Vol 3 Section 0062

March 23 Tuesday – At 23 Tedworth Square in London, Sam wrote a postcard to Chatto & Windus, asking why Rogers’ first cable of Mar. 4 had not been received. Sam quoted from H.H. Rogers’ letter (not extant):

R. writes me “We sent you a cable on Tuesday March 4, Care Bookseller, as instructed. It was returned the next day; then we sent you another, care Chatto & Windus, & this one returned not back to the Ark.” What was the trouble? President’s inauguration? Isn’t “Bookseller” right? [MTP]. See Mar. 24 to Am. Pub. Co.

March 24 Wednesday – At 23 Tedworth Square in London, Sam wrote to American Publishing Co.

correcting his cable address to “Care Bookstore London. / I gave it to you wrong before, I believe” [MTP]. Note: Sam had provided “Bookseller London” as his cable address, to Bliss and to Rogers, which caused Rogers’ Mar. 4 cable to be returned.

Sam also wrote a postcard to John Y. MacAlister, having survived a bout of lumbago, asked him to “come down & have another smoke” [MTP].

A Hartford Courant article, “Boston on Mark Twain” p.6, poked holes in an Atlantic article:

In what would be called a well-written article a contributor to the April “Atlantic” decides that Mark Twain is first: “not a wit,” second, “not a humorist in the true sense,” third, “not a literary artist.” This is rather a serious matter. It is virtually an indictment of the American people, who have decided that a drop of ink from Mark Twain’s pen is worth ten times as much as one from the pen of any other writer….

…

The truth of the matter is, the writer of the article is a little too near Mark Twain in date to estimate him. Let him wait forty years and he will reverse his decisions. If he does not, posterity will do it for him.

March 25 Thursday – At 23 Tedworth Square in London, Sam wrote to Chatto & Windus to correct an oversight in JA, which he’d intended to be his silver-wedding gift to Livy when he began it in Florence in 1893. He had forgotten to request the dedication in the front pages and now sent the copy he wished them to insert: ,

TO MY WIFE 1895

Olivia Langdon Clemens

THIS BOOK

is tendered on our wedding anniversary in grateful recognition of her twenty-five years of valued

service as my literary advisor & editor.

THE AUTHOR

[MTP].

Sam also replied to James Ross Clemens who evidently had written suggesting another date for a visit.

JRC’s note is not extant. Sam replied:

“Most unfortunately that is my hour for the dentist, & he sails for America next week. Do you think you can make it the same hour next day?—Saturday. If I don’t hear from you I’ll expect you” [MTP]. Note: thus the day of JRC’s request and Sam’s dental appointment was the next day, Mar. 26.

Sam also wrote to Henry J. Harper, the letter not extant but referred to in Sam’s Mar. 26 to Rogers as well as Harper’s reply of Apr. 9—this is likely a copy or similar note as to Chatto & Windus (above), and contained the silver wedding tribute to Livy.

SLC used mourning border for most letters from Susy’s death on, then from Livy’s death on.