Details
CLEMENS, SAMUEL LANGHORNE. Two autograph letters signed ("Papa," "Father") to his daughter Clara ("Ben, dear," "Clara dear") in Berlin, Germany, and Norfolk, Conn.; Florence, Italy, and Boston, 12 March 1893 and [28 August 1905]. Together 4 pages, 8vo, with original envelopes addressed by Clemens, one with stamp, the other torn.
MARK TWAIN: FAMILY MAN
12 March 1893 (At the time Clemens, his wife Livy, and his daughters Susy and Jean were staying at a villa in Settignano, a hill village just outside Florence; Clara was in Berlin studying music.): "The summer has arrived. The sun is gratefully hot & the song-birds keep up a harmonious riot in the trees the other side of the fence. A couple of nightingales sing an hour or two, at dawn, close to the house. Jean keeps the place wealthy in wild flowers. The almond trees are in bloom, but to me it is the same as peach-bloom..." Twain talks of the comings and goings of various visitors (including Sir Henry Layard, the excavator of Nineveh) and continues: "...Bettchen [Betty, a servant] is to be lost to Mamma [his wife Livy] I am afraid; & the whole house, even the horses, grieve about it. The old mother is sick & wants her...Betty is not as effective as some people, but amply makes up for it with a sweetness of spirit which is rare in heaven & unknown in [the word "hell" is crossed through by Twain] the other place..."
[28 August 1905]: "I arrived [in Boston from a visit to Clara at a Norfolk rest home where she was recuperating from a nervous breakdown] unfatigued, & with my lameness almost gone. I have had my hair cut, have sent a telegram to Jean; shall take a bath, now, & be in bed in a few minutes...I had a most delightful visit with you -- entirely delightful. You looked extravagantly pretty & sweet to-day -- you were the decoration of that lunch table." (2)
MARK TWAIN: FAMILY MAN
12 March 1893 (At the time Clemens, his wife Livy, and his daughters Susy and Jean were staying at a villa in Settignano, a hill village just outside Florence; Clara was in Berlin studying music.): "The summer has arrived. The sun is gratefully hot & the song-birds keep up a harmonious riot in the trees the other side of the fence. A couple of nightingales sing an hour or two, at dawn, close to the house. Jean keeps the place wealthy in wild flowers. The almond trees are in bloom, but to me it is the same as peach-bloom..." Twain talks of the comings and goings of various visitors (including Sir Henry Layard, the excavator of Nineveh) and continues: "...Bettchen [Betty, a servant] is to be lost to Mamma [his wife Livy] I am afraid; & the whole house, even the horses, grieve about it. The old mother is sick & wants her...Betty is not as effective as some people, but amply makes up for it with a sweetness of spirit which is rare in heaven & unknown in [the word "hell" is crossed through by Twain] the other place..."
[28 August 1905]: "I arrived [in Boston from a visit to Clara at a Norfolk rest home where she was recuperating from a nervous breakdown] unfatigued, & with my lameness almost gone. I have had my hair cut, have sent a telegram to Jean; shall take a bath, now, & be in bed in a few minutes...I had a most delightful visit with you -- entirely delightful. You looked extravagantly pretty & sweet to-day -- you were the decoration of that lunch table." (2)