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For the Home Journal.
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MORE ABOUT POE.
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HOW “ANNABEL LEE” CAME TO BE PUBLISHED.
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BY PAUL PEBBLES.
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A pleasant little story of John R. Thompson and Edgar A. Poe appears in the “Gossip” corner of Lippincott's Magazine for May. Probably the readers of the Home Journal — especially those who “dote” upon the author of “The Raven” — have already enjoyed the account of poor Poe's “thirteen juleps” and the agreeable titillation of the midriff created by his tumblerful of five French brandy, taken nest. But the anecdote reminds me of another one, which I do not remember to have seen in print; perhaps you can find apace for it.
While Mr. Thompson was conducting the Southern Literary Messenger, Poe was a regular visitor to the editorial sanctum of that excellent magazine — or, rather, he was ap exceedingly irregular dropper-in; his nor mal condition being, so to speak, always abnormal, if judged by the ordinary human standards. Generally under the combined influence of poetic frenzy and of strong alcoholic stimulant, he was likewise celebrated for & perpetual impecuniosity. Money seemed to drill holes through his pockets, and, by some curious invention of the laws of nature, the hard cash be was able to obtain (for his day was the day of gold and silver) underwent a summary process of liquefaction. Like an excellent sponge, he was always absorbent and soon dry.
One day, entering Thompson's room — the same in which the buffet with the fine French brandy stood — Poe requested a small loan, saying that he had received a sudden call to Philadelphia, and was out of funds — ” would Mr. Thompson oblige him with five dollars?”
The editor of the Southern Literary, accustomed to Poe's peculiar ways, met the demand with the easy grace and open hand for which he is noted; and Poe, bowing his thanks, retreated toward the door; but, pausing at the threshold, he carelessly flung to Thompson a small bit of writing, with the remark:
“By the way, Thompson, there is a little thing I knocked off last night — it's not much, but you’ve been very kind to me, and perhaps you can make room for it somewhere in the magazine!” saying which he turned and left.
Thompson opened the paper and found the manuscript of “Annabel Lee’ — one of the most charming of love-songs. It appeared in the next number of the Southern Literary Messenger. Thompson, I believe, still preserves the autograph copy as a momento of Poe.
The readers of the Home Journal of course remember the sweet little poem; but it will not occupy much room to reprint it:
ANNABEL LEE.
I.
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
II.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love —
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
III.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
IV.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me —
Yes! — that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
V.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we —
Of many far wiser than we —
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:
VI.
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling — my darling — my life and my bride,
In the [[her]] sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
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Notes:
Somewhat ironically, although this article mentions Thompson's manuscript of “Annabel Lee,” it prints the version from Griswold's edition of Poe's works, although correcting “kinsman” to “kinsmen.”. Paul Peebles may be a pseudonym of Henry Chadwick (1824-1908). The assignment of the pseudonym appears in an article signed “Biol. Theagodds,” apparently itself a pseudonym, in the Brooklyn Review, May 3, 1874, p. 1, cols 1-2. Another pseudonym noted is “Old Chalk.” As a longtime sportswriter for various newspapers in Brooklyn and at the New York Times, he was known as “the father of baseball” and “the grand old man” of the game. Chadwick's wife, Jane Botts Chadwick (1819-1915), was born in Richmond, VA, to a prominent family there, which might explain his personal connection to John Reuben Thompson. The claims made in this article, although largely fictional, are precisely the kind of tale Thompson was inclined to tell, and to be repeated by a publishing industry eager for colorful stories about Poe, and not particularly concerned about accuracy.
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[S:0 - HJ, 1872] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - A Poe Bookshelf - More on Poe (Paul Peebles, 1872)