New-York tribune., 1885-02-01
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
POE.

s.s heen tho subject of almost bewilderihg
abundance of published sketches and "reminiscences
Mr. Woodberry is able to say in the preface 10 .hi'
careful and interesting book that the larger poi''V
o IL consists of wholly new information or Oh oiu
statcments so radically corrected as 10 pecon'o
new, For the discrepancies and lmperiec.ion' u
many of the existing memoirs Poe himseii 10 ~
great measure responsible He had very ii'''o oon
scie,ce literary or personal and he is often NOS.
..,,.tuor,bv authority for the events of his own
I;fe To the errors originally disseminated by his
ooencv were added numerous misrepresentation oy
hostile critics or too partial admirers ana the to
sr,t ia n Poe controversy which seems 10 eathei
bitterness with the lapse of time. Mr.. Woodoei,y
has follow ed the sensible course OF verifying .no
facts of the biography as far rs possioi9 oS
suce 70 documents AMI other original sources VI
foruation and where such evidence IS nna''an'oio
he has ouoted the secondary authorities upon "no"
he ia forced to rely. This method mas ihVo'Nou All
ouount of labor for which the product would appear
but scanty recOmpense were IL hoo lh"' " '.o'9
worth telling at all is worth telling right. Besides
clearing mn several disputed questions, and
throwing light upon certain obscure perioos oi oo
career the new biographer has secured some vaiu-
ob,e letters hitherto unpublished, which have con-
siderable historical and literary signihcance' Inc
most remarkable of these fresh documents arc io'
ters from Poe to James Russell Lowell ana e''ei'
from Charles f. Briggs to Mr.. Loweii during 'no
time Of Poe's connection with Briggs in the editor
ship of The Broddrdy Journal
The spirit of Mr.. Woodberrys searching ana con
scientious work is exactly indicated by these lines
from his final chapter
Tho storv that has now been told, in which has
baen substantially Incorporated whatever Know,-
ed re of Poe was accessible has shown IL Is noeu'
the folly of any summary view OF i1 ~ taSe the
Where the fault lay those who are oola 70 .ne ft t
scales of Justice may determine; the simple 1ac,
is that Poe being highly endowed weioreat tbnn bdn
enoe S fair opportunities brilliant prospects land and
groups of benevolent, considerate, and active 1--WE
friends and repeatedly toIseS spes pae He ate
onnm and drank liquor; whatever was the cause;
tbese we're instruments of his ruin, and before hall
his years were run they haa dohf broken oxen man He
died under circumstances OF eXceptl1hat utLnoii ii
misery and pity but not accl1entay nor tne Snu
md the manner of it clearly near ana ineVIta
ble He left fame destined to long memory, anu
about it has grown up an idealized legend 1ne sre e
ments of which are not far to SEEK but IN tne nIst
lines of the literary history of young Nation me
truth is better than lie, however glldeu anu II. IN
the of genius that so easily geot;on candor
power over the neart anu Wills i'' "o''' ~
is social virtue
There is no rancor in this judicial narrative, no
straining after effect; and it is one OF Ihe most
damaging attacks the " idealized legend OF roe
has ever received 1t is difficult to keep warm any
personal sympathy with the unfortunate man Oh
uenins as we see him in this just and terrible DOOR,
crushed not by the cruelty of fate nor by the neg
lect of an unappreciative world, but by the mean
ness of his own spirit and the weakness of his own
will. 1t is very true that the rewards OF literary
labor in this country forty years ago were small
and uncertain and that for his best efforts Poe
rece;ved price which the weakest poetaster OF the
maoazines would now scorn but the fact remains
that great many poets and story-writers IN MS
dav without a spark of his genius, and with no
more than his industry and opportunity, ala earn
respectable living. Poe had, or could nave had,
steady employment, whenever he was sober, ana at
rates which he thought sufficent In effect ne was
hard worker and nearly all the principal literary
neriodicals were open to him. But most of his work
was sordid. We are asked to pity Pegasus IN
harness. without asking how he comes there zoe
was a hack from choice. His conception OF the
literary life was low one; his writing was often
not only hasty and weak, but positively dishonest.
In the sense that he was preender to original re-
search and in the habit of imposing upon the pubho
fabricatons OF the pastepot and scissors 1or ifesh
products of the imagination. 1t must be confessed
In short that he degraded himself by scamping MS
work. not under the pressure OF want so much as
from defective moral sense and a lack OF respect
for his professon. Those of his productions which
will live are precious, but they are few WINE the
quantity of his literary merchandise-much Of it
made over and over again for sale-was enormous.
Charles F. Briggs was not far wrong when he wrote
of Poe to Lowell: 81 have never met person so
utterly deficient of high motive"
The strange love episodes of Poes latter years are
treated by Mr. Woodberry with as much reserve as
the circumstances probably permit. but enough IS
told to leave a most painful conviction OF Poes
meanness selfishness and insincerity. The most
charitable Interpretation of these final scenes IN
wretched life is that Poe, besides being drunkard
and an opiumeater, really insane; and that In
depreciation is probably the true one.
yRrDoLINs MYSTICAL MARRIAGE. BY ADoLPH
WIBRANDT. From the German by Clara Bell Will
lam s. Gottsberger
This is q German fancy and redolent OF German
ideasm. The story is sort of light comedy.
though the humor of ITS situations is not always
strong as to be amusing and sometimes the jest is
80 thin and feeble as to have rather depressing ef
feet. The hero is professor who has analyzed him.
self and who comes to the conclusion that his nat
ure is dual comprehendiug both masculine aud
feminine elements in so marked degree that it is
impossible for him to follow the usual course of
mankind. In discussion with his favorite pupil
he thus explains this theory: "There are, here and
there, some very singular bengs-we will not call
them exceptions deviations, but transition
forms -and quite as many of these are men as are
women beings with masculine intellect and
T0manly 1eeHnes or Wohdhiy sh'S anu h"'ouhno
character or medley perhaps of all the most oppo-
site qualities. These natures consequently look on
both sides for their complementary soul,
seeking it among men and women alike {;
the magnetic needle of their nature points
now to the north-pole of manhood aud now
20 the south-poe of wonanhOod. They indeed
must be objects of profound pity, for they seek
their complementary soul and find 1t not. g.
They can never find their complement; the two
halves supplement each other Thus they are mar