December 3 Wednesday – George W. Cable wrote en route between Albany and Ithaca to his wife, Lucy:

We had 1400 hearers at Troy. Mark was half sick with a cold—hoarse and weak-voiced, and compared with Balt/o & Wash/n the evening’s success was feeble; but the audience thought it was great. Mary’s Night Ride had to go without an encore at last. But it wasn’t my fault and it was the hit of the evening. The Ghost Story (Mark’s) fell almost flat by reason of persons (2 or 3) rising in the audience just at the critical moment. It was outrageous & I don’t wonder M.T. came off the platform angry. . . . We were given a nice little supper & got to bed at the neat hour of two o’clock, with Mark at peace under the influence of our solemn pledge to each other henceforth to stop our reading and poke unmerciful fun at any one who dares to rise in the audience while we are speaking. It is our only defense against this double imposition on the audience and us [Turner, MT & GWC 64-5].

Sam and Cable gave a reading in Wilgus Opera House, Ithaca, New York. The pair visited Henry Sage, once a partner of the late Jervis Langdon [Turner, MT & GWC 65]. Note: father of Dean Sage.

Sam wrote from Albany, New York to Livy, about meeting President-elect Grover Cleveland, their tour of the New York State Capitol, and the “enormous audience” at Troy.

“I met young Smith of Elmira, & got all the news about the Arnots—very sad news it is” [MTP].

J.H. Usay for Durham Co., Chicago wrote to relate having his copy of RI rebound; the title page was missing and the book was bound and lettered “Mormon History” [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env., “Pleasant note”