January 10 Monday – William Smith wrote from the Osborne House in Morley, near Leeds, England, having received Trumbull’s volumes of Hartford history from Sam. Smith thanked him profusely and wrote he was sending as set of “Old Yorkshire,” which he said had been out of print for some time and hard to find at twice the original price. Smith also wanted to know where he might find a copy of Mark Twain’s Scrap book [MTP].
January 9 Sunday – Robert M. Yost wrote from St. Louis to Sam and enclosed Mrs. Yost’s Jan 11 request for a “souvenir” — “Won’t you please send me a scrap of one of your neck ties [?]” Mr. Yost was born in Shelbyville, Mo. and wrote of going back to Hannibal and “shaking hands with the old Florida people who ‘knew Sam Clements,’ as they call you” [MTP].
January 8 Saturday – Caroline B. Le Row wrote from Brooklyn having sent by Westcott’s Express the “specimen pages” from her book to Sam for review.
January 7 Friday – Alexander Cargill wrote from N.Y. to Sam. Cargill wanted to send a MS. Sam wrote on the envelope, “From a Mr. Cargill who wants to publish a novel” [MTP].
William Mackay Laffan for NY Sun wrote to Sam enclosing a letter from E.R. Garczyuski of Brooklyn to Sun dated Nov. 12, 1886, which pointed out a “blunder” in Sam’s talk about King Arthur. Laffan wrote on the opposite blank side of this letter:
January 4 Tuesday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Charles Webster answering questions about publishing a book by Henry Ward Beecher:
Yes, ½ profits is the right offer to make — his wide reputation entitles him to that — and if anybody wants to offer him more, we withdraw from the competition….If we can’t clear $40,000 for Beecher, at ½-profits, it’ll be the author’s fault, not the publisher’s; that is, it will mean that he isn’t as good a card as we think he is [MTBus 373].
January 3 Monday – Charles Webster wrote to Sam that Henry Ward Beecher was contemplating a biography:
January 1 Saturday – James B. Pond wrote to Sam from the Everett House in N.Y., wishing the Clemens family a happy new year. He asked,
How do you think Grady of Atlanta Constitution would draw ? if he lectured in Hartford. Would you, if you couldn’t help it pay hundred cents to hear him? When are you coming to the village? [MTP]. Note: Henry W. Grady (1850-1889), leader of the “Atlanta Ring.”
January – Charles Webster began to suffer from neuralgia during the month. (See Sam’s note: Jan. 15 entry). MTHL intro to Section IX refers to Webster’s affliction:
“…and grew worse during the spring. His illness kept him out of the office most of the time after the beginning of summer and almost constant pain made him irritable” [2: 580].
December 31 Friday – Frank Fuller wrote from New York touting three stocks, which he clipped and pasted newspaper quotes — Oregon R & N, Oregon S.L.. And Union Pacific [MTP].
Arthur C. Thornton wrote a fan letter to Sam from Richmond, Va. Thornton told of a trip to Washington during last summer and of relating each of Sam’s books to places and events there. Obliquely, Thornton asked for a book. Sam wrote on the envelope, “O, Sorrowful!” [MTP].
December 30 Thursday – In Hartford Sam answered Webster’s of Dec. 29, approving the suggestion that they raise their offer for the recently deceased General Logan’s book to half the profits, which is as high as they went for any book save Grant’s Memoirs.