| | 82 | Author: | Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849 | Add | | | Title: | Poe Collection: Letter from Edgar Allan Poe to John Allan, 1828 December 22  | | | | Published: | 1999 | | | | Description: | I wrote you shortly before leaving Fort
Moultrie & am much hurt at receiving no answer.
Perhaps my letter has not reached you & under that
supposition I will recapitulate its contents. It was chiefly
to sollicit your interest in freeing me from the Army of
the U.S. in which (as Mr. Lay's letter from
Lieut Howard
informed you) I am at present a soldier. I begged
that you would suspend any judgement you might
be inclined to form, upon many untoward circumstances,
until you heard of me again — & begged you to
give my dearest love to Ma & solicit her not to let
my wayward disposition wear away the affection
she used to have for me. I mentioned that all that
was necessary to obtain my discharge from the army
was your consent in a letter to Lieut J. Howard,
who has heard of you by report, & the high character
given you by Mr. Lay; this being all that I asked
at your hands, I was hurt at your declining to answer
my letter. Since arriving at Fort Moultrie
Lieut Howard has given me an introduction to
Col. James House of the 1st
Arty to whom I was
before personally known only as a soldier of his
regiment. He spoke kindly to me. told me that
he was personally acquainted with my Grandfather
Genl. Poe
[1], with yourself & family, &
reassured me
of my immediate discharge upon your consent.
It must have been a matter of regret to me, that
when those who were strangers took such deep interest
in my welfare, that you who called me your son
should refuse me even the common civility of
answering a letter. If it is your wish to forget
that I have been your son I am too proud to remind
you of it again. I only beg you to remember that
you yourself cherished the cause of my leaving your
family. Ambition. If it has not taken the channel
you wished it, it is not the less certain of its object.
Richmond & the U. States were too narrow a sphere &
the world shall be my theatre. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 83 | Author: | Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849 | Add | | | Title: | Poe Collection: Letter from Edgar Allan Poe to John Allan, 1829 February 4 | | | | Published: | 1999 | | | | Description: | I wrote you some time ago from this place
but have as yet received no reply. Since that time
I wrote to John Mc.Kenzie desiring him to see
you personally & desire for me, of you, that you
would interest yourself in procuring me a
cadets' appointment at the Military Academy. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 84 | Author: | Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849 | Add | | | Title: | Poe Collection: Letter from Edgar Allan Poe to John Allan, 1829 March 10 | | | | Published: | 1999 | | | | Description: | I arrived on the point this morning,
in good health, and if it were not for late
occur-
-rences, should feel much happier than I have for
a long time.[2] I have had a fearful warning,
& have hardly ever known before what distress
was. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 85 | Author: | Pond, Major J. B. | Add | | | Title: | Mark Twain and George W. Cable [a machine-readable transcription] | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Description: | MARK TWAIN and GEORGE W. CABLE travelled together one season. Twain and Cable,
a
colossal attraction, a happy combination! Mark owned the show, and paid Mr. Cable $600 a week
and his travelling and hotel expenses. The manager took a percentage of the gross receipts for his
services, and was to be sole manager. If he consulted the proprietor at all during the term of the
agreement, said agreement became null and void. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 86 | Author: | Randolph, W.C.N. | Add | | | Title: | Letter from W. C. N. Randolph to A. Gordon, Jan. 13, 1896 [a machine-readable
transcription] | | | | Published: | 1995 | | | | Description: | I enclose you some papers
that will be rather a shock to you but that
will speak for themselves. It makes me
more and more convinced that we can't
safely undertake this task which is upon
us without having a thoroughly trained
inspector and not only that but a supervising
architect. Men who will be entirely in
our interests and who will be paid by
ourselves and who will be making us
frequent reports. Neither Thornton or Echols
are fit for this sort of thing; they haven't
the practical experience nor are either of
them very practical men. We ought to
take the whole affair out of the hands of
the buildings and grounds, except as
to the transference of money. As you are
probably aware I have been very much
dissatisfied with the character of the work
that has been done in the reconstruction
of the two terraces, but being very distrustful
of my own knowledge of such things I
could never shape it in such a way as to
prove to myself that I was not making a
mountain of a mole-hill. The whole thing
has made me right sick. If we are to
undertake this work with an architect who
makes all sorts of errors in his strain sheets;
with a superintendent like Echols, who has
not verified any calculations; and another
superintendent like Thornton who accepts
the architects loose ideas of weights and
strains and deems safe what, when brought
to the tables of experienced facts, proves to be
unsafe and another superintendent like
the venerable Rector who has neither the
time nor the tables nor probably the
capacity to make reliable calculations the
result will be that you and McCabe
will be damned and properly damned for
the balance of your lives and the
venerable Rector will probably be hung &
properly hung. As you may remember as
I said before may Heaven bless all
mixed Committees and save me the
trouble of having so far to force my
conscience as to bless them. Do pray
burn this letter; it is written in such
bad temper. I started in good humor
enough but as the thing has worked
upon me my gall has risen. I shall
expect you on Friday and you and I and
McCabe must talk these things over where
we can do it without any feeling that we
are treading upon other peoples toes and possibly
finding fault where fault is not due.
Send the papers back to me at once please.
Mr. McDonald has not turned up here
yet but we are expecting him every day. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 87 | Author: | Randolph, W.C.N. | Add | | | Title: | Letter from W.C.N. Randolph to Mr. Gordon, Jan. 24, 1896 [a machine-readable
transcription] | | | | Published: | 1995 | | | | Description: | I enclose you a letter
from McCabe to myself and a copy of my
reply thereto. I hope that you will give it
a good deal of thought. To my mind it
is exceedingly important. I received yours
this morning. I am glad to hear the good
account that Colonel Cutshaw and Colonel
Douglas give of Mr. Whitely; and still with
the impression that Thornton and Echols
have, it might be dangerous to appoint him.
This question of an Inspector is filled with
many difficulties. General Craighill advises
that we should leave the whole matter
to the architect; Green Peyton who you & I
trust very much thinks an Inspector would
be a mistake; and yet I am perfectly certain
that we ought to have somebody in charge of
this work on behalf of the University. In fact
in any building at the University there
should be someone, an officer of the Institution,
who would be responsible for it. Suppose
Green Peyton were Superintendent of Buildings
and Grounds, how much trouble would you
and I give ourselves about this matter? Not a
bit! So I come to the point. Our Superintendent of
Buildings and Grounds who is one of the
finest fellows in the world, and a man of
splendid intellect, is from habit, character of
mind, and training, unfit for his position.
He takes no interest in it; never can be
found and is not doing his duty. Now I am
not writing this with any harshness at all.
I am just stating to you what I know to be
facts. In addition, the Superintendent of
Buildings and Grounds is the proper
Inspector of the work that goes ont at the
University and if he was the best one in the world,
he ought not to hold the dual position of
member and servant of the Building Committee.
I think, if you all two agree with me, that the
solution of this matter is an easy one. I
am satisfied that Echols is more than
willing to give up the place as Superintendent;
that he intends to do so at the end of the
session and that he would be glad to do it
now. Then it seems to me, that the wisest thing
we can do is to select with great care an
Inspector and when the Board meets let us then
accept Mr. Echols' resignation and I think I can
arrange that it will be offered, and let us
select an appointee as Inspector Superintendent
of Buildings and Grounds. This seems to me to do
away with all the objections to the appointment of
a special Inspector. Now I myself, would be
perfectly willing to take blindly and I don't I
often say that, any man that H.D.
Whitcomb, Colonel Cutshaw and Colonel Douglas,
from a professional stand-point, knowing
these facts, would recommend to us. Think
this matter over; we cant take Thornton
into our confidence about it. In the first
place, no man can ever tell when he has an axe
to grind for himself and then every thing filters
through him to the Faculty and leads to lack
of harmony between us. Mr. Davis came to
me about the Ott matter today. I want to
have a talk to you and McCabe about it
when you come over. Please give this matter
of Inspector a great deal of thought. I am
perfectly satisfied that the master-wheel
of this reconstruction machinery is sound;
but there is a grating cog in a wheel
that will be always worrying us and may
bring us to a disgraceful break-down. Mary
tells me to say to you, that if you come
over on Saturday morning you must bring
Margaret with you and let her spend the
day with the baby. However, you must come
on Friday evening as we must have a long
talk. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 88 | Author: | Randolph, W.C.N. | Add | | | Title: | Letter from W.C.N. Randolph to Mr. McCabe, June 22, 1896
[a machine-readable transcription] | | | | Published: | 1995 | | | | Description: | A knowledge of your
intention to visit Great Britain
this summer has induced me to
request that you will undertake
a matter for the University of Va.
By the recent fire, as you are
aware, our library was almost a
total loss; to replace our buildings
lost at the same time has strained
our finances to the utmost. We
will have a sum left totally
inadequate to supply our need of
books — Our sister institutions
in this country aided us from
their own libraries to the extent
of their power. It has occurred
to me that Oxford and Cam-
bridge actuated by the same
motives of kinship and interest
might aid us in getting the
syndicates that control the Claren-
don and Pitt presses to turn over
to us some of their publications
as a donation. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 89 | Author: | Smith, Mary Stuart | Add | | | Title: | Letter from Mary Stuart Smith to Rosalie Thornton, May 3, 1896 [a
machine-readable transcription] | | | | Published: | 1995 | | | | Description: | I have been
wanting to write to you ever so long, but
will not take up limited time and space
with uninteresting excuses. I have simply
overburdened myself, and have to cry
"Mea Culpa!" in regard to many,
many omissions of duty. I know you
will be glad to hear that I got old
Mr Cummings again at work upon
our sections in the cemetery & it
looks so neat and clean, walks
all around it, included, that I
only wish you could see it before
the summer drought spoils everything.
Of course I had to resow grass seed,
for it just seems as if grass will not
retain its hold there, on account of
too much shade and the inevitable
summer droughts. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 92 | Author: | Thornton, W. M. | Add | | | Title: | Letter from W. M. Thornton to Carter Thornton, April 14, 1896; [a
machine-readable transcription] | | | | Published: | 1995 | | | | Description: | I sent off a long
letter to mamma on yesterday. Tonight
I hear that her second draft has come
and so I shall scratch this note off
for you and begin to think that you
are really coming home again, when
the money for your steamer tickets has
to be sent on. I shall surely be glad
to see you. The two troubled, sorrow-
ful years seem very long and very lone-
ly and I wonder now that I could
brave a second and a worse one after
the unhappy first. Today real dig-
ging began for our new buildings.
The other contracts are not yet let out
and will not be until May. But it
makes us all feel more cheerful to have
any actual work going on. Jack had
a card from Mrs. Stapleton this even-
ing announcing her safe arrival at
Hamburg. She is with you long since,
of course, and you have extracted all
her news. I trust she is more cheerful
under the German skies and that
the climate and life will be good
for her. She is fond of music and
will enjoy that, I know; and I think
she will be glad to be with your
mamma and Janet once more. Is
it not queer how your mamma's
little canary has perked up since
he got home? He never sang a note
from the day he left the UVa on his
journey to Montana. A few days
after I got him back I heard him
apparently trying his throat, and
now he wakes me almost every
morning, warbling away as soon as the skies brighten—
not so sweetly as of old, but still real singing again. He
would be a little buzzard, however, if he did not sing now.
The Spring is fairly opening, the air is soft and mild, and
the mocking birds are fluting away for dear life. This little
fellow is ashamed to be left out of the concert. I shall
send your mamma two announcements which will inter-
est and amuse her — one of Becnel's graduation as Doc-
tor of Medicine at the Tulane (I told her of meeting him
there) — the other of Mayberry's marriage to Miss Rhett
of Charleston. I think that is doing pretty well for both
of our old friends. The Dramatic Club had to postpone
their Easter entertainment because of Jennie Randolph's
illness. They telegraphed for Lizzie Harrison to take her place
and Lizzie is to come; but she will need some time to learn
the part and rehearse thoroughly and so the play was put
off for two or three weeks. Mary Stuart went off yesterday
to Roanoke on a visit and to be for a time under her Uncle
Willie's professional care. The poor little child looks badly
and I am afraid no doctor can do a great deal for her.
Her cheerfulness and high spirit are undaunted however;
she is always bright and gay and full of interest in life.
Dearest love to all of you from the Doc up to mamma. Write me
a line when you can. We are all well, and the various invalids of
our community are all doing nicely. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 93 | Author: | Thornton, John T. | Add | | | Title: | Letter from John T. Thornton to Mrs. E. Rosalie Thornton, Oct. 27, 1895 [a
machine-readable transcription] | | | | Published: | 1995 | | | | Description: | I write to let you know of a most
fearful calamity which has befallen the dear old
University. This morning I heard cries of fire and
found that the Annex was in flames. Everyone
was running to the Rotunda and soon a large
crowd was assembled. No water could be gotten as
high as the flames, only a miserable little stream
of water about six feet in length came from the
hose when at the level of the ground. In response
to telegrams, Lynchburg and Richmond sent
their engines by special trains, but the Lynchburg
engine was delayed in the road and did not
arrive within an hour of the expected time.
I received a telegram from Richmond when the
fire had been almost put out & wired back not
to send the engine. Their was nothing to do but
to try to keep the fire from Buckmaster's and
Tuttle's houses and to save all that was within
the Rotunda and annex. They tried to blow
up the portico between the Annex and the
rotunda in the hope that, if the engine should
arrive in time, the lib Rotunda might be saved
But all to no purpose. Soon the flames had gained
possession of the Rotunda and nothing is now
left standing but the bare and ruined walls.
The boys worked like fiends to save all that was
possible. Kent estimates that only 1/10 of the books
was saved but he is wrong—In my opinion at
least 1/3 or over were saved. The Austin Collection was
lost entirely. The statue of Jefferson, Minor's bust,
the pictures were saved in fairly good condition.
The School of Athens was lost. Uncle Frank's valuable
physical apparatus was carried out but the greater
part so broken as to be practically useless.
Only 25000 insurance wh. no where near covers
the loss. Is estimated that 75000 will scarcely
rebuild the rotunda and annex to say nothing
of loss in books and instruments. No change in
lectures which will continue as usual, the classes
meeting in Wash Hall, Temperance Hall, Museum
and Professor's offices. Papa is back in his old
room — 5 W.L. where the chairman's office will be.
Papa is so busy that he cannot write to you to
night and told me to let you know of the loss.
Am so exhausted myself that I cannot write much.
The Professors are taking it bravely — not lamenting
the past but making plans for the future.
You can imagine how distressed everyone is.
I myself, now that the excitement has worn
off, am getting more and more miserable
every minute and I can't expressed to you
my sorrow. I love this old University with all
my heart and if I who am comparatively young
am so grieved what must be the distress of those
old professor's who have worked for the University
so long and lectured so often within those
now ruined walls! What a number of blows have
struck this University within the year you have been
away! Misfortune after misfortune has crippled
its usefulness and now that this crowning glory of
the University, this building planned and built by
Jefferson, this splendid library, our so famous copy
of the School of Athens, the dear old clock that
never kept time, should be destroyed seems the
seems to be the crowning evil and the worst that
this Nemesis who pursues us could let fall on
our heads. Horrible! horrible! horrible! The things
gets worse the more I think about it. However
lamentations do no good. We can only depend
on state aid and the generosity of our alumni.
Have just opened a telegram from Geo. Anderson of
Richmond saying that he wanted to start a
subscription immediately. Telegrams of sympathy
come from all sides. O'Ferral seems especially
interested. That is a good sign that the state will help
us. Some taking a cheerful view of the situation
say that in the end it will benefit the U Va. by
bringing her more before the people. Cannot offer
any opinion on that subject. Thank you very much
for the beautiful pair of gloves and more especially for
thinking of me and of my 20th anniversary. Had
intended to write you a special letter of thanks to-day
but am too tired and miserable. Love to the children
and yourself. Excuse hasty scribble, & believe me | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 94 | Author: | Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 | Add | | | Title: | Letter, Mark Twain, Hartford, CT, to Fred J. Hall, 1890 Dec 27 [a machine-readable transcription] | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Description: | I don't believe Whitford.
Webster was too big a coward
to bring a suit when advised
against it. The real mistake
was in trusting law business
to an ignorant, blethering
gas-pipe like Whitford.
I am not saying this in
hatred, for I do not dislike
Whitford. He is simply a
damned fool — in Court —
& will infallibly lose every
suit you put into his hands.
If you are going to have
any [illeg.]lawsuits with Gill,
I beg that you will either
compromise or have
some other law conduct
the thing. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 95 | Author: | Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 | Add | | | Title: | The Regular Toast. Woman—God Bless Her [a machine-readable transcription] | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Description: | The toast includes
the sex, universally: it is to Woman,
comprehensively, wheresoever
she may be found. Let us con-
sider her ways. First, comes the
matter of dress. This is a most
important consideration, in a
subject of this nature, & must
be disposed of before we can
intelligently proceed to examine the profounder
depths of the theme. For text, let
us take the dress of two antipodal
types — the savage woman of
Central Africa, & the cultivated
daughter of our high modern
civilization. Among the
Fans, a great negro tribe, a woman,
when dressed for breakfast, or
home, or to go to market, or go out
a pick-up dinner, or to sit at home,
or to go out calling, or to a simple or to take a simple tea with
friends & neighbors, or to go out
calling, does not wear anything
at all but just her complexion.
That is all; that is her entire
outfit. It is the lightest cos-
tume in the world, but is made
of the darkest material. It has
often been mistaken for mourning.
It is the trimmest, & neatest, & grace-
fulest costume that is now in
fashion; it wears well, is fast
colors, doesn't show dirt; you
don't have to send it down town
to wash, & have some of it come
back scorched with the flat-iron, &
some of it with the buttons ironed
off, & some of it petrified with
starch, & some of it chewed by the
calf, & some of it rotted with
acids, & some of it exchanged
for other customers' things that
haven't any virtue but holiness,
& don't fit you anyhow,
& ten-twelfths of the pieces over-
charged for, & the rest of the dozen
stolen"mislaid." And it always fits; it is the
perfection of a fit. And it is the
handiest dress in the whole realm
of fashion. It is always ready, always "done up."
When you call on a Fan lady &
send up your card, the hired
girl never says, "Please take
a seat, madam is dressing —
she will be down in three-quarters
of an hour." No, madam is
always dressed, always ready
to receive; & before you can get
the door-mat before your eyes, she
is in your midst. And the hired
girl never has to say to a lady
visitor, "Please excuse madam,
she is undressing;" & even if
she ever had to bring such an
excuse at all, she wouldn't say
it in that way: she would say,
"Please excuse madam, she's skins,
not herself!" Then again, the
Fan ladies don't go to church to
see what each other has got on;
& they don't go back home & describe
it & slander it. The farthest they
ever go is to say some little biting
thing about the ultra fashionables | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 99 | Author: | Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 | Add | | | Title: | Letter, Mark Twain, Langham Hotel, London, to (Elisha) Bliss, (1873) Jul 7 [a machine-readable transcription] | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Description: | Finally concluded
not to go to Paris.
So you can take
the Herald letters &
put them in a pam-
phlet along with the
Enclosed article
about the Jumping
Frog in French,
(which is entirely new)
& then add enough
[Written in margin:
I enclose Prefatory remarks,
"To the Reader." You can mention,
if you choose, that the Frog article
has not been printed before.
of my old sketches to
make a good fat
25 cent pamphlet
& let it slide — but
don't charge more
than 25c nor less.
If you haven't a
Routledge edition of
my sketches to select
from you will find
one at my house or
Warner's. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
|
