The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-02-14
POE AS SEEN IN NEW YORK.
MS APPEARANCE AT THE DUYCK-
TNCK BROTHBRS' RECEPTIONS.
Saturday Nights OF the Two B-other--
Famous Literary Men &c Met There
His Manner, Conversation aud Locks.

w" hhV" ~ NV
ut the close of the last and the beginning Of
this century, was really literary New York
what tho Holland House was to London in the
days OF Fox and Burke. After Hamilton waa
laid away In ~. Pauls churchyard and Burr
became an 1shmael. the Hamilton salon was
succeeded by that OF Mrs. Samuel Latham
Mitchill in College place. and that OF Mrs.
Thomas Adds Emmett. Next In turn Mrs
Francis. Mrs. David c. Golden. and Mrs. Stuyvs-
SAINT continued the same kind OF hospitalityt
and the brothers Irving. the poets Drake and
1Ialleck. and Bob Sands and Jim Paulding be-
came celebrities among the literary guests.
When the half century was being reached the
salons Of Mrs. Oscar Coles. held In tho Qusea
Anne mansion yet standing In West Fifteenth
street; Of Mrs. Coventry Waddell. at u rus IN
,rhe house on Murray Hill. where the Brick
Church now stands; of Miss Agnes Lynch. and
OF Mrs. willard Parker, became the talk Of
New York society because OF the wit thereAt TO
be encountered by fortunate guests. The most
notable literary salon. however. was held m
Saturday evenings at the Clinton place resi-.
dence OF the brJthers Evert aud George
l.. Duyckinck. But In difference TO the
curious basIfulncss OF tho one and the pro.
nounced bachelorhood OF the other. they did nos
entertain feminine guests. They were the sons
OF an early publisher in this city. who was the
first customer to employ the presses OF the nrss
EencrnllOn % I the harper BTOtNtrb VI preparing
n volume for publication. Frequenters OF book
auctions even now sometimes com across vol-
umes bearing the imprint on the title pages Of
"Duyckinck Il Long and J-& J. Harper" The
brothers Duyckinck possessed IN the CHEEKY
basement OF their Joint residence n choice libra-
ry. and were recognized connolsseurs OF books
and remarkable editions. Enjoying n comforts
bic Income. they were able to devote theiR
leisure to literature. Evert became AN acknowl-
edged critic. aud was often reader for the
publishing frms OF Saunders d Otley. the
Appietons. the %lIarpers. and Wiley & Putnam.
At the period mentioned tho brothers had
established a monthly magazine called Arc
turus and were proprletors and editors of .
weekly periodical called the Literary World.
that y as devoted TO current literature and hllsd
with careful criticisms OF all domestic or for
cign new publications. and not neglectful OF
current art. music. or theatricals. Their editor-
ship naturally attracted to their Saturday
nights the writers who visited New York. or
made It n residence. John II. Thompson, from
Richmond. VA; Lowell. Longfellow. Emerson.
Richard Henry Dana, father and sou. and
the e~ssayists Whipple and Giles. from Bos-
ton; William Gilmore Simms, Richard vauz,
Morton NcN!chael and fenImore Cooper were
among those that could often be found OF a win
tcr's saturday night around the CHEEKY bitumi-
nous coal tire OF the Duyckinck library. alter
mating with sips ~ current literature. sips Of
that generous whiskey punch which. In memory
famous by BlGcklrood's MdJdtfns. the younger
DuyckinCk knew so well how TO brew, and with
motne,r,c condi,ioos tia, II was impos.ible 10
know IN the imhibing whether Il Was the spirits.
or the lemon pS.,, or she sugar or the no, water
cleared. instead NJ oeiogging. the, brain. and
also anneaIed the good humor OF all ,partakers.
Among New Workers who were there might
he Cornelius Matthews. the self.conscious: Will
liam {: Prime, the s~p!granp matte; X Marvel
run,ed Of temper: Henry T: TueEerman.. the
critic and e%s.ayist: DR.. Francis. the contentious
f%ncetious Harry Franco Briggs; the genial John
Bi:elow. then osci.la,ing like q pendulum be-
with literary ,emptstions; the Mephistopheliaa
Rufus w. Griswold: the magnetic William Al.
Young expert. in vers de socitts. Whose new
poem. entitled sexton and Thermometer"
the ears; and occa.ionaIly EdSaT Allan Poe.
the saturnine. who was then in the zenith of
his fame, but fast approaching the depths OF his
personal fonuness for ana sympathy with Poe,
He had been a contributor To their A%rctgrss and
rdU journal had been courteous and high
minded in amicable collisions, Whenever
Poe was to appear. the Dpyckinck hosts. know.
aud did no, MI III. glass as ofion as they aile,!!
those OF Others. upon the library shelves would
be found bound volumes OF tLe.Southern Lit-
,rdrp Messenger. OF which Poe had been spas
medically an editor, aud OF GRAHAM. .ud0aitne.
when hshad also conducted. In the Dnyck,nct
library, Poe could also see a copy of h., N
constituting ,eirhty.one pages OF hi. early
verse, and bearing ne imprint Hatch q
sS%i"ms la Ssi;in"f fe;e lssP By E s,sH a A.. ' PSs. E.
Bllss, New York. 1881. l2mo, l2i pages" that
hna Seen p pUntI published 10. Ws., ~h hn,n, he M wrs an
Academy and bearing this lied ]icaticn: " To the
United States Serbs OF Cadet OF TIA, boy:
Con. Cullum. has said The verses were the
source Of our merriment, and we considered the
A q l4r nr.R u "a N pl M p Gllsn1nn a AAv-
di,mayed ny West Point Judgment. although
s]aitionS Of his Poems. on The Dayckinct
library shelves. Poo could also notice two
HroI%SSns'' Bn, as yet, wliiis Poe VAS :.
DnyckinGk CUES, h., matches haven had
~TiS" t ir he sa' Morris TT.r 4 w Win E M@r "5'yMin i'rsr
colamSn. Of that Clever but sSort.lived' Journal
from III" pages OF C"itnn's American Rsri',c.
Mhsrs i sepsnrsd over The An"nymoSs ',.n.,
Poe would sometimes say: Newer mind: ros
!I p the ysrfS, as mHS@ al M, ,, s Sad f%r , ms
pittancr that the blind bard obtained for his
Poe would admi, at the Duyckinck salon that
perhaps but tor The recently published novel Ut
"Barnab% Eudse, he " aid not hays evolved
male BarnAhy'> G,p u cnrery raven aud one
pleasantly ana ehatllGsly ~ernSIns I'm .
Thing ofsvti. prophet sin { Oird or devil"
ami fetch HIM rom night, plutnnian shore"
Poe was then the idol OF the literary hour.
in France and England ns VIII ms IN his own
country, for every newspaper printed In the
T. . ,>h language had copied the "taven.'
and everywhere he critics mad fallen upon 10
either with rxtrarngant rn"omtuin or jealous
ntincS for it, neon prrhcnsible wrirdnrSe.
NJ one, thvrriurr. dreamed OF declining an
invitation t. u DuyCkinck SATURDAY evening.
wien hunted tnni Poe had promised to join 4.
1--we cana" expressly nlIect him IN the Duycks
tnrK lhrhr. tot Lowell WAS not then ray
lN+6 iUnuy yrtrs escaped from liar, nri and
WINS not y"thn a knowlrdgvd RIVAL OF Lnngfel-
low, In MS "fHLle for CIitiCs," Lowell WAS
lIrt nhk'ul iO Foe; yet SOtnrW hat - TO DuyCk-
inck ana that constant trepnrnier OF tho
Clinton place cnnr'iSIli1nr Cornelius Matthew'S.
whom new -naperw wits h I'd named Purer Hop
kIn~,' When Lowell there met Poe the former
silil hnl II vou,hfnl look and showed In his face
and mieu none of ihr traditonR. belongings OF
II poet; while Poe, although not yet 40 years old.
louk"d elderly and had those sad, lusirous eSe 90
which when he walked along broadway at
traCtrd great curInstlN toward their owner, HIS
who,c face WAS pale, bcautiful, nnd intellectual,
DIR. loHn w. Francis. who often made one OF
the guests AT "A puyckinCk salon, met roe there