ABSTRACT
In a letter to George W. Eveleth (29 February 1848), Poe declared: ‘The only report … which approaches the truth, is the one I enclose — from the Express — written by E.A. Hopkins [sic] — a gentleman of much scientific acquirement — son of Bishop Hopkins of Vermont — but he conveys only my general idea, and his digest is full of inaccuracies’ (Letters,2, 361). Poe, however, confused E.A. Hopkins with his brother, Reverend John Henry Hopkins Jr (1820–91), who was at that time preparing for the ministry. Hopkins was a confidant of Poe's friend Mrs Shew, and after hearing Poe's lecture, he took a special interest in Eureka — see his letter of 1875 to Mrs Shew (then Mrs Houghton) printed in John Carl Miller, Building Poe Biography (Baton Rouge and London, 1977),pp. loo–1; also No. 87.
