TRANSACTIONS 



OF THE 



BRONX SOCIETY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 



POK tEXTEXARY EXERCISES 



( )T many eminent literary men have made their 

 In imes in what is now the Borough of the Bronx. 

 It is therefore proper that of all those who have 

 dwelt here and have deserved recognition the 

 souvenir should be preserved. This is an obvious duty in the 

 case of Edgar Allan Toe. whose place among the foremost 

 in his particular realm is now secure. 



The stay of more than three years in Fordham witnessed 

 not the least tragic period of that tragic life, its pathos being 

 heightened by the contrast with its idyllic setting and the 

 enjoyment of its commencement, which are described in his 

 "Landor's Cottage." The cottage still stands, the principal 

 material relic of this period. It was the scene of the new 

 start in life under the pleasantest auspices, but the sunny skies 

 were soon overclouded by the renewed struggle with mis- 

 fortune, want, sickness and suffering, his apprehension for 

 the life of his Virginia, only too well justified by her death. 

 Here he produced some of his most important literary work. 

 He paced its little porch or wandered among the trees of its 

 orchard as he sought the inspiration of his weird muse or 

 agonized at his loved one wasting away, at times even cold 

 and hungry. Hence she was carried to her temporary resting 

 place in the church yard not far off. Nearby are some of 

 the houses, still standing, where he visited. Not far distant 

 is the site of the little cemetery, the ideally conceived scene of 



