The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1895-11-30

sStra ek near Louisville last week, and IT is
elteYed 4 hat he is capable of great rec
ord. s. s: 3. rs. 81. p S. Il
u asss When Mr.. Field reached the farm a
year later he was curious to know if Don
would remember him. The morning of
4 his arrival Don was driven UP toward the
house, as he never came of his own ac-
Il cord! 81 Il Mr.. Field went to him and called
Poor old" Don" but Don had evidently
forgotten him and slowly turned and
sauntered back to the woods. About half
an hour later we were all startled by
hearing Don's musical voice loudly CALI
4 ing right back of the house, something
i he was never known to do before or to
come UP to the house of his own free will.
Il Whether he had brains enough to remem-
Der the, voice of his old friend we will
never know, but the fact remains that
ever after that time, day or night, if Mr..
Field would step out on the gallery and
call Poor old Don,'' no matter where
Don WAS we would soon hear the old ia
miliar answer. 1,~i ..---+
Nh. Fields love for pets was almost a
passion. Birds he loved but would not
see them Gagged He was devoted to dogs
I have visited with him at a country
house where a great many dogs were
kept. Severl times while we were there
they would get to fighting among them
selves Mr.. Field would rush into. the
house, shut all the doors and windows,
and I would find him packing his bag,
eaying that he was going home: Il can
rot stand these dogs fighting" After
things would quiet down he would come
out again, but still unhappy for fear some
OF the dogs were hurt. After every meal
he would get up before the rest were
through, go from plate to plate picking
up scraps for the dogs. Sometimes he
would say, Don't eat that, I want it for
little Billie He would then call all the
dogs, feeding. the little and weak ones
first, until all were satisfied. For several
years he has been paying the board of
two old dogs at a farm because they had
been faithful in their younger days. Ele
said as soon as they outlived their use
fulness he was not going to have them
killed He did not believe in using old
friends in that way.
Some neighbors and friends who visit
ed with him that last Sunday afternoon
spoke of the number of flies in the room
and asked him how there happened to be
SO many at that time of the year. He re-
piled: .'The other day l saw out ON the
window sill a poor half-fozen fly trying
to crawl In somewhere. l could not stand
that, so opened the window and let it
come i'm where it was warm. In two
days." he continued, that fly was grand
mother to 299 flies" '-e~
The gentle, sweet and loving kindness
that he was constantly doing for me and
mine are almost countless. Two winters
ago we were spending Thanksgiving with
Mr.. and Mrs. Field It was just at the
time he was recovering from a severe
attack Of pneumonia. The visit was ex-
ceedingly pleasant right there at his
home, but he thought we would like to
90 to the theater, So he arranged by let
ter for box. IL was q bitter cold night
Our sleeping room was on the third floor
and there was mo heat from the furnace
in it, but it was plenty warm for sleep
ing When we reached home and went to
our room we found that he had put
small heating stove in the room, which
was burning brightly; on the floor in
front of the stove were some slumber
socks lined with wool which he had pur-
chased i'm London. L don't think they
have them in this country. Our night
clothes were hanging on a chair near
the little stove the bed was opened and
beside it ON small table was something
warm to drink. He always thought Of
these little attentions. Once 1 happened
ito say that it was so hard to cut amy
thing with the conventional silver table
knife, and ever after there was always a
sharp steel bladed knife at my place at
the Field table.
His neighbors tell many stories of the
tender, thoughtful things he has done for
them. One of them, in talking Of Mr..
Field, said she would never forget one
little thing in particular which he had
done for her. Last summer year ago
she lost her mother in the same sudden
manner in which, Mr.. Field died. The
day after her mother was buried Mr.. Field
came to her, saying: Il know you are
going into mourning, and will, no doubt,
have many letters to write, and you
haven't had time to think of getting, ev-
erythirg, so [ bought you this" which
proved to be a box Of letter paper with
the usual black band suitable for such
purposes. These are just a few incidents
which comet my mind ash write to help
show the gentle tenderness of his loving
heart. All his friends could tell Of many
such experiences. Are there many people
in this busy world who stop to think as
this gentle soul did of the little things
neighbors?
Mr.. Field loved to lie in bed, read the
papers and have someone talk to him
One time l remember in particular when
he came up to Milwaukee for little trip
with Julian Ralph, Horace Fletcher and
his old friend and guardian, M. l.. Gray.
These gentlemen wanted to see something
Of Milwaukee, So they were taken for
drive, that morning. After I had taken
Mr.. Field his breakfast he said: wait
until wind the music box (which be
always had at the head of his bed when
he visited our house,, then sit down.
want to talk to YOU He then told me
hhe plots and ali about three or four sto-
RES" which he had planned out ready to-
wrNe. One was a story based on a singu-
lar episode which happened in his fathers
early life. Ie said he had had the story
all ready to finish In his mind for twenty
years. but could mot think of suitable
ending Another was about the old Puri-
tan days and Witchcraft, With a love story
running Through il, The third was TO be
located in Kentucky, and was suggested
blythe man .on the farm calling "Co-ee,
Co-ee' to the sheep. The chief character
was to be a sweet, patient old farmer
whose ONLY books and teachers had been
the nure lessons taught and read by
Mother Nature This simple soul spent
his life watching and caring for his fold,