Field, Eugene.: The Holy Cross and Other Stories. v1, 12 Jan 2008
 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Eugene Field (September 2, 1850 - November 4, 1895) was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays.

Field was born in St. Louis, Missouri. After the death of his mother he was raised by a cousin in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Field attended Williams College in Massachusetts. His father, Roswell Field, died when he was nineteen and he dropped out after eight months. Next he went to Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois but dropped out after a year. Then he went to the University of Missouri, where his brother was also attending. He tried acting and studied law with little success. He then set off for a trip through Europe but returned to the United States six months later, penniless. Field then set to work as a journalist for the Gazette in Saint Joseph, Missouri in 1875. The same year he married Julia Comstock, with whom he had eight children. For the rest of his life he arranged for all the money he earned to be sent to his wife, saying that he had no head for money himself.