April 19 Tuesday – Sam wrote to Rev. John Davis of the Trinity Rectory, Hannibal, Mo., enclosing a form letter he’d written six weeks prior explaining his experience with the Loisette memory “system.” Sam was still sold on the method, and among the remarks he added to the form letter was this:
April 18 Monday – Sam went to New York, where he wrote a brief note to Edmund W. Gosse (1849-1928), English poet, author and critic, who evidently had requested a photograph. Gosse at this time was an important critic of sculpture, writing for the Saturday Review. Sam owned a copy of Gosse’s Thomas Gray, English Men of Letters Series (1882), which was purchased Apr. 28, 1884:
April 17 Sunday – In Hartford Sam telegraphed Augustin Daly that he would be there [MTP]. Just where he did not say.
Sam also wrote to Charles Webster. Even after Webster’s “demands” of Apr. 1, Sam was happy with the way things were going:
April 16 Saturday – Jackson P. Singleberry, editor and proprietor of the Horse Head county Boom wrote to Sam, the humorous letter cajoling a contribution from Twain being in The Arkansas Traveler of this date [MTP]. Note: This looks suspiciously like a spoof.
April 14 Thursday – On this the 22nd anniversary of the assassination of President Lincoln, Walt Whitman gave a lecture at Madison Square Garden, including a reading of his most popular poem, “O Captain! My Captain!” (which he sometimes regretted writing.) Sam was there.
April 13 Wednesday – Sam and Livy went to New York, where they attended the 100th performance of Taming of the Shrew, starring John Drew and Ada Rehan (1860-1916), at Daly’s Fifth Avenue Theatre. William Tecumseh Sherman served as toastmaster for a midnight dinner on stage, and introduced Sam who gave a supper speech, a recollection of his difficulty a few years before in getting into the theater and past a door
April 12 Tuesday – As reported by the Brooklyn Eagle of Apr. 13, 1887 p.5, Sam and Webster & Co. finally won a court case:
THE PUBLISHERS OF GRANT’S BOOK.
Mark Twain and His Partner Recover Some Heavy Amounts.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa., April 13
Charles L. Webster and Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), trading as Charles L. Webster & Co., yesterday won three cases before Judge Fell.
April 11 Monday – Alfred P. Burbank wrote Sam, once again interested in a possible production of Colonel Sellers as a Scientist (The American Claimant). With the recent death of John T. Raymond Burbank felt there was an opportunity for him to take on the popular character [MTHL 2: 591n2]. From this footnote in the cited text:
April 10 Sunday – The Brooklyn Eagle, on Apr. 11, 1887 page 4, ran a notice of the Apr. 10 passing of John T. Raymond. See also the N.Y. Times, Apr. 11, p.1 “COLONEL SELLERS IS DEAD”.
“There’s Millions in It”
April 9 Saturday – Charles J. Langdon wrote to Sam enclosing a draft for $2,448.56 from Livy’s account; he added that Sam’s telegram (not extant) about Susy being better was very welcome [MTP].
D.J. Tapley (per Whitmore to Tapley Apr. 18 enclosed) wrote to Sam asking the price of the Kaolatype patent. Whitmore answered $3,000 [MTP].