November 30 Friday – Sam’s 59th Birthday.

Two copies of PW were deposited with the US Copyright Office [Hirst, “A Note on the Text” Afterword materials p.28, 1996 Oxford ed.]

At 169 rue de l’Université in Paris, Sam finished his Nov. 29 letter to Rogers, and told of the conversation he’d had with Livy the night before. They felt John Brusnahan of the N.Y. Herald “must have his money returned to him; also that Bram Stoker must be stopped from paying any more installments.” They’d stay in the house till the lease expired on May 1 next, then move to Elmira and Quarry Farm where they might live “very cheap.” Livy’s electrical treatments would be completed by then, and at the familiar farm he could finish JA and prepare his books for a Uniform Edition. After their talk, Sam and Livy:

…slept the sleep of the damned — which is always sound — and woke up refreshed this morning. The mother and the three children spent two francs on birthday presents for me, and we have begun life on a new and not altogether unpromising basis.

Also we decided that it was best that I was here and not there; for if I were there I might try to persuade you to go against your better judgment, whereas after all that you have done for us that would be ungrateful, and ingratitude is a crime — and the meanest one there is.

Sam related that William Mackay Laffan sold Sam’s article, “What Paul Bourget Thinks of Us” to the North American Review, where it would run in Jan. 1895. The Review also had asked him to write a sympathetic article about Joan of Arc, but Sam wasn’t sure he’d accept [MTHHR 100-1]. 

Sam also wrote two short paragraphs to Lloyd S. Bryce, editor of the North American Review, expressing gratitude that Bryce had his Bourget article; he wished he could write one on Joan of Arc but begged off due to time lost for illness. It would take all winter to catch up to his work, he explained, so he wouldn’t be able to do any extra [MTP]. Note: It’s not clear whether Bryce knew Sam was working on JA. 

Sam also wrote to William T. Stead, editor of the London Pall Mall Gazette, and also Review of Reviews (see Mar. 17, 1890 entry for more on Stead). The letter is a review of four palm-readers who had analyzed the prints of Sam’s hands without knowing whose they were. It’s not clear when this took place. Sam summarized the accuracies of the readers:

Each of the four hand-readers scores one or two hits of particular excellence, because they go so far in among my carefully concealed privacies; & one of these special hits is made by two of the readers & hinted at by a third. If this is guessing, it is guessing which my nearest friends could not do. E.L.C. makes one disastrous hit which not even my mother could have made; but it is a true hit, nevertheless. Am I going to point out these things? Not if I can get excused [MTP]. Note: See Aug. 8, 1894 entry where Sam had his hand read by the great Cheiro. Also see October entry for reference to Borderland article on palmistry.

H.H. Rogers wrote to Sam, the letter not extant, but mentioned in Sam’s Dec. 9 to Rogers.