Somerset Herald, in which capacity he was repeatedly sent on missions
to invest foreign princes with the Order of the Garter. He produced
upwards of 90 adaptations, and about 70 original pieces for the stage. He
also wrote a _History of British Costumes_, _The Pursuivant of Arms_
(1852), and _The Conqueror and his Companions_ (1874), besides
autobiographical _Recollections_ (1872).

POE, EDGAR ALLAN (1809-1849).--Poet and writer of tales, was _b._ at
Boston, where his parents, who were both actors, were temporarily living.
He was left an orphan in early childhood in destitute circumstances, but
was adopted by a Mr. Allan of Richmond, Virginia. By him and his wife he
was treated with great indulgence, and in 1815 accompanied them to
England, where they remained for five years, and where he received a good
education, which was continued on their return to America, at the Univ.
of Virginia. He distinguished himself as a student, but got deeply into
debt with gaming, which led to his being removed. In 1829 he _pub._ a
small vol. of poems containing _Al Araaf_ and _Tamerlane_. About the same
time he proposed to enter the army, and was placed at the Military
Academy at West Point. Here, however, he grossly neglected his duties,
and fell into the habits of intemperance which proved the ruin of his
life, and was in 1831 dismissed. He then returned to the house of his
benefactor, but his conduct was so objectionable as to lead to a rupture.
In the same year P. _pub._ an enlarged ed. of his poems, and in 1833 was
successful in a competition for a prize tale and a prize poem, the tale
being the _MS. found in a Bottle_, and the poem _The Coliseum_. In the
following year Mr. Allan _d._ without making any provision for P., and
the latter, being now thrown on his own resources, took to literature as
a profession, and became a contributor to various periodicals. In 1836 he
entered into a marriage with his cousin Virginia Clemm, a very young
girl, who continued devotedly attached to him notwithstanding his many
aberrations, until her death in 1847. _The Narrative of Arthur Gordon
Pym_ appeared in 1838, and in 1839 P. became ed. of the _Gentleman's
Magazine_, in which appeared as _Tales of the Arabesque and Grotesque_
many of his best stories. In 1845 his famous poem, _The Raven_, came out,
and in 1848 _Eureka, a Prose Poem_, a pseudo-scientific lucubration. The
death of his wife gave a severe shock to his constitution, and a violent
dr