May 21 Saturday – Livy had invited the Whitmores for the evening to meet her brother, Charles Langdon, and his wife, Ida Clark Langdon, who were visiting from Elmira [MTP see May 18 entry].
May 20 Friday – Sam sent two telegrams from Hartford to Webster about Dan’s Slote’s punishment:
FIRST TELEGRAM 11:30 A.M. …I PREFER THEY [LAWYERS] MAKE DEMANDS UPON HIM THOUGH I WILL DO SO IF THEY SO ADVISE [MTP].
May 19 Thursday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Webster. He wanted an accounting of old bills paid. After they were done with Sneider, he told Webster to get their attorney’s view how to proceed against Slote. Sam also felt the American Publishing Co. was “getting mighty feeble” and talked of plans to dump his stock. There were problems in England, too:
May 18 Wednesday – Charles Webster reported to Sam:
“The bubble has burst. Sneider has confessed…that the whole thing was a swindle from the beginning….Sneider says he’s going to commit suicide” [MTNJ 2: 393n120]. Note: Sam’s loss on Kaolatype would eventually be some $50,000 [Powers, MT A Life 452].
May 16 Monday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Charles Webster.
“Yes, if we snatch Sneider up before the court he will weaken & be glad to sign the documents & get out.
May 14 Saturday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Charles Webster. Sam was still hot on the heels of Dan Slote and Sneider.
May 13 Friday – Charles Webster wrote to Sam. “At last Slote is thoroughly convinced that Sneider has been swindling you.” He detailed how Sneider had done the deed, and said “Dan is furious,” that he “could not uphold any one in cheating Sam & he had hard work to restrain himself &c.” Webster also touched on several other business matters [MTP].
May 12 Thursday – Sam wrote from Hartford to James R. Osgood, thanking him for some service performed (unidentified):
“Old man, you performed gorgeously. You would make a good highwayman. Yes, sir, for the sake of your character (& mine) I will be very mum to those people.”
May 11 Wednesday – James R. Osgood wrote from Boston to Clemens. “I sold the story to Scribner for $400 with the understanding that if it should exceed 13 1/3 pages you should be paid for such excess at the rate of $30 per page [MTP]. Note: written on the env., “Osgood sells M.T. story to Scribners / A Curious Incident?”
Charles Webster wrote from NYC on Kaolatype Engraving Co. Letterhead to Clemens.
May 10 Tuesday – Arnold, Constable & Co., NYC billed Sam $4.50 for “3 caps”, paid May 13 [MTP].