– The Clemens family left Rome at 10:50 AM, and returned to Florence, Italy at 6:50 PM, where they spent the night at the Hotel de New York [MTLE 3: 97; MTNJ 2: 248]. They were headed north to spend the winter in Munich, a 600 mile trip with 36 hours on slow trains, and four overnight hotel stops to make the journey more bearable for Livy [Rodney 115]. Sam’s notebook:
“… saw splendid torchlight processions crossing the 2 Arno bridges to see the King, at the Pitti palace.
Saw the [Edward M.] Smiths & Launt Thompson.” [MTNJ 2: 248n68].
Notes: Edward Meigs Smith was the U.S. consul at Mannheim, vacationing in Italy. The Clemenses had met the Smiths during their stay at Heidelberg. Launt Thompson was an American sculptor residing in Florence. He had called on the Clemenses there in October