Project Gutenberg's The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, by Edgar Allan Poe

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Title: The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Volume 3 (of 5) of the Raven Edition

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

Release Date: May 19, 2008 [EBook #2149]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WORKS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE ***

Produced by David Widger

THE WORKS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE

IN FIVE VOLUMES

VOLUME 3

The Raven Edition

CONTENTS:

NARRATIVE OF A. GORDON PYM
LIGEIA
MORELLA
A TALE OF THE RAGGED MOUNTAINS
THE SPECTACLES
KING PEST
THREE SUNDAYS IN A WEEK

NARRATIVE OF A. GORDON PYM

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

UPON my return to the United States a few months ago, after the
extraordinary series of adventure in the South Seas and elsewhere, of
which an account is given in the following pages, accident threw me
into the society of several gentlemen in Richmond, Va., who felt deep
interest in all matters relating to the regions I had visited, and who
were constantly urging it upon me, as a duty, to give my narrative to
the public. I had several reasons, however, for declining to do so, some
of which were of a nature altogether private, and concern no person but
myself; others not so much so. One consideration which deterred me was
that, having kept no journal during a greater portion of the time in
which I was absent, I feared I should not be able to write, from mere
memory, a statement so minute and connected as to have the _appearance
_of that truth it would really possess, barring only the natural and
unavoidable exaggeration to which all of us are prone when detailing
events which have had powerful influence in exciting the imaginative
faculties. Another reason was, that the incidents to be narrated were
of a nature so positively marvellous that, unsupported as my assertions
must necessarily be (except by the evidence of a single individual, and
he a half-breed Indian), I could only hope for belief among my family,
and those of my friends who have had reason, through life, to put faith
in my veracity-the probability being that the public at large would
regard what I should put f