Austria 1897-99 DBD

May 30 Monday – At the Villa Paulhof in Kaltenleutgeben near Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Siegmund Schlesinger, who evidently had asked for more time, likely on their play collaborations. Sam wrote him to “Take another month—and don’t hurry; hurrying doesn’t help a sick man to get well” [MTP].

May 30 Tuesday – In the a.m., the Clemens party left Nuremburg and traveled 179 miles by rail to Cologne, Germany, where they spent the night.

The New York Times ran this article on June 11, p.19, datelined Vienna, May 30 by Dr. Johannes Horowitz: “Twain’s Farewell to Vienna,” rehashing again his audience with Emperor Franz Josef I, and his plan of killing the whole human race by depriving them of air [MTCI 339-40].

May 31 Tuesday – In Kaltenleutgeben near Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers. First, he was “very glad indeed” to learn that Rogers’ daughter, Cara Broughton (Mrs. Urban H. Broughton), was now healthy, with no “peril” to her life.

May 31 Wednesday – The Clemens family left Cologne, Germany at 6 a.m. on their way to England. Livy didn’t want to split the last stage in two, so they made a single trip of it, from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m

[June 1 to Twichell].

In Calais, France Sam cabled Chatto & Windus: “SHALL ARRIVE BY CALAIS DOVER TODAY SEVEN THIRTY = CLEMENS” [MTP].

May 4 Thursday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Sam cabled Chatto & Windus:

PLEASE FIND MADAME BLANCHE MARCHESI THROUGH HER CONCERT AGENT ASK HERE WHERE SHE WILL SPEND THE SUMMER AND WILL SHE TEACH MY DAUGHTER TELEGRAPH ANSWER AND KEEP THIS PRIVATE = CLEMENS [MTP]. Note: see May 10.

Sam also replied to John M. Hay, at this time US Secretary of State. (Hay’s incoming not extant.)

May 5 Thursday – At the Hotel Metropole in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Franklin G. Whitmore.

He gave his future address the Villa Paulhof in Kaltenleutgeben; Sam often did this when about to move; they would not go to the health resort until May 20.

May 5 Friday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam replied Ambrose Poynter (1867-1923), who evidently had asked if he might use a story or a passage. Sam had no objections and the story and details were “set down in a book of mine—‘Old Times on the Mississippi,’” he didn’t remember the chapter.

May 6 Friday – At the Hotel Metropole in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Chatto & Windus, enclosing an article intended to “excite public curiosity about the Fable, & make people hunt around & get hold if it and circulate it everywhere.”

listed in American Book Prices- Current Vol. 21 p.753 (1915) . See also Dolmetsch, 187 -9, 337n9 for the claim that this piece was written in Feb. of 1898. The article was about France’s treatment of Monaco. It was for:

May 7 Saturday – At the Hotel Metropole in Vienna, Austria, Sam telegraphed Chatto & Windus:

RETURN THE THICK LETTER POSTED YESTERDAY = TWAIN [MTP]. Note: Livy wanted the May 6 article suppressed; see May 13.

May 7 Sunday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Bertha von Suttner. This has been misplaced at the MTP. Likely a decline to her early-May form letter invitation.

May 8 Sunday – Sam’s notebook (May 9 about this day):

Visitors yesterday, Countess Wydenbruck-Esterhazy, Austrian; Nansen & his wife, Norwegians; Freiherr de Laszowski, Pole; his niece, Hungarian; Madame XXX, Hollander; 5 Americans & 3 other nationalities (French, German, English.) Certainly there is plenty of variety in Vienna [NB 40 TS 20]. Note: Dolmetsch points out that Sam referred to Laszowski mistakenly as “Freiherr” rather than “Graf” (count) [147].

May 9 before – Sam’s notebook entry right before the May 9 entry:

“During 8 years, now, I have filled the post—with some credit, I trust—of self-appointed Ambassador at Large of the U.S. of America——without salary” [NB 40 TS 20].

May 9 Monday – Sam’s notebook: “Today, the Nansens to luncheon” [NB 40 TS 20]. Dolmetsch writes,

May 9 Tuesday – In Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Franklin G. Whitmore.

“Wrote you to expect a check from New York, & to have Bliss send the July check to me (care Chatto.)”  [MTP].

Percy Spalding of Chatto & Windus sent a telegram to Sam that he rec’d this evening [May 10 to Spalding].

November 1 Monday – Sam’s tribute to the late James Hammond Trumbull written in Weggis, Switzerland, ran in the Hartford Courant, p.3.

November 1 Monday ca. – At the Metropole Hotel, Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Frank Marshall White about an article that was “all ready for mail.” Sam detailed three items of changes [MTP]. Note: it’s not clear which article or piece is referred to here.

November 10 Wednesday – At the Metropole Hotel, Vienna, Austria, Sam began a letter to H.H. Rogers that he finished Nov. 11

November 10 Thursday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote again to James M. Tuohy of the N.Y. World, to correct the price “Wapping Alice,” sent earlier, to $2,000.

November 11 Thursday – In Vienna, Austria Sam finished his Nov. 10 to H.H. Rogers. After thinking about the plan to pay off $30,000 to the creditors for 24 hours, he was convinced it was “sound & rational,” and he wished he’d thought of it “twenty days ago” for it had been “raining & snowing & storming politics here” and he felt he should have been writing about it. He had just received a letter and evidently a photo of Rogers (not extant), and he complimented him on his youthful looks at 58.

November 11 Friday –At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam answered H.H. Rogers’ Nov. 10 cable with one of his own: “Sign thanks splendid Clemens” [NB 40 TS 50].

Sam then wrote to H.H. Rogers.

November 13 Saturday – Two copies of FE were deposited with the US Copyright Office [Hirst, “A Note on the Text” Afterword materials p.29, Oxford ed. 1996]. The English version, More Tramps Abroad,, varied slightly and had an official publication date of Nov. 25, 1897.

November 13 Sunday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam finished his Nov. 6 letter to Richard Watson Gilder. His P.S. focused on the fact that Gilder had already rejected “Platonic Sweetheart”—he was convinced it was another case of “Mental Telegraphy,” which was :

November 14 Monday – Translation of the article “Mark Twain als Gratulant” from Neue Freie Presse,

Vienna, 15 Nov 1898, p. 6, reveals the celebration the entire Clemens family attended this day:

November 15 Monday – At the Metropole Hotel, Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to an unidentified clergyman, who had evidently written with examples of what Sam called “mental telegraphy,”; and also questioned the forgotten use of a detail, a mole, in TS,D. The clergyman also mentioned James Payn (1830-1898; English novelist, from 1883 editor of the Cornhill Magazine), and offered cases where suggestion had been made by “unsentient things.” Sam replied:

November 15 Tuesday – In Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote an aphorism postcard to an unidentified person: “Never put off till to-morrow what can be done day after to-morrow just as well. / Truly Yours/ Mark Twain / Nov. 15/98” [MTP].

Sam also wrote to Louise Yates Waring (Mrs. George E. Waring, Jr.)

November 16 Wednesday – In Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to John Malone of the Players Club in N.Y.

November 17 Wednesday – At the Metropole Hotel, Vienna, Austria, Sam and Livy wrote to H.H. Rogers, including a paragraph from Livy with formal request of the three $10,000 payments to be made to the Webster creditors as outlined in Sam’s Nov. 11.