The Ordway new era., 1912-09-27
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he once told an interviewer. land
when l did l was a failure in every.
thing except reading. maybe. liked
to read. We had McGuiiey's readers.
But l always ran away when we were
to read Little Nell l knew !
couldn't read 1t without crying and.
II cried. the other boys would laugh
at me-"
To another visitor Mr.. Riley said
that he never had much schooling.
and. continuing. he remarked: What
little ! had never did me much good.
I believe. never could master math.
emathics. and history was a dull and
Juiceless thing to me. But l was al
ways fond OF reading in . random.
desultory way. and took naturally to
anything theatrical. cannot remem-
Der when l was not q declaimer and
began to rhyme almost as soon as !
could talk. The first verse ever re-
member writing was a four-line val.
entine. I was so small that I could
hardly reach the top Of the table. and
was painting q comic sketch on q
piece Of paper. had a natural facul.
ty for drawing as we'll as for rhyming.
and should probably have made fair
artist II had kept at it. Well. be-
low the sketch was making I wrote
four comic lilies. and these were prob.
ably my first poetic effort"
Perhaps the child Riley studied
both the picture he had drawn and the
lines he had written and decided then
and there that the lines were so much
better than the picture that he would
devote his efforts thereafter to writ
ing. In any event, he became poet.
According to his own photographed
sketch he was born $50 long ago that
he persists In never referring to the
date. Citizens Of his native town Of
Greenfield, Ind. while warmly vel.
coming his event were no less demon
strative some years since to speed the
parting guest It seems. In fact. that
as they came to know him better the
more resigned were they to give him
up. He was ill-starred from the very
cradle. 1t appears. One day. while
but toddler. he climbed unseen to an
open window where some potted
plants we're ranged. and while leaning
far out to catch some dainty gilded but.
terfly. perchance, he lost his footing.
and. with piercing shrek. fell y
the sidewalk below; and when. an In
slant later, the afrrighted parents
picked him up. he was-he was u
poet!"
At the age Of fifteen Riley ceased
to attend school. and at the wish of
his father began to study law. AS
may readily be understood, in view
Of his career. the law had no attrac-
ton for the young poet So. after
being advised by the family physi-
clan to travel, Riley seized the first
opportunity that offered and. putting
aside his Blackstone. fed one after
noon between twilight and sunset to
return to his native town no more
for a year.
Riley, as he afterward said. had no
money with which to defray the ex-
penees OF a trip and. when a patent
medicine doctor" made his advent
in Greenfield Riley allied himself
with the travelling caravan and de-
parted when the cavalcade pushed
on to the next town. II was with this
man about year." he said few
months ago. His home was In Lima,
Ohio. and he was kindly old fel-
low. I did a good many things while
In his employ-painted signs, beat
the bass drum q bit and, maybe, |
recited. My experience pu: an Idea
in my head-a business i1ea for a
wonderland the next year went