To Charles E. Flower
14 July 1873 • London, England
(MS: DFo, UCCL 00952)

slc

The Langham Hotel
July 14.

My Dear Mr. Flower:

The more we think of our visit the pleasanter it seems & the more gratified we are that we were allowed the opportunity to make [it. No] episode in our two months’ sojourn in England has been so void of alloy & so altogether rounded & complete.1 We do sincerely hope that no evil effects may follow it for Mrs. Flower2—we confess some uneasiness on that head.

It is a great thing to have seen three such beautiful homes & pleasant [households] & be able to associate them always in our recollections with the tangible realities of Shakspeare’s abiding place. We desire to be remembered to all the Floral host & to thank each bud & blossom of the triple family for the enjoyment we have experienced.3

I may add here, that having learned all about how [ all ale] is made, I now take a new & ferocious interest in consuming it.

Yours Sincerely

Samℓ. L. Clemens & wife.

Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary

Editorial Signs

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1 Moncure Conway later recalled Olivia’s response to the hoax he had helped Clemens plan (25 June 73 to Conway, n. 2):

On arrival at the station we directed the driver to take us straight to the church. When we entered and Mrs. Clemens read on Shakespeare’s grave “Good frend for Jesus sake forbeare,” she started back exclaiming, “Heavens, where am I!” Mark received her reproaches with an affluence of guilt, but never did lady enjoy a visit more than that to Avonbank. Mrs. Charles Flower (née Martineau) took Mrs. Clemens to her heart and contrived that every social or other attraction of that region should surround her. (Conway 1904, 2:145)

Albert Bigelow Paine mistakenly implied that this incident took place in 1879 (MTB, 2:647).

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2 The former Sarah Martineau, of London, whom Flower had married in 1852 (Boase, 5:314).

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3 Charles and Sarah Flower were childless. The other two Flowers of the triple “Floral host” were Charles’s father, Edward F. Flower (6 Oct 72 to Conway, n. 1), and his brother, Edgar Flower (1831?–1903), a junior partner in the family brewery business. Edgar and his wife, the daughter of T. M. Dennis, had five daughters and three sons (information from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust; “Obituary,” London Times, 30 July 1903, 8).

Description of Texts and Provenance

Source text(s):

MS, Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. (DFo).

Previous publication: L5, 415–416.

Provenance:purchased in 1924 by businessman and collector Henry Clay Folger (1857–1930) from Maggs Bros., London.

Emendations and textual notes:

it. No • it.— No

households • house-|holds

all ale • alle