St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1898-11-23
Stories of Eugene Field.

Stories OF Eugene rieio.
During one financial crisis that was |
especially severe, Eugene Field could see
no way out OF his difficulties except to
ask for raise Of salary, and that was
as abhorrent to his fine nature as 1T
would have been to do a mean action.
Several DAYS in succession he came to the
office resolved to make an appeal to Mr..
Stone, and each day he went home hav-
ing failed to nerve himself up to the
speaking point. Finally he formed a
thoroughly characteristic resolution,
and for week was not seen in the office
at all. Then one afternoon he marched
into Mr.. Stones Office, followed by four
of his little children, the five of them pre-
senting such pitiable appearance as
would have wrung tears from his en-
poyer had his heart and his name been
synonymous, which was far from being
the case. Father and children were
dressed in rags and tatters from head to
foot, the children's toes were sticking
out bare through holes in their shoes,
their faces were unwashed, and their
eyes were red, as if they had been crying.
Field himself was in no better plight,
and there the FIVE stood in front OF Mr.
Stone, speaking not word, but looking
at him with appealing glances. All this
of course, says the New York Sun, had
been carefully rehearsed by Field during
the week OF conspiracy, and the result
was simply overwhelming. At last
Field broke the silence, looking at his
employer, who was also his best friend,
out of those big eyes so full OF human
kindness, and said:
do you think you can see your way,
Mr.. Stone, to raising my salary Z"
Needless to say he got the raise.
One of Fields bappiest impromptu
verses was written on the fly leaf OF
book he presented to Francis Wilson
one day while they were together in
what Field called the Saints and Sim
ners' Corner in a Chicago book store.
Strangely enough, the verses were en-
titled 1.-THE Passing of Eugene" and it
is said that he turned them off with as
tonishing rapidity, writing down the
rhyming words at the end of the line
first, and then filing in the lines This
is what he wrote:
When Eugene Field was dying
The death all good men die,
Came Francis Wilson flying
AS only he can fly.
| my friend, before you peter
| And seek the shining shore
Write me In common metre
Some photographic lore"
Then Eugene Field smiled sadly
| And his eyes grew wan and dim.
But he wrote the verses gladly
His friend required of him.
And having done his duty,
| From out its home of clay
That soul of spotless beauty
To Canaan scared away.
In this same book store slip Of paper
bearing some lines in Fields hand wa:
found one day by clerk in a costly
volume where Field had placed it, witt
no word to any one:
Swete friend, for Jesus sake forbeare
To buye We boke thou fndest heare,
For that when doe get ye pelf
meane to buye ye boke myselfe.
Fields eccentricity showed itself in thu
books he purchased, many of which hat
no possible bearing upon his work, and
indeed, had small intrinsic value. IN.
library" he used to say, lis full of foo
books" and there was some truth il
this. For example, he had hundreds O
volumes containing the works of un
known and for the most part unworth.
poets. Nothing pleased him more thai
to buy some little volume OF execrabl
verse, produced by poet in Peoria o
Coldwater or any other insignificant
place, and these he would range proud
t with the others, and sometimes tur
} over the pages lust to see how bad the
f were" He said that things had to b
either very good or very bad in order t
/ please him.
One Of the queer things he did at tn
> News office was the establishing of wha
e he called the "Field Memorial Window,
t really portion of glass door, owe
S which he had an artist draw cherul
e with the orthodox wings attached to h
Y own head and face. Under this cher ub
y head he took delight in FASTING all IL
= disagreeable clippings he could gath
y from newspapers and periodicals regar,
y ing anyone in the Office, and especial
e about himself This window came
Il be regarded as regular bulletin boar
Of spleen, and many quiet chuckle File
e. would have watching the long faces
d his companions as they read sarcastic I
!. facetious remarks about them. Fie
:, never cared how much fun was made
- him, and he was the first to applat
u when the laugh was at his own expens