Text: John C. Miller, ed., “Entry 045: John H. Ingram to Sarah Helen Whitman, Apr. 28, 1874,” Poe's Helen Remembers (1979), pp. 131-135 (This material is protected by copyright)

[page 131, continued:]

45. John H. Ingram to Sarah Helen Whitman

My dear Mrs. Whitman,

Although every extra word I now write is an extra pang of pain, I cannot forbear from writing to you, and answering questions, settling queries & telling tales. There is so much to say, however, that the difficulty is where to begin. In the first place, your photos — I have kept one & herewith return two — but they are not good — they are too small &, in my opinion, “the kingly crown” is not ornamental. Why not a good vignette of you as you are?

You say it is a pity that I am in such haste about Poe's life. Now it is a most providential thing that I have been in such haste, leaving everything on one side, & neglecting pecuniary & literary engagements, in order to get the “Memoir” ready for the press, for now I feel, what with bodily & mental languor, that had I not roughly [page 132:] drafted out my references, &c., &c., I should have had to place the work on one side for an indefinite time. Literary labor, & all work exercising the brain, creates quite a fever in my poor weary head. My “Memoir” for the Quarterly is nearly complete & should be finished this week, & the entire life for the collection cannot take me long. I had purposed 200 pps. for its length, but the publishers will not allow it to exceed 100 pps. In present circumstances, this is just as well, as I can embody all real information in that space & it will still allow me to go on collecting information & copies of letters for either further editions, or, perhaps, ultimately for a separate biography. It is not improbable that some day — ere very long — I may contrive a visit to America, where I shall necessarily be able to gather much more information.

While I think of it, for a week or so, do not let any one know of my intended publication of the works, or some piratical publishers will be anticipating me. Last month a few lines appeared in the Mirror stating that “our readers will be pleased to learn that Mr. John H. Ingram is engaged upon an entirely new life of Edgar Allan Poe,” &c., &c. Yesterday I received a letter from the editor requesting my reply to a letter he enclosed from some London bookselling firm asking who John H. Ingram was & who was to publish the life of Poe, as a New York correspondent had asked them. I declined to give any information without further particulars. You shall learn the result, if any, when I know. Perhaps it was Mr. Stoddard? Friend or foe of Poe's will matter little when once the work is published.

While I think of it, in your E. Poe & His Critics you say Mrs. Poe was buried in “a neighboring cemetery” by Fordham. This is not quite correct — there was no cemetery — she was buried in the family vault of a neighbor who allowed her to be interred there. This is interesting as corresponding with the terms of “Ulalume.”

I have at last got the Broadway Journal & looked through it & found much of interest, but I still feel your writing in 2nd vol. notwithstanding, that you cannot part with these books, and that much as I value them, I dare not so impose upon your great kindness as to retain them.(1) I know it would be too great a pang for you to part with them. Their use will be valuable to me & there are many things in them, not in the 4-vol. collection, that I can reprint. There was a prospectus of the Stylus in 1st vol. Did you know that? I can quote some words from it.

And now a few words entre nous & the proverbial post. When speaking of myself it matters little what I say because I only am concerned, & although in writing to you of others, you may retain sub rosa what should be so, still, as you know, letters most sacred, & only intended for one pair of eyes, may someday come to light & wound & [page 133:] anger those who see their contents; therefore, you will comprehend that sometimes there are things which I could say to you — viva voce — which I cannot entrust to the accidents of a letter.

In my last I told you that Mrs. Lewis was in town & that I expected to call on her. She invited me the Saturday before last, but I was too ill to go, but had the pleasure of calling last Saturday. She admires Poe immensely & shewed me several short notes from him, but not one containing anything sufficiently interesting for publication — her longer letters, she tells me, have been lost, &c. She has the MS. of Poe's critique on her, but I do not think I care for any of it for facsimile — it is much garbled, it appears, in Griswold's collection. Mrs. Lewis has a very bad opinion both of Griswold & Mrs. Clemm, but does not seem able to give me the slightest item of publishable interest. She is very kindly disposed, but I cannot see that she is able to help me. She has a magnificent portrait — a daguerreotype — of Poe, as fresh as if just taken, & if I had not placed the “Ultima dim Thule” portrait in the engraver's hands, should have like to use it.(2) If anything of interest comes from this quarter, you shall duly learn it.

As the miscellaneous writings will be in the last monthly volume, there is still some time to recover the papers on “Cryptology,” &c. I have written to Mr. Davidson re. the papers on “Autography” which were reprinted in the New York Illustrated News in 1853. Mr. Eveleth has never replied to my letter — the conclusion of “Marie Rogêt” & the “Dunn English letter” — which he said he had — would have been useful — very useful.

I am told that I should put my name and address outside letters uncertain of reaching their destination, as with my first to you, otherwise, unlike with us, they will not be returned from America.

I return the Shaver story. I am simply disgusted with such absurd & vile lies & only wonder that newspapers can be found to insert such rubbish. Mr. Field's recollections I have not heard or seen anything of, save from you. The European sale for the book, I should say, is a vision of the authors or publishers.

As regards Walt Whitman, I am not in a position to judge of his merits. I saw a most eulogistic notice of his works some years ago, & at once ordered a copy of Leaves of Grass, or some such title, but my bookseller could not get it without sending to America, so I let the matter drop — since then I have frequently seen & heard of him — opinions of the most divergent hue, & a few weeks ago the Academy, my favorite literary journal, in a notice of Bryant, written by a Mr. George Saintsbury, said that America's only two original poets were Edgar Poe & W. Whitman. I have only seen a few extracts from Whitman's works — reviewers seem shy of quoting him — & I must say that they have not taken me by storm. Some day I will try again to get [page 134:] something of his complete & judge him fairly. Tell it not in Gath, but really the few detached sentences I had seen seemed only the work of a superior — a nature's Martin Tupper & of all the insufferable twaddle that was ever written, the Proverbial Philosophy is the worst. I would as soon read a vol. of MS. sermons by a place-hunting parson. I daresay Whitman is better than I think. I would not misjudge a true poet for my good right hand, but I will not endure any imposters in my realms of Poesy. I can be cruel on such subjects & some of these days I may turn my hands to deeds of war.

There is a curious incident told me by Mrs. Lewis which I may surely tell & which may interest you. Mrs. Lewis dreamed that Edgar Poe appeared to her & said, “I have much to tell you,” & thereupon, began saying something which, with the usual indistinctness of dreams, was blurred and unrememberable when she awoke. The following day my letter reached her & she at once thought Poe had been telling her of me! There is a curious coincidence for you. This morning I dreamed (the first time for weeks) & dreamed that my paper on “Poe's Early Poems,” which will appear this week in the Gentleman's Magazine, was out, & that I was being “pitched into” about it by the reviewers. I was preparing a withering reply when my irrepressible scorn woke me up. I hope this nonsense won’t weary you when we have so much else to discuss.

By the way, Poe did do that swim, only Grisworld, as usual, enlarged on the performance — it was 6 & not 7-1/2 miles. Poe declared he could swim the English Channel — 22 miles. There is nothing so wonderful in the swimming 6 or 7 miles. I have a married brother who could have done that a year or two ago — but the wonder was against the strong tide — one of the strongest, Poe declared, ever known in the river. So much for Mr. Parton's scepticism!

Tomorrow I will send you Gentleman's Magazine for May with my notice of “Poe's Early Poems.”(3) I trust there is nothing in it to annoy you. I shall be very anxious to know — it was written very hurriedly, as I have scarcely dared to snatch a moment from the life, & you will scarcely credit the amount of labour that has required for the adjustment of dates, &c. I have foregone many things — I can assure you — to carry that out properly. Some day, however, I hope to get more information for a new edition. I do not think I shall be able to go to press before June.

Mr. Latto's letter gave you a faithful report of Allibone's story, which is where you had read it before, probably. Mr. Latto's autograph letter is with the publishers. It will be duly returned by registered post.

You had said that I might use the lines about “Arcturus.” I shall duly notice Miss Powell's [Power's] ballads & in another number your poems & the E.P. & His Critics, but you will not think it neglect if you [page 135:] do not get the notices for some weeks. I must strain every nerve to get the “Memoir” finished. Were another collection of Poe's works, with “an original Memoir” again, perhaps written by a foe, to appear before mine, I should never get the publishers to proceed with present edition, besides, I am relinquishing so much — both in bodily exercise & pecuinary [[pecuniary]] engagements that I must “get along” quickly now. Happily my rough draft is almost complete.

I have looked all through the Broadway & am so pleased with it — there is much that will be useful. Graham's or the Gentleman's with such personal supervision would have redoubled our good fortune. “The Elk” I am anxious to get a clue to.

And now, for the present, I will conclude my scrawl with my very kindest & most admiringly sympathetic good wishes as yours ever,

 

1. But he did retain them, at least until 1886, when he sold them at a bookseller's auction in London. They are now in the Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif.

2. Poe had given this daguerreotype to Mrs. Lewis about 1848. After allowing a commercial photographer to reproduce for sale hundreds of copies, she allowed Ingram to use a copy for Vol. I of his 1880 Life of Poe, and she left it to Ingram at her death in 1880. It came to the University of Virginia Library with Ingram's other Poe papers in 1921, and I used it as a frontispiece for Building Poe Biography.

3. This article is reprinted immediately following.