The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-30

Tragedy tn Life OF Poe.
philadelphia Press.

Few homes associated with mon OF
genius have attracted more sympa-
thetic and melancholy interest than
the little cottage in Fordhem, N. Y,
whore the bitter tragedy of E1gar
Allan Poe's life wss played nearly
to the end
He came here in 1848 with his
young wife aud mother, the long
suffering and patient Mrs Glenn 10,
hoping by his work on various pa.
pers and magazines in the great city
nearby to make enough to afford the
necessary comforts of his invalid
Virginia and himself. The little cot
tage OF che top of Fordham Hill
WAS by far the best home he had yet
known. 1t was only a story aud a
half high. On the ground floor are
two small rooms, sitting room and
kitchen, while above, reached by
narrow stairway, are two other
rooms, one of these Poe's, a cramped
little box of place, lighted by tiny
windows, the other bedroom about
the size of closet.
Mrs. Grove, who visited the Poes
here says: "The furniture was OF
the simplest; in the clean, white
foored kitcnen were table, chair
and little stove, and in the other
room, which was laid with checked
mating, were only light stand
with presentation volumes Of the
Brownings upon IT., some hanging
shelves with few other books
ranged on them and four chairs"
Poe's wife, Virginia, only 25. was
beautiful, her large black eyes and
dark hair accentuating her pallor.
and Poe, proud, himself i'll and bit
ter, with sense of the injustice Of
the world aud his own inability to
provide the comforts required for
his wife, was in a constant fever Of
anxiety.
LIVED IN GREAT POVERTY
"As the SUMMER went on Poe
grew no better, aud daily Virginia
failed and faded aud the resources
of the household were being slowly
reduced to the starving point. Au
tnmn came, the snow and the cold and
the winter seclusion and affairs grew
desperate, the wolf WAS already a.
the door when by happy chance this
same Mrs. Grove, whose kind heart
could prompt her to do something
better than her 7erses, called on the
Pues, and found the dying wife in
the summer ,itting re ON, which had
been taken Tor her use" The scene
is wildly realized in her descrip,
ton. "Ihere was no clothing on the
bed, which was only straw, but Il
s1ow white counterpane and sheete
The weather WAS cold and the sicl,
lady had the dreadful chills tha,
accompany the hectic fever of COL
sumption. She lay on the straw bed
wrapped in her hnsbauci's greut
coat, with a large tortoise shell cal
on her bosom. The wonderful cat
seemed conscious of her great use
fulness The coat aud the cat we're
the sufferers only means of warmth,
except as her husband held her
hands and her mother her feet.
Mrs GLENN was passionately fond
Of her daughter, and her distress on
ucount 4 of her illness and poverty
was dreadful to see."
Mrs Poe died in the little sitting
room on Saturday, January 80, 1847;
aud from here her husband, wearing
the military coat that had but lately
been her bed covering, attended by a
few friends, followed her body to it's
last resting place. For some time
after his wife's death the little house
remained the home of Poe and Mrs.
Clemm. Friends came occasionally
to see them, aud the poet spent many
odd moments working among his
beds Of flowers. Besides a cat be
had tame bobolink and parrot TO
share his affection and divert his at
tention. He was fond of being ont