“Her eyes were like two stars at night,
And her cheeks they rivalled the roses red,
I’ll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid….”

As the song proceeded, Muddy—who had appeared somewhat constrained at the start—grew increasingly animated, rolling her eyes, tapping one foot, and swaying her body in time to the music. Gazing upon the dear-hearted woman, I could not help but marvel—as I had done on so many previous occasions—at the deep, the inexplicable paradox which she embodied. Here was a woman of such profound inward beauty—such sheer, preternatural goodness—that her soul seemed utterly unblemished by the merest speck of earthly imperfection. And yet she was related, by the closest ties of kinship, to a being whom I had every reason to detest. I mean, of course, her brother—my natural father—David Poe, Jr., the creature who had abandoned his young wife and infant children in the most heartless fashion conceivable. By what strange, hereditary means could two such contrasting, even antithetical, personalities have sprung from the same ancestral roots? It was a mystery all insoluble.

The song ended. While the two performers blushed, beamed, and curtsied, Crockett and I burst into a wild ovation.

“Hurrah!” cheered the frontiersman. “That was prime, and no mistake!”

“Brava!” I cried, rising to my feet. “Rarely have I been privileged to hear such intoxicating, such richly melodious sounds!”

All at once, Sissy pointed a dainty forefinger in my direction and exclaimed: “Now it’s your turn, Eddie!”

This unforeseen remark startled me into a momentary silence. “I beg your pardon?” I replied at last.

“The gal is right, Poe,” Crockett said. “You are the only one among us who hasn’t pitched in tonight.”

Here was a truly unexpected turn! Had it occurred earlier in the evening, I would surely have resisted. My dismal mood, however, had been considerably brightened by the buoyant duet which my loved ones had just performed. Moreover, I could see that the long and wearying party was rapidly drawing to a close—a prospect that could not fail to infuse my heart with a sense of the keenest satisfaction. In short, for the first time that evening, I was feeling positively festive.