uatted down on the floor in front of Mrs. De
Koven and a tall woman in a brocade gown cut like a Japanese woman's--
It was very dark where the audience was, so I could not see her face
but when the pantomime was over I looked up and saw it was Yvette
Guilbert. So I grabbed Mrs. De Koven and told her to present me and
Guilbert said in English-- "It is not comfortable on the floor is it?"
and I said, "I have been at your feet for three years now, so I am
quite used to it"--for which I was much applauded-- Afterwards I told
some one to tell her in French that I had written a book about Paris
and about her and that I was going to mark it and send it and before
the woman could translate, Guilbert said, "No, send me the Van Bippere
book"-- So we asked her what she meant and she said, " M. Bourget told
me to meet you and to read your Van Bippere Book, you are Mr. Davis,
are you not?"-- So after that I owned the place and refused to meet
Mrs. Vanderbilt.

Yvette has offered to teach me French, so I guess I won't go to
Somerset's wedding, unless O---- scares me out of the country. I got
my $2,000 check and have paid all my debts. They were not a third as
much as I thought they were, so that's all right.

Do come over mother, as soon as you can and we will meet at Jersey
City, and have a nice lunch and a good talk. Give my bestest love to
Dad and Nora. How would she like Yvette for a sister-in-law? John
Hare has sent me seats for to night-- He is very nice-- I have begun
the story of the "Servants' Ball" and got well into it.

and lots of love.

DICK.

The following letter was written to me at Florence. The novel referred
to was "Soldiers of Fortune," which eventually proved the most
successful book, commercially, my brother ever wrote. Mrs. Hicks, to
whom Richard frequently refers, is the well-known English actress
Ellaline Terriss, the wife of Seymour Hicks. Somerset is Somers
Somerset, the son of Lady Henry Somerset, and the Frohman referred to
is Daniel Frohman, who was the manager of the old Lyceum Theatre.

Early in November, William R. Hearst asked my brother to write a
description of the Yale-Princeton football game for The Journal.
Richard did not want to write the "story" and by way of a polite
refusal said he could not undertake it for less than $500.00. Greatly
to his surprise Hearst promptly accepted the offer. At the time, I
imagine this was by far the largest sum ever paid a writer for
report