The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-10-23
THOMPSON, CONFEDERATE,
AND HIS TIMES

| Richmond, relates several incidcnts oil
Historic interest which had not been pres
viously published.
Thompson was contemporary aud
| friend OF Edgar Allan Poe, and succeed
! cd Poe as editor Of tire southern Liter
] nry Messenger. lie said that during the
| two or three months previous to Ppes
! den eli he saw him very often; that when
| iii Richmond he made tho office OF the
| Messenger a place OF frequent resort md
Isllis conversation was always attractive
| at times brilliant. lie recnc1 that
nmong modern authors l'ce's ifavorite was
| ,rennyson, and that lie delighted 10 re.
cite ,"rhe Princess" the song, "rca,s,
| Idle Tears" fragment OF which.
"Whcn unto dying eyes
Tho easement slowly grows a gllin,ncring
Square
lie pronounced unsurpassed by any image
expressed In writing.
IT may be also mentioned II this con-
nection that III one OF his prose com.
positions, entitled Poetic Principle Poo
Gays that IN his view Tcnnvson was
tho noblest Of all poets, being less OF the
earth earthly" than any other
The day before Poo left Richmond no
placed Iii tho hands OF Thompson for
publication In the Messenger the manu-
with tho remark Here Is a triflc; per-
hups you may be able to use It.
Mir. Graves thinks that Thompson I'M
derstood Poe far better than many of his
time and In spite Of Poe's faults, which
Thompson we'll understood. always spoke
of him In Kindness
After his return from Europe in 1856
Thompson prepared two lectures, one Of
which was, ''The Life and Genius Of
- = Y1@n T~@ IL Ar<t Srn
Thompson relates where Poe got his con.
ception Of the Raven. He spoke IN the
hall OF the old Mechanics Institute IN
Richmond and Or. William II. Taylor,
state Chemist, WAS IN the audience. as
well as he can recall. DR.. Taylor gives
Poe's words as no heard Thompson utter
them:
~ was living In Philadelphia during the
epidemic OF cholera there All day I
and the dead until my heart was faint
and sick within me. Late one evening
on coming home after one OF those aim
less wanderlngs. broken down. and with
THOUSAND pictures OF suffering and
death dancing hideously before my eyes,
lay upon the bed. III a moment was
asleep and dreamed; that black bird
like raven came Into the room and
perched over the door, asked what It
was. The bird replied:
"1I am the spirit Of the cholera and
you are tho cause ofmc!'
II woke with n start, but the apparl-
4 ton was so real that 1t made am in1-
preston on me shall never forgot."
Coming then to speak more directly OF
the career Of Thompson, Mr.. Graves says
that Thompson did American literature
a noble service during tho thirteen years
that he was editor Of the Messenger
7 Gy,,1nf ioc r..
wells .'Revcries OF a Bachelor" which
had been rejected by several editors. and
brought II out In the Messenger. He
also accepted the first story OF Frank II.
Stockton. aud Mr.. Graves observes that
1t was Thompson who lifted up and
steadied their trembling feet and gave
to literature James Barron Hope Paul
Hamilton Haync. Donald 9. Mitchell
elk Marvel,'O Frank r. Stockton. Hen
ry Timrod. John Esten Cooke William
Gilmore slmms, w. Gordon McCabe,
Susan Archer alley and many hers. #
K The story OF how Thompson came TO
write t"rhe Burial OF La tanc. Z. e hitherto
5unpu blished. Is thus " related by Mr.,
Graves: M: vi N 33 35lF2
WILLIAM 1,atanc was captain Of tlie
Essex County Cavalry, a part OF General
s,,,art's command IN q skirmi.h In. one
of tho lover counties, Captain Latane
was killed on the plantation OF Mrs.
5Broclenbrough. and his body was buried
by her and her slaves. Mira. Brocken-
borough read the service and the faith
full negroes laid the stranger in tho ara sc
they had dug. Thompson know nothing
OF the Incident until weeks after when
he received "a letter from O young lady
TO whom Captain I,atane had been en-,
gagged. She told the story Of the death
and burial OF her lover, signing herself,
Lucy Ashton. Thompson knew that this
was fictitious name. but her real name
he never disclosed At her request he
wrote tl1e#poell. At the time 1t was pub
lished. Washington, the artist. was llv-s
Ing on Leigh Street on the next square
above Thompson. Following the story
OF tho poem, the artist painted the pic
tlre which IS to-day so widely known.
Society women and 'old-tlnc" darkies
of Richmond posed for the various char
actcrs represented. a particularly inter
esting fact is hat the Mrs. Brocken-
borough, who actually read the service
at Captain Latane's BURIAL Ia yet llv-
Ing, very feeble, lovabie old lady Of
Richmond"
Mr.. Graves mentions another incident
showing the thouglltfulness OF Thoml,-
son, his spirit OF gratitude and his 10y
atty TO his friends. ] t Is known to many
that Thompson and Captain Gordon Nc
.Cnbe were close friends. and NcCabe
never had a friend whom no held IN
higher esteem. Oh one occasion NJ cCnbe
and Thompson were having "a. turn at the
books and the lntter showed his flno
collection Of Autograph copies Of famous
works. When the pleasant task was fln-
ished AIcCubc, q deyotee OF Tlackcray,
said:
''Wcll, would rather have your Hem
ry Esmond than any Of the rest
4 "All right" replied Thompson, when
i die Ill leave 1t to YOU"
McCabe forgot the Incident, but on his ,
death bed Thompson indicated to the
kind woman who was attending him that
lie wished l1cr to write something for
lin. lie dictated these words;
New York, April 20. 1873,
''lS West I'ifty-fourth Street,
among my books there Is a copy Of
Henry Es,nond (tllree volunes) which
] hereby give to w. Gordon NlcCabe, Pc
tersburg Va. with a. request that he
write to Miss Annie 'rha ckeray a long