February 14 Tuesday – Sam and Livy probably took the trip to New York this day that Sam had mentioned in several previous letters. The Gilsey House bill of Feb. 21 specified nights from Feb. 15 through Feb. 18, plus other purchases, and sets the timeframe for this trip.
Home at Hartford: Day By Day
February 15 Wednesday – Worden & Co. wrote advising 200 shs of Wabash bought @ 30 ½ [MTP].
February 16 Thursday – William Dowson wrote from Chloride, N.M. to praise RI [MTP].
David M. Drury wrote from Brooklyn to follow up a request for an autograph [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env., “No answer”
February 17 Friday – A.A. Vantine & Co., New York, billed Livy $29.75 for “1 set tea toys[?], 2 trays, 5 boxes magic flowers”; paid same day [MTP]. Note: This purchase by Livy and the Feb. 18 Times notation (see entry) support the idea that Sam and Livy made another trip to New York sometime after Feb. 12, (at least by the Feb. 14 purchase of glass case) and returned by Feb. 19.
February 18 Saturday – According to the New York Times, page 8 under “PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE,” Sam was staying at the Hotel Brunswick. Note: Sam may have thrown off the Times by some sort of ruse—the Clemens family stayed at the Gilsey House; see bill at end of this entry.
February 19 Sunday – In Hartford, Sam wrote to an unidentified person:
“The expression of the reverence & admiration which I feel for our great poet could not be compressed into the narrow limits of a toast or a ‘sentiment;’ so I will not make the attempt. / Ys Truly / Mark Twain” [MTP]. Note: in what appears to be another hand, in pencil at the top: “Re: Longfellow.”
February 20 Monday – M.B. Bennett wrote from Cleveland to ask Sam “events of his life” for their club [MTP].
February 21 Tuesday – From Hartford, Sam typed a letter to Lieutenant Charles Wood at West Point. Wood had mentioned “Miss Terese Blackburn, a charming Kentucky schoolgirl,” who was anxious for a “genuine talk” with Mark Twain.
February 22 Wednesday – In Hartford, Sam inscribed a portrait of himself to an unidentified person: “There isn’t any merit in doing a thing which it is a pleasure to do: & therefore none is claimed by / Ys Truly / SL. Clemens / (Mark Twain) / Hartford, Feb. 22, 1882” [MTP].
February 23 Thursday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Edward House. Koto left her shawl behind and Livy was getting it ready to mail as Sam typed the letter.
February 24 Friday – Sam gave a reading at Twichell’s Asylum Hill Congregational Church, Hartford, Reported in Hartford Courant, Feb. 25, page 3: “Additional City News” [Schmidt].
February 25 Saturday – Christian Tauchnitz, Jr. wrote: “Accept my best thanks for your amiable letter of the 18th of January…” He’d paid £75 on Dec. 5 to Chatto & Windus for the right to publish P&P on the continent, and asked about the binding Sam preferred [MTP]. Note in file: “SLC replies to this on 30 March 1882 (see Tauchnitz to SLC, 15 April 1882) / Postmark on back of envelope may be Feb 25”
February 26 Sunday – Charles H. Clark for Hartford Courant wrote to ask Sam’s advice. He’d been invited by a friend in London to join him for 4 or 5 weeks. Clark had never been abroad. Did Clemens think he might get some work done on board? [MTP]. Note: this may be on the Encyclopedia Of Humor
February 27 Monday – Mrs. Richard H. Jones wrote from N. Orleans to ask for Sam’s autograph. Much of the letter is faded out [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env., “Gee Whillikers!”
February 28 Tuesday – Karl Gerhardt wrote to Sam and Livy of his progress at school [MTP].
Worden & Co. Sent a statement showing a balance of $13,682.53 [MTP].
March – On a copy of John Bunyan’s (1622-1688) The Pilgrim’s Progress (Chinese), Sam inscribed: “Sent from Bangkok Siam by H.R.H. the Rajah of Ambong and Morocco in the Island of Borneo. This prince is a full-blooded Yankee, and was born in Boston. Hartford, March, 1882” [Gribben 112]. Note: This book sent by Joseph William Torrey as per Torrey’s of Jan. 1, 1882.
March 1 Wednesday – William T. Hamersley was company at the Clemens home [Letter of Mar. 2. to Webster].
Charles Ethan Porter wrote from Paris, France, where he frequently met with the Gerhardts [MTP].
Hubbard & Farmer sent a statement showing a credit to Sam of $12,775 [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env., “Account squared & discontinued”; the account continued on, however, so he changed his mind.
March 2 Thursday – From Hartford, Sam typed a letter to Charles Webster that he’d asked Hamersley the night before “if the $25000.00 had been raised” for the Paige typesetter investment; Hamersley answered that it had and that “the work perfecting the machine was proceeding.” Sam also mentioned that he’d seen the man “half a dozen times within the last month” and “never exchanged a word about that matter….” He added that he didn’t want to buy any more stock from the
March 3 Friday – Sam was still typing letters. He typed one from Hartford to Andrew Chatto thanking him for requested English reviews of P&P. “They are surprisingly complimentary” [MTNJ 2: 449n41].
Sam also wrote a short note to John W. Sanborn, probably answering his Feb. 18 letter:
March 4 Saturday – Howells arrived at Sam’s for a two-day visit to collaborate on a play, a lecture tour, a book of travel and the encyclopedia of humor proposal [MTHL 1: 392n1].
Sam wrote from Hartford to James R. Osgood, obviously in a good mood and practicing dialect.
March 6 Monday – William Dean Howells returned to Boston [MTHL 1: 392n1].
Sam telegraphed from Hartford to John Russell Young. Sam had written to General Grant for a favor of keeping Howells’ father in his Toronto consulate position. He asked Young to get Grant’s answer and write or send him a telegram, saving Grant the bother [MTP].
March 7 Tuesday – Karl & Hattie J. Gerhardt wrote to Sam and Livy, thrilled with a letter just rec’d from the Clemenses. More about progress on their studies [MTP]. Note: dated Mar. 8 but postmarked 7th.
March 8 Wednesday – George P. Bissell wrote with a Bradstreet’s report on the Am. Bank Note Co., which he highly recommended [MTP].
Hooker & Co. wrote a short Note: “Your telegram just received. We will put the carriage in the works immediately and push it forward to completion as fast as possible” [MTP].
March 9 Thursday – Sam took a train to New York, where he met Howells. The two men checked into the Hotel Brunswick [MTNJ 2: 451n54; N.Y. Times Mar. 10 p.8].
Clarence E. Ash (ca. 1861-1897) in Sioux City, Ia. sent a pre-printed autograph seeking card, spelling Clemens with two ‘m’s [MTP].
March 10 Friday – At noon, Sam saw Ulysses S. Grant at 2 Wall Street in New York, hoping to prevent President Arthur from replacing William Dean Howells’ father, William Cooper Howells as U.S. consul at Toronto. Shortly after this day, Grant assured Sam that Howells would keep the post [MTNJ 2: 450n47].