While it may seem that TW and Louise were immersed in a whirlwind of romance – their courting (well – I should probably say TW’s entreaties) was actually long in the making. TW’s hints to travel “abroad” was actually a playful response to Louise’s regular visits to the Brockton, Massachusetts area in support of her mother and family.  

These letters convey a meteoric intensification of their relationship over the first half of 1914 – which culminated in their “rush” to vows via a Portsmouth NH JP that very year. Wonderfully – that level of commitment, of subtle and oft expressed romance, never waned as evidenced by the lines of this letter quickly composed while TW has in the midst of a counselors workday.