The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-07-11
THE DEATH or POEtS SWEET
HEART.
from the Granhics


Announcement is made Of the death Of
Sarah Helen Whitman, al Providence, Of
heart disease. To this lady Poe was FOL
some time engaged In marriage, butfhe lady
wisely made the engagement conditional
and the weakened, dissolute poetwaS una
bic to observe the conditions, and they part
ed. In his lecture on poetry be awarded e
her "pre -eminence In refinement Of art,
enthusiasm, Imagination and genius, y an es-
innate which the cultured lady scarcely
justified. IL was in September, lS4S, that
they became acquainted, and he thereafter
often visited her in Providence. His pub
lished letters 10 his GdHcee show much deli
cacy and a refined moral sense, and are
among the most creditable Of al his writ
ings. But some OF them beiray, in the Ian
guage OF Sarah Whitman, The agony OF the
conflict in which he was fOredOOmed 10 de-
feat. with a power which no added word
could heighten." The romantic circum-
stances attending his first meeting with this
lady have been beautifully narrated by HIM
self in his poem " To Helen," rs follows:
TO HELEN.
I saw thee ouce-once oniy-years ago;
must not say how nauy-but not many.
IL was July midnight; and IRON out
fuli-orbed moon, that. like thine own soul,
Sought a precipitate pathway up through
Heaven,
There feIl a silvery- siIlsen veil Of light,
With qnietude and sultr1ness aud slumber,
Upon the upturn'd faces OF a thousand
Roses that grew in an enchanted garden,
Where no wind dared 70 stir, unless on tip
Fell on the upturn'd faces of these roses
That gave out, I'm return for the love-hght,
Their odorous souls in an ecstatic death
Fell on the upturn'd faces of these roses
That smiled and died in this parterre, en-
chanted
By thee and by the poetry of thy presence.
Qua IN l., ...,,s.. ....,,, q .-sos,. 1,o,f-
saw thee half reclining; while the moon
Fell on the upturn'd faces of the roses.
And on thine own. upturn'd-alas, in sorrow
Was Il not fate that on this July midnight
Was IL not fate (whose name is also sorrow),
That bade me pause before that garden gate,
To breathe the incense of those slumbering
No footstep stirred: the hated world all slept,
Save only thee and me. ooh, Heaven!-Oh,
God
How my heart beats in coupling those two
words
Save only thee and me. paused-I looked
And in an instant all things disappeared.
sAh, bear in mind this garden was enchant
The pearly luster Of the moon went out;
The messy banks and the meandering paths,
The happy flowers and the repining trees
We're seen mo more; the very roses odOrs
Died in the arms of the adOring airs.
All-all expired save thee-save less than
thou;
Save only the divine light in thine eyes
Save bnt the soul in thine uplifted eyes.
! saw but them-they were the world to me-
] saw but them-saw only them for hours
Saw only them until the moon went down.
What wild heart histories seemed to be en-
written
Upon those crystalline, celestial spheres!
How dark a wOi YET how sublime a hopei
How silently serene sea of pride
How daring an ambition yet how deep
How fathOmless a capacity for lovei
But now, at length, dear Dian sank from
sight,
Into a western couch of thunder cloud
And thou, a ghost, amid the entombing trees
Didst glide away. Only thine eyes remained.
They would not go-they never yet have
gone.
Lighting my lonely pathway home that night.
They have not left me las my hopes have)
since.
They follow me-they lead me through the
years.
They are my ministers-yet 1 their slave.
Their Office is to illuminate and enkindle-
My duty 70 be saved by their bright light
And purified in their electric fire,
And sanctifed in their elysiaR fire.
They nil my soul with Beauty (Which is
Hope)
And are lar up in HeaVen--the stars kneel TO
In the sad silent watches of my night;
While even in the meridian glare of day
see them still-two sweetly scintillant
Nenuses, unextinguished by the SUM-