ANTHON TO POE. [Griswold Collection.] NEW YORK, Nov. 2d 1844. DEAR SIR, I have called upon the Harpers, as you requested, and have cheerfully exerted with them what influence I possess, but without accomplishing anything of importance. They have complaints against you, grounded on certain movements of yours, when they acted as your publishers some years ago; and appear very little inclined at present to enter upon the matter which you have so much at heart. However, they have retained, for a second and more careful perusal, the letter which you sent to me, and have promised that, if they should see fit to come to terms with you, they will address a note to you forthwith. Of course, if you should not hear from them, their silence must be construed into a declining of your proposal. My own advice to you is, to call in person at their store, and talk over the matter with them. I am very sure that such a step on your part will remove many of the difficulties which at present obstruct your way. You do me an injustice by supposing that I am a stranger to your productions. I subscribed to the "Messenger solely because you were connected with it, and I have since that period read and, as a matter of course, admired very many of your other pieces. The Harpers also entertain, as I heard from their own lips, the highest opinion of your talents, but — I remain very sincerely, E. A. POE, Esqr. Your friend & well wisher CHAS. ANTHON. P. S. The MSS., which you were kind enough to send, can be obtained by you at any time on calling at my residence. C. A. VOL. II. 13 WILLIS TO POE. [Gill's Life.] HOME JOURNAL Office, MY DEAR POE, I could not find time possibly to go to the concert, but why did you not send the paragraph yourself. You knew of course that it would go in. I had a letter, not long since, from your sister enquir ing where you were; supposing you had mov'd, I could not inform her. You seem as neglectful of your sister as I am of mine, but private letters are "the last ounce that breaks the camel's back" of a literary man. Yours very truly, N. P. WILLIS. LOWELL TO POE. [Scribner's Monthly, August, 1894.] ELMWOOD, Dec. 12, 1844. MY DEAR FRIEND, - You will forgive me for not writing sooner & for writing so little now, when I tell you that I have been for some time keeping a printing office agoing at the rate of from eight to twenty pages a day. I am printing a volume of prose (in conversation form) about poets and everything else, ["Conversations on Some of the Old Poets"] & not having prepared my copy, am obliged to write & print at once. You will like some parts of the book and dislike others. My object in writing this is to introduce you to my friend, Charles F. Briggs, who is about to start a literary weekly paper1 in New York & desires your aid. He was here a month or two since, & I took the liberty of reading to him what I had written about you & today I 1 "The Broadway Journal." received a letter from him announcing his plan & asking your address. Not knowing it, & not having time to write him I thought that the shortest way would be to introduce you to him. He will pay & I thought from something you said in your last letter that pay would be useful to you. I also took the liberty of praising you to a Mr. Colton, who has written "Tecumseh whom I suspect, from some wry faces he made on first hearing your name, you have cut up. He is publishing a magazine & I think I convinced him that it would be for his interest to engage you permanently. But I know nothing whatever of his ability to pay. & I am not to be married till I have been delivered of my book ; which will probably be before Christmas, & I shall spend the winter in Philadelphia. I shall only stop one night in New York on my way on. Returning I shall make a longer stay & shall of course see you. like Briggs & he will edit an excellent paper. Opposite, I write a note to him. Yr. affectionate friend, You will J. R. LOWELL. P. S. You must excuse me if I have blundered in recommending you to Colton. I know nothing of your circumstances save what I gleaned from your last letter, &, of course, said nothing to him which I might not say as an entire stranger to you. It is never safe to let an editor (as editors go) know that an author wants his pay. I was in hopes that I should have been able to revise my sketch of you before it appeared. It was written under adverse circumstances & was incomplete. If you do not like this method of getting acquainted, send Briggs your address. His is No. 1 Nassau St. I never wrote an introductory letter before & do not own a complete letter writer- so you must excuse any greenness about it. CHAPTER VIII. 1845. THE RAVEN; THE BROADWAY JOURNAL; THE 1845 TALES; "THE COLLECTED POEMS." POE TO GRISWOLD. [Griswold Memoir.] REV. RUFUS W. GRISWOLD. NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 1845. SIR,I perceive by a paragraph in the papers, that your "Prose Writers of America" is in press. Unless your opinions of my literary character are entirely changed, you will, I think, like something of mine, and you are welcome to whatever best pleases you, if you will permit me to furnish a corrected copy; but with your present feelings you can hardly do me justice in any criticism, and I shall be glad if you will simply say after my name : "Born 1811;1 published Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque in 1839; has resided latterly in New York." Your obedient servant, EDGAR A. POE. 1 Poe was born in 1809. — ED. SIR, GRISWOLD TO POE. [Griswold Memoir.] PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 11, 1845. Although I have some cause of quarrel with you, as you seem to remember, I do not under any circumstances permit, as you have repeatedly charged, my personal relations to influence the expression of my opinions as a critic. By the enclosed proof-sheets of what I had written before the reception of your note, you will see that I think quite as well of your works as I did when I had the pleasure of being Your friend, R. W. GRISWOLD. GRISWOLD TO POE. [Griswold Collection.] NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 1845. (Confidential). Although I have some cause of personal quarrel with you, which you will easily enough remember, I do not under any circumstances permit, as you have repeatedly charged, my private griefs to influence my judgment as a critic, or its expression. I retain, therefore, the early formed and well founded favorable opinions of your works, wh. in other days I have expressed to you, and in a new volume wh. I have in preparation, I shall endeavor to do you very perfect justice. Hence this note. Carey & Hart are publishing for me "The Prose Authors of America, and their Works," and I wish, of course, to include you in the list, not a very large one from whom I make selections. And I shall feel myself yr debtor if there being any writings of yours with wh. I may be unacquainted, you will advise of their titles, and where they may be purchased; and if, in the brief biography of you in my Poets &c. of |