July 18 Wednesday – Sam wrote from a Hartford horse-car to Livy (apologizing for the shaky writing) finishing the last letter of the previous day. He had gained the approval of Mrs. Perkins about disposition of the servants and sent one servant, Mary, to her friends till the family returned from Elmira, and left George Griffin in the house. Lizzy had lied about her man friend spending the night. Sam wrote he’d “been detective Simon Wheeler for 24 hours, now.” Sam ran a ruse to interview Lizzy’s man friend back at the house, “a tall, muscular, handsome fellow of 35” introduced by Lizzy as Willie Taylor. After some half-hour of sleuth-filled conversation, Taylor reluctantly agreed to marry Lizzy. Sam immediately rang a bell, whereupon Mary and George appeared with Pastor Twichell. Sam presented a marriage license he’d procured earlier in the day in a walk to town and Twichell promptly married the couple! Champagne was served in spite of tears from the bride, and Sam drank to their health, gave them each $100, and retired to Twichell’s house for dinner. Sam later wrote the details of the false burglary and the shotgun wedding into a story he called “Wapping Alice” [Willis 110].

Sam read his detective farce play to Joe and Harmony Twichell. He spent the night in the Farmington Avenue house [MTLE 2: 103-5].

Sam sent a dollar, a printed copy of the title-page of the Simon Wheeler play and a note applying for a copyright to Ainsworth R. Spofford, Library of Congress [MTLE 2: 132]. Afterward, he left Hartford for New York.