in the aftermath of the poe plot, riley was dismissed from the "democrat". he returned to greenfield to spend time writing poetry. he met clara louise bottsford, a school teacher boarding in his father's home. they found they had much in common, particularly their love of literature. the couple began a 12-year, intermittent relationship, riley's longest. in mid-1878, the couple had their first breakup caused partly by riley's alcoholism. riley made a first attempt to give up liquor by joining a local temperance organization but quit after a few weeks.