in every minute detail that you gave him.

We are looking forward with great pleasure to our excursion with you tomorrow [MTP].

Sam’s notebook memo, “Monday even, Marriage of Figaro” was entered sometime this month in Rome — a reminder to see Mozart’s opera? [Gribben 490; NB 31, TS 37]. Gribben also writes, “Clemens reminded himself late in April 1892 to ‘cable Vedder’ and then to ‘send Vedder’s book home’ from Florence (NB 31, TS pp.38, 39). Henry Clay Vedder’s American Writers of To-day would contain essays on Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, Henry James, and sixteen other major and minor literary figures. Possibly Clemens was cooperating with a request by Vedder for information” [724]. Sam’s notebook also mentions Poultney Bigelow, whose book, The German Emperor and His Eastern Neighbors was published by Webster & Co. (1892) [Gribben 70; NB 31 TS 38]. Note: Vedder (1853-1935), historian, seminary professor, editor and theologian.

The American Claimant was first published in book form early this month, after being serialized in various newspapers from Jan. 2 through Mar. 30 [Hirst, “A Note on the Text” Afterword materials p.28, Oxford ed. 1996].