Talks about authors and their work . n if he had been broughtup on a farm. He said I usually get thingsright. I get the frost on the pumpkin and thefodder in the shock, and I see the frost on theold axe they split the pumpkins with for feed,and I get the smell of the fodder, and the cattleso that it brings up the right picture in the mindof the reader. I dont know how I do it. Imonly the wilier through which the whistlecomes. Sometimes, however, a real country boy wouldtell him that he had things wrong; for instance,one said: You never lived on a farm. Aturkey cock gobbles, he dont ky-ouck, it
Talks about authors and their work . n if he had been broughtup on a farm. He said I usually get thingsright. I get the frost on the pumpkin and thefodder in the shock, and I see the frost on theold axe they split the pumpkins with for feed,and I get the smell of the fodder, and the cattleso that it brings up the right picture in the mindof the reader. I dont know how I do it. Imonly the wilier through which the whistlecomes. Sometimes, however, a real country boy wouldtell him that he had things wrong; for instance,one said: You never lived on a farm. Aturkey cock gobbles, he dont ky-ouck, its theturkey heii that ky-oucks. Well said , he had me right there. Well, youllnever hear another turkey-cock of mine ky-ouckin, says I. At school he was a star actor and reciter, butin other studies he lagged behind. He had finepieces to read in the old McGuffys Readers, butdays when they had sad pieces like Little Nellto read he always ran away, for he knew hewould cry, and he didnt like to do that beforethe other JAMES WHITCOMB RILBY. 214 TALKS ABOUT AUTHORS. Besides his great gift of imitation, he coulddraw very well, and after he left school helearned the trade of sign-painting with an oldDutchman named Keefer. While he was still ayoung lad, his health broke down, and the doc-tor told him he ought to travel, but, how couldhe travel without money? About that time, apatent medicine man came along with his wagons,and, as he needed a man, he went along withhim to paint his advertisements. He had a goodyear with this traveling doctor, and afterwardstraveled with a few other young men, formingThe Graphic Company—painting signs forbusiness firms on fences, trees, and old these traveling years, he was writing hisdialect verses, as he said he had to write naturalpieces to speak. He finally sent some of hispoems to Longfellow, who wrote him a very en-couraging letter, and, after securing a place ina newspaper of&ce, he had many of them pub-lished
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