July 17 Tuesday – Sam wrote two letters from Hartford to Livy at Quarry Farm in Elmira. The burglar alarm had been tripped. Sam got to question everyone and play detective. Sam discovered that Lizzy the servant girl’s sweetheart had stayed overnight and left early in the morning, setting off the alarm. Sam thought it best to discharge Lizzy after a few weeks. In another development, a small gang of three “ruffians” had been yelling insults from the street on July 4, and the butler, George Griffin, took a couple of shots at them and ran them off. Sam wrote that he supposed he’d return to New York the next day, July 18[MTLE 2: 100-102]. Sam started another note to Livy that he finished the next day.

From Twichell’s journal:

“In the evening M.T. read us the remaining two acts of the Comedy a fitting way to quiet our nerves after the day’s excitement occasioned as follows: [Yale, copy at MTP]. Joe then describes the burglar episode where Sam cross-examined the servants.