March 24 Sunday – In New York, fourteen year old Helen Keller (1880-1968), the first deafblind person who would graduate from college, met Sam and William Dean Howells at Laurence Hutton’s. (Sam’s Nov. 26, 1896 to Emilie Rogers mentions that H.H. Rogers was also present.) Keller wrote to her friend, Mary Mapes Dodge on Mar. 29 (using a new script typewriter, a “Remington”) of the meeting on the previous Sunday (Mar. 24).

Mr. Clemens told us many entertaining stories, & made us laugh till we cried. He told us he was going back to Europe this week to bring his wife & daughter back to America because his daughter, who is a schoolgirl in Paris, had learned so much in three years & a half that if he did not bring her home she would soon know more than he did. I think “Mark Twain” is a very appropriate nom de plume for Mr. Clemens because it has a funny & quaint sound that goes well with his amusing writings, & its nautical significance suggests the deep & beautiful things he has written [LLMT 313-4]. Note: this has been erroneously reported as Mar. 31, 1895, but Sam was aboard the S.S. Paris that day en route.

Sam also wrote to Franklin G. Whitmore asking him to pay a Hartford Courant bill and “stop the paper for the present.” He didn’t realize the subscription had been running. He also mentioned other Hartford details for Whitmore to look after: discuss coal and rent payment with John Day; Patrick McAleer’s gas.

I neglected & forgot everything. I ain’t worth one cent to transact business, it is so wholly out of my line; & I don’t believe I will ever try, again [MTP].