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FOREWORD
The reading public has always shown an unfaltering interest in new and important matters pertaining to Edgar Allan Poe. An appraisal of the man and his works by an associated contemporary has long lain perdue. The publication of John R. Thompson's manuscript of “The Genius and Character of Edgar Allan Poe” must now come as a distinct, but pleasant surprise.
After Poe's death, John R. Thompson wrote out his opinions and impressions of Poe, and later on, added further details to his manuscript. The material, at first, was prepared for use in the delivery of a Baltimore lecture, and possibly amended some when Thompson took to lecturing in after years.
John R. Thompson was born in Richmond, Va., October 23, 1823, and died in New York City, April 30, 1873. His span of life was comparatively brief, but he saw and experienced much, and himself wrote poetry and prose of a high order. His collected poems, edited by John S. Patton, were published in 1920.
John Esten Cooke, author and fellow-Virginian, said of Thompson:
“In his appearance, bearing, and habits, he was essentially a gentleman of the most refined tastes; and certainly his manner — with the exception of a slight reserve and ceremony at times — was delightful. He was the charm and delight of the circles — and they were the best — in which he moved; a fascinating raconteur — indeed, I may say that he was one of the very best ‘story-tellers,’ or relators of anecdotes, literary or humorous, that I have ever known. For this he certainly had a distinct gift, and I have listened to him with silent delight. His anecdotes were chiefly humorous — of the character called ‘good [page vi:] stories’ — and there seemed to be no end of them. In private, at suppers, at dinner parties, and everywhere with friends he abounded in them, putting everybody in a good humor with his sparkling witticisms and the point and finish of his discourse.”
In speaking of Southern Literary Messenger days, Cooke said:
“Leaning back in his comfortable chair in his office in the Law Building — it was a leather-covered armchair, and he wrote upon an elegant walnut table with a covering of green cloth — how his eyes sparkled, his ready laugh rang, his soft, bright eyes lit up! Reading aloud in his rich, sonorous voice — he was, after Thackeray, the most delightful reader I ever listened to — or standing, cigar in mouth with a little of the petit-maitre air, for he was young and petted by society, he interested you, made you laugh; you forgot the passage of time as you listened, and went away in a good humor with yourself and all the world.”
Thompson edited the Southern Literary Messenger from 1847 to 1860. He became acquainted with Poe in 1848, apparently under conditions described in the former's letter to E, H. N. Patterson, of November 9, 1849, which read, in part:
“I accidently learned that a person calling himself Edgar A. Poe had been, for a fortnight, in a debauch, in one of the lowest haunts of vice upon the wharves in this City. If you have ever visited Richmond, you may perhaps know that the business portion of the town and the sites occupied by residences exclusively are distant from the shipping by a mile and a half, so that very few persons not actually engaged in commercial affairs ever visit the landing at all. As soon as I heard the name Poe in this connection my worst suspicions were excited, and I at once took a carriage and went to seek him. It was a very warm day in the latter part of May or early in June. When I reached the purlieus of this abandoned quarter, I learned that such a person had indeed been there, drunk, for two weeks, and that he had [page vii:] gone a few hours previous, without hat or coat, to the residence of Mr. John MacKenzie, some three miles distant, in the country, alone and on foot. It was Poe. The next day he called on me with Mr. MacKenzie. From that time until his death we were much together and in constant correspondence.”
Poe made Thompson's office, at the latter's invitation, his headquarters in Richmond on his 1848 and 1849 visits, and Thompson had, therefore, good opportunities to observe Poe under varying conditions. Thompson's opinions, it would seem, are therefore entitled to considerable weight, showing a contemporary's ability to discern his genius and also to analyze his character, as well as bringing to light newly told matters of Poe's own.
In preparing for publication a manuscript written so many years ago, it necessarily requires that some textual notes be furnished, and also that some slight editing of the material itself be undertaken. As long notes would require too much space in the body of the book, they have been given a place in appendices.
J. H. W.
J. H. R.
Richmond,
September 30, 1929.
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Notes:
Thompson's original manuscript is now in the Poe Museum in Richmond, VA. A newspaper clipping in the Ingram collection includes a substantial quotation from the portion about what is called “The Cooping Theory” of Poe's death. Although the clipping is undated, and the newspaper has not been identified, it is clearly from 1860, based on an article on house plants reprinted on the back of the clipping.
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[S:0 - JRT29, 1929] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Bookshelf - The Genius and Character of Edgar Allan Poe (Thompson)