Livy meine liebste, Ich bin hier ere up um sieben Uhr und sibenzehn minuten gekommen. Georg hat alles gethan wie due hast es geordnet. befordert. Die h Halle-Teppiche sind aufgehoben, die Thüren von das Frauen-Zimmer und deine Schlaf-Zimmer sind geschlüsselt, die Möbel sind w vomⒶemendation der Ombra weggenommen. O nein, Ich habe nicht die Wahrheit gesprochen: er hat nicht das Tuch f vor das SideboardⒶemendation fest genägelt. AlsoⒶemendation—eferydings else ist all right ŭnd gaz ganz gut gemacht. Er will Patrick der hammock Patrick Morgen früh zugeben.

George said Warner was doing first-rate—so, as it was raining, I did not go over——shall go in the morning. I found Mr. Beals hard at work in the rain, with his decorations. With a ladder he had f strung flags around our bedroom balcony & thence around to the porte cochère, which was elaborately flagged—thence the flags of all nations were suspended from a line which stretched past the green house to the limit of our ground. Against each tree of the two trees on the mound half-way down to our gate stands a knight in complete armor. Piles of still-bundled flags clutter up the ombra (to be put up) also gaudy shields of various shapes (arms of this & other countries); also some huge glittering arches & things, done in gold & silver paper, containing mottoes in big letters. I broke Mr. Beals’s heart by persistently & inflexibly annulling & forbidding the biggest & gorgeousest of the arches—it had on it, in all the fires of the rainbow, “The Home of Mark Twain,” in letters as big as your head. O, we’re going [to] be decorated sufficient, don’t you worry about that, madam. If At least I infer so, from what I have seen of Mr. Beals’s hand & what he holds in reserve. I don’t know but he is really going to decorate us too much. However, I’m letting him go on; because I think it’s going to rain tomorrow & we may as well have the house protected.

But wasn’t it lucky that I arrived in time to bust up that Mark Twain business?

I’m in the study. Katy has made me up a bed on the divan, & I’ve got a cheerful wood fire & four gas burners going—curtains all down & it’s a-raining outside. It would be perfect if you were here to help me enjoy it, sweetheart. You are in bed by this time (8.45), & I hope you are reading & are not half as lonesome as you were expecting to be.

I’ve been puzzling over it, and—but you better ask Whitmore, because I want to be certain about it——is it always second hand low, even when you haven’t got a high card?—& if you do, what do you infer from it? Or do you infer at all, in that case? it being your partner’s turn to infer, likely. I wish I had brought the book along; several of those things are not clear to me.

Acres of love to you, my best & dearest; & love also to the kids, including Jean.