July 15, 1898 Friday

July 15 FridaySam’s notebook:

July 15. The Duke de Frias gambled himself deep into debt & had to leave his Embassy & fly to Madrid with his young wife & young child. Count Coudenhove, & Countess Wydenbruck-Esterházy say his estates are exhausted & he is a ruined man. He is hardly 30.

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Rudolph Lindau spent part of to-day with us—on his way back to his post at Constantinople. Looks as well as ever.

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July 9, 1898 Saturday

July 9 Saturday – At the Villa Paulhof Whitmore (his not extant): in Kaltenleutgeben, Austria, Sam replied to Franklin G.

“O come, what a cuss you are! What use can I make of letters 6 months old? Some of them needed immediate answers. Don’t treat me like that anymore. In the immediate cases, send the man a post-card to say I am traveling in China…”

July 7, 1898 Thursday

July 7 Thursday – At the Villa Paulhof in Kaltenleutgeben, Austria, Sam wrote to Robert Collier (Lord Monkswell; 1845-1909), British Liberal politician.

Dear Lord Monkswell: / I feel like a criminal for putting you and Lady Monkswell and Mr. Murray to such a deal of trouble. You must try to forgive me. Mr. Murray’s British & German statistics cover all the necessary ground, & I am very glad to have them. I have altered my MS to suit.

July 6, 1898 Wednesday

July 6 Wednesday – In Kaltenleutgeben, Austria, Sam replied to a letter, statistics, and a check from Chatto & Windus (theirs not extant). The book statistics were exactly what he wanted. The check was “beyond expectations large—would the English government “raid it with an income tax” if they deposited it in a London bank? Sam asked Chatto to check on two plays he’d translated and sent to people in London—did they still have the plays?

July 4, 1898 Monday

July 4 Monday – Hartford leading men A.C. Dunham (Austin Cornelius Dunham) and Dr. Edwin Pond Parker visited the Clemens family for three days this week. Which days is not clear, but Sam wrote to Whitmore on July 9 that the pair was there when news came of the July 3 defeat of the Spanish fleet under Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete at the Battle of Santiago. [July 9 to Whitmore]. Note: this is also supported by the following notebook entry.

June 30, 1898 Thursday

June 30 Thursday – In Kaltenleutgeben Sam sent his photo-postcard to Thomas Bailey Aldrich:

“Ho. T.B.!— / Why, it has been all of 15 years since I sent you a portrait—then I sent you 56, of different vintages. I am ashamed of the long neglect. Here’s the latest. (Don’t get scared, I haven’t any more)” [MTP].

June 28, 1898 Tuesday

June 28 Tuesday – In Kaltenleutgeben near Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Chatto & Windus, asking how many new books had been copyrighted in England for the past year. He needed it for an article [MTP].

Sam also wrote to Brainard Warner, Jr., United States Consul in Leipsic (Leipzig).

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