Elmira, Hartford and England: Day By Day

November 27 Thursday – Livy’s 28th birthday.

November 28 Tuesday – Sam lectured in Tweddle Hall, Albany, New York – “Artemus Ward.” Sam wrote from Albany to George L. Fall, scheduler for the Boston Lyceum Bureau.

November 28 Friday – Sam wrote from London to George H. Fitzgibbon. Sam thanked him for his “timely hints & suggestions,” and that he had written a ten-minute speech that he enclosed. Sam wrote the speech for a dinner on Monday, Dec. 1, attended after his lecture [MTL 5: 489].

November 29 Wednesday – Sam lectured in Opera House, Newark, New Jersey – “Artemus Ward.”

On this day or the next, Sam wrote from Newark, N.J. to Redpath & Fall. “Well, Troy had telegraphed for Feb. 8. We telegraphed you. You answered with a ‘word with a bark to it—No’ ” [MTL 4: 503; paraphrased]. Note: see source n1 for a full explanation.

November 29 Friday – Horace Greeley, defeated earlier in the month for president by Grant, died from brain inflammation.

November 29 Saturday – Sam spoke at St. Andrew’s Society, Salutation Tavern, London, replying to the toast of “The Guests” (see this reply MTL 5: 491). The speech was printed in the Hartford Daily Courant, Dec. 20, 1873, p2 as “Mark Twain on Scotland.” It may also be found in The Twainian, Nov.-Dec. 1957 p4 as “Mark Twain Toasts the Scotch.” Note: this is “that Scotch dinner” Sam referred to in his Nov.

November 3 Friday – Sam lectured in Town Hall, Andover, Mass. – “Artemus Ward”

November 3 Sunday – In London Sam wrote to James Redpath.

“I am revamping, polishing & otherwise fixing up my lecture on Roughing It & think I will deliver it in London a couple of times about a month from now, just for fun.”

Sam also asked for news of Bret Harte, not knowing about Redpath and Harte’s very public breakup over Harte’s failures to show for scheduled lectures [MTL 5: 208].

November 3 Monday – The Clemens family attended Edwin Booth’s NY performance of Hamlet [MTL 5: 460]. Note: Booth (1833-1893). Paine [MTB 495] attributes to Orion a detail not in his letter to Mollie:

November 30 Thursday – Sam’s 36th birthday.

November 30 Saturday – Sam’s 37th birthday.

November 30 Sunday – Sam’s 38th birthday.

Livy paid $198.40 to Madame Fogarty 149 East 21st street Gramercy Park, New York for the making a black silk costume, and a blue velvet costume, with linings, fringes, etc. [MTP].

November 4 Monday – Sam received a cable from Livy, saying “come home,” that she would return to England with him in the spring [MTL 5: 214n2]. 

Sir Sydney Hedley Waterlow (London Lord Mayor) sent Clemens an engraved invitation to dine at Stationer’s Hall on Monday, Nov. 4 [MTP]. Note: likely this invite was earlier than Nov. 4.

November 4 Tuesday – The Clemens family returned to Hartford with Mrs. Langdon, who planned to visit there a few days [MTL 5: 461].

November 4–5 Sunday – Clemens used Hartford as his base while lecturing in New England, so it’s likely that on this open weekend he returned home to Livy and “cubbie.” Newspapers were calling the Artemus Ward lecture “plagiarism,” and that “Mark Twain is capable of better things.” The critical responses to Sam’s lecture stayed mixed, though Sam tweaked the material.

November 5 Sunday – Elisha Bliss sent Sam a royalty check from the American Publishing Co. [MTP].

November 5 Tuesday – Sam attended the opening of the New Guildhall Library and Museum. Sam wrote from the Langham Hotel in London at midnight to Henry Lee. “I sail in first steamer after Lord Mayor’s dinner on Nov.

November 5 Wednesday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Elisha Bliss directing books be sent to personal friends and journalists in London, Edinburgh, Ireland, France, and various places in America—two dozen or so. Among this list were Sam’s old friends in Nevada, Chicago and San Francisco, as well as those he had made acquaintance with in England.

November 6 Thursday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Jane Clemens with a proposition for Orion, who had been struggling to find work in New York. If Orion would stay in Fredonia but not live under the same roof with his mother, and sister, then Sam would pay him up to twenty dollars a week pension, as long as he is idle or can make no more than ten dollars a week on his own.

November 6 Monday – Sam lectured in Town Hall, Malden, Mass. – “Artemus Ward.”

November 6 Wednesday – Sam wrote from London to his mother and sister that Livy was going to return to England with him in April and stay several months. He bought his nephew, Sammy Moffett, a steam engine and himself a stereopticon, which he initially had considered buying Sammy [MTL 5: 215-6].

November 7 Tuesday – Sam traveled the 125 miles back to Hartford.

November 7 Thursday – Sam attended a dinner for the Linnean Society of London, with Henry Lee, who was a member. The society commemorated Swedish naturalist Carl Linneaus (1707-1778) [MTL 5: 214n3].

Sam inscribed a copy of Innocents Abroad to Sir John Bennett: “With the warm regards of The Author” [McBride 7].

November 7 Friday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Will Bowen. Will’s wife of sixteen years had died and Sam had received the news in London. He told Will of his plan to start back to New York the next day, and invited Will to visit them in Hartford after their home was done in May. “We will talk over old times and tell my wife about them” [MTL 5: 472].

November 8 Wednesday – Sam lectured in Allyn Hall, Hartford, Conn. – “Artemus Ward.”