Vol 3 Section 0270

January 31 Tuesday – Livy also wrote a short letter to Susan L. Crane complaining of “rheumatism or gout in the back,” that nothing seemed to help. She was going to try Sam’s gout remedy [MTP]. She added to the letter on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2.

January, late – Sometime in late January, Sam and Livy wrote to Pamela A. Moffett, who then wrote her son, Samuel Moffett:

I received a letter from Sam and Livy a few days since. Livy had just learned through a letter from Molly that I was “far from well.” Sam found Livy’s unfinished letter and wrote the second page. He said they were all pretty well, and tolerably cheerful, but all worked to death. But it was good for them to be busy [MTP: Paraphrased from Pamela Moffett to Samuel Moffett Feb. 6]. Note: A letter from Sam and Livy in Vienna would have taken at least 7-10 days to get to Pamela—& she places it “a few days since,” dating the Clemens’ letter to late Jan.

February – Sometime during this month Sam wrote Richard Watson Gilder, directing him to take the Hornet article, name the price himself, and send the check to Whitmore [MTP].

Luther S. Livingstone’s article, “The First Books of Some American Authors: V.—Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and Artemus Ward,” ran in Bookman (NY), p.563-7. Tenney: “On The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches (1867), reproducing the title page and with comments by MT on the book (pp. 563-64)” [31].

February 1 Wednesday – Sam’s notebook:

“Letter received from Mr. Rogers (dated Dec. 31) [not extant]—says we now have about $43,000 in his hands.

Wrote Bliss to send the January copyright to him ($4,500.) & McClures $1,000” [NB 40 TS 53].

Livy added to her Jan. 31 to Susan L. Crane: “Nearly my wedding day. Last night I had the same sort of night,

simply wretched” [MTP]. Note: she added another segment on Feb. 2.

February 2 Thursday – At the Hotel Krantz in Vienna, Austria, Sam wrote to Frank Bliss.

Yes, I like the photogravure of our house; I have never seen a finer and more vivid piece of work. There’s as much as 100,000 words for the volume of Sketches—say half as much more as Huck Finn or

Tom Sawyer contains. Half of it has not yet been in print, & half of that half is especially good, & ought to be put into a magazine, but I don’t much care…provided you publish the book. New is important to you, but not to the Harpers.

Sam felt he was too far away to “conduct the scheme with the Harpers” for the proposed sketches book, but felt Bliss and Rogers could “manage it,” involving Brander Matthews to “do the rearranging.” Also, he directed that “Beriah” and not “Eschol” be used for Colonel Sellers’ first name. He asked that the $5,500 owed him be sent to Rogers [MTP: MS facsimile: Wilson, Willard. Mark Twain Returns to Hawaii. 1969].

Note: two volumes of sketches were printed in 1900: The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories and Essays by Harper & Bros., and How to Tell a Story and Other Essays which became Volume XXII of various uniform editions by the American Publishing Co. [MTHHR 388n2].

Sam also wrote to Chauncey M. Depew to recommend Prince Lichnowsky, who was vacationing around the world and would be in New York in the spring. The Prince was First Secretary of the German Embassy of high character; Sam felt he would “be an Ambassador by & by” [MTP]. Note: Karl Max, Prince Lichnowsky (1860-1928) became German Ambassador to Austria-Hungary in 1902.

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