and Rosalie, were with her at the time
    of her death and were cared for by
    charitable persons. Edgar, then about
    two years old, was taken into the home
    of John Allan, a Scotch merchant in
    fairly prosperous circumstances, while
    the infant Rosalie was given shelter by
    a Mr. and Mrs. William Mackenzie.
    The Allans and Mackenzies were close
    friends and neighbors. The children
    remained in these households, and the
    circumstances of their fostering were,
    as time went on, equivalent to adoption.
      Frances Keeling Valentine Allan, the
     wife of the Scotch merchant who had
     given shelter to the "infant orphan
     Edgar Poe," was a childless woman who
     had been married for some years. The
     child Edgar appears to have been a
     bright and attractive little boy, and
     despite some reluctance on the part of
     Mr. Allan, he was soon ensconced as a
     permanent member of the household.
     Although there is some evidence of an
     attempt on the part of paternal rela-
     tives in Baltimore to assert their inter-
     est in the child, the young boy remained
     as the foster-son of John Allan in Rich-
     mond, where he was early put to a
     school kept by a Scotch dame and ap-
     parently later to one William Irwin, a
     local schoolmaster. There is every evi-
     dence that his early years of childhood
     were spent in happy and comfortable
     surroundings. Mrs. Allan and her
     maiden sister, Nancy Valentine, who
     resided in the same household, were
     pecu,,
        ,arly fond of their "pet." He
      seems, indeed, to have been somewhat
      overdressed and spoiled as a very little
      boy, a propensity on the part of the
      women which the foster-father tried to
      offset by occasional but probably well-
      timed severity.
      In 1815 the family sailed for Eng-
     land on the Ship "Lothair," taking
     Edgar with them, After a brief stay in
     London they visited Scotch relatives,
     the Galts, Allans, and Fowlds, at Kil-
     marnock, Irvine, and other places about
     Ayrshire. A journey was made to
     Glasgow and then back to London in
     the late fall of 1815 when Edgar was
     sent back to Scotland at Irvine. There
     for a short time he attended the Gram-
     mar School. By 1816, however, he was
     back in London where his foster-father
     was endeavoring to build up a branch
     of his Richmond firm, Ellis and Allan,
     by trading in tobacco and general mer-

    




     chandise. The family resided at South-
     ampton Row, Russell Square, while the
     young Edgar was sent to a boarding
     school kept by the Misses Dubourgs at
     146 Sloane Street, Chelsea. He re-
     mained there until the summer of 1817.
     In the fall of that year he was entered
     at the Manor House School of the Rev.
     Mr. John Bransby at Stoke Newington,
     then a suburb of London. At this place
     be remained until some time in the spring
     of 1820 when he was withdrawn to re-
     turn to America. The young Poe's
     memories of his five years' stay in Scot-
     land and England were exceedingly vivid
     and continued to furnish him recollec-
     tions for the remainder of his life. He
     seems to have been a precocious and
     somewhat lordly young gentleman. A
     curious and vivid reminiscence of these
     early school days in England remains
     in his story of "William Wilson." It is
     significant of his relations with his
     foster-parents that the bills for his Eng-
     lish schooling are rendered for Master
     Allan. There can be little doubt that
     at this time Mr. Allan regarded him as
     a son. Other evidence is not lacking.