January 5 Tuesday – Sam’s notebook on their second night in Ilsenburg:

The second evening the Fürst von Stolberg-Wernigerode & his son came over on an annual visit to his sister the old Fürstin. He is a very handsome man, & the proudest unroyal prince in Germany & the richest. He brought several carriage-loads of young princesses with him. Our party of 6 (which included the doctor & his wife) were the only people there below the rank of prince. Livy & I shook hands with the Fürst & passed on, & I missed seeing the awful thing that followed: the doctor’s wife put out her hand & the Fürst let on that he didn’t see it. Poor thing, instead of taking warning, she raised her hand higher, imagining he hadn’t seen it. He ignored it. It was tragic. She had a cry that night.

We came away at midnight, after a good supper & a pleasant & sociable time. I made the usual number of blunders in matters of etiquette [NB 31 TS 20-1].

Helen L. Conn wrote from Brooklyn to Sam asking for an autograph [MTP].