g Poe stepped upon the platform to face an audience of _thirteen_
persons, including the janitor and several to whom complimentary tickets
had been presented. Of these was Mrs. Shelton, who occupied a seat
directly in front of the platform. Poe was cool and selfpossessed, but
his delivery mechanical and rather hurried, and on concluding he bowed
and abruptly retired. One of the audience remarked upon the unlucky
number of thirteen; and Mrs. Julia Mayo Cabell commented indignantly
upon the indifference of the Richmond people to "their own great poet."
Poe was undoubtedly in a degree mortified, not at the indifference
manifested, but at the picture presented by the large and brilliantly
lighted hall and himself addressing the group of thirteen which
constituted the audience. But his failure may be explained by the fact
that in this month of August the _elite_ and educated people of the city
were mostly absent in the mountains and by the sea-shore; and the
weather being extremely sultry, few were inclined to exchange the cool
breezes of the "city of the seven hills" for a crowded and heated
lecture room, even to hear _The Raven_ read by its author.

During this visit of Poe to Richmond, I, with my mother and sister, was
away from home, in the mountains, and we thus missed seeing him. On our
return shortly after his departure, we heard various anecdotes
concerning him, one or two of which I subjoin as illustrative of his
natural disposition.

One evening, quite late, an alarm of fire was raised, and all the young
men of Duncan Lodge, accompanied by Poe, hastened to the scene of
disaster, about a mile further in the country. Finding a great crowd
collected, and that their services were not required, they sat on a
fence looking on, and it was past midnight when they thought of
returning home. Gay young Dr. "Tom" Mackenzie remarked that it would
never do to return in their immaculate white linen suits, as they would
be sure to get a "wigging" from the old ladies for not having helped to
put out the fire, and, besides, they were all hungry, and he knew how
they could get a good supper. With that he seized a piece of charred
wood and commenced besmirching their white garments and their hands and
faces, including Poe's. Arriving at home in an apparently exhausted
condition, they were treated by Mrs. Mackenzie herself, who would not
disturb her servants, to the best that the pantry afforded, nor was the
trick discovered until the