October 26 Friday – At 21 Fifth Ave, N.Y. Sam wrote to Thomas Bailey Aldrich.
It is with mighty pleasure that I record the fact that you will spend Nov. 9 & 10 (& as many days thereafter as you can spare), under this roof. We will gather some more stags together & eat, drink & get drunk, understanding that on some happy to-morrow we die & are likely to be damned. I am very very glad you are coming, old man [MTP].
Isabel Lyon’s journal:
Mr. T.P. O’Connor, Mr. Leigh Hunt, Mr. Rogers & Mr. Gilder dined with the King tonight. He is going to have a series of Buck dinners.
C.C., R.G. [Rodman Gilder], Mrs. Crane & I dined at the Brevoort & then arrived late at the Astor Theatre where we went to see “Cymbeline”. It is as the King says, Viola Allen she is utterly charming, beautiful, graceful, moving & satisfying & as the dear King says, Jefferson Winter is a delight too, because he couldn’t be worse.
Jean likes Katonah. She says by telephone she’s going to play tennis & she has been fishing with the Doctor [MTP TS 140]. Note: it was at this dinner that Hunt invited Clemens to spend the winter in Egypt.
Edwin J. Loeb wrote from Los Angeles, Calif. to Sam.
If this note ever reaches you, pray have mercy on my soul. If it doesn’t, may God forgive me, since you won’t.
Within a few weeks I expect to start out on a trip around the world, with the hope of getting there as my only asset. I am anxious to see if this little joke, this poor little joke, can reach its destination with the same resources to back it up.
Hoping the postal authorities can take a joke as well as knowing how far to carry one, I remain / Sadly yours [MTP]. Note: the “joke” was, he only addressed the note to “Mark Twain” without any country, state, city or street.
J.W. George, manager of American Telephone and Telgraph Co., NYC wrote to Sam.
On October 20th we were requested by Mrs. H.R. Mayo Thorne of Baltimore to reach you by telephone at the Lotos Club. The connection was however established in error with the wrong telephone and the party reached in New York misrepresented himself.
You will doubtless recall having received a letter from Mrs. Thorne covering the alleged conversation, which never occured as far as you are concerned, and we beg to take this means of explaining a matter which I trust has caused you no annoyance [MTP].
Elisabeth Marbury wrote to Sam enclosing a copy of the contract between him and Frederic Chapin, the musical composer, for the performance of P&P. Marbury expressed optimism that the performance would do “a large business.” Would Sam sign and return the contract? [MTP].
Note: Lyon wrote on letter: “Mr. Clemens thinks the contract which Miss Marbury has made is excellent.”