James T. Fields — [?] Dec. 1861
To JAMES T. FIELDS
[mid-December 1861], Wheeling
Mr. Fields
I write just to thank you for Rab and his friends[1] a bit of homely nature that ought to bring tears to anybody’s eyes.
You are very good to give up to all my whims— That “pheasant” critic is not critical enough in his knowledge. Our hot river soil yields melons late—last fall until the middle of October, and Virginia game laws allow pheasants to be shot after Sept 1st. I am afraid he knows the hub of the universe more accurately than its outside.
Why, of course I am an American (Dei gratia![2])—a West Virginian – I never even saw the sea. Why did Dr. Holmes[3] think me a foreigner? Please tell me. I have a curiosity to know. Do I write “wid a bit o’ the brogue?”[4]
Yours truly
R.B.H—
Is your address–the number–altered?
Notes
Rab and His Friends (1859), by the Scot physician and writer Dr. John Brown (1810-1882).
Latin: by the grace of God.
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894), a US physician and author who published frequently in the Atlantic Monthly.
A reference to RHD’s Irish heritage.
Key Words
Dr. John Brown, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Irish heritage (Harding family), Rab and His Friends (Brown), Reviews of RHD's Work
Source
Richard Harding Davis Papers, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia
Contributor
S. M. Harris