Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1860-11-01
A English Physic ian's Views of Edgar


An English physician, Henry Maudes.
ley. has recently written an article on Ed
gar A. Poe, which. though it is not at all
remarkable, is not without interest, and
we therefore make one or two extracts
therefrom. He says of Poe's father and
mother:
David Poe, deficient of decencies. babe
farewell to law, Of which he had been a
student, along with responsibility, and
with Elizabeth Arnold. the beautiful ac-
tress. went forth into the wide, wide worfl.
On the whole. the wide world cannot be
said to be very suitable place for a man
toenter upon who has given a mp respectable
routine for beautiful actress. if he wants
TO do anything but to die therein. Oh.
1t YVES pitiful. 1t was bad, zirrecoverably
bad, David Poe, for arc not the sins of the
father visited upon the children unto the
third generation? We griere for the
transaction. yet we cannot well regret it;
for had not things SO happened, there
would have been for us no Edgar Poe. no
Raven" and no Lenore Strange, and
tho observation is very trite, how far back
lies the origin of any event in this world.
The thing done remains IN action forever.
One cannot help thinking of the young
lawyer with enraptured countenance in the
pit OF the theatre absorbed in the enchant-
ing actress upon whom every one of the
multitude present was absorbed in admira-
tion-for she was a great fsvorite-wbo
should have pointed 10 that face and have
said. that in the sympathetic and admir-
ing glance which beamed therefrom toward
the actress, lay the germ OF things which
were to occupy the. worlds attention. as
long. may be. as it existed Edgar Poe,
his poetry, and the amazement of mankind
at his strange, lurid, irregular existsnce;
nay, that glance is actually accountable
for this present waste Of ink and paper.
Of the author of the Raven" and the
kindness-much overstated by the physi-
cian-shown the poet. his English review
CT observes:
There IS one pleasing circumstance in
the history of Edgar; and that is this.
that the worll has no cause to reproach
itself for neglect of him; as it does SO re-
proach itself in respect to the treatment of
Of certain unhappy geniuses. Kindness
Sns~s fSS~St ~S-s'e INV HcAh ttC StSuc ~
the grave, and did what could be done to
rescue him from the misery that he was
ever bringing down upon himself. His
case may. indeed. be cited as inst ructively
showing how vain it is to reproach our
selves for not showering all on such I'M
happy beings. Would not Chatterton,
being such as he was. have died Of arsenic,
or even more miserably. whatever had been
done for him? And Byron. would he have
bean more hayward and more wretched,
had he been born to poverty and starva-
ton instead of being born to an income
and coronet? When man cannot do
something for himself he seems to be like
sieve, to let all the good others may do
him run through. Is It net. moreover.
somewhat inconsistent with the character
of genius to look for such aid? II the
nan has been sent into the world, so pre-
eminently endowed. he has been sent to
enlighten and to benefit the world. and not
tobs nursed and .coddled by it like deli
cate child.