The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1916-03-30
LIFE OUTLINE OF EDGAR ALLAN POE
TIMELY AND INTIMATE BIOGRAPHICAL PAPER READ
BEFORE THE PIERIAN CHAUTAUQUA CIRCLE AT
ITS QUARTERLY MEETING
By Mr. NJ. L.

To the keen observer of our literary his
tory, who looks down the current from
Washington administration to the present
time, one of the conspicuous objects in the
foreground, is one proudly eminent,--an
object similar to the pyramid of CheoPs,
which, as seen by the traveller, whether you
60 up or down the river Nile, whether you
penetrate its rich valley from the east over
the sand-hillS of Arabia, or from the west
across the the trackless desert of Sahara,-
from what ever quarter of the horizon you
approach, lis the first object to strike, the
last to fade from, the vision. So it is here.
Whether we approach the names of Long
fellow, Hawthorne, Lowell, Tennyson,
Coleridge, Byron and Scott; or descend to-
wards the same point from Chaucer, Sur
rey, Sidney and Spencer, whether we cross
the current of our literature by transition
from that of Germany, France, Russia,
Spain or the Orient,-from whatever quar-
ter of the literary horizon we direct our
SoAS eO"oiNo tAC pOlht ih0iSotSd, OhS wv
ject stands proudly eminent, stands among
the foremost in all literature; acknowledged
by all the most interesting figure in Ameri
can men of letters, an author and poet,
and, if you please, the most caustic critic of
all times, -"whose distant footsteps echo
thru the corridors of time, Edgar Allan
Poe.
Poe lived in the age of poets. He was
the first American who put the "poe' in
poetry. Be that as it may, Re was Bos-
tonian by birth, and did not first see the
light of day at Baltimore as some folks
would lead you to believe. He came to
act his little part on the worlds stage just
lO7 years ago. 1t was from good old New
England stock that he came from, the old
p atriotic-Rev o uti onary-99 is Per-
cent pure-I-did-raise- my boy-to- be-a-sold-
Ter stock. His grandfather wasn't "to
proud to fight old General David Poe
being one of the original patriots, and de-
fender of Washington's policies during his
entire regime. His parents however, belong
ed to the stage and were regular members
at local Boston theatre. Both died when
Poe was mere child, and the orphan of
the poor actors was adopted by Mr.. Al
Ian, rich Virginian. 1t is said that Poe
then at the age of five, black-eyed, curly
haired boy, could read and dance, and nat
urally became pet as we'll as pride of
his foster-father.
AT the age of six he went abroad with
Mr.. Allan, and received his earlier training
and education at an English academy in
Stoke NewingtOn, a suburb of London.
The Manor House School it was called
where he learned to construe Latin and
speak French. 1t was at this same school
that the famous Eugene Aram attended,
and behind whose walls Robinson Crusoe
was written. Here Shakespeare had been
with his friend Essex. Poe spent about
six years at this school. Mayhap it was at
this "dream-like and spirit-soothing place,
in that venerable old town, in that odd,
"old and irregular house, surrounded by
trees and high wall, that young Poe
acquired the rudiments of classic lore which
was destined to be one of the chief orna-
ments of his weird and wonderful works,
and to place him in the front rank of ltera-
ture as one of its most brilliant stars. 1t
might be remarked in passing that Poe's
prose works are today universally read, and
are, moreover, intensely interesting and ex-
ceedingly popular. Especially is this true
with reference to foreign countries where his
short stories have been translated into the
German, French and Spanish. No other
American author enjoys such wide and
diversified class of readers as does Poe.
Parenthetically, the late Henry James was
Of the Poe school of novelists, and like Poe
was rated higher abroad then in his native
country. Also Sherlock Holmes, Sir Conan
Doyle's famous creation is an echo directly
or indirectly of Poes famous detective,
Monsieur Dupin.
AT the age of thirteen Poe was transferred
from England to an academy at Richmond,
Va, and from there to the University of
Virginia at Charlottesville. Your traveller
may see the Poe room at the University to
this day. Oddly enough it is Room No ID.
One sees over the door of the Poe Room
bronze tablet bearing the inscription:
"Domas para magni poetae''-"The little
home of great poet Here it was that
the IL year old student put on the finishing
touches to his education that in later years
marked him as gentleman and scholar.
Here it was that he wrote his first stories.
Here too, he blossomed forth as a poet
with "Sonnet To Science A Dream"
"Spirits of the Dead, "Alone' etc. The
Raven Society, junior and senior society,
modelled after Phi Beta Kappa, but more
specifically based uDon POe's celehratoG