EUGENIO AGRO. by Eugene Field: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
This is a charming and humorous letter in verse by Eugene Field, addressed to a young church secretary.
The poem
(A. Lamb) SEAL. The First Wednesday after Pay day, September 11, 1895. On an occasion of this lady's visit to the South-west, where Field's fancied association of cowboys and miners was formed, she was fortunate enough to obtain for the decoration of his library the rather extraordinary Indian blanket which often appears in the sketches of his loved workshop, and for the decoration of himself a very fine necktie made of the skin of a diamond-back rattlesnake. Some other friend had given his boys a "vociferant burro." After the presentation was made, though for two years he had met her socially and at the pastor's office, he wrote to the secretary, in acknowledgment, as follows: DEAR BROTHER ----: I thank you most heartily for the handsome specimens of heathen manufacture which you brought with you for me out of the land of Nod. Mrs. Field is quite charmed--with the blanket, but I think I prefer the necktie; the Old Adam predominates in me, and this pelt of the serpent appeals with peculiar force to my appreciation of the vicious and the sinful. Nearly every morning I don that necktie and go out and twist the supersensitive tail of our intelligent imported burro until the profane beast burthens the air with his ribald protests. I shall ask the holy father--Pere ---- to bring you with him when he comes again to pay a parochial visit to my house. I have a fair and gracious daughter into whose companionship I would fain bring so circumspect and diligent a young man as the holy father represents you to be. Therefore, without fear or trembling accompany that saintly man whensoever he says the word. Thereby you shall further make me your debtor. I send you every assurance of cordial regard, and I beg you to salute the holy father for me with a kiss, and may peace be unto his house and unto all that dwell therein. Always faithfully yours,
This is a charming and humorous letter in verse by Eugene Field, addressed to a young church secretary. In it, he expresses his gratitude for gifts from the American Southwest, including an Indian blanket, a snakeskin necktie, and a noisy donkey. Field playfully shares his penchant for mischief, boasts about teasing the donkey with the snakeskin tie, and cheekily attempts to match the young man with his daughter. The letter has a lighthearted and self-effacing tone, wrapped in a mock-formal religious style.
Line-by-line
(A. Lamb) SEAL. / The First Wednesday after Pay day, September 11, 1895.
On an occasion of this lady's visit to the South-west...
DEAR BROTHER ----: I thank you most heartily for the handsome specimens of heathen manufacture...
Mrs. Field is quite charmed--with the blanket, but I think I prefer the necktie...
Nearly every morning I don that necktie and go out and twist the supersensitive tail of our intelligent imported burro...
I shall ask the holy father--Pere ---- to bring you with him when he comes again to pay a parochial visit...
I send you every assurance of cordial regard, and I beg you to salute the holy father for me with a kiss...
Tone & mood
The tone is playful and warmly irreverent. Field writes like someone who knows the ins and outs of formal religious correspondence well enough to twist them for a laugh. There's real affection at play — for the gift-giver, for the young secretary, for his own family — but it's always presented at an angle, through a joke or a mock-biblical flourish. The humor never feels mean; it's the kind of humor that comes from a man who feels at ease enough with faith to poke fun at it.
Symbols & metaphors
- The snakeskin necktie — Field connects it directly to the serpent in Eden and the concept of the 'Old Adam'—representing original sin and our human desire for what’s off-limits. Wearing it becomes a little daily act of joyful rebellion, and he embraces that completely instead of feeling the need to apologize for it.
- The burro — The donkey serves as a humorous representation of the chaos and noise found in everyday life. Its "ribald protests" reflect Field's own irreverent nature, and the act of tormenting it with the snakeskin tie links the two symbols: the sinner and his compliant victim, both creating a ruckus.
- The Indian blanket — Assigned to Mrs. Field, the blanket symbolizes domestic comfort and respectability—territory of the wife. Field's choice of the necktie instead of the blanket is a subtle jab at the contrast between his wife's refined tastes and his own craving for the wild and the brutal.
- The mock-liturgical dating ('First Wednesday after Pay day') — By parodying the church calendar, Field suggests that both the sacred and the everyday hold equal importance for him — and can be just as humorous. Payday is just as much a fixed point in a man's week as any feast day.
- The kiss of greeting — Borrowed directly from Paul's epistles, the request to 'salute the holy father with a kiss' wraps up the letter with a touch of genuine tenderness, cloaked in a scriptural phrase. This implies that underneath all the humor, Field genuinely conveys warmth.
Historical context
Eugene Field (1850–1895) was a journalist and poet from Chicago, famous for his children's poems like "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" and "Little Boy Blue." He was also well-regarded during his lifetime for his sharp and humorous newspaper columns as well as his personal letters. He passed away in September 1895, the same month this letter was written, making it one of his final pieces. Field had a playful and complex relationship with religious language — he wasn't against faith but enjoyed experimenting with its expressions. In the 1890s, the American Southwest was still seen as a land of romantic frontier myths for Midwesterners, and items from that area had an exotic allure. This letter was kept and published after his death as a showcase of Field's witty correspondence, a form he approached with the same care as his published poetry.
FAQ
It’s a letter, yet it’s been preserved and published as a literary artifact—given the same attention as a poem or essay. Field was known for crafting letters that were performances in their own right, and this one was chosen for publication because it captures his voice at its most characteristic: humorous, warm, and rich with biblical wordplay.
It describes humanity's natural inclination toward sin, based on the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis. Field uses this phrase to humorously illustrate why he prefers a snakeskin necktie over a respectable blanket — he's playfully suggesting that he's attracted to the serpent's perspective in the tale.
He’s making a joke. From a 19th-century churchgoing Midwesterner's viewpoint, Native American crafts might technically be labeled as 'heathen' since they were created outside the Christian tradition. Field uses the term with clear affection and no genuine contempt; the humor targets the pretentiousness of that label, not the people who created the gifts.
In Genesis, the Land of Nod is the place where Cain ended up after his exile. Field uses this name playfully to refer to the American Southwest—a wild and remote area. He might also be nodding to the phrase 'land of Nod,' which is often used to mean sleep, bringing in an extra touch of whimsy.
It’s a humorous take on matchmaking. The pastor describes the secretary as 'circumspect and diligent'—just the type of young man any father would want for his daughter. Field uses a playful, mock-ecclesiastical tone to add humor, but the underlying intention is sincere.
It plays on a line from Philippians 2:12, where Paul encourages believers to 'work out your salvation with fear and trembling.' Field turns this around to comfort the young man, suggesting that coming to his house doesn’t require any such worry — a subtle, clever nod to scripture.
Field passed away on November 4, 1895, only weeks after the letter dated September 11, 1895. He was already unwell. However, the letter's lively tone and humor reveal no indication of a man aware of his impending death, making it even more touching in hindsight. It was published after his death as a testament to his vibrant spirit until the very end.
Official church documents often featured a seal with the symbol of the Agnus Dei — the Lamb of God. The name 'A. Lamb' belongs to the woman who brought the gifts, and Field cleverly uses her name as a mock ecclesiastical seal, transforming a person's name into a pun and turning that pun into a humorous jab at religious formality.