Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-05-18
a Minor English Romance.


RICHMOND, VA. May II, 1891.
To the Editor Of the Dispatch:
In your issue Of the 18th you publish the
appended letter from Mr.. Thomas Dunn
English
~ fellow-member of Congress has
handed me a copy of your paper contain
ing some notes by Mr.. Minor about the
late Mr.. Poe. / can inform Mr.. Minor, OF
which he is ignorant doubtless, that
'Thingum Bob OF which he speaks and
which was taken by him. not as matter
of literary judgment, but to aid the au-
thor had been rejected by northern edi-
tors because it was well known 10 be "A
rather open attack upon George X. Ora
ham. who had been his friend and bene-
factor. Mr. Minor is in error in suppos-
ing the difficulty between Mr.. Poe ana
myself was because of discourtesy 10
a lady. II was because he deliberately
traduced and lied about a gentlewomah
OF spotless reputation merely TO sratiiy
his malice that | rebuked him, anu our
personal encounter arose from language
which he used to me in turn for that
rebuke. It is a matter of really no inter-
est 10 the public whatever, but when IL
gets into print let US have the facts cor
rectly stated"
ON page 81 Of Professor J. II. Ingram
'I 80 of poe american edition, 1870, you
will find this paragraph:
'Dissatisfied with the manner IN when
his literary weakness had been reViewen
by Poe a Dunn English. or Dunn Brown,
for no is duplicately named, instead OF
writing. as Griswold did, for the poet
death. when every ass could nave us
kick the lions carcass, TetaIla'eu III q
personal newspaper article, feIiidlh no
Duycknck. in his Invaluable ehcycioi.e-
dia, and the communicatloh "a' ~
nrinted in the Evening Mirror III New
Work whereupon Poe instituted Hpei
euit against that Journal. and recoVereu
so,,orai hundred dollars for defamation
of character. ,.,os.o,
ON page 70 in the same work professor
Ingram quotes from letter 10 ni =
Whitman. written by Poe on the Io'h VI
October, 1913. as follows; 49,, g.,
"Iror nearly three years / have been ILL.,
moor living out OF the worlG, ana mus,
AL now painfully see, j have aitorutu
onportunity to my enemies TO siahnei NV
in private society without my knowiense'
and thus with impunity. Althoush hiu0H'
however. may (and now see niuso nave
baen said to my discredit during my re-
,,rement those few who, knowing me
well. nave Detn Sl'diAoNbis '"s
permitted nothing To reach my earS-uh-
less in one instance-of such character
that / could appeal to court or justice
for redress. replied to the charge fuily
I'm a public newspaper, afterwards suing
the Mirror lin which the scandal appear
eO. obtaining verdict and receiving
such an amount of damages as FOR the
time TO completely break up that Journal
And you ask me why men so misjudge
me-why / have enemies? II your know
ledge OF my character and OF my career
does not afford you an answer 10 the
query. at least 1t does not become me to
suggest the answer. Let ii suffice that /
have had the audacity TO remain poor.
that might preserve my independence
that. nevertheless. in letters. TO a certain
extent, and In certain regards. i have
been successful: that | have been a
critic-an unscrupulously honest. and. no
doubt. in many cases a bitter one: that
I have uniformly attacked-where L at
tackled at all-those who stood highest in
power and influence and that. whether in
literature or society | have seldom re-
Trained from expressing, either directly
or indirectly. the pure contempt with
which the pretensions Of ignorance, AFRO
gance, or imbecilty inspire me-
J. r. T.