The Youth of James Whitcomb Riley (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919 Excerpt: ...of--of Song (A mild stimulus of applause). Now I am not going to trespass upon time which may be much better employed in the discussion of your papers for the evening--(cries of "Go on " and "Come off " dubiously blended--the speaker bowing and continuing), but, giving way to your generous encouragement, I do want to dwell--for a brief moment at least--on Poetry and its true mission--as, I think, we should most seriously consider it. Now I am, as you know, unable, in this way, to express myself at all times as clearly as I would like--I can't, as you know, think on my feet--Mr. Van Arden: J could, if I had them; and would "think on" them--very seriously. (Laughter.) Mr. Lewis: Yes. The gentleman might even think with them and find it an improvement upon his brain process. (Sensation.) (This beginning of what the "Hoosier Wizard" failed to complete provokes a sense of something lost. One breathes a sigh of regret that it remains unfinished. Humorous literature might have had a prose sketch equal to his caricature of the educator in "The Object Lesson.") The crisp days of November found the Wizard Company among the upper-tributaries of the Great Miami. Although the nights were icy and the winds sometimes raw and vindictive, Riley was inclined to continue the voyage. He had regained health. "Still on they went, and as they went, More rough the billows grew; And rose and fell, a greater swell, And he was swelling, too"--swelling in size and weight, his heart swelling with gratitude. When the Company left Greenfield, three months before, he was called the "Little Man." Now he was not so small. The Doctor considered him a "Big Man"--but the comedians were ignorant of the Doctor's mea...