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Griswold and Poe. — The Tribune repeats the story published by Mrs. Stebbins of an attachment of Dr. Griswold and Poe for the same lady, and that the literary and personal animosity of the poet and the critic grew out of their rivalry in love. The Tribune says: “There are enough persons who knew all the parties concerned, still living in this city, to confirm the statement of Mrs. Stebbins.” That Poe and Griswold were both friends and admirers of a certain beautiful poetess, whom they had both done a good deal toward rendering famous, there is no denying, and as she and her husband are both dead, there might be no impropriety in naming her, only that she has children living, who would naturally be unpleasantly affected by seeing their mother's name published in connection with such a literary scandal. But the personal and literary encounter between Griswold and Poe commenced in Philadelphia, when they both lived in that city and when one edited the magazine to which the other was a contributor. Poe did not then know the lady in question; but Griswold did. Poe's acquaintance with her commenced after his coming to New York to live, and, as he was married, and the lady was married, and Griswold was married, the attachment must have been of a purely literary nature, as Poe's attachments mostly were. Dr. Griswold was a very much marrying man, he having had three wives and many other attachments. He and Poe used to say sharp things of one another; but they were really good friends, and Griswold, with his personal knowledge of Poe and all of the dead poet's letters and private papers in his hands, treated him more generously than any other biographer would probably have done. Those who speak ill of Griswold for the evil he said of Poe would doubtless think differently of his motives if they knew what he suppressed.
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Notes:
The idea that Griswold's notorious memoir of Poe was somehow made more noble beacause Griswold had suppressed some unspecified dark details was often repeated. It must be noted, however, that no such details have ever been provided to back up the claim, and much of what Griswold might have said was perhaps no more than malicious gossip. It is also difficult to imagine what might have been said given what Griswold was already willing to say. Although there were rumors that some of the material that Griswold had collected about various literary figures was burned to prevent him from using it, a claim that has also never been proven, the correspondence that survives, now the Griswold Collection in the Boston Public Library, does not even fully support what Griswold did print.
It is hard to know if the author of this article had any real idea of the identity of the lady alluded to by Mrs. Stebbins since Frances S. Osgood's only children were all dead long before 1877 and had not lived to marry and have children of their own.
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[S:0 - PAM, 1877] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - A Poe Bookshelf - Griswold and Poe (Anonymous, 1877)