The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1910-10-06
TER, MINNESOTA. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1910.
abandon his position and seek en-
ployment elsewhere.

abandon his position and seek en-
ployment elsewhere.
He next located in Philadelphia
where for years he struggled amid
poverty and adversity. Although a
most faithful worker he was unable
to keep the wolf from the door
owing to the lack of demand for
literature and the exceedingly low
market. value of the products of his
pen.
No doubt he made more enemies
than friends by the fearless manner
in which he welded the critics pen.
He was then considered the fore
most critic in American literature
and often used his power in this
respect to the disadvantage of those
who were unfortunate enough to
come under his displeasure. To at
tempt to describe the character of
the noted poet at this stage Of his
life would seem but to necessitate
repetition of the peculiarities that
characterized the school boy of
twelve. The same impulsive, pas
sionate nature in which the love for
solitude and dreaming, or to use his
own words, = a scorn of all things
present in an earnest desire for the
future" had only increased by years
of suffering, with a more marked
inclination to find solace in the cup
that cheers.
During the next few years he
gave to the world some of his best
stories of fiction as well as some
verses that will ever live as strong
testimonials of his genius. He
achieved only fleeting fame, how
ever, until 1845 when he wrote a
poem-The Raven-which was des-
tined to preserve his memory to
future generations. This poem.
which is familiar to the heart of
every school boy depicts poetic ge-
MUS of the rarest hue and at the
same time portrays the marvellous
imaginative power of the author
To many, The Raven is more or less
a mystery, though it is possibly the
most clear aud comprehensive of
auy of Poe's long poems, depicting.
as it does, the superstitious nature
of the author; his halfdoubting trust
in the future where he hoped to
meet those whom he had loved
long since and lost a while" aud the
despairing sentiments contained in
tn at unvarying answer Never,
Nevermore, by which his fondest
hopes were so rudely shattered.
Another calamity which at this
time added to the already heavy load
Of the struggling poet was the fatal
illness of his young wife. Never
strong, she had contracted a deadly
disease and her life was despaired
OF. Poe loved his wife dearly and
when after long illness death took
her from his side it would seem that
the last spark of ambition, if not
selfrespect in the breast of the poet
gave place to despair and that he
was henceforth powerless to resist
the evil inclinations that had ever
beset his pathway in life.
After the death of his wife Poe
devoted his time to giving lectures
and occasionally writing, but his
work no longer displayed the power
of former years as his genius had
already been blunted by an exces-
sive indulgence in wines and drugs.
At times he would rouse himself in
an effort to regain selfmastery and
fan back to life the fast dying spark
of ambition, but either through lack
of assistance or perseverance the
effort usually ended in hopeless des-
pair.
In the city of Baltimore, in Oc-
tober, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was
picked up on the street in an uncon-
scious condition, resulting from an
excessive use OF liquor. Less than
one week later all that was mortal
of the famous poet found in the
grave the rest denied him in life.
In looking over the incidents sur
rounding the closing years of his
life it is to be feared that many
deny him the consideration and pity
the circumstances would warrant.
Possessed as he was of that pride and
selfrespect SO characteristic of the
Southerner there is little doubt that
he did not prove willing victim to
the vices that brought him to a
dishonored grave. That excessive
mental activity pped his power of
resistance and re dered him an easy
(Contsnssed m ssssrnn 5 ts,s poge.)