April 3 Saturday – Sam and Joe Twichell traveled to New York City and on to West Point.
April 4 Sunday – Sam and Twichell went to New York City and “spent part of that afternoon…in the barber shop” at the Murray Hill Hotel [Sam to Howells Apr. 12], without knowing Howells would arrive at the hotel the next day, Apr. 5 [MTHL 2: 553n1].
Sam and Twichell probably returned to Hartford in the afternoon or evening.
April 5 Monday – The Howellses arrived in New York and checked into the Murray Hill Hotel [NY Times, Apr. 6, 1886 p.2 “Personal Intelligence”; MTHL 2: 553n1].
April 6 Tuesday – In Hartford Sam wrote one line to Charles Webster asking if he’d seen “that furniture man” for Livy about a sofa [MTP]. The sofa was purchased from Mr. Burghardt, at 389 Bowery in New York [MTNJ 3: 227n2]. Note: No matter of business or personal task was too small to delegate to Webster.
April 7 Wednesday – On this day or the next, Sam telegrammed Howells at the Murray Hill Hotel in New York. Howells had been at the hotel since Apr. 5 [MTHL 2: 553n1]. Sam’s telegram is not extant. See Apr. 11 Howells to Sam.
April 8 Thursday –Thomas A. Davis telegraphed Sam, “Our claim sent by letter to you and answer favorably,” or, thank you Mr. Clemens [MTP]. See Apr. 6 entry.
April 9 Friday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Henry (Harry) Edwards:
April 10 Saturday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Lou W. Benjamin, sister to William Wright (Dan De Quille). He was responding to a letter not extant.
Come — & if you are as good as Dan, you can sit by our fire as long as you want to. However, I suppose they don’t put two like Dan in one family. To do that, would be to cheapen miracle [MTP].
April 11 Sunday – At the Murray Hill Hotel in New York, William Dean Howells wrote to Sam.
I got the last of your telegrams and the only one last night. We all want to stop over with you on our way home, but we don’t know when the people are going out of our house, or when we shall get in. Will you let me write you again about the visit, reserving the right to say no to me if it isn’t convenient for you when we propose coming?
April 12 Monday – In Hartford Sam responded to Howells’ Apr. 11 letter:
Good — it’s all right. We were afraid you had escaped to Boston….Well, I shall be down Friday evening, & will look in on you Saturday morning, & we will arrange to visit there [MTHL 2: 553].
April 13 Tuesday – Howells, still in New York, wrote a short note to Sam, responding to his Apr. 12 letter about coming down to see him on Saturday.
We leave this hotel today, for a visit in N. Jersey, but I’ll run in to see you Friday [MTHL 2: 554]
Howells’ Jersey visit was to Elinor Howells’ younger sister, Mrs. Augustus D. Shepard [n2].
April 14 Wednesday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Charles Webster, asking him to “stir up” the American Publishing Co., which had not sent Sam his April statement [MTP].
Prudence Crandall Philleo (1803-1890) in Elk Falls, Kansas, wrote to Sam to thank him for his past kindness to her:
April 15 Thursday – Moncure D. Conway wrote to Sam:
We are going to have a good time receiving Howells at our “Authors’ Club” next Thursday [Apr 22]. Can’t you come? … I hope you’ll be able to come Thursday, or the day before, — and we should be delighted if Mrs. Clemens can come (I have a good billiard table by the way) [MTP].
April 16 Friday – Sam, Livy and “a couple of friends,” went to New York City for the weekend [MTHL 2: 554n3].
April 17 Saturday – In New York City, Sam and Howells met to arrange Howells’ visit to Hartford, which did not occur until May 1-2 weekend. In the evening the Clemens party took in The Mikado, the first American run of the D’Oyly Carte Mikado, at the Fifth Avenue Theatre [MTHL 2: 554n3 from an entry in Susy’s unfinished biography dated Apr.
April 18 Sunday – From Susy Clemens’ diary:
Mamma and papa Clara and Daisy have gone to New York to see the “Mikado.” They are coming home tonight at half past seven [Papa 212].
According to Susy’s Apr. 19 entry, a game of croquet was played in the evening, with Aunt Clara Spaulding and Susy besting Sam and Clara Clemens [Papa 215].
April 19 Monday – Pamela Moffett wrote to Sam from Quincy, Ill. on her way to New York. She was spending “a few days” in Quincy after having stayed with Orion and Mollie for two weeks. She asked Sam not to say anything about what Orion owed her, “in case of Ma’s death,” as she wanted to contribute her share toward taking care of Ma.
April 20 Tuesday – † In Hartford Sam wrote two notes to Charles Webster. In the first included several business matters plus a sentiment of encouragement that “the little fellow’s eye is going to be saved” (Webster’s son.) Sam had read Henry M.
April 21 Wednesday – In Hartford Sam answered Moncure D. Conway’s letter of Apr. 15. Conway had invited Sam to the Author’s Club in New York City for Apr. 22; Sam hoped to be there but Livy couldn’t leave home so he was non-committal:
April 22 Thursday – Sam went to New York and likely met with Charles Webster and Henry M. Alexander as mentioned in his first letter to Webster on Apr. 20. Sam and Howells split their evening between Hopkinson Smith’s gathering at 7 P.M.
April 23 Friday – Note: It is not clear when Sam returned to Hartford. Howells would come up from N.Y. on May 1, perhaps Sam with him. Yet no letters home from N.Y for this period are extant. At the earliest Sam returned this day; at the latest May 1.
April 28 Wednesday – Sam signed another “Articles of Copartnership,” (“No. 4”) making Frederick J. Hall a co-partner (junior partner) in Webster & Co. [MTLTP 171; MTNJ 3: 224].
April 29 Thursday – Henrietta C. Cosgrove (Mrs. Aruna Phelps Cosgrove), Joplin, Mo. writer, philanthropist, political worker (1849 – ) responded to Sam’s letter about her interview with his mother.
May 1 Saturday – William Dean Howells arrived at the Clemens home with daughter Mildred (Pilla) to stay the weekend [MTNJ 3: 230n8]. Note: the Hartford Courant May 3, p.2 under “City Briefs” reported: “Mr. W.D. Howells spent Sunday in Hartford with Mr. S.L. Clemens.”
May 2 Sunday – Alfred P. Burbank was at the Clemens home to discuss production of Colonel Sellers as Scientist with Sam and Howells [MTHL 2: 564n1]. Susy recorded that at supper “papa and Mr. Howells began to talk about the Jews” [Salsbury 223]. Howells and daughter completed their visit with the Clemens family, and may have left in the evening or the next morning.