Tales and poems (Volume 1) online

THE TALES AND POEMS



OF



EDGAR ALLAN POE

WITH BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY

M

JOHN H. INGRAM



ti (Drigiual (Otcljings, wc }3l)otogramrres
anb a 2Ccu) (Ertctycfo Portrait



IN Six VOLUMES

VOL. i
TALES OF IMAGINATION



_
PHILADELPHIA

GEORGE BARRIE, PUBLISHER



P5;
Eo.



PREFACE.



Several new features in this collection of Edgar
Allan Poe s Tales and Poems claim attention.
This is the first occasion on which the Tales can
be said to have been illustrated, as it is, also, the
first time in which any real attempt has been made
to classify them : the Tales of Imagination have
now been separated to their manifest advantage
from the other stories, the Tales of Humor, the
Miscellaneous Stories and the Poems. A very
important feature in this edition is the lengthy
fragment, " The Journal of Julius Rodman : "
this romance will be quite new to Poe s admirers,
as it has not appeared in any previous collection.
Among the Poems, which have now been chrono
logically arranged, some new pieces will, also, be
found. All the writings included in this edition
have been thoroughly corrected and revised, and,

(v)



M rt i /O



vi PREFACE.

generally, from their author s amended copies.
Attention may, likewise, be called to the circum
stance that the Introductory Essay deals only
with the facts, and quite ignores the numerous
fictions of Poe s career.




m



THE GOLD -BUG



CONTENTS OF VOL. I.



TALES OF IMAGINATION.

PAGE.

THE GOLD-BUG 1

-4 BERENICE 49

j. ELEONORA 61

i

LlGEIA 69

1

MORELLA . . . . . 9^

METZENGERSTEIN ... ... 99

* THE IMP OF THE PERVERSE Ill

-^THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER* 1 21

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM 147

THE MASK OF THE RED DEATH ^ 11)7

_-j- THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO 177

MESMERIC REVELATION 187

THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR . 201

IVIs. FOUND IN A BOTTLE 215

" A DESCENT INTO THE MAELSTROM 229

THE BLACK CAT 251

THE ASSIGNATION 265

"XCHE TELL-TALE HEART 281



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOL. I.

PAGE.

THE GOLD-BUG,

Photogravure after Herpin Frontispiece

THE GOLD-BUG,

Photogravure after Ferat 24

BERENICE,

Drawn and etched by Wogel 49

LIGKIA,

Drawn and etched by Wogel 69

METZENGERSTEIN,

Drawn and etched by Wogel 99

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER,

Etched by E. Abot after Wogel 121

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM,

Photogravure after Ferat 147

THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR,

Drawn and etched by Wogel 201

Ms. FOUND IN A BOTTLE,

Drawn and etched by Wogel 215

THE BLACK CAT,

Photogravure after Meyer ........ 251



TALES OF IMAGINATION



TALES OF IMAGINATION.



THE GOLD-BUG.

What ho ! what ho ! this fellow is dancing mad !
He hath been bitten by the Tarantula.

All in the Wrong.

Many years ago I contracted an intimacy with a Mr.
William Legrand. He was of an ancient Huguenot
family and had once been wealthy ; but a series of
misfortunes had reduced him to want. To avoid the
mortification consequent upon his disasters, he left
New Orleans, the city of his forefathers, and took
up his residence at Sullivan s Island, near Charleston,
South Carolina.

This Island is a very singular one. It consists of
little else than sea sand, and is about three miles
long. Its breadth at no point exceeds a quarter of a
mile. It is separated from the mainland by a scarcely
perceptible creek, oozing its way through a wilderness
of reeds and slime, a favorite resort of the marsh-hen.
The vegetation, as might be supposed, is scant, or at
least dwarfish. No trees of any magnitude are to be
seen. Near the western extremity, where Fort Moultrie
stands, and where are some miserable frame build
ings, tenanted, during summer, by the fugitives from
Charleston dust and fever, may be found, indeed, the
Vol. I.-l.



2 THE GOLD-BUG.

bristly palmetto ; but the whole island, with the excep
tion of this western point, and a line of hard, white
beach on the sea-coast, is covered with a dense under
growth of the sweet myrtle, so much prized by the
horticulturists of England. The shrub here often
attains the height of fifteen or twenty feet, and forms
an almost impenetrable coppice, burthening the air with
its fragrance.

In the inmost recesses of this coppice, not far from
the eastern or more remote end of the island, Legrand
had built himself a small hut, which he occupied when
I first, by mere accident, made his acquaintance. This
soon ripened into friendship, for there was much in
the recluse to excite interest and esteem. I found him
well educated, with unusual powers of mind, but in
fected with misanthropy, and subject to perverse moods
of alternate enthusiasm and melancholy. He had with
him many books, but rarely employed them. His chief
amusements were gunning and fishing, or sauntering
along the beach and through the myrtles, in quest of
shells or entomological specimens ; his collection of
the latter might have been envied by a Swammerdamm.
In these excursions he was usually accompanied by an
old negro called Jupiter, who had been manumitted
before the reverses of the family, but who could be in
duced, neither by threats nor by promises, to abandon
what he considered his right of attendance upon the
footsteps of his young " Massa Will." It is not im
probable that the relatives of Legrand, conceiving him
to be somewhat unsettled in intellect, had contrived to
instill this obstinacy into Jupiter, with a view to the
supervision and guardianship of the wanderer.

The winters in the latitude of Sullivan s Island are
seldom very severe, and in the fall of the year it is a



THE GOLD-BUG. 3

rare event indeed when a fire is considered necessary.
About the middle of October, 18 , there occurred,
however, a day of remarkable chilliness. Just before
sunset I scrambled my way through the evergreens to
the hut of my friend, whom I had not visited for several
weeks my residence being at that time in Charleston,
a distance of nine miles from the island, while the
facilities of passage and re-passage were very far behind
those of the present day. Upon reaching the hut I
rapped, as was my custom, and getting no reply, sought
for the key where I knew it was secreted, unlocked the
door and went in. A fine fire was blazing upon the
hearth. It was a novelty and by no means an un
grateful one. I threw off an overcoat and took an arm
chair by the crackling logs and awaited patiently the
arrival of my hosts.

Soon after dark they arrived and gave me a most
cordial welcome. Jupiter, grinning from ear to ear,
bustled about to prepare some marsh-hens for supper.
Legrand was in one of his fits how else shall I term
them? of enthusiasm. He had found an unknown
bivalve, forming a new genus, and, more than this, he
had hunted down and secured, with Jupiter s assist
ance, a scarabceus which he believed to be totally new,
but in respect to which he wished to have my opinion
on the morrow.

"And why not to-night?" I asked, rubbing my
hands over the blaze, and wishing the whole tribe of
scarabcei at the devil.

" Ah, if I had only known you were here !" said
Legrand, " but its so long since I saw you ; and how
could I foresee that you would pay me a visit this very
night of all others? As I was coming home I met
Lieutenant G , from the fort and very foolishly



4 THE GOLD-BUG.

I lent him the bug ; so it will be impossible for you to
see it until the morning. Stay here to-night, and I
will send Jup down for it at sunrise. It is the loveliest
thing in creation ! "

" What ! sunrise ! "

" Nonsense ! no ! the bug. It is of a brilliant gold
color about the size of a large hickory-nut with
two jet black spots near one extremity of the back,
and another, somewhat longer, at the other. The
antennw are "

" Dcy ain t no tin in him, Massa Will, I keep a
tellin on you," here interrupted Jupiter ; " de bug is
a goole bug, solid, ebery bit of him, inside and all, sep
him wing neber feel half so hebby a bug in my life."

" Well, suppose it is, Jup," replied Legrand, some
what more earnestly, it seemed to me, than the case
demanded, "is that any reason for your letting the
birds burn? The color" here he turned to me
"is really almost enough to warrant Jupiter s idea.
You never saw a more brilliant metallic lustre than
the scales emit but of this you cannot judge till to
morrow. In the meantime I can give you some idea
of the shape." Saying this, he seated himself at a
small table, on which were a pen and ink, but no
paper. He looked for some in a drawer, but found
none.

"Never mind," said he at length, "this will
answer ; " and he drew from his waistcoat pocket a
scrap of what I took to be very dirty foolscap, and
made upon it a rough drawing with the pen. While
he did this I retained my seat by the fire, for I was
still chilly. When the design was complete, he handed
it to me without rising. As I received it, a loud growl
was heard, succeeded by a scratching at the door.



THE GOLD-BUG. 5

Jupiter opened it, and a large Newfoundland, belong
ing to Legrand, rushed in, leaped upon my shoulders,
and loaded me with caresses ; for I had shown him
much attention during previous visits. When his
gambols were over, I looked at the paper, and, to speak
the truth, found myself not a little puzzled at what my
friend had depicted.

" Well ! " I said, after contemplating it for some min
utes, " this is a strange scarabteu*, I must confess : new to
me : never saw anything like it before unless it was a
skull, or a death s-head which it more nearly resembles
than anything else that has come under my observation."

" A death s-head ! " echoed Legrand" Oh yes-
well, it has something of that appearance upon paper,
no doubt. The two upper black spots look like eyes,
eh ? and the longer one at the bottom like a mouth
and then the shape of the whole is oval."

"Perhaps so," said I; "but, Legrand, I fear you are
no artist. I must wait until I see the beetle itself, if I
am to form any idea of its personal appearance."

" Well, I don t know," said he, a little nettled, " I
draw tolerably should do it, at least have had good
masters, and flatter myself that I am not quite a block
head."

" But, my dear fellow, you are joking then," said I ;
" this is a very passable shall indeed, I may say that it
is a very excellent skull, according to the vulgar notions
about such specimens of physiology and your scara-
bceas must be the queerest scarabceus in the world if it
resemble it. Why, we may get up a very thrilling bit
of superstition upon this hint. I presume you will call
the bug scarabceas caput hominis, or something of that
kind there are many similar titles in the Natural His
tories. But where are the anteuuce you spoke of? "



6 THE GOLD-BUG.

"The antenme!" said Legrand, who seemed to be
getting unaccountably warm upon the subject ; " I am
sure you must see the antennae. I made them as distinct
as they are in the original insect, and I presume that is
sufficient."

" Well, well," I said, " perhaps you have still I
don t see them ; " and I handed him the paper without
additional remark, not wishing to ruffle his temper ; but
I was much surprised at the turn affairs had taken ; his
ill-humor puzzled me and, as for the drawing of the
beetle, there were positively no antennce visible, and the
whole did bear a very close resemblance to the ordinary
cuts of a death s-head.

He received the paper very peevishly, and was about
to crumple it, apparently to throw it in the fire, when a
casual glance at the design seemed suddenly to rivet his
attention. In an instant his face grew violently red in
another as excessively pale. For some minutes he
continued to scrutinize the drawing minutely where he
sat. At length he arose, took a candle from the table,
and proceeded to seat himself upon a sea-chest in the
farthest corner of the room. Here again he made
an anxious examination of the paper; turning it in
all directions. He said nothing, however, and his
conduct greatly astonished me ; yet I thought it
prudent not -to exacerbate the growing moodiness of
his temper by any comment. Presently he took from
his coat pocket a wallet, placed the paper carefully in
it, and deposited both in a writing-desk, which he
locked. He now grew more composed in his de
meanor ; but his original air of enthusiasm had quite
disappeared. Yet he seemed not so much sulky as
abstracted. As the evening wore away he became
more and more absorbed in reverie, from which no



THE GOLD-BUG. 7

sallies of mine could arouse him. It had been my
intention to pass the night at the hut, as I had fre
quently done before, but seeing my host in this mood,
I deemed it proper to take leave. He did not press
me to remain, but, as I departed, he shook my hand
with even more than his usual cordiality.

It was about a month after this (and during the
interval I had seen nothing of Legrand) when I re
ceived a visit, at Charleston, from his man, Jupiter.
I had never seen the good old negro look so dispirited,
and I feared that some serious disaster had befallen my
friend.

" Well, Jup," said I, " what is the matter now? how
is your master ? "

" Why, to speak de troof, massa, him not so berry well
as mought be."

" Not well ! I am truly sorry to hear it. What does
he complain of? "

"Dar! dat s it! him nebber plain of notin but
him berry sick for all dat."

" Very sick, Jupiter ! why didn t you say so at
once ? Is he confined to bed ? "

" No, dat he aint ! he aint find nowhar dat s just
whar de shoe pinch my mind is got to be berry hebby
bout poor Massa Will."

" Jupiter, I should like to understand what it is you
are talking about. You say your master is sick. Hasn t
he told you what ails him ? "

" Why, massa, taint worf while for to git mad about
de matter Massa Will say noffin at all aint de matter
wid him but den what make him go about looking
dis here way, wid he head down and he soldiers up, and
as white as a gose ? And den he keep a syphon all de
time "



8 THE GOLD-BUG.

11 Keeps a what, Jupiter ? "

" Keeps a syphon wid de figgurs on de slate de
queerest figgurs I ebber did see. Ise gittin to be
skeered, I tell you. Hab for to keep mighty tight eye
pon him noovers. Todder day he gib me slip fore de
sun up, and was gone de whole ob de blessed day. I
had a big stick ready cut for to gib him deuced good
beating when he did come But Ise sich a fool dat I
hadn t de heart arter all he look so berry poorly."

"Eh? what? ah yes! upon the whole I think
you had better not be too severe with the poor fellow
don t flog him, Jupiter he can t very well stand it
but can you form no idea of what has occasioned this
illness, or rather this change of conduct ? Has anything
unpleasant happened since I saw you ? "

" No, massa, dey aint bin nuffin unpleasant since den
twas fore den, I m feared twas de berry day you
was dare."

" How ? what do you mean ? "

" Why, massa, I mean de bug dare now."

" The what ? "

" De bug I m berry sartain dat Massa Will bin bit
somewhere bout de head by dat goole-bug."

" And what cause have you, Jupiter, for such a sup
position ? "

" Claws enuff, massa, and mouff too. I nebber did
see sich a deuced bug he kick and he bite ebery ting
what cum near him. Massa Will cotch him fuss, but
had for to let him go gin mighty quick, I tell you
den was de time he must ha got de bite. I didn t like
de look ob de bug mouff, myself, no how, so I wouldn t
take hold ob him wid my finger, but I cotch him wid a
piece ob paper dat I found. I rap him up in de paper
and stuff piece ob it in he mouff dat was de way."



THE GOLD-BUG. 9

"And you think, then, that your master was really
bitten by the beetle, and that the bite made him sick ? "

" I don t tink noffin about it I nose it. What make
him dream bout de goole so much, if taint cause he bit
by de goole-bug ? Ise heerd bout dem goole-bugs fore
dis."

" But how do you know he dreams about gold ? "

" How I know ? why, cause he talk about it in he
sleep dat s how I nose."

" Well, Jup, perhaps you are right ; but to what for
tunate circumstance am I to attribute the honor of a
visit from you to-day ? "

" What de matter, massa? "

" Did you bring any message from Mr. Legrand ? "

" No, massa, I bring dis here pissel ; " and here Jupiter
handed me a note which ran thus :

" MY DEAR , Why have I not seen you for so

long a time ? I hope you have not been so foolish as to
take offence at any little brusquerie of mine ; but no,
that is improbable.

" Since I saw you I have had great cause for anxiety.
I have something to tell you, yet scarcely know how to
tell it, or whether I should tell it at all.

" I have not been quite well for some days past,
and poor old Jup annoys me, almost beyond endurance,
by his well-meant attentions. Would you believe
it?- 1 he had prepared a huge stick, the other day,
with which to chastise me for giving him the slip, and
spending the day, solux, among the hills on the main
land. I verily believe that my ill looks alone saved me
a flogging.

" I have made no addition to my cabinet since we
met.



10 THE GOLD-BUG.

" If you can, in any way, make it convenient, come
over with Jupiter. Do come. I wish to see you to-night,
upon business of importance. I assure you that it is of
the highest importance. Ever yours,

" WILLIAM LEGRAND."

There was something in the tone of this note which
gave me great uneasiness. Its whole style differed
materially from that of Legrand. What could he be
dreaming of? What new crotchet possessed his excit
able brain ? What " business of the highest impor
tance " could he possibly have to transact ? Jupiter s
account of him boded no good. I dreaded lest the
continued pressure of misfortune had, at length, fairly
unsettled the reason of my friend. Without a moment s
hesitation, therefore, I prepared to accompany the
negro.

Upon reaching the wharf, I noticed a scythe and
three spades, all apparently new, lying in the bottom of
the boat in which we were to embark.

" What is the meaning of all this, Jup ? " I inquired.

" Him syfe, massa, and spade."

" Very true ; but what are they doing here ? "

" Him de syfe and de spade what Massa Will sis pon
my buying for him in de town, and de debbil s own lot
of money I had to gib for em."

" But what, in the name of all that is mysterious,
is your Massa Will going to do with scythes and
spades ? "

" Dat s more dan / know, and debbil take me if I
don t blieve tis more dan he know too. But it s all
cum ob de bug."

Finding that no satisfaction was to be obtained of
Jupiter, whose whole intellect seemed to be absorbed



THE GOLD-BUG. 11

by " de bug," I now stepped into the boat and made
sail. With a fair and strong breeze we soon ran into
the little cove to the northward of Fort Moultrie, and
a walk of some two miles brought us to the hut. It
was about three in the afternoon when we arrived.
Legrand had been awaiting us in eager expectation.
He grasped my hand with a nervous empressement
which alarmed me and strengthened the suspicions
already entertained. His countenance was pale even
to ghastliness, and his deep-set eyes glared with un
natural lustre. After some inquiries respecting his
health, I asked him, not knowing what better to say,
if he had yet obtained the scarabceus from Lieutenant
G .

" Oh, yes," he replied, coloring violently, " I got it
from him the next morning. Nothing should tempt me
to part with that scarabceiLs. Do you know that Jupiter
is quite right about it ? "

" In what way ? " I asked, with a sad foreboding at
heart.

" In supposing it to be a bug of real gold." He said
this with an air of profound seriousness, and I felt in
expressibly shocked.

" This bug is to make my fortune," he continued,
with a triumphant smile, " to reinstate me in my family
possessions. Is it any wonder, then, that I prize it?
Since Fortune has thought fit to bestow it upon me, I
have only to use it properly and I shall arrive at the
gold of which it is the index. Jupiter, bring me that
scarabceus ! "

" What ! de bug, massa ? I d rudder not go fer
trubble dat bug you mus git him for you own self."
Hereupon Legrand arose, with a grave and stately air,
and brought me the beetle from a glass case in which



12 THE GOLD-BUG.

it was enclosed. It was a beautiful scarabceus, and, at
that time, unknown to naturalists of course a great
prize in a scientific point of view. There were two
round black spots near one extremity of the back, and
a long one near the other. The scales were exceedingly
hard and glossy, with all the appearance of burnished
gold. The weight of the insect was very remarkable,
and, taking all things into consideration, I could
hardly blame Jupiter for his opinion respecting it;
but what to make of Legrand s concordance with that
opinion, I could not, for the life of me, tell.

" I sent for you," said he in a grandiloquent tone,
when I had completed my examination of the beetle,
4< I sent for you, that I might have your counsel and
assistance in furthering the views of Fate and of the
bug"-

" My dear Legrand," I cried, interrupting him, " you
are certainly unwell, and had better use some little pre
cautions. You shall go to bed, and I will remain with
you a few days, until you get over this. You are
feverish and "-

" Feel my pulse," said he.

I felt it, and, to say the truth, found not the slightest
indication of fever.

" But you may be ill and yet have no fever. Allow
me this once to prescribe for you. In the first place, go
to bed. In the next "

" You are mistaken," he interposed ; " I am as well
as I can expect to be under the excitement which I
suffer. If you really wish me well, you will relieve this
excitement."

"And how is this to be done ? "

" Very easily. Jupiter and myself are going upon
an expedition into the hills, upon the mainland, and,



THE GOLD- BUG. 13

in this expedition, we shall need the aid of some person
in whom we can confide. You are the only one we can
trust. Whether we succeed or fail, the excitement which
you now perceive in me will be equally allayed."

" I am anxious to oblige you in any way," I replied ;
" but do you mean to say that this infernal beetle has
any connection with your expedition into the hills?"

" It has."

" Then, Legrand, I can become a party to no such
absurd proceeding."

" I am sorry very sorry for we shall have to try it
by ourselves."

" Try it by yourselves ! The man is surely mad !
but stay ! how long do you propose to be absent ? "

" Probably all night. We shall start immediately,
and be back, at all events, by sunrise."

" And will you promise me, upon your honor, that
when this freak of yours is over, and the bug business
(good God !) settled to your satisfaction, you will then
return home and follow my advice implicitly, as that of
your physician ? "

" Yes, I promise ; and now let us be off, for we have
no time to lose."

With a heavy heart I accompanied my friend. We
started about four o clock Legrand, Jupiter, the dog,
and myself. Jupiter had with him the scythe and
spades the whole of which he insisted upon carrying
more through fear, it seemed to me, of trusting
either of the implements within reach of his master,
than from any excess of industry or complaisance.
His demeanor was dogged in the extreme, and " dat
deuced bug" were the sole words which escaped his
lips during the journey. For my own part, I had
charge of a couple of dark lanterns, while Legrand



14 THE GOLD-BUG.

contented himself with the scarabceus, which he carried
attached to the end of a bit of whip-cord ; twirling it
to and fro, with the air of a conjurer, as he went.
When I observed this last plain evidence of my friend s
aberration of mind, I could scarcely refrain from tears.
I thought it best, however, to humor his fancy, at
least for the present, or until I could adopt some more
energetic measures with a chance of success. In the
meantime I endeavored, but all in vain, to sound him
in regard to the object of the expedition. Having suc
ceeded in inducing me to accompany him, he seemed
unwilling to hold conversation upon any topic of
minor importance, and to all my questions vouchsafed
no other reply than " We shall see ! "

We crossed the creek at the head of the island by
means of a skiff, and, ascending the high grounds on
the shore of the mainland, proceeded in a north
westerly direction, through a tract of country exces
sively wild and desolate, where no trace of a human
footstep was to be seen. Legrand led the way with
decision ; pausing only for an instant, here and there,
to consult what appeared to be certain landmarks of
his own contrivance upon a former occasion.