Landor's Cottage

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It lay considerably to the north of west, and was where the setting sun made its way, as I have before described, into the amphitheatre, through a cleanly cut natural cleft in the granite embankment; this fissure might have been ten yards wide at its widest point, so far as the eye could trace it. Unlike the majority of Poe¿s work, this story is devoid of mystery, murder, and the macabre; instead, it is a detailed and masterful description of a lone cottage.

IMHO this isn't Poe's best work, but it does show what can be done with careful and accurate description. On this peninsula stood a dwelling–house—and when I say that this house, like the infernal terrace seen by Vathek, "etait d'une architecture inconnue dans les annales de la terre," I mean, merely, that its tout ensemble struck me with the keenest sense of combined novelty and propriety—in a word, of poetry—(for, than in the words just employed, I could scarcely give, of poetry in the abstract, a more rigorous definition)—and I do not mean that merely outre was perceptible in any respect.The door itself had its upper half of glass, also in lozenge panes—a movable shutter secured it at night. The traces of light wheels were evident; and although the tall shrubberies and overgrown undergrowth met overhead, there was no obstruction whatever below, even to the passage of a Virginian mountain wagon—the most aspiring vehicle, I take it, of its kind. Poe claimed that Allan had not given him sufficient money to register for classes, purchase texts, and procure and furnish a dormitory.

All, in a word, sloped and softened to the south; and yet the whole vale was engirdled by eminences, more or less high, except at two points.A perfect example of Poe’s famous descriptive prowess, “Landor’s Cottage” will appeal to fans of his marvellous work, and is not to be missed by the discerning collector. The innumerable blossoms, mingling with those of other trees scarcely less beautiful, although infinitely less majestic, filled the valley with more than Arabian perfumes. These latter roofs, of course, needed no support; but as they had the air of needing it, slight and perfectly plain pillars were inserted at the corners alone. The more substantial furniture consisted of a round table, a few chairs (including a large rocking-chair), and a sofa, or rather "settee;" its material was plain maple painted a creamy white, slightly inter-striped with green; the seat of cane.

Flowers, indeed, of gorgeous colours and delicate odour formed the sole mere decoration of the apartment. Having come mainly to observe, I took notice that to my right as I stepped in, was a window, such as those in front of the house; to the left, a door leading into the principal room; while, opposite me, an open door enabled me to see a small apartment, just the size of the vestibule, arranged as a study, and having a large bow window looking out to the north. Not more than six steps from the main door of the cottage stood the dead trunk of a fantastic pear–tree, so clothed from head to foot in the gorgeous bignonia blossoms that one required no little scrutiny to determine what manner of sweet thing it could be.Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single entry from a reference work in OR for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). This addition is inserted into the original narrative rather than following at the end, and is so much longer than the first story that it threatens to overwhelm it. The lake was deep - at some points thirty feet - but the rivulet seldom exceeded three, while its greatest width was about eight. No hay nada que rescatarle a esta lectura, salvo el agradecerle la falta de barroquismo para que no sea una experiencia todavía más pesada, ya que las descripciones eran muy flojas e insípidas.

One of these drawings was a scene of Oriental luxury, or rather voluptuousness; another was a "carnival piece," spirited beyond compare; the third was a Greek female head—a face so divinely beautiful, and yet of an expression so provokingly indeterminate, never before arrested my attention. The story is forgettable, however, the description of the cottage and surrounding area is what really stands out. Here was art undoubtedly—that did not surprise me—all roads, in the ordinary sense, are works of art; nor can I say that there was much to wonder at in the mere excess of art manifested; all that seemed to have been done, might have been done here—with such natural "capabilities" (as they have it in the books on Landscape Gardening)—with very little labor and expense. A smoky mist, resembling that of the Indian summer, enveloped all things, and of course, added to my uncertainty. If I did not hit upon the village before sunset, or even before dark, it was more than possible that a little Dutch farmhouse, or something of that kind, would soon make its appearance—although, in fact, the neighborhood (perhaps on account of being more picturesque than fertile) was very sparsely inhabited.The principal door was not exactly in the main division, being a little to the east—while the two windows were to the west. Not more than six steps from the main door of the cottage stood the dead trunk of a fantastic pear-tree, so clothed from head to foot in the gorgeous bignonia blossoms that one required no little scrutiny to determine what manner of sweet thing it could be. I will therefore describe it as I afterwards saw it - from a position on the stone wall at the southern extreme of the amphitheatre. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Lo censuré solamente por respeto a los más tiquismiquis, pero es evidente que el final no es ningún spoiler, ya que no revela ni aclara nada de su inexistente trama.