The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-10-03
THE POE PARK.
BY WILLIAM FEARING GILL.

[The courtesy of the Home Journal
New York; enables us to use the follow
ing article by Mr.. Gill. printed in re-
cent issue of that long established and
favorite weekly of New York society:
The engraving of the Poe Cottage is
kindly placed at our service by the
American Book Company, also of New
York City.-EDIToR.
Almost coincidently with the publi-
cation of the most memorable tribute
to the surprising genius of Edgar
Allen Poe that has ever been recorded
the recent testimonial by the En-
glish Htterateur, Charles whitley
comes the announcement that Gov
ernor Morton has signed the bill
creating a small park on Fordham
Hill as permanent Poe memorial.
1t is nearly half-a-century since
Edgar Poe, typifying in his own per-
sonality the unhappy master, whom
unmerciful disaster followed fast and
followed faster" eked out a precarious
existence under the shadow of the
Grim Destroyer, at Fordham, closing
the final year of his brief and grue-
some life.
1t was just eight years ago that
Patrick j. Keary, who, like Dickens's
Caleb Plummer, had become blind
in his devotion to his vocation of toy
making, decided to part with inter
ests he could no longer care for per-
sonally, and placed large portion of
his Fordham property in the hands
of dealers, to be sold at public auc-
ton.
From boyhood it had been my for
tune to stand in the breach, whenever
the fair fame of the author of "The
Raven" had been smirched by the in
famous and disingenuous animadver-
sions of the vipers that too often fol-
low in the trail of genius. There
exists no law of embargo in the
world of letters, prescribing the asses
from kicking the dead lion, and, be-
cause his genius transcends in degree
and in originality that of any of his
contemporaries, Poe has suffered the
more deeply from the obloquy of
the failures among the literary guild.
Under these circumstances it has
seemed incumbent upon the few who
have been accepted as partisans of
Poe's genius to stand forth at times
and be counted. Up to the time of
the sale of the Keary lands at Ford
ham, there had been no serious effort
made to preserve in perpetuity the
Poe cottage as a memorial to the
poets genius. The isolated little
story -a-half structure on the
Kingsbridge road seemed so unob-
strusive, so much part of the land
scape itself, as one viewed it in pass
ing, that the thought of its possible
dismantling by the march of metro
politan growth and progress had
never, up to that time, been seriously
entertained. The news of its i'm
pending destruction, when the Keary
estate was advertised at public auc-
ton, came like flash of lightning to
Poe's adherents here. The issue was
one demanding decisive action, and,
as no other person present at the Poe
sale m ide a bid to preserve the cot
tage from the hands of the icoho-
clasts who stood ready to raze it, |
became the purchaser of the property
believing that at no distant day an
association would be formed to pre-
serve it. 1t must be confessed that
up to the advent of Mr.. Appleton
Morgan, president of the Shakespeare
Society, no public interest was made
manifest in the direction of saving
the Poe cottage.
When, two years ago, | parted
with the title to the property, it was
under conditions incorporated in the
deed that provided for the preserva-
tion of the cottage itself from the
hands of would be-spoilers.
But to MIR. Morgan alone belongs
the credit for the admirable, practic
able, and finally successful concep-
Lion of bringing the Poe cottage un-
der the egis of the "Small Parks Act"
and giving it permanent and ap-