February 4 Saturday – Phillipine guerillas under Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964) fired on American troops at Manila. This began a rebellion against US rule of the Phillipines that lasted until Aguinaldo was captured on Mar. 23, 1901 by General Frederick Funston. Sam would write a lot about the actions in the Phillipines.

Sam wrote to Joe Twichell Annie Trumbull’s a duck—she does certainly turn out the cunningest & sparklingest dialogue of anybody I know. The play cost me a day’s work for I lay abed till into the afternoon reading it; but no matter, it paid. Joe, You & Harmony are too good-natured; you could just as well have sent the baby by mail; it was not worth the trouble you took, from the way you describe it St. Peter will never be able to raise it anyway, with all the other things he has to do [MTP].

Sam added an anecdote about an actress having her jewels burned up in a hotel fire, but saying it was:“a wearisome old gratis advertisement…very time there’s a hotel fire, all the actresses for miles around gather up their paste jewelry & flock to the place”—then being told to shut up because the actress’s son was standing next to him. Sam also sent Joe a list of 15 questions to answer about CS. And wrote::

“The girls are out, & I am notified to adjourn to the drawing room & help Livy entertain company at 5 o’clock tea. This function costs her 2 hours of labor daily. It would soon break me down if I had to do it. Livy has rheumatism, now, & is in poor shape for this kind of work…” [MTP]