January 11 Monday – In Hartford Sam wrote to John T. Raymond after hosting him and Kate Field for lunch (for a description of the lunch by Annie Moffett, See MTL 6: 347n4)

“I am aware that you are going to be welcomed to our town by great audiences, on both nights of your stay here, & I beg to add my hearty welcome also, through this note. I cannot come to the theater on either evening, Raymond, because there is something so touching about your acting that I can’t stand it” [MTL 6: 345].

Notes: In fact, Sam was not satisfied with Raymond’s portrayal of Sellers, and probably could not stand to watch it again [MTL 6: 347n2]. Still, Sam was wise enough not to tinker with success. In the evening Annie Moffett attended the Gilded Age play in Hartford. The famous picture of Sam shaking hands with Raymond in his Sellers outfit was taken this day [McBride 33].