The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-11
RILEY AS A SIGN PAINTER.
The Famous Poet Relates an Expert
enoe of His Youthful DAYS.
From mcclure Magazine.


From McClures Magazine.
"Well, now, want to know about that
patent medicine peddling."
Something in my tone made him reply
quickly:
THAT has been distorted. TWAS really
a very simple matter, and followed the
sign painting naturally After the trade
episode I had tried to read law with my
father, but l didn't seem to get anywhere
Forgot as diligently as l read So far as
school equipment was concerned, was an
advertised idiot; so what was the use2 l
had a trade, but it was hardly what /
wanted to do always, and my health was
bad--very bad-bad as | was!
"A doctor here in Greenville advised me
to travel. But how the su1eIin' Moses
was | to travel without money. 1t was
just at this time that the patent-medicine
man came along. He needed man, and
/ argued this way: This man is doctor,
and if must travel, better travel with a
doctor He had a finerteam, andaa nice
looking lot of fellows with him; so |
plucked up courage to ask if I couldn't
go along and paint his advertisements for
him"
Riley smiled with retrospective anus
ment. II rode out of town behind those
horses without saying gosd-by to any one.
And Though my patron wasn't a diploma'd
doctor, as found out, he was a mighty
fine man, and kind to his horses, which
was a Recommendation. He was a man
of good habits, and the whole company
was made up of good, straight boys"
"How long were you with him2'
About year. Went home with him,
and was made same as one of his own
family. He lived at Lima, O. My ex-
perience with him put an idea in my head
"a business idea, for wonderland the
next year | went down to Anderson and
went into partnership with young fell
low to travel, organizing scheme of ad-
vertising with paint, which we called
THE Graphic Company We had five or
six young fellows, all musicians as well as
handy painters and we used to capture
the towns with our music. One fellow
could whistle like nightingale, another
sang like an angel and another played the
banjo | scuficd with the violin and
guitar"
II thought so, from that poem on The
Fiddle, in The Old Swimmin' Hole.'n
"Our only dissipation was clothes. We
dressed loud. You could hear our clothes
an incalculable distance. We had an
idea il helped business. Our plan was to
take one firm of each business in town,
painting its advertisement on every road
leading into the town: Go to Moneys, >
and things like that, you understand.
We made good thing at it."
"How long did you do businessW
"Three or four years, and we had more
fun than anybody" He turned another
comical look on me over his pineh-nose
eyeglasses. You've heard this story
ABOUT my travelling all over the state as
blind sign painter. Well, that started
this way. One day we were in a small
town somewhere, and a great crowd
watching US in breathless wonder and
curiosity; and one of our party said ::
Riley, let me introduce you as blind
sign painter So just for devilment [
put on crazy look in the eyes and pre-
tended TO be blind. They led me care
fully to the ladder and handed me my
brush and paiots. 1t was great fun. I'd
hear them saying as 1 worked, that fell
Ter amt blind Yes. he is, see his eyes ,
No, he amt, tell you, he's playin' OF
4 tell YOU he is blind. Didn't you see
him fall over box there and spill all his
paints"
Riley rose here and laughingly re-enac-
ted the scene and | don't wonder that
the villagers were deceived. so perfect
was his assumption OF the patient, weary
look of a blind person