November 6 Sunday – In Hartford, Sam wrote a rather long, laborious, but increasingly humorous apology to Frances F. Cleveland (Mrs. Grover Cleveland). He’d accepted an invitation the night before to a Bridgeport, Conn. function. He then realized (or was told by Livy) that they were giving a dinner party on that date [MTP].

Sam also wrote to Richard Watson Gilder:

“Exhibit A” says “Gretchen is a German servant & consequently her German ought to be correct.” Well, all right, let it be made correct. And make any other corrections & alterations that suggest themselves. One thing seems to be overlooked, ain’t it. That we can’t consistently allow anybody in the piece to talk anything really much resembling German except Gretchen… [MTP; Parke-Bernet Galleries catalogs, 28 April 1958 Item 76]. Note: refers to Sam’s play, Meisterschaft (See Nov. 16 ca.)

Sam’s article “A Petition to the Queen of England” with this date ran in the Dec. issue of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine [Budd, “Collected” 922; MTB 852-4]. The playful piece protested to Queen Victoria an income tax billed in error on his English royalties. Sam’s notebook entry on this piece mentioned Princess Louise (1848-1939, but the final draft did not [MTNJ 3: 329]. (See May 23, 1883 entry; also MTB 3: 852.)

Brander Matthews wrote Sam from N.Y. on mourning-border stationery that he’d done a paper on “The American Authors and British Pirates in the Sept. New Princeton Revew; and the Englishmen don’t like it. Therefore Prof. Sloane wants me to do it again.” Could Sam help with facts or suggestions? [MTP].