November 17 Friday – In London, England Sam replied to H.H. Rogers (incoming not extant but before his mother’s death on Nov. 9), asking that their money be put “into a safe thing which stands to rise in value.” Sam agreed with a suggestion (not specified) by Rogers about the Mt. Morris Bank. Unaware she had passed away on Nov. 9, Sam wrote he was glad Rogers’ mother was “up & about again.” He took another jab at Clarence C. Rice:

Before November 18 – Sam wrote to his sister Pamela A. Moffett, who then conveyed his news to her son, Sam’s nephew, Samuel E. Moffett on Nov. 18. Sam thought that osteopathy in America was a theft—it had been invented in Europe nearly 40 years before, but he was glad they had the science now for they would spread it around, while in conservative England an osteopath was seen as a quack.

November 20 Monday – In London, England Sam wrote condolences to H.H. Rogers upon learning of the death of Rogers’ mother.

November 21 Tuesday – In London, England Sam wrote to Joe Twichell.

November 24 Friday – In London, England Sam wrote to John Y. MacAlister to ask if a reference in the newly issued Life and Letters of Sir John Millais denoted Kellgren’s system. Could he find out?  [MTP]. See also Nov. 10 entry and Gribben p. 467 under Millais.

November 27 Monday – Livy’s 54th birthday.

November 28 Tuesday – In London, England Sam inscribed a copy of The Mississippi Pilot:To J. Prince Sheldon: “Hoping this will not be the last time I shall have the pleasure of meeting Professor Sheldon.  Mark Twain Nov. 28, 1899” [MTP: John Windle catalogs, 1991, Item 100].

November 29 Wednesday – Thomas Wardle Swainsley inscribed identically 2 volumes of Izaak Walton’s (1593-1683) Lives of John Donne, Henry Wotton, Richd Hooker, George Herbert, &c. Ed. by H.A. Dobson (facsimile editon 1898): “To Mr. and Mrs. Clemens / A little souvenir of a short visit to Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton’s country, Beresford dale, the Dove and Manyfold from / Thomas / Wardle / Swainsley / November 29th 1899” [Gribben 740].

November 30 Thursday – London. Sam’s 64th Birthday.

Sam wrote to Frank Bliss:

“Dear Bliss: / Please send me, care Chatto, a copy of ‘Following the Equator.’

“How does the Harper assignment affect you—to your injury, or otherwise” [David Brass Rare Books; online Oct. 3, 2009; MTPO]

December – “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg” first ran in Harper’s Monthly. It was collected in The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories and Essays (1900), and My Debut as a Literary Person, with Other Essays and Stories (1903) [Budd, Collected 2: 1005].

Mercure de France for December anonymously reviewed Mark Twain’s Collected Works in an article titled, “Lettres Anglaises” [Tenney 29].

December 1 Friday – In London, England Sam wrote a postcard reply to John Y. MacAlister.

“Thank you ever so much.

Dine there—with the L.C.J. & millions of journalists present? No-no, I have lately come of age, & know better. / SLC” [MTP].

December 4 Monday – In London, England Sam wrote to Richard R. Bowker.

Indeed I should like to have a proof -slip of that compilation which I could keep—for although it is not likely that at this time I could find time to write an article, I might get the chance in the bye & bye.

The best of the century for you! [MTP].

J. Henry Harper wrote to Rogers, the letter referred to in Sam’s Dec. 22 PS to Harrison. See in MTHHR 421n4.

December 7 Thursday – In London, England Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers asking to see if Harpers would agree to Sam having rights to cancel the contracts after ten years, the same rights granted to Harpers under the contract. And, since he’d given the new book to Harpers under the assurance of Samuel McClure who was joining forces with Harpers, and now the union was off under a reorganization plan, wasn’t Sam “morally entitled to withdraw the book”?

December 8 Friday – Henry Ferguson replied from Hartford to Sam’s Nov. 20 offer, giving particulars on names he wished edited in his and his brother’s journals, written during the Hornet saga. He was:

December 10 Sunday – “My First Lie and How I Got Out of It,” ran in the Sunday supplement of the N.Y. World. It was collected in The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories and Essays and My Debut as a Literary Person, with Other Essays and Stories (1903) [Budd, Collected 2: 1005; AMT-1: 707]. Note: Sam first drafted the piece on Oct. 28.

December 11 Monday – In London, England Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers.

I didn’t really want to write for the World, but I was loafing for a few days, & they furnished me with a text & asked for only 2,000 words & offered $500, & I thought I might as well put in an afternoon on it.

But in my case if I had sent it to Harpers they wouldn’t have wanted it enough to pay the half of that….

December 12 Tuesday – In London Sam inscribed a photograph of himself for Mrs. Hinck: “We all have music & truth in us, but the most of us can’t get it out. / Truly Yours / Mark Twain / To Mrs. Hinck, with kindest regards of her friend. / S.L. Clemens / Dec. 12, 1899” [MTP: Joseph M. Maddalena catalogs, No. 12 Item 92].

Sam applied to Henrick Kellgren for a bad case of lumbago, and he claimed a cure with one treatment [Dec. 22 to Crane].

December 16 Saturday – The Saturday Evening Post anonymously published an article “Mark Twain as a Cub Pilot” [Tenney 29].

Elizabeth Davis Fielder’s article, “Familiar Haunts of Mark Twain,” ran in Harper’s Weekly p. 10-11.

Tenney: “A description of Hannibal, Missiouri, with several photographs, including ‘Laura Hawkins as a girl’ and the ‘Hannibal of Fifty Years Ago.’” [30].

December 18 Monday – Somewhat before this date, Mr. & Mrs. Louis I. Seymour sent a fold-out Seasons Greetings card (with only their signature) picturing Capetown, S. Africa’s harbor [MTP].

December 19 Tuesday – In London, England Sam wrote to James M. Tuohy, London correspondent of the N.Y. World.

I forgot. I am barred by the arrangement which I made lately & which I mentioned to you in a note.

However, I should be barred anyway, by my set policy of not appearing with frequency in print.

December 21 Thursday – In London, England Sam wrote to J. Henry Harper.

I return the list of articles for the 2 vols. You will notice that I have made a couple of small transpositions. The arrangement as it now stands, seems to me to be good.

I think it may be well to advertise the fact that the “Peanut Stand” (with original unaffected and unstudied drawings of great merit) and half of the “Xn Science” paper have not been published before [MTP].

December 22 Friday – In London, England Sam added a second PS to his Dec. 21 letter to Katharine I. Harrison.

I’ve withdrawn the Harper letter, & hereby enclose it to you, as his letter was to you, & as I don’t know what may have been happening in the Harper affairs since Harper wrote his letter (Dec. 4). …

December 26 Tuesday – In London, England Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers.

If you approve, won’t you please send the enclosed to Harry Harper & see what comes of it?

December 30 Saturday – An anonymous review of IA in Author’s Edition Deluxe ran in Athenaeum (London), p. 897. Tenney:

December 31 Sunday – Clara and Jean Clemens “danced till 1 o’clock this morning, seeing the Old Year out & the New one in” [Jan. 1 to Hutton].