C.N. 1358 [From Chess Notes, March-April 1987, pages 33-35.] The Morphy entry in The Oxford Companion to Chess (p. 217) caused a considerable stir by quoting from an unpublished Edge letter: "I have been a lover, a brother, a mother to you; I have made you an idol, a god...". For a long time it proved impossible for us to secure a copy of the letter but now, thanks to Frank Skoff (who obtained it from a source insisting upon anonymity), the complete text can be made public here. The first thing to note is that, contrary to the impression given by the Companion, the letter is not addressed to Morphy himself, but to Fiske. 59 Great Peter Street, Westminster London S.W. March 25th 1859 My Dear Fiske, Many thanks to you for your kindness in forwarding me the "Tribune Almanacs" with such promptitude, and I must, at the same time, assure you that I shall find out some means of proving my gratitude to you for the regularity with which the "Monthly" has arrived, though unasked by me. You must put down my name as a paying subscriber, since the commencement of this year, and I will take an early opportunity of handing you the subscription, postage included. Now, about my "Morphy Book". Appleton has made arrangements with me to publish it, and I am now writing the last two chapters. Next Saturday's mail carries the manuscript to him. He has given orders here to his agent, to let me have my own ideas carried out with respect to illustrations; and the first Engraver in England, Dalziel, has, for some weeks past, been engaged on plates for the book. No. 1 is Morphy, No. 2, a group - Staunton, Boden & Lowenthal. No. 3, Lewis, Walker & Mongredien. No. 4, Anderssen, Harrwitz & Saint Amant. I have obtained Photographs of all these men, and you may rely upon seeing true likenesses, as Dalziel is not limited to expenses. I am going to make a request to Appleton, that he engage you to revise the proof-sheets, in order that there may be no mistakes in the spelling of proper names. He will, of course, remunerate you for the time so expended, and I think you will not object to the labor, inasmuch as you will have the first sight of the book. But I ask you "as you love me" not to alter any of the matter, or cut out anything: What I have written, I have written and wish to remain - at all events until the second edition. -- The book contains between 200 and 250 Pages, the size of Bohn's Handbook (Staunton's) and will be dedicated to the American Chess Association; and I feel confident will put Morphy on such a pinnacle of fame, as he himself never dreamed of. Lowenthal has roared over the different chapters I have read to him, and says that all the chess tales he ever read are nonsense to it; and I believe you will think so too. This is a synopsis of the contents. Paul Morphy's Travels and Triumph In Europe. 1. Morphy becomes acquainted with his Parents and Countrymen. 2. The First Am. Chess Congress. 3. Morphy prepares to start for Europe. 4. Chess in England from the Year One 5. Morphy in England. 6 How the great English Champion, 7 Howard Staunton, very much wanted to play Paul Morphy, and wouldn't after all. 7 Morphy in France. 8. 9. 10. 11. Morphy & Harrwitz. - all of the Amateurs of the Regence. - Morphy in Society. Morphy and Anderssen, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. In the 4th chapter, I give matter never before published, derived viva voce from George Walker, Lewis, Medley etc. on the old Philidor Club, Parsloe's, the Divan, Westminster, St George's, London, etc. The chap. is about 40 pages long, and will be interesting to the chess community at large. - I give all the correspondence, anonymous and otherwise, about Staunton, and particulars only known to Morphy and myself; and the work is chock full of anecdotes throughout, and, as I have already told you, written for everybody, not for mere chess players. -- I write in the first person but will not affix my name, because I wish Morphy alone to have the glory of his own acts. This has been a rule with me since his arrival in Europe, and though fiercely pressed even by ladies to sit for a photograph with him, I have always refused for I will not have it said that I had any personal motive in sticking by him. My real motives are these: I was deeply hurt at the Congress at not having my services recognized. You know how I worked, in the rooms and in the papers; why I know not, and I certainly did look for a vote of thanks. Well, when Morphy came to England, I said - "Now I'll be avenged, but I'll stick by this fellow-countryman of theirs, and I'll make Americans blush for their slights". - Now, Fiske, I can from the depths of my soul declare, looking God in the face, that had it not been for me, you wouldn't have seen twenty of Morphy's games - the correspondence with Staunton wouldn't have been written, and Morphy would have gone back humbugged and a laughing stock. I made him stay and play Anderssen, and I have stood invariably between him and his enemies; and conspiracies have been dangerous in Paris, I assure you - in the salons - by Morphy's own fault. I can say, never did man more devotedly serve another. I neglected my wife for him, accompanied him to Paris and left her till broken-hearted she came to fetch me back. I put a coldness between myself and all my family which only years will heal, and I don't, even now, know why. I am not a chess-player, I am not an American, I have nothing to hope for from Morphy, and I would not say what I have herein written, to anybody but you, and you will be guilty of an infamous act if you let anyone see this letter. I shall watch over Morphy until he leaves Europe, and when he leaves I can say - "What you are outside of chess, I have made you. Your tremendous laziness, but for me, would have obliterated all your acts. I have taken your hundreds of letters out of your pockets even, and answered them, because you would have made every man your enemy by not replying. I made you stay and play Anderssen, when you wanted to leave. I nursed you when ill, carrying you in my arms like a child. I have been a lover, a brother, a mother to you; I have made you an idol, a god - and now that you are gone, I never -- but I will not finish. I say this to you, Fiske, but I have said nothing of it in my book; there Morphy is all in all, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end; all that is great, magnanimous, true, noble and sublime, and Morphy will not open its pages without a blush, or close them without a sigh. - Burn this letter, Fiske, and forget the contents.- Yrs. very truly Fred'k Edge - P.S. I shall be happy if you announce my book in the Monthly, and, when published, give me a critique. It will be well advertised, and I hope Ripley will give me a good notice in the Tribune. Can't you get him to? Bring the Enclycopedia to bear. We have tried to follow Edge's exact spelling and punctuation (which includes "Enclycopedia" and the two 7's in the list in paragraph 3). In the final paragraph before the signature, Edge does not close the quotation marks (which should presumably be done after "I never --"). On p. 116 of his book Lawson quoted three sentences from the letter ("I can say ... - ... only years will heal"). In neither the New York nor the London edition of Edge's book is there an acknowledgement to Fiske for proof-reading.