Vol 3 Section 0437

James E. Lyones for Northern Newspaper Syndicate in Kendal, England wrote to Sam. “Will you kindly say whether you will do for us one, two or three short stories, for delivery in the spring of 1902…each of 3,500 words in length?” £30 was offered for two stories [MTP].

July 29 Sunday – Lina W. Berle wrote from Boscawen, N.H. to Sam after having read JA for the fourth time; she liked it better each reading. She was a senior at Salem High School there [MTP].

July 30 Monday

July 31 Tuesday – At Dollis Hill House in London, England Sam wrote to Richard Watson Gilder regarding a cable sent previously.

It said all I can say now; for I am 25,000 words deep in a story which I began a good while ago (in Vienna, I think) & I mean to finish it now, without making any literary excursions to right or left of it…I think Dollis Hill is a rather lucky strike for us—a farm, with hay & forest trees & sheep, & plenty of space & seclusion, 300 yards from London. Good-bye till I see you [MTP: American Art Assoc. catalog, Mar. 4 1921 Item 149].

Sam also wrote to H.H. Rogers.

It is too bad about Rice. Is he going to come out all right, do you think? I think it strange he did not take your advice before making his ventures, your being right there at his elbow.

We have had a time of it getting settled in this farm-house 300 yards from London; but we are settled at last, Mrs. Clemens has gotten herself reconciled to housekeeping, the servants are first-rate, & things are going smoothly….Jean & her maid drive in, every day, 45 minutes from here to Kellgren’s. There is a railway

station 2 miles from our house, with trains every 2 or 3 minutes which take you to Barker street—3 ½ miles—in 17 minutes. …

We go home in October or November, we can’t tell which, yet. Pond offers me $10,000 for 10 nights, but I do not feel strongly tempted, & Mrs. Clemens ditto. It could help Bliss’s sales, but I would rather settle down & go on with the tale I am writing. It looks as if we shall go to Hartford, but we can’t make up our minds. Half of the friends there are dead, & we sort of shudder at the prospect [MTHHR 448].

August – At Dollis Hill House in London, England Sam wrote to Frank Fuller [MTP]. Text not available.

Sam also mailed his photograph to Harper & Brothers. Only the photograph and envelope survive; a letter may or may not have been enclosed [MTP].

Will M. Clemens’ article, “Mark Twain on the Lecture Platform, etc.” ran in Ainslee’s Magazine (NY),

p.25-32. Tenney: “Contains a number of MT letters to James Redpath, and reprints the reactions of Joel Benton and H.R. Haweis to his lectures; tells of the time when the Hon. Demshain (De Shane?) Hornet gave a temperance lecture when MT failed to arrive, but left in disgust when the audience mistook him for MT and laughed at every word he said. Frontispiece photograph of MT by Sarony, p.2” [32].

August 1 Wednesday – Sam’s notebook: “Postcard from Bigelow. Apparently he has gone to Germany without attending to the Hadleyburg dramatic business” [NB 43 TS 23].

At Dollis Hill in London, England Sam wrote to William Dean Howells.

“I read the Difficult Situation [sic] night before last, & got a world of evil joy out of it.

“I’ve cut out the enclosed for you. It will help you to understand the Divine Love, which is a Daisy. /Ys ever” [MTHL 2: 719]. Note: Howells’ “A Difficult Case” ran in the Atlantic for July (p. 24-36) and August (p. 205-217); see source n.2. The enclosure is not extant.

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