July 17 Tuesday – Isabel Lyon’s journal (Dublin, N.H.):

Jean, 3:30

Poor Jean was very ill today; but the balance was struck—though not for poor Jean—for Mr. Paine came back & spent the morning with me, & he was rich with news of Mr. Clemens & C.C. To give Jean a chance to slip quietly into the house at 11:30, Mr. Paine & I walked over to the Raynor cottage—& talk? How we did talk! & the best of it is that he still has a thousand things to say. Little by little he let out the fact that probably Mr. Clemens will not be back here for a long, long time. Oh, he told me things he didn’t know he was telling me. All about the Harper controversy & McClure’s shiftiness. McClure who could write such a wonderful letter! In between these facts he told me another story too. The wonderful McClure letter was the one he wrote in appreciation of Mr. Clemens’s auto. [MTP TS 97-98].

Clemens’ A.D. this day included: Sam’s publishers discussed, Charles Henry Webb, Charles L. Webster, Elisha Bliss, Harpers—Duneka afraid of Christian Scientists [MTP: Autodict2].

A.L. Steers for Aeolian Co. wrote to IVL c/o Sam.

“Your favor of the 14 inst., enclosing a list of twenty Orchestrelle numbers, is at hand. th

“In accordance with your instructions, we are entering Mr. Clemens for a six month’s subscription to our Circulating Library and will send him bill for same.” They requested that 48 selections be made, not 24 [MTP]. Note: this letter went astray as it was mailed to Dublin, Vt. Instead of Dublin, N.H. A follow up was sent to the correct address with a copy on July 24.