ABSTRACT
George Washington Cable arrived in February 1884 for reciprocal hospitality after he had hosted Clemens in New Orleans. Those who came to visit at 351 Farmington Avenue were so generously treated that they were sometimes reluctant to leave. This might have been the case with Cable when he became ill. Livy pampered his lingering sore throat until the Clemenses engaged a nurse for him. Thinking of how she would feel if it were her Youth, Livy wrote Cable's wife and mother every few days with an update on his condition. Too late they discovered he had mumps that were passed on to the three Clemens girls and even the nurse. Susie was very sick but by far a better patient in her father's opinion. She might have been thirteen times more ill but she didn't “make as much fuss in the 4 days as he used to make in 15 minutes; though she had shed barrels of noiseless tears.” Clemens reported to Howells that Livy sat up with the little girl all night praying. Livy most certainly was praying for Susie's recovery, but perhaps also for strength to help her husband suppress his desire to laugh at or swear at his guest's aches and pains.
