July 30 Friday – In Weggis, Switzerland Sam wrote to Andrew Chatto, whose letter of July 28 cleared up some confusion on proofs and revisions of FE, and Sam’s purpose for wanting copies. Sam wrote, “I would rather suffer any death than read a first-proof.” Chatto has misunderstood that proofs were wanted in a hurry for a lecture, but Sam was only building such a talk for “some future year.” He complimented the Alfred Ellis photographs and wanted “one of the best ones” sent to Frank Bliss. The bicycles for the girls had arrived and he wished to thank Percy Spalding for shipping them. He also thanked Chatto for paying for some wine glasses and put an enclosure in the letter that Livy asked that the new wine glasses be sent to their last apartment at 23 Tedworth Square. Evidently the glasses had been taken by mistake or were broken during their residence [MTP].

Note: Alfred Ellis was a London photographer. The photo insert appeared in the Nov. 1897 issue of McClure’s Magazine.

On the Lake Lucerne boat “a couple of days ago,” (actually on July 29) Livy had met old friend George Williamson Smith, President of Trinity College in Hartford. (Locher misidentifies Smith as “probably the chief of Smith Publishers, London” [23] ) Smith arrived at 11:05 [NB 42 TS 23] and lunched with the Clemens family on this afternoon and stayed three hours. He wrote the day after of this day’s activities:

Yesterday [July 30] Clara & Jean climbed to the Rigi-culm with Susy Crane’s butler [Ernst Köppe]. They walked up in 3 hours, & down in half the time, & brought plenty of skinned feet & blisters. Susy Crane & Julie Langdon went up the ladder railway & the gang dined at the summit. Clara & Jean got down in time to go with Livy & me in the row-boat to Viznau, & there we picked up Susy [Crane] & Julie [Langdon] & rowed them home [July 31 to Twichell]. Note: (Locher misdates the climb as July 31)

Katharine I. Harrison wrote to inform Clemens that Frank Bliss had paid the $10,000, as per his agreement, this a.m. when Harrison gave him the balance of Sam’s MS for FE [MTHHR 295].