May 7 Saturday – Sam wrote from Elmira to Elisha Bliss acknowledging his check and letter of May 2. He also wrote about having an oyster dinner in Hartford with a speech once Innocents Abroad hit the 100,000-sale mark. He also mentioned his dispatch of the previous day, his:

“…eminent satisfaction at the way the book is selling….Mr. Langdon has been dangerously ill for some days, & it is plain that he cannot travel a mile this year. So we shall not move out of a sudden call.”

 Sam explained that the condition of his father-in-law precluded a trip to England, but still expected to go to the Adirondacks with the Twichells [MTL 4: 126-7].

 The last segment of “A Curious Dream” was printed in the Buffalo Express [Wilson 35]. Another short Express article, “Murder and Insanity,” is attributed to Sam [McCullough 194].