Vol 3 Section 1008

January 21 Thursday

January 22 Friday – Sam’s notebook: “Call on Geo de Forest Brush. / Villa il Giviello / 10 Via San Leonardo / Countess Valegoria / (See Jan. 17 / [Horiz. Line separator] / And Mrs. Roosevelt-Scovel / (Chevalier) / Villa la Terrazza / Viale Macchiavelli” [NB 47 TS 4]. Note: George de Forest Brush (1855-1941) painter; would be at Dublin, N.H. when Sam stayed there, in Oct. 1905.

January 23 Saturday – Sam’s notebook: “Baroness Chazal / 37 via Santa Reperata / Tuesdays / & Miss Anstey (sister)” [NB 47 TS 5].

January 24 Sunday – Edward Rimbault Dibdin wrote to Sam. “My friend William Archer visited me a few days after he called on you in Florence, a fact which he mentioned when I referred to you in connection with a subject we were discussing—the origin and early history of photographic lantern slides.” Dibdin enclosed an article by him from the Jan. 4, 1904 issue of The Amateur Photographer, “The Lantern Lecturer – His Sins and Sorrows.” He wrote he would “greatly value any hints you can give me on the subject” [MTP].

January 25 Monday – At the Villa Reale di Quarto near Florence Sam wrote to H.H. Rogers.

Mrs. Clemens says she is not “in better health & spirits in consequence” of your not writing me; that your letters haven’t any such effect. But I tell you what! she finds these last 6 weeks in bed a pretty hard trial; she got knocked back just as she was beginning to get out-doors. But Professor Grocco says she will certainly begin to make some progress soon.

It is sorrowful news you send about the Broughtons & the Coes. You have been having an anxious time, but I judge that you are feeling much less anxious now. I do hope everything is all right by this time, & recovery complete. But your own condition is not satisfactory at all—confound that Boston rack that you have been stretched on so long; you have enough of wear & tear of body & spirit without that addition. Mrs. Clemens is worried about you, & thinks you & Mrs. Rogers could be persuaded to come here, but I tell her I couldn’t be persuaded unless I could bring my work with me, a person’s industries being a very essential part of his life; & the idea of your being contented with folded hands & an idle mind being a thing not imaginable. A month or two of it you might endure—& with profit, too—but not more; more could make the remedy a harm rather than a help. Maybe I can find a villa with more bedrooms in it than this one. I shall try. Then I hope you & Mrs. Rogers will come over & take a rest with us. I don’t want to stay in this house 6 months longer, anyway, & I foresee that Mrs. Clemens has got to stay in Italy a good while yet. I dictate autobiography from 11 till 12.30, daily, & can have all my afternoons free to skirmish with you.

Next month & its sunny weather will do great things for Mrs. Clemens; I live in a strong conviction of that.

I venture affectionate congratulations to the Broughtons & the Coes, & hope they will not be mistimed. / Yours ever / SLC [in left margin of second page:] Love to Rice, & I hope his bachelor days will soon be over

[MTHHR 553-4].

Sam’s notebook: “It is not best to use our morals week-days, it gets them out of repair for Sundays” [NB 47 TS 5].

John R. Carpenter, executor of Mollie Clemens’ estate, wrote from Keokuk, Iowa to Sam, enclosing under separate cover, registered, three packages that were in Mollie’s box at Brownell’s Bank. As soon as he could straighten out her papers he would send an inventory of her books and other articles [MTP]. Note: evidently after receiving the box, Sam wrote on this letter:

Watch for Susy (not here)

Set of silver teaspoons for Jean, marked Dec. 25 ‘I believe’

Silver card-case isherefor Clara

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