September 25 Friday – Sam was in NYC to see daughter Jean off for Berlin, where she would be treated by a German physician, Professor Hofrath von Reuvers, recommended by Dr. Frederick Peterson, Jean’s primary physician. William Dean Howells and Sam spent some time together [MTHL 837n1]. Note: Clemens likely spent the night in a hotel and saw Jean off early the next morning.

Shelden writes that it was Lyon’s maneuvers which sent Jean abroad:

Though Lyon was successful at preventing Jean from coming home for the summer, she knew that the short of Eastern Point would lose its appeal as soon as the weather turned cold. By September, she would need to find another place to send Jean or risk having her at Redding. A solution came to her when she heard of a medical professor in Berlin—Hofrath von Reuvers— who was supposedly achieving great results in his work with epilepsy patients. Actually, Dr. Von Reuvers’s treatments were no better than Dr. Peterson’s, but Lyon probably exaggerated their effectiveness in order to create a good excuse for sending Jean abroad. She knew that a long stay in Germany wasn’t something Jean would object to. After all, Jean was fluent in the language, and she had enjoyed living in Berlin with the rest of her family when she was eleven. If Lyon wanted an effective way to keep father and daughter apart for another year, sending her to Germany made sense [256-7].

Note: various biographers have ascribed various motives to Lyon; here Shelden takes the darker view, while Hill claims Dr. Peterson recommended six or eight months for Jean in Berlin. It is undeniable at least, that Jean’s seizures frightened the delicate, melodramatic Lyon. Shelden further argues that Lyon worked for months to gain Dr. Peterson’s approval of sending Jean to Berlin. Isabel Lyon continues to be an enigmatic figure in Twain’s life. Lystra adds another important detail to the von Reuver story—that he had become known to Lyon through the Stanchfields, “who were enthusiastic about his treatment of their daughter” [142]. Lystra further writes:

Peterson had in fact written to another doctor, whom he considered the best in Germany, and was waiting for a reply to his query. Lyon, however, preferred to make her own arrangements for Jean, although, despite Peterson’s impression that all had been settled by mid-August, she did not request Dr. von Reuvers’s services until September 4. And he did not mail his confirmation until September 16, only ten days before Jean’s scheduled departure [142-3].

Isabel Lyon’s journal:  “The King, Dorothy and I to N.Y. to see Jean off. Benares doing all the wonderful little things. We went to see Blanche Bates in ‘The Fighting Chance’” [MTP: IVL TS 66]. Note: see insert ad.

I. Samuelson & Co., Importers of Cigars,  wrote from Memphis, Tenn. to Sam. “Your letter of Sept. 19th was referred to us as the reliable tobacconist and cigarist of Memphis. We are pleased to state that we believe we can fill the bill to your entire satisfaction. / We are sending you under separate cover twist of the real genuine article, Tennessee home grown leaf tobacco” [MTP].