Text: Anonymous, “The Grave of Edgar A. Poe,” Troy Daily Whig (Troy, NY), vol. XX, no. 2,829, August 23, 1854, p. 2, col. 4

“It seems as if, in the Monumental City, a little slab, at least, might be raised, inscribed with the poet’s name. It would speak to many hearts. Poe, the noble, though shattered column in our Muses’ temple; whose poems, like some of Coleridge and Shelley tremble with that strange melody which is often vouchsafed to be breathed by human tongues.

His tomb would be pleasurable and useful to many who love to pay pious pilgrimages to the grave of genius. It is indeed of no consequence to him, the enfranchised, whether his body be reverenced or dishonored, but to the living, who feel that our mortal frames, made in the image of our Maker, created as fit temples for the indwelling of immortal souls, and reserved for a glorious resurrection, it seems very sad that his remains should be suffered to decay in obscurity. Edgar A. Poe had his faults and his virtues. Let the former be forgotten and the latter be commemorated. Let no human being venture to pass judgment upon his deeds done in the body, for that office belongs to a higher power, but let us rather consider his temptations, greater as his powers were greater, and so draw a gentle veil over his frailties, and reverence him for the noble thoughts which he recorded.”