April 21 Wednesday – Sam finished the letter to Moncure Conway. Sam enclosed Howells’ review of TA. Elisha Bliss was too ill to work so Sam dealt with his son, Frank Bliss, and took it upon himself to order the electros for Chatto, and then wrote Conway [MTLE 5: 75-7].
April 20 Tuesday – Sam and Livy purchased a brass fender from C. McCarthy of Boston for $15, showing that they did not leave Boston earlier. The item was billed to Sam on May 13 and paid on May 17 [MTP]. Note: Invoicing and payment were often made long after purchase. Afterward the Clemenses returned home to Hartford.
April 19 and 20 Tuesday – In Hartford, Sam wrote to William Dean Howells.
I have just “wrotened” this stuff to-day—as Bay [Clara] says—may-be you may need it to fill up with.
April 18 Sunday – Ola A. Smith (b. ca. 1854) wrote from Haverhill, Mass:
Mr. Clemens, / Gracious Sir;–
You are rich. To lose $10.00 would not make you miserable.
I am poor. To gain $10.00 would not make me miserable.
April 17 Saturday – The Saturday Review ran a long, mixed critique of TA, finding praise and fault [Budd, Reviews 183-6].
Pamela Moffett wrote to Sam (postmarked Apr. 17), complimenting him on TA; noting that “Ma can’t read as it made her head hurt and they couldn’t read to her since she was hard of hearing.” Also, “Charley has had the clock fever,” buying and restoring old clocks to sell. Did Sam recall the clock at the Quarles farm? [MTP].
April 14 Wednesday – Mary Keily finished her Mar. 27 letter to Sam [MTP].
April 13 Tuesday – Frederick J. Boesse (1844-1914) wrote from Americus, Ga. to criticize TA, and Sam’s “blunders” in German, as well as to criticize American habits [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env., “From a Jewish swine.” Paine later wrote under this “Amen. / A.B.P.”; Boesse was the head of F.J. Bosse & Co, NYC importers of jeweler’s materials. He was born in Germany and lived in Brooklyn for 50 years [NY Times obit Sept. 19, 1914)].
April 12? Monday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Howells, including a note from John T. Lewis, the “sable hero” of the runaway carriage incident. Sam sent it as an addition to the story [MTLE 5: 70].
April 11 Sunday – Sam wrote from Hartford to his mother, and sister. He and Livy were taking Rosa and the children on a week’s “rest & change of aggravations” to Boston the next day.
“Orion’s head is as full of projects as ever, but there is one merciful provision—he will never stick to one of them long enough to injure himself” [MTLE 5: 68].
April 10 Saturday – The Chicago Tribune was among the first to review A Tramp Abroad:
Mark Twain has finished another book. As he has been silent for some time possibly the book also finished him….A Tramp Abroad, while interesting reading, and in parts exhibiting much of the humor which gave fame to its author in The Innocents Abroad, is inferior to the latter in some of the qualifications which made that book so unusually successful (“Literature” p9) [Budd, Reviews 183].