The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1899-12-02

raging every tenet Of common decency
but Willis performed his delegated duty
reverently, sympathetically and ade-
quately. No publisher with any sense
of justice would have presumed to in
clude any other memoir than that of
Willis in the original edition of Poe's
works.
it's face, piece of oficious
audacity-not only libel upon
Poe's fair fame but an insult
TO the best standards of literary biog-
raphy. 1t is certainly to be wondered
at that so enterprising a city as Chi
cago should have been unable to find
fresher material at hand for a biog-
| raphy OF Americas most original gem
! ius than rechauffn of che scandalous
| estimate Of the Catullus of American
literature, voiced by one who frankly
wrote, forty years ago, speaking of his
attitude toward Poe: Il was not his
friend, nor was he mine
1t may be safely answered that. in
the present instance, the editorial
work" of this malicious biography.
which accuses the poet of "a habit of
intoXlcation," which no literary expert
IN his sober judgment can honestly be-
lleVe existed, was, probably, not given
TO the publishers without ADEQUATE
compensation, however Griswold may
nave Jared with his disingenuous orig
mai memoir. The calLmnies of puri-
tanlcal bigots, like the late Charles F.
Briggs, should not be permitted to
stand against the poets own analysis
and the testimony of many near asso-
clates during his life-as n. p. Willis,
Thomas Cottrell Clarke, William Cow
ans and George r. Graham
Poe's own defense of himself from the
attack uOOn him phqV9P bU NWi1lil W,
r.. Burton. which, unfortunately. was
not made known by the late DR.. J. E.
Snodgrass until long after Griswold's
memoir of Poe was published. cannot
with impunity be ignored in any print
ed record of the poets career. In q
long and exhaustive reply to Burton's
charges, Poe writes to Dr. Snodgrass:
In fine, / pledge yoI before God the
solemn word of gentleman that I am
temperate, even to rigor. From the
hour in which | first saw this basest of
calumnieJ to the hour in which | retired
from his office in uncomfortable disgust
at his chicanery, arrogance, ignorance
and brutality nothing stronger than
water ever passed my lips 1t is. how
ever, due to candor that 1 inform you
upon what foundation he has erected
his ISLANDERS. AT no period of life was
ever what men call incorporate: L
never was in the habit of intoxication
tthe italics are Poe'S); | never drank
dra1r1s, ct cetera: but for a brief per
lod, while / resided in Richmond and
edited the Messenger / certainly did
give way, at long intervals, to the tsmp-
tatlon held out on all sides to the spirit
OF southern conviviality. My sensitive
temperament could not stand an ex-
cltement which was an everyday mat
ter to my companions. For some days
after each excess was invariably con-
lined to bed. But it is now quite four
years since | have abandoned every
KIND of alcoholic drink-four years
with the exception of a single devia-
tlon that occurred shortly after nv
leaving Burton, and when / was in
duced to resort to the occasional use
OF cider with the hope of relieving a
nervous attack. You will thus see.
frankly stated, the whole amount of
The accusation (Burton's) can be
dlsproved by each and every man with |
whom am in the habit of daily inter
course. | have now only to repeat to |
you, IN general my solemn assurance
that my habits are as far removed from !
as the day from the |
night
Ana this was also the consensus of |
opinion Of those who knew Poe inti- |
nlately up to the time of his death. He |
had unquestionably an abnormal sensi- |
lFeness to drink-a single glass of the |