September 16 Saturday – Sam declined another invitation, the Sept. 15 from William A. Seaver, who wrote the “Editor’s Drawer” and the “Personal” column for Harper’s. Seaver was “one of the New York boys.”

“My Dear Boy, I can’t. You know me; you know I travel with none but the salt of the earth—never with old salts of the sea, like you. Besides, these parties drink, whom you mention. Therefore there might not be enough for me” [MTLE 1: 115].

September 15 Friday – William A. Seaver wrote from NYC.

September 14 Thursday – Sam wrote a note from Hartford to Elisha Bliss reminding him to put a dedication to Livy in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer [MTLE 1: 109].

September 12 Tuesday – Paid, a Sept. 1 bill for a hack used Apr. 26 from E.C. Wheaton, livery, $3 [MTP].

September 11 Monday – The Clemens family returned home to Hartford [Sept 14 to Fairbanks]. The train trip from Elmira to Hartford took ten hours, and always exhausted Livy. On this trip Sam first hired a sleeping car, which gave the family privacy and lessened the stress for Livy.

September 10 Sunday – The Clemenses were still in New York. Sam’s notes in Hyppolyte Taine’s The Ancient Regime (1876) state that he finished reading the book on this day, a second reading during the year [Slotta 32]. This was a major sourcebook for both P&P and CY (See also Jan. 29 entry).

NYC temperatures ranged from 66-77 degrees F. with no rain [NOAA.gov].

September 9 Saturday – NYC temperatures ranged from 72-61 degrees F. with no rain [NOAA.gov].

September 8 Friday – The Clemenses were still in New York.

September 7-11 Monday – In either New York or Hartford sometime during this period, Sam wrote a short note to Bret Harte, after taking in Harte’s play, Two Men of Sandy Bar at the Union Square Theatre in New York. Harte had sold the play to actor Stuart Robson for $3,000 plus $50 for each performance during its first season, a price Harte came to regret [MTPO].

September 6 Wednesday – The Clemenses registered at the St. James Hotel in New York, where they spent the next few days, arriving back in Hartford on Sept. 11 [MTPO Notes with Sept. 1 to Moffett from the N.Y. Herald and the N.Y. Tribune].

NYC temperatures ranged from 73-52 degrees F. with no rain [NOAA.gov].