I bade him welcome, and we twain
    Discussed with buoyant hearts
  The various things that appertain
    To bibliomaniac arts. 
  “Since you are fresh from t’other side,
    Pray, tell me of that host
  That treasured books before they died,”
    Says I to Dibdin’s ghost.

  “They’ve entered into perfect rest: 
    For in the life they’ve won,
  There are no auctions to molest,
    No creditors to dun.

  “Their heavenly rapture has no bounds
    Beside that jasper sea;
  It is a joy unknown to Lowndes,”
    Says Dibdin’s ghost to me._

You could have heard the proverbial pin drop as Field’s organ-like voice, which all quickly recognized, rolled out the now familiar lines of “Dibdin’s Ghost,” then heard for the first time by everyone in that historic Corner.  No point was missed in that weird recitation.  I shall never forget the graveyard unction with which he propounded the question and answer of the poem: 

  "But what of those who scold at us
    When we would read in bed? 
  Or, wanting victuals, make a fuss
    If we buy books instead? 
  And what of those who’ve dusted not
    Our motley pride and boast,—­
  Shall they profane that sacred spot?”
    Says I to Dibdin’s ghost.

  “Oh, no! they tread that other path
    Which leads where torments roll,
  And worms—­yes, bookworms—­vent their wrath
    Upon the guilty soul,
  Untouched of bibliomaniac grace,
    That saveth such as we,
  They wallow in that dreadful place,”
    Says Dibdin’s ghost to me._

Into these lines Field managed to throw all the exulting fanaticism of the hopeless bibliomaniac without suppressing one jot of the chuckle of the profane scoffer.  And then the gas and candles were relit and the punch and sandwiches and apple pie and cheese were served, and with song and story we passed such a night as sinners mark with red letters for saints to envy.  If the reader should ever come across Paul du Chaillu, who contributed to the varied pleasures of the occasion, let him inquire of the veracious Paul whether, in all his travels and experiences, he ever knew one man so capable of entertaining a host of wits as Eugene Field proved himself on the eve of New Year, 1891.

CHAPTER VIII

POLITICAL RELATIONS

It is due to the numberless friends and acquaintances Field made among the politicians of three states particularly and of the nation generally that this study of his life should take some account of his political writings, if not of his political principles.  Those not familiar with political events during the past twenty years may skip this chapter, as it pleases them.