arrangements with James Pond to do two national tours during 1888 and 1889. They were popular and generally sold out, with hundreds having to be turned away. The shows were usually forty-five minutes to an hour long and featured Riley reading often humorous poetry interspersed by stories and jokes from Nye. The shows were informal, and the two men adjusted their performances based on their audiences' reactions. Riley memorized forty of his poems for the shows to add to his own versatility. Many prominent literary and theatrical people attended the shows. At a New York City show in March 1888, Augustin Daly was so enthralled by it he insisted on hosting the two men at a banquet with several leading Broadway theater actors. Despite serving as the act's main draw, Riley was not permitted to become an equal partner in the venture. Nye and Pond both received a percentage of the net profit, while Riley was paid a flat rate for each performance. In addition, because of his past agreements with the Redpath Lyceum Bureau, Riley was required to pay half of his fee to his agent Amos Walker. This meant the other men profited more than Riley from his own work. To remedy this situation, Riley hired his brother-in-law Henry Eitel, an Indianapolis banker, to manage his finances and act on his behalf to try to extricate him from his contract. Despite discussions and assurances from Pond that he would work to address the problem, Eitel had no success. Pond ultimately made the situation worse by booking months of solid performances, not allowing Riley and Nye a day of rest. These events affected Riley physically and emotionally; he became despondent and began his worst period of alcoholism. During November 1889, several shows were cancelled after Riley became severely inebriated at a stop in Madison, Wisconsin. Walker began monitoring Riley and denying him access to liquor, but he found ways to evade him. At a stop at the Masonic Temple Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky, in January 1890, Riley paid the hotel's bartender to sneak whiskey to his room. He became too drunk to perform and was unable to travel to the next stop. Nye terminated their partnership and the tour in response. The reason for the breakup could not be kept secret, and hotel staff reported to the Louisville Courier-Journal they saw Riley in a drunken stupor walking around the