Vol 3 Section 0447

September 21 Friday

September 22 Saturday – Homer Bassford’s article, “The Friends of Mark Twain’s Boyhood,” ran in Saturday Evening Post. Tenney: “Charley Curts remembers school and exploring the cave with Sam Clemens, and describes him as not lazy, but helpful to others; a good story-teller, Sam used to tell the Arabian Nights stories to groups of his friends: Curts, Ed Pierce, Bill Nash, Ben Coontz, ‘Gene Freeman, Ruel Gridley, Tom Blankenship, and John Meredith. Edward Pierce remembers when he, Sam, and the others rolled large stones down the hill, once smashing a boulder through the wall of the mill. When MT visited Hannibal (in 1882), he visited three churches in the company of Col. RoBards, whom he dismayed by claiming each as his old Sunday school” [Tenney: “A Reference Guide Seventh Annual Supplement,” American Literary Realism, Autumn 1983 p. 168].

William Archer reviewed The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories in the London Morning Leader. Macnaughton gives us an excerpt:

Perhaps you wonder to find Mark Twain among the moralists at all? If so, you have read his previous books to little purpose. They are full of ethical suggestion. Sometimes, it is true, his moral decisions are a little summary. Often, nay, generally, his serious meaning is lightly veiled in paradox, exaggeration, irony. But his humor is seldom entirely irresponsible for many pages together, and it often goes very deep into human nature. Let me merely remind you of that exquisite page—one of many!—in “Huckleberry Finn,” where Huck goes through his final wrestle with his conscience as to the crime of helping to steal Jim out of slavery [144].

September 23 Sunday – Sam’s notebook: “La Roche Francis 6 pm./ Mr. & Mrs. Lart 5 pm.” [NB 43 TS 26]. Note:

Claude de La Roche Francis, author of the 1902 London Historic and Social.

At Dollis Hill House in London, England Sam finished his Aug. 20 letter to John Tatlock, which he perhaps mislaid since:

September 23. Meantime, a ship has been chartered, & date filed: the “Minnehaha” of the Atlantic Transport line, October 6. She is 16,000 tons & does it in 10 days. ( I am bringing my conscience over).

We are packing now [MTP].

September 24 Monday – At Dollis Hill House in London, England Sam replied to John Y.

MacAlister.

It is too bad, & we are as sorry as we can be, but next Saturday we shall be crowding the final packing through, & all hands employed, & too tired to be any use; but don’t you think you can come out to 8 o’clock dinner to-morrow night? We hope you can, & you will tell me to-morrow, when we meet at Plasmon House, Duke street.

I’ll bring the play; also a type-MS which you are to stow away somewhere for a while; also that book; also I must arrange with you to receive the proceeds of some S.A. [South Africa] mining stock of small value—in case any proceeds should ever be forthcoming; also, to represent my Plasmon interests and Founders’ Shares [MTP]. Note: Sam headed this letter “Sunday,” which was Sept. 24; so he either had the wrong date or wrong day of the week.

September 25 Tuesday – At Dollis Hill House in London, England Sam wrote to Charles L. Atchison.

I do not know how to thank you enough for sending me Mr. Archer’s compact & virile article. A compliment from him is gold, 98 fine.

And compensation is mine at last! The paragraph which he quotes, with approval, from Huck Finn, caused that book to be banished with holy indignation from the public library of Mr. Emerson’s town (Concord, Mass) fifteen years ago [MTP]. Note: Atchison is not identified. See Aug. 2 to Archer. William

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