April 10 Wednesday – Sam wrote from Elmira to David Gray, his old friend and editor from Buffalo. Sam thanked Gray for the visit to his house. The Clemens family would sail at 2 PM the next day.

Sam also wrote a goodbye note to Joe Twichell. Joe had agreed to let Sam pay his way to Germany after the family had been there some time, and Sam promised to write from Germany and advise him when to come [MTLE 3: 45].

In responding to a query by Harper & Brothers sent Jan. 29, 1905, Sam gives this date as the one he read proofs of his sketch, “About Magnanimous-Incident Literature,” which ran in the May 1878 issue of the Atlantic Monthly. His recollection 27 years after the fact may have been off a day, since the Clemens party stayed that night at the Gilsey House in New York and sailed for Germany the next day, April 11. Still, Sam may have gone on board the night prior to sailing in order to be alone while reading the proofs [MTP]. Note: See Budd, Collected I for the sketch.

The Clemens family and entourage left Elmira. They arrived in New York late in the evening, in order to sail the next day, and stayed the night at the Gilsey House [MTLE 3: 41; Powers, MT A Life 415-6]. Charles Langdon left for New York a few hours later [Susan Crane to Paine, June 14, 1911, The Twainian, Nov.-Dec.1956 p4].