Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1858-11-10
From the Home Journa
LETTER ABOUT EDGAR POE.

MlenHa, October i, 1853
DEAR Nouns =
The splendid volume you sent me, (The
Poems Of EDGAR Poe, published by our friend
Redfeld, with taste and costlincss so suited
to the rare gems Of which it is the setting,)
has wildly re opened to me one of the long
closed chambers of the Past so trying to both
ofus In our harassing and exhaustiDg days
o! Daily" Editorship, PoE, for time, You
remember, was our assistant-the constant
aud Industrious occupant of desk in our Of
fec. The light shining from this volume
genius. of a diamond-ustrc which think
wholly unsurpassed-justifes fully TO me,
now, tho estimate then formed from the
presence Of the man. OF the poems, it would
be to me the delicious alchymy Of love to write
IA criticism. They are among the few that ]
delight TO read 10 4 friend, Tor feast in an
hour OF id!ercss. But it is of the once living
man-as here pictured in the biography pre-
facing the book-that | wish to make re-
mark or two which shall stand for your voice
and mine.
OF the ably written. but Gin its impressioo)
erroneous biography, which is placed at the
beginning ef the volume, [ will quote the
opening paragiaPh:-
1T would be well for all poets if nothing
more were known OF their lives than what
they themselves infuse into their poetry. Too
close knowledge OF tue weaknesses aud er-
rors of the inspired children of Parnassus
cannot but impair, in some degree, the deli
cate aroma Of their songs. The inner life Of
the poet, the secrets of his inspiration. the
mysterious processes by which his pearls of
thought are produced, can never be made
known, and the accidents of his daily life
have but little more interest than those which
fall to common men Under all circunstan-
ees the poet is mystery. and the utteranccs
Of lis fancy are but the drapery of the vc!icd
statue of which still leaves the figure un-
known 4 dissection Of the song-bird gives
us 10 insight into the secret Of his meindiaus
notes Some of the great modern poets have
had their whole lives exposed, with minute
accuracy; but in what We the wiser tor
the knowledge we have obtained Of them?
We only know they lived and suffered like
other men, and their inspirations are still a
cause Of wonder and delight The subtle
secret of their power is still hidden from our
search: and though we know more Of the
daily habits of the men, We know 10 more OF
the hidden power of the poet But there !:
still a yearning to know how the men lived
whose genius has charmed and instructed Us,
and vague feeling exists, that, in probing
the lives of poets, we may learn something
of :hc art by which they produced their
''0f all the poets whose lives have been a
puzzle and mystery to the world, there is
no one more difficult to be understood than
EDGAR ALLAN PoE. 1t is impossible to carry
iu the mind double idea of a man, and to
believe him to be both saint and tiend;
but such is the embarrassment felt by those
VINO have first read the poems of this strange
teng and then read any Of the biographies
Of him which pretend to anything like an ac-
curate account of his life. Like his own
Raven he is, to his readers, bird or fend,
they know not which. But close study Of
his works will reveal the fact-which may
serve, in some degree, to remove this en-
barrassment-that there is nowhere discover
able in them consciousness Of moral re-
sponsibility They are full of the subtletios
oipassion, of grief, despair, and longing; but
tley contain nothing that indicates a sense
Of moral rectitude They arc the produc-
ton Of one whose religion was a worship Of
'le Beautiful, and who knew no beauty Su
mat which was purely sensuous. There were
out two kinds of beauty for him, and they
were Form and Color. He revelled in al
'1eal world of perfect shows, aud was made
TTretched by any imperfections of art. The
lt-eonore whose loss he deplored was being
!slr "a. to the eye, beautiful creature, like Tn
uIhe, without soul. With this KEY 10 tht
@e character of the poet, there is no Difficult
y IN comprehending the strange inconsisten
S''s' the basenesses and nobleness, which hi
"ayWard life exhibited.
b,,Se Some of the biographers of Poe have beer
,'niy Judged for the view given of his char
s:sr, and it has naturally been supposed tha
;Hs'e plque has led to the exaggeration o
:" personal defects But such imputstion