July 15 Saturday – In Sanna, Sweden Sam replied to Daniel Willard Fiske (incoming letter not extant).

Then inside of 3 weeks we shall see you! Good! God could not arrange it better. Except in one way; to reduce the 3 weeks to 3 days. That would increase my reverence & compel my praise.

Think—for Twichell was actually in London (at 2 a.m.) 35 hours before we left there for Sweden. We got his note when we were under way; & so had no glimpse of him. Laurence Hutton arrived the same day, & we had no glimpse of him.

….

We have no very recent news of Charley Warner, but the last we had was to the effect that he was well recovered from his formidable attack. It was from Howells [letter not extant], & we hope it is true—indeed we have not doubted it. If he needs a perfecting finish, he should come here & let Kellgren furnish it to him. The Clemens family will devote itself to this movement-cure till the end of September, then resume it in London a spell, then go home after mid-winter. I’m doing the cure, too. There is nothing the matter with me; but as there is no dieting & no medicine, my heart is warmed to it. Dieting & medicating are things which I will have nothing to do with, even to preserve my health. I’m taking the cure to pass the time; that is, I was. But now I take it because it freshens me up & makes me feel fine & gay all day. I have never taken any exercise, & I never shall; but I find that exercise is good, provided someone else takes it for me [MTP].

Sam also sent a note to Irene M. Van Lanningham, adding his approval to a June 14 conditional approval from Walter Bliss, secretary of American Publishing Co. The lady had asked for permission to use a selection from TS in a publication [MTP].