The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-09-10
Anew Poem by Edgar Allen Poe,

Norristown Herald.
MANY of our exchanges have recently
published what purported to be post
humous poem by Edgar Allen Poe, en-
titled "Leonainie" The editor OF 10
komo Ind sheet, in which the produc-
ton originally appeared, claims that the
poem was copied from the fy-leat OF an
old book belonging to gentleman OF
that city, who obtained it from his grand.
father The latter kept an inn in Viz
ginia village, and one night just before
bedtime young man, exhibiting signs
of dissipation, stopped at the house and
secured lodgings. When they went to
his room next morning TO call him to
breakfast he had gone away and LETT the
book. on the fly leaf 0. which ne had
written the poem "Leonalnle," with the
initials az A. p" appended. OF course
The poem is genuine, for the editor OF the
Kokomo paper says so, though Poe
must have been wrestling with one OF
the biggest drunks OF his life when he
wrote it.
Not to be outdone in enterprise by q
KokOmo paper, the Herald dispatched a
correspondent to Virginia with instruc.
tions to spare neither time nor expense
IN the effort to capture posthumous po-
EN- by the gifted but errstic Poe. After
an absence of nearly two weeks he sends
us the poetic fragment given below, with
the explanation that he discovered 1t
written in chalk on the inner side Of n
barn door. on the premises of an old
farmer living near Winchester. One
night, the farmer says, young man,
with wild and berry look, applied at his
house tor lodgings, and was gwen accom-
modstions IN the barn. At day-break
next morning, when the old man went
ont to feed his stock, the stranger was
gone and the following poem, with Poes
initials attached, was found written on
the barn door:
MARIESSE.
Mary Ann her parents named her,
But she wrote ii Marienne;
And though angels have not Claimed her,
She's as fair as any.
For her eyes are dark and gloomy.
And her nose is sort o bloomy.
And her mouth is rather rOomy-
And have angels whispered TO me,
"Marienne"?
No, not any.
When fantastic shapes and shadows
Danced in darkling gienS and meadows,
Fairies ga and bright and heaming'
With pale starlight luStre glemlng,
lowered DER the lair and dreaming
Marienne.
But nv dream of life IL broken,
And nv tale OF love uaspoken;
FOR with gloomy eyes wide open,
Leaving neither sign nor token,
| She eloped with fancy fellow
one whose hair was long and yellow,
| And his head both thick and mellow
| And do YOU think that shall below
| For Marienna?
| Nary any.
+. A. Z.
The asterisks in the poem it may be as
well TO explain, represents gap made
by the farmer Inadvertently backing up
against the barn door to scratch his back.
The beautiful thoughts thus Obllterated
are forever lost to the literary world.
Jealousy may impel some OF our con-
| temporaries to insist that the poem
would have been vastly improved II the
farmer had wiped out the whole produc-
ton. but they cannot conscientiously de-
clare that our poem by Poe doesn't con-
tain more sense to the square inch than
the Kokomo effort. The Herald CORES.
pondent wished to send us the entire
barn door as y guarantee OF his good faith,
! hint the farmer objected He secured