June 24 Wednesday – Sam wrote to an unidentified person that the “Mark Twain” nom de plume was one used by Captain Isaiah Sellers, and that Sam used it after Sellers died [MTL 6: 166]. Note: The trouble with that explanation is that Sellers died a year later (1864) than Sam adopted the name, and that no record can be found where Sellers ever used the handle for his river news as Sam claimed.
June 23 Tuesday – Sam’s “A Postal Case” was published in the Boston Daily Advertiser [MTL 6: 163n4].
Anna E. Dickinson wrote to Sam
Dear Mr. Clemmens, [sic]—I hope you are so well & happy that to tax yourself in behalf of some one, who has no earthly claim on you, will seem no very serious matter.
June 21 Sunday – Sam wrote from Elmira to William Dean Howells. Sam sent compliments on Howells’ third novel, A Foregone Conclusion, which appeared in the July Atlantic Monthly.
“The new baby is a gaudy thing & the mother is already sitting up” [MTL 6: 165].
June 20 Saturday – Edmund Routledge wrote from London to Sam having just rec’d and read of Mark Twain’s Sketches. Number One. He was sorry Sam might forfeit copyright in England on these and talked of buying cuts from the book [MTP].
June 18 Thursday – Mollie Clemens wrote to Sam and Livy, and enclosed Orion’s June 14 [MTP].
June 17 Wednesday – Sam wrote from Elmira to Orion, responding to a letter with a sample of coal Orion had found. Sam had shown the sample to Theodore Crane, who was a partner in J. Langdon & Co. Crane wasn’t impressed and Sam gave his brother good advice [MTL 6: 164]. Sam was resigned to Orion being “bound to find a butterfly to chase.”
June 16 Tuesday – Sam wrote to the editor of the Boston Daily Advertiser about misdirected mail from England. Letters from Dr. John Brown had been addressed to him in “Hartford, State of New York, US” and returned to Scotland; another to, “Hartford, Near Boston, New York, US of A.” This one did reach him. Sam wanted to know:
June 15 Monday – Sam wrote the good news from Elmira to Dr. John Brown:
“We call the new Megatherium (mate to the Megalopis) Clara of course” [MTL 6: 159].
September 19 Saturday – The Clemens family left New York for their new home in Hartford. The next day Sam wrote to Howells, saying they were occupying “part of the new house. Goodness knows when we’ll get in the rest of it—full of workmen yet” [MTL 6: 233].
September Virginia S. Patterson (Mrs. Robert Patterson) wrote from Bellefountain, Ohio, wanting Sam’s opinion of two or three articles she wrote. A few weeks later she wrote again having heard nothing back, even though she realized he must be “besieged” by such requests [MTP].