September 19 Thursday – In Sydney, Australia, Sam gave the first of some 30 performances down-under at Protestant Hall on Castlereagh St. The lecture was titled, “Mark Twain at Home” (No.1). The hall “easily seating 2000,” the “best hall in Sydney”. Tickets sold from 1-5 shillings. Fatout writes of Sam’s Sydney engagements:
September 18 Wednesday – In Sydney, Australia, Sam gave an interview at 2 p.m. with Louis Becke whose book By Reef and Palm (1895) was a gift (See Sept. 11 entry). Another interviewer waited. Becke inscribed the title page of his book for Sam: To S.L. Clemens / from Louis Becke / Sydney Sept. 1895 [Gribben 54]. See Sept. 24 to Becke.
September 17 Tuesday – In Sydney, Australia, Sam gave an interview, possibly fabricated, with “Asmodeus” of Sunday Truth. The Australian Star, p.4 ran an editorial against Sam’s free trade opinions. In the afternoon, Livy and Clara joined a crowd of the Society of Artists at a private showing of Ethel A. Stephens’ work at her studio.
September 16 Monday – Sydney was then a city of about 380,000. In Sydney Harbor, after breakfast aboard the Warrimoo and with a reporter for the Sydney Evening News, the Clemens party disembarked and arrived at the Circular Quay, Sydney Harbor, at about 7 a.m. [Shillingsburg, “Down Under” 6]. Paine writes they “landed in a pouring rain the breaking up of a fierce drought. Clemens announced that he had brought Australia good-fortune, and should expect something in return” [MTB 1009].
September 15 Sunday – At sea on the Warrimoo, Sam finished his Sept. 13-14 letter to H.H. Rogers:
Atlantic seas on to-day — the first we have had. And yet not really rough. Satchels keep their places and do not go browsing around….Clara “fetched away” from the piano stool while playing the hymns at divine service.
September 14 Saturday – At sea on the Warrimoo, Sam added to his Sept. 13 a letter to H.H. Rogers, that he would finish Sept. 15: “Shuffleboarding is rather violent exercise for me,” and related that he won the best two of three games with another tournament winner, and was dubbed “Champion of the South Seas” [MTHHR 187: See NB 35 TS 49].
September 13 Friday – At sea on the Warrimoo, Sam’s notebook:
September 11 Wednesday – Sept. 11. We are moving steadily southward — getting further and further down under the projecting paunch of the globe. Yesterday evening we saw the Big Dipper and the north star sink below the horizon and disappear from our world. No, not “we,” but they. They saw it — somebody saw it — and told me about it. …My interest was all in the Southern Cross. I had never seen that….We saw the Cross to-night, and it is not large. Not large but strikingly bright.
September 10 Tuesday – Next Day. Sure enough, it has happened. Yesterday it was September 8, Sunday; to-day it is September 10, Tuesday. There is something uncanny about it. And uncomfortable. In fact, nearly unthinkable, and wholly unrealizable, when one comes to consider it [FE Ch. IV p.75].
September 9 Monday – FE Ch. IV p.75 denotes this day skipped for crossing the international date line.
Yesterday afternoon [Sept. 9] we passed two islands of the Horne Group — Alofa & Fortuna. On the large one are two rival native kings. There is no harbor, & the islands are not hogged by any European power. All the natives are Catholics — several French missionaries [NB 35 TS 48].