Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-04-02
SOME POE POEMS
JUST DISCOVERED.
One Of Poets Early Efforts
Found In Files Of Old
Weekly.
UNEARTHED RECENTLY.
Dr.. I. c. French Tells How $50
Prize From Baltimore Sat
urday Visitor" Helped
Author.

Author.
! DIR. John c. French. associate pro
! fessor of English at the Johns Hop
| kins University, has found several lit
! tie known poems of Edgar Allan Poe.
| in his researches for one of the
| courses in English literature at the
| university. Dr. French says that
when Poe was just on the verge of
| despair that might well have pre-
vented him from leading a literary
| life" he was given heart to continue
/ his efforts by winning a prize of $50
! offered by a Baltimore weekly in the
/ summer of 1888. In this paper, Bal
| timore Saturday Visitor" DR.. French
says he found the poem entitled
| "Serenade,"
DR.. French writes of his discovery
as follows:
The most significant event in the
! literary life of Edgar Allan Poe was
| his success in what would now be
called a short-story contest, instituted
| by a Baltimore weekly paper in the
summer of 1888 At this time Poe was
living in obscurity with relatives in
| Baltimore. He had published three
| slender volumes of verse, had reject
! ed opportunities for a military career.
and, being now hOpelessly estranged
i from Mr.. Allen (his patron), had tried
! in vain TO find congenial employment.
! When the Baltimore Saturday Visitor
! offered a prize of $50 for the best tale
/ and $25 for the best short poem, Poe
| en- aI ro,annCprintc hnth
| The judges awarded him the larger
prize without hesitation, and appar-
| emily would have given him the other
prize also if they had not thought it
undesirable for one competitor to re-
! ceive both. One of these judges was
John p. Kennedy, already well-known
as an author. He became at once
! Poe's friend and adviser, secured him
! the editorship of the Southern Liter
airy Messenger, and rescued him from
the despair that might well have pre-
vented him from leading a literary
| life.
/ The paper that was able to do Poe
such a valuable service was establish
ed in 1881 sby Mr.. Charles F. Cloud,
! previously editor of the Elkton Press.
1t was not a newspaper, but a literary
weekly. Until recently no file of the
| Visitor was known to Poe editors and
it was supposed that none had surviv-
ed. Bound copies of the paper had
! however, been preserved by relatives
of the proprietor. All but one of the
volumes were destroyed by fire and
J by a curious and fortunate coincidence
it was the volumes of 1893 that es-
capped This volume has now, by the
! courtesy of the owners, been made
| available to students of Poe Besides
the announcements of the prize con-
test and of the award and the list of
! POe's successful tale, MS. Found in
a Bottle and his poem, The Coli
scum it contains a hitherto unpub-
lished poem by Poe and two poems
signed with the pseudOnvm Tanner
lane which are also very probably by
| Poe.
The acknowledged poem appeared
in the issue of April 20, 1888, several
weeks before the first announcement
of the Visitors prize offer 1t is as
follows:
SERENADE.
BY E. A. Poe
So sweet the hour, so calm the time
! feel it more than half a crime
When Nature sleeps and stars are
mute
To mar the silence ev'n with lutte.
At rest on oceans brilliant dies
An image of Elysium lies:
Seven Pleiades entranced in Heaven
Form in the deep another seven:
EndymiOn nodding from above
Sees in the sea a second love.
Within the valleys dim and brown.
And on the spectral mountains crown
The wearied light is dying down
And earth, and stars, and sea, and
sky
Are redolent of sleep, as I
Am redolent of thee and thine
Enthralling love, my Adeline
But list, Oh list-so soft and low
Thy lovers voice tonight shall flow
That scrace awake thy soul shall deem
My words the music of a dream.
Thus, while no single sound too rude
Upon thy slumber shall intrude,
Our thoughts, our souls-Oh. God
above!
In o,-orv- Jaod et,o51 ,,,;,,~-Io -