Vol 3 Section 1000

January 1 Friday – Sam read about a Chicago fire disaster in the NY Evening Post [Gribben 503; fragment

MTP].

Sam’s notebook: “Happy New Year News that 564 lost their lives & 577 were hurt in a theatre-fire in Chicago day before yesterday / [Horiz. Line separator] / Lay abed nearly all day, but wrote 3,000 words, earning nine hundred dollars. / [Horiz. Line separator] / Countess Montjoie? / Lunch, 1.30 / [Horiz. Line separator] / Professor Grocco & his subordinate, Dr. Nesti, came & changed Livy’s regime” [NB 47 TS 2].

Note: Dr. Pietro Grocco; Dr. Giovanni Nesti. Sam also referred to the fire at Chicago’s supposedly fireproof Iroquois Theatre on Dec. 30, 1903, during a performance of the hit comedy Mr. Bluebeard starring a young Eddie Foy. The blaze eventually killed 602 including 212 children, most of whom were either overcome by smoke or were trampled in the panic. A full account may be seen on the website: http://www.weirdchicago.com/iroquois.html

Chatto & Windus wrote to Sam, enclosing a financial statement, and a cheque for £176.4.9 to Mrs.

Clemens, plus a cheque for £21.0.9 for two sales of the deluxe edition [MTP].

January 2 Saturday – Sam’s article, “Italian Without a Master” ran in Harper’s Weekly for Jan. 2, 1904.

It was included in The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories (1906) [Budd, Collected 2: 1009].

Sam’s notebook: “Count di Calfe (?) No—tomorrow, I think / [Horiz. Line separator] / As concerneth length of line & multiplicity of ancestors—in that property I am as poor as Jesus: No grandfather / [Horiz. Line separator] / Eligibility to membership in several of the lofty Orders requires 3 or 4 generations of noble descent. Jesus not eligible; an application from him could not be considered” [NB 47 TS 2].

Louise W. Carnegie (Mrs. Andrew Carnegie) mailed her card to Sam and Livy [MTP]. Note: it was sent to Riverdale, forwarded to Elmira. If a note accompanied the card, it is not extant.

Doubleday, Page & Co. wrote to Sam, sending him a set of Little Masterpieces of American Wit and Humor. He should not be obligated to express an opinion [MTP].

January 3 Sunday – Sam’s notebook: “Villa Guicciardina / a Montughi” [NB 47 TS 2]. Note: Sam was already looking about Florence for a more suitable villa and this was likely one consideration. Following these two lines of entry was a list of items about the Villa that go down the page. Here they are listed, separated by commas to save space: “View, Bedrooms, Baths, W.C.’s, Sun-exposures, Exits, Water, Flowers, Stoves, Fireplaces, Dogs, Other noises, Stabling, Pigs rams chickens, Cows—milk” [TS 2-3]. The list continued down the page into the Jan. 4 printed heading.

William Archer wrote from Rome, Italy, where he was vacationing a few days with his son. They were thinking of stopping in Florence on their travels, about the twelfth of the month and would like to call

[MTP].

January, on or before Jan 4. – Edward B. Caulfield of the Italian Gazette and Florence Gazette wrote to Sam.

I believed you at once the other day, but I had not all my wits about me as I was thinking what a nasty bit I had just escaped.

I wanted to turn the tables thoroughly on the man who tried to do me that evil turn and so it was that I selfishly asked you to help me to that end: you were quite right to refuse.

As it happens I have done a little Sherlock Holmes business on my own account and traced the mistaken practical joker and yesterday evening I managed to screw a written apology out of him which I am publishing in my next issue.

You will be sorry to hear that the idiot is a young American—his sense of humour was again at fault when he asked me if I would fight a duel instead of insisting on a public apology! [MTP]. Caulfield said the

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