Elmira - 1825

I heard his signal whistle and put aside my sewing and quietly hurried out to the garden. I was surprised to see not only my dear Edgar waiting, but also Robert Stanard and a handful of rougher-looking young men I didn't know.

"There she is, gentlemen," Edgar announced to the group when he saw me, "the fairest maid in all the land!" I tried to shush him, fearing someone would hear him, but he gushed on.

"Open the gate, fair maiden," he cried dramatically. "I've come to beg a favor of you!"

Embarrassed and a bit annoyed at his behavior, I stood behind the gate, silent. He sensed my disapproval and left the circle of young men to approach me.

"What's the matter, Elmira my love?" he asked quietly.

I straightened my back and confronted him.

"What do you mean by coming here with all those boys and acting a fool?" I snapped. He looked taken aback.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't trying to embarrass you. It's just that I've been challenged to a perilous feat, and I had to see you before I attempted it."

"Perilous feat?" I asked. "What kind of perilous feat?"

"Poe's going to swim the James!" exclaimed Robert Stanard. The other boys cheered.

I looked at Edgar, standing proudly among his friends.

"Yes," he began, "I shall swim from Ludlam's Wharf to Warwick Bar."

"If you don't drown first," laughed one of the other boys. Edgar turned and pretended to take a swing at him.

"Edgar!" I cried over the chatter of the young men, "That's miles and miles!"

"About six miles," Edgar replied matter-of-factly. He turned back to me and gazed at me with his mesmerizing eyes.

"Don't worry, my darling. I shall do this in your honor. Then I'll have to succeed."

"You don't have to do this at all," I tried to argue, but I knew it was no use. Once he had his mind set, there was no changing it.

"C'mon, Poe," the boys were saying. "You're not going to chicken out, are you?"

"Of course not," Edgar said, waving them off. "I need only a favor from my sweet love to carry with me as a token."

He looked at me expectantly. I thought for a moment, then with a sigh, I unfastened one of my ribbons from my hair and handed it to him. He took it and kissed it before sticking it into his pocket.

"Gentlemen," he cried, turning to his friends, "To the river!"

I watched from behind the closed gate as he and his friends ran down the alley toward to wharf.

"Edgar Poe,' I called after him, "If you drown I'll…I'll never speak to you again!"