| Show Forged Forced R r ed the Poe Poc Poem To Win WID WJ a Wager 6 t Alfred Allred Russell Wallace an n nA v R A I pounces In the current Fort FortnightlY Fortnightly MR IVI nightly Review that ho lids has Just JustA A unearthed a new poem by Ed Allen lIen P Poe par The story of at how boa ho came by It l le Is In interesting He Ite tells us ue that his hll brother In California In 1895 35 lent to died who town pm him M r his death his hili own manu copy COPT of ot the tito poem In question The rhe Initials Initial E B A P 1 suggested that It was written Bitten by Vat Poe and the tho internal evidence of ot style seemed conclusive to tor Sir r Wallaces mind Here lIere Is the i poem noem oem LEONAINE I named nam d her and they took tho g i stars and framed her herIn herIn herAnd M ot the In In a I elal smile o of ot white And they thC made her hair of oC gloomy mid midnight midnight night nigh and her eyes of at bloomy Moonshine and they brought her to mo moIn moIn moIn In a solemn night solemn n night of at t summer lummer when hen my ray In a heart oC gloom Dlo omed up to 10 meet the comer corner like lIko a rose In bloom All foreboding that distressed me mo I for tor forgot got as al Joy me Lying Joy jo that caught and pressed pres ed me meIn meIn mein In the arms of ot doom Only the little lit tie In the tho an on angel angel gel tongue Yet I listening heard the tho whisper whispers Songs Songs are Bre only sung Here below that they may grieve you ou tales are Bre told you to deceive decele you ou So must leave you while her love 1010 Is young oung Then God Got smiled and ant It was 1311 morning matchless and supreme Heavens glory seemed adorning earth with Us lis esteem Every heart henrt but mine seemed gifted n voice olce of at prayer prayer and lifted littell When my I drifted from Crom mo me melike like a dream B E J A P 1 Now XOI mark how a B plain tale shall put putdown putdown Putdown down Mr Ir Wallace In the year CM 1816 1870 there thero was 1111 living In Inthe Inthe the state stale of oC Indiana an all ambitious young man named James Whitcomb His Ills ambition ran ron to poetry H Ho could not however get the great mag mines uinta of the tho ho country to further It and Ms Ills contributions to the local pa papers pers rm died with 1 birth To ro a friend of ot his he once laughingly complained that It If he could coull sign his op with a abig abIg abig big name they tile might not only be Le no uc accepted by b the magazines but hut win will the tha th fame that results from making th the tho rounds of ot the press The rho friend demur demurred red Thereupon young oun Mr Riley wagered wag wagered ered that he would write a n poem and und Sign Ign It with a n big name nama and that I It would be copied far tor and onel wide AH Ac a result of this wager there thoro appeared In III Inthe Inthe the Kokomo Ind CInd Sentinel Sen a copy cop o of oC verses erses entitled with tho the following explanatory Introduction In In the house of ot a 0 gentleman of ot this city tit We e saw eat n a poem written on the lly 11 leaf leat of at an old book Noticing tho the In Jt llis E A IV I 1 nt at the bottom It struck us that possibly we wc had run across a bonanza bonann Tho Tim owner of ot the book said snit that ho he did dl not nol know kno who was W H tho the author of at the tte poem Ills his grandfather who gave gate him the book kept keN nn an Inn In Chester Chesterfield held field near Richmond Vu n One Ono night fright a II ayoung ayoung young man who showed showell plainly tho the marks of ot dissipation rapped at nt tho the door BIked asked If It lie ho could stay sin alt all night am and MS was shown to 10 a 0 room That woe the laut they saw of ot him When they the went tent next morning to call cal him him to breakfast he had gone cone one but had left the tho look book on the tho flyleaf of oC which he be had written these verses The Tho versos verses which I cal with those given elen by b Mr dr Ir Wallace save rave that tho the title name Is I and not thus thull furnishing tho the extra syllable necessary ar to the tho cal chemo In tho the first line lino Mr r Miley won his hie wager wacer Tho The poem was as widely copied by h the th newspapers It was eagerly commented upon It was sons won wona accepted a by seine soine as a 1 genuine genuine Poe Poo treasure trove and It was ns scornfully re jetted Jr by b others nut nu t among those whom It Imposed upon was ns so good food a poet pon and AnI RO so good a 11 critic an nil William cullen Bryant |
