The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-01-27
WHO WROTE 1.-THE RAVEN?"
An Effort 10 Rob Edgar Allan Poe Of
His Brightest LaurelS.
C. B. HlRST SAID TO HAVE WRITTEN 1T
pr. Matthew Woods, weli-Known
Physician of Philadelphia, Claims to
Have yory strong Proof

~
lie confidently believes that ne hoi9s un-
,lcuiaJlc proofs IA hand. w7nich VIII con
vince the world that tiie real aI'Ho. "a
Tat unique. immortal poem, "sli'H aP' "a"
lkc Nslklfirc Throughout the young lie
pub-c and gave Poe MS !ust $50 f,,.
fame. was tharics seek MIS- 49,
neglected poet OF Philadelphia. VINO was
an the ola days Poe 8 great iI.eL" unul
- strange quarrel separated them forever.
Around that qudIIei CiusieiS Wv W.
most ~ the romance OF lirstS own lie,
winch Dr. Woods asserts 20 nave Dceh
a. remarkable poem in itseit, 49,
I'm whatever mood the vast READ ng
world. which is filled with Ioes fame To-
Jat v.U accept tins iconoclastic revela-
ION. So will uudoub,e dly- "hen fully ana
LOGICALLY SGT form by Dr. W oodS M
frlf-falI Ike thundcrbot. Despite the
enormous popularity Of lhes weird sto-
rl>s and DESPITE the singularly small
boIy OF mis- poems published at only the
most rare intervals throughout his event
ful carcer-<ac world has seen fl 20 link
his memory insopayably with his peculiar
poem al The Raven II has recognized
81 mis- seemingly mystic masterpiece of
rhythm the gloomy. mOurnful, solitary
sp.ut q. Poe .HcaTnate. 4 whole A'era-
turc Of symbolism has sprung up around
TINS conception. in which the Raven and
tle los! Leuore have been made 90 as
sumo the most IrJtcsu shapes Pos
drunkenness and rcmorsc, his Wife's ago
n!zns aincuOn. and his anguish (as pa
tnaucaily oppressed IN The Black Cdt).
BIS sense of conflict with the world ard
passionate regret for his art-all manner
OF interpretations have been deduced by
the poem more analytical admirers.
S. hlc the great mass OF poetry lovers
have accepted u generally as most OF
tncm h-ten TO music-as a vague. sen
Suuus appeal. too melod.Ous and mystic
G. seek 10 uncuTtain its inner holy Of
hole.
HAD no PARTICULAR MEANING.
Poe himself has been it's most merciless
analyst In his Essay on Compost
ton. he has pretended TO reveal the true
genesis of this worlds lyric. His reyela-
lion has seemed 10 everybody painfully
incredible. Utterly ignoring all mysi-
cal subtleties. he exhibited the poem as
"a mere tour de force of elaborate drtt-
ucialIty; sonorous and imposing sleight-
of-haud of the clever Yersiiicr and sym
bOlist learned In the poetic tricks. Ac-
Cording 10 mis- account, the poem had no
particular meaning. no hidden inspiration,
10 secret apotheosis OF n sad memory
or lie; 10 was simply a wonderfully
built theatre scene. meant for impress
sion on an emotional audience IN front.
and only framework and coarse canvas
bind. "rruly,' thought mis- critics,
and sill think; here rs anQther Poe
hoax Yet what hOaNcs have his IN
teTprctcrs pcrpetrated upon themselves
Even II Poe actually wrote THE Raven,
how much nonseuSlcal symbolism mas
been woven from the spider brains OF
bis latter day disciples. and how ludi-
crDusly vague has been the public notion
concerning the famous poem. All this
library Of Poe-aud-t he-Raven literature
will bc ONertOppled with inc tTlulupn OF
Ur Woods claim. and a new and simple
Interpretation will displacc this caballs'
An attack upon Poc's authorship OF
thu poem Is bound TO shake the belief
tristic world 20 its very centre, and Dr
Woods viii find himself confronted by
the embattiad universe OF Roe 4dolatefS.
But nevertheless the Doctor is entering
the lists armed TO the teeth and ready
for the hottest of encounters. HIS plea
for Hirst viii make an intensely IN
terestiug brief for the plaintin on appeal
and IN this day Of literary dtipns
it Is destined 20 he nine days wonder
n nothing more. Did HiTSt's own reDu-
tation hinge altogether upon the issue
of this advanced title of his TO The
Raven" the Doctors case would he by
no means strong one; but DR.. Woods
g. enthusiastically possessed 10y the en-.
tire personality aud pOeti"al works or
Hirst lie may he said. without eXag-
pcration to have actually discovered the
poet for even In his own day his name
was obscurcd: bat now. the Doctor pre-
diets. after this half century Of eclipse
his sun viii shine with a ir9'scendent
rcsplcndance. "Hhe Raven IS but one
of a rich legacy OF the purcst poesy-put
"a stolen flower from a garden OF delights
Ills modern hcrO-WOrsh.per uor Ilr.
Woods proudly acknowledges that uilel
,oes SO FAR as even TO declare iliSt :
.Cudvni0n" TO be superior 10 keat =
famous poem on the shepherd love or
Diana.
THE FIRST AlGl MIMI.
The first argument in The chain OF evl-
druce FOR Hrsts title Is direct-thc lact
that Hirst himself claimed the authorship
of THE Raven" lie was npurishlns
lawyer in the quaker 'CIty during the
middle DOS. while POE was Yet running
his meteorlike and queer career here.
Hc was twenty seven years old when
Poe -four years his senior was called
lev George Rex Graham, Ina 1872. TO the
editors desk of the new Grdhtm s. Mdsd-
zine lie was admitted To the bar three
wears later. and soon hutlt mp lucra-
tive practice. During these years ne De
came Poe's intimate and COMPLIANT Foe
spent many an hour In llirsts law OIL
lice on Prune street, ana tilfSi ddlcd
with Poe at Mrs. Clemms ON Spring
Garden street. every sunday upon
.potted shad and WALES There must
have been a real affinity between the
two pcats-the iilustrouS taleieller ana
the obscure laWycr-WhiCh was only brok-
en- by am extremely unfortunate occur
renee At least one poem of Hirsts was
published in Graham =.
During his life. SO far as DR.. Woods
has boon able TO collect ms WilllnBs III
print and IN manuscript tl1Tst wrote;
The AntediluNans, am Lnlc Iceh'
a Book Of Cage Birds. The Com
ing OF the Mammoth, The Funeral o.
Time and Other Poems "Endymon, a
Tale OF Greece, The Penauce OF Ro-
land, and other Poems; The Pleasures
Of Friendship" Guy and the Dragon.
MIMI M%I@S S'f Foc5ic riiHon SgS 81 he
Valley of Repose." "Pausina and Hugo,
"a Tragedy IN Five Acts; Catalina, a
Tragedy in FIVE Acts, "A Jolly old
Reaper is Death" The Coquette. a
comedy in Three Acts Grandfather
Iovechild's Fairy Tales" THE Passage
OF the Birds" "A Treatise on Political
Economy" Lawrence Goodchild's Leg
ends i'm Metre" "With Gun and Rod. by
Harry Harkaway' Prose Tales, ~
Amor Niuc!t Omnia,' "Rhein-Wein,
I'm Three Flagons: Fiagon First-Pii-
grim OF Love; Flagon Second-The Leg
end OF Lurlel. FlagOn Thud-rhe Ser
pent Lady; Joan of Are, The ran
of the Fairies" "LauncelOt Of the Lake
"Lethe." The Ballad of Ruth. Char
lomagne. Come Opera in Three Acts", ;
THE Song sparrow, FrirHla Melodia
"The Death Song Of the Nightingale"
THE indigo Finch" The American
FALCON "The Eagle" THE OWL The
WrcnF The ROBIN" etc. To this list
the Doctor adds OF course, The Raven
as a finale.
Upon a number Of occasions during his
llfct.me. Hirsi declared himself so have
been the author OF THE Raven" He
aad 100 his possess ION "a manuscript copy
Or the poem. Of which only a portion was
iu the handwriting of Poe and all the
ccgt was his own. He referred TO II
invariably as my poem" and yet never
Vehcmently OF diSpUtatiously, but always
with the quiet. ordinary air wth which
80 would speak of his undisputed writ
ings. lie was extremely careless of the
paternity OF his poems DIT. Woods has
discovered that. among other pseudo
nyns, he wrote under those Of Beulah,
Harry HafkaWay Grandfather Coed