June 13 Sunday – Sam and Howells attended the Asylum Hill Church and took in Twichell’s sermon. Afterwards the trio walked to Sam’s and had dinner. Twichell was impressed with Howells, who departed this day or the next morning for his Boston home [MTL 6: 497]. From Twichell’s journal:

June 12 Saturday – In the late afternoon, William Dean Howells arrived in Hartford for a visit. Joe Twichell joined the pair in the evening. Howells later wrote to his father that he’d done “a month’s worth of laughing” at Clemens’ house [MTL 6: 497n1]. Howells read parts of Tom Sawyer, offering to run it in a serial in the Atlantic.

June 10 Thursday – In Cambridge, Mass., Howells sent Sam a postcard saying he would take the three o’clock train on Saturday and was sorry that he must come alone [MTHL 1: 87].

June 9 Wednesday – Bill paid to Amos Larned & Co. for $2.50 [MTP].

Orion Clemens wrote to Sam, having arrived in St. Charles, Mo. from Louisville the night before.

…. The Ford matter is in such a confused tangle that it is a pleasure to work with it. This reminded me that you said love of the work itself was the thing. As I really like to work with law matters I have decided if you are willing, to endeavor to push myself into the practice of law in Keokuk…to open a law office there. …

June 8 Tuesday – Clara Clemens’ first birthday. In Hartford Sam wrote to William F. Gill, warning him again against printing “a single line” of his in one of Gill’s books [MTL 6: 494-5].

June 7 Monday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Cornelius R. Agnew, a New York specialist of the eye and ear, in behalf of a neighbor, Nell Kinearney. Sam mentioned Dr. Starr and Dr. Bowen on the case [MTL 6: 490].

June 4 Friday – Phineas T. Barnum invited the Clemenses to spend the 5th of July with them to celebrate his 45th birthday. He added: “P.S. The ‘queer letters’ are accumulating” [MTP]. Note: Clemens had asked several people to save strange letters sent to them.

June 2 Wednesday – Thomas K. Beecher ended his visit at the Clemens’ home. De Quille stayed on to work on what became The Big Bonanza; he would send occasional letters to the Virginia City Enterprise, describing eastern cities, his three-day New York stay, and his cross-country trip in a Pullman car [MTL 6: 488].

Sam wrote a $96.75 check to Caswell Bros., Hartford Meat market [MTP].

June – The sixth of seven installments of “Old Times on the Mississippi” ran in the Atlantic Monthly. Also, the “Drama” editor of that magazine praised the stage version of Gilded Age, especially complimenting John T. Raymond in the role of Colonel Mayberry Sellers [Wells 22].