Clemens Family Relocates to Europe: Day By Day

February 26 Tuesday – In Hartford attorney Henry C. Robinson, in the matter of renting the Clemenses Hartford house, wrote a follow up letter to his Feb. 15 to John C. Day, stating that Day, in Robinson’s judgment, wouldn’t want to rent the barn, so that $800 would be sufficient rent for the six-month period in question [Stowe-Day Library; 1981 copy from Tenney].

February 27 Saturday – After attending a dinner at midnight on Feb. 26, Sam wrote in his notebook:

Dinner at Coleman’s, Secretary of legation. Rottenburg, Vermouth, (German Commissioner of Chicago Fair,) one of the Foreign Secretaries of State, the von Versens, Col. Swayne — & others. At the Emperor’s dinner black cravats were ordered. To-night I went in a black cravat — & everybody else wore white. Just my luck [NB 31 TS 32].

February 27 Monday – Sam finished his Feb. 25 to Hall by adding a PS:

Carry your negotiations with Carnegie right along — don’t wait for me — I hope to find them completed when I arrive the 2d or 3d of April / SLC [MTP].

February 27 Tuesday – In New York on Players Club stationery, Sam wrote to James B. Pond, who evidently read about Sam’s appearances with James Whitcomb Riley at Madison Square Garden and asked if he’d like to make ten appearances for him.

Oh, I’m just doing this to give Riley an advertisement. I sail for France eight days hence, & I’ve got to go; otherwise I would do the 10 nights for you [MTP].

February 29 Monday – Sam and Livy left the children to their studies in Berlin for the sunnier climes of the French Riviera and a three week rest to regain their health. According to Sam’s Feb. 26 to McClure, they took “3 or 4 days” to arrive, or by Mar. 3 or 4. The distance is nearly a thousand miles from Berlin to the Riviera, so they undoubtedly rested one or two nights along the way [Feb. 26 to McClure; Mar. 21 to Moffett]

February 3 Friday – In Florence Sam wrote a long letter to Frederick J. Hall touching on several subjects, all financial or literary. He asked Hall to carry his letter down to Frank Bowman of D. Slote & Co. and ask, probably about income from the scrapbooks.

February 3 Saturday – In New York on Players Club stationery, Sam wrote a response to Edwina Booth Grossman, whose request (not extant) concerned Sam’s communication with her late father, Edwin Booth (d. 1893).

If I had a line from his honored hand it would be at your command at any moment; but it happened that your father & I corresponded only with the tongue [MTP].

February 3 Sunday – At 169 rue de l’Université in Paris, Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers, announcing that the day before was their silver wedding anniversary. “About the end of January” Sam had written to Henry M. Stanley asking for the name of Stanley’s lecture agent (Robert Sparrow Smythe) in Melbourne [Feb. 12 to Rogers] about a possible world tour.

February 4 Sunday – Sam had breakfast at noon with Madame Nordica, who gave him a signed picture of herself. He had another engagement to dine at 3 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.

February 5 Friday – At the Hotel Royal in Berlin and still down in bed, Sam wrote to Frederick J. Hall. The doctor had ordered Sam to leave for the south of France as soon as he was able. Sam put his new address at the top of the letter, his Paris banker. He’d received a sample Mark Twain’s Memory Builder from Hall, and pointed out the flaws in the boards.

It will not be well to send any of these boards out — they will come back to you, sure.

February 5 Sunday – In Florence in the evening, Sam wrote to daughter Clara:

It is lonesome, Ben, dear, and I turn to you for company. Susy has gone down town to a ball at the Countess de Something-or-other’s with Mademoiselle [Lançon]; and Jean and Mamma are gone to bed.

There’s nothing to think about, nothing to talk about, nothing to write about — so there is nothing for you and me to do but look at each other across Germany and the intervening lands and be silently sociable.

February 5 Monday – In New York at Rogers’ office, Sam wrote to daughter Clara at the Hotel Brighton in Paris, France:

February 6 Saturday – Andrew F. Brady wrote from Blackwater, Mo. that he was reading AC running in the St. Louis Republican. The character of Nat Brady led Andrew to surmise that Sam had Andrew’s father in mind, James N. Brady, who died in July of 1889. “Can it be?” [MTP].

February 6 Monday – The N.Y. Times, p.3 under “Literary Notes” ran this squib:

— A volume of short stories by Mark Twain, to be published in March by Charles L. Webster & Co. will contain his “£1,000,000 Bank Note,” besides several other tales which have never yet appeared in book form.

February 6 Tuesday – In New York at the Players Club, Sam wrote a note to Francis Wilson, his “fellow-player and neighbor in the next room”:

…greeting and salutation! And therewithal prosperity and peace, and the continuance of our friendship until the end. Amen. / Mark Twain

On Feb. 7 Sam wrote Livy about this nights’ gathering at Robert Reid’s studio:

February 7 Sunday – The N.Y. Sun, The Boston Daily Globe and other McClure Syndicate newspapers ran Sam’s Europe letter, “Marienbad — A Health Factory” (The Globe titled it “MARK TWAIN’S GOUT”. The Illustrated London News reprinted segments with the title “An Austrian Health-Factory” on Feb. 20, Mar. 5, and Mar. 12, 1892 [Willson list, Univ. of Texas at Austin].

February 7 Wednesday – In New York Sam wrote to Livy, explaining that he lost a day when sending letters by English steamers, and there was only one French steamer per week from N.Y. Sam told of arranging to sell a big block of his stock in the new type-setter company with J.M. Shoemaker, a representative of the Standard Oil Co. for the Elmira district.

February 7 Thursday – In Paris Sam booked passage on the S.S. New York for Feb. 23 as planned, with a return for Mar. 27. He also engaged passage for the entire family in the same ship for May 18. In the evening Sam completed revisions on JA [Feb. 8 to Rogers]. Note: the family left on May 11, unsure for some time which date they could make.

February 8 Monday – Harry Edwards Fund sent Sam a printed circular soliciting funds to raise $15,000 for the purchase of Harry’s “magnificent Entomological Collection.” Dr. William C. Prime was quoted. [MTP]. Note: a unique way of “bugging” Mark Twain.

February 8 Thursday – Sam wrote “How to Tell a Story” for Youth’s Companion (which was not published in that magazine until Oct. 3, 1895). At 6 p.m. he went to Richard Harding Davis’ 5 o’clock tea. Davis and “young” Howard Russell shared 5th Avenue bachelor quarters.

February 8 Friday – At 169 rue de l’Université in Paris Sam began a letter to H.H. Rogers that he finished on Feb. 9.

Yours of Jan 17 has just arrived, in which you mention $200 check received from American Pub. Co. …I think this $200 must be part of the $1,500 which he was to pay for “Those Extraordinary Twins.”

The thing has happened which was bound to happen. Bliss got hold of Pudd’nhead so late that he lost the holiday trade; consequently achieved no sale.

February 9 Tuesday – C.E. Raymond for J. Walter Thompson Magazine and Newspaper Advertising wrote to Sam about his “Telegraphy” article, noting that the July 1891 Harper’s — a serial story by W.D. Howells (“An Imperative Duty”) — and the Oct. 1891 Century article — Matt Crim’s, “Was it an Exceptional Case” — were very similar in plot. Had Sam noticed? [MTP].

February 9 Friday – In New York at the Players Club, Sam wrote to Livy (this letter may have been written on Feb. 8, but since his stated aim was to write Livy twice a week, this is placed here, as LLMT also assumes.)

Sam explained some misinformation had caused him to miss the French liner to send his letter. He was trying to write less frequently but longer letters, writing twice a week instead of his usual near-daily.

February 9 Saturday – At 169 rue de l’Université in Paris, Sam finished his Feb. 8 letter to H.H. Rogers adding a PS. He confided that the idea of “dumping two of our girls” on Sue Crane was one Livy didn’t want anyone to know, since she needed to talk to Sue first. Since Sue and Dr. Rice were great friends, Sam and Livy were concerned Rice might mention the idea to her before Livy had the chance to broach it.

January 1 Friday – In Berlin, Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Jackson gave a dinner by for the Clemenses, Murat Halstead, and Miss Halstead [NY Times, Jan 3, 1982, p.3 “Court Calls in Berlin”]. Note: this may be Jenny Halstead. The Halsteads were on the Holsatia with the Clemens family on Apr. 11, 1878 during their voyage to England. Murat Halstead was the owner of the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette. See also Jan.