Forums mIRC Help $read syntax problem

1. I simplified the location of the text file for the purposes of the question. Its actually:

C:\Users\paul\Desktop\Mirc\questions.txt

The file does exist, and if I change the %variable2 in the $read command to something specific eg......"the house is red" it finds the "the house is red" without an issue.
I tested and echo the %variable1 prior to the $read and it is legitimate and not null.
I have tried the ntw switch as I had found the wikichip page using google , prior to your reply, and tried it just in case. The first line of the txt document isnot numeric though.