11 November 1871 • Boston, Mass. (MS: CU-MARK, UCCL 00671)
Livy darling, I talked in Randolph last night, to a most delightful & jolly little audience. I was happy, because I knew that as it had been fairly pouring rain for 3 hours, & was still pouring, nobody would be there except such as came for the love of it. House Ⓐemendation two-thirds full, & we had a royal good time.1explanatory note
Have just arrived from Randolph & had breakfast. (11 AM.)2explanatory note But I’ve been awake since 6, & I do feel so rusty & stupid! You see those country hotels Ⓐemendation always ring a gong at 6 & another at half-past, & between the two they would snake out Lazarus himself, let alone me, who am a light sleeper when nervous.
So with very very great love
Mrs. Samℓ. L. Clemens | Cor Forest & Hawthorne | Hartford | Conn postmarked: boston mass. nov. 11 ◇ ◇m Ⓐemendation
No reviews of Clemens’s 10 November lecture in Randolph, Massachusetts, have been located.
Clemens remained in Boston to deliver “Artemus Ward, Humorist” there on Monday, 13 November, before a “large and appreciative audience” in the South End course (“South End Course of Lectures,” Boston Journal, 14 Nov 71, 2). The Boston Evening Transcript and the Advertiser, which had reviewed his 1 November lecture, did not report this second performance (1 Nov 71 to OLC, n. 1click to open link).
MS, Mark Twain Papers, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley (CU-MARK).
L4 , 488–489; LLMT , 362, brief paraphrase.
see Samossoud Collection in Description of Provenance.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.