Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-03-28
JAMES wHI1coMe Riley.
Two Pathetic and Humorous Stories Re-
lated by the H0osier Poet.

Two Pathetic and Humorous Stories Re-
lated by the H0osier Poet.
Mr. Riley, who was dining at an italian
restaurant, bit the end off one Of those
crowbars of bread that are served in those
caravansaries, while his listener reporter
for the New York Sun, begged him to emit
a story. He finally consented to tell this
combination of humor and pathos:
"I was wandering up one of the principal
streets Of Indianapolis one Decoration Day,
when met a rugged old farmer from the
interior who seemed to have lost his way.
AS he wandered aimlessly along
approached him and asked: Do you en-
ioy the exercises of the dayp Wall,
so, so,' he answered; but I amt here for
fun. I come up to go to the buryin' ground
up there on the hill. Ny boys buried up
there. He was in the army, you know. He
had to lie about his age to get in, but the
angels Il forgive that one lie. Lord, how
he did hghtl I've hearn the other soldiers
tell about it, Wall, he went into the battle
o. the Wilderness an got wounded awful.
They telegraphted to me, an went right
down. He wanted to be took home an
fetched him. On the way up he grew
worse, an he said to me if he could
live to get home an see his ma he
would be satisfied. He KEEP getting weaker
an weaker, but he held on till l got
him home. His ma tried to muse him
back to life, but he KEEP on runnin' down.
He called me up to his bed one night bout
sundown, an said, sez he: "Pa, wanter be
buried up in town (meanin' here in In
gianapolis), an want you to keep my
grave green"
"Here the old farmer wiped the tears
from his cheeks with his big brown hand,
and then brought it down on my shoulder
in a determined manner, and exclaimed:
'Ah, mister I'm agoin' to keep that grave
green if have ter paint itp "
One of the most affecting stories that Mr..
Riley tells is that which gave him the in
spiration for his pathetic poem: "Cause
I've got curvature of the spine" It voices
the boastful, CHEEKY sentiments of little
deformed child who glories in his deform-
ity, and whose only fear is that his aunty
will not know him when she gets to Heaven,
where he is, because there, as she has told
him, he will be erect and free from de-
formity like the other angels
THE idea for that pocm," said Mr.. Riley,
"was suggested by a rough, rugged man
that met on one of my tours. had been
lecturing in a little interior town, and had
to get up at daylight one cold morning to
ride to the nearest railway station. The
man who drove me over was one of those
rugged characters JnaJ you meet IN the
rural regions-one of those men who deem
sentimentality weakness and tears some
thing to be ashamed Of AS we rode along
over the creaking snow he said: Il
hearn you talk last night 1 remarked
Indeed hope you enjoyed it, Yes
said he, fust rate. My little girl was
there. She likes that sort o, thing She's
great on po'try You may hev seen her
She sat on the front row. She's a little
girl, not very tall You must a-noticed
her. told him that did not recall having
seen her, and he continued; 'She amt
very big. She don't weigh morn fifty
pounds. You see, she's got curv'ture of
the spine. Her mother died when she was
a little thing, and havin' no one to look
out fer her as a mother can, she fell
down stairs one day an hurt herself.
She never got over it. 1 hev took
care o. her the best know how, but she's
never growed. Sometimes 1 think she'll
never be no bigger The tears welled to
his eyes as he talked. He was ashamed to
show the evidences of his grief, and turned
aside his head Seeing that was looking
at him and had discovered his emotion, he
dashed away the moisture from his eyes
with one of the heavy leather mittens that
he wore and said: I dunno what's the mat
ter with my eyes One o. my hosses is |
lame, an put some liniment on his leg tins
mornin' 1 must "a got some of it ON this
yer mitten o. mine'n