Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1896-09-12
A POETS TREASURES.
Eugene Field's Qucer Room and lts
Strange Contents.

Eugene Fieid's Queer Room and 1ts
Strange Contents.
Before We 20 upstairs to Eugene
Fields room. the one which holds his
choicest treasures. It Ii necessary 70
remind you again that he has a child's
love Of grotcsQue toys and Of barbaric
colors and effects. He was especially
fond Of red. Tho room In which he
died II papered with fantastic. swirl.
ing pattern on q red ground, which Ia
absolutely cxasperatlng to those PEG.
pie who prefer soft browns and dull
reds. Few persons understand what
his idea was In selecting this red paper
with In grotesque yet conventional
swirl. In Henry B. Fullers with the
Procession" that author tells about. q
Chicago woman named Susan Bates,
who furnished her whole house mag.
efficiently except one little room.
Upon this room she spent q great
deal Of money, and visited many old.
fashioned stores, In order to furnish Il
like primitive one she had occupied
when girl In her fathers house. Now
this was partly Eugene Fields idea In
furnishing his own room. He was fond
Of grotesQue effects, he loved red pas.
sionately. and he wanted q reminder
Of the furnishings Of q century ago.
Where he found that gorgeous red pa.
Ter. or the Old.faShioned calico for the
red curtain. would DO difficult to tell.
but he had knack for discovering
quaint things which other people pass
by without notice. When It u added
that tho rugs on the floor are also red.
perhaps It may be imagined that this
room 10 hideous. But II Is not. The
long bookcase on one side. the white
column In the middle around which are
arranged shelves holding Mr.. Fields
treasures, and gray screen repeating
with slight variation the same singu.
lar swirl that Ii upon the walls relieve
the eye to such an extent that the effect
10 harmonious.
As you enter the room. you are con-
fronted with two hideOus figures. An
outlandish Japanese figure IL suspended
from tho wall by one arm. In the
other It holds three Japanese gongs fas-
tened together SO "a to make q loud
sound when struck with the red stick.
The other 10 the face Of a hObg0blin
attached to the headboard of his bed.
stead. Field pretended that he bought
II to brighten away his babies when
they insisted upon interrupting him
while he was writing; but, like theiI
father. they were SO fond Of the ludi'
crous that the strange faces the mon.
ster would make when certain strings
were pulled only made them laugh: GO
the intended bugnb00 but added to the
attractions OF the room.
On the shelves one may find strange
collection of quaint bottles Of every
conceivable shape and size, and Mr.
Field hunted many shops for those can
delabra which our grandm0thers loved
those with glass pendants through
which child may distinguish the sew
ON colors Of the rainbow. Hn also had
queer collection OF canes. candlesticks
and baby shoes. Not alone tho 6rs,
shoes his own babies wore. with thu
toes and heels worn out, but wooden
shoes, and even glass shoes, reminding
one Of Clnderella's glass slipper. There
nre also two strange wooden horses
one used by Mr.. Toole, the Englisl
actor. when he played 1.-THE Cricket OF
the HEARTH" and the other. daubet
with q few spots Of paint, used by Mr.
Jefferson In the same play. Neithel
must one forget Mrs. Hawthorne's gin
Ger-Jar. nor the AK Mr. Gladstone CAV,
Eugene Field. The ak Is suspended
above the window.--St. Nicholas.