University of Virginia - Corks and Curls Yearbook (Charlottesville, VA)

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1909 CORKS AND CURLS 5 and springs from no known cause or condition. Poor Poe! This melancholy veil hung over him to the end. Sorrow upon sorrow followed till he might have felt with Milt0n,s Adam that it were best Hto gladly lay me in my mother's lap, and be at peace? I The carping 0f Poels enemies will soon be heard no more. In a few places, it is true, there still lingers a dislike for him on account of his wayward - and irregular habits. But in a generation his faults will be forgotten and his genius alone remembered. This is as it should be. The good that men do should live after them, the bad should be interred with their bones. hit Edgar Allan Poe was not a bad man. Burns says that a mathematician Without religion is a probable Character, but an irreligious poet would be a monster. The heart of Edgar Poe was pure. Never did he write a word that could be called unclean even by the unco good. In all his writings is that something clean and high and pure. incompatible with our idea of badness. Many have been the articles written on Poe during this year Of his cen- tennial. And CORKS AND CURLS, though this is not the first time he has been its inspiration, deems it wise to again make him the subject of its dedication. Not because it 'will add to his name and fame, but because when a century hence we shall be looked back upon it can not be said that we were neglectful Of this wofld-known alumnus. EMORY WIDENER. --v1ll -u

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4 CORKS AND CURLS VOLXXII spirits of both these men soared far above the grovelling bread-and-butter getters of their times. And each had his llLost Lenore V There is little need to repeat here the prosaic facts of Poeis life. The summaries given in the old books read about as follows: EDGAR ALLAN POE 0809-18491, from Virginia, writer of weird tales, and a poet. Talesw HThe Gold Bug? 1gThe Black Cat? lilHans Pfaalf, llThe Purloined Letter? HThe Tale of the Ragged Mountains? detective and ghost stories. Poems-- llThe Ravenfl llAnnabel Leef llThe Bellsf lillsrafel;U and 1 Po Helen? Wrote criticisms, most original of all our writers, of wonderful imagination, has a strange Charm not easy to explain. A sad, bad life, ending in a hospital, etCu February the fourteenth, eighteen and twenty-six, Edgar A. Poe matricu- lated at the University of Virginia. He was at that time seventeen years old, llsomewhat short in stature, thick-set, compact, slightly bowelegged, with the rapid and jerky gait of an English boy; his face, clustered about by dark, curly hair, wore usually a grave and melancholy expression; his natural shy- ness had become a fixed reserve. Many of the teachers at that time were Englishmen, and that fact caused the session to be one of internal commotion. The boisterous, free-hearted young Southerners had little respect for those staid old pedagogues from across the sea. Then, too, from 1812 to 1826 is no long time. Yet in all the records of the trials of that eventful session the name of Edgar PoeeEdgar Poe, lithe inordinate drunkardf wthe reckless and unprin- cipled gambler? glthe wildest and most reckless student of his classllaappears but once, and then as- a witness and not as a defendant! 1 It is now well settled that Poe's room, after leaving the Lawn, where he had had a fisticuff with Miles George, his room-mate, was Number 13, West Range. There he spent the remainder of the session, writing youthful verse, revolving some weird tale, charcoaling the walls, andewe may well imagine- longing for some kindred spirit with which to commune. It is not probable that his outward life here was noticeably different from that of his fellows. He excelled in French and Latin, he was good at jumping, boxing and other athletic sports, though he seemed to take such sports as seriously as life itself. We may believe with reason that Poeis student days here were not happy. llNo one knew him? it is said. Who knows the unutterable, inward longings of that soul, even at the age when a different nature would have been happy and care-free? For sadness is often a very part of ones nature r......-'w;e:::ax

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6 CORKS AND CURLS X'OLXXH t 1777;? 7i 7 7 y '7 '2 47 2 041; 'W .7 r Z471 7 ? i 7 7 V '9 7 4'7 7o '77 7,7 7 Z; 7 A; 77 , 7,714 X , ,y 7.0 ' .u 4' 7 I f 4 777W 7 m; 7'47 7377 76 7 7 7777, ,, ,4; .1; y 7' 7 r7 , 5.3, 74 Ml 727777 777 77 7'7 . , 7W ., We write this page with a full realization that few, perhaps, besides the author and the proof- reader, will ever read it. Some few observant ones might miss it if it should be omitted, and a smaller number still may notice its presence here; but to the readers of' this page, be they many or few, we extend our best greetings and hope that those who open this book with the expectation of being entertained will in no way be disappointed. We began our work early in the session with the intention of making this, the twenty-second vole ume of CORKS AND'CURLS, a rather complete record of the year's life at VIRGINIA. We soon realized, however, that to do so would require a book that in size would make Minor on Real Prop- V, ,erty look like a brieic account of the defeats sustained by our football team during the past season, while to do complete justice to all phases of the subject would tax the combined efforts of a Gibbon, a Raphael, and a Shakespeare. So, after modifying our plans as originally made, we set to work, hoping only to publish a book that would be reflective of the brighter side of our life here; that would catch within its pages something of the true spirit of VIRGINIA; that would prove a means of spending a pleasant hour-when read for the first time-eand a storehouse of fond memories for the days to come, when we will behold our college days but dimly thro' the mist of many years. We trust that our efforts to accomplish this end have not been entirely in vain. 'To all those who, by their contributions to the Literary and Art Departments, have made the pub- lication of this book possible, we wish to acknowledge a debt of gratitude that is great indeed. To our requests they have always responded promptly and efficiently, and by their continued kindness have given us not only material assistance but encouragement as well. For the contributions to the Art Department, we are especially grateful to Mr. Munson, Mr. Walker, Miss Eastman, Miss Bowles, Mr. Shepherd. Mr. Kearfoot, Mr. Micou, Mr. Crawford, Miss Price, Miss Sommerville, Miss Ceddy, Mr. Conrad, and Mr. Watkins. , And our debt to those who have helped us with contributions to the Literary Department is no less great; we extend our thanks for these to Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Dobie, Mr. Weymouth, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Stewart, MryBardin, and Mr. King. Readers all, our work is in your hands. We present it respectfully-hopefully, and only ask that in formulating whatever opinion you may pronounce upon it, you will be governed by what has given you pleasure, rather than by its all too evident faults. , . ; 7W,-,.Lw--'-'l $3: 7 , A 1 : A- E.Maycgw- A- -mvr 'l 1 t