May 29 Monday – At the Villa Viviani in Florence, Sam wrote to William Walter Phelps, congratulating him and his daughter, Marian Phelps (four years older than Susy Clemens), on her recent wedding to Dr. Franz von Rottenberg. Marian was a close friend of Clara Clemens in Berlin. He had ordered a copy of P&P for Phelps from America because he judged “the London edition is not comely & not well bound.” Sam concluded his recent trip was not productive:

My trip was merely wasted time. I was sick abed with grip almost the whole time, got no chance to do what I went to do, & had to hurry out of the country to keep from getting nailed to my bed permanently. I’m afraid to go again [MTP].