February 7, 1896 Friday

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February 7 Friday – The Clemens party changed trains at Moghalserais at 2 a.m. and arrived in Calcutta at 7 a.m. [NB 36 TS 39]. They took rooms at the Hotel Continental [Parsons “MT India” 85]. FE:

February 5, 1896 Wednesday

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February 5 Wednesday – In Benares The Clemens family was up at 6 a.m. and spent the whole day sightseeing [Feb. 8 to Rogers]. It was likely, then, that this was the day they hired a “commodious hand-propelled ark” and took several trips up and down the Ganges. Parsons writes,

February 4, 1896 Tuesday

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February 4 Tuesday – In Allahabad, India, Sam was up at dawn. When Livy and Clara were ready, they took a drive.

In the early brightness we made a long drive out to the Fort [built by Akbar, the Mogul emperor in the 16th C.]. Part of the way was beautiful. It led under stately trees and through groups of native houses and by the usual village well, where the picturesque gangs are always flocking to and fro and laughing and chattering….

February 3, 1896 Monday

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February 3 Monday – The Clemens party arrived in Allahabad:

We arrived in the forenoon, and short-handed; for Satan [their servant] got left behind somewhere that morning, and did not overtake us until after nightfall. It seemed very peaceful without him. The world seemed asleep and dreaming.

February 1, 1896 Saturday

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February 1 Saturday – Sam and Carlyle G. Smythe arrived back in Bombay at 7 a.m. That evening the entire Clemens party left Bombay for Allahabad by a night train. It would be a two-day, two-night trip. It was customary, Sam writes at the beginning of ch. XLVIII in FE, “to avoid day travel when it can be conveniently done.” There was no system to reserve sleeping berths so the beae door) & an American woman stole Clara’s [NB 3rers had to remain in possession of them until the ticket owners boarded.

January 31, 1896 Friday

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January 31 Friday – At Baroda Station, some 245 miles north of Bombay, Sam was treated to a “ride on a lurching elephant, without a mahout at the controls” [Parsons “MT India” 80]. Clara recalled this as in Colombo, but her later recollections of time and place were often faulty, and the Clemens party had less than 24 hours in Colombo with Sam mostly in bed. 

January 30, 1896 Thursday

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January 30 Thursday – Sam and Carlyle G. Smythe returned to Bombay at 11 a.m. Sam spent “Two interesting hours with this prince” Kumar Shri Samatsinghji of Politana State, “& his young daughter — along with Merewether. The others saw the Rani his Wife” [NB 36 TS 29].

Sam and Smythe left at 10 p.m. for Baroda, some 245 miles north. Sam wrote of leaving: