Poe Reciting "the Raven."

Once, in discussing "The Raven," Poe observed that he had never heard it correctly delivered by even the best readers - that is, not as he desired that it should be read. That evening, a number of visitors being present, he was requested to recite the poem, and complied. His impressive delivery held the company spell-bound, but in the midst of it, I, happening to glance toward the open window above the level roof of the green-house, bebeld a group of sable faces, the whites of whose eyes shone in strong relief against the surrounding darkness. These were a number of our family servants, who, having heard muoh talk about "Mr. Poe, the poet," and having but an imperfect idea of what a poet was, had requested permission of my brother to witness the recital, As the speaker became more impassioned and excited, more conspicuous grew the circle of -white eyes, until when at length he turned suddenly toward the window, and, exte-nding his arm, cried, with awful vehemence : Get thee back into the tempest, and the night's Plutonian ehore 1 there was a sudden disappearanee of the sable visages, a scutting of feet, and the gallery audience was gone. Ludicrous as was the incident, the final touch was given when at that moment Miss Poe, who was an extraordinary eharacter in her way, sleepily entered the room, and with a dull and drowsy deliberation seated herself on her brother' s knee. He had subsided from his exeitement into a gloomy despair, and now, fixing his eyes upon his sister, ho concluded : And the raven, never flittiug, still is eitting, ètill ík eitttug. On the pallid bust of Pallas, jnst above my chamber door ; And its eyes have all the seeining oí a demon that is dreaming The effect was irresistible; and as the final " nevermore" was solemnly uttered the half-supprtissed titter of two very young ptirsons in a corner was responded to by a general laugh. Poe remarked quietly that on his next delivery of a public lecture ho would " takeBose along, to act the part of the raven, in which she seomed born to excel." -