December 4 Thursday – Joe Goodman wrote to Sam: “I took a run down to San Francisco for a day to see Jones. He told me there would be no use seeing Hayward or Hobart as they had recently sustained a loss of upward of a million in some mining speculation.” Jones told him that he wasn’t going to deal with men who would have to struggle to raise a quarter million, but was “going straight to Westinghouse, Carnegie, Morton, Jay Gould, etc. any one of whom, if he could get him interested, could organize the company without difficulty” [MTP].

December 2 Tuesday – Sam declined an invitation, likely from Herbert Gunnison (1858-1932), publisher of the Brooklyn Eagle, as he suffered from “a domestic affliction,” likely the Nov. 28 passing of his mother-in-law, Olivia Lewis Langdon [Christie’s Lot 1 Sale 1083 May 24, 2002; avail online]. Note: Sam’s decline was in Gunnison’s autograph collection; Gunnison and Clemens were likely acquainted.

December 1 Monday – Orion Clemens wrote to Sam: “Cyclopedia of Religious Knowledge received. Thanks” [MTP].

Wm. B. Smith & Son, Flour, Grain, Feed, Baled and Loose Hay and Straw, Hartford, billed $48.61 for purchases Nov 8, 24, 25 for wheat, bran, provender oats, straw; Paid Dec. 5.

Neil Stalker, Fine Road and Track Harness, Horse Clothing, etc. billed $15.45 for items Sep 12, 19, Oct 1, 18, 31, Nov 14, 15, 21: chamois, sponges, lines, halter repair, collar rep. Castile soap, slipper & strap repair; Paid same day [MTP].

December – Sam’s notebook for this month gives the titles of two books: Ludovic Halévy’s novel, L’Abbé Constantin (1882) and Anatole France’s novel, The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard. Sam would recommend the first in a letter from Washington, D.C. to Livy on Jan. 13, 1891 [MTNJ 3: 595].

November 30 Sunday – Sam’s 55th Birthday.

In Elmira funeral services and burial were held for Olivia Lewis Langdon. Livy was joined by her daughters, Clara and Susy Clemens. Sam remained in Hartford. From the Dec. 1 Elmira Daily Advertiser:

November 29 Saturday – In Hartford around noon, having received word of his mother-in-law’s death, Sam wrote to Livy in Elmira:

Livy Dear, another night & another morning are past, & so we realize again that the world stands still for nothing — goes on & on, no matter what happens.

November 28 Friday – In Elmira Olivia Lewis Langdon died. She was 80. Livy and her sister Susan Crane were with her, and Susy and Clara Clemens were on their way (they may have left this day or Nov. 29). A telegram (not extant) was sent to Sam in Hartford. He answered:

Livy darling, my heart goes out to you [MTPO].

November 27 Thursday – Thanksgiving – Livy’s 45th birthday. Livy was still in Elmira at her mother’s bedside. She wrote Sam:

We had a bad fright last night, we thought mother was going, but after a time she got quiet and slept about four hours. It is a terrible time [MTP; A. Hoffman 362-3].

In Hartford in the morning, Sam finished his Nov. 26 to Livy.

November 26 Wednesday – Sam brought Susy home to Hartford from Bryn Mawr. She would not return. Evidently she failed an algebra exam and did not wish to redo it, though her teacher, Miss Thomas, was eager to give her another chance. She was described at being “rattled,” no doubt from the bad news about her grandmother, and also about sister Jean; Susy had also suffered from an acute case of homesickness. At about 10 p.m., Sam began a letter to Livy, still in Elmira; he wrote of the day’s trip:

November 25 Tuesday – Sam reached Bryn Mawr, Penn. too late to bring Susy home that day, and so had to spend the night. He wrote to Livy that Susy was “first rate.” It was in Susy’s parlor at 9:05 p.m. that he wrote his wife this short note:

We send a whole world of love to you. I’m going now to the cottage here on the grounds where I am to sleep. Goodnight, Dear Heart [MTP]. Note: it was Thanksgiving break at the school.