Vol 3 Section 0353

October 20 Friday – In London, Sam wrote on his calling card to T. Douglas Murray: “When I made it appear to my wife, My dear Mr. Murray, that you manifested an interest (which I enlarged,) in my portrait, she was mightily pleased, & hopes you will not regard it as an intrusion if she begs you to let her offer you this one” [MTP: ebay.com item #2254961173]. Note: evidently this card accompanied a photo of Sam as a gift.

October 21 Saturday – A New York Times article datelined London, Oct. 21, which ran Oct. 22, p.7, “Gen. Harrison in London,” cites Mark Twain was among the invitees to a banquet on Oct. 25. Sam did not go, as he was declining all public appearances for the present. See Oct. 26 to Whitmore.

Academy (London), p.445 ran a brief quotation from Mark Twain on his Christian Science article in Cosmopolitan [Tenney 30].

October 22 Sunday

October 23 Monday

October 24 Tuesday

October 25 Wednesday – At 30 Wellington Court (Albert Gate) in London, Sam wrote to H. Walter Barnett, photographer, complimenting him on recent pictures taken, writing that they “have the distinctions of their predecessors,” and that Barnett didn’t seem to know how to make a bad one [MTPO].

Note: this letter, previously mislabeled as C.W. Barnett, has been corrected by the MTPO. To H. Walter Barnett. this photographer established Falk studios in Sydney, Austrailia a few years before and then returned to London this year, becoming a leading society photographer. Sam had family portraits done in Australia by Barnett and would have been familiar with his work; his remark about “predecessors” would fit this connection. See Sept. 19 and 30, 1895 entries, Vol 2.

Frank Bliss wrote to Sam.

Your letter of the 1st came duly to hand; also letter from Chatto & Windus, which I have replied to to-day, and told him that we are hustling things along on the English Edition, and we hope to be able to make first shipment of books the first week in November.

I am glad you have got back to England again, for it seems as if you were more within reach… The application for ROUGHING IT copyright is received.

Bliss touched upon the question of no royalties paid to Harpers on English copies of the de luxe edition made for Chatto. The Harpers seemed friendlier now, “since the McClure people are interested, and things will go along much easier, I fancy” [MTP].

October 26 Thursday – In London, England, Sam wrote to Franklin G. Whitmore, who evidently had requested more money for taxes and other expenses.

Such money as is in Mr. Rogers’s hands draws interest & we don’t want to disturb it; so I am enclosing a request that Bliss let you have it. I do it without blushing, for I have been spending a hundred dollars’ worth of time to beguile the Harpers to make a concession or two in Bliss’s favor & by this morning’s mail they have done it & will so inform Mr. Rogers…

When you are going to need money, give me a couple of month’s notice—& state the approximate amount. I don’t do anything in a hurry unless forced, & of course it is not my nature to want to be hurried—it breaks my sleep & makes me blaspheme everything in heaven & earth.

What kind of an offer have you had for the house? The place is a profitless drain & a dead expense, & I could be tempted, though I can’t answer for my family.

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