October 13 Saturday – J.B. Smiley (Samwell Wilkins) wrote from Kalamazoo, Mich. that he’d just published his second book and was collecting “the comments of the humorists of the country” — he would like to send Sam a set of his “two little volumes” [MTP]. “Curio,” Sam noted on the envelope.
October 12 Friday – Thomas Fitch sent Sam an account in the St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat of his speech given in St. Louis this date [MTP]. No letter is with the clipping in the file.
October 11 Thursday – A Nov. 1 bill from Postal Telegraph-Cable Co. of Hartford shows a 29c telegram, the second this date to Mrs. S.L. Clemens [MTP].
October 10 Wednesday – Grace E. King arrived in Hartford for a visit with the Clemens [MTNJ 3: 434n90]. The visit would be interrupted when Sam and Livy went to New York to see Theodore and Susan L. Crane who had likely traveled there for medical treatment for Theo, who’d suffered a stroke. Grace was still there on Election Day, Nov.
October 9 Tuesday – In Hartford Franklin G. Whitmore wrote for Sam to Frank Bliss, sending a receipt for $569.50 and advising that Bliss was correct to send both the statements and checks directly to Sam, not to the Webster & Co. [MTP].
October 8 Monday – Christen Thomsen Christensen, New York manager of the banking firm of Drexel, Morgan & Co. wrote to Sam. Christensen was the former Danish consul in New York. He asked Sam to meet with Henrik Cavling, a Danish journalist who was in the U.S. reporting on the 1888 election [MTNJ 3: 427]. Note: after the death of Anthony Drexel in 1895, Drexel, Morgan & Co. became J.P.
October 7 Sunday – Will Bowen visited the Clemens home in Hartford. It must have been a short visit — one or two days, because on Nov. 4 Sam wrote to him “I wish you could have stayed longer with us.” [MTP]
Fanny M. Baker wrote from Wardensville, W.Va. having just read IA to send praise of its pages. “May you live long and prosper,” she wrote — a phrase strangely familiar [MTP].
October 6 Saturday – Sam telegraphed Will Bowen, his old childhood friend.
I want you to come right down and stop-over Sunday with me take a hack at the station and drive straight to my house [MTP]. Note: Bowen did visit — see Sam to Bowen Nov. 4, 1888.
October 5 Friday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Theodore W. Crane.
October 4 Thursday – In the evening in Hartford, Sam was working on CY and decided to stay in bed the next morning and rest, though he “couldn’t resist” and so worked Friday as well [Oct. 5 to Crane].