Hartford House: Day By Day

March 26 Monday – Sam read “Advantages of Travel” at the Monday Evening Club in Hartford, This was Sam’s fourth presentation to the Club [Monday Evening Club].

March 26 Tuesday – Sam wrote from Hartford, again to George Haven Putnam, organizer for the Bayard Taylor farewell banquet. Sam agreed to “talk four or five minutes, or rise in my place & excuse myself…” Sam argued he got more gratitude for an excuse than a speech, which he preferred over applause [MTLE 3: 38].

March 27 Saturday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Orion, who again had asked that his brother buy the farm that he and Mollie lived in. Sam declined, suggesting “Mr. Stotts sell Mollie a life interest in the place for an annual sum…”. Responding to Orion’s switching political allegiance to the democrats, Sam wrote:

March 27 Wednesday – The Clemens family and their nurse, Rosa, left Hartford for New York, where they spent the night and all of the next day [MTLE 3: 34]. From Twichell’s journal:

“Our friends Mr & Mrs Mark Twain depart to-day to go to Europe, expecting to be about a year at least. The Lord prosper them. The last time I called on them Mark invited me to visit them in Germany next summer for two or three months at his expense. I mean to go” [Yale, copy at MTP].

March 28 Sunday – In Hartford Sam wrote to David Gray, his old friend and editor from Buffalo Courier, sorry that the Grays had been forced to sell their home due to financial difficulties. He related the visit of the Howellses and asked David to come visit in the spring.

March 28 Tuesday – In the afternoon, Sam gave the “Roughing It” lecture at Chickering Hall in New York, to raise money for Dr. John Brown of Scotland [MTPO notes with Mar. 16 to Redpath; New York Times Mar. 26, p7 “Amusements – Brief Mention”].

March 28 Thursday – The Clemens family spent the day in New York City [Susan Crane to Paine, June 14, 1911, The Twainian, Nov.-Dec.1956 p4].

March 29 Monday – In the morning Sam received a letter from William Wright (Dan De Quille), and recognized the handwriting on the envelope, knowing before opening that it sought advice about a “book concerning the Comstock lead…” He telegraphed advice on dealing with publishers. “Make bargains of no kind until you get my letters” [MTL 6: 432].

March 29 Wednesday – In the afternoon, Sam gave the “Roughing It” lecture at Chickering Hall in New York, to raise money for Dr. John Brown of Scotland [MTPO notes with Mar. 16 to Redpath; New York Times Mar. 26, p7 “Amusements – Brief Mention”].

NYC temperatures ranged from 52-35 degrees F. with 0.22 inches of rain [NOAA.gov].

March 29 Friday – Sam and Livy, the children and their nurse, Rosa, left New York and took the ten-hour train trip to Elmira, arriving at Mrs. Langdon’s [MTLE 3: 34; Susan Crane to Paine, June 14, 1911, The Twainian, Nov.-Dec.1956 p4].

March 3 Friday – Francis Wayland wrote to Sam to pin down which evening he would “bask in your smile”—either March 22nd or 29th [MTP].

March 3 Saturday – Edward P. Wilder, attorney, wrote a postcard from NYC to Sam that “absence from city has necessitated postponement of matter referred to in your last note” (not extant) [MTP].

March 3 Sunday – In Cambridge, Mass., Howells sent Sam a note revising his Mar. 2 suggestion.

“Mrs. Howells starts to New York on Wednesday [Mar. 6], and I propose to go with her as far as Hartford, where if convenient we will both stop off till one o’clock the next day. We shall leave Boston on the 3 p.m. train….Don’t bother to meet us at the station. We know the way” [MTHL 1: 222].

March 30 Tuesday – Hartford taxes on real estate, insurance stock, bank stock, money loaned at interest and merchandise were due by Nov. 1, with the assessed valuation made public the following March. Sam’s valuation was published on this day at $84,450 (Courant, p1) [MTPO Notes with Oct.16, 1876 to Perkins].

March 30 Thursday – Sam gave a lecture titled, “Roughing It in the Land of the Big Bonanza” at the Academy of Music, in Brooklyn, New York [Brooklyn Eagle, Mar. 31, 1876, p3]. The newspaper stated the lecture was at 1:30 PM and the audience was small. Agent Redpath came out before Twain appeared and asked the audience to move closer to the better seats in the parquette.

March 31 Wednesday – F.W. Mortimer wrote from Boston to Sam, mentioning the GA play with John T. Raymond, and others [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the letter, “Wants a play written. / Couldn’t”

March 31 Friday – In the afternoon, Sam gave the “Roughing It” lecture at Chickering Hall in New York, to raise money for Dr. John Brown of Scotland [MTPO notes with Mar. 16 to Redpath; New York Times Mar. 26, p7 “Amusements – Brief Mention”].

NYC temperatures ranged from 46-33 degrees F. with no rain [NOAA.gov].

March 4 Saturday – Mary Mapes Dodge wrote to Sam: “People who do promise are so very uncertain that I eagerly pin my faith upon a man who doesn’t promise. Don’t promise—but please do write me a midsummer story for the boys” [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “Mrs. M.E. Dodge, editor St Nicholas”

March 4 Monday – Dan Slote for Slote, Woodman & Co. wrote . “I send you today more signatures of new Book, all that our printer had completed thus far. / Our Mr Wilde leaves on the 23rd of this month & if that little affair takes place it will occur say two or three nights previous—Can you come & what notice do you need?” He suggested a second volume of Sketches [MTP].

March 5 Friday – Sam gave his promised “Roughing It” lecture for “Father” David Hawley in the Hartford Opera House. Livy, Joe and Harmony Twichell were in Sam’s private box. Sam wrote of it the next day to William Seaver [MTL 6: 402]. Joe’s journal:

March 5 Sunday – In Cambridge, Mass., Howells wrote to Sam, declining Livy’s invitation for a visit [MTHL 1: 126].

March 5 Tuesday – Dan Slote for Slote, Woodman & Co. wrote to Sam.

March 6 Saturday – In Hartford Sam wrote to William Seaver that the lecture had “snugly filled every seat” and gained $1,233 for the cause. “Thus gratifyingly endeth the earthly lecturing career of yours truly.” John Hay had not answered Sam’s letter, written sometime between Feb. 12 and Feb. 20, so Sam ended the letter to Seaver with “Is John Hay living? Love to him” [MTL 6: 402-3].

March 6 Monday – Sam went to the American Publishing Co. to see Elisha Bliss and check on De Quille’s The Big Bonanza, and no doubt on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as well. Bliss showed Sam a lot of the pictures that were going into De Quille’s book and told him that the compositors were ready to go to work. Sam may have learned at this point that the book could not be published by summer [MTLE 1: 28].

March 6 Wednesday – The Howellses arrived in Hartford as planned earlier in the week (see Mar. 3 entry) and spent the night [MTHL 1: 221-2n1].

Dan Slote for Slote, Woodman & Co. wrote to Sam that he was sending the “last signatures & completion of new book, then I don’t wish to annoy you about reading proofs…Have printed our first edition 5000 copies only” [MTP].

Sam wrote to Dan Slote, letter not extant but referred to in Slote’s of Mar. 8.