Home at Hartford: Day By Day

May 4 Friday – In Hartford Sam began a short note to Annie Eliot Trumbull, mostly in German, that he finished the next day, May 5. Annie was the daughter of James Hammond and Sarah Trumbull.

May 4 Saturday – Daniel Whitford for Alexander & Green wrote a short note advising Sam, enclosing a copy of Frohman’s May 3 having to do with who might act in the P&P lead role. Frohman believed it could not be played by someone over the age of 15. [MTP].

May 4 Sunday – F.W. Heisler wrote from Wilmington, Del. to Sam; Where could he find a copy of Sam’s address on New England weather? [MTP].

May 4 Monday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Frederick J. Hall about possible buyers for The American Claimant, which Sam had drafted in a very short time at a 70-75,000-word length.

I don’t think very much of [Edward W.] Bok’s offer. He has engaged a short story of Mr. Howells at $5,000 & Howells has sold the use of a long story to the N.Y. Sun for $10,000.

May 5 Wednesday – Sam was invoiced $16.10 by the Put-In-Bay Island Wine Co., in Ohio for a half-barrel (24 & ½ gallons) of red wine. This company advertised N. American native varieties on their invoices: Catawba, Delaware, Norton’s Virginia, Ives, and Concord Grapes. Bill marked paid. Sam had this shipped to Cleveland, probably for the Fairbanks family [MTP].

May 5 Thursday – Charles Webster wrote to Clemens that Dan Slote was “either a knave or a fool” and that he was in cahoots with Sneider to “bleed” Clemens [MTNJ 2: 353]. Note: replied May 6.

Emerson O. Stevens (1865-1900) Wrote from Cleveland, Ohio

Mr. Twain,—Dear Sir:

May 5 Friday – Sam was quite fascinated by an ice factory he visited and described it the next day in a letter to Livy. “They make 60 tons a day in summer & 100 in winter, & sell it at a cent a pound.”

In the evening Sam received a letter from Susy and Clara and Livy [May 6 letter to Livy, MTP].

May 5 Monday ca. – In his Autobiography, Sam gives “about the 5th of May” as the date “the crash came and several Grant families found themselves absolutely penniless” from the fraud of “a brisk young man by the name of Ferdinand Ward” [MTA 1: 29-30]. This event would greatly affect Sam’s life.

Worden & Co. wrote to Sam on his account [MTP].

May 5 Tuesday – Sam wrote a short note from Hartford to Orion, enclosing a letter from a relative he had “no shred of remembrance of. …maybe you & Ma may like to read her letter. All well & send love” [MTP]. Note: see Apr. 24: Clemma L. Bradley (nee Lampton) from McKinney, Texas.

May 5 Wednesday – Answering a promise to return in May, Sam and Twichell once again went to West Point Military Academy by way of New York City, where Sam ate a “corn-beef-&-cabbage dinner” at the Murray Hill Hotel.

…it gave me an indigestion & is trying to lodge a cold with me. Joe lost his overcoat in New York…[MTP: May 6 to Livy].

May 5 Thursday – In Hartford Sam answered Orion’s Apr. 27 and/or May 2 letter. He told his brother to “just peg along” on the research on English kings for the memory game. Orion was recovering from swallowing ammonia water thought to be cold medicine. Sam asked him not to send MS — there was too much company and he always had “a raft of things to do,” so that he would “naturally shirk everything that will stand shirking.” Sam confided, “that thief” (Frank M.

May 5 Saturday – Frederick J. Hall for Webster & Co. wrote to Sam asking if it was too late to do anything about the William Thompson Walters art book. He also enclosed “a letter and also two chapters from a manuscript by Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard” —  possibly Howard’s My Life and Experiences published by A.D. Worthington of Hartford in about 1907 [MTHL 2: 246n1&5].

May 5 Sunday – Orion Clemens wrote to Sam: “I wrote to the Texas ‘cub’ the same day I received your letter. I said what you suggested, on your behalf, and added some personal recollections of his grandparents, whom I remembered. I wrote kindly.” He added family goings on and hope for the typesetter [MTP].

May 5 Monday – Frederick J. Hall wrote two notes to Sam, both involving a $25,000 loan from the Mt. Morris Bank [MTLTP 260n1; MTP].

Orion Clemens wrote to Sam offering to “watch that rat-hole” (Webster & Co.) while Sam and family sailed for Europe. “you would worry less during your voyage” [MTP].

May 5 Tuesday – William Milligan Sloane, professor of history at Princeton University, wrote his thanks to the Clemenses for his recent visit. Though the actual dates are not known or mentioned it was often a habit to have guests stay the weekend, or May 2-3 [MTNJ 3: 622n179].

May 6 Thursday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Orion, helping him with his “autobiography.” Sam added “…the elder Bliss has heart disease badly, & henceforth his life hangs upon a thread” [MTLE 5: 97].

May 6 Friday – Sam had initially hired Charles Webster to take charge of the Kaolatype investment, but he soon became a general business manager. Samuel Webster writes: “Mark Twain started at once to unload instructions, plans, and bright ideas onto his new helper.

May 6 Saturday – From Sam’s notebook:

Visited Armory of the “Washington Artillery”. Hanging there is an equestrian portrait of “Stonewall” Jackson & Lee (by Julio.) Also an original portrait—full length—of Andrew Jackson.

Flags of the Wash. Artillery with names 60 noted engagements embroidered thereon. Also flag of the Cross and Stars—the first one made after adoption of change from Stars & Bars.

In another room were portraits of Gen. Beauregard & Gen Owens—our chaperone [MTNJ 2: 557]

May 6 Tuesday – Howells had received and read Sam’s dramatization of P&P and wrote on May 4 that it was “altogether too thin and slight.” He felt Sam needed to fill in more from the book and that overall it was too short, and “the parlance is not sufficiently ‘early English’.” Sam replied:

“Well, then, some day I’ll try to remedy the play, but I’d rather take a dose of medicine. I am greatly obliged to you for reading it & telling me” [MTHL 2: 486].

May 6 Wednesday – Ulysses S. Grant wrote to Adam Badeau, saying “you and I must give up all association so far as the preparation for any literary work goes which bears my signature.” Sam was fully behind Grant’s action [Perry 200]. Sam and Grant knew that Badeau had likely planted the story in the New York World claiming that Grant’s book was written by a ghost-writer. Perry claims Mark Twain was that ghost-writer [202].

May 6 Thursday – Sam was at West Point, New York. Fatout shows him giving readings without specifying particulars [MT Speaking 657]. The pair rose at 6:30 AM and watched the guard-mount, then had breakfast. Afterward they toured some of the sections of the Academy. Sam wrote to Livy:

This morning the cadets all know us, so we are quite at home. I love you my darling. I must start along. [MTP].

From Susy Clemens’ diary:

May 6 Friday – Edward H. House wrote to Sam about his upcoming visit [May 7 to House]. Note: This is another case of a letter to Sam being assigned the same date as his response, this time from New York to Hartford and return.

May 6 Sunday – Miss Winifred G. Dawson wrote from St. Jerome, Canada that she “was very glad to hear from father that” Sam had not forgotten his “old time young friend” (Age 16). She asked for pictures of his cats and wrote about hers [MTP]. Note: Samuel E. Dawson was the young lady’s father.

May 6 Monday – Webster & Co. wrote to Sam summarizing current business income and outlays. “The enclosed report explains itself.” No report is with the letter in the file [MTP].

May 6 Wednesday – Frederick J. Hall wrote to Sam about the Memory-Builder game:

I have talked with one or two toy stores. They are willing to take any reasonable quantity we want to send them on sale, but they will not buy very many of them to start with; they say they want to see how the public will take it up [MTNJ 3: 612n137]. Note: The public was not wild about the game and Sam would eventually regret connecting his name to it (Mar. 8, 1892 to Hall).