NOTE ON POE'S TEXT.

ORIGINAL copies of Poe's poetical works are very rare in England. I have been unable to procure any from the booksellers who deal in such curiosities. The text in this volume is that of "The Raven, and Other Poems," by Edgar A. Poe (Wiley & Putnam. London, 1846). This text is a reproduction of the American edition of 1845, revised by Poe himself. For the later poems not contained in the volume of 1846 I have used the text of the "Collected Works," published in New York (Redfield) in 1850, with Essays by Mr. Griswold, Mr. Lowell, and Mr. N. P. Willis. The American spelling has been restored; and it is much to be wished that the English spelling might be preserved in American republications of English books. Many interesting various readings are to be found in the earlier editions of Poe's verses, and in the copies which were published in journals and magazines. But it has been thought best to give the final form of the poems as approved of by the author.