The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Edgar Allan Poe [1322]
I think well, generally, of her judgments on Longfellow. They are however very much the same that you gave years ago, not quite so favorable to the poet. She gives like opinions with yours, expressed long since, of Cooper, Brown, and Hawthorn — Indeed, she seems to” agree with you in all her judgments (her prejudices and yours clash somewhat) — and this leads me to ask the question, why she does not notice you among the other American writers? I don’t believe she can see so much to admire in Hawthorne’s writings and not appreciate the merits of your Tales — I don’t believe she can find so great beauties in Shelly and Tennyson as she tells of and discover none in your poems — Is there any reason for this neglect? — Do you know who wrote
The tragedy of Witchcraft?
Write, will you not?
Yours faithfully.
Geo. W. Eveleth.
E. A. P. Esq.
Edgar Allan Poe to George W. Eveleth — January 4, 1848
New-York — Jan. 4, 1848.
My Dear Sir —
Your last, dated July 26, ends with —”Write will you not”? I have been living ever since in a constant state of intention to write, and finally concluded not to write at all until I could say something definite about The Stylus and other matters. You perceive that I now send you a Prospectus — but before I speak farther on this topic, let me succinctly reply to various points in your letter. 1. —”Hawthorne” is out — how do you like it? 2 —”The Rationale of Verse” was found to come down too heavily (as I forewarned you it did) upon some of poor Colton’s personal friends in Frogpondium — the “pundits” you know; so I gave him “a song” for it & took it back. The song was “Ulalume a Ballad” published in the December number of the Am. Rev. I enclose it as copied by the Home Journal (Willis’s paper) with the Editor’s remarks — please let me know how you like “Ulalume”. As for the “Rat. of Verse” I sold it to “Graham” at a round advance on Colton’s price, and in Grahams hands it is still — but not to remain even there; for I mean to get it back, revise or rewrite it (since “Evangeline has been published) and deliver it as a lecture when I go South & West on my Magazine expedition. 3 — I have been “so still” on account of preparation for the magazine campaign — also have been working at my book — nevertheless I have written some trifles not yet published — some which have been. 4 — My health is better — best. I have never been so well. 5 — I do not well see how I could have otherwise replied to English. You must know him, (English) before you can well estimate my reply. He is so thorough a “blatherskite” that [to] have replied to him with dignity would have been the extreme of the ludicrous. The only true plan — not to have replied to him at all — was precluded on account of the nature of some of his accusations — forgery for instance. To such charges, even from the Auto[crat] of all the Asses — a man is compelled to answer. There he had me. Answer him I must[.] But how? Believe me there exists no such dilemma as that in which a gentleman [is] placed when he is forced to reply to a blackguard. If he have any genius then is the time for its display. I confess to you that I rather like that reply of mine in a literary sense — and so do a great many of my friends. It fully answered its purpose beyond a doubt — would to Heaven every work of art did as much! You err in supposing me to have been “peevish” when I wrote the reply: — the peevishness was all “put on” as a part of my argument — of my plan: — so was the “indignation” with which I wound up. How could I be either [peev-]ish or indignant about a matter so well adapted to further my purposes? Were I able to afford so expensive a luxury as personal and especially as refutable abuse, I would [w]illingly pay any man $2000 per annum, to hammer away at me all the year round. I suppose you know that I sued the Mirror & got a verdict. English