The life of Edgar Allan Poe .. . samer fidelityof mere man. Poe, however, was not a morbid recluse. Inthese 3^outhful days we find him emulating thedaring deeds of his Norman ancestors, in gym-nastic feats, that, but for attested documentaryevidence, would scarcely be credited. He was very proud of his athletic achievements,as, indeed, he had good reason to be. At one period he was known to leap the dis* A THLE TIC A CHIE VEMENTS. 39 tance of twenty-one feet six inches, on a deadlevel, with a run of twenty yards. A most re-markable swim of his is also on record in thecolumns of the Richmond En
The life of Edgar Allan Poe .. . samer fidelityof mere man. Poe, however, was not a morbid recluse. Inthese 3^outhful days we find him emulating thedaring deeds of his Norman ancestors, in gym-nastic feats, that, but for attested documentaryevidence, would scarcely be credited. He was very proud of his athletic achievements,as, indeed, he had good reason to be. At one period he was known to leap the dis* A THLE TIC A CHIE VEMENTS. 39 tance of twenty-one feet six inches, on a deadlevel, with a run of twenty yards. A most re-markable swim of his is also on record in thecolumns of the Richmond Enquirer, and otherRichmond papers. It took place in his fifteenthyear. He swam, on a hot July day, against athree-knot tide, from Ludlams wharf on JamesRiver, to Warwick—a distance of seven milesand a half,—fully equal to thirty miles in stillwater. The impossibility of resting, even for amoment, by floating, in a task such as this, ren-ders it Herculean, and the feat has never beenequalled by any one, properly CHAPTER III. EARLY HARDSHIPS. 1827—1834. Home from School — First Quarrel with Mr. Allan — FirstMeeting with Virginia Clemm — A Second Edition of Ju-venile Poems—A Griswold Fabrication Disproved—Wil-liam Henry Leonard Poe —Poe and the Milford Bard —An Amusing Poetic Duel — Poe at West Point — A ThirdEdition of Poems — The True Story of Poes Dismissalfrom West Point — Another Qiiarrel with Mr. Allan —Second Marriage of Mr. Allan — Poe at Mrs. Clemms —A Lie Refuted —The Baltimore Prizes —Mr. J. U. Account — Poe and Hewitt — Pen Photographof the Poet at 24 years—Adventures of Hans Pfaal—TheHeir Expectant Left Penniless. ETURNING home after completing hiscollege career, Poe, like other spoiledchildren of pampering fathers, foundthat the fruits of the heedless indulgence in whichhe had been reared, were not acceptable to hisfoster father, when they came in the guise ofdrafts given to pay gambling debts. M
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