September 2 Monday – Sept. 2. Flocks of flying fish — slim, shapely, graceful, and intensely white. With the sun on them they look like a flight of silver fruit-knives. They are able to fly a hundred yards [FE Ch. IV p.65].
September 1 Sunday – At sea from Honolulu on the R.M.S. Warrimoo en route to Fiji and Australia. Sam’s notebook reveals they were “lying at anchor till midnight” [NB 35 TS 41].
September – “Mental Telegraphy Again” first ran in Harper’s Magazine. McCullough traces the evolution of both “Mental Telegraphy” articles in the Mark Twain Encyclopedia, p.510. Review of Reviews (London) ran “Mark Twain’s Serious Stories,” p.231, which briefly summarized the “Mental Telegraphy” article in Harper’s [Tenney 23].
August 31 Saturday – Livy finished her Aug 30 letter to daughter Susy.
August 30 Friday – At sea on the Warrimoo Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers:
In a couple of hours after dark we shall be in Honolulu — too late to lecture, & I am not sorry. We sail at 11 in the morning — too early to lecture. I got mighty tired platforming before we left America, & shall be glad to remain quiet till we reach Australia [MTP, not in MTHHR].
August 29 Thursday – From FE, Ch. II:
One or two days later [after four days out] we crossed the 25th parallel of north latitude, and then, by order, the officers of the ship laid away their blue uniforms and came out in white linen ones. All the ladies were in white by this time. The prevalence of snowy costumes gave the promenade deck an invitingly cool and cheerful and picnicky aspect [35].
August 28 Wednesday –The Clemens party were en route on the R.M.S. Warrimoo to Honolulu. Only two letters from Sam are extant from the voyage to Honolulu. The first is to Jack Harrington (identity not established but NB 35 TS 37 gives his age as 13), this day.
We are going to celebrate your birth-day to-night; and out of affection for you & for your father we shall do the occasion all the credit we can, & make all the noise the captain will allow.
August 27 Tuesday – The Clemens party were en route on the R.M.S. Warrimoo to Honolulu. From FE Ch. II:
About four days out from Victoria we plunged into hot weather, and all the male passengers put on white linen clothes [35].
August 26 Monday – The Clemens party were en route on the R.M.S. Warrimoo to Honolulu.
August 25 Sunday – In his Aug. 30 to H.H. Rogers, Sam wrote it had “been an uneventful voyage”:
The weather has been divine. For the past three days the sea with the sun on it has counterfeited the intense & luminous blue of the Mediterranean. We have done nothing but play hearts & read & smoke [MTP].