The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-04-14
NEWS or THE BOOK WORLD

James Whltcorab Riley Repents Having
Written "Leonainie," at Least Under
the Circumstances Under Which He
Was Led to Send It Forth Into the
World-A Detective Story That keeps
One Guessing--Life Of William Green
leaf Eliot With Introduction by DR..
James K. Hosmer
1t was a mistake due to the folly of
my youth that ever wrote that poem,
and God knows I have suffered for. it,"
says James Whttcornb Riley in a Sun spe-
clal dispatch from Indianapolis as to the
authorship Of "Leonainie,'' the poem
which Alfred Russell Wallace caused to
be published in the Fortnightly Review,
crediting it to Poe.
1t was about eighteen years ago." Mr..
Riley said, and at that time was work
ing on the Anderson Democrat. A lot Of
US got to talking one day about critics,
and said that some of my poems were
JUST as good as some of those of other
poets, but I could not sell them because
no one knew who was"
Riley then told the story Of writing the
poem and Of having it published in a Ko-
komo paper with a note to the effect that
1t had been found in an old book. The
poem was copied and widely discussed.
When proof was demanded a young man
named Richards was employed to write it
In the fly leaf Of an old dictionary. He
wrote with a quill pen and with diluted
ink to make it look old, and it was almost
perfect imitation of Poe's handwriting.
! The old dictionary is now owned by Paul
Lemperly of Cleveland, Ohio.
When the truth came out" continued
Mr.. Riley, Il lost my position on the And
erson Democrat. No paper would even
10 mol of% 1o Afos NJ
memory of that time still stands out as
one OF the saddest experiences in my life
and one that can never outlive. There
Is nothing for me to do but to acknowl-
edge that I wrote it, as do, but that
does not stand, as once denied being the
| author. / wrote it, but did not; I. did
not write it, but I did, and am a liar any
way you put it,
The Darrow Enigma is a book to keep
the reader guessing. Therein itSdeserves
ITS name. 1t is a detective story which
lets: the reader think he is "onto its
curves" Just long enough to begin to feel
/ that the author has not been very clever
In spite of the ingenuity Of the 'hero, u
and then shows him that he is all wrong
Inc Uneasy Chair was reading along and
wondering why the author had let his
readers into the secret Of the criminal sc
early In the game, Withholding only the
| AAiSSAiOo VI HIS WQ6n j suddenly
discovered that 1t was following the anna
teur detective, a detective not only fol
love of detecting but for love of a charm
ing woman, upon wrong scent clear tt
India. That whetted the chairs appetite
and 1T was soon keen on another scent
and-well, the chair is not going to tell the
authors secret. - .s.-,,..r-
The crime is committed under mos
unusual circumstances. Six persons are
In large room together. All are seated
the heroine at a piano singing and hel
father near the center Of the room. AL
others are men. The, arrangement is sucl
that no one could enter the room withou
discovery. Suddenly the father rises, ex
claims that he has been murdered an(
falls dead. Despite his exclamation. it il
decided by the local detectives that h
J. has committed suicide by poisoning in or
der that his daughter may obtain his lif
insurance. The girl and her friends do no
accept this theory, and one of them, who il
the girls undecared lover, sets out t.
unravel the mystery
There is lack of adventure in the pur
suit, of the various clues that robs TIL
book Of an interest,it might zotherwis
have. Then. too, the, lovers in the, ,bool
,, seem abnormally blind if there are de
grees Of blindness. sensational trial II
court which is a feESture of,lthe story i
based upon most Unusual fules! of pro
cedure. These admit leading questions
speeches by defendants counsel to tn
= jury whenever he takes the notion an
orders by same counsel to arrest person
pretty much at counsers will. But. the
those are minor points and do not seri
ously affect the effect of the denouement.
THE CRY OF THE WORKERS.
The babblers in the temple made with hands
Sat talking. talking. talking. all the day,
OF rectitude and justice. and the way
Mo che IL
, And while the glass recorded golden sands.
And shadows heightened in the busy street.
! There came Sound OF swift. determined feet,
And blows upon the portals brazen bands,
Ana then voice relentless and eIate:
We care not for your arguments and creeds
We &c care re. not for. your pity or your hate,
Then give us OF the heart, and not the head:
Then give US for our toll, not stones. but bread
Herbert Muller Hopkins in the Reader Maga
zine for April.
l "Dr. William GreenIeaf Eliot was TO
thirty mine years pastor Of the Churc
OF the Messiah in st. Louis, a pastoral
remarkably successful. Aside from hi
, ministrations to his flock he made hi
influence felt in the community in man
ways Few projects of moment havin
: in view the elevation Of society, coul
in that time be named Of which he wa
not the originator or an effective helpe
from the start 80
The man of whom DIR. James K. Hos
mer so we'll known in Minneapolis, coul
write that was surely worthy Of bein
perpetuated in the memory Of men by a
least a brief biography. The biograph
is by Charlotte G. Eliot, whose dedicatio
of her book is this: written for m
children, lest they forget" DR.. Hos
mer writes the introduction
= DR.. Eliot was the first Unitarian paste
: west of the Mississippi. His work an
influence were felt in educational lines /
: the public schools and in the creation
Il washington university. DR.. Hosmer say!
5 What John Harvard did for Cambrida
: bears no comparison with what WiIlial
d G. Eliot did for Washington universit,
But Dr. Eliot's work extended into othe
fields. 1t was a large influence in tt
e creation Of the western sanitary commi:
: sion, it was felt in the reconstruction 70
e lowing the war, in social reform, and
many other directions"
;. The book Is very naturally a SYN
pathetic portrayal of DIR. Eiot's life, ar
s. it has been worthly put into book for
,, by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., who mai
q only good books.