THE WORLD MOVES ON 2473 
A notable figure in the city’s drama, Field at seventy was 
still active and energetic, though quieter than before. An 
observant writer in the New York Sun described him as fol- 
lows: “In his last years, Mr. Field was a quaint and familiar 
figure downtown. ‘Tall, slightly bent, with his white, full 
beard, and his hair bushy behind his temples, he appeared in 
the street, summer and winter, in a long black coat, peering 
keenly from under his heavy eyebrows at all who approached 
him. His face was alert, vigorous, and searching, yet with 
young men he was curiously amiable, patting them on the 
back, volunteering service in a fatherly tone, and keeping 
closely his own counsel in a decided yet unoffending manner.” 
His old friends were dropping off, one by one. Peter Coop- 
er had died in 1883 at well over ninety years of age. His 
neighbor Samuel J. Tilden died three years later. In England, 
John Bright died in 1889. The robust Gladstone, though ten 
years Field’s senior, was still active and reappearing inter- 
mittently as Prime Minister. 
A few weeks before Bright’s death, Field cabled him a 
cheering message. It concluded as follows: “It may comfort 
you in your long illness to know that your name is on the lips 
and in the hearts of millions on this side of the Atlantic, who 
can never forget how you stood by the cause of our country.” 
Field had ceased his frequent trips abroad and now spent 
more time with his gardens and chickens. 
Around Ardsley, where he still maintained an extensive 
estate, he was called “Uncle Cyrus.” The neighbors had not 
always liked his progressive suggestions, which tended to dis- 
turb the customary calm. But they recognized the essential 
kindness and benevolence of the aging promoter. The em- 
ployees on his estate spoke gratefully of his generosity and 
concern for their comfort. 
His friends and family found an opportunity to express 
their respect on December 2, 1890, in a celebration of fifty 
years of happy married life since a young New York business- 
