tly attached. It was during these
days that he first met his future wife, Cecil Clark, whose father, John
M. Clark of Chicago, was one of the earliest of the summer colonists to
build his own home at Marion. A most charming and hospitable home it
was, and it was in this same house where we had all spent so many happy
hours that Richard was married and spent his honeymoon, and for several
years made his permanent home. Of the life of Marion during this later
period, he became an integral part, and performed his duties as one of
its leading citizens with much credit to the town and its people. For
Marion Richard always retained a great affection, for there he had
played and worked many of his best years. He had learned to love
everything of which the quaint old town was possessed, animate and
inanimate, and had I needed any further proof of how deeply the good
people of Marion loved Richard, the letters I received from many of
them at the time of his death would show.

In the early fall of 1892 Richard returned to his editorial work on
Harper's Weekly, and one of the first assignments he gave was to
despatch himself to Chicago to report the Dedication Exercises of the
World's Fair. That the trip at least started out little to my
brother's liking the following seems to show. However, Richard's moods
frequently changed with the hour, and it is more than possible that
before the letter was sent he was enjoying himself hugely and regarding
Chicago with his usual kindly eyes.

Chicago Club,

October 2, 1892.

DEAR FAMILY:

Though lost to sight I am still thinking of you sadly. It seems that I
took a coupe after leaving you and after living in it for a few years I
grew tired and got out on the prairie and walked along drinking in the
pure air from the lakes and reading Liebig's and Cooper's advs. After
a brisk ten mile walk I reentered my coupe and we in time drew up
before a large hotel inhabited by a clerk and a regular boarder. I am
on the seventh floor without a bathroom or electric button--I merely
made remarks and then returned to town in a railroad train which runs
conveniently near. After gaining civilization I made my way through
several parades or it may have been the same one to the reviewing
stand. My progress was marked by mocking remarks by the police who
asked of each other to get on to my coat and on several occasions I was
mistaken by a crowd of some thousand people for the P----e of W----s,