September 27 Tuesday – Sam’s notebook in Florence:
Sept. 27. Hired landau & 2 horses & coachman of Picci at 480 francs (lire) a month for 8 months, which covers everything (wages, board, feed, &c), except the coachman’s bed & pourboire [gratuity]. Either party can annul the agreement by giving 15 days’ notice to the other [NB 32 TS 27].
September 26 Monday – Susy Clemens finished her Sept. 25 letter to Louise Brownell (see Sept. 25).
In his notebook Sam made a memorandum to “order Galignani & l’Italy” (Galignani’s Messenger, a daily English-language publication from Paris) [Gribben 250; NB 32, TS 26].
This was in a long list of items to get and do, including:
September 25 Sunday – The Clemenses moved into the Villa Viviani, five miles outside of Florence, Italy [Sept. 24 to Phelps].
Susy began a letter “on our first Sunday in Florence” to Louise Brownell, and finished it on Sept. 26 (though the letter was not postmarked until Oct. 13.) She related the delay the family experienced in Frankfurt (see Sept. 12 entry), and continued:
September 24 Saturday – In Florence Sam wrote to William W. Phelps relating their “longest trip on record,” and asking for his assistance in securing some of their personal effects which had gone astray. He gave the name of Dietrich as one of the names of the shipping company, and their last address in Berlin, though he knew they’d moved, and then related their problem:
September 23 Friday – In Florence, Italy Sam wrote to Frederick J. Hall, responding to his Sept. 6 letter (not extant; see entry). Sam enclosed notes with which to borrow funds from Mt. Morris Bank, discussed Hall’s plan to send monthly payments if “several hundred dollars” to him, and offered thoughts about how to proceed on the typesetter issues, as well as a short discussion of the family situation:
September 22 Thursday – The Clemens family left Milan at 11:45 a.m. and traveled five hours to Bologna, Italy. According to Sam’s Sept. 24 to Phelps the family completed the schedule as outlined in his Sept. 18 to Sue Crane — The family left Bologna and arrived in Florence, Italy. In his Sept. 30 to Sue, Sam wrote:
September 21 Wednesday – According to Sam’s Sept. 30 to Sue Crane, the family fell behind their earlier schedule outlined in his Sept. 18 to Sue, and were forced to spend two nights in Milan. This was the second day and night. It could have only been on this second evening that Sam spoke before the Literary Congress in Milan. As reported in the New York Times, October 16, 1892, p.20. William Henry Bishop, reported:
September 20 Tuesday – Sam had outlined a travel schedule for the family in his Sept. 18 to Sue Crane, Which followed their travels as related in his Sept. 30 to Sue Crane. The family left Lucerne and traveled to Milan, Italy.
September 19 Monday – The Clemenses were at the Hotel Des Balances in Lucerne.
B. Mendenhall wrote to Sam, after having received no recommendation on a book he’d written sent some 17 months before, Married the Wrong Man. “Please give me a boost,” he wrote, as he was “crippled and can’t do much but write” [MTP].
September 18 Sunday – At the Hotel Des Balances in Lucerne, Switzerland Sam wrote to Susan L. Crane. Sam thanked her for a pen she sent, and teased her for going “off without filling my traveling inkstand,” which she’d given him. He told of progress made on Tom Sawyer Abroad and his “Twins” book (which became PW and also the Twins story). He also wrote of their travel woes with Livy’s condition: