April 14 Sunday – From Sam’s notebook:
3d day out, Bayard Taylors’ colored man, being constipated, applied to the ship’s doctor for relief, who sent him 6 large rhubarb pills, to be taken one every 4 hours; the pills came by a German steward, who delivered the directions in German, the darkey not understanding a word of it. Result: the darkey took all the pills at once & appeared no more on deck for 6 days [MTNJ 2: 68].
April 13 Saturday – Bill & receipt from Arnold, Constable & Co., New York of $113.70 for various clothing items [MTP]. (Likely purchases made on Apr. 11.)
April 12 Friday – The New York Times, on page 8, ran an interview titled, “The Start for Germany,” where Sam said his new travel book would not imitate Innocents Abroad [Scharnhorst, Interviews 14-16].
April 11 Thursday – Before sailing, Sam wrote from New York to Moncure Conway, sending a letter of introduction for his nephew, Samuel Moffett, who would also travel to England. From the New York Times of Apr. 12:
THE HOLSATIA CARRIES AWAY THE NEW MINISTER, ACCOMPANIED BY MARK TWAIN AND HIS FAMILY, AND THE WIFE AND CHILDREN OF MR. MURAT HALSTEAD.
Gilsey House is a former eight-story 300-room hotel[1] located at 1200 Broadway at West 29th Street in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
April 10 Wednesday – Sam wrote from Elmira to David Gray, his old friend and editor from Buffalo. Sam thanked Gray for the visit to his house. The Clemens family would sail at 2 PM the next day.
Sam also wrote a goodbye note to Joe Twichell. Joe had agreed to let Sam pay his way to Germany after the family had been there some time, and Sam promised to write from Germany and advise him when to come [MTLE 3: 45].
April 7 Sunday – Sam arrived in Elmira at 3 AM [MTLE 3: 43]. Later that day he finished the Mar.
April 6 Saturday – Sam left New York for Elmira [MTLE 3: 39].
April 5 Friday – Sam wrote a note at noon from New York to Frank Fuller, who was staying at the Sturtevant House. The note was not postmarked, so was likely delivered by courier. In an unidentified business matter, Sam wrote to give “him (unidentified) any interest that will fetch him.” He wrote that he’d been to the Sturtevant House to call on Mrs. Fuller, but had to rush off to meet an appointment, which hinged on one with Howells.
April 4 Thursday – Sam went to New York and checked into the St. James Hotel. He was to give a dinner speech at the Bayard Taylor Farewell Dinner in New York City, but “…was so jaded & worn…that I found I could not remember 3 sentences of the speech I had memorized, & therefore got up & said so & excused myself from speaking” [MTLE 3: 43].