March 2 Friday – In New York Sam wrote two letters to Livy. The first was “away after midnight,” and noted a 2:15 a.m. time in the margin. In the second at 3:40 p.m. he related the events of the day so far:

Dear sweetheart, I was up at 8 & down at my office at 9, & Hall, Rogers & I put in a quarter of an hour talking & arranging for Mr. R.’s afternoon campaign with the Century people. Then I walked up town half a mile & bought 3 Yaeger shirts & a camels hair rug for shipboard. Then I carried some Puddnhead proofs to the Century. Then I answered some letters in my room. Next I set to memorizing the Bluejay for my Saturday reading. Then Frank Bliss arrived, 1 p.m., from Hartford in answer to my telegram [not extant] & we talked an hour over the Century proposition to issue my books in a uniform set of 14 or 15 volumes. Then he went away to think it over, & I went on with my memorizing, which I have now successfully finished. And now I must go & find Frank Mayo & sign contract for the Pudd’nhead Wilson drama. In the meantime I have added an appointment to to-morrow’s list — to let the electrician Tesla do my photograph again for the Century.

I’ll go out to Mr. R’s tonight & see what he has done [LLMT 296-7].

Sam noted that this was to be his last letter to Livy — “after this I’ll come & talk” [MTP].

At midnight Sam wrote a note of apology to Nikola Tesla, that he’d be unable to “come down to-morrow afternoon” Sam was sorry, as evidently he’d agreed to the meeting before [MTP]. Note: This is sometimes mistakenly dated Mar. 9. (Sam sailed on Mar. 7.)