on except a name which
is frequently to be found in England. But, on thinking of the
similarity, it struck me that the poor captain's brain had been
turned by this very thing. He had conceived the notion that he was
of kin to the unfortunate captain of the _Jane_! And this had brought
him to his present state, this was the source of his passionate pity
for the fate of the imaginary shipwrecked mariners!

It would have been interesting to discover whether James West was
aware of the state of the case, whether his chief had ever talked to
him of the follies he had revealed to me. But this was a delicate
question, since it involved the mental condition of Captain Len Guy;
and besides, any kind of conversation with the lieutenant was
difficult. On the whole I thought it safer to restrain my curiosity.
In a few days the schooner would reach Tristan d'Acunha, and I
should part with her and her captain for good and all. Never,
however, could I lose the recollection that I had actually met and
sailed with a man who took the fictions of Edgar Poe's romance for
sober fact. Never could I have looked for such an experience!

On the 22nd of August the outline of Prince Edward's Island was
sighted, south latitude 46 deg. 55', and 37 deg. 46' east longitude.
We were in sight of the island for twelve hours, and then it was
lost in the evening mists.

On the following day the _Halbrane_ headed in the direction of the
north-west, towards the most northern parallel of the southern
hemisphere which she had to attain in the course of that voyage.

CHAPTER V.
EDGAR POE'S ROMANCE

In this chapter I have to give a brief summary of Edgar Poe's
romance, which was published at Richmond under the title of

THE ADVENTURES OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM.

We shall see whether there was any room for doubt that the
adventures of this hero of romance were imaginary. But indeed, among
the multitude of Poe's readers, was there ever one, with the sole
exception of Len Guy, who believed them to be real? The story is
told by the principal personage. Arthur Pym states in the preface
that on his return from his voyage to the Antarctic seas he met,
among the Virginian gentlemen who took an interest in geographical
discoveries, Edgar Poe, who was then editor of the _Southern Literary
Messenger_ at Richmond, and that he authorized the latter to publish
the first part of his adventures in that journal "under the cloak
of fiction." That portion having been f