once more a free man. Their long trip--it had lasted a full year
--was nearing its end. They would spend the winter in London--Susy and
Jean were notified to join them there. They would all be reunited again.
The outlook seemed bright once more.

They reached England the last of July. Susy and Jean, with Katy Leary,
were to arrive on the 12th of August. But the 12th did not bring them
--it brought, instead, a letter. Susy was not well, the letter said; the
sailing had been postponed. The letter added that it was nothing
serious, but her parents cabled at once for later news. Receiving no
satisfactory answer, Mrs. Clemens, full of forebodings, prepared to sail
with Clara for America. Clemens would remain in London to arrange for
the winter residence. A cable came, saying Susy's recovery would be slow
but certain. Mrs. Clemens and Clara sailed immediately. In some notes
he once dictated, Mark Twain said:

"That was the 15th of August, 1896. Three days later, when my wife
and Clara were about half-way across the ocean, I was standing in
our dining-room, thinking of nothing in particular, when a cablegram
was put into my hand. It said, 'Susy was peacefully released
to-day.'"

Mark Twain's life had contained other tragedies, but no other that
equaled this one. The dead girl had been his heart's pride; it was a
year since they parted, and now he knew he would never see her again.
The blow had found him alone and among strangers. In that day he could
not even reach out to those upon the ocean, drawing daily nearer to the
heartbreak.

Susy Clemens had died in the old Hartford home. She had been well far a
time at the farm, but then her health had declined. She worked
continuously at her singing lessons and over-tried her strength. Then
she went on a visit to Mrs. Charles Dudley Warner, in Hartford; but she
did not rest, working harder than ever at her singing. Finally she was
told that she must consult a physician. The doctor came and prescribed
soothing remedies, and advised that she have the rest and quiet of her
own home. Mrs. Crane came from Elmira, also her uncle Charles Langdon.
But Susy became worse, and a few days later her malady was pronounced
meningitis. This was the 15th of August, the day that her mother and
Clara sailed from England. She was delirious and burning with fever, but
at last sank into unconsciousness. She died three days later, and on the
night that Mrs. Clemens and Clara arrived was