When I was still young and trying hard to impress people, I wrote a
foolish letter to Richard Harding Davis, an author who once loomed large on the literary horizon of America. I was preparing a magazine
article about authors, and I asked Davis to tell me about his method
of work. A few weeks earlier, I had received a letter from someone
with this notation at the bottom: "Dictated but not read." I was quite
impressed. I felt that the writer must be very big and busy and
important. I wasn't the slightest bit busy, but I was eager to make
an impression on Richard Harding Davis, so I ended my short note
with the words: "Dictated but not read.