March 28 Monday – Sam’s notebook covers this day and a midnight reading at a home for English Governesses:

Monday, March 28, ’98. A splendid spring day. Charley Langdon and Jervis have reached London, & will come here about mid-April. They will tell us about Katy Leary, who was cabled for, two or three weeks ago, left us, after nearly 18 years’ service in our family. Prof. Dr. Winternitz called & examined Livy & Clara, to see if the Kaltenleutgeben baths will suit the complexion of their ailments.

Must get Mrs. Krause to tell us the details of her marvelous ghost story again.

Midnight. At Miss Bailie’s Home for English Governesses. Two comedies & some songs & ballads. Was asked to speak, & did it. (And rung in the Mexican Plug.) “The Princess Hohenlohe wishes you to write on her fan.” “With pleasure—where is she?” “At your elbow.” I turned & took the fan & said “Your Highness’s place is in a fairy tale; & by & by I mean to write that tale.” Whereat she laughed a happy girlish laugh, & we moved through the crowd to get to a writing table—& to get to a stronger light, so that I could see her better. Beautiful little creature, with the dearest friendly ways, & sincerities, & simplicities, & sweetnesses—the ideal princess of the fairy tales. She is 16 or 17, I judge [NB 40 TS 18].

Note: Hohenlohe or Hohenloch is the name of a German princely family and their region; several ladies before and after held the title Princess Hohenlohe; this one has not been further identified. Dr. Wilhelm Winternitz (1835-1917) was the founder of the “Austrian cold water cure,” with a treatment facility which straddled a mountain brook. Not to be confused with Dr. Alfred Winternitz, who partnered with Ludwig Kleinberg on Szczepanik’s inventions. Katy Leary’s father, Fenton Leary, died on Mar. 29.

Joe Twichell wrote to Sam, telling of being introduced to “the great atheist” Robert G. Ingersoll in a smoking car while in Pennsylvania and: of having a lot of talk with him…in the course of which he said not a word that was out of order, though he knew that I was a minister. He was exceedingly entertaining and altogether amiable. I didn’t guard my speech in the slightest degree; in fact by things I said without thinking, I laid myself open to him several times, but however tempted he was he held his peace and was only charming [MTP]. Note: A section of the top front page is torn out.