Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-01-31

worthy Of 4 witch's caldron--oenius. nov.
erty, and q love OF drink! Asfo the latter
II has doubtleSsly been much exapeerated
by his hiographers. Poe stroye hard 10
conquer II, and IL was only az certain pc.
mods that his enemy would get the better
OF MN: can positively assert that he was
81 no time continuous drinker.n
That Poe was hopelessly poor while AZ
tordham we can gather from this appeal,
which was madcin his behalf at that pcriod
in the columns of the New York Express.
We regret TO learn that Edgar A. Poo
and his wife are both dangerously III with
the consumption, and that the hand Of
misfortune lies heavy upon their temporal
affairs. We are sorry 90 mention the fact
that they are so far reduced as TO DO barely
able to obtain the necessaries of life. This
Is indeed. n hard lot. and we hope that the
friends aud admirers Of Mr. Poe will come
promptly TO his assistance in his bitterest
hour OF need"
l believe that the result OF this appeal
was n contribution Of $50. This descrp-
ton also Of his wltc's death-bed in the lit
tie cottage by an eyewitness Is not with
out pathos.
"She lay on the straw-bed. wrapped in
her husbands great-coat. with large tor
tolse-shell cat in her bosom. The wonder
full cat seemed conscious of her great use
fitness The coat and the cat were the
her husband held her hands and her mother
her feot."
Yet the two years spent in Fordham
could not have been without somo brief
Phmpses Of sunshine aud happiness. Poets
arc invariably soothed and comforted by
an environment Of natural scenery, and
after the lapse OF forty-odd years Fordham
Is still so rural and charming a locality
thaC We can imagine II to nave been q
4 "a tpat app oh
ments Of Notwithstanding city had
broken its quiet. Those who knew Poe
during his residence IN Fordham give am
pie testimony 10 his appreciation of the
country 10y which he was surrounded.
From a letter by Mrs. Whitman, TO whom
Poe was aftorward engaged to be married,
the following may be of interest:
Rising at o'clock in the morning fer
walk to the magnificent aqueduct bridge
over Harlem river, our informant found
the poet with bis mother (Mrs. Clemm)
standing on the turf beneath the cherry
tree, eagerly watching the movements Of
two beautiful birds that seemed cOntem-
plating a settlement in its branches. He had
some rare tropical birds in cages, which he
cherished and petted with assIduous
care. Our English friend described
him as giving 10 his birds and flow
erS q delighted attention that seemed
quite inconsistent with the gloomy and gro
tcsGue character of hls writings. A favOrite
cat, too, enjoyed his friendly patronage,
aud often when he was engaged in compo-
sitiOn it seated itself on his shoulder, pur-
ring in complacent approval of the work
proceeding under its supervision. During
MI POe's residence at Fordham o walk to
High bridge was one of hls tavorite and
hAbitual reCreations. The water Of the
Aqueduct IS conveyed across the river on
range Of lofty. granite arches which
rise 70 the height of 1916 feet above
high-water level On the top q turfed and
grassy road, used only by foot-passengers
and hankcd on either side by low parapet
of granite makes one Of the finest prom
menades Imaginable. The winding river
and the high, rocky shores at the western
extremity Of the bridge are seen to great
advantage from this lofty avenue. In the
last melancholy years Of his life Poe was
accustomed to walk there at all times Of
the day and night, often pacing the then
solitary pathway for hours without meet
lug a human being.
A little to the east Of the cottage rises
q ledge of rocky ground, partly covered
with pines and cedars, commanding a line
view of the surrounding country and of the
picturesque college of ST. Johns, which
had, AT that time, IN its neighborhood an
avenue of venerable trees. This rocky
ledge was one of the poets favOTiteresOrts
Here. through long summer days and soh-
tarv. Star-lit nights, he loved TO sit, dream
ing his Gorgeous waking Dreams or ponder
ing the problems of the Universe that
grand prose poem 20 which be devoted
the last and maturest energies of his Won
dorful intellect"
Besides the " Universe" and some other
prose works. we may add that Poe COM
posed three of his best poems while IN
FordhaE-"T Bells" "Ulaiume." and
"Aunabel Lee" The Raven" was
written in the winter Of 1874 in n house
that stood a few hundred feet from the
corner of Elghty-fOuTth street and St
Nicholas Boulevard, at that time the
BloJminCdale road, and not, rs its inmates
VII tell YOU, in the pretty little cottage In
For ham. How circumstantialiy exact
such errors become. The very room
i'm which Poe wrote The Raven" is reve-
rpntiv pointed out 10 the visitor, and we
doubt not that If there are any other
houses in existence now in which Poe at
some period has lived, they Will boast OF
Raven room" and possibly "pallld
bust Of Pallas" and cushioned seat"
The Poe cottage, situated on quite high
hill on the Kings Brdge road, IS still
Standing intact as Poe left it forty-twO
wears ago, with the remains of the fayoTIte
old cherry-tree still in front Of 1t. II has
recently come INTO the possession OF Will
liam Fearing Gill.
OF the interior furnishings OF hecottage
nothing now remains that belonged TO Poe
during his occupancy of it with the excep-
ton of candestick and pair OF snuGers
that are still attributed 10 him. A lady in
Fordham the daughter of a lady who
placed blankets on Mrs. Poe's deathbed, Is
said 10 have in her possession Poe's rock
ine-chalr. table, glasses, and Bible. Now
modern houses are rising up on every side
of the unpretentious little dwelling; the
Z 4 Iafta how Ion
since passed away. and the wide landscape
is filled with signs of growing city - i'm.
provcments." But there Is still an air Of
picturesque rustlcity about the place and
the building itself in spite of It's new and
finer neighbors-an eloquent meaning IN
the rough, shingled, weather-beaten roof,
the rude blinds, and the small windows
that remind us involuntarily of the poor,
suffering poet and his beautiful dying wife
who once made this humble cottage their
home.