, discouraged, and with the old restlessness upon him, suddenly
resolved to leave Philadelphia. On the 6th of April, 1844, he started
with Virginia for New York, leaving Mrs. Clemm to settle their affairs
in general.

Most fortunately for Poe's memory, there remains to us a letter written
by him to Mrs. Clemm, in which he gives her an account of their journey.
It is of so private and confidential a nature, and speaks so frankly and
freely of such small domestic matters as most persons do not care to
have exposed to strangers, that in reading it one feels almost as if
violating the sacredness of domestic privacy. But I here refer to it as
showing Poe's domestic character in a most attractive light:

"NEW YORK, Sunday morning, April 7,
just after breakfast.

"MY DEAR MUDDIE: We have just this moment done breakfast, and I now sit
down to write you about everything.... In the first place, we arrived
safe at Walnut street wharf. The driver wanted me to pay him a dollar,
but I wouldn't. Then I had to pay a boy a levy to put the trunks in the
baggage car. In the meantime I took Sis into the Depot Hotel. It was
only a quarter-past six, and we had to wait until seven.... We started
in good spirits, but did not get here until nearly three o'clock. Sissy
coughed none at all. When we got to the wharf it was raining hard. I
left her on board the boat, after putting the trunks in the ladies'
cabin, and set off to buy an umbrella and look for a boarding-house. I
met a man selling umbrellas, and bought one for twenty-five cents. Then
I went up Greenwich street and soon found a boarding-house.... It has
brown-stone steps and a porch with brown pillars. "Morrison" is the name
on the door. I made a bargain in a few minutes and then got a hack and
went for Sis. I was not gone more than half an hour, and she was quite
astonished to see me back so soon. She didn't expect me for an hour.
There were two other ladies on board, so she wasn't very lonely. When we
got to the house we had to wait about half an hour till the room was
ready. The cheapest board that I ever knew, taking into consideration
the central situation and the _living_. I wish Kate (Virginia's pet cat,
'Catalina') could see it. She would faint. Last night for supper we had
the nicest tea you ever drank, strong and hot; wheat bread and rye
bread, cheese, tea-cakes (elegant), a good dish (two dishes) of elegant
ham and two of cold veal, piled up like a mountain and large