In his letter of Nov. 20 to Twichell,  Sam wrote that he had “discharged George [Burk]  at Venice—the worthless idiot—& have developed into a pretty fair sort of  courier myself since then” [MTLE 3:  101]. Sam fired Burk on Oct. 1 [MTNJ 2: 197] Note: George Burk had been the portier at the Schloss Hotel in Heidelberg   when Sam hired him. Sam gave Burk 100 franks extra and let him go.

October – A  notation in Sam’s notebook listed The Bible for Young People, translated by Wicksteed  in six volumes [MTNJ  2: 209]. Evidently  this was a reminder to send these books to Orion upon returning home, as Orion was writing a  biblical refutation. Orion had recently been excommunicated from the First Westminster Presbyterian Church of Keokuk [209n95].

Sam read William Wetmore Story’s  (1819-1895) 2  volume Roba di Roma (1863) and entered in his notebook:

William Gedney Bunce (1840-1916) visited again. From Livy’s   pen:  “…calls  again last night [Monday] until nearly eleven” [Salsbury 85].

Livy wrote from Venice to her mother about the city:

“It is so fascinating,  so thoroughly charming—I sit now before a window that opens on to a little  piazza; where I can look right on to the Grand Canal…We have the morning sun in  our rooms and the weather for three days has been perfect” [MTNJ 2:  157].

Sam wrote from Venice,  Italy to William Dean Howells.  Since his tirade letter about Bret Harte, Sam had not heard from  Howells, who had recommended to President Hayes that Harte be given a chance. Wisely, Howells  had not told Sam of his recommendation or answered Sam’s venom, and Sam had  noticed.

Sam’s notebook this day in Venice.

These Italian thieves  have charged me $8 duty on $4 worth (100) of cigars & $1 worth of tobacco–

I must stop smoking,  for no right Christian can smoke an Italian cigar. Only the wrappers are  grown—the insides are of stubs collected on the pavements by the younger sons  of the nobility—stubs from Switzerland —bad enough.

The charming singing of  the men at night in Venice.

The Clemens party left Bellagio at 10 AM. They met G.K. Mayer and wife [MTNJ 2:  159n6] who helped them take the lake boat down to Lecco, Italy, where they boarded the  train.  They suffered another ten-hour trip and arrived at Venice at 7:30  PM. [Rodney 112; MTNJ 2: 194]. The family had looked  forward to Venice as a “relaxing interlude in their long  journey.” Livy’s itinerary called for a  three-week stay [Rodney  112].

The Clemens party left Milan and traveled north to Bellagio on Lake Como [MTNJ 2: 156]. They  stayed at the Grand Bretagne Hotel. Sam’s notebook:

“Rainy, sour, cold,  dreary. Removed a screen in our room & discovered a regular fire-place—for  wood.  Right away we had the first wood fire we had seen since we left our own  house. This made the day cheery” [2: 193].

Also noted was praise for Karl  Baedeker’s (1801-1859) Italy,  Handbook for Travellers: “curious & useful details” about Lake Como [2: 193]

Sam’s notebook:

The Italians all seem  to go to work before daylight—& all in couples, singing tenor & bass or  alto duet—all got strong voices & many good ones—don’t sing simple airs but  starchy opera stuff—they wake you up and keep you awake.

The Milan clocks are not useful. This morning one struck  2, another 3, another 1, another 2, two others 3—all this occupied 10  minutes—so I got up & looked at my watch—correct time 4.15. 15 minutes  later, the procession of striking began again.

Sam (and probably the ladies) went to see Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” in  the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. “If there is  anything worse than the original, it is the 15 or 20 copies in oil & water”  [MTNJ 2: 190]. They also  visited the “great picture gallery” (Brera).

“There are artists in  Arkansas to-day who would not have had to paint signs for a living if they had  had the luck to live in the time of the old masters” [191].