January 19, 1809

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 to October 7, 1849) died a few years after his wife. In this period of turmoil and grief, there were still scenes where Poe could write successfully. One such is recorded by:

'An English lady .... at the little cottage in Fordham in the early autumn of 1847 ... described to us with a truly English appreciativeness its unrivalled neatness and the quaint simplicity of its interior and surroundings. It was at the time bordered by a flower garden whose clumps of rare dahlias and brilliant beds of autumnal flowers showed in the careful culture bestowed upon them the fine floral taste of the inmates. Our English friend described the poet ... as giving to his birds and his flowers a delighted attention that seemed quite inconsistent with the gloomy and grotesque character of his writings. A favourite cat too, enjoyed his friendly patronage, and often when he was engaged in composition it seated itself on his shoulder purring as if in complacent approval of the work proceeding under its supervision.'

This quote is found in Edgar Allan Poe: His Life, Letters, and Opinions (1886), a volume which lists as authors, John Henry Ingram, and Edgar Allan Poe.