reading mail with emacs

[visaris tds.net]

Whereas I have been reading mail with emacs for decades, I did a new install
(I'm a gentoo user) and now what once automagically worked nolonger does...
Emacs seems to function -- exept for mail.

Although I have fethcmail and exim running, and although mail does
arive in /var/spool/exim/input, the format is that each message is split
into
a header file and then the body of the message.

M-x rmail does not get mail from  /var/spool/exim/input.

I have spent much time chasing cryptic pointers reading unintelligable
documents making vague references to "movemail" but it is beyond me.
I have contemplated perusing the RMAIL file and comparing it with
contents of /var/spool/exim/input so as to increase the chance that I can
make some lucky guesses and write a c program to bridge the gap from
/var/spool/exim/input to RMAIL.  Surely emacs has not deteriated to the
point that this would be necessary.  I find it difficult to believe there
is not
 some simple way to proceed.

Sorry to be so ingorant of what must be the obvious simple solution.