England 1899-1900 DBD

July 29 Sunday – Lina W. Berle wrote from Boscawen, N.H. to Sam after having read JA for the fourth time; she liked it better each reading. She was a senior at Salem High School there [MTP].

July 3 Monday – Paine writes of a switch in hats between Twain and Basil Wilberforce at T. Douglas Murray’s (1841-1911) luncheon this day (except that he confuses July 3 with the period shortly after the Clemenses arrived in London):

July 3 Tuesday – Sam’s notebook: “Wiberforce afternoon, 4-to read a paper on Joan of Arc. / Drove home afterwards” [NB 43 TS 20].

July 30 Sunday – In Sanna, Sweden Sam wrote to Phyl:

July 31 Monday – In Sanna, Sweden Sam and Livy wrote condolences to Charles M. and Mary P. Fairbanks on the death of their mother, Mary Mason Fairbanks (died Dec. 8, 1898 in Providence R.I.).

Sam explained he could not write earlier for lack of her address [MTMF 279 for Sam’s; MTP for Livy’s enclosed].

Sam also wrote again to Phyl, noted as “an autograph collector.”

Dear Phyl:

July 31 Tuesday – At Dollis Hill House in London, England Sam wrote to Richard Watson Gilder regarding a cable sent previously.

July 4 Tuesday – In London, England, Sam wrote to Mrs. William Manning, declining some invitation—it would “break my rule & I must not do it,” he wrote. He thanked her and Mr. Manning in Livy’s behalf and his own for their offers of hospitality [MTP].

July 4 Wednesday – Sam’s notebook: “Lord Chief Justice 8.15.? / Went thence to 4th July banquet at hotel Cecil, arriving at 11.45, & made a speech—half the people had gone” [NB 43 TS 20].

July 5 Wednesday – At the Prince of Wales Hotel in London, England, Sam wrote to an unidentified man (likely a photographer) asking him not to “risk the photos by sending them here,” as he was leaving England for the summer. He directed they be sent to Chatto & Windus and gave their address [MTP].

July 5 Thursday

Sam attended a reception for the US Minister to the Court of St. James, Joseph H. Choate. Later Clemens made a speech at the Hotel Cecil for the American Society. His letter of July 8 to Richard Watson Gilder lists this day’s activities:

July 6 Thursday – In London, England, Sam wrote to Edmund W. Gosse (1849-1928), English poet, essayist and art critic, about the Clemens family’s travel plans, and the difficulties of a visit anytime soon:

July 6 Friday – Sam’s notebook: “Plasmon—important meeting—Duke st. noon. / Lady Seton, 8 pm. / Clandestine meeting of the Savage Club. / By rule, Chair not allowed to speak. It is a good rule, & I will not transgress it. CLOTHES. / I am a farmer now with hay & sheep” [NB 43 TS 20-21].

July 7 Friday – In London, England on letterhead with “Chelsea Embankment,” Sam wrote to Douglas B. Sladen that he wouldn’t see London before “autumn or the edge of winter,” and thanked the Authors Club for “the honor” which they offered him, and which he regretted he could not take advantage of.

July 7 Saturday

Sam’s notebook: “Bram Stoker. Good morals, & how to get along without them. / Diffidence—& how to acquire it. Irving. / Savage Club—6. / How shall we divide up China? Stanley. /A. By giving it all to Russia under a “temporary lease,” like Port Arthur [NB 43 TS 21].

Sam inscribed the Menu for the Savage Club dinner to Mrs. John Y. MacAlister: “Punctuality is the thief of time / With kindest regards to Mrs. Mac Alister” [MTP]. Note: the menu bore a caricature of Mark Twain.

July 8 Saturday – The family traveled on some four and a half hours by rail from Götenburg to Jönkoping; then three miles by two-horse landau to Sanna, Sweden. Sam later described Sanna:

Sanna consists of a half a dozen villas belonging to Kellgren—in these the patients live. It is on a vast blue lake, & at its back are the open fields. In the matter of brilliant skies, pure & bracing air, & intense quiet & reposefulness, of course the place is perfection.

July 8 Sunday – Sam’s notebook: “Ogilvie—the hospital ? in S.A. Explain why a dog carrying 10,000 fleas will break down if you add 5. / We have secured real estate in S.A. worth a portion of what it has cost” [NB 43 TS 21].

July 9 Sunday

July 9 Monday – Sam’s notebook: “Full board meeting 12. noon. To pass important resolution. / 38 Montpelier , S.W. / 21 Carleton H.T. — 3.” [NB 43 TS 21]. Note: square after “Montpelier” drawn in.

June 1 Thursday – At the Prince of Wales Hotel in Kensington (West London), Sam wrote to Poultney Bigelow.

All right—make it between 12th and 17th if you prefer.

We arrived last evening and the trunks haven’t come. This is a condition of things! [MTP].

June 1 Friday – Sam’s notebook: “LUNCH 1 pm. / Duke of York’s—3 p.m. / Doubleday—lunch Be at Savoy Grill Room, Strand entrance / 1 p.m./ Theatre (Mrs. C.) / Andrew Lang? / (A. Abbey, 8 pm” [NB 43 TS 13-14]. Note: Duke of York at this time was Prince George (1865-1936) who became King George V in 1910.

June 10 Saturday – At the Prince of Wales Hotel in London, Sam wrote to Douglas B. Sladen.

June 10 Sunday – Sam’s notebook: “Oxford, 9 or 11.45 see next page” [NB 43 TS 15]. Note: next page, lined out: “Oxford: 9 or 11.45 Paddington. Prof. J. Mark Baldwin. Drive straight to 6 Bardwell Rd. Dinner & all night” [NB 43 TS 16].

Fatout gives this date for Sam’s speech (not recorded) at Magdalen College, Oxford. Sam had been unable to attend an earlier planned luncheon (June 7) with James Mark Baldwin, who wrote in his memoirs:

June 11 Sunday – At the Prince of Wales Hotel in London, England, Sam wrote a follow-up to Douglas B. Sladen.

“Did I tell you, the other night at the Authors, that this family (including me if I can manage it) are expecting to go to Lambeth Palace on the 22d at 3 p.m.? (Date and hour correct?) Did I tell you that, or have I dreamed it?” [MTP]. Note: Sam did have this appointment in his notebook.

June 11 Monday – Sam’s notebook: “Andrew Lang, 1 Marloes Road, Kensington / Admiral Bridge 22 Wilton st Kensington / Plasmon 12? / Mailed letters to Wm. M. Clemens, P.O. Box 1716 New York & the Bowen-Merril Co., Indianapolis warning them not to issue those books” [NB 43 TS 15-16]. Note: see June 13 to H.H. Rogers on Will M. Clemens matter; the letter to Will’s publisher IS not extant.

June 12 Monday – Mark Twain gave a dinner speech at the Authors Club, London. The New York Times, June 13, p.7 covered the June 12 event:

Mark Twain Speaks of Kipling