November 18 Saturday – Sam typed a response from Hartford to Orion, offering a familiar condescending tone about Orion’s latest idea for speculation, a local electric company. Sam was also “full of devilish irritation besides, on account of ….inability to work steadily” and to his satisfaction on LM [MTP].
Sam also inscribed The Stolen White Elephant to Harriet E. Whitmore:
November 17 Friday – Sam and Livy joined Joe and Harmony Twichell and Harriet Beecher Stowe at a dinner in honor of George P. Lathrop, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s son-in-law. From Twichell’s journals:
“…pleasure of hearing Mrs. Stowe talk. She was in the mood for it, and struck a reminiscent strain having much to say of the old anti-slavery days. We were conscious of a great reverence toward her” [Andrews 87].
November 16 Thursday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Judge Horace Russell about his trouble in hitting upon a subject for a toast for the Dec. 21 dinner [MTP].
November 15 Wednesday – Orion Clemens wrote to Sam, Bullock to Orion Nov. 13 enclosed. He apologized for sending so much information about electric lights, but Orion thought it might strike as an investment [MTP].
November 14 Tuesday – William White for District Conn., Archer Co., Texas wrote to Sam that the 320 acres in Archer Co. had been sold for taxes the past year but he could redeem it by paying double what it sold for plus this year’s taxes, or a total of $17.06 [MTP].
November 13 Monday – H.O. Johnson wrote to Sam on Sam’s typed note of Oct. 27: “Candidly it was the autograph of ‘Mark Twain’ that I wanted and I was as disappointed as the man who after a night raid with the ‘boys’ found he had been stealing his own pork” [MTP].
November 12 Sunday – Edward M. Bunce for Phoenix National Bank wrote advising a credit from Chatto for $1,442.87 had been made [MTP].
Mary Keily wrote another “lunatic” letter from Penn. [MTP].
November 11 Saturday –Sam typed a note from Hartford to George W. Cable, thanking him for the books that came. Sam was “infinitely obliged” [MTP].
“Please send me a New Orleans directory of this or last year. I do not know the price but inclose five dollars at random” [Gribben 652].
Sam also wrote to Charles Webster:
November 10 Friday – N.I. Brockett wrote from Hartford about shirts and underwear ordered from O.B. Bassetts, who was dead. The purpose of the letter is unclear [MTP].
Mary Keily wrote from Lancaster, Penn., another “lunatic” letter [MTP].
George P. Lathrop wrote from Concord, Mass. asking if Sam might telegraph him about being in Hartford next week, since his plan was to come there as a “spy in the service of the Harpers” [MTP].
November 9 Thursday – Katie Hay wrote from St. Kilda West, Victoria to thank Sam for sending his autograph [MTP].