"Little of the sad travail of the historic poet has Mr. Fields known. Of the emaciated face, the seedy garment, the collapsed purse, the dog-eared and often rejected manuscript, he has never known, save from well-authenticated tradition. His muse was born in sunshine, and has only been sprinkled with the tears of affection. Every effort has been cheered to the echo, and it is impossible for so genial a fellow to fail of an ample and approving audience for whatever may fall from his lip or pen." The following lines, from his second volume, will serve as a specimen of the "homely beauty" of Mr. Fields' muse, though it hardly sets forth all his powers: She came among the gathering crowd A maiden fair, without pretense, And when they asked her humble name, She whispered mildly, "Common Sense." Her modest garb drew every eye, Her ample cloak, her shoes of leather; And when they sneered, she simply said, "I dress according to the weather." They argued long and reasoned loud, In dubious Hindoo phrase mysterious; While she, poor child, could not divine Why girls so young should be so serious. They knew the length of Plato's beard, And how the scholars wrote in Laturn; She studied authors not so deep, And took the Bible for her pattern. And so she said, "Excuse me, friends, I feel all have their proper places, And _Common Sense_ should stay at home With cheerful hearts and smiling faces." Mr. Fields has been a frequent contributor to his own periodicals, his latest effort being a paper devoted to personal recollections of Charles Dickens, which was published in the "Atlantic Monthly" soon after the death of the great master. He has made several extended tours throughout Europe, where he has enjoyed social advantages rarely opened to travelers. One of his friends says that, in his first visit to the Old World, "he passed several months in England, Scotland, France, and Germany, visiting the principal places of interest, and forming most delightful and profitable intimacies with the most distinguished _literateurs_ of the day. He was a frequent guest at the well-known breakfasts of the great banker-poet of 'The Pleasures of Memory' and of 'Italy,' and listened or added his own contributions to the exuberant riches of the hour, when such visitors as Talfourd, Dickens, Moore, and Landor were the talkers." He also formed a warm friendship with Wordsworth, and, during his stay in Edinburgh, with Professor Wilson and De Quincey. The writings of the last-named author were published by Ticknor and Fields, in eighteen volumes, and were edited by Mr. Fields, at the author's own request.