Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, page 300
And now, having replied to all your queries let me refer to The Stylus. I am resolved to be my own publisher. To be controlled is to be ruined. My ambition is great. If I succeed, I put myself (within 2 years) in possession of a fortune & infinitely more. My plan is to go through the South & West & endeavor to interest my friends so as to commence with a list of at least 500 subscribers. With this list I can take the matter into my own hands. There are some few of my friends who have sufficient confidence in me to advance their subscriptions — but at all events succeed I will. Can you or will you help me? I have room to say no more.
Truly Yours — E A Poe.
Please re-enclose the printed slips when you have done with them. Have you seen the article on “The American Library” in the November No. of Blackwood, and if so, what do you think of it? E. A. Poe.
GEORGE W. EVELETH TO EDGAR ALLAN POE — JANUARY 11, 1848
About a year and a half ago I wrote to Mr. Colton requesting a specimen number of his Review, that having the notice of your tales, if he had it to spare. He forwarded me that and another (no. for July/46) at the same time asking my influence in the circulation of his work in Maine. I made some little effort but without accomplishing anything, then let the matter drop. Last July he wrote to me again, still soliciting aid, I didn’t think proper to go into the agency business for him myself, but procured him an agent, wishing to see the Review patronized among us, as I considered it worthy. I also said to him that I would take it myself if I were not expecting before long to have the privilege of subscribing for a Magazine conducted by you. —
From his reply of July 24./47. — “As to Poe’s Journal — supposing you take my Review at $4, a year, till his appears; — candidly I do not at all believe you will see a Magazine from him this (my italics) four years — a mere literary Maga. cannot live — I understand the matter perfectly — on account of your efforts, and to show you what my work usually is, I shall send you the Rev. this (his) year, gratis — at the same time, if you choose to send me $3. in return, you may do so” (I did choose to send the money under the circumstances, of course — my year commenced with the last July no.) “Mr. Poe’s MS was so long I could not publish it.” (I had asked him why the “Rationale of Verse” did not make its appearance) — In answer to him I asked if it was because the article was too long, putting him in mind also, of the length of “Washington and his Generals,” given in one of his preceding nos — which” article contained 17 pages, the principal part extract — I mistrust what was the reason of the non-appearance of your contribution. — From a letter of Godey of Aug. 6 — “You complain of my “soon” (he had said that “Hawthorne” would soon appear — and in reminding him of his promise afterward, I told him I thought the “soon” embraced quite a long period of time) — “I assure you that “Hawthorne” has been in the printer’s hands for three months — your letter acted as a hint, and I have sent to the office, commanding its insertion in either the Oct. or Nov. number — Mr. Poe has been on here — but it were better for his fame to have staid away. I don’t like to say much about him — he called on me quite sober — but I have heard from him elsewhere, when he was not so.” This was the first positive intimation I had that you drank, although I had suspected something long before — was afraid, from the wild imaginations manifested in your writings, that you were an opium-eater — had some chance for hope that this might not be the case, as the same wildness was evident in your childhood productions — supposed that you could not have acquired the habit when so young, and therefore hoped. — From a letter by Williamson & Burns of the “Weekly Universe,” Aug. 17/47 — “Edgar A. Poe, in the estimation of the editors of the “Universe,” holds a high rank. regarded either as an elegant tale-writer, a poet, or a critic. He will be more fairly judged after his death than during his life. His habits have been shockingly irregular, but what amendment they have undergone within the past six months we cannot say, for Mr. Poe, during that time, has been in the country — we know him personally — he is a gentleman — a man of fine taste and of warm impulses, with a generous heart. The little eccentricities of his character are never offensive except when he is drunk. We do not hear that he has any enterprise of the description intimated by you, in hand. A Magazine conducted as he is capable of conducting a Magazine, could hardly fail of success.” — They confided to me the names of the editors and contributors of the “Universe” — Do you know them? —
From a letter by Mr. Colton of Oct. 15. — “I hope Mr. Poe has done drinking — I don’t think he has drank any thing this long time. He is living in a quiet way out in the beautiful county of Westchester”. — I thanked Heaven for this news, and was glad in beholding the new prospect — for before, I had become fearful that matters were going wrong with you, as I heard nothing from you, neither by letter nor per the newspapers which have always been so regardful of your welfare — Your “Marginalia” in the Jan number of “Graham” was my next comforter — Your letter etc. is my last and best. I thank you for it truly — Well, I haven’t time now to reply succinctly to all the points in it — a notice of a part must suffice. I like “Hawthorne” generally — don’t think it is the best critical article you have ever written. “Ulalume” is the only piece of poetry I have read for some time -’tis a beauty — Before I had read two verses of it in the Am. Rev. I stopped, went back again, read it over, and vowed that Edgar A. Poe was its author — I rejoice that your health is so good — “best” — may it continue so! — $2000. per annum, for hammering, is a pretty good price to pay — there is some reason in your idea of profiting by abuse, I must confess — there isn’t much difference between praise and abuse, to a man of genius, as you intimate in your “Marginalia” — I will re-enclose the slips in my next — I have not seen the article on the Am. Library in “Blackwood.” And now, a word about The Stylus. I intended, when I commenced my letter, to have more than a word to say — intended to suggest to you a plan for the circulation of it in my vicinity; but I can’t write any more now — there has a dizziness come upon me, a dazzling of the eyes, the precursor of a sick-headache to which I am subject, so that I can scarcely see where and what I am penning — I’m a poor devil student of Medicine, and cannot do much in a pecuniary way for your enterprise — I shall forward you my subscription in advance, if you wish for it (suppose you don’t want it just yet, or I would enclose it now) — and shall do what I can in acting for you, be assured — but I must tell “you next time what. I shall try to accomplish, and what I think would be well for you to do — when will you probably start upon your Western tour? — when will you probably issue your first number? Who is the “most distinguished Am. scholar” engaged to superintend your classical department?
Yours Cordially — G. W. Eveleth
Jan. 11 —
E. A. Poe Esq.
EDGAR ALLAN POE TO GEORGE W. EVELETH — FEBRUARY 29, 1848
New-York — Feb. 29 — 48.
My Dear Sir,
I mean to start for Richmond on the 10th March. Every thing has gone as I wished it, and my final success is certain, or I abandon all claims to the title of Vates. The only contretemps of any moment, lately, has been Willis’s somewhat premature announcement of my project: — but this will only force me into action a little sooner than I had proposed. Let me now answer the points of your last letter.
Colton acted pretty much as all mere men of the world act. I think very little the worse of him for his endeavor to succeed with you at my expense. I always liked him and I believe he liked me. His intellect was o. His “I understand the matter perfectly,” amuses me. Certainly, then, it was the only matter he dil understand. “The Rationale of Verse” will appear in “Graham” after all: — I will stop in Phil: to see the proofs. As for Godey, he is a good little man and means as well as he knows how. The editor of the “Weekly Universe” speaks kindly and I find no fault with his representing my habits as “shockingly irregular”. He could not have had the “personal acquaintance” with me of which he writes; but has fallen into a very natural error. The fact is thus: — My habits are rigorously abstemious and I omit nothing of the natural regimen requisite for health: — i.e — I rise early, eat moderately, drink nothing but water, and take abundant and regular exercise in the open air. But this is my private life — my studious and literary life — and of course escapes the eye of the world. The desire for society comes upon me only when I have become excited by drink. Then only I go — that is, at these times only I have been in the practice of going among my friends: who seldom, or in fact never, having seen me unless excited, take it for granted that I am always so. Those who really know me, know better. In the meantime I shall turn the general error to account. But enough of this: the causes which maddened-me to the drinking point are no more, and I am done drinking, forever. — I do not know the “editors & contributors” of the “Weekly Universe” and was not aware of the existence of such a paper. Who are they? or is it a secret? The “most distinguished of American scholars” is Prof. Chas. Anthon, author of the “Classical Dictionary”.
I presume you have seen some newspaper notices of my late lecture on the Universe. You could have gleaned, however, no idea of what the lecture was, from what the papers said it was. All praised it — as far as I have yet seen — and all absurdly misrepresented it. The only report of it which approaches the truth, is the one I enclose — from the “Express” — written by E. A. Hopkins — a gentleman of much scientific acquirement — son of Bishop Hopkins of Vermont — but he conveys only my general idea, and his digest is full of inaccuracies. I enclose also a slip from the “Courier & Enquirer”: — please return them. To eke out a chance of your understanding what I really dil say, I add a loose summary of my propositions & results:
The General Proposition is this: — Because Nothing was, therefore All Things are.
1 — An inspection of the universality of Gravitation — i.e, of the fact that each particle tends, not to any one common point, but to every other particle — suggests perfect totality, or absolute unity, as the source of the phaenomenon.
2 — Gravity is but the mode in which is manifested the tendency of all things to return into their original unity; is but the reaction of the first Divine Act.
3 — The law regulating the return — i.e, the law of Gravitation — is but a necessary result of the necessary & sole possible mode of equable irradiation of matter through space: — this equable irradiation is necessary as a basis for the Nebular Theory of Laplace.
4 — The Universe of Stars (contradistinguished from the Universe of Space) is limited.
5 — Mind is cognizant of Matter only through its two properties, attraction and repulsion: therefore Matter is only attraction & repulsion: a finally consolidated globe of globes, being but one particle, would be without attraction, i e, gravitation; the existence of such a globe presupposes the expulsion of the separative ether which we know to exist between the particles as at present diffused: — thus the final globe would be matter without attraction & repulsion: — but these are matter: — then the final globe would be matter without matter: — i,e, no matter at all: — it must disappear. Thus Unity is Nothingness.
6. Matter, springing from Unity, sprang from Nothingness: — i,e, was created.
7. All will return to Nothingness, in returning to Unity.
Read these items after the Report. As to the Lecture, I am very quiet about it — but, if you have ever dealt with such topics, you will recognize the novelty & moment of my views. What I have propounded will (in good time) revolutionize the world of Physical & Metaphysical Science. I say this calmly — but I say it.
I shall not go till I hear from you.
Truly Yours,
E A Poe
By the bye, lest you infer that my views, in detail, are the same with those advanced in the Nebular Hypothesis, I venture to offer a few addenda, the substance of which was penned, though never printed, several years ago, under the head of — A Prediction.
As soon as the next century it will be entered in the books, that the Sun was originally condensed at once (not gradually, according to the supposition of Laplace) into his smallest size; that, thus condensed, he rotated on an axis; that this axis of rotation was not the centre of his figure, so that he not only rotated, but revolved in an elliptical orbit (the rotation and revolution are one; but I separate them for convenience of illustration); that, thus formed and thus revolving, he was on fire (in the same way that a volcano and an ignited meteoric stone are on fire) and sent into space his substance in the form of vapor, this vapor reaching farthest on the side of the larger hemisphere, partly on account of the largeness, but principally because the force of the fire was greater here; that, in due time, this vapor, not necessarily carried then to the place now occupied by Neptune, condensed into Neptune; that the planet took, as a matter of necessity, the same figure that the Sun had, which figure made his rotation a revolution in an elliptical orbit; that, in consequence of such revolution — in consequence of his being carried backward at each of the daily revolutions — the velocity of his annual revolution is not so great as it would be, if it depends solely upon the Sun’s velocity of rotation (Kepler’s Third Law); that his figure, by influencing his rotation — the heavier half, as it turns downward toward the Sun, gains an impetus sufficient to carry it by the direct line of attraction, and thus to throw outward the centre of gravity — gave him power to save himself from falling to the Sun (and, perhaps, to work himself gradually outward to the position he now holds); that he received, through a series of ages, the Sun’s heat, which penetrated to his centre, causing volcanic eruptions eventually, and thus throwing off vapor; and which evaporated substances upon his surface, till finally his moons and his gaseous ring (if it is true that he has a ring) were produced; that these moons took elliptical forms, rotated and revolved “both under one,” were kept in their monthly orbits by the centrifugal force acquired in their daily orbits, and required a longer time to make their monthly revolutions than they would have required if they had had no daily revolutions.
I said enough, without referring to the other planets, to give you an inkling of my hypothesis, which is all I intended to do. I did not design to offer any evidence of its reasonableness; since I have not, in fact, any collected, excepting as it is flitting, in the shape of a shadow, to and from within my brain.
You perceive that I hold to the idea that our Moon must rotate upon her axis oftener than she revolves round her primarily, the same being the case with the satellites accompanying Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus.
Since the penning, a closer analysis of the matter contained has led me to modify somewhat my opinion as to the origin of the satellites — that is, I think now that these came, not from vapor sent of in volcanic burnings and by simple diffusion under the solar rays, but from rings of it which were left in the inter-planetary spaces, after the precipitation of the primaries. There is no insuperable obstacle in the way of the conception that aeroites and “shooting-stars” have their source in matter which has gone off from the Earth’s surface and from our her bowels; but it is hardly supposable that a sufficient quantity could be produced thus to make a body so large as, by centrifugal force resulting from rotation, to withstand the absorptive power of its parent’s rotation. The event implied may take place not until the planets have become flaming suns — from an accumulation of their own Sun’s caloric, reaching from centre to circumference, which shall, in the lonesome latter days, melt all the elements and dissipate the solid foundations out as a scroll! {Please substitute the idea for that in “Conversation of Eiros and Charmion”)
How will that do for a postscript?
GEORGE W. EVELETH TO EDGAR ALLAN POE — MARCH 9, 1848
I am just off the bed from a Typhoid fever. I have had quite a long severe run of it. I was attacked very soon after my last to you. My life was despaired of by many of my friends — but I hoped all the time myself that I should live, and in those hopes of life was often the thought of you and your enterprise. My nerves are yet unsteady, and my intellect is not over and above clear. This is my first effort with the pen. You will probably find my characters a little scratchy withal, and will no doubt discover somewhat of the non blended with the sense of my letter.
