friends, he is now desirous of bidding all parties a peaceable farewell.”

Not to be behind his father in imprudence Poe married, during his residence in Richmond, his cousin, Virginia Clemm, who was as poor as himself, and whose chief qualification for being his wife consisted in a sweet face, a gentle temper, and—in loving him! The young couple flitted from Richmond to Baltimore, and soon after to Philadelphia and New York. Their visit to the latter city seems to have been occasioned by Poe's desire to publish there "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, of Nantucket," the opening chapters of which had already appeared in the Messenger. This, the longest of his fictions, was published in the summer of 1838. It received but little attention in America, but was more successful in England. Such, at least, was the belief of the late Mr. George P. Putnam, the well-known American publisher, to whom, in London, the volume was sent. "Here is an American contribution to geographical science," he remarked to another publisher, who was sitting in his office.

"This man has reached a higher latitude than any European navigator. Let us reprint this for Mr. Bull." His brother publisher assented, and took a half share in the venture. The grave particularity of the title and of the narrative misled many of the critics as well as the unsuspicious publishers, and whole columns of these new "discoveries," including the hieroglyphics found on the rocks, were copied by the English papers as sober historical truth.*

Not long after the publication of the veracious "Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym," Poe and his young wife flitted back to Philadelphia. Here he made the acquaintance of Mr. William E. Burton, an English comedian of note, who had emigrated to America about five years before. Originally intended for the church, his talents as an amateur led him to become an actor on the Norwich circuit, and afterwards at the Haymarket. He had dabbled in literature in England, and being a pushing man was ambitious to do the same in America. So he started a periodical, * Putnam's Magazine, 2nd series, vol. iv. page 471.

which, remembering old Sylvanus Urban, he christened "The Gentleman's Magazine," and which he edited after a fashion himself. Poe's acknowledged genius and poverty made him useful to Mr. Burton, who installed him in the editorial chair of his periodical in June, 1839. His services were slight, since they occupied only two hours a day; but his salary was still slighter, since it amounted to only ten dollars a week! With the exception of the book notices, which appear to be from his pen, his contributions to the first number of the magazine in his charge consisted of two brief poems, "To Ianthe in Heaven," which was probably printed for the first time (though it was afterwards re-written and entitled "To One in Paradise"), and "Spirits of the Dead," which was re-printed verbatim from the first of his useful little volumes. first of these was acknowledged, the last was not. They were followed in the next number by "Fairyland," and "To the River," which were also re-printed verbatim from his first volume, and by two stanzas addressed "To- -." As they were afterwards re

The

written, and addressed to Mrs. Frances Sargent Osgood, an American poetess, I am tempted to give them as they stood originally.

Το

Fair maiden, let thy generous heart
From its present pathway part not—
Being everything which now thou art,
Be nothing which thou art not.

So with the world thy gentle ways,

Thy unassuming beauty,

Thy truth--shall be a theme of praise
Forever, and love a duty.

The succeeding number of the magazine contained one of Poe's finest stories, the best, perhaps, that he had yet written, "The Fall of the House of Usher."

The remarkable story of "William Wilson," already referred to as being in a certain sense autobiographic, appeared next, but not as an original contribution, since it was credited to the annual in which it was about to be published,-"The Gift for 1840." A month later" Morella," his second contribution to the Messenger, did duty for the second time, in the shape

of an extract from a collection of his writings, "Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque," which was then passing through the press. The last number of that year contained "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmian."

The next volume was ostensibly edited by Poe and Mr. Burton, the names of both figuring on the titlepage, but Poe's labours there were scanty, consisting of "The Business Man," a slight story, a paper on "The Philosophy of Furniture," a biographical notice of William Cullen Bryant, and the book reviews, which for the most part were slashing, one on Longfellow's "Voices of the Night" being especially so, accusing him of plagiarizing his "Midnight Mass for the Dying Year," from Tennyson's "Death of the Old Year."

There was trouble between Poe and Burton-the old trouble that caused him to leave the Messenger— the devil that was shut up in his sensitive nature, and that would out when the fit seized it, and him. Mr. Burton never could be certain when he left the city