July – Sam’s notebook included a memo of The Art of Teaching and Studying Languages, by François Gouin, translated by Howard Swan and Victor Bétis, London (1892) [Gribben 269; NB 32 TS 12].

Also in the notebook: “After July 1, ’92, my royalties are to be sent to me by check, a few hundred dollars per month” [NB 31 TS 58].

J. Stuart’s article, “Mark Twain,” ran in Literary Opinion [The Twainian, Dec. 1940].

July or August – Sometime during their stay in Bad Nauheim, Germany, Sam met Oscar Wilde. Clara Clemens recorded the event, but alas, characteristically, she did not give us dates, only the place.

Excitement was caused one day, however, by the arrival of an English guest at the hotel, a gentleman who was of most pronounced appearance. In the dining-room his table was not far from ours, and we enjoyed watching him in conversation with two other gentlemen. He was remarkably dressed and highly vivacious in manner and speech. It was not difficult to recognize Oscar Wilde. He and Father became aware of each other at almost the same moment and rose to exchange greetings, although as far as I know they had never met before. I cannot remember that Father effected an acquaintance between the rest of his family and Oscar Wilde, but we were grateful that we had eyes with which to stare. We used them well, missing nothing from the gentleman’s carnation as large as a baby sunflower, to the colored shoes on his feet.

If only that dinner had had more courses. We started on the dessert we had seen him smile only twice, but he smiled so well!…Oscar Wilde had a memorable smile… [MFMT 113-4].

Note: Susy Clemens had also noted in a letter to Louise Brownell of seeing Wilde in Bayreuth, probably when Sam was traveling. See 1891 August, late entry.

Interesting here is Katy Leary’s instinctive reaction to her fellow-native Irishman is an interesting juxtaposition here (London, 1897):

And then Oscar Wilde, he lived right there behind us. He was the one they put in jail [two years of hard labor for “gross indecency”]. He was a very bad man, Oscar Wilde was, so bad you couldn’t talk about what he done….He always used to wear a sunflower in his buttonhole and dressed in velvet clothes and had long hair [Lawton 158].