October 14 Wednesday – Hartford: Sam replied to the Oct. 13 of Louise Chandler Moulton, writer and family friend who hoped that Bliss might publish a collection of her stories.

“Your dainty volume came last night & Mrs. Clemens read ‘Brains’ to me while I smoked—& I was glad she read instead of I, because I was so touched my voice would have done me treachery, & I find it necessary to be manly & ferocious in order to maintain a proper discipline in the family” [MTL 6: 256]. Note: Moulton’s book: Some Women’s Hearts (1874).