February 28 Friday – The Clemens family arrived in Paris with five trunks and took rooms at the Grand Hotel St. James in the rue Saint-Honoré, where they stayed until Mar. 4 [MTNJ 2: 292n7].
From Sam’s notebook
Feb. 29/79—Arrived at Paris at 5 P.M.
In ungraciousness of stranger to stranger we are exactly like the French—mannerless.
February 27 Thursday – The Clemens family left Munich by rail for Paris, France. Sam had planned to leave at 6:40 AM and travel to Strasburg (at that time in Germany) by 5:30 PM and spend the night there, continuing on to Paris on Feb. 28 [MTLE 4: 29]. Sam noted “Feb 27, at Strasburg” in his notebook [2: 292].
February 24 Monday – Sam wrote from Munich a short note to Joe Twichell after receiving his letter. Sam wrote how he discovered the trick to sharpening a razor. They were leaving Thursday. Send mail to Monroe & Co., Bankers in Paris [MTLE 4: 31].
February 23 Sunday – Sam wrote at 1:30 pm on a snowy day from Munich to Olivia Lewis Langdon. After describing the snowstorm, Sam wrote that he’d finally picked all ten tunes for his $400 music box. Samuel E. Moffett had been with them for a week or more and Sam Clemens said the “manly boy” had “won the esteem, admiration & affection of the tribe.” His nephew had a:
February 21 Friday – Sam wrote to Christian Tauchnitz, letter not extant but mentioned in Tauchnitz’s Mar. 1 reply.
February 19 Wednesday – Christian Tauchnitz wrote from Leipzig to thank Sam for his “kind lines of Jan 20” and for the two volumes of the “Routledge Edition.” He wished to republish IA [MTP].
February 18 Tuesday – Bissell & Co. replied to Sam’s Jan. 29 request for a letter of credit as obtained above on Feb. 17 [MTP].
February 17 Monday – Sam obtained a letter of credit from Drexel, Morgan & Co. for £2,000 [MTP].
February 13 Thursday – Elisha Bliss wrote to Sam. “Occasionally I hear from you through some friend of yours. You seem to have been skipping about like a grass-hopper in haying time.” Bliss had conferred with Perkins about Sam’s business interests. He was unclear as to which book Sam agreed would take the place of the Riley book on diamond mining, this to fulfill his agreement. The sale of Twain’s book through autumn was “quite large” [MTP].
February 9 Sunday – Sam wrote from Munich to Frank Bliss of progress on the book, even though he was still tearing up some of it. He sent Frank an address in Paris where they might go at any time; they planned to return to Elmira next August; to Hartford in October [MTLE 4: 20].