Return to England 1873: Day By Day

December 1 Monday – Sam gave his “Sandwich Islands” lecture at Queen’s Concert Rooms, Hanover Square, London. George Dolby arranged his English lecture tour. After the first night’s lecture, Sam gave his ten-minute speech, “The Ladies” for the Scottish Corporation, commemorating their 209th anniversary. The group provided assistance for needy Scots in London [See Sam’s speech: Fatout, MT Speaking 78-80].

December 10 Wednesday – Sam gave his “Roughing It on the Silver Frontier” lecture at the Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO]. Sam wrote to Moncure Conway, responding to a letter (see below), congratulating Sam on the “Roughing It” lecture. Sam offered to trade books—The Gilded Age for Conway’s new book on scriptures, which was to be released within a few weeks [MTL 5: 502].

December 11 Thursday – Sam’s humorous letter to the London Morning Post was printed [MTL 5: 503]. Sam wrote the preface for the English release of The Gilded Age [MTL 6: 5-6]. In the evening Sam gave his “Roughing It on the Silver Frontier” lecture at the Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO].

December 12 Friday – Sam gave his “Roughing It on the Silver Frontier” lecture at the Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO]. Afterward at the Scotch Morayshire Dinner, London, Sam responded to a toast “The Visitors” (text not available, but MTL 5: 509-10 paraphrases).

December 13 Saturday – Sam gave his “Roughing It on the Silver Frontier” lecture at the Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO]. He started a letter to Livy, which he finished on Dec. 15.

“Livy darling, I am so tired of lecturing! I enjoy while I am on the stage, because the audience are such elegant looking people & are so heartily responsive (heaps of fine carriages & liveries come,) but I don’t take any interest in life during the day.”

December 14 Sunday – Sam gave his “Roughing It on the Silver Frontier” lecture at the Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO]. Sam wrote to Livy, his letter sounding a lot like those from his courting days… “an ocean is between us, now, & I have to gush.” Sam looked forward to having Frank Finlay  as a guest for the week [MTL 5: 518].

December 15 Monday – Sam gave his “Roughing It on the Silver Frontier” lecture at the Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO].

Sam finished the Dec. 13 letter to Livy. At the urging of Moncure Conway, he also wrote to Alfred Lord Tennyson sending complimentary tickets [MTL 5: 519].

December 16 Tuesday – Sam gave his “Roughing It on the Silver Frontier” lecture at the Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO].

December 17 Wednesday – Sam gave his “Roughing It on the Silver Frontier” lecture at the Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO].

December 18 Thursday – Sam gave his “Roughing It on the Silver Frontier” lecture at the Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO].

December – In an Atlantic Monthly article, comparisons were made between recent California writers, including Sam Clemens, Bret Harte, Charles Warren Stoddard, Prentice Mulford (1834-1891), and Charles Webb.

“The greatest and most original of these is Twain, whose tone of “perpetual personal companionship” is the chief characteristic of the pure humorist.”

December 19 Friday – Sam lunched with Mrs. Thomas Owen, a widow, and went to Westminster Abbey to see the monument to Thomas Owen, who built Condover Hall [MTL 5: 521].

In the evening, Sam gave his “Roughing It on the Silver Frontier” lecture at the Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO].

December 2 Tuesday – Sam gave his “Sandwich Islands” lecture at Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO].

December 20 Saturday – Before his lecture, Sam wrote Livy:

“Livy darling, I am about to go to the hall, to deliver my last lecture in London. Presently I shall be free! All this time my health has been simply splendid….I shall see you by Feb. 1! Hurrah!” [MTL 5: 524].

December 21 Sunday – Sam wrote from London to George H. Fitzgibbon:

I wish you had been there—it was a beautiful house; tho’ piling the stage full of people made it pretty hard talking. I made no speech, because I had kept the audience there longer than I ever had before, & as I had a jolly good time with them I didn’t want to run the risk of spoiling the thing.

December 22 Monday – In London, Sam wrote twice to Livy. Though the first letter was mentioned in Vol. I, no excerpt was given, and the second, a short note on George MacDonald’s of Dec. 19, was not listed. A recent item for sale on eBay, hitherto unknown, leads to the addition of this entire first letter and a picture of the “dragon” item. Sam to Livy:

December 23 Tuesday – American Publishing Co. published The Gilded Age in Hartford. Thus, Sam fulfilled English law by both residence and prior publishing on English soil the day before. Sam and Frank Finlay called on George and Ida Finlay and family.

December 24 Wednesday – Sam and Stoddard took a train to Salisbury for Christmas. They stayed at the White Hart Hotel near the Salisbury Cathedral and were shown around by William Blackmore (1827-1878), a wealthy solicitor who had traveled in the American West. They had dinner with friends of Blackmore.

December 25 Thursday – Christmas – Sam and Stoddard went to church services in the morning at the Salisbury Cathedral. After lunch they drove to Stonehenge. Before dinner Sam wrote from Salisbury, England to Livy.

December 26 and 27 Saturday – Probably more sightseeing and wining and dining courtesy of Blackmore and friends. No record of specifics

December 27 Saturday – George MacDonald wrote to Sam.

My dear Clemens, / The best wishes of this good time be yours and all its plentiful hopes.

Since it seems unhappily so doubtful whether you will be able to come and see us, can you tell me where you would be to be found in London any day between the 13th & 16th of January. We shall be up then, and I would bring to you the things you are so kind as [to] offer to take.

December 28 Sunday – Sam felt ill from all the dining over Christmas and went down to Ventnor, a resort on the southern coast of the Isle of Wight [MTL 5: 539n2]. There he “hunted up Miss Florence”—Florence Stark, not further identified, but perhaps a friend of George Fitzgibbon, because Sam mentioned her in his letter of Dec. 30.

December 29 Monday – Sam and Stoddard returned to London. Sam wrote from London to Livy. Sam had taken offense to an innocent remark a man had made about his cable-gramming Livy on Christmas Eve being the sort of thing a man did for a sweetheart not a wife. The man apologized and Sam got to write about it.

December 3 Wednesday – Sam gave his “Sandwich Islands” lecture at Queen’s Concert Rooms, London [MTPO]. Sam wrote a short note from London to Livy:

December 30 Tuesday – Sam wrote from the Langham in London to George Fitzgibbon. Sam’s required business of gaining copyright in England was completed. There was nothing keeping Sam in England. He wrote that he would lecture: