Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-04-16

theless. Was ] brought up 10 the West
Oh, by no means. ! am New Englanp
er by birth. and my early bOyhood was
spent there. New England seems 20 me
now n kind Of enchanted land; but !
should not care 30 live there again. 1 IKE
the hustle and hustle Of the West NeW
York Is tame beside Il. We hear Q great
deal about the rush Of New Workers
but / am inclined to believe u Is alto
rether exaggerated. The business man
here takes plenty Of time for his luncheon
and has on the whole a good deal Of
Leisure. But the Chicago man gives oil
his time, thought and energy TO the
business of making mOney-it is really
n passion with him. In Chicago you
see men hurrying along the streets talk
ing 90 themselves in their agitation. This,
Of course. shows that they are In bad
safe of nervous tension | asked Mr.
Field If he found the atmosphere Of
Chicago cOngenial with his litcflIy work
"Oh, yes" he replied heartily. II don't
like your conventional atmosphere, and
I've 10 patience with your cOnycltionai
literary men. ] had the aud lcity to say
this some time ago before big conyen.
ton Of literary people out in the West,
and | got a pretty severe roasting for IL (:
but it's The truth nevertheless. like
life: human beings Of flesh and blood
who are living hercely, aud who have
plenty Of enthusiasm and energy. / can
do my writing In the midst of the com.
merciulism Of Chicago as well as any.
where else. that is. II / am la the mood
for 1t. ! can write prose at any time;
that consists merely OF sitting down
at a desk aud grinding. But IN order 10
write poetry / have TO be In the mood.
Sometimes | am ont of the mood for
weeks; then, when it comes back to rue
j write poem after poem, often with
great rapidity and without word OF
correction, occasionally several poems In
a day" | asked Mr.. Field II he had any
theories I'm regard to literature. Not n
theory" he rgulied tersely / believe In
letting every mkS do just what he wants
to do. As for myself, l suppose Im
romanticist by nhure. | love fancy, and
my natural bent forces me 10 write my
little fanciful storieS and poems. |
wouldn't for instance, thxR Of under
taking to write a novel for | don't be-
lieve / am built for a EeVst. But. In
spite Of my love for roiHance. / have no
objection to realists or to those writer's
who believe that they have been sent into
the world to reform H. Reform away,
i say; but as for myself. the world Is
good CROUCH for me as IL IL. You see
] m thorough Optimist In temperament
I'm little like old Horace want 10
get all the happiness out of the world
AhhA HNnoAhAfs
These remarks suggest the kind Of
man that Mr.. Field IL. He Is as far from
the bOOkworm or the attitudinZng poet
as could De ina glned yet he loves books
and poetry. His ruling passion is
fOnduess for old and odd books Of every
description. Every department of life
interests him. He showed me with gen
uine glee n book dealing with extinct
animals Of the earth that he had discov.
cred Il few hours before That's the
kind Of thing that plcases me- he said
with twinkle IN his eye. From his
looks you would never suspect him 10 be
II literary man. He Is not tall but his
extreme leanuess gives him the appear.
anCe of being long and lank His face
is clean shaven, his features are clear
cut, and his gray eyes have frank
expression that Is very attractive. There
is an indcscribable charm about him,
WHICH comes from his honest aud unnf.
fected- nature, that doubtless accounts
for hin being personally one of the NOSE
popular of the literary men in the coun-
try. For the past two years he has been |
much hampcred In his work by illness: |
he has been martyr to nervous dys. |
pcpsia, but he recently went through a |
course of treatment which helped him |
80 much that he expects in a few weeks |
10 resume Tia daily writing Of his "Sharps |
and Flats which for some time past, |
he has not been able to write only inter |
The dinner given by the Aldine club !
10 Mr.. Aldnch was distinct success. |