Poe Collection: Letter from Edgar Allan Poe to John Allan, 1829 October 30

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849

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About the electronic version


Poe Collection: Letter from Edgar Allan Poe to John Allan, 1829 October 30
Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849

Creation of machine-readable version: Jane F. Westenfeld, Pelletier Library, Allegheny CollegeRare

Conversion to TEI.2-conformant markup: Jane F. Westenfeld for the University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center. ca. 5 kilobytes
This version available from the University of Virginia Library
Charlottesville, Virginia

     Publicly accessible


http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/modeng/modengP.browse.html
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/rbs/99/
1999

     Rare Book School 1999; Electronic Texts and Images


Note: Page images have been included from the original source.
About the print version


Poe Collection: Letter from Edgar Allan Poe to John Allan, 1829 October 30
Edgar Allan Poe 2 p.
Source copy consulted: Manuscript, Valentine Museum

     Prepared for the University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center.


Published: 1829-10-30


English nonfiction prose masculine Special Collections LCSH
Revisions to the electronic version
October 1999 corrector Carolyn Fay, Matthew Gibson, Lisa Spiro and Johnnie Wilcox
  • Updated tagging and transcription; added informational notes.



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    Summary

         Manuscript, Valentine Museum, Richmond, Virginia; Poe writes to John Allan, his stepfather, explaining his lack of appointment to West Point in September. Edgar plans to contact Mr. Eaton at West Point and to go to Washington to obtain his letter of appointment. He hopes that this gesture will give his stepfather reason to forgive him for his former errors. He also indicates in this letter that he will send to John Allan his manuscript of his poems once Carey & Lea return them.

    Envelope

         


         


    E.A. Poe
    Oct 30, 1829

    John Allan Esq.
    Richmond
    Va:

    Letter from Edgar Allan Poe to John Allan dated October 30, 1829
    Manuscript, Valentine Museum, Richmond, Virginia

    -1-





    Balt Oct 30, 1829.
    Dear Pa-

    I received your letter this evening
    and am grieved that I can give you no
    positive evidence of my industry & zeal as
    regards the appt. at W. Point: unless you will
    write to Mr. Eaton himself who well remembers
    me & the earnest tones of my afflication
    . But you are labouring under a mistake
    which I beg you to correct by reference to all
    my former letters -- I stated that Mr. Eaton
    told me that an appt. could be obtained by Sepr :
    provided there were a sufficient number rejected
    at the June examination & regretted that I had
    not made an earlier application -- that at all
    events with the strong recommendations I had
    brought that I should have an appt. at the
    next term which is in June next --
    So far from having any doubts of my appt. at
    that time, I am as certain of obtaining it
    as I am of being alive --

          If you find this statement to be [ in] correct then
    condemn me-otherwise acquit me of
    any intention to practise upon your good nature
    -- which I now feel myself to be above --

          It is my intention upon the receipt of your
    letter to go again to Washington &, thō
    contrary to the usual practice, I will get
    Mr. Eaton to give me my letter of appt. now

    -2-



    -it will consist of an order to repair to W. P.
    in June for examination &c -- & forward
    it to you that all doubts may be removed-
    I will tell him why I want it at present
    & I think he will give it.

         I would have sent you the M.S. of my
    Poems long ago for your approval, but
    since I have collected them they have
    been continually in the hands of some
    person or another & I have not had them
    in my own possession since Carey & Lea
    took them. I will send them to you at
    the first opportunity --

    I am sorry that your letters to me
    have still with them a tone of anger
    as if my former errors were not forgiven
    -if I know how to regain your affection
    God knows I would do any thing I
    could.

    I am
    Yours affectionately


    Edgard A. Poe