New-York tribune., 1880-09-26
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
EDGAR A. POE.

EDGAR A. POE.
SELECT WORKS OF EpGAs Wi;s SsM ALLAS Memoir by T.
s1nnp,RD. sSo. Household Ei'tion new i'''
W. J. Middleton 49, =, r...,.,. or
Whatever may have hccn either 'he n,c'.'s a., "a
oersona merits of Mr.. Poe, 1t Is certain ''"'
A,n.,;can author have ever been so voiu-
,n;uou,ly discussed. Literary people ha,o i."r~
.,; .rratic man of talent excellent suoIec. i''
g. deal of hook making. Some oil them n'>o
;mnroved tho opportunity to preach inoi'i no
lies. others, coming fiercely to the rescue nav
cxbibited the unhappy poet as q in"cn "V"'o
49,, or,;,l, blamelcss man while still others nave
80, their readers i'm doubt whether their purpose
w.s 10 prass or censurc. Poe has peen wii,'"
obont rather elahoratcly by Rufus W. or'swv'"'
Inv Nathaniel p Willis. by MIS-. Sar"n ~,
vb;tmap. by James Russell Lowell by Johh IL
-, ana doubtlcss by Others whose names we
sar,et Mr.. C;riswold who had the hrst chance "'
.ho tonic has been accused CT unnecessarily draw
INC the frailties of Poe from their drear apoue III
pslt:mors and of having told falschoods aoou'
IL, in or,ler to d1rken the portraiture. MI
Cr;swpld did give the story III rather hnu an"
haar,less way, and he did not write as iNins
literary gentleman shoald write about deau III,
o,orv brother But Mr.. Griswoli probably couio
49,, lin ,h;s lie was professional manufacturer
of hooks He was not man of sentiment. nor o'o
no nrofess TO be. 1t is not probable tIa' no Z,
expcrcnced single throb of pity as he de'a'icu
the tragedy Of Poe's life. He lntehuea no ihoio
than n post-mortem examination, nor couiu nc oe
srnected 70 CRY over the morbid anatomy which IT
aovc,oped. He has been accused of falsehooa; put
biooraphcr can be exceedingly malignant even
when nc tells only the truth: for all depends upon
his way of telling it. Other people with softer
h.arts have written about Poe in n more amiaDle
.n;r;t with disposition to eNtehuate His
errors or conceal them. Tho Lie wnicii
is nreGxed TO this edition of Mr.. Poes eelect
Vorks.r by Mr.. Richard Henry Stoddard' is tne
,rIv one with which We are acquainted WHICH
ran he pronounced at once judicious ana Judiciai'
The faults of Mr.. Poe are not ostentatiousl' Vi
pharisaically obtruded, but on the other mana
there is no attempt to put him as a saih' i'o 'n0
calendar. .
constant eve 10 the stricIest accuracy. He mar
,otes the incidents of n fitful and unhappy hle
r,th q close attention to details. We miss some
,pn,easant gossip about Poes conduct, and are
heartily grateful for the omission The d'scfedl.-
able features Of Poes character are PLAINLY ih'i-
mated. because without such intimatioh theie
,or,a be M criticism worth farthIng; but the
o.bo,e spirt of the Memoir is kindly and chari'
able At the same time we must confess oh'' 'h'
General impression made by the story, even rs Ni
S,oddor1 narrates it, is not a pleasant one. Inc
lfa a
.ompclling us to recognize his strange want o.
.rac;tv his selfish abandonment to hayward I'm
mlses his habit of literary trckerv. his coniirmeo
aud continual ingratitude and his fondness for CIV
mo main IJnouestonably there was something
ginning in his manners, for he was always e&ci.
ing sympathy and receiving assistance. lie co"'o
make friends and warm ones, but he seidom heP
hem. HIS quarrel with Mr.. Allan. the generous
benefactor of his youth, was utterly needless ana
~ far rs we know anything of the matter, roe was
,Ione IN blame He wore ont the patience oil MI
White of The Southern Literary Messenger. nc
failed TO retain the friendship of Mr.. Burton lie
.nn ouuck at his fellow-wrtcrs, which most un-
necessarily made them his enemies. lie woulo
write ANYTHING for the sake of creating an excite
mcnt and of attracting attention. lie was
sueeially bcfrended by literary women. but they
never could be sure that he would not at aJh
moment turn upon them and exhibit them Us con-
tcnptible or ridiculous.
Mr. Poe is usually regarded as man OF genius
He seems to us rather man Of talent; though L
is talent of the highest order He had woDderiu
skill in construction but he was little tco fond
doing curious things Of puzzling, OF astonishing o.
frightening his readers. His Tales which have
hcep ,nuch admired have sometimes flavor oi
mathematics about them which is far from palat
able lie liked literary feas; was VAIN OF hi'
cryptological skill; manufactured acrostles aftei
new and rare patterns; and tried bold experiment
in yersifcation. He was only forty years Old whei
he died but if he had lived for forty years longer
it is not probable that he would have produce'
any works of merit superior 10 those which III
left behind. Yet such is the clevcrness OF nj
verse and prose that he is still much read as nll
merous editions of his works attest, while many o
his contemporaries. with reputation while LIVING
quite equal to his, are nearly forgotten. Nobody
has told his story well as Mr.. Stoddard. Unfor
tunatc in many of his bographers, Poe, II livini
aud in his most irascible mood could hardly com
plain of tins Memoir.