Page:Abroad with Mark Twain and Eugene Field.djvu/250

 LITTLE BOY BLUE It has been forgotten by this time that Gene lost a son while the boy was at school in Hanover—the most promising of his boys, it was said. But at the time when the grieving father brought the body of his boy home, a great many lovers of his poetry associated the child's death with the famous "Little Boy Blue."

As a matter of fact, however, "Little Boy Blue" was not the echo of a fond parent's sorrow, but was written when all his children were flourishing. At the time Gene was simply in a sentimental mood. Maybe, too, some newspaper story he read was responsible. At any rate, "Little Boy Blue" was published and admired and beloved a year or two, or longer, before Gene went to Europe, and while all his children enjoyed good health. 246