The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-02-14

- tor poe was always curiously reticens
respecting the events of his own Iie. vne thst
thaf he never reached Greece. Inc olne, .e.rics'
shout wear after his departure from Amo, ,:'
he ssv vas arrested at St. Petersburg By the ponco,
nrobsbIv. for an offense committed when ne ~
drunk. The American minister procured ms -
cNsree. and, finding him totally aesh
Nine On reaching Richmond, the prodigsl ~
heartily welcomed by his benefactor, Ansn p;as
soon procured for him cadetship ~ mess LII, 18th
he appears to have entered that INSTITUTION l..;as
asincere determination TO perform vb h1 his be,
bsvior was excellent; he stood high 10 MS cie5a
add his friends hoped that be had sown nus ~
oats, and that he was now reformed cnarac.ssi;:
But what an amount OF falsenood - inp'oTT hs
that expression He has soton his tcttd 0dtS- tno
popular belief is, that young man may 81 ~
drinking, carousng, gambling. and turning nlkns
into day, for certain time. and then, suouohy
changing his course Of life, live the rest Oh ms
days as we'll and happily as though he had never
gone astray. Miserable mistake No one eau
abuse his body without paying the penalty, ana,
least Of all, man of delicate and refined orgsnl-
,.ation like Edgar A.. Poe. Such men as ne arg
Sormed by nature for the exercise OF the noblest
2sirtues and the practice OF the highest arts. A
stronger and coarser nature than his. or one more
lsmature, might have suffered for while from the
lsblghting fumes Of alcohol, and then In some de-
| gree have recovered its tone, and made some
amends for the wrong II had done.
= Ii was not so with the tender and uniformed
| organs Of this young man, who never recovered
| from the injury which early dissipation had
Mroueht. few months after entering West
$oint his appetite for drink resumed its sway,
and he relapsed into his former habits. Before
Dis first year had expired, he was expelled from
the Academy.
Again he returned to Richmond, and again his
| sopg-sunerng benefactor received him into his
hsnse. There he found the young and beautiful
VIE whom Mr.. Allan had recently married; and
toIber, it is said. he paid attentions 80 marked
'tbst Mr.. Allan was at length thoroughly incensed
S.against him, and banished him for ever from his
IShouse. more probable version Of the story is,
5that Mr.. Allan, happy in the society Of his wife,
was less patient than before of his protege's dis
sipated habits, and was easiy set against him by
Abt young lady. However IL may be, John Allan
ksdkd soon after, and. though he left large for
ttune, poor Poe's name was not mentioned in his
will. His death occurred in 1884, when Poe was
lstwenty-three years of age. alf
II The young man had published small volume
.of poems at Baltimore in 1929, which attracted
/ some attention. more on account of the youth Of
the writer than the merits of the writing. Being
now destitute of all resource, he made some en-
deavors TO procure literary employment. Falling
ia this, be enlisted in the army as a private SOL
der. While he was serving in the ranks. he was
recognized by officers whom he had known at
West Point, who, after inquiring into his case,
K applied for bis discharge; but before the docu-
1 meDt arrived Poe deserted. he was not very
closely pursued, however, and he soon found him
SELF in Baltimore, free man, but almost totally
destitute. Then it was that be read in paper an
advertisement by the publisher Of a literary Pc
riodcal. offering two prizes Of 500 each for the
best story and the best poem that should be of
fered. Poe sent In both story and poem, won
both prizes, and soon after obtained employment
editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, then
published at Richmond.
f. Again the same story: steady conduct and
well sustained industry for q short time then
drink, dissipation and discharge. Before he was
dismissed he had married his cousin, Virginia Gle
men, Q very pretty, smiable girl, and exceedingly,
fond of her erratic husband The Ill provided pair
removed to New York In 1887, where he continued
to live during the greater part of the rest Of his
life. Nothing new remains to be told. He FREE
quenty obtained respectable and sufficiently lu-
crstive employment, but invariably lost il by mis-
conduct. arising as think, solely from the effect
of alcohol on his brain. In October, 1919, in the
course of Southern lecturing tour, he stopped at
Baltimore, where, meeting some Of his old COM
panions, be spent night in q wild debauch, and
was found in the morning In the street suffering
from delirium tremens. He was taken to the hos
pital, where, in few days, he died. aged SO.
Poe was mild looking man, OF pale, regular
features, with certain expression Of weakness
about the mouth, which men often have who are
jnfrm Of purpose. He had something OF the erect
military bearing noticeable in young men who
have had military drill in their youth. What, with
the neatness of his attire, the gentleness Of his
manners and the pale beauty of his face, he usu-
ally excited an interest In those who met him. and
he remained to the last favorite with ladies'.