June – The Stolen White Elephant was a collection of stories published by James R. Osgood. Sam wrote the title story in 1878, and the earliest copies printed early in June [Hirst, “A Note on the Text,” Oxford Edition, 1996]. This book combined the elephant tale with all those in Punch, Brothers, Punch! (1878) as well as several others, including two on the “McWilliamses” [Rasmussen 445].

May 31 Wednesday – Hubbard & Farmer bankers & brokers sent a statement showing $4,167.05 credit in Sam’s account [MTP].

May 30 Tuesday – In Lexington, Mass. William Dean Howells wrote hoping to lure the Clemenses for a visit before they left for Elmira for the summer and before he sailed for Europe [MTHL 1: 404-5].

May 29 Monday – Sam wrote from Hartford to his mother, Jane Clemens, who was contemplating a trip from Fredonia to Keokuk to see Orion and Mollie. After commenting on his mother writing to an “old gentleman” and criticizing a “young man who prints the paper,” Sam encouraged her to travel part way by water for her comfort; he wanted to pay the cost [MTBus 186].

May 28 Sunday – In Lexington, Mass., William Dean Howells wrote to Sam.

I hope you are safely and triumphantly at home again, and that you are bulging at the new book. I have heard from Osgood what a glorious time you had.—I suppose you got my letter at St. Louis [not extant]. We have been here for a month, and we expect to spend June at Belmont; then we go to see my father at Toronto, and we sail from Quebec July 22d….I’m going to write your life for The Century. When and why were you born? [MTHL 1: 403-4].

May 25 Thursday – In Hartford, Sam inscribed The Poetical Works of Robert Browning to Susy Clemens: “These volumes, (in place of a promised mud turtle,) are presented with the love of / Papa / May 25, 1882. / N.B. The turtle was to have been brought from New Orleans, but I gave up the idea because it seemed cruel” [MTP].

F.A.O. Schwartz, New York, billed Sam $1.05 for “2 nurse bottles, 2 puffbones [?]” [MTP].