Day by Day entries are from Mark Twain, Day By Day, four volumes of books compiled by David Fears and made available on-line by the Center for Mark Twain Studies.  The entries presented here are from conversions of the PDFs provided by the Center for Mark Twain Studies and are subject to the vagaries of that process.    The PDFs, themselves, have problems with formatting and some difficulties with indexing for searching.  These are the inevitable problems resulting from converting a printed book into PDFs.  Consequently, what is provided here are copies of copies.  

I have made attempts at providing a time-line for Twain's Geography and have been dissatisfied with the results.  Fears' work provides a comprehensive solution to that problem.  Each entry from the books is titled with the full date of the entry, solving a major problem I have with the On-line site - what year is the entry for.  The entries are certainly not perfect reproductions from Fears' books, however.  Converting PDFs to text frequently results in characters, and sometimes entire sections of text,  relocating.  In the later case I have tried to amend the problem where it occurs but more often than not the relocated characters are simply omitted.  Also, I cannot vouch for the paragraph structure.  Correcting these problems would require access to the printed copies of Fears' books.  Alas, but this is beyond my reach.

This page allows the reader to search for entries based on a range of dates.  The entries are also accessible from each of the primary sections (Epochs, Episodes and Chapters) of Twain's Geography.  

Entry Date (field_entry_date)

July 31, 1906 Tuesday

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July 31 Tuesday – George B. Harvey of Harpers arrived In Dublin and spent five days with Clemens,  choosing 100,000 words from the 250,000 of the Autobiography for publication in the North American Review. Harvey left on Aug. 4 [Aug. 3 to Clara]. Isabel Lyon’s journal: “Col. Harvey arrived late this evening at 9:45” [MTP TS 102].

Sam wrote to Charlotte Teller Johnson.

August, 1906

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August – The first of two installments of “The Horse’s Tale” ran in Harper’s Monthly for August. The second ran in Sept. issue; it would be published by Harper’s as a 153 page book on Oct. 24, 1907.

Sam also wrote to H.H. Rogers: “Dear Mr. Rogers: I’m accepting…tell me if you can go & if it will pay you to go. S.L.C.” [MTP: Anderson Galleries catalog, 4-5 April 1934, No. 4098, Item 116].

August 5, 1906 Sunday

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August 5 Sunday – In Dublin, N.H. Sam added a few lines to his Aug. 4 to Mary B. Rogers:

Sunday. / P.S.

No, gentle pal, return it to me, in the enclosed envelop. I will go over it again (aloud, this time, which is the only sure test), before I ship it to Harvey. (Don’t let any outsider see it, it is dangersome.) / SLC [MTP].

Sam also wrote to Joe Twichell.

August 6, 1906 Monday

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August 6 Monday – In Dublin, N.H. Sam inscribed the first photo of himself in the series “Progress of a Moral Purpose” to daughter Jean: “To Jean Clemens / with the deep love of her / Father / Aug. ’06. / Truly Yours / Mark Twain” [MTP].

Sam also replied to the July 31 from Dr. Benjamin E. Smith of the Century Co., N.Y.

August 7, 1906 Tuesday

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August 7 Tuesday – Isabel Lyon’s journal:

Training is everything” he said, “The Gospel is right” & if he controls himself now, it is due to the training of his age, his old age. Such a sweet old age it is. Of course, he bursts out sometimes into savage blasphemies. It wouldn’t be he if he didn’t. Early this morning, before 7, I heard a big gutteral God damn from his room & then quietness. Later I learned he was mad at the green shade which had stuck & stuck [MTP TS 103-105]. Note: see the rest of the Aug. 7 entry at the end of Aug. 6.

August 8, 1906 Wednesday

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August 8 Wednesday – In N.Y.C. H.H. Rogers replied to the Aug. 5 from Sam, confessing that the letter he was to copy and send to Twichell about the Virgin Mary being 47 and black had been sent along without copying due to the “disordered condition” of his desk on Monday night. Rogers disagreed with Sam on his conclusions about Mary’s age and color; he felt sure he’d get a reply from Twichell, which would be his “duty to send it to your address.” He related that George B.

August 9, 1906 Thursday

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August 9 Thursday – Sam wrote to Frank N. Doubleday about “What is Man?” and a proposed special binding for ten copies:

If I understand McClure’s tentative offer I know Harvey would not consider it. When he was here the other day he said he had told McC that the price offered must be a very stiff one. Thank you very cordially for the pains you have taken with the matter.

      Good. Now if Mr. Bothwell will keep that letter-form “standing” it will come in handy in case of future distributions.

August 10, 1906 Friday

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August 10 Friday – Melvin L. Severy wrote from Arlington Heights, Mass. to ask if he might quote from Sam’s “King Leopold’s Soliloquy” for a publication he was preparing [MTP]. Note: The MTP catalogs Sam’s reply as “on or after 10 August.”

Clemens’ A.D. this day included: Clipping from Westminster Gazette, criticizing statement in “Diary of Eve” and calling it irreverent—Clemens replies to this—Calvin Higbie‘s MS— Clemens’s reply to him—Extract from Higbie’s essay [MTP: Autodict2].

August 11, 1906 Saturday

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August 11 Saturday – Of the selections from Twain’s A.D.’s, DeVoto selected about half of the materials not chosen before by Paine to be included in Mark Twain in Eruption (1940); among DeVoto’s choices, was commentary, dictated this day, on a newspaper clipping this day of a humorous letter Sam had written years before to Andrew Carnegie asking for money to buy a hymnbook [35]. Sam also discussed Rudyard Kipling, his reputation and his first trip to Elmira to meet him in 1889; the segment of A.D. was selected for MTE [309-310].

August 13, 1906 Monday

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August 13 Monday – Sam’s A.D. of this day (untitled) declared his admiration for the work of Rudyard Kipling, especially Kim; this A.D. segment was selected for MTE [310-12].

Clemens’ A.D. this day included: Rudyard Kipling’s 1889 visit to Elmira continued—Some of his books mentioned [MTP: Autodict2].

Isabel Lyon’s journal:

August 15, 1906 Wednesday

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August 15 Wednesday – Frank N. Doubleday wrote from N.Y.C. to Sam [MTP]. Note: Sam had asked Doubleday to “put away ten copies” of “What is Man?” for “special bindings some day” on July 27. Doubleday replied that he’d been out of town and didn’t receive Sam’s letter and telegram until Monday (Aug. 13).

August 16, 1906 Thursday

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August 16 Thursday – Independent Magazine published a brief, anonymous review of Eve’s Diary, p. 397. It was uncritical [Tenney: “A Reference Guide Sixth Annual Supplement,” American Literary Realism, Spring 1982 p. 10].


 

August 17, 1906 Friday

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August 17 Friday – Isabel Lyon’s journal: “Today came such a drowsy little note from the King to say that the dictating is a burden to him, & so he is flying away down to Fairhaven & pretty Mrs. Harry Rogers, & the yacht, & he is so glad to have the holiday. Dublin is become an impossible place for him to live in” [MTP TS 108].

August 19, 1906 Sunday

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August 19 Sunday – Frederic Chapin wrote from Oak Park, Ill. to Sam concerning existing rights of dramatization for P&P, possible claims by Daniel Frohman, and of Elisabeth Marbury’s position as Sam’s agent. Frank Pixley, a good friend of Chapin’s who wrote The Burgomaster (1901), King Dodo (1902), The Prince of Pilsen (1903), etc. was to write the play and lyrics, but objected to having to share royalties with Marbury [MTP]. Note: Frank Pixley (1867-1919), librettist, collaborated with Gustav Luders on popular musicals; he is not Frank M. Pixley, Am.

August 21, 1906 Tuesday

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August 21 Tuesday – “Tuesday night [Aug. 21] there was a very bright play by a lad of 18, & it was done in exceedingly good style by a dozen lads & lassies, none them older than the author” [Aug. 28 to Mary Rogers].

Isabel Lyon’s journal: “Here is a day I wonder about. / Jean, 10:00 in my study” [MTP TS 109].

August 23, 1906 ca.

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August 23 ca. – In Dublin, N.H., Isabel V. Lyon replied for Sam to Frederic Chapin’s Aug. 19 inquiries concerning P&P dramatic rights. At the top of Chapin’s letter, she wrote: “If there is any legal complication it arises out of an affair of ten years ago & Dan. Frohman knows all about it. Please apply to him, for Mr. Clemens is unable to do so.” On the back side page one of Chapin’s letter, she wrote: “Miss Marbury will be Mr.

August 24, 1906 Friday

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August 24 Friday – Isabel Lyon’s journal: “Dentist—a new gentile tooth. / The King returned this evening. He came in gay & jolly & darling, & full of his yachting trip to Bar Harbor & Mrs. Harry, & the joy of living. Sly, he was, & like a boy fresh from his wild oats” [MTP TS 109].

Frank N. Doubleday wrote to Sam announcing “Two copies of #11 &12 of THE BOOK go to you by express today.” He hadn’t heard back about the “fine bindings on the first 10 copies” of “What is Man?”