March 20 Saturday – In Hartford Sam wrote to his old childhood friend, Will Bowen, who returned the $20 check Sam sent on or about Feb. 6 for Sam Bowen. Will felt his brother would never repay the loan. Sam insisted that it was for Sam Bowen to say whether or not he needed the check and to accept or return it. So Sam asked Will simply to give it to his brother and explain. Sam Bowen ultimately cashed the check, then claimed later to have repaid it and asked for another loan. Clemens noted on the envelope: “Keep this precious letter from a precious liar.” Sam was still talking about a river trip, though having put it off for the present. He asked Will to verify a few steamboat speed records he gave, wanting this information for his Atlantic series of pilot articles [MTL 6: 422-3].

Charles Casey for The Mark Twain Club, Carlow, Ireland wrote to inquire of Sam the meaning of this from IA: “The women of Syria are so sinfully ugly that they cannot smile after 10 o’c on Saturday night without breaking the Sabbath” [MTP].