September 17 Saturday – Sam’s article “To the Reader,” with a humorous map of Paris, France Fortifications, was printed in the Buffalo Express [McCullough 227]. Budd shows this as “Map of Paris” reprinted with “additional prefatory material” in the Nov. 1870 Galaxy [“Collected” 1012]. See map under Oct. 10 entry.
September 15 Thursday – Sam and Livy wrote from Buffalo to Frank Bliss & Frances T. French, congratulating them on marriage, and regretting that illness in the house prevented them from attending the wedding [MTL 4: 194].
September 9 Friday – Sam wrote from Buffalo to Orion.
“Do exactly as you please with the [Tennessee] land….I have no time to turn around. A young lady visitor (schoolmate of Livy’s) is dying in the house of typhoid fever.”
Alice Spaulding came to help Livy nurse Emma Nye. The three had been schoolmates [MTL 4: 193].
September 8?–29 Thursday – Sam telegraphed his mother in Fredonia. A family pest, Mrs. Melicent S. Holliday (b.1800?), had turned up at Sam’s in Buffalo and, due to Emma Nye’s illness, Sam gave her $50 and sent her on to Fredonia [MTL 4: 193].
September 7 Wednesday – Sam replied from Buffalo to the Sept. 6 of Ella Wolcott, a friend of the Langdons, declining verse from a friend of hers in Europe. He also wrote that Emma Nye had a “consuming fever—of a typhoid type.” In fact, it was typhoid [MTL 4: 191].
September 5 Monday – In Buffalo, Sam wrote a short note to Francis P. Church of the Galaxy:
“Friend Church— / Received yr. Check for $334, full payment for July & Sept. Sent the MS.S. for Oct. yesterday, to you. Yrs ever” [MTP, drop-in letters].
Ella Wolcott (b.1828) wrote to seek publishing help for a young man, Frank Huntington, who was traveling and studying in Germany [MTP].
September 4 Sunday – Sam wrote from Buffalo to Elisha Bliss.
“During the past week have written first four chapters…[of Roughing It]. We shall sell 90,000 copies the first 12 months” [MTL 4: 190]. Note: Sam liked it. It did sell well, some 75,000 copies the first year.
September 2 Friday – Sam wrote from Buffalo to Orion. Sam was so grateful for Orion’s memorandum books on their trip to Nevada, that he promised him $1,000 from royalties [MTL 4: 186].
September – In the Galaxy for this month—MARK TWAIN’S MEMORANDA – Included:
“Political Economy”
“John Chinaman in New York”
“The Noble Red Man”
“A Royal Compliment”
“The Approaching Epidemic”
“Favors from Correspondents”
Short miscellaneous – included items on Beef Contract, Funeral, Obituary, Enigma [Schmidt].
August 31 Wednesday – Sam wrote from Buffalo to his sister Pamela A. Moffett:
“We’re getting along tolerably well. Mother is here, & Miss Emma Nye. Livy cannot sleep, since her father’s death—but I give her a narcotic every night & make her.”