Vol 3 Section 0150

November 21 Sunday

November 22 Monday

November 23 Tuesday – True W. Williams (Truman), illustrator of Sam’s Sketches, New and Old, TS and HF, died in Chicago at the age of 58 from an aortic aneurysm. See entries Vol. I.

November 24 Wednesday – Sam’s notebook:

Nov. 24. Dined again with the Duc de Frias, one of the Secretaries of the Spanish Legation. Speaks English like a native. Present, Clark & —— of the English Legation, & the Prince of Thurn & Taxis. Fine men, all of them. The talk was of books altogether. A pleasant evening. The Prince speaks English nearly perfectly, & is a fine man & worthy representative of that ancient house [NB 42 TS 47-8]. Note: Duke of Frias at this time wa s Bernardino Fernández de Velasco y Roser Balfe Jasper (1866-1916). Albert I, the eighth Prince of Thurn und Taxis (1867-1952). See May 26, 1899, when the Clemenses were guests of the Prince.

Nov. 24. Two rows in the Reichrath this afternoon. There were hammerings with fists, chokings, threatenings with chairs, a wound made with a penknife. A knife was drawn on the President Abrahamovich [sic Abrahamowicz] . The sitting was twice closed in tumult & disorder, & the President left the Chair. The second time he closed the sitting till further (written) notice [ibid.].

Gurin Eugenbauch wrote a picture postcard from Austria asking for an autograph [MTP].

November 25 Thursday – A tempest was brewing at the Austrian Reichsrath. Dolmetsch provides the prelude to the sensational ouster of Nov. 26:

After several more cacophonous, chaotic sessions, one of the conservative deputies, Count Franz Falkenhayn, introduced (almost inaudibly) a measure on November 25 to permit the use of force to maintain order. Amid the din and uproar this so-called Lex Falkenhayn was railroaded through without most members being aware of it. When the Socialists, hitherto neutral in the debate, discovered what had happened, they mounted a noisy protest, and the next day [Nov. 26] they overpowered the presiding officer and seized the rostrum [71]. Note: Sam later noted that Lex Falkenhayn gave the President power to suspend any deputy for three days who continued to be disorderly, and the House could suspend the same for 30 days [“Stirring Times in Austria”].

Sam’s notebook:

Nov. 25. Thanksgiving. Attended Reichsrath, 1 p.m. Saw a viva voce vote taken on changing Rules of the House so as to do away with roll-call on motions. Was told that the President declared the measure carried—a high-handed thing, if true. One could hear nothing, it was such a stormy time [Dolmetsch 75-6: NB 42 TS 48].

At 3 p.m. the Clemens family went to the American Embassy for a Thanksgiving dinner party, given for the American community in Vienna by Ambassador and Mrs. Charlemagne Tower [Dolmetsch 75].

The official publication date for the English version of FE, titled More Tramps Abroad,, published by Chatto & Windus [M. Johnson 66]. The ledger books of Chatto & Windus show that 3,000 additional copies of More Tramps Abroad (FE) were printed (totaling 13,000 to date) [Welland 238]. See Aug. 12, Nov. 10, Dec. 22, Mar. 8, 1898, Oct. 11, 1900, and Aug. 7, 1907 for other print run amounts, totaling 30,000.

November 26 Friday – Sam’s notebook:

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