The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-09-09


be his soul by certain shifting and staring of his
eyes he is pltied as one whose mental gearing
has sand in it.
Bliss Carman, former editor of the Independent
and a poet of note, was one of James Whitcomb
Riley's closest friends. After the Indiana
s~ongster's death on July %, Carman told much
about Riley to MI. Joyce Kilmer of the New York
Times Magazine and Mr.. Kilmer in turn told it
to the public.
Some 80 years ago Carman was introduced to
the already famous Hoosier. Riley's keen bird
like eyes surveyed the tall frame of the new and
young acquaintance: Gosh, you're a stalwart,
amt ye?" he remarked, grinning. 81 guess your
parents must have trained you on a trellis."
Then, as reported by Mr.. Kilmer, Carman went
on to say:
'The next time I saw Riley was in Philadelphia.
i went to read before the Browning society, and
i don't mind telling you that l was scared to
death. When l got out all alone on the stage and
saw a thousand people staring up at me l felt
more like running away than doing anything else.
But when l saw Riley down in the audience,
looking at me in his quaint, friendly way, then
i felt all right. 1 wasn't afraid to read my
poetry to Riley.
after the reading was over Riley tucked me
under his arm and said: Now, let's get around
to the hotel and We'll take off our shoes and
get a chew of tobacco and be comfortable
"You know, such remarks as this were all the
more piquant because Riley was so very pune
l1luOuS ana ScrupulOuS IN all MS personal 0aDltS.
He always was Immediately dressed. l never
knew him even to make so much of a conces-
sion to comfort as TO put on a smoking jacket
or a lounge coat. But he liked to 60 to his room
and stretch himself on his bed and talk. And
he never talked about anything but literature,
chiefly poetry.
"Riley had a great fund of knowledge of
poetry and knew lots of out-of-the-way homely
verse. He delighted particularly in ridlculously
bad newspaper verse.
"Riley liked to read poetry aloud. When 1 went
to his house of an evening, he generally was wait
ing for me with SOM %favorite book, ready to
read aloud"
"What sort of poetry did he PREFER"
"His tastes covered q wide range. Two poets
to whom he was especially devoted were Long
fellow and Swinburne.
"Riley liked Longfellow's directness and sim
plicity. The things that pleased him in Swim
burne's work were the music and the def crafts
manship.
after Riley had received his degrees from
some of the colleges, he seemed to feel that he
Ought to be known as a poet, rather than as a
Ihumorist and writer of dialect verse. He tried
hard to live up to the name of poet, and wanted
his nonsense rhymes of his vagabondage forgot
ten. Yet his vernacular verse, or, as he called it,
his dialect verse, was his chief contribution to
literature.
"Riley was just a poet. That was all he ever
cared to be. He was not interested in anything
but poetry. He knew nothing of politics-he had
not voted for 30 years. And as for philosophy,
he had nothing but contempt for the modern
thinkers.
'"There was something very pathetic and charm
ing about Riley's tenacity in holding the serious
poet pose. His nonsense was just one of his ways
lof writing which happened to prove popular;
when he got a chance to write in another way
how eagerly he seized 1t, and how perslstently he
chung to It'll
"His last years were the happiest of his life,
I think. He had his own car and rode around
indianapolis and its suburbs every day, generally
taking with him some friend. He was honored
and loved, and l think he felt that life had been
good to him.
"Riley's father was a lawyer. His grandfather
came to Indiana from Pennsylvania. His grand
mother on his mothers side was Pennsylvania
Dutch. His father was Irish.
"Riley had many prejudices. He dtsliked Poe
very much. He disliked Poe's character so much
that he could hardly read his poetry. OF course.
he must have liked Poe's music and splendid
hmetrical effects.
"Of course, you know the story of Riley's ia
nous imitation Of Poe? He had taken a position
on the staff of an Anderson, Ind, paper, and the
editor of a rival paper kept ridiculing him. Riley