January 13 Friday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Eva Nansen; Livy added a note to Dr. Fridtjof Nansen. Sam thanked her for the photographs and sentiments and was sorry he and the family were out when the Nansen’s messenger delivered them. Livy added a paragraph to Dr. Nansen:
January 14 Saturday – The New York Times, on Jan. 15, ran on p.7, “Mark Twain Writes for Stead.”
LONDON, Jan 14.—Mr. William T. Stead’s new paper, intended to be the mouthpiece of his disarmament campaign, and entitled War Against War, made its appearance to-day. It is not a very striking production, its chief feature being communications from sympathizers, including some American public men.
January 21 Saturday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam cabled a response to a cable this day from H.H. Rogers. Rogers: “PROFIT $16,000.” Sam: “SPLENDID BIRD, SET HER AGAIN” [MTHHR 386n1 mentions; NB 40 TS 53].
January 24 Tuesday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers.
January 26 Thursday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam responded in writing to Mr. C.S. Mason in Toledo, Ohio (Mason’s letter not extant). “Dear Sir— / The Sellers in the book is a fictitious name, necessarily. / Ys Truly / SL Clemens” [MTP].
January 31 Tuesday – Livy also wrote a short letter to Susan L. Crane complaining of “rheumatism or gout in the back,” that nothing seemed to help. She was going to try Sam’s gout remedy [MTP]. She added to the letter on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2.
January, late – Sometime in late January, Sam and Livy wrote to Pamela A. Moffett, who then wrote her son, Samuel Moffett:
February – Sometime during this month Sam wrote Richard Watson Gilder, directing him to take the Hornet article, name the price himself, and send the check to Whitmore [MTP].
February 1 Wednesday – Sam’s notebook:
“Letter received from Mr. Rogers (dated Dec. 31) [not extant]—says we now have about $43,000 in his hands.
Wrote Bliss to send the January copyright to him ($4,500.) & McClures $1,000” [NB 40 TS 53].
Livy added to her Jan. 31 to Susan L. Crane: “Nearly my wedding day. Last night I had the same sort of night, simply wretched” [MTP]. Note: she added another segment on Feb. 2.
February 2 Thursday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Frank Bliss.
Yes, I like the photogravure of our house; I have never seen a finer and more vivid piece of work. There’s as much as 100,000 words for the volume of Sketches—say half as much more as Huck Finn or
February 4 Saturday – Phillipine guerillas under Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964) fired on American troops at Manila. This began a rebellion against US rule of the Phillipines that lasted until Aguinaldo was captured on Mar. 23, 1901 by General Frederick Funston. Sam would write a lot about the actions in the Phillipines.
February 7 Tuesday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Chatto & Windus.
February 8 Wednesday – George N. Stone, Chicago attorney, wrote to Sam, (at Players Club):
February 10 Friday – President William McKinley signed the peace treaty with Spain, with the U.S. paying Spain twenty million dollars for specific Spanish holdings in the Philippines. Many saw the payment as a purchase of the Philippines. The treaty turned Sam off about this being a just war and led to his staunch anti-imperialism. The treaty had been ratified by Congress on Jan. 9.
February 11 Saturday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to an unidentified man, that his “engagements already overburden me, & to add to them would not be wise” [MTP].
The Utica N.Y. Saturday Globe ran an article identifying the original of Colonel Sellers in The Gilded Age as James W. Wardner [Tenney 30: The Twainian Jan-Feb, 1957 p.4].
February 13 Monday – Chatto & Windus wrote to Sam “in reply to your letter of February 7th,” giving a list of his works which had not been given permission for translation into French: 1. More Tramps Abroad (FE); 2. JA; 3 TS,D; 4 TSA; 5 PW; 6 £ 1,000,000 Bank Note. Numbers 1, 3, 5 and 6 had already been translated into German by Robert Lutz of Stuttgart [MTP].
February 15 Wednesday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam replied to Charles Dudley Warner, whose letter is not extant.
Oh, I hope it isn’t a case of “never.” As nearly as we can guess, we shall get back home next fall. I recognise that the friends are passing, & that if we would see the remnant we must not delay too long. It has become a funeral procession, & if I want to get a good place in it I must apply soon.
February 17 Friday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Annette Hullah, a student of Theodor Leschetizky.
It was a very great pleasure you gave me in putting that book into my hands; it had ended-up a good many days comfortably & interestingly for me after my drudge of work. I thank you lots & lots.
February 18 Saturday – Hy Mayer’s article, “Unconventional Statues—V. ‘Would Make a Sphinx Laugh,’” ran in The Criterion (N.Y.), p.15: Tenney: “A full-page cartoon of MT, pipe in mouth, sitting in a lap of a laughing sphinx statue” [MTJ Bibliographic Issue Number Four 42:1 (Spring 2004) 7].
Richard Watson Gilder wrote to Sam [MTP:NYPL not yet in file]. In Gilder Letter-Press Book v.4 p. 189.
February 19 Sunday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam replied to H.H. Rogers, after receiving another letter (not extant) with profitable stock news:
February 24 Friday – Douglas M. Gane inscribed his book New South Wales and Victoria in 1885: “To Samuel L. Clemens, Esq., with compliments, from Douglas M. Gane, 24, 2, 99” [MTP]. See Gribben p. 251.
February 25 Saturday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Sam wrote to Richard Watson Gilder.
I have abandoned my Autobiography, & am not going to finish it; but I took a reminiscent chapter out of it some time ago & had it copyrighted & had it type-written, thinking it would make a readable magazine article; & sent it to my friend H.H. Rogers, 26 Broadway.
February 26 Sunday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam replied to (Major “Alligator Jack”) John B. Downing (1834-1914), Mississippi pilot for nearly three decades. Downing’s letter is not extant.
February 27 Monday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Frank Bliss.
The enclosed has just reached me from Mr. Rogers.
I don’t quite get the idea. Why should you want to take out repetitions of old copyrights? Do it if you want to, but it doesn’t seem necessary. …
If you are afraid I could be endangered by having property in my own name—but I couldn’t be, for I don’t owe money to anyone; I am out of debt.
February 28 Tuesday – Sam delivered the main after -dinner speech at a farewell banquet for Ambassador and Mrs. Charlemagne Tower at the Hotel Bristol. The dinner was sponsored by the American Colony in Vienna. Dolmetsch writes of Sam’s speech:
March – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Poultney Bigelow that he was sending a five-year supply of granules that Livy took for dysentery when watermelon wasn’t in season.
“I wouldn’t ask a physician any questions, for they know a great deal less about dysentery than a cow does…Discharge the physician and give them a trial” [MTP].
Sam wrote a maxim to an unidentified person: “Be good & you will be lonesome. / Truly Yours / Mark Twain / Viennna, March, 1899” [MTP].