On Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 4:26 PM Scott Holmes <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > In my skimming through Day By Day I found this reference for September > 11, 1876: > > "The Clemens family returned home to Hartford [Sept 14 to Fairbanks]. > The train trip from Elmira to Hartford took ten hours, and always > exhausted Livy. On this trip Sam first hired a sleeping car, which gave > the family privacy and lessened the stress for Livy. Their German > nursemaid, Rosina Hay, was able to keep the girls occupied and Sam > wasn’t bothered by other passengers’ talk and autograph requests. Sam > promised that the luxury of a private car would be a permanent one for > the family [Willis 103]." > > Now, looking for references in Day By Day is difficult - I can find no > entry of Willis but suspect it is Resa Willis. I know nothing of her > book but the Amazon write up leaves me in doubt. > > "In Resa Willis's affecting and fascinating biography, we meet a > dignified, optimistic women who married young, raised three sons and a > daughter,..." > > So, if anyone has a copy of her book, "Mark and Livy: The Love Story of > Mark Twain and the Woman Who Almost Tamed Him",please see if any useful > information might be had on page 103. There is nothing about a sleeping > cat in the letter to Fairbanks. > > Thanks >