Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-02-29


lucky, who was then running bright
little paper called "Hellor' 1t was cut
off by the central Office about two weeks
afterward, and folding its little tired
hands over its pale, calm face, its little
scare head fell forward on its form and
all was still save the muffled remarks of
the printers towel or the dying echoes
of the hammer as Colonel Visscher fin
ished mailing another political lie.
Field welcomed me heartily to Den
yer, and taking his foot out of large
hole in the wall which he had bored
with his heel-a fashion he has yet while
engaged in thought-he rose to his feet
and catching apprehensively at the
waistband of his trousers ere it was too
late he put his suspender back over his
shoulder again with sigh of relief and
grasped me heartily by the hand While
at work Mr. Field removes great deal
of his clothing. Sometimes when a
poetess calls on him suddenly while at
work he only has time to stick his limbs
into the drawers of his desk and run his
head through a vile contemporary, al
lowing it to droop down over his Shout
ders, before some great warbler from
the tall grass of the literary field enters
the room.
He asked me to be seated, pointing to
the only chair in his office, barring his
own. Ibegan to remove the exchanges,
Of which there were a great number,
but he said: Never mind the this, that
and the other papers. Sit down on
them. Everybody else does" So l sat
down on them. can remember it yet.
There was no seat to the chair, and so |
passed on rapidly till struck the floor
with much feeling. l never saw any
one feel sadder than Field did over that,
for he never could bear to give any one
needless pain.
Once he left hotel in Denver and
went elsewhere because, as he said to
the proprietor, he had thoughtlessly.
while asleep, rolled over on several little
creatures in his bed, crushing the life
and lights and fragrance out of them,
and he would pay his bill, please, and
go elsewhere, where he would not give
pain to the smallest or smelliest of Gods
creatures.
So he went away to another place, for
Field has tender heart
Mr.. Stone, who used to own The News,
but who is now a banker and has pleas
ant relations with dividends and first
mortgage bonds and preferred stock,
said that three little boys hung around
his Office once for several days, attract
ing his attention by their brightness and
their pathetic and hungry look, till at
last he inquired about them, for they
We're handsome boys, and yet their poor
little blue toes stuck out of their little
red and broken shoes, while the blast
outside seemed at times almost to out
shrek the blast that Mr.. Stone was Civ
ing the corrupt city government at that
time.
Finally he called the boys to him and
asked them whose children they were
if they had any father. One of the lads
rubbed his purple foot against the calf
of the other leg and said in pathetic
child treble, while his little chin quiv-
cred, eve are Mr. Fields little boys"
That settled it with Mr.. Stone, for he
has kind heart. rs it possible" he
said to himself, that we are accepting
the wonderful work of this wonderful
man, yet failing to pay him enough to
keep his family from WANT On the
following day Genes salary was doubled,
and patting the little boys on the head
that evening he complimented them on
the way they had "created the part
and he gave each of them a nice candy
cane over five feet in length.
Three years ago, on professional trip
&.
with me bound for the coast, we got
word at Kansas City that the children
had been attacked simultaneously with
scarlet fever, and so it was necessary to
give up the California trip.
Our manager hated to give up the tour
entirely, and in order to make it more
impressive wired that l was i'll, which
was all right for a manager, but would
not do for anybody else. He sent the
following message, totally unpunctuat-
ed, to Field:
KANSAS CITY. April 20, 1889.
Eugene Field, News, Chicago:
Nye very i'll west of Missouri what would
you take for sixty nights with Riley?
POND.
Eugene did not seem to understand
the telegram, ] Judge, for he wired back:
CHICAGO, April p, 1889.
]. B. Pond Kansas City:
also am sick west of the Missouri, but do
not know what would take.
EUGENE FIELD.
Mr.! Field is an erudite scholar and a
great collector of antiques. l have
promised him joke of mine to put with
a bookworm which he has in a bottle of
alcohol.
In his Office while at work once he
was interrupted by very raw visitor
who wanted to see how he thought his
thoughts. DO you think them easily?"
he asked. DO think them between
meals, or how?"
''Oh, l never know when it will attack
me-" Field said. This divine racket is
liable to catch me at any moment" He
then looked far away and his sylnmet-
rical limbs began to jerk.
Excuse me a moment" he said; 81
must write n pOem" He then mt his