December 13 Friday – In Hartford Sam wrote an invitation in Livy’s behalf to Elinor M. Howells.

I write for Mrs. Clemens, who is still blind, after a nine months’ struggle with the oculists. To read a page or write one gives her a two-days’ headache. Please run down here with W.D.H., & be shut out from all save the family, & have some good talks & quiet good times, & the refreshment of rest in unfamiliar surroundings [MTHL 2: 623].

December 12 Thursday – A day or two before, Livy wrote (letter not extant) to Col. John M. Wilson that Sam was too ill to keep his Dec. 14 engagement at West Point. Wilson answered on this day:

My dear Mr. Clemens:

      Mrs. C’s letter is just received and I regret that you are ill.

December 11 Wednesday – The Hartford Times was first out of the chute with a review of CY on page 5.

December 10 Tuesday – The official U.S. publication date for Connecticut Yankee. Some 25,000 copies were printed before the end of the year [Hirst, “A Note on the Text” Afterword materials p.28, Oxford ed. 1996].

December 9 Monday – Sam’s notebook carries a “Mem. Of Agreement” dated this date in the body and Dec. 14 (date to be executed?) in the heading, for sales of 50 “Royalty Deeds of the Paige Compositor for fifty thousand dollars” to Elmira businessman Matthias Hollenback Arnot. Sam signed his wife’s name in the memo to be a witness [3: 536].

Note: right after this entry: West Point Jan 11 / Eggleston, Author’s Club, midnight, Dec. 31. (See Dec. 19 & 31 entries)

December 8 Sunday – The intended official publication date for Connecticut Yankee in Canada [Aug. 20 to Hall].

December 7 Saturday – Robert Donald wrote to Sam:

December 6 Friday – The official publication date for Connecticut Yankee in London [Aug. 20 to Hall].

Sam’s notebook: 8.03 am — leaves Spr. 9.50 — get to Buf 8.35 pm [MTNJ 3: 534].

December 5 Thursday – Two bound copies of Connecticut Yankee were deposited with the U.S. Copyright Office [Hirst, “A Note on the Text” Afterword materials p.28, Oxford ed. 1996].

Under the headline, “THEATRICAL GOSSIP.” the New York Times ran an article on page 8 about the dramatization of P&P.

December 4 Wednesday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Joe Goodman encouraging him to “come east & lay regular siege to Jones.” Now Sam was using Jan. 20 as the date “when the machine will go to work again.” In order to strategize about Senator John P. Jones, Sam urged Joe to “come east immediately.” Sam also called the Mergenthaler “so feeble an enemy” based on its average production rate of 2,000 ems per hour.