January 31 Wednesday – At 30 Wellington Court in London, England Sam wrote to T. Douglas Murray, enclosing the introduction he wrote for the Official Trial Record of Joan of Arc.

I enclose the Introduction, corrected & reduced. I have retained several of the emendations made, & have added some others.

In Sweden, before seeing the Trials & Rehabilitation as a complete & connected whole in their nakedness, I felt very complimentary toward them, & was sure they could need no robes nor ruffles nor jewelry to increase their attractions & fascinations. But it was a mistake. … They cannot stand alone. Alone, they mean but little to a reader unfamiliar with the story; their points would be lost upon him; the drama would pass in a vague dim twilight before him; he would come out at the end—if he reached there—puzzled, still inadequately instructed, & possibly fatigued. …

I went to your house yesterday to see what had become of you & your family, but by ill luck I was a little too late—you had flitted in for a moment & flown again. I was very sorry I missed the glimpse I came so near having of you. But I could have brought you no cheer, for I have none myself. I think I have never had so many depressing days, nor lived so long in such an unlifting atmosphere of anxiety & mourning. Then what must it be for those whose hearts are under the Knife! It is only by our misery of three years ago that we can know.

With our deepest sympathies & warmest regards, (Mrs. Clemens joining me) … [MTP].

Sam also signed “Mark T.” on a card to an unidentified person, and added: “If that story said I found that stone otherwise than simply worthless, it did not speak the truth” [The Autograph 1.8 (Nov.-Dec. 1912): 188].

January late – Sue Crane wrote to the Clemenses, enclosing a pamphlet about osteopathy, as well as a package of hickory nuts. Sue’s letter is not extant but it and the enclosures are mentioned in Sam’s Feb. 8 response.

Sam and Livy dined at the home of Francis and Helen Skrine, friends they first met in Calcutta during the world tour. In attendance was Sir William Wilson Hunter. Sam mentioned the dinner as “a couple of weeks ago,” and Hunter’s Feb. 6 death in his Feb. 8 to Sue Crane. See Gribben, p.645 for Skrine’s book on Hunter.