December 4 Friday – Estes & Lauriat of Boston receipted Sam for two copies of Summer Sketches, unidentified book, one of which was sent to Joe Twichell. The bill was dated Dec. 2 [Gribben 678]. Howells inscribed a copy of his novel, A Foregone Conclusion, to Livy with this date [Gribben 329].

In Cambridge, Mass., William Dean Howells wrote a short note to Sam about the title of “Old Times on the Mississippi,” which Sam didn’t much care for [MTHL 1: 48].