The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-02-04
JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY
Louisville Sunday News.


 James Whitcomb Riley is at present the most radiant star in the literary Armament; the central figure around which the hterdti of the cultured east are revolving. He is now reaping, both in fame and money, the rewards of his poetic genius, and it is little strange that more of the personal his- tory of this Hoosier bard has not been made public. Riley is the exemplifi- cation of that unfathomable and mys- terious power we call genius, and his life is truly typical of the growth and maturity of this indefnable influence under circumstances that cannot be said to have been favorable for intel lectual development. AS & youth he was regarded by the good people of Greenfield, Ind, ,as a ne'er -do- weel, and as time passed his Bohemian instincts asserted themselves more strongly. His father, Reuben A. Riley, a lawyer, now alive but retired from practice, did not regard "Jim" with much en- thusiasm, and was, perhaps, more sur prised than any one else at his sons success. The father had penchant for verse; making and this, it is seen, was transmitted to the younger Riley in very happy degree. Riley pere served through the war at the head of company of Indiana volunteers and wrote, in his earlier days, several very meritorious poems. "Jim" grew up slender and active, and was very pop ular, for while he never cared to work and avoided it religiously as most geniuses do, he early developed tal- ent for rhyming, drew pictures of every description, and could carve almost anything out of wood. He also painted with much skill and did some crude but remarkable work with the rough materials at his disposal. Thus he made himself an object of in- terest, and being of a joyous disposi- tion, had the good will of all. His father induced him to enter his office, but studying for the bar was too irk- some for "Jim's" restless spirit, and he was soon allowed to follow the bent of his own inclinations. His first po- ems-if so they might be termed, for they were mere doggerel with only the slightest suggestion of merit were usually parodies on famous verse, and found their way in print through the columns of the Hancock Democrat. In writing for the delectation of his friends, young Riley would illustrate his rhyme with very creditable pen sketches, and finally his versatility and inventive faculty were demon- strated in very quaint way. He wrote parody on "Maud Muller" for publication, and he wished to illus trate it in the paper There were no engravers nearer than Indianapolis twenty miles away, and as it was he could not afford the luxury of having his cuts made by professional. Noth- ing daunted, however, he set to work, and with common jack-knife carved on wooden blocks a number of pie lures for his poem. They printed well, and the young man, afterward, very frequently did himself proud in this respect with nothing but his old knife to use in his artistic efforts.
 He learned sign-writing, or, rather, picked it up, and had no equals as a workman, but he followed that calling in the most desultory way-it was work, and he was true to his destiny and summed it. When asked recently regarding his life, Riley said, among other things:
 My father is lawyer, and lured me into his office once for a three months penance, but made good my escape, and under cover of the friendly night fled up the pike with patent medicine concert wagon, and had a good time for two or three of the happiest years of my life. Next struck country paper and tried to edit, but the proprietor wanted to do that, and wouldn't let me, and in about year quit trying and let him have his own way, and now it's the hardest thing in the world for me to acknowledge that he is still an editor, and a most successful one Later l went back home to Greenfield, Ind, and engaged in almost everything but work, and so became quite prominent. Noted factions and public bodies be- gan to regard me attentively, and no grand jury was complete without my presence. wasn't considered wholly lost, however, till began to publish poetry-brazenly affixing my own name to it. But I couldn't get any money for it, although stranger edi- tors wrote the letters of praise regard ing it. Then I sent a little of it to two or three real poets east, and they commended it, and showed their let ters, and have been paid ever since. Still am not rich"
 Like many another man of his pe- culiar stamp, Riley became jealous