Vol 3 Section 0074

“characterizing Garrett as ‘a brilliant writer partial to [Cecil] Rhodes’.” Sam praised Garrett’s account of the Jameson raid as “the best one I have met with” [Gribben 253]

Sam inscribed an aphorism with autograph for an unidentified person: “By trying, we can easily learn to endure adversity. Another man’s, I mean. / Mark Twain / May 7, 1897” [MTP].

May 8 Saturday – At 23 Tedworth Square in London, Sam replied to another (not- extant) invitation to dine from John Y. MacAlister. Yes, he would come “pretty soon” and would also like to “get out the manilas and repeat our smokes,” but Livy was ailing and he needed to spend his evenings with her for now. Also, the addition to the book for S. Africa “comes hard” after he’d thought he was done but expected to finish up in about ten days [MTP].

George Griffin, longtime Clemens butler and friend, died in the morning of heart disease. He was about 47 years old and left behind a wife and infant son. He was buried on Tuesday, May 11 in New York City

[May 17 from Munsey].

The NY Times, p.7, “Mark Twain Alive and Well,” ran a wee article:

London, May 7.—The report that Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) is dead is false. He is in London, and in excellent health.

Harper’s Weekly, p.462 ran “This Busy World,” by E.S. Martin. Tenney: “A brief note describes MT’s original plan to dedicate JA to his wife Olivia as a silver-wedding present; through oversight the dedication was omitted from the first copies sold, but it will be on an inserted slip in copies sold in the future” [27].

Harper’s Weekly, p.463 ran “Foreign Notes,” by Poultney Bigelow. Tenney: “MT finished his new book (FE) last night; he and his family are well and happy in London, the daughters enjoying their bicycles” [26].

May 9 Sunday – Pushed even farther back in the NY Times on p. 23 was an Assoc. Press dispatch from London Dated May 8, “Mark Twain in Good Health.” The article announced Sam was still working hard on his new book and that his publishers had asked for an additional 30,000 words on Africa. An expanded article ran on June 2, p.7, “Mark Twain’s Health Good.”

Harper’s Weekly ran Sam’s dedication of his JA book to Livy, and his attempt to “rectify” the inclusion of it slipping his mind [NY Times May 9, 1897, “Mark Twain’s Present to His Wife” p.27].

May 10 Monday

May 11 Tuesday

May 12 Wednesday

May 13 Thursday

May 14 Friday

May 15 Saturday

May 16 Sunday

May 17 Monday – Frank Andrew Munsey wrote from N.Y. to Sam

My excuse for writing you is to do something, the last thing I can do, for one who admired you deeply. I refer to George Griffin, your old butler. He is dead. He died very suddenly Saturday morning, May 8th , and was buried in New York on the following Tuesday. His wife called him at the usual hour of six o’clock. He threw

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