Wes, you say you almost had to beg to be told about the room where Susy died
when you visted the Hartford House.  When I was there for a conference in
1992,
Marianne Curling, then curator and that day our guide, specifically called
attention to
Susy's death, which she believed had occurred in Sam and Livy's bedroom in
their
bed while they were in London finishing the world-wide lecture.  While
showing us the
downstairs guestroom, she also noted Bret Harte's stay there and pointed out
that
the bed in that room is lower than it was when he slept in it because the
bed had
been sold and cut to fit into the purchaser's room; the Twain House later
retreived it
and was pondering whether to restore it to the original size or, more
authentically,
leave it as found, courses of action providing much disagreement and
discussion
among curators, she said.  I note from the website that much has changed
since
1992.  Marianne is gone; John Boyer is gone; the store has apparently been
moved
from the carrigage house Sam bought from Harriet Beecher Stowe, as has the
small
museum in the other carriage house, built for the House itself, into some
newer
constructions.  I last saw and spoke with Marrianne when my wife and I ate
dinner
with her in Elmira during the 2001 Conference.

By the way, for reasons Wes cites and for others, the Hartford House is
certainly
worth a visit.

John H. Davis, Ph.D.
Chowan College
Murfreesboro, NC