Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-09-18
THE LITERARY ASSASSIN OF POE.

The recent death of Dr. Rufus W. Griswould has
excited not little comment in Northern newspaper
dom. Some of the papers speak in no very compli-
mentary terms of his abilities and honesty as a IT.
teraeur, while others with disregard Of one of the
most beautiful traits of human nature, that of for
giving the mere frailties of man, do not refrain
from abiding to the fact that prior to his exit from
the feverish stage Of life his unfortunate matrmon
ial relations produced considerable scandal in the
literary and fashionable world.
The bitter and relentless persecution which fol-
lowed Shelley, one of the divinest of men, and
which drove the author Of Childe Harold from Eng
land disgusts US with all reference to matrimonial
difficulties. Now and then society must have a VIC
tim, and the victim is impaled with little human
ity as was the NaEsrine in the ancient days of
Iudea.
The position and eminence of the man thus select
ed, to be offered up as a sacrifice to the mawkish
sensibty of the sefrighteous Of the social sphere,
only renders the persecution more daring, inhuman
and wicked. In the instances to which we have re-
fsrred British society was in that morbid state when
errors, in the of Shelley and of Byron were
reg arded as crimes. Society crsved for victim,
and domestic squsbbles seized upon az OfenseG
demanding the exile of the gifted twain.
Such may have been the case with DR.. Griswold
He was twice or thrice married. His last matri
monia alliance subjected him to scandsous charges.
which amounted to nothing serious in the end
Scandal, of course, with her hundred tongues was
busy with his until his death, but there ever
scandal should stop.
1t is alone of the literary acts Of Dr. Griswod thai
we would speak. And here let say, that although
| many grand-mOtherly persons imagine that the
grave covers all sins, it does not cover literary sin
Truth would do herself great injustice were she Il
muzzle her angelic lips when it becomes necessary
to speak Of the literary of those whose work.
assist to make up the catalogue of the boOksel
| lers,
No man inthis country did greater harm to Ameri
literature than the subject Of this article. He
Wasin every literary charatan. In fact he wa
more than this ne was plagiarist, and, worse than
all, an assassin Of the reputation of man whose
| genius sent forth thoughts golden-hued, graceful
and grand. There was no fairness in his criticisms
no justice in his conclusions. His prejudices haC
| complete control Of his Judgment.
Deficient in all the elements Of q sound and dis
eliminating critic, and destitute of that learning
essential to a literary editor, DR.. Griswold, never
theless, set himself up as American Clifford, anC
| passed judgment upon the "builders of the Lofty
| rhyme" with the air and audacity of that distin
| guished individual. The "hosrse Fitzgeralds,
bawling out their limping in pot-hOuse. wer
too often favorites while such unfortunate kestse
if they can be called unfortunate, under the cir
cumstsnces-as were personally distasteful TO him
were omitted from his lame compilations, or " dam
ned with faint praise"
Few persons can read his "Poets and Poetry o
| America" without being struck with this truth
Verse writers of mediocre abilities introduced
into the sublime company of our masters of tn
lyre and their feeble efforts ridiculousy extoled.
| But the GROWING literary sin of DR.. Griswold wa
his assassination Of the reputation of the brilian
but errstic Edgar A. Poe. Claiming to be his lite
rary executor by the '1sst words of that child o
genius. he nevertheless took the earliest occasion
after Poes death to indite for the New York Ti6un
a malignant and disgracsful article calculated to d.
| much injury to the deceased poet.
Dr. Griswold and Poe had been for years enemies
Yet according to the declaration of the former tn
latter had magnanimously con6ded to him the tasl
Of acting as biographer and literary executor. T
kick the dead lion under such circumstances was il
the highest degree ungrsteful and unjust.
| And here we leave DR.. GrisWold with the singh
| remark, that while we have much charity for hi
frailtes man, we have none for errors and sin
| as a AsterGtsur.-N o. Delta.