The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Edgar Allan Poe [1398]
And as for these personal enemies, I cannot see that you need put yourself to any especial trouble about THEM. Let a fool alone — especially if he be both a scoundrel and a fool — and he will kill himself far sooner than you can kill him by any active exertion. Besides — as to the real philosophy of the thing — you should regard small animosities — the animosities of small men — of the literary animalculae (who have their uses, beyond doubt) — as so many tokens of your ascent — or, rather as so many stepping stones to your ambition. I have never yet been able to make up my mind whether I regard as the higher compliment, the approbation of a man of honor and talent, or the abuse of an ass or a blackguard. Both are excellent in their way — for a man who looks steadily up.
If my opinion of “The Ladye Annabel” can be of any service to you whatever, you have my full permission to publish this letter, or any portion of it you may deem proper.
With respect and friendship,
Yours,
Edgar A Poe
To George Lippard, Esq.
Chestnut and Seventh Sts.
Edgar Allan Poe to Jane Ermina Locke — March 10, 1847
New-York, March 10. 1847
My Dear Madam,
>>Your kind letter of Feb. 21<<.
In >>replying to<< ans[w]eri[n]g your kind letter >>of Feb. 21<< permit me in the very first place to >>say<< absolve myself from >>any<< a suspicion >>of discourtesy to yourself<< — >>in not having<< sooner >>replied to you.<< which, under the circumstances you could scarcely have failed to entertain — >>a suspicion of in regard to<<< in regard to m> me — and >>suspicio<< one >>which it gives me the deepest regret<< a suspicion of my >>my<< very g[r]oss discourtesy towards yourself in not having more promptly replied >>to the<< to you. I assure you, madam, that your letter dated Feb. 21 — has only this moment reached me >>, and through a channel and<< A[l]though postmarked >>in<< Lowell &c in the ordinary manner, it was handed to >>me<< a friend of mine, for me, by Mr Freeman Hunt of the Merchants’ Magazine, without any explanation of the mode in which it came into his hands or of the cause of its detention. Being >>too<< still too unwell to leave my room I have been prevented as yet from >>making inquiry respecting<< satisfyi[ng] myself on these points, and of course cannot now delay replying to your >>kind<< noble and generous words even until I shall shall have an opportunity of >>doing so. << making >>the inv the investigation<<. inquiry.
Your beautiful lines >>were written<< appeared at a time when < be[c]> I was indeed very ill, and >>I<< might never have seen them but f[or th]e kindness of Mr Willis who enclosed them to me — and who knew me too well to suppose >>that<< as some of my friends did that I I would be pained by so sweet an evidence of interest on the part of one of whose >>writings spirit<< At the same time I could not help >>seeing and<< fearing that should you see my letter to Mr Willis >>published<< (in “The Home Journal” in which a natural pride which I feel you could not blame impelled me to >>disavow my necessities<< shrink from public charity even at the cost of >>disavowing<< < expense of truth at denying> those necessities which were but too real — and an illness which I t[h]en expected would >>a<< soon terminate in death — I could not help fearing that >>when you saw<< should you see this letter you would yourself feel pained at having caused me pain — at having been the means of giving farther publicity to a >>poverty<<< n unfounded> report >>which was unfounded<< — at all events to >>a<< the report >>of a poverty and a wretchedness<< which >>at all events<< (since the world regards