25 or 26 September 1873 • London, England (MS: CLjC, UCCL 00965)
post card
the address only to be written on this side.
to
Henry Lee Esq
43 Holland street
Blackfriars Road, E.C.
postmarked london-w 7 sp26 73
Before their bank suspended payment, the Clemenses had planned a trip to Paris with Lee; they now wanted to assess their finances before deciding whether to go (22 and 25 Sept 73 to Brown, nn. 2, 3click to open link). They had also accepted Lee’s invitation for an excursion to the Brighton aquarium on Saturday, 27 September. This was Olivia’s second, and Clemens’s third, tour of the aquarium as Lee’s guests (12 and 13 June 73 to Lee, n. 3click to open link). Olivia wrote her mother on 25 September:
Last night when we returned from the theater we had a notification that our bankers had suspended payment— After we went to bed Mr Clemens could not sleep, he had to return to the parlor and smoke and try to get sleepy— He said the reason that he could not sleep was that he kept thinking how stupid he had been not to draw out our money after he heard that J. Cook & Co. had failed, said he kept thinking what the “boys” (meaning Mr Slee, Theodore, & Charlie) were saying at home—“Well it is 24 hours since J. Cook suspended and Clemens will have drawn his money out of the bank—now it is 48 hours since J. Cook failed and of course Clemens is all safe, he will have his money drawn out &c &c” I told him I thought he was mistaken I thought the people at home would feel certain that he had taken no steps in the matter, he laughed and thought I was in the right of it— We fortunately have by us the £200 that Charlie sent for you and £43 that Pamela sent—but we owe several quite heavy bills and shall have to have more money from home unless Clews & Co resume payment in a few days. Mr Clemens is inclined to think they will— If they do not you will probably get a dispatch from us before this reaches you— . . .
We do wish that we knew how you are all feeling at home financially, it seems as if this terrible panic must effect all business men. You know if the firm is cramped Mr Clemens can lecture and get money to pay our debts and get us home— Now Mother don’t you and Charlie laugh at that, lecturing is what Mr C. always speaks of doing when their seems any need of money— Just think here we are among friends who would quickly lend us money if we needed it, think how many are seriously inconvenienced on this side now by this trouble.
The “boys”—partners in J. Langdon and Company—were John D. F. Slee, Theodore Crane, and Charles Langdon. Olivia continued her letter on Sunday, 28 September:
Yesterday we went to the Brighton Aquarium, that is a perfectly wonderful place I did enjoy it so very much, it was like an enchanted land—
Mr Clemens has one of his severe colds in the head, so is not feeling well— Susie is very well dear little trot She tries to say aunt Clara—calls it “An Taal”—
On Tuesday of this week we go to Paris with Mr Lee. Mr Clemens wrote him after the loss of the money to wait, not to make the arrangements about Paris until he saw us again, but Mr Lee did not get the word and the arrangements were all made— I think probably it will not make any great difference. I am so very anxious to get word from home about financial affairs. Mr Clemens thinks perhaps it is best for us to borrow money from the Routledges— (25 and 28 Sept 73, CtHMTH)
MS, James S. Copley Library, La Jolla, California (CLjC). The letter was written on a halfpenny postcard identical to the one described in the commentary for 4 Oct 72 to Leeclick to open link.
L5 , 443–444; Christie 1988, lot 1189.
The MS was for many years in the Estelle Doheny Collection at The Edward Laurence Doheny Memorial Library of St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo, California. John L. Feldman purchased it in October 1988 and sold it to the Copley Library in 1990.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.