PS 1668 
 
 1896 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 DDDD2^DE4^7i 
 
> 
 
 
 
 
 ^> • • • -i^ ^ 
 
 % 
 
 ... A rf . 
 
 
 A°<. 
 
 
 lO^ 
 
 / 
 -^'>*.' 
 
0^ . 
 
 
 
 w 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 *'">.'%. .O^ ,*-'J. ^O. 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 
 <P\^ 
 
HE time is coming when Eugene 
 Field will be gossiped about as 
 is Charles Lamb 
 
 —George W. Cable 
 

 lUGENEB 
 iHELD 
 
 An Auto-Analysis 
 
 Chicago: A. D. Eighteen 
 Hundred and Ninety-Six 
 
^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 \^- 
 
 <^ 
 
 nZ'^Kj 
 
OF THIS EDITION BUT THREE HUNDRED 
 AND FIFTY COPIES WERE PRINTED FROM 
 TYPE. EACH COPY IS NUMBERED, AND THIS 
 BOOK IS NUMBER 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
S EUGENE FIELD 
 rose in literary im- 
 portance he was so 
 importuned by peo- 
 ple for autographs, 
 sentiments, verses 
 of his poems, for the poems them- 
 selves, for scraps of information of 
 whatever nature concerning him- 
 self, that in 1894 he had printed a 
 four-page pamphlet setting forth 
 most of the facts of his career up 
 to date. 
 
 This curious but most interest- 
 ing document also gave a truthful 
 and vivid description of his per- 
 sonal appearance, his tastes and 
 distastes and tells, too, of his favor- 
 ite authors and composers, actor 
 and actress; his dislike of poUtics 
 
and his hatred for war and opposi- 
 tion to capital punishment; his fear 
 to indulge himself from pecuniary- 
 considerations, in a growing taste 
 for sculpture and painting, and, 
 curious statement, for Field was 
 rhythmic to his finger tips, his lim- 
 ited love of music. 
 
 He analyses his feeling for chil- 
 dren, a most interesting proceed- 
 ing from one who has written such 
 beautiful love songs of childhood, 
 and tells us that they interested 
 him only so far as he found he could 
 make pets of them — the fact being 
 that nobody's babes interested 
 him, naturally, so much as his own, 
 with a goodly number of which 
 Dame Nature and Mrs. Field had 
 not failed to supply him. 
 
IE would have the 
 privilege of fran- 
 chise extended to all 
 women and recalls 
 with pride that in 
 nearly a quarter of a 
 century he had written in reveren- 
 tial praise of womankind. 
 
 He gives us a chronological list 
 of his publications which is incor- 
 rect in the particular that it omits 
 the name of the book issued in 
 1891 — Echoes from the Sabine 
 Farm — which issue antedated the 
 McClurg pubHcation nearly two 
 years. 
 
 Though written with a smile, 
 this auto-analysis of Field's comes 
 strikingly near the truth. 
 
Confessedly careless in dress — 
 matters of the mind and heart 
 being of greater importance to 
 him— Field was rather methodical 
 than otherwise in all other rela- 
 tions of life. 
 
 He had a just appreciation of the 
 letters and of bits of manuscript 
 material of people who were emi- 
 nent or who were likely to arrive 
 at distinction in the world, and he 
 constantly impressed upon friends 
 and acquaintances the importance 
 of preserving all such data. 
 
 I never saw him but he would 
 question me as to any interview 
 or association I had with Edwin 
 Booth,Lawrence Barrett, Sir Henry 
 Irving, Joseph Jefferson, W. H. 
 Crane, Stuart Robson, or any 
 
fellow-player who had attained 
 celebrity and would be most solic- 
 itous as to whether I had written 
 down my remembrances and im- 
 pressions of the men and the 
 occasions. 
 
 He thought it little less than 
 criminal to neglect an opportunity 
 to record what might ultimately 
 prove of exceeding interest. 
 
 Out of this feeling came the 
 Auto-Analysis. It was no unusual 
 vanity that prompted Field to write 
 it. Mr. Joseph Jefferson once said 
 to me that all clever men knew 
 they were clever. Vanity 
 did not consist in know- 
 ing one's cleverness 
 but in parad- 
 ing it. 
 
O FIELD felt. He 
 knew that if the 
 world took an inter- 
 est in him, and it 
 unquestionably did, 
 it would want facts 
 concerning him and he determined 
 the world should receive them at 
 first hand — from himself. 
 
 This, as I believe, was the real 
 reason he issued the Auto- Analysis 
 and, beside exemplifying Field's 
 forethought and methodicalness, 
 it served his stated purpose to 
 " give these facts, confessions and 
 observations for the information 
 of those who, for one reason or 
 another, are constantly applying 
 to me for biographical data con- 
 cerning myself." 
 
Of Field's first publication, The 
 Tribune Primer, Denver, 1882, he 
 has written on the fly leaf of one of 
 the books, that the whole number 
 printed did not exceed fifty. It is 
 the scarcest of his publications. I 
 can see the smile in his eye and the 
 smirk on his lip as he wrote with 
 respect to the book that it was 
 "Very, very scarce." 
 
 The Model Primer which was 
 printed by Tredwell of Brooklyn 
 and cleverly illustrated by Hoppin, 
 is also much sought for by collec- 
 tors and commands a good price. 
 
 It was something of an annoy- 
 ance to Field that neither this nor 
 his subsequent publication. Cul- 
 ture's Garland, ever yielded satis- 
 factory monetary returns. 
 
jHERE were also six 
 uncut issues of Cul- 
 ture's Garland. In 
 his own copy he, in 
 verse humorously 
 deplores having 
 written the book. It is composed 
 of Field's newspaper articles of a 
 satirical and humorous character. 
 Julian Hawthorne wrote the intro- 
 duction. 
 
 The Echoes from the Sabine 
 Farm was first privately printed 
 by the writer of these lines in 1891. 
 One hundred copies only were 
 made — thirty on Japan and sev- 
 enty on hand-made paper. The 
 initials were illuminated through- 
 out and there was a vignette head- 
 piece to each poem. E. H. Garrett 
 
did the drawing, and W. H. W. 
 Bicknell the etched title page. For 
 each of the Japan paper copies Eu- 
 gene Field and his brother Ros- 
 well M. Field wrote autograph 
 poems. 
 
 Field often promised his friend, 
 Frank M. Morris, that he would 
 write an introduction to this Auto- 
 Analysis, and that Morris should 
 publish the whole matter, not so 
 much as an evidence of regard as 
 a manifestation of good faith on 
 Field's part. But, along with his 
 proposed Life of Horace which 
 never fructified, went his intentions 
 with regard not only to the Intro- 
 duction but a host of other projects 
 of a literary nature never alas to 
 see the light ! 
 
 FRANCIS WILSON. 
 
EUGENE FIELD 
 
WAS born in St. Louis, 
 Missouri, September 
 3rd, 1850, the second, 
 and oldest surviving, 
 son of Roswell Martin 
 and Frances (Reed) 
 Field, both natives of 
 Windham County, 
 Vermont. 
 
 Upon the death of 
 my mother (1856) I 
 was put in the care 
 of my (paternal) cous- 
 in, Miss Mary Field 
 French, at Amherst, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 In 1865, I entered 
 the Private School of 
 Rev. James Tufts, 
 
Monson, Massachusetts, and there 
 fitted for Williams College, 
 which institution I en- 
 tered as a freshman 
 in 1868. 
 
 ir 
 
PON my father's 
 death, in 1869, I en- 
 tered the sopho- 
 more class of Knox 
 College, Galesburg-, 
 Illinois, my guar- 
 dian, John W. Burgess, now of 
 Columbia College, being then a 
 professor in that institution. 
 
 But in 1870 I went to Columbia, 
 Missouri, and entered the State 
 University there, and completed 
 my junior year with my brother. 
 
 In 1872, I visited Europe, spend- 
 ing six months and my patrimony 
 in France, Italy, Ireland and Eng- 
 land. 
 
 In May, 1873, 1 became a reporter 
 on the St Louis Evening Journal. 
 
In October of that year I married 
 Miss Julia Sutherland Comstock 
 (born in Chenango County, New 
 York) of St. Joseph, Missouri, 
 at that time a girl of sixteen. 
 We have had eight chil- 
 dren — three daugh- 
 ters and five 
 sons. 
 
^ Y newspaper con- 
 nections have been 
 as follows : 1875-76, 
 city editor of the 
 St. Joseph, Mis- 
 souri, Gazette; 
 1876-80, editorial writer on the 
 St. Louis Journal and St. Louis 
 Times-Journal; 1880-81, managing 
 editor of the Kansas City Times ; 
 1881-83, managing editor of the 
 Denver Tribune. 
 
 Since 1883 I have been a con- 
 tributor to the Chicago Record 
 (formerly Morning News). 
 
 I wrote and published my first 
 bit of verse in 1879; it was entitled 
 "Christmas Treasures" (see Little 
 Book of Western Verse). Just ten 
 
years later I began suddenly to 
 write verse very frequently; mean- 
 while (1883-89), I had labored dili- 
 gently at writing short stories 
 and tales. 
 
 Most of these I revised half a 
 
 dozen times. One (The Were- 
 
 Wolf), as yet unpublished, I 
 
 have re -written eight 
 
 times during the 
 
 last eight 
 
 years. 
 
y publications have 
 been chronologic- 
 ally, as follows : 
 
 I. The Tribune 
 Primer; Denver, 
 1882. (Out of print, 
 very scarce). (The Model Primer ; 
 illustrated by Hoppin; Tredway, 
 Brooklyn, 1882. A Pirate edition.) 
 
 2. Culture's Garland; Ticknor, 
 Boston, 1887. (Out of print.) 
 
 A Little Book of Western Verse; 
 Chicago, 1892. (Large paper, pri- 
 vately printed and limited.) 
 
 A Little Book of Profitable Tales, 
 Chicago, 1889. (Large paper, pri- 
 vately printed and limited.) 
 
 3. A Little Book of Western 
 Verse ; Scribners, New York, 1890. 
 
LITTLE Book of 
 Profitable Tales; 
 Scribners, New 
 York, 1890. 
 
 5. With Trumpet 
 and Drum; Scrib- 
 ners, New York, 1892. 
 
 6. Second Book of Verse; Scrib- 
 ners, New York, 1893. 
 
 7. Echoes from The Sabine 
 Farm. Translations of Horace; 
 McClurg, Chicago, 1893. (In col- 
 laboration with my brother, Ros- 
 well Martin Field.) 
 
 8. Introduction to Stone's First 
 Editions of American Authors; 
 Cambridge, 1893. 
 
 9. The Holy Cross and other 
 Tales; Stone and Kimball; Cam- 
 bridge, 1893. 
 
Ill health compelled me to visit 
 
 Europe in 1889 ; there I remained 
 
 fourteen months, that time 
 
 being divided between 
 
 England, Germany, 
 
 Holland and 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 ■^ 
 
JT^Y residence at pres- 
 ent is in Buena 
 Park, a north shore 
 suburb of Chicago. 
 I have a miscel- 
 laneous collection 
 of books numbering 3,500, and I 
 am fond of the quaint and curious 
 in every line. 
 
 I am very fond of dogs, birds and 
 all small pets — a passion not ap- 
 proved of by my wife. 
 
 My favorite flower is the carna- 
 tion, and I adore dolls. 
 
 My favorite hymn is " Bounding 
 Billows." 
 
 My favorites in fiction are Haw- 
 thorne's "Scarlet Letter," "Don 
 Quixote" and "Pilgrim's Pro- 
 gress." 
 
Andersen's Tales, 
 and I am deeply in- 
 terested in folk- 
 lore and fairy tales. 
 I believe in ghosts, in witches and 
 in fairies. 
 
 I should like to own a big as- 
 tronomical telescope, and a 24-tune 
 music box. 
 
 My heroes in history are Martin 
 Luther, Mme. Lamballe, Abraham 
 Lincoln; my favorite poems are 
 Korner's "Battle Prayer," Words- 
 worth's "We are Seven,"Newman's 
 "Lead, Kindly Light," Luther's 
 Hymn, Schiller's "The Diver," Hor- 
 ace's "Pons Bandusiae," and Burns' 
 "Cottar's Saturday Night. 
 
SjgWDISLIKE Dante 
 /vvTu-i and Byron. I should 
 like to have known 
 Jeremiah the 
 prophet, old man 
 Poggio, Horace, 
 Walter Scott, Bonaparte, Haw- 
 thorne, Mme. Sontag, Sir John 
 Herschel, Hans Andersen. 
 
 My favorite actor is Henry Irving; 
 actress, Mme. Modjeska. 
 I dislike "Politics" so called. 
 I should like to have the privi- 
 lege of voting extended to women. 
 I am unalterably opposed to cap- 
 ital punishment. 
 
 I favor a system of pensions for 
 noble services in literature, art, 
 science, etc. I approve of com- 
 pulsory education. 
 
^SP| P' I had my way, I 
 »^^ should make the 
 yjC^ abuse of horses, 
 dogs and cattle a 
 penal offense; I 
 should abolish all 
 dog-laws and dog-catchers, and I 
 would punish severely everybody 
 who caught and caged birds. 
 
 I dislike all exercise and I play 
 all games very indifferently. 
 I love to read in bed. 
 I believe in churches and schools; 
 I hate wars, armies, soldiers, guns 
 and fireworks. 
 I like music (limited). 
 I have been a great theatre-goer. 
 I enjoy the society of doctors 
 and clergymen. 
 
3Y favorite color is 
 red. 
 
 I do not care par- 
 ticularly for sculp- 
 ture or for paint- 
 ings; I try not to 
 become interested in them, for the 
 reason that if I were to cultivate a 
 taste for them I should presently 
 become hopelessly bankrupt. 
 
 I am extravagantly fond of per- 
 fumes. 
 
 I am a poor diner, and I drink 
 no wine or spirits of any kind; I do 
 not smoke tobacco. 
 
 I dislike crowds and I abominate 
 functions. 
 
 I am six feet in height; am of 
 spare build, weigh i6o pounds and 
 have shocking taste in dress. 
 
But I like to have well-dressed 
 people about me. 
 
 My eyes are blue, my complexion 
 pale, my face is shaven and I in- 
 cline to baldness. 
 It is only when I look and see how 
 young and fair and sweet my 
 wife is that I have a 
 good opinion of 
 myself. 
 
AM fond of the 
 companionship of 
 women, and I have 
 no unconquerable 
 prejudice against 
 feminine beauty. I 
 recall with pride that in twenty- 
 two years of active journalism, I 
 have always written in reverential 
 praise of womankind. 
 I favor early marriage. 
 I do not love all children. 
 I have tried to analyze my 
 feelings towards children, and I 
 think I discover that I love them 
 in so far as I can make pets of 
 them. 
 
 I believe that, if I live, I shall do 
 my best literary work when I am 
 a grandfather. 
 
I give these facts, confessions and 
 
 observations for the information 
 
 of those who, for one reason 
 
 or another, are applying 
 
 constantly to me for 
 
 biographical data 
 
 concerning 
 
 myself. 
 
PRINTED FOR FRANK M. MORRIS, OF 
 
 THE BOOK SHOP, BY R. R. DONNELLEY 
 
 & SONS CO. AT THE LAKESIDE PRESS, 
 
 CHICAGO, MDCCCXCVI. 
 
W IS 
 
 <? 
 
c°\c:^^ °o 
 
 
 " « ^ '*i 
 
 
 ^"•^*-. 
 
 
 
 ^5. '° . i * .<^ 
 
 
 '- '^b ^ 
 
 
 •^^0* 
 
 
 
 ^MrS 
 
 . '^O' 
 
 .-^o^ : 
 
 .^ .'f!i^'. \/ ,^, -^^^^^^ /. 
 
 
«» o®" ®* "<^ 
 
 
 
 0^ v 
 
 ^o