∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
[page 2, column 7, continued:]
Posthumous Vindication.
—— That EDGAR POE, living and dead, has been more vilified than he deserved, we should have been certain, even without the direct subsequent disproval of many of the slanders and important modifications of others. The proud disdain, that was an unhappy and predominant quality of his nature, made him so reckless of wrong inferences and injurious opinions and impressions, that he often seemed to admit the truth of what he only scorned to notice. The following letter, which we have just received (which we simply give to the reader without further comment,) shows how a new face may be put upon what has passed into biography as an indisputable fact: —
”Baltimore, January 18, 1858.
“——, I noticed, some time since, in one of the biographies of EDGAR A. POE, a statement that he had taken a certain English work, altered the title and published it in the United States as his own work; and, with those facts for his text, the writer read a long homily on the injury done by such conduct, and the great damage, in particular, done to Poe's reputation. Poe has sins enough to answer for, without this; and when his poverty and other extenuating circumstances are taken into account, any unprejudiced jury would probably bring in a verdict of ‘not guilty’ on this count. Some years since, it was the writer's fortune to meet, in one of the Southern States, Thomas W—— [[Wyatt]], or Professor W—— [[Wyatt]], as he loved to be called, the professed author of several works on Natural History. He gave the writer a copy of this work of Poe's, inscribing on the fly-leaf, ‘from the author.’ In reply to some expressions of surprise, he stated that he was the author of the work and had paid Poe, (who needed money very sorely at the time,) fifty dollars to permit the use of his name on the title page. W —— [[Wyatt]], who was an Englishman, may have published the work in his native country before leaving, and thus had a right to use it as he pleased. Still, these are the facts. As you have proven yourself the true friend of a true poet, I have considered it but right to place you in possession of the above, to make what use of it you may please. ——.”
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Notes:
The author of the letter has not been identified, nor has the copy supposedly inscribed by Thomas Wyatt been located or traced. A somewhat related story of Poe's name being put on the book is that Wyatt already had a book printed by Harper and Brothers (A Manual of Conchology), but he wanted a cheaper book that he could sell at his lectures. Harper and Brothers. The publishers were not interested in producing a competing form of the book, and declined his proposal. The route of using Poe's name would have been a means around his problem. The biography referred to in the letter might be Griswold's Memoir of Poe, or one of the many articles based on it. Griswold repeats the charges from the Saturday Evening Post in a footnote.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
[S:0 - SD, 1858] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - A Poe Bookshelf - Edgar A. Poe (John P. Lacroix, 1858)