The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1908-07-03
EDGAR ALLHN POE

stellations. And as for the matter of
renown-of a place in the Hall of
Fame-what is fame? On your con-
science, fellow judges. whether you
are realists or dreamers, jurists,
scholars or divines, pay some slight
regard to that voice of the outer
world, which one of our own writer's
termed the verdict of a sort of con-
temporaneous posterity;' note that
there is scarcely an enlightened
tongue into which Poe's lyrics and
tales have not been rendered-that he
is read and held as distinctive
genius, in France, Spain, Germany,
Italy, Russia, Scandinavia-that the
spell Of his art is felt wherever our
own English speech goes With the flags
of it's two great overlands. Fame! Is
there one of US still unconscious of
| Poe's fame?
mot hear? When noise was every
where! 1t tolled
Increasing like bell
"Those who have given their votes
for Franklin and Hamilton surely
have not demurred on ethical grounds
to one against whom no charge of i'm.
: morality can lie, seeing that his life,
like his handiwork, was chaste as
moonlight That he was poor and
headstrong is true; and that he was
| the congenital victim Of an abnormal
craving for stimulants, now accounted
| a disease, is true; but what of all this
beside the gift that made its shining
| way against such odds-beside ones
gratitude for his disqualification OF
our inchoate taste and for the recog
milton which his poetry and romance
| did so much to gain for the literary
product of his native land"
Charles Frederic Stansbury in an
article on Poes life in Tidewater Vir
ginia Tin the jamestown Magazine)
written apropos of the jamestown ex
| position says:
Virginia is, likewise, proud of Poe
His memory has been indicated by
the fine old university where he was q
student. and the would-be assassins
of his character have been silenced
! forever. There were all too many OF
these vultures. the chief of whom was
the unspeakable Griswold. the ghoul
ish slanderer, destined, like the TEN
pie burner of ancient Ephesus, to live
forever in lasting infamy, his dis
hOnOred name dragging after that Of
the brilliant genius, to emulate the
work of whom is the despair of grea1
minds and the confusion of little ones
The exquisite bronze bust of Poe
which adorns the University of Vir
ginia. was modelled by the famous
sculptor, George Julian Zolnay. 1t is
probably the most sympathetic ant
beautiful portrait of the poet extant
1t was brought into existence through
the efforts of Prof. Charles w. Ken
of the University of Virginia. Man,
lives of Poe have been written. ant
few can remember the names of tn,
writer's; Poe's name was not though
worthy to grace the alleged Hall O
Fame, while nobody can remembe
whose names were thought to be thu,
worthy. Many a hardened topper O,
reading the many pharisaical biogra
plies of Poe, is highly shocked at tn,
stories of his occasional intemperanc,
on which those writer's love to dwell
Griswold started it, and the rest O
the sorry pack followed in full cry. A,
excerpt from Augustine Birrells essa,
on Charles Lamb might we'll apply t.
Poe. With fine scorn this writer says
Lamb was rich In all that makes lif,
valuable or memory sweet. But h,
used to get drunk. This explains all