August 24 Monday – Sam and Livy left the children with the Cranes at Quarry Farm and took a trip to Albany, where they stayed at the home of Dean Sage [MTNJ 3: 179n5; The Twainian, Sept-Oct. 1956, p4].
Livy’s diary entry:
August 23 Sunday – Orion Clemens wrote to warn Sam about an unworthy woman being given the book agency in that county [MTP].
August 22 Saturday – Karl Gerhardt wrote “another chapter in the Nathan Hale farce” [MTP]. Note: Gerhardt was bidding on doing a statue of Nathan Hale, now at the Conn. capitol in Hartford.
William N. Woodruff wrote [MTP]. Only the env. survives; Note: Sam wrote on the env., “Containing Judge [George] Turner’s suicide”
August 21 Friday – J.E. Larkin photographer, Elmira, billed Sam $8 for “1 ½ doz Cab[inet] cards 3 negatives”, paid Aug. 24 [MTP].
Chatto & Windus wrote with royalties of £979.11 in 3 drafts [MTP].
Daniel Whitford for Alexander & Green wrote more about recent legal matters [MTP].
August 20 Thursday – The New York Times printed on page 5 “GENERAL GRANT’S BOOK / A LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHERS,” Dated Aug. 18, with a note from the late General dated July 4. The letter addressed rumors of the Grant contract, that Mrs.
August 19 Wednesday – Livy’s mother, Olivia Lewis Langdon, celebrated her 75th birthday. The Clemens family all went to town for the celebration [Salsbury 209]. Susy and Clara Clemens performed the second part of The Merry Wives of Windsor as part of the birthday fun [Gribben 629]. From Livy’s diary:
August 18 Tuesday – Sam was granted his third and last patent, number 324,535, for a “Game Apparatus,” the board version of the history game [The Twainian, Nov-Dec 1957 p3; Aug. 27, 1965 letter from GSA on file at MTP]. See filing date and card info made by Patent Engraving Co., New York Oct. 9, 1884 entry.
August 17 Monday – Henrietta B. Babcock wrote from Cleveland to ask Sam’s help with producing her play [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env., “Answer — Don’t [know] anything aboutg dramatic literature”
J.E. Buerk wrote from Boston to sell a German translation of TS to Sam made by his late brother [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env., “No—don’t want it”
August 16 Sunday – Hjalmar Boyesen wrote to ask if Sam thought an illustrated history of Norway would pay as a subscription book [MTP].
August 15 Saturday – Sam wrote from Elmira to Robert Underwood Johnson, of the Century Magazine. He began a draft of this letter in his notebook [MTNJ 3: 172]. Webster & Co. intended to use what was purported to be the last photograph of Grant for the deluxe edition of the Memoirs, but Webster wrote Sam on Aug.