To
Joseph H. Twichell
per Telegraph Operator
28–31 January 1870 • Elmira, N.Y.
(MTBus, 108, UCCL 02796)
I have invited the Blisses.1
Explanatory Notes
One of the incidents of the pre-wedding days
that my mother remembers is that Uncle Sam received a telegram from
Hartford from Mr. Twichell: “You haven’t
invited the Blisses.” It was through Mr. Bliss, his
publisher, that Mark Twain had met Mr. Twichell, who became a
lifelong friend. He immediately sent a telegram to the Blisses with
the invitation, and another to Mr. Twichell, which read:
“I have invited the
Blisses.” (MTBus, 108) The exchange of telegrams (none of the originals is known
to survive) has not been precisely dated, but Annie probably could not
have been on hand to witness it before 28 January. Elisha and Amelia
Bliss did not attend the wedding (15 Jan 70 to PAM, n.
3; 23 Feb 70 to Bliss, n. 1). For Clemens’s
introduction to Twichell by Amelia, see L2, 269 n. 4.
Source text(s):Previous publication:
L4, 42.
Provenance:The present location of the telegram, the text of which was reported by Annie
Moffett Webster before 1946, is not known.
