July 22 Monday – On the S.S. Minnetonka en route to New York City, Sam wrote an aphorism for Robert M. Curtis: “Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economise it. / Truly Yours / Mark Twain / July 22/07.” [MTP].
The Minnetonka reached New York in the afternoon. The New York Times reported his arrival:
MARK TWAIN HOME IN GOOD HUMOR
Had Dinner with the King and Is Sure That the King Enjoyed It.
——— ——— ———
HE’S DR. CLEMENS, PLEASE
Though the Dignity of His Oxford Title Doesn’t Seem toWeigh Heavily—72, but Doesn’t Feel Guilty.
Mark Twain came home yesterday after his six weeks stay in England. The dignity of his Oxford degree of Doctor of Literature, for which he went to the English seat of learning, does not appear to weigh heavily on him, although, with a merry twinkle in his eye, he said he wished that his American friends would understand that from now on he is Dr. Clemens, with the accent very strongly on the “Doctor.”
“Just how my old friends are going to get away from calling me ‘Mark’ is something they will have to work out for themselves,” he said, “and when they see me in my new cap and gown they will be bound to fall.”
Mark Twain was, as usual, the centre of an admiring group of women when the reporters greeted him aboard the Atlantic Transport Company steamship Minnetonka at Quarantine upon her arrival yesterday afternoon. He came over in Cabin 23, but said it had no significance, and was a poor joke.
“How do you like America?” the reporters all asked at once.
“I was afraid I would be asked that question,” began Dr. Clemens, but before he got any further another was fired at him.
“Have you seen the Statue of Liberty?”
“I decline to commit myself, young man; you cannot trap me into any damaging admissions.”
Getting down to his stay in England, he was asked about his dinner with King Edward.
“Did you enjoy the dinner very much?”
“The King did.”
“What did you think of the King? When Tim Sullivan returned a short time ago he said ‘Ed’s all right; I like him. He is the goods.’”
“I am not competing with Mr. Sullivan.”
Dr. Clemens was asked about the handsome Ascot gold cup which had disappeared shortly after his arrival in England, and which the English reporters had humorously connected with his arrival.
“Oh, yes; I have the cup on board, and I hope some of you reporters are slick enough to help me smuggle is through the Custom House. It would be too bad to give it up after getting so close to home with it.
“But I didn’t get the Dublin jewels. With the character they gave me over on the other side I should certainly not have left the case. I would have taken both,” he said.
Dr. Clemens said that it was all a mistake that the English could not understand a joke.
“I had not the slightest trouble in getting mine through their heads,” he said.
“What was the best joke you told them?”
“That will cost you 30 cents a word, and I am having no bargain days now.”
“Did they laugh?”
“Why, surely; but if you want to hear it you must be prepared to pay heavily for it. At this time f life one must get all one can for one’s wits.
“ I have been interviewed a great deal while away, but many of the interviews, when they ppeared in print, were grossly exaggerated.”
Asked about his appearance in the lobby of Brown’s Hotel, in London, in his pajamas and athrobe prior to walking across the street to the Bath Club, he said:
“When a man reaches my age he has certain privileges that younger men cannot have. I did hat, and there was absolutely nothing improper in it.”
“Are the Englishwomen as attractive as those in America?” was another question.
“That is too leading, and I refuse to commit myself,” was the diplomatic reply.
Dr. Clemens said that he had enjoyed his trip abroad immensely, and that the people had treated im royally.
Shortly after the Minnetonka left the other side the ship was in collision with a bark. Several of he plates of the big ship were dented and bowsprit knocked off the sailing vessel. Dr. Clemens aid that he was not awake at the time, but that he was soon aroused, grabbed his bath robe, and ushed to the deck to see what the trouble was. Some of the passengers say that he thought he ad grabbed his bath robe, but that in reality he had put on his Oxford gown in the darkness.
Mark Twain spoke at the concert last Saturday night. He chose to talk about the improvement f the condition of the adult blind, and repeated the story told in “A Tramp Abroad” of his aving been caught with a companion in Berlin in the dark for an hour or more and of his great orror at not being able to see for even so short a time. He said that he would devote much of he rest of his life to the subject of aiding the blind, and the passengers promised their aid in nything he undertakes.
Coming over he was always the centre of a group of passengers listening to his stories with reat interest. He made a particular pet of little Dorothy Quick, daughter of Mrs. E. G. Quick of rooklyn, and during the time he was on deck would not let her out of his sight. When he anded he was dressed in white flannels and wore a black derby hat.
As the reporters were leaving one of them asked Dr. Clemens if he objected to telling his age.
“Not in the least. I shall be 72 in November. I do not mind it. Every year that I gain furnishes a ew privilege, and all I want to dodge is second childhood.
“At 2 o’clock in the morning I feel as old as any man. At that time you must know that life in very person is at its lowest. At that hour I feel as sinful, too, as possible. But the rest of the ime I feel as though I were not over 25 years old. You know one gets back both youth and ourage by 6 o’clock in the morning.”
Dr. Clemens spent the night at his Fifth Avenue home, and will go to Tuxedo this morning to pend the Summer. He has leased a cottage there.
H.H. Rogers suffered a stroke. The papers would report a simple indisposition, blaming the eat. See MTHHR 631n2. Also IVL TS 107 for Sept. 17, which claims “We have known othing whatever about it.” For some reason the Rogers clan kept the news from Clemens.
Isabel Lyon’s journal: This morning I went to town, running no chances of having the innetonka be a slow boat and she wasn’t. She arrived at four today. It was exciting to have elephone messages from Mr. Duneka and Ashcroft’s office waiting for me.
The King has arrived! And already has given me a mass of wonderful talk about his doings and is adventures. The three bad adventures were the Marie Corelli, Mrs. Chapin, and MacAlister
The Minnetonka got in six hours ahead of what was expected of her, for she is the commodore hip and makes good time when the weather is good, so AB was about 4 hours too late. I went own to the pier early and stood with Mr. Duneka and Mr. Munro on the end of the pier when he “great brute of a ship” as Duneka said, came creeping, creeping in. The King stood along at he end of the long line of passengers on the lower deck, with a little girl snuggling up against
him and then he came down to waiting us, Clara put him in a cab & I took him home to 21—in he carriage I had waiting for him [MTP TS 85-86].
Dorothy Butes wrote from The Webster Hotel, NYC to thank Sam for the “beautiful post- ards.” She was in NY to sail in the Celtic on Thursday a.m. “If you are in New York, I should ove to come and see you, either to-morrow ro Wednesday—May I?” [MTP].
A.G. Cardew wrote from India to discuss Sam’s CS book [MTP].
Robert Grau wrote from NYC to Sam recounting how he’d paid Adelma Patti a quarter million dollars for her American farewell tour, and how he needed an “extraordinary attraction” or the upcoming season. Would Sam be interested in $100,000 or more? [MTP].
Howells & Stokes wrote from NYC to notify Sam that an extension of the Redding house contractor had been granted, since the site had twice been relocated [MTP].
Charles J. Langdon per Jervis Langdon II wrote from Elmira to advise Sam of payment on Buffalo City taxes for the Genesee Street property, Sam’s share being $270.03 [MTP].
Julia Langdon Loomis wrote from Short Hills, N.J. to express joy that Sam was home with all his “honors and glories” [MTP].
Douglas Malloch for the Press Club of Chicago, wrote to ask Sam if he’d tell a “five minutestory” at their Dec. 13 Story Teller’s Night [MTP].
July 22, after – After his return to New York, Isabel Lyon wrote for Sam on the July 17 from Evert Jansen Wendell:
Mr. Rogers sick man & is using yacht.
no occasion for him to turn it over to me. & I don’t want him to do it. As vice P. I. must go down there in considerable style—or not at all. Therefore I cannot go down there on an ordinary steamer. In the circumstances I want to ask him to relieve me from going.
That could be considered after Mr. Vanderbilt has invited Mr. Clemens. Mr. Clemens cannot ask any one to provide transportation for him & cannot be a party to it [MTP]. Note: see July 17 from Wendell; this relates to the September festivities in Jamestown, Va.