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Allan he found all the affection a childless wife could bestow. Mr.
Allan took much pride in the captivating, precocious lad. At the age of
five the boy recited, with fine effect, passages of English poetry to
the visitors at the Allan house.
From his eighth to his thirteenth year he attended the Manor House
school, at Stoke-Newington, a suburb of London. It was the Rev. Dr.
Bransby, head of the school, whom Poe so quaintly portrayed in "William
Wilson." Returning to Richmond in 1820 Edgar was sent to the school
of Professor Joseph H. Clarke. He proved an apt pupil. Years afterward
Professor Clarke thus wrote:
"
While the other boys wrote mere mechanical verses, Poe wrote genuine
poetry; the boy was a born poet. As a scholar he was ambitious to
excel. He was remarkable for self-respect, without haughtiness. He had
a sensitive and tender heart and would do anything for a friend. His
nature was entirely free from selfishness."
At the age of seventeen Poe entered the University of Virginia at
Charlottesville. He left that institution after one session. Official
records prove that he was not expelled. On the contrary, he gained
a creditable record as a student, although it is admitted that he
contracted debts and had "an ungovernable passion for card-playing."
These debts may have led to his quarrel with Mr. Allan which eventually
compelled him to make his own way in the world.
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