MARK TWAIN
worthy, a most thorough fool, and a liar by instinct and
training. I discharged her Oct. 23.)
Yesterday went to Boston, with Howells, and completed
railroad arrangements, as follows:—
Invalid car from York Harbor to Riverdale without
change. Time 8:45 A.M. (York) 5:40 P.M. Grand Cen-
tral; about 6, Riverdale.
Oct. 16. Yesterday we left York in a special invalid car
at 8:45 and came through to Riverdale without delay or
change in 9J4 hours. Special locomotive at both ends.
Nov. 25. Julie's wedding.
This was the marriage of Julia Langdon, Mrs.
Clemens' niece, to Edward E. Loomis, today
(1931) president of the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
Nov. 27. Livy's birthday.
Dec. 23, 1902. Jean was hit with a chill. Clara was com-
pleting her watch in her mother's room and there was no
one able to force Jean to go to bed. As a result she is
pretty ill today. Fever and high temperature.
Dec. 28. It was pneumonia. For five days Jean's tem-
perature ranged between 103 y* and 104 2/5, when it got
down to 101. She looks like an escaped survivor in a forest
fire.
Sunday evening. For six days now my story in the
Christmas Harper ("Was it Heaven or Hell") has been
enacted in this house: every day Clara and the nurses
have lied about Jean to her mother—describing the fine
time she is having out of doors in the winter sports.
It is not easy to picture that afflicted house-
hold, or the state of Mark Twain's mind during
this period. Forbidden by doctor and nurse to
see Mrs. Clemens, he was like a soul in purga-
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