Evening Star Newspaper, November 12, 1929, Page 31

LIBRARY GETS DATA ON HOLSER POET - Weird Traits of Riley Shown! in Material Presented by Harry S. New. The firm belief of James Whitcomb Riley in the potency of spirits is an in- | teresting characteristic of the Hoosier poet revealed in biographical material which has been presented to the Library ©of Congress. These unusual and sometimes weird mental traits of Riley were an essen- tial part of his personality, according to Harry S. New, former Postmaster General, who has turned over to the Library a mass of letters, manuscripts and ciippings 'with a_bearing upon the poet’s life. | By this means it is hoped to picture Riley for posterity in' an interesting | and accurate light. An article on the subject by- Representative Ludlow of the seventh Indiana district was re-| leased today. Mr. New, Representative Ludlow | inted out, played an important part n getting recognition for Riley when the latter was young and'almost un- heard of. Tt was Mr, New's paper the Indianapolis Journal, which published Riley’s first poems and lent assistance %o the struggling young writer. ‘Will Be Kept in Permanent Form. In a letter to the librarian Mr. New | said it was his hope to furnish a “pic- ture of the real Riley and to preserve | some of the peculiar faiths and super-| stitions of the man.” The material| given by Mr. New will be kept in per- manent form for the inspection of pres- ent and future generations. Representative Ludlow pointed out| that these biographical data contain at Jeast three anecdotes bordering on the ™ occulfy Two of them illustrate the| poet’s 'belief that souls separated by death from the body return to earth| and perform definite actions. One deals | with the supposed earthly performances | of Eugene Field after his demise and the other with supposed post-mortem acts of Robert Louis Stevenson, both former friends of Riley. The other story, Representative Lud- | Jow pointed out, tells how the under- taker was locked out of Riley’s death chamber under mysterious = circum- stances on the night of the poet’s death. | Mr. New obtained the story from what | he regards as’'an unimpeachable source. | Door Locked Mysteriously. | “Many of Riley's intimates,” Mr. New writes, “had heard him at various times speak shudderingly of his abhorrence of the ministrations of the undertaker after his death. It so happened that the night Riley passed away the un- dertakers, after attending to the pre- liminaries, quit the room for some nec- essary articles, leaving the body unat- tended. On their return, two or three ‘ours later, to complete their offices great ‘was their surprise to find the door lock- ed—not only fastened, but locked, and from the inside. All efforts to open it were futlle, and it was necessary to place a stepladder to the wall outside and send a man in through the win- dow of the chamber on the second floor in which the mortal part of Riley lay entirely alone. How did the door be- come lockéd? Who closed it? Was it an interference of the description above related that he might balk and fluster the unwgicome undertaker? ‘Who knows. One man's explanation is as good as another’s, and I have none of my own to offer. - In a covering letter deposited in the Library of Congress with this material Mr. New says: “The stories of the interference after death of Eugene Field and Robert Louis Stevenson were events in which Riley figured and were related to me by Riley himself and believed by him as im- plicitly as any man ever believed in a positive occurrence. The: incident of the locked door shutting out the under- taker was related to me by Mrs. Charles L. Holstein, in whose home Riley lived the last years of his life and where he died and in which the incident there- fore occurred; by Hagry D, Tutewiler, the officiating undertaker, and also by the nurses and servants who were pres- ent at the time.” % ‘The stories told by Mr. New have n related by him on one or two for- or occasions, but are. not known to general public. In introducing his cct, Mr. New says: = - “ENey not only believed that the soul er death. but he was perfectly Pleld® Mr. New Continues, “he had written in verse a tribute to his de- parted fiiend and colleague, and, as he related the circumstance, Francis Wil- son, the\comedian, having seen it in a zine, sent Riley a very handsome special edition of ‘Fleld,’ ®ith a request to him to autograph the flyleaf with the verses. Reading Mr. Wilson's let- ter, Riley noted a further request—that if the book should be mailed before § certain date it should be sent to him at the Burnet House, in Cincinnati.” Mr. New sp¥s Riley told him he mailed the book, as requested, to the Burnet House, in Cincinnati, never reached that place, and about a year later it showed up at.McClurg's, in Chicago. Riley is quoted by Mr. New as saying: “That was Gene Field's work. Wil- son had not'said a word to me about McClurg's and I never had thought of | the place in that connection. Gene had simply butted in on us, and when he had had all the fun he could get out of it, he saw that the book was duly delivered.” Continuing, Mr. New says: “The other story, somewhat similar, had to do with Robert Louis Steven- son. At the death of Mr. Stevenson Scribner’s wrote to Riley asking that he write for them an appreciation, which | he_did. | <A little later,” Riley went on to say, they sent me a ~check for a liberai Gt and X returned it. saying |that I could not accept pay for what | had been purely a work: of love. Some corréspondence followed, and they asked if they might send me some books to testify to their titude, I wrote that hed it that way they might certain edition of Stev: but it | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1929. son’s works, which they did. And would you believe it? They reached me on my birthday! Scribner's did not know the date of that event. It was Steven- son who timed the arrival of those boks to testify to his appreciation of MARITAL MIX-UP. Admits Three Marriages. NEW YORK, November 12 (#)—Suit for divorce, $100 a week alimony, $2,500 counsel fees and $1,000 for “current | expenses” was filed yesterday in Kings | County Supreme Court by Mrs. Ella A. 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