The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-05-10
EDGAR a. POE AND THE RAVEN ;,
lie Wrote the Great Poem at tho
Brennan Homestead In the Suburbs
ot New York

York, told the story OF poe's Raven "
to party Of iricnus u few nights ago.
says the Mail and Express "ln spite
OF the olt-rcpcatcd story that Edgar
Allen Poe composed his masterpiece
- Tho Raven, in the Poe cottage, at
Fordam, the most indisputuble tr;di
| tlon proves th.t the poem was written
while Poe WAS spending tho summer
at the homestead OF Patrick Brennan,
lathcr OF Thomas $. Brennan, Of the
department Of charities and corr,c
| LiOn.
cigar Allan Poe" continued Cen.
| crAI y l1alrnc, "spcnt the summers Of
lAl3 and lS4l at the homestead OF my
iather.in,law. | have frequently heard
the story from my wife's lips, who was
about 10 years old when she became
acquainted with the great poet. In
those days. more than nalf century
hro, Patrick brennan owned farm OF
ZIG acrcs, extending from a point
ABOUT 200 feet cast OF Central Park
west to the Hudson river. 1t was Is
! picturesque spot, and tAc ncighburing
territory was considered a sort rf sum.
mcr resort whittier u number Of per.
IONS migrated in the hot weather.
| The lot where the old house stood, ON
| Eighty. fourth street, between Nmstcr.
dam avenue and the Boulevard, is at
| present the only vacant ono in the
| block and contains tree and the rem.
nun,s OF u stone well from which Poe
| drank many time.
In the SIMMER OF 1913, Poe went to
the home OF Nj. brennan, taking with
him his invalid wife. Virginia, ana
her mother, Mre. GLENN. If poc's bio.
GraFhics, which paint him s,s a dis.
SlnAtpH
refer TO his younger days, for Mrs.
! l'iennan invariably denied these
charges when they were made in her
| presence.
Daring two years she knew him in,
timately and never SAW h,m affected
| by liquor or do aughL that evidenced
the wNd impetuous nature with which
he bns been accredited. He was the
gentlest OF husbands and devoted to
his invalid wife. frequently when
| she WAS weaker than usual, he carried
Der tenderly from her room TO the
dinner table and satisfied her every
wnim.
Mrs. Brennan WAS nOtcu for her
Kind heartcdncss and sympathetic nat
urc, and Gree heard her say that Poe
read The Raven to her one evening
before he sent it TO the 'Mirror.'
"lt was poc's custom to wander
away from the house in pleasant wealth
cr TO 'Mount Tom,' an immense ro; X =,
which may still be seen in Itiversidc
Park, where he would sit alone for
hours, gazing out upon the Hudson.
'Othcr days he would roam through
| the surrounding woods and, returning
| in the afternoon, sit in the big room,
as it used to be called, by IL window
and work increasingly with pon and
paper, until the evening shadows.
mo doubt IL was upon such an even
ing, when sitting later tiam usual by
the window, dreaming dreams 10
mortal ever dared to dream beforc,'
until every one else had retired mud
the moon hidden her light behind a
cloud. that he heard the tapping, rs
Of some one gently rmpping, rapping
nt my chamber door lie starts ana
listens for moment and then nings
open the door, anticipating some mid
night visitor but 'darknrss there and
nothing more. For awhile he peers
out into the darkness, but he can sec
no one and returns To his chair.
| Inen again he hears the raDping
| somewhat louder than hclOrc.' This
time the sound apparently comes from
the window and nc iiings open the
shutter, when with many nlrt an
Halter, in there steps IL stately raven
on The sAlntly days OF yOro.
" Above the door, opening into the
hallway, there stood the 'pallid bust Of
pallas.' 1t was little plaster cas-,
and occupied shelf nailed to the GOO!
casing. Immediately behind the bust
and occupying the space between the
! top casing and The ceiling, a number
| 0t little pancs Of smoky glass took the
| place Of the partition.
This bust Of NJ lncrva was other rc-
| moved or broken by one OF the Brcn-
nan tenants after the family had NOV
cd to the city and no trace Of it can be
found at the present time.
'l'Oc was extremely fond Of children,
and Mrs. Ol}cirnc uscd TO tell OF living
on the iloor at his feet and arranging
hi 5 manuscript. She didn't under
atanu why be turned the written side
toward the floor, and she would re-
verse 1T hni arrange tho pages accord
! ing TO the number upon them.
" Mrs. brennan was never vcXcd
| with Foe, except on one occasion,
when he scratched his name on the
mantlcpiccc in his room. 1t was Il
very quaint and cd fashioned affair
with carved fruit and vines and leaves,
and Mrs. Brennan always kept il
carefully painted. On the day in qucs
ti0n Poe was leaning against the man.
| "'.'P'SSS hplo' S'eiJ III iiiSui
Without thinking, he traced his name
on the black mantel, and when Mrs.
brennan called his attention to what
he was doing he smiled and asked her
pardon.
at seems strange that people will
persist in saying that Tho Raven
was written at the Poo cottage ia Ford
ham, while it is well known that the
author did not move To Fordham until
1916, and the poem appeared in the
New IOrk Mirror in January, l845,
and WAS copied the following month in
| the 'ItcvicW.''
The maDtcl upon which Poe scratch
cd his name now ad0rns the library
fireplace OF Mr.. William Hemstrcet -,
No l332 Bergen street, Brooklyn, who
bought it when the Brennan home
stead was demolished, about twelve
years ago.
Mrs. Manley, daughter OF Patrick
fireman, has the lock from Poe,
chamber door. 1t Is an old-inshioncd
affair and fully six inches long and
hive wide. Mrs. Manlcy took it as q