Adventures and Letters of Richard Harding Davis

completely his own master and paying his own way-a condition which afforded him infinite satisfaction. He was greatly attached to Brisbane and as devoted to the inte

hed Story," and other stories that soon gave him an established reputation as a writer of fiction. But while Richard's success was attained in a remarkably short space of time and at an extremely early age, it was not accomplished without an enormous amount of hard work and considerable privation. When he first went to New York his salary was but thirty dollars a week, and while he remained on The Evening Sun never over fifty dollars, and the prices he received for his first short stories were extremely meagre. During the early days on The Evening Sun he had a room in a little house at 108 Waverly Place, and took his meals in the neighborhood where he happened to find himself and where they were cheapest. He usually spent his week-ends in Philadelphia, but his greatest pleasure was when he could induce some member of his family to visit him in New York. I fear I was the one who most often accepted his hospitality, and wonderful visits they were, certainly to me, and I think to Richard as we

st began to make his own living one of the great pleasures of his life was to celebrate, or as he called it, to "have a party." Whenever he had finished a short story he had a party, and when the story had been accepted there was another party, and, of course, the real party was when he received the check. And so it was throughout his life, giving a party to some one whom a party would help, buying a picture for which he had no use to help a struggling artist, sending a few tons of coal to an old lady who was not quite warm enough, always writing a letter or a check for some one of his own craft who had been less fortunate than he-giving to every beggar that

ening S

MOT

Instead of making me unpopular, I find it helps me with the sports, though it hurts my chances professionally, as so many of them know me now that I am no use in some districts. For instance, in Mott and Pell streets, or in the Bowery, I am as safe as any precinct detective. I tell you this to keep you from worrying. They won't touch a man whom they think is an agent or an officer. Only it spoils my chances of doing reportorial-detective work. For instance, the captain of the

were the Shippens, of course; and Mamie Blake is a real girl, and the st

o civil, I think I will give them a chance at the great prize. I am writing a comic guide book and a history of the Haymarket for the paper; both ar

CK

YORK

R C

d Dad the same way don't show it to Mother. Dad made one mistake by thinking I wrote a gambling story which has made me nervous. It is hardly the fair thing to suppose that a man must have an intimate acquaintance with what

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the room, and I don't know whether it aboun

YORK

FAM

ch was meant to please but which bored me. Then the "Raegen" story came in, making nine pages of the Scribner's, which at ten dollars a page ought to be $90. Pretty good pay for three weeks' work, and it is a good story. Then at t

e and manner, "Bring your New York representative back and send me to London, and

ou can have the same work here. Come out and take lunch

ill told me to get you. You won't have anything to do but ask people to write novels and edit them.

id, "see y

as said. I consider it a curious interview. It will

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FAM

d have been shelved and side-tracked, and I am still in the running, and learning every day. Brisbane and I have had our first serious difficulty over Mrs. R--, who is staying with Mrs. "Bill." There is at present the most desperate rivalry, and we discuss each other's chances with great anger. He counts on his transcontinental knowledge, but my short stories hit very hard, and he is not in it when I sing "Thy Face Will Lead Me On" and "When Kerrigan Struck High C." She has a fatal fondness for Sullivan, which is most unfortunate, as Brisbane can and does tell her about him by the half hour. Yesterday we both tried to impress her by riding down in front of the porch and showing off the horses and ourselves. Brisbane came off best, thoug

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YORK

THER (L

d newly cut hay, and the girls look so pretty and bold lying around on the sets, and the men so out of focus and with such startling cheeks and lips. They were very glad to see me and made a great fuss. Then I've been to see Carmencita dance, which I enjoyed remarkably, and

oral it is, too, with which I agree heartily. But, of course, you know it is not a new idea to me. Anything as good and true as that moral cannot be new at this late date. I went to the B

id, "I fancy

's the horse for your money; she's favorite, and there isn't any second choic

the man in the white h

g powers. She's a pretty one to look at, but she's just a 'grandstand' ladies' choice. She ain't in it with Raceland or Erica. The horse YOU want is not a

ides best," said the obst

ittle bet on, just enough for a flyer, but she's not the horse to plunge on. If you're a millionaire with money to throw away, why, you might pu

ay is reasonable, I see that; but,

, the story simply shows how obstinate some men are as regards horses and-other uncertain critters. I have no doubt but that the Methodist minister's daughter would have made Hiram happy if he

es just at present, and before I put any money up on any one of them for the Matrimonial stakes, I will ask you first to lo

weetheart, I

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K, May

and how much I love you and Nora who is getting lovelier and sweeter and prettier everyday and I

doubt whether to send off or not. I think I will kee

go to Cambridge with Mrs. Gilder and dear Mrs. Cleveland a

colored, and I am choosing what I wan

t, my dea

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o the writing of short stories, and had made a tentative agreement with a well-known magazine to do a series of short sketches of New York

ELPHIA

R D

ck work for money. It is the beginning of decadence both in work and reputation for you. I know by my own and a thousand other people. Begin to write because

er which you understand better than I- Mind your Mother's advice to you-now and all the time is "do only your best work-even if you starve doing it." But you won

o have heard the good talk. It was like the r

o

TH

of Richard's story "A Walk up the Avenue." Richard frequen

IA, July 2

30

EAR

Walk up the Avenue. It is far and away the best thing you have

, that he may forget how much the good Lord has given him, and how responsible to the good Lord and to himself he is and will be for it. A man ent

tween you and your work. Make your life worthy of your talent

y pulse and heartsome glow in it. Remember, hereafter, you have by it put on the bars against yourself prevent

ngly

n paid him a salary considerably larger than he had received heretofore, and he now demanded and received much higher terms for his stories. All of which was well for Richard because as his income grew so grew his tastes. I have known few men who cared less for money than did my brother, and I have known few who cared more for what it could buy for his friends and for himself. Money to him, and, during his life he made very large sums of it, he always chose to regard as income but never capital. A bond or a share of stock meant to him what it would bring that day on the Stock Exchange. The rainy day which is the bugaboo for the most of us, never seemed to show on his horizon. For a man whose livelihood depended on the lasting quality of his creative faculties he had an infinite faith in the future, and indeed his own experience seemed to show that he was justified in this belief. It could not have been very long after his start as a fiction writer tha

those of our own football captain; we knew his face as we knew the face of the President of the United States, but we infinitely preferred Davis's. When the Waldorf was wondrously completed, and we cut an exam. in Cuneiform Inscriptions for an excursion to see the world at

til his marriage in the summer of 1899. They were very pleasant, sunny rooms, and in the sitting-room, which Richard had made quite attractive, we gave many teas and supper-parties. But of all the happy incidents I can recall at the Twenty-eighth Street house, the one I remember most distinctly took place in the hallway the night that Richard received the first statement and check for his first book of short stories, and before the money had begun to come in as fast as it did afterward. We were on our way to dinner at some modest resort when we saw and at once recognized the long envelope on the ma

emes for writing a play together, but the only actual result they ever attained was a one-act version Sothern did at the old Lyceum of my brother's story, "The Disreputable Mr. Raegen." It was an extremely tense and absorbing drama, and Sothern was very fine in the part of Raegen, but for the forty-five minutes the playlet lasted Sothern had to hold the stage continuous

anuary 22

FAM

tered in in the most nonchalant manner to find that about everybody had been asked to meet me. And everybody came, principally owing to the "Harding Davis" part of the name for they all spoke of mother and so very dearly that it made me pretty near weep. Everybody came from old Dr. Holmes who never goes any place, to Mrs. "Jack" Gardner and all the debutantes. "I was on in that scene." In the evening I went with the Fairchilds to Mrs. Julia Ward Howe's to meet the S--s but made a point not to as he was talking like a cad

ent abroad for the summer, and the following note w

R D

when I cannot hear you nor see you, whenever it is that you get it-night

r Lord who never has refuse

have kissed you

TH

SQUARE,

e,

MOT

Excuse this lecture but I know that when I got to Paris I wanted to do nothing but sit still and read and let "sights" go- You will soon learn not to duplicate and that one cathedral will answer for a dozen. And I am disappointed in your mad desire to get to Edinboro to get letters from home, as though you couldn't get letters from me every day of your life and as if there were not enough of you together to keep from getting homesick. I am ashamed of you. But that is all the scolding I have to do for I do not kno

Class Day. It will come out this week and will match Lieut. Grant's chance. In July I begin a sto

legher" have been very goo

d rain most of the time. We wandered around from one spread to another meeting beautifully dressed girls everywhere and "lions" and celebrities. Then the fight for the roses around the tree was very interesting and picturesque and arena like

hi's, where I will put up. I am very well and content and look forward to much pleasure this summer at Seabright and much work. I find I have seldom been so happy as whe

91. From The Pall M

ichard Harding Davis, a volume of whose stories has been published this week by Mr. Osgood. Mr. Davis is only

s of Parliament-the Pavilion Music Hall-the Tower-no to none of these-"To the Post Office." That is what my mother and sister did! After this when they hint that they would like to go again and say "these muffins are not English muffins" and "do you remember the little Inn at Chester, ah, those were happy days," I will say, "And do you remember the Post Office i

is's own vein, not in the borrowed vein of Bret Harte or anybody else. 'The Cy

nd, it makes me tir

one way. It is a blunder to have written it, a greater blunder to ha

e proud too. But you will be prouder of your darling boy Charles, even though he does get wiped out

CH

s, 16 Gram

h,

FAM

thing of which I have thought much and talked less and that was going into politics in this country. To say he discouraged me in so doing would be saying the rain is wet. He seemed to think breaking stones as a means of getting fame and fortune was quicker and more genteel. I also saw her and the BABY. She explained why she had

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