The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-12-31
By PHILIP ALEXANDER BRUCE.


at once. which he Immediately did.
Bears HnII-Mnrt OF Truth.
This report OF the Interview. which
wa2 to prove so fatal to Poc's Just
expectations. bcurs upon It's face the
uninistakablc hallmark of truth. The
| tale that he rudely thrust his pres
ence upon her In her sick chamber, in
stead Of meeting her In the drawing
! room In the conventional way men
toned IN this narrative, was but one
Of the stories itcratcd and reiterated
In after ycnrs by Mrs. Allan's purtizans
when spreading abroad a sensational
pcrversion of what really occurred
Mrs Allan herself was quite probably
entirely innocent of having even sug-
| gcstcd H.
How literally these sinister cmbci-
~ were laid on was revealed
| In The characteristic Interpretation
which Grtswoid placed on tho poets
conduct on this ocCaslon--that BIO
Erapher seems to intimate that he
hau made improper advances to the
iadF, while, according TO the rccitals
! OF his Richmond de,rhctors. he had
only been guilty OF unmanly intrusion
ana violent rcprOachcs.
roc. OF course, presumed too far in
expecting that. after all that had hap
pcncd, has room would be reserved In
dchnitcly for his occupation at n mo-
inents notice. Mrs. Anan's conversion
OF II into guest chamber. for which
she had perhaps constant use, does
not appear to have been at all i'm
proper; but his feeling OF Irritation.
| however, impolitic at the instant, was
| natural enough. and would lead up d.
rectly 10 the unfortunate scene 80
graphically described by Mrs Weiss.
II should be borne in mind tina, sirs.
Allan had the strongest reason In her
husbanh's cNasperatcd representations
10 look on Poe with sharp disfuvor
Any act o. word that smacked OF as
sufance on his part-thc assumption,
ior instance, Of the right to protest
against her disposition of any room
| IN the housc-was precisely whit
| would set In glow the feeling against
| MIN which already must have been
| burning low in her breast: and hor
f,owlcdSe that this prejudice was
shared by Mr.. Allan must have made
her perfectly confident that II would
De safc to summon him TO her as
| sistance. and this the event fully
demonstrated. The natural resentment,
aroused In her when accused OF .ner-
ccnary motives In her marriage would
| not be less keen, because the imputa-
| tion seemed 10 be suggested and con-
I hrmed by the great disparity in the
ages or her husband and herself, and
also BY Mr. Adams very large for
| tune. II was not an affront, however,
deiicatciy limited. which any sclf-rc-
specting woman would forget, and from
al thc descriptions Shich yxc have of
hcr Character, Mrs. Allan was more
likely 10 nurse than to rcprcss her Just
sense of outrage
commenting In later life on this re-
Srcttablc Interview, the poet said that,
led by chivalrous feeling, he dc.
inerateiy threw away large fortune
rather than endure trivial wrong
the trivial wrong being his exclusion
from the room which his foster
mother had assigned him, and where
ne mad pnsscd 80 many pleasant hours
| III happier days. He also refers TO the
same sccnc III an Kindergarten
memorandum. Mrs Allan ana myself"
he says, quarrcled and Mr. Allan
siding with his wife, wrote me an
angry letter, to which replied in the
same spirit" This was the only Incl.
dent necessary TO complete the Sc
|, qucnce of the interview as described
| by Mrs. Weiss
The last occasion on which Mrs
Allan saw Poe occurred not long be.
fore her husbands death. The circum-
stances OF that Anal visi; TO the last
nome OF his youth even IS related By
her partisans cannot be distorted to
MS discrcdit. He had recently won
the prize in tho Baltimore literary
contest, and was, with pardonaolc
cXultat'on. looking forward to the pub
LEGATION of volume of tales, when
nc was informed of the dangerous ILL
ness of Mr.. Allan. who was IL sufferer
from dropsy According TO Colonel
Ellis's recollection. Poe had heard
though a friend that his foster IA Their
mad spoken kindly of him. which
seemed then. and stu seems, prob
able enough as Mr.. Allan must have
known that he WIS dying man. n
melancholy condition that must have
called up In his mind all the softer
memories of the days when his foster
son was stu child, and his first wife
was still alive. How natural, too that
SUCH report should have suggested
TO Poe also gentle thoughts of the past
| and revived his hope of n rcconcilia-
ton.
Ordered to Leave House.
On entering the mansion he vas
met by MIS- Allan, who. according TO
the account transmitted by her family,
failing to recognize him, told him thu;
The physicians had left instructions
that no one should be permitted 70
see her husband Poe. putting her aside.
walked to Mr. Allans chamber, who
unlike his wife, is said 10 have recor
niHed him AT once, and, SELLING his
cane and shaking il violently at the
young man. stcrnly ordered him 10
leave the house, which he is rcporte.
to have done without making any pro
test Whether the cane was shaken
or not-a sensational feature perhaps
invented afterwards--thc interview, II
| II took place at all (for IL has been
ntimatcd that Poe was really refused
admission to the house by Mrs AllaDs
orders,, led TO no reconciliation, and
| resulted in no pccuniary benefit TO
MN Not long after his rctur nto Bal
ttmorc he learned that Mr.. Allan had
died without remembering him In
the disposition of his estate
Had Pos now sunk out OF sight in
the neutrality-suspicious. mass of man
! Kind. all recollection OF him would
, have nccn gradually, cffaced from tho
minds of those persons In Richmond.
who. like Mrs Allan md hnr friends