WCP7195

Letter (WCP7195.8346)

[1]

Indianapolis,

Indiana,

March. 21st., 1904.

James D. Law, Esq.,

London, England.

Dear Mr. Law:-

Daily confronted with unfinished work, Mr. Riley1 finds it impossible to write you now, but asks me to especially thank you for your fraternal interest in championing his claims to the authorship of the hoax Poe-poem "Leonainie."2 Therefore with the promptest return herewith of the enclosed letter of indictment, he bids me say, that he is grieved to reassure you that heis the author of the poem "Leonainie" — coined name and all — and that this fact was confirmed and has been generally known in this country since the exposé of the hoax in August of 1877. Regarding the eminently literary experts' arraignment of him as a false claimant, Mr. Riley good-naturedly remarks that it would be to him truly a source of relief if the poemcould be successfully "saddled" onto the Pegasus of Poe3 — or any other poet happily "past

TO where beyond these voices there is peace."4

Very truly yours, | J.M.D.5

Dictated by Riley6

1
Riley, James Whitcomb (1849-1916). American author known as the "Hoosier Poet".
2
"Leonainie" was a poem which appeared The Kimono Dispatch in 1877 as a previously unpublished poem by Edgar Allan Poe. In fact it was a hoax by the young poet James Whitcomb Riley, intended to show that the public would praise any work supposedly by a famous author. ARW came across it years later and was convinced that Poe was actually the true author, and there ensued a heated debate in literary circles. Schwartz, Joel S. 1984. Alfred Russell Wallace and 'Leonainie': A Hoax that would not Die." Victorian Periodicals Review,17: 2-15.
3
Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849). American writer.
4
From a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Tennyson, Alfred. 1859-1885. Guinevere. Idylls of the King. <http://www.everypoet.com/archive/poetry/Tennyson/tennyson_contents_idylls_guinevere.htm> [accessed 23 Oct. 2020].
5
J.M.D. is hand-written, not typed, in pencil.
6
This line is hand-written in pencil.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP7195.8346)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Ghosh, Susan [2020-10-27]

Author’s draft (WCP7195.8347)

[1]

Mar[ch]. 21, 1904,

James D. Law, Esq., London, England. —

Dear Mr. Law:

Daily confronted with unfinished work, Mr. Riley1 finds it impossible to write you jus now, but asks me hopes soon to more personally do so, and to especially thank you for your fraternal interest in championing his (alas!) righteous claims to the authorship of the hoax Poe poem Leonainie.2 Therefore, With the promptest return herewith of your the enclosed letter, of indictment Mr he bids me reassure say that he is grieved to reassure you that he is the author of the poem Leonainie — coined name and all, — and that this fact was confirmed, and has been generally known in this country since the exposé of the hoax in August of 1877.

Regarding the eminent literary experts' arraignment of [1 word illeg] him as a false claimant, Mr. Riley good-naturedly remarks that it would be to him truly a source of relief if the poem could be successfully "saddled" onto the Pegassus[sic] of Poe3 — or any other poet happily " ' past

To where beyond these voices there is peace.' "4

Very Truly

1
Riley, James Whitcomb (1849-1916). American author known as the "Hoosier Poet".
2
"Leonainie" was a poem which appeared The Kimono Dispatch in 1877 as a previously unpublished poem by Edgar Allan Poe. In fact it was a hoax by the young poet James Whitcomb Riley, intended to show that the public would praise any work supposedly by a famous author. ARW came across it years later and was convinced that Poe was actually the true author, and there ensued a heated debate in literary circles. Schwartz, Joel S. 1984. Alfred Russell Wallace and 'Leonainie': A Hoax that would not Die." Victorian Periodicals Review,17: 2-15.
3
Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849). American writer.
4
From a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Tennyson, Alfred. 1859-1885. Guinevere. Idylls of the King. <http://www.everypoet.com/archive/poetry/Tennyson/tennyson_contents_idylls_guinevere.htm> [accessed 23 Oct. 2020].

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Author’s draft (WCP7195.8347)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Ghosh, Susan [2020-10-27]

Please cite as “WCP7195,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP7195