PAPERS AND PROCEE DI NG S

O F THE

D E M EM ORIA L CE LE B RATI O N

Y 29 1 9 1 5 M A ,

I

TO G ETH ER W I TH A

B I B LI OG RAP HY OF THE W RITI NG S OF

J O EPH RO DM A N DRA KE DR. S

VI CT O R HUG O P A LTS I TS

NEW YO RK THE B R O NX S O CIETY O F AR TS A ND S C I ENCES 1 9 19 F o ur h un d red sepagata reprin ted from

R A N SACTION S Part B ONX SO CI ETY OE R TS A N D SCI EN CES T , 4 . R A

CO ri ht DY g ) I 9 1 9 ) b y

T H E B RONX SOCI ET Y OF ARTS A N D SCI EN CES

P R ES S 0? TN$ M t w ( RA P R I NTI NG COM PANY LA N CASTER , PA .

A TRIB UTE TO THE M EM ORY OF

DR SEP . J O H RODM A N DR A KE

THE B R ONX POET

ON THE NINETY -SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FI RST PU B LICATION OF HIS CHARACTERI STICALLY AM ERICAN POEM

THE A M ER ICA N FLA G

G IVEN U NDER THE AU SPICES OF

03h» Erma: 5 11 m of A rts aah S marty;

On Sa urda M a 29th I 9 | 5 t y , y ,

R M M aCCR A CKEN Presiden t Y . DR . HEN ,

B VI Chairm an of the Coun cil AL ERT E . DA S .

DRA KE M EMORIAL COM M ITTEE

VIC O UG PA LTSITS Chairman HON . T R H O .

R I B RI G O G . O B I G D . NATHAN EL L . TTON E R E E ST NE R D E L IT ER A RY EXERCIS ES

In the MORRIS HIG H SCHOOL At Two O ’ clock

— M USIC B the M orris High School Orchestra . y— M B . WELCO E y Principal John H . Denbigh E— M M Cracken B . . ac RESPONS y Rev Dr . Henry ,

President of The Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences . ’ ” ADDRESS The Bronx in Drake s Time and T O- day —b M y the Hon . Douglas athewson , President of the

Borough of T he Bronx . — PAPER Drake as a Poet B y Professor John Ers a kine , of the Dep rtment of English and Comparative m Literature in Colu bia University . — PAPER T he Culprit F ay : A Criticism B y Dean

Archibald L . Bouton , of the College of Arts and Pure

Science of New York University . ” — SONG The American F 1ag words by Joseph Rod m an Drake , music especially composed for this occa T sion by Edwin S . racy, Director of M usic in the M — orris High School Sung by One Hundred Pupils o f

the School , accompanied by the M orris High School

Orchestra . P P T he F l —B A ER ami y of Drake y Charles de Kay , Es q. , Author , Poet and Critic ; grandson of Joseph R od man —Drake . M USIC B y the M orris High School Orchestra .

Automobiles have been provided for the Council and its Guests and others who have automobiles are invited to fall in for line the ride to Joseph Rodman Drake Park and Bronx a P rk , to witness the unveiling and other exercises . 6 U N VEIL I N G EXERCIS ES

RO R R U O J O SEPH DMAN D AKE PA K, H NTS P INT A T ’ O CLOCK .

— PAPER The Hunt Family and Hunts Point by the

Hon . James L . Wells , Treasurer of the State of New

York . UNVEILING OF TABLET AT DRAKE ’ S GRAVE

M - By iss Helena van Brugh de Kay, a Great grand

daughter of the Poet . ADDRES S of Acceptance of the Railing and Tablet on — T Behalf of the City of New York by the Hon . homas

. P . W Whittle , ark Commissioner of The—Bronx NATION AL SALUTE TO T H E F LAG B y Battery

c . G . . . E , Se ond Artillery , N , N Y Lieutenant Robert M W . arshall , commanding .

Immediately after the conclusion of the Salute the auto~ mobiles will proceed to Bronx Park . U N VEI L I N G EXERCIS ES

BRONX PARK GORGE

BELOW THE OL D SNU FF MILL

’ AT O CLOCK .

— B M r . ADDRESS y . Albert E Davis , Chairman of the

Council . ’ — READING OF DRAKE S POEM BRONX B y the P ltsi . a ts Hon Victor Hugo , Chairman of the Drake M - emorial Committee . OF T T—B M UNVEILING ABLE y iss Sylvia de Kay, a

- - Great grand daughter of the Poet . ACCEPTANCE OF TABLET on behalf o f the City of —B New York y Commissioner Whittle .

EXH IB IT ION OF W ORK S B Y A N D REL A T IN G T O D R A K E

I N T H E SOCIETY ’ S M USEUM

I N THE L OR I LL A R D MANSION B RONX PARK PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS

M A Y 2 1 1 9 , 9 5

The preceding programme , a pretty souvenir , was issued

n in an edition of one thousand copi es for free distributio . The exercises were carried out as planned with no gaps and

i as a few impromptu add tions , revealed in the following proceedings .

F or many years the grave o f Dr . Joseph Rodman Drake had lain neglected and no adequate recognition was given his — memory as an American poet the first native poet o f the city of New York whose writings continued to hold undiminished favor in the American literary pantheon . Time was when the grave was in j eopardy of obliteration by a street ; but protests from a small number of wideawake citizens and editorial writers led to a cancellation of this unholy design and the perpetuation of the graveyard and abutting land as Joseph 1 0 6 Rodman Drake Park , at Hunts Point . In the spring o f 9 , when the preservation o f the site was being considered by the

x co city authorities , the Bron Society of Arts and Sciences operated actively and w as represented at a hearing before the local 1board of Bronx Borough by a special committee consist

t h rl . ing o f Victor Hugo P al sits and C a es W . Stoughton By The A m erican F lag Drake is a national poet ; by his charming poem on the B r on x he is peculiarly our poet ; whilst

' The Cu lpm t F ay belongs to the English - Speaking peoples every S o u where . it was most appropriate that his memory sho ld be n honored at home where his mortal remains had bee interred . This duty the Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences fulfilled after Six months of untiring efforts by its Drake M emorial Comm ittee and at an expense of more than six hundred dol lars s ecured from its members and interested friends in M an I O

hattan and the Bronx ; particular thanks are due to the Board o f M anagers of the New York Botanical Garden who paid fo r the large bronze tablet and cost of erection in the gorge o f Bronx Park on land in the jurisdiction of the Board . B 6th y a happy coincidence , the 9 anniversary of the first publication of The A m erican F lag in the N ew Y ork Evenin g P ost fell on the eve of the day dedicated to the memory of the men who , in our Civil War , gave their lives that not one star

The M e should be lost from that flag . exercises of Drake M morial D ay began in the M orris High School at P . The music under the direction of Director T racy was very

n much enj oyed . Principal John H . De bigh welcomed the

Society and its guests , which was responded to by the Rev .

. M M acCracken x Dr Henry itchell , President of the Bron

Society of Arts and Sciences . After paying tribute to the work of Albert E . Davis , chairman of the Council , and Victor P altsits m M Hugo , Chair an of the Drake emorial Committee . M Dr . acCracken said :

T he is Bronx the borough of parks and parkways . Out of its wealth of parks , exceeding four thousand acres , it estab lishes one little park primarily to encircle forever and defend

- o the resting place of Joseph R dman Drake . Not alone be his l cause ashes have ain here near one hundred years . Nor e a b c use , born in this city , he lived in this neighborhood a good o f his ‘l l d portion brief ife of on y five an twenty years . But e l m et l esp cial y because here he nature most ovingly . H is form is buried , yet he lives here still as the voice of the natural o w rld all around us . F rom the bank of yonder little river “ of he sings my own romantic Bronx,

Thy face , more pleasant than the face of men ;

Thy waves are old companions . I shall see a well-remembered form in each old tree And hear a voice long-loved in thy wild minstrelsy .

O n m y library shel f for hal f a century has stood his fairy tale o f the great river which is in part the western boundary I I

o f our Borough . I have read it again this week , a well bound volume given my wi fe in her girlhood,with a hundred

s . illu trations and more than a hundred well printed pages It ,

. the claims to tell the story of a culprit fay But the real , essential story, reveals that a youth but a little over twenty

‘ years of age , living here , had come to know nature in count less beauti ful forms , had communed with nature as living in r each flower and varied leaf , in eve y winged thing in the air , every creeping thing in the earth , every swimming thing in

or the water , till each became alive with a fairy soul , with a to fairy tenant of the material shape which seemed him , as it were , a living soul . Upon another shelf o f m y library for near a half century have stood two larger volumes , printed in New York j ust “ t Six y years ago , bearing the title American Literature , by

kin k Duyc c . This cyclopedia gives eleven or twelve of its o closely printed columns to Joseph R dman Drake . Nearly all o f the Space is devoted to telling of how this young man gave m voice to nature . The little poem fro which I have repeated only four lines furnishes , for nearly every one of its forty

c eight lines , a subj e t for a picture which might be transferred b y a skilful painter of landscapes to his canvas . Drake revealed himsel f more truly when he sang o f nature fl A m than when he wrote of the ag of ercia. H is country w as fighting Great Britain from the time he was seventeen till he w it was t enty , when the war ended w h the Battle o f New

Orleans . Little of the imagery that is called forth by war , when j udged by men who are not affected by temporary in

. e n sanity , can be pronounced beauti ful H re was an ensig made of woven pieces of various colors and shapes , called the ? American flag . What is its real symbolism Its thirteen

' - stripes stand for the thirteen self g cwern in g colonies . on the m Atlantic shore . The stars , however any , stand both for the

States into which these were trans formed and all the a n ew

T he o f States that were added thereto . pure hearts required their citizens are symbolized by the color of pure white ; the 1 2

, , true hearts , by the color of blue ; the living throbbing sel f

. sacrificing hearts , by the color of red That the States are represented as a constellation of stars was symbolic of the mission o f our nation to the whole world .

To the thoughtful mind , the true poet of our American flag F has not yet shown himsel f . Both rancis Scott Key and

Joseph Rodman Drake , a century ago , by reason of that bitter war with England , sing of the flag as if it were chiefly a war ’ ” “ as o s flag . Just Key names the r ckets red glare , the bomb ” “ ” “ ’ ” bursting in air , the havoc of war , the battle s confusion , ’ ” “ the blood washing out their foul footsteps pollution . the ” “ ” —so terror of fright , the gleam of the grave , Drake , the ” “ ” “ lightning lances driven , the thunder drum of heaven , the ” “ ” “ sulphur smoke , the battle stroke , the life blood warm ” ” “ or and wet , dimming the glistening bayonet , the g y ” “ sabres , and the cannon mouthings .

In Drake , as in Key , is successful rhythm , vivid imagery, i and mpressiveness . Just now , unhappily, we must remember

on e n that part of what every flag may signify, eve though it is waving over a schoolhouse , is brute violence as an argument that must be used when nothing else will do .

What our flag ought to stand for , what some new poet t needs to tell eloquently that it does s and for , above all else , is

- the white color for righteousness in every day life ; the blue ,

, n for faithfulness of not only men , but lovi g women , in busi

ness or in the home ; the red , for a spirit of sacrifice , whether for God or for man . o In cl sing, I think that some slight vision of this highest symbolism of the American flag is hinted by these four final lines of the poet whom we honor to - day

Flag of the free hearts ’ hope and home , ” By angel hands to valor given ,

( is f valor , bear in mind , e fort for any good cause)

Thy stars have lit the welkin dome , An a thy hu s w r born in hea en d ll e e e v . 1 3

M acCracken o Dr . was f llowed by the Hon . Douglas M athewson , President of the Borough of the Bronx . whose address follows

THE BRONX OF TODAY AND THE LAND IT WAS A HUNDRED YEARS A G O

Before the world ’ s first artists with crude materials made

saw pictures that other men could see , other men pictures ,

ee colored by the light of their own dreams , that none could s exactly alike . Art has improved . With better materials , better training and the consequent superior technique , the the painter , and indeed , mechanical reproducer of scenes , pre sent to the eye pictures which seem to tempt one into the un ~ rolling perspective which they hold , where the ancients pre M sented drawing in but one plane . ental pictures still are ff much the same . They di er , perhaps , to everyone who con

Ibein j ures them into g , even though there be the most gifted attempt to portray them in word painting . So it must be with us as we endeavor to bring within the ken of our m ental vision the fair land of one hundred years

x ‘ ago that has now become The Bron . Where teeming thou sands of a population congested in many places , now go about their multitudinous ways o f business and pleasure , few people then inhabited what was a truly rural area . What Jona s

r Bronck , nearly two centuries before , had desc ibed as this

the t beauti ful country, land covered wi h virgin forest , and of a unlimited Opportunities , the verit ble paradise that needed but the industrious hand of m an to make it the finest and most beauti ful region in all the world , had received , to only a limited extent , the care o f man . But as there still may be seen in our parks and in those parts of the Borough to which we may still

o retire from the haunts where men d most congregate , beau

t ti ful hillsides , limpid streams , rolling meadows . glorious — t woods , aye , fores s almost primeval , so a hundred years ago could Nature in all her loveliness be seen all over our broad 1 4

miles from where the waters of the Sound rippled on the east ,

the , and south , to where Hudson pursuing its course to the sea

rolled on the west . 0 M en had arrived in but limited numbers ; life was more

w as o leisurely . There m re time to enj oy and appreciate the beauties and the healthfulness and the content that was every where when Nature w as enjoying her calmer moods . When

Nature was in her rougher moods , her very roughness com pelled men to appreciate their own content and blessings about

fi r i es the es d of the big old houses , if they would , because they ’ ’ would , and i f they wouldn t, because they couldn t get away .

Where in this busy workday of ours , from the time that each returning day wakes us with the consciousness that we must hastily eat a morning meal , then to rush away and be hurtled ,

- perhaps , through space , or perhaps through an ill smelling

r underground cavern at the rate of forty miles an hou , to

n reach some objective point , maybe fiftee or twenty mile s l l — away in but itt e over an hour after we have risen , then , the inhabitant of our land rose perhaps earlier in the morning than we do , serene and confident in the knowledge that there was no great haste , and no necessity for a speed which it is

con ten late d l m d . oubtfu i f he ever If he had thought of it , he who lived here one hundred years ago would have known w as ourn that he a long j ev from the places that we coun t on

reaching in Sixty minutes or thereabouts . There w as —no crowding in all these forty square miles that are now ours , there were probably not over 1 75 families with their dependents . than one settlement that amounted to the di nity of a village g . The whistle of a locomotive had no more been heard than C o f had the lang a trolley car . B ut three means of locomotion ’ pOSS I ble : by were one s own exertion , through the propelling P w O f o er animals , and over the water ; and over the water . a s h me n o f propulsion ot er than by human exertion or the d s . l win were not great y used . d Even roa s were but few . VI , hen the traveler from lower M anhattan crossed the Coles 1 5

Bridge , about where the present Third Avenue Bridge stands ,

- n Ow T . but one road lay before him , Coles Road , hird Avenue ’ I f by this route the poet Drake was . proceeding to Hunt s am Point , he must have proceeded by this s e road to where s off to now , as in the old days , We tchester Avenue branches the right , then proceeded along that avenue to the old road

. ’ m F r which ran fro West a ms to Hunt s Point , and then turn

in S . g harply back , taken that road to the Leggett home Partly

t - over this same route , either by s age coach or upon steeds , n n Ot i the traveler to Boston went , whe he did avail h mself of the somewhat more leisurely but perhaps m Ore com fortable method , of water cra ft , which favoring breezes sent on and unfavorable winds retarded as they moved along the waters of Long Island Sound . T he M otts had not yet come to M ott Haven ; the L orillards had not come to West Farms ; the names o f other families t des ined to become the foremost of the region , its leading

as et . citizens , and its benefactors , were y unknown To him who in the love o f Nature would hold communion t with her various forms , old Wes Farms and Westchester . and indeed M orrisania and Kingsbridge must have presented alluring charms . The place was full of natural beauty undis

‘ r F f - tu bed by the hand o f man . rom the time that sa fron hued morn appeared in the east until the azure robe of night Spread

oh over everything , every hour , indeed every minute, to the

y — servant presented some new combination of beaut , new f lights , new shades never seen be ore and never to be seen again . And now how different the scene $ Where then were quie t country roads , hoo f deep with dust in summer , hub deep with b mud in winter , few and far etween , are the broad and regular streets of a great city . Where then in

’ The m iddl e ‘ w atch of a summer s night ; The earth was dark but the heavens were bright ;

’ fi re—fl s where glimmered and died the y Spark , and the stars 1 6

, on the moving stream flung , as his ripples gently flowed a bu rnished length of wavy beam , where naught was heard on the lonely hill but the cricket ’ s chirp and the answer shrill of the gauz e-winged katydid and the plaint of the wailing whip

m , poorwill , now in the iddle watches of every night whether is the heavens are dark or bright , far flung the great illumina

i to ceedin g from the efforts of man s so great as darken the ’ ‘ light o f the stars on the water ; the crickets chirp and the katy

' ’ ’ did s answer and the w hipporw ill s plaint have been succeeded by the crash of traffic propelled by power that men had n or T then dreamed of . hen and now, what mighty changes man

’ ’ and man s mind and man s energy have wrought $ Yet some things change but little . We are working Slowly but surely t toward the same ends . We s ill have appreciation of the a m t beauti ful h pered at times , perhaps , by that utilitarian spiri i which s the Spirit of the age . We still have that spirit of to lerance and breadth which has seemed innate in our soil .

as has b s We are still , recently een said by a di tinguished but “ n Of somewhat cy ical Englishman , inhabitants a place to which the fit will be attracted and where the fit will survive ; where efficiency in physical essentials no less than efficiency in mental acquirements is inculcated ; where the vigor of ‘ American civilization and progress is strongly evident ; wher e the Americanism and the patriotism that is Americanism is being disseminated and embraced and proclaimed ; where art i s cherished and education in the finer thin gs valued ; a com in un ity which as it points with pride to its captains of industry , l d l points a so with pri e to men who , in ives long or brief , have done things because of which their grateful kind have in Sc ribed their names upon the scrolls of fame ; a com munity which will never fail to be proud of the fact that T he Amer ” a i ic n Flag s associated with its soil and that lying within i ts co nfines is all that remains mortal of that frail young frame which housed the mind that wrote those verses which will not

1 8

None knew thee but to love thee , nor named thee but to ” - d praise . says the poet frien whose name is inseparable from o a d , his . We have long since ccepte this tender i f s mewhat transparent estimate of Drake ; he enjoys a clear fame ; he is , ’ a crystalline spirit . What he owes to these lines of Halleck s we observe when we reflect how earthly in comparison seems

’ Halleck s memory , who was a far abler poet , but who lacked ’ a poetic epitaph to tran sfi u re him . This quality of Drake s g — — - fame its spirit like clearness is derived in part at least from

The u l rit F a his best known poem , C p y, the title of which , even o i f on e kno ws no more of it , evokes a disemb died world , and has the felicity of which , if one read it , seems curiously blood less . But all that we can recover of the actual Drake, even ’ without the testimony of this poem , bears out Halleck s praise . o Drake was essentially a youthful p et , a poet of j oy and

m - o enthusias , a beauty l ver ; he was also , what many young m a poets have not been , personally ad ir ble and loveable , and

. o f he had much common sense He was , moreover , typical

w as . American poets in that his li fe , though short, happy To appreciate his achievements we have only to study him through his a the eyes of admiring friends and acqu intances . The first observatio n that should be made of his work is

, that though he wrote verses from his very childhood , he

ll , or usua y wrote as one might say , accidentally occasionally . It fits well with our conception of him as an untroubled nature w as d that he urge to write by no unquenchable , passionate m . H is fla e poems almost always were suggested or stim u lated by some social encounter , or by the small talk of friend

. I f is ship it true that his earliest composition , at the age of

, w as versifi ed five a conundrum , a critic who looks for omens

g t d reém in en tl mi ht remark hat conun rums are p y sociable . The Cul rit F a p , y as we have often been told , arose out o f a “ 1 8 1 6, conversation in in which Drake , de Kay, Cooper , the v no elist and Halleck , were speaking of the Scottish streams an d their adaptation to the uses of poetry by their numerous o t r man ic associations . COOper and Halleck maintained that I 9

our own rivers furnished no such capabilities , when Drake , as usual , took the Opposite side of the argument , and , to make F his The u l rit a . position good , produced in three days C p y

The scene is laid in the Highlands of the Hudson , but it is noticeable that the chief associations conj ured up relate to the salt water , the poet drawing his inspiration from his familiar ’ ” ’ D ckin k s haunt on the sound at Hunt s Point . This is uy c ’ account ; and Drak e himself can be quoted$ to support the theory that he did not take his work with passionate serious “ ” m The Cu l r it F a ness , for in a anuscript of p y he wrote , “ T he reader will find some of the inhabitants o f the salt water a little farther up the Hudson than they usually travel , but not too far for the purposes of poetry . ’ to Next this poem , Drake s best known work appeared in

The r oakers C , the series of satires and patriotic verse which “ i t ” e con t bu ed 1 8 1 . he and Hall ck to The Evening Post , in 9 ’ Halleck s biography tells how these poems started from a bit “ of nonsen se . Halleck and Drake Were spending a Sunday ff morning with Dr . William Langsta , an eccentric apothecary and an accomplished mineralogist , with whom they were both

’ i his hi int mate when Drake , for own and s friend s ‘ ’ T o amusement , wrote several burlesque stanzas Ennui , Hal leck answering then in some lines on the same subject . The

o young p ets decided to send their productions , with others of ‘ a similar character , to William Coleman , the editor of The ’ Evening Post . I f he published them , they would write more ; f M M i f not , they would o fer them to . . Noah , of the National ’ v e t Ad ocate ; and i f he declined their po tical progeny, hey would light their pipes with them . Drake accordingly sent t Coleman three pieces of his own , signed Croaker a signa ure ’ adopted from an amusing character in Goldsmith s comedy o f ‘ ’ - M n a . The Good natured To their astonishment , a para ’ in the ackn ow l ed graph appeared the Post day following , g

i e ing their receipt , prom sing the insertion of the po ms , pro n oun cin t g them to be the products of superior tas e and genius . and begging the honor o f a pers onal acquaintance with the 2 0

8 1 M 1 0 . 1 author T he lines To Ennui appeared arch 9 , and . the others in almost daily succession ; those written by Halleck ‘ ’ being sometimes signed Croaker Junior , while those which were their joint composition generally bore the signature of ’ o Croaker C . ’ i T he best known of Drake s contributions to the ser es was

M a 2 . T he American F lag , which appeared on y 9 In the first draft the poem concluded with the lines

As fix ed as yonder orb divine , That saw thy bannered blaze unfurled ,

Shall thy proud stars resplendent shine ,

The guard and glory of the world .

But not satisfied with this ending , Drake asked Halleck to

u t suggest a substitute , where pon Halleck improvised the s anza now chiefly quoted from the poem Forever float that standard sheet $

Where breathes the foe but falls before us , ’ With freedom s soil beneath our feet, And freedom ’ s banner streaming o ’ er us ?

Indeed , many of the Croaker poems were the result of col laboration ; we are told that either poet would draft the the original idea , and other would modify it , until both were w a satisfied . It s essentially a social muse that the young men

w a cultivated , and we must think it s a happy comradeship as well as a poetic enthusiasm which made Drake one day lay his m cheek down upon the manuscript and exclai O , Halleck , isn ’ t this happiness I

’ The impression that Drake s poetry sprang fro-m his daily his m li fe among friends , rather than from an inner a bition ,

as is b such Keats had , to be a poet , orne out by the picture

c his we get of him in the New York so iety of time . He was

, w ho m a handsome young doctor had arried well , and would

av his de l a h e a career in profession ; inci ntal y he w s a poet . of l v d ll l l One thinks O i er We—n e Ho mes , who resemb ed Drake in t e in his l more han one resp ct his wit , de icacy of taste , his socnal hi s o gi ft , l vableness . The aff ectionate regard in which 2 1 he w as held in the various New York homes where with Hal ’ leck he was a welcome visitor , is reflected in all of Halleck s accounts of those days ; but the best sketch of Drake occurs in a letter fro-m Halleck to his sister in 1 8 1 7 ; I send you herewith two manuscript poems , written by a friend o f mine

M r b en to . . Drake , whose name , I elieve , I once m tioned you “ ” The u l r it F a He is a young physician , about twenty . C p y

w as s . written , begun , and fini hed in three days The copy you have is from the original , without the least alteration . It is certainly the best thing of its kind in the English language and is more strikingly origi n al than I had supposed it possible ” for a modern poem to be . The other Lines were written ’ m e to a lady , after an evening s ra ble near a river , on whos ’ T is opposite bank a band o f m usic was playing . a hackneyed

T h o he . e subj ect , but has given it beauty and novelty p em

st . was written in August la , since which its author has married ’ and , as his wi fe s father is rich , I imagine he will write no

. r more He was poo , as poets , o f course , always are , and offered him sel f a sacrifice at the shrine of Hymen to shun the ‘ f pains and penalties of poverty . I o ficiated as groomsman ,

H i - though much against my will . s wi fe is good natured , and

lov es t . him to distrac ion He is , perhaps , the handsomest man ” in New York . T his is Drake as his best friends knew him . His limitations are so obvious in the picture , as well as his attractive qualities , that he ought to have been spared the doubtful com pliment of comparison with Keats or any other giant o f poe sy . Had he f lived a few years earlier or later , when vital ideas of di ferent kinds were stirring in American literature , he might have felt as deeply as any of the young English poets , and might have used his genius as an instrument for some large purpose , but he

u came to yo ng manhood at a moment of pause , when litera ture , at least in New York was merely an accomplishment , and when there was no great example of complete devotion to a life o f letters . An exception need not be made of Words t worth , whose consecrated work had not then found the vas 2 2

audience it now has in America . To Drake contemporary

English poetry meant Campbell and Scott and Byron , gentle l w r1 t man y poets , who had much business in the world besides m 1 8 1 6 The ul rit F a w as , ing . In , when C p y co posed Keat

, had not yet published , and Shelley had published besides his

l l ueen M ab d A las tor . juveni ia , on y $ an Drake had before ’ o W om in as G er trude f y g , him , possible models , Campbell s ’ ’ hilde H arold his Scott s various longer poems , Byron s C , and

oriental tales . In all of these works the scene and the plot counted for more than the idea ; if the poet expressed himself

s his , also , a Byron certainly did , it was personality, his mood x n rather than his ideas , that got e pressed . The distinctio may not at first be evident , but we recognize in a broad way a di f ference between such poets as M ilton or Shelley or Emerson

\Vhitm an s or , who use poetry to expre s their profound con v iction s w ho , and those poets write chiefly for amusement , to entertain themselves or their readers , without much wish to mold Opinion on any subj ect . Drake was a poet of this second

. ff kind But even within the kind there are di erences ; Keats , for example , loved beauty with such intensity that his worship of it seems almost to be a kind of propaganda ; he seems as f much a preacher as Shelley , though with a di ferent subject

. matter Drake , obviously , had no such passion . His tem ’ eram en t w as ’ p somewhat like Scott s or Campbell s , perhaps ’ M ‘ like Thomas oore s ; he did not live for poetry, but he prae tised as m the art an accomplish ent , and had he lived , he might d l have raise the accomp ishment to a noble importance . To speculate on what Drake might have written had he been

d , l l spare he ps us to p ace him in the history of our literature . w a Fenimore Cooper s one of the friends out of whos e con The u l rit F a versation grew C p y . T he future novelist was n 1 the visiting in the city , for in 8 1 6 he had temporarily left V V estchester and had move his home back to Cooperstown . A s y et he had no thought of writing . In the famous conversa t ion he an d Halleck contended that the American rivers could n ot the be made subject of romance , as the Scotch rivers had 2 3

been made by Burns and Scott . That Drake should have held the other V iew shows not only his patriotism but his good

. The j udgment He did not celebrate the Hudson , after all , in

°— ul rit F a he n ot C p y , did take his own experiment seriously

‘ uc enough ; but at least he made the attempt , before Irving s i ceeded . , to endow the river and its landscape w th romance We may well suppose that the L eg en d of S leepy H oll ow and ’ R ip Van W in kle were easier to create after Drake s poem was written and circulated among his friends . That COOpe r should have argued against the suitability of our landscape for

t n romantic trea me t is at first astounding , since his prose was shortly to endow that landscape with more rom ance than any

O American verse ever conferred on it . But CO per w as slower than Drake to see the po ssibilities for American art ; his first

P r ecau tion l s w as novel , , was de iberately Engli h , and it only the remonstrances o f his friends , as he tells us , that turned hi him in s second book to an American subj ect . Were not these rem onstrances aided at least by the reputation of what Drake ’ s poem had tried to do ? Would the American forests and lakes have been so magically portrayed in the D eerslay er ’ L as t o the M ohicans and in the f , i f Drake s fairy poem had

s ? T s not come fir t hese questions cannot be an wered , but to ’ ask them is a recognition of Drake s leadership in a field where his s COO er en great successor , his friends Irving and p , have joyed most of the fame . When we read the l ines in which he expressed the hOp-e that e the American scene would create its own po try , we think how many of his countrym en since have dreamt o f a native world , no longer seen through the glass of European traditions . The emancipation that Emerson and Whitman proclaimed and pro ’ moted , is heralded in these words of Drake s Are there no scenes to touch the poet ’ s soul ? No deeds of arms to wake the lordly strain ? Shall Hudson ’ s billows unregarded roll ? ? Has Warren , has Montgomery died in vain Shame $ that while every mountain stream and plain ’ ’ ‘ oi: Hath theme for truth s proud voice fancy s wand , 2 4

’ No native bard the patient harp hath ta en , But left to minstrels of a foreign strand ’ To sing the beauteous scenes of nature s lovel i est land .

’ Tis tr ue no fairies haunt our verdant meads , No grinning imps deform our blazing hearth ; ’ Beneath the Kelpie s fang no traveler bleeds ,

Nor gory vampire taints our holy earth ,

N o spectres stalk to frighten harmless mirth . Nor tortu red demon howls adown the gale ; Fair reason checks these monsters in their birth Yet have we lay of love and horrid tale

Would dim the manliest eye , and make the bravest pale .

Romantic Wyoming $ could none be found

Of all that rove thy Eden groves among , ’ To wake a native harp s untutored sound , And g ive thy tale of woe the voice of song ? Oh $ if description ’ s cold and nerveless tongue

From stranger harps such hallowed strains could call ,

How doubly sweet the descant wild had rung,

From one who , lingering round thy ruined wall , Had plucked thy mourning flowers and wept thy timeless

The Huron chief , escaped from foemen nigh , ’ on N ia ara s His frail bark launches g tides , “ ” Pride in his port , defiance in his eye ,

' Singing his song of death the warrior glides ;

In vain they yell along the river sides ,

In vain the arrow from its sheaf is torn ,

Calm to his doom the willing victim rides ,

And , till adown the roaring torrent borne , o ks them with gesture prou an aughs th ir s orn M c d , d l e c .

But if the harms of aisie hi an va e c d d ll d l ,

$ And rolling flood , and towering rock sublime , I f warrior deed or peasant’ s lowly tale Of love or woe should fail to wake the rhyme , If to the wildest heights of song yo u climb , ( ’ Tho some who know you less , might cry beware , $ I — Onward say your strains shall conquer time ; G ive your bright genius wing , and hope to share ' mag ination s wor s—th o ean earth an air I ld e c , , d .

When we read this stirring advice to the American muse we , think what Drake might have done had he lived a few years

2 6

Out upon the one path Bryant led the way for the new poetry

, of America ; down the other , toward the way of Glamour Drake started when he wrote The Culprit F ay

, In point o f length , in the novelty of its material in the ambi ’ n The u l r it F a is tion of its desig , C p y Drake s most conspicuous l l poem . It is probab y the ear iest native poem of distinct length to attain anything like a general popularity in America . The facts about the composition of the poem are tolerably certain though it is interesting at such an occasion as this to , off er one or two minor corrections of the legendary account .

1 8 1 6 . T he poem , I have said , was written in Halleck fixes the date by his endorsement of a manuscript copy of the poem 2 which he enclosed in a letter to his sister written j anuary 9 ,

“ ‘ 1 8 1 7 . The following lines were written by j oseph Rodman 1 8 1 6 Drake in New York in August , and copied from the ” ’ F i z n author s manuscript in January 1 8 1 7 by t G ree e Halleck .

The fact that such men as Willis , Poe , Griswold , and Duyck in ck , in writings still readily accessible , give the date of com

as 1 8 1 o position 9 , makes the repetition of Halleck on this p int i worth wh le .

’ Drake s motive for literature was not commercial . Singu larl y enough , the poem existed and was circulated in manu

’ 2 script only for many years even after Drake s death in 1 8 0 . ” In an issue of the Weekly M irror published in this city in William Leggett , in a paper on Halleck , speaks of ’ “ ” ul r it F a Drake s C p y as withheld from the public . Early 1 8 in 3 5 Nathaniel Parker Willis , at the time an attaché with the Paris Legation , published a series of four papers on con “ temporary American literature in the Athenaeum of Lon ~

6 0 the 4 in the original . Willis states that the poem had never ubhshed ’ been p , and we have Halleck s word to General l ames ‘ M 2 6 1 82 Th W ek y irror , anuary 8. e e l J , 2 7

Grant Wilson that this was the first publication of any sub 2 u l i F a stan tial part of The C pr t y . M any manuscript copies were in circulation , however . Drake himself is said to have made as many as six copies for

has r . at f iends No collation of these , I believe , ever been tempted . In a manuscript letter written by W . I . Paulding to

D u ckin ck 2 2 1 868 E . A . y , j anuary , , and preserved in the M r . New York Public Library, Paulding quotes . C Graham ’ T l as The u l r it F a has i lou , Drake s nephew , saying C p y never ” 3 been published as written by Drake . In the circumstances T illou can hardly have meant m ore than that not all of ’ “ r ~ Drake s versions are alike . In the Athenaeum Willis e “ m marks that great nu bers of manuscripts are abroad , and with every new copy it is becoming more and more ” T mangled and incorrect . his fact no doubt contributed to ’ M a rs . the motive which led De Kay, Drake s d ughter , to pub r 1 8 lish through Dea born , in New York in 3 5, the thin and beautiful volume which contains the first complete and authori tativ e The u l rit F a edition of C p y, together with such other h poems as s e cared to include in this permanent record . This

edition established the text of the poem . What is the theme of the poem ? It is the story o f the ex piation by a fairy ouphe of the crime of loving a mortal

maiden . The scene is laid in the Highlands of the Hudson ,

not far from West Point .

’ Tis the middle watch of a summer ’ s night The earth is dark but the heaven s are bright ;

ron st The moon looks down on old C e .

The m o narch of the Elfs has summoned his court for trial of the Culprit Ouphe for the capital offence o f loving an earthly

2 t 80 : . Cen ury Magazine , 439 3 I wish here to acknowledge the help in obtaining material for the P ltsits . V . a preparation of this article rendered by Hon ictor H , Keeper of

MSS . in the New York Public Library . This occasion is in many of its

aspects a testimonial to his deep interest in Drake . 2 8 maid The sentence usually imposed for the offence is read . to the criminal '

’ Tied to the hornet s shardy wings ; ’ Tossed on the pricks of nettles stings ; Or seven long ages doomed to dwell With the lazy worm in the walnut- shell ; Or every night to w r1 the and bleed Beneath the tread of the cent‘ipede ;

Or bound in a cobweb dungeon dim ,

Your j ailer a spider huge and grim ,

Amid the carrion bodies to lie ,

Of the worm , and the bug, and the murdered n These it had bee your lot to bear ,

Had a stain been found on the earthly fair .

In consideration of the sinless mind of the maiden , the penalty is softened ; and a pardon is granted upon two condi f tions . The o fending sprite must first capture a drop of water as it is flung from the sturgeon in his graceful leap in the

sea moonlit ; this will cleanse the assoiling of his wings . Next

o he must watch in the heavens for a sh oting star . and pursue its flight until he can capture the last spark sprayed forth in its gleaming flight ; this spark alone can rekindle his extinguished torch .

The goblin marked his monarch well ,

He spake not, but he bowed him low ,

- Then plucked a crimson colen bell , to And turned him round in act go .

The way is long , he cannot fly,

His soiled wing has lost its power , And he winds adown the mountain high ,

For many a sore and weary hour . Through reary be s of tang ed fern d d l , Through groves of nightshade dark and dern , Over the grass and through the brake , W here toils the ant and sleeps the snake ;

d he r - He bri led mouth with a silk weed twist ; He lashed her side with an osier thong ; ’ And now thro ugh evening s dewy mist , With ap an Spring th y boun a ong le d e d l . 2 9

Coming at last to the brink of the stream that is the home

o f . the sturgeon , he plunges in Straightway the denizens of the river spring up to defend their realm against the in vad in g Fay . Against him Their warriors come in swift career and hem him round on ev eiy side ; O x n his thigh the leech has fi ed his hold , ’ ’ uat l s r oll d And q long arms are round him ,

The prickly prong has pierced his skin ,

And the squab has thrown his j avelin ,

The gritty star has rubbed him raw , And the crab has struck with his giant claw ;

He howls with rage , and he shrieks with pain , st He rikes around , but hi s blows are vain ;

Hopeless is the unequal fight ,

Fairy $ naught is left but flight .

to Fleeing back the land again , gashed and wounded , he lay d b own , and looking ehind

he saw around in the sweet moonshine ,

Their little wee faces above the brine , G iggling and laughing with all their might

At the piteous hap of the Fairy W ight .

Reviving at length , he spies a purple mussel shell of which he

o . makes him a b at with an oar of a bootle blade In the boat ,

i o beyond the reach o f the river mps , who are powerless ab ve the surface of the river , he sails on till he finds the brown T backed s turgeon . hen

he skulled with all his might and main ,

And followed wherever the sturgeon led , Till he saw him upward point his head ;

With sweeping tail and quivering fin ,

Through the wave the sturgeon flew , n d - A , like the heaven shot j avelin ,

He sprung above the waters blue . t - Ins ant as the star fall light ,

He plunged him in the deep again , But left an arch of silver bright

The rainbow of the moony main . $ , J oy to thee , Fay thy task is done 1 5 Thy wings are pure , for the gem won

Cheerly ply thy dripping oar ,

And haste away to the elfi n shore .

The first quest of the Culprit F ay is ended . The cricket calls the second hour of the night as the Fa1 ry

- “ his , starts heaven ward , with wings now unstained on s econd quest—that of the fiery spark with which alone he can re

- illumine his fl am e wood lamp . Donning his accoutrements for his second great adventure the F ay sets forth astride of

- a fi re fl y steed .

U p to the vaulted fi rm am en t fi re-fl s His path the y cour er bent ,

And at every gallop on the wind , He flung a glittering spark behind ;

Through cold and drizzly mist , storm and darkness , evading

- shadowy hands that twitch at his rein , and flame shot tongues

his and fiendish eyes , he valiantly plunges onward , with bent

c - grass blade in a tion , until he arrives at the milky way and the

home of the sylph queen . But oh $ how fair the shape that lay t Benea h a rainbow bending bright, She seemed to the entranced Fay The loveliest of the forms of light ; Her mantle was the purple rolled At twilight in the west afar ; ’

Twas tied with threads of dawning gold ,

And buttoned with a sparkling star . Her face was like the lily roon ’ That veils the vestal planet s hue ;

, Her eyes two beamlets from the moon ,

Set floating in the welkin blue .

Her hair is like the sunny beam , And the diamond gems which round it gleam Are the pure drops of dewy even ' e That ne r have left their native heaven . 3 1

The elf awakens the l ove o f the sylph queen and she begs him to give up his quest and dwell forever with her ; with her to ’ b ” “ hang upon the rainbow s rim , to dance upon the orbed ” ’ moon , to rest on Orion s starry belt .

She was lovely and fair to see , ’ And the elfi n s heart' beat fi tf ully

but here the remembrance of his earthly love keeps him true .

- Lady, he cried , I have sworn to night , n O the word o f a fairy knight , To do my sentence -task aright ; M y honour scarce is free from stain , I may not soil its snows again ; w o B etide me weal , betide me , a Its mandate must be nswered now .

Right generously then the sylph queen a ids him in his

fi n — s . e d further que t She gives a proof sable car , and he speeds away till he finds the place of the falling star and at last catches a glimmering spark with which he re- illumines

b u his fairy lamp . Then he turns a r ptly to the long downward gallop to earth and

wheeled around to the fairy ground , e he And sp d through t midnight dark .

The poem closes with a roundelay chorus by all the fairies Ouphe and goblin $ imp and sprite $ Elf of eve $ and starry Fay $ ’ Ye that love the moon s soft light ,

Hither , hither wend your way ;

Twine ye in a j ocund ring,

Sing and trip it merrily,

Hand to hand , and wing to wing , R - ound the wild witch hazel tree . Hail the wanderer again t a d Wi h dance and song, n lute and lyre ,

Pure his wing and strong his chain ,

And doubly bright his fairy fire .

Twine ye in an airy round , B rush the dew and print the lea ;

Skip and gambol , hop and bound , - Round the wild witch hazel tree . 3 2

This paraphrase has served two purposes ; it has given the

story , and it has revealed to you something of the quality of

the poem . Contemporary criticism of the work , seldom very

a . well balanced , ran in general to consumm te laudation Hal “ leck said o f it : It is certainly the best thing of the kind in

s . the Engli h language , and is more strikingly original than I ” t had suppo sed it possible for a m odern poem to be . But tha

- w w as the language of enthusiastic friendship . Kno ledge of ” this poem as well as of the Croaker poem s may have been “ ” the in the mind of Coleman , editor of the Evening Post M $ when he exclaimed on meeting Drake and Halleck , y God ” I had no idea that we had such talents in America $ T he writer of a criticism in the American M onthly Review for 1 8 September , 3 5, comments upon the newly published poem more specifically ; but with hardly less glowing emotions : F or o f luxuriance fancy, for delicacy of expression , for glowing imagery, and for poetic truth , it is rivalled by no poem that has o f appeared upon—this side the Atlantic . Our author studied nature studied her not as she appeared in books he studied her in her own virgin retreats , by the mighty rivers

. and mossy forests of his own fresh land . Its whole

' o is m . tale o f atm sphere A erican It is a fairy our clime , and its imagery and accessories are applicable to no other beneath ”

s n . u . T the H L . uckerman is said to have declared that The “ Culprit F ay is superior to any fanciful poem ” by M oore or ‘ ll . ll d She ey Some ca e Drake the American Keats . m In uch of this comment it is easy to see the habit of ex

- uberant and assertive over praise which America has n ot even yet outgrown . It is a fault of youth which has n ot yet learn ed its to measure freedom . Not many years be fore The Culpr it F a w as y , r published the $ uarte ly had made its famous re “ ” mark Who reads an American book ? And the next gen c f ration o American critics rallied resentfully to the defence of every new American book , for the most part not wisely but

3 4

T he o whole paragraph is a fiction . revised Cycl pedia went to press a year before Halleck returned his proof , and the cor ll s rection was never made . Ha eck had long before borne te ti 1 8 1 mony in the letter to his sister in January, 7 , that Drake , it i n wrote the poem in New York , and that was completed

5 three days .

u . T here is however essential , i f not literal , tr th in the story

Like Charles B rockden Brown , like Irving, like the Cooper of

the Deerslayer stories , Drake did seek literary values in Amer

m , ican scenes . Is there nothing in A erica he asks in his poem “ ’ ” ? addressed to Halleck , to touch the poet s soul No deeds of arms to wake the lordly strain ? ’ Shall Hudson s billows u nregarded roll ?

Shame $ that while every mountain stream and plain ’ ’ Hath theme for truth s proud voice or fancy s wand , ’ ” No native bard the patriot harp hath ta en .

’ T he laudation of Drake s contemporaries constantly pro ” claimed that the poem was American ; that through this masterpiece , the Hudson had now taken its place among the

. T he storied rivers of the world scene of the poem , it is true , is local ; the materials of animal and vegetable life , from which

e so much of the fabric of the po m is made , were to be found in or by the Hudson; or else they swarm in the salt waters ff ’ ’ o Hunt s Point . Drake s use of these materials sufficiently his testifies to love for nature , and the accuracy of his ob servation s in local natural history ; my biolog ical friends say that it is all quite impeccable save for the typical circumstance that only a poet cou ld people the Hudson at West Point with -fi sh d . T star an porpoises hese , however , are particulars , it is sa n ’ fair to y , concer ing which Drake requested the poet s proper “ rw xle e ’ ” 6 p g , ll his der d l the wi ing suspension of rea s isbe ief .

s P 1 6 : - . 9 Life and Letters of Fitz G reeme H 11 b G a eck , y J ames rant

Wilson , N . Y . 6 I n a S . note on a copy of The Cul rit F a Drake says The rea er M p y , : d . d l . w find some of the 1n habitants of the salt water a little further up the H udson than they usually travel ; but not too far for the purposes of 3 5

I But such demonstrations o f the Americanism of the

m m n poem see to leave so ething out of account . Nothi g American can be literature that does not first have in it some t thing a good deal greater than America . The question is n o

he at bottom one of t local realism of the poem . Are the El f M on arch and his company really dancing still in the wo odlands o f the Hudson by the light of the mid - summer m oon ? Are they of the same fibre with the crew that Rip Van Winkle knew ? The question goes deeply into the mature of Drake ’ s

The u l r it F a poem . Any attentiv e reader of C p y can feel the daintiness , the lightness , and the melody with which the ma T terials of the story are c ompounded . his for example is the portrayal of F ay accoutred for his second quest

He put hi s acorn helmet on ; It was plumed o f the silk of the thistle down The corslet plate that guarded his breast ’ Was once the wild bee s golden vest ;

His cloak , of a thousand mingled dyes , Was formed of the wings o f butterflies ; - His shield was the shell of a lady bug queen , Stud s of gold on a ground of green h And t e quivering lance which he brandished bright,

Was the sting of a wasp he had slain in flight . Swift he be strode his fi re-fl y steed ; He bared his blade of the bent grass blue ;

He drove his spurs of the cockle seed , he And away like a glance o f thought flew ,

To skim the heavens , and follow far - The fiery trail of the rocket star .

’ 7 Poe in an early review of Drake s poems i n vites attention to the curiously mechanical way in which the details of this T o is picture are selected and combined . prove that it me

chan ical he wrote a par o dy of the stanza substituting other details of accoutrement for those pres ented

-b His blue ell helmet , we have heard - Was plumed with the down of the humming bird , The corslet on his bosom bold

7 n 1 836. Southern Literary Messe ger , April , 36

’ Was once the locust s coat of gold ,

, His cloak , of a thousand mingled hues

Was the velvet violet , wet with dews , His target was the crescent shell S idro hel Of the small sea p , And a glittering beam from a maiden ’ s eye ’ Was the lance which he proudly w av d on high .

Such a picture , says Poe , can be made by any one tolerably acquainted with the qualities of the objects to be detailed , and possessi n g a very moderate endowment of the faculty of com F b ex eri parison . ancy , said Coleridge , com ines the facts of p ence into new forms ; and the stanza which I have quoted from The Culprit F ay is plainly what Coleridge would have called c a product of fancy, rather than a work of reative imagina

Tin tern A bbe tion , like y , blending its materials into ideal “ ” visions touched with the light that never was on land or sea. T o Poe this distinction between fancy and imagination was m m unreal ; and his favored exa ple , as it happened , for exe pli fyin g the lack of poetic ideality in a poem composed appar ently within the provisions of the Coleridgean definition , was 8 Th u l i F F e r t a . none other than C p y rankly speaking , the

The u l r it F a V limitation of C p y, from the point of iew of larger

° thin s lies and permanent g , in a relative deficiency in what Poe “ ” calls ideality , or the Poetic Sentiment ; in what today w e

i he frequently call the connotation of spiritual values . It s t relative deficiency of this quality that fixes a gul f between so Keats and Drake , broad that any real comparison is im I i possible . t s this that essentially differentiates the Fairy

' ’ in — magically bodied—forth Shelley s $ u een M ab the passage is quoted by Poe from the Culprit or the Sylph in the poem o f T Drake . his is Shelley :

’ The Fairy s frame was slight ; yon fibrous cloud t That ca ches but the faintest tinge of even , And which the straining eye can hardly seize When melting into eastern twilight’ s shadow ,

ll ’ ’ Cf . ’ review by P o e of oore s A lci hron in Burton s ent eman s M p , G l ‘ z i 1 8 0 Mag a ne . J anuary , 4 . 3 7

Were scarce so thin , so slight ; but the fair star

That gems the glittering coronet of morn , t Sheds not a ligh so mild , so powerful 5 As that which , bursting from the Fairy form ,

Spread a purpureal halo round the scene ,

Yet with an undulating motion ,

Swayed to her outline gracefully .

And yet I have the feeling that , in the last analysis , Poe ’ T he u l ri F a denied too much to C p t y . It was Poe s way to a emph size the negative in all his criticisms . It is true that the unevenness and inconsistency o f youthful workmanship are T there . echnically the work does need pruning , and it does o lack proporti n ; and Drake did not revise ; he improvised .

And there had been too high praise . But Drake was only

- twenty one when he wrote the poem . He was the first of our American poets to seek to fi n d the Way of Glamour ; and he T h j ourneyed on his pathway alone . e wonder is that such a poem should have been written in America at all in 1 8 1 6 .

Such lightness and airiness of touch , such musical verse were well nigh unique in our earlier poetry ; they are rare in our later . As I read the poem today the music of its verse and the daintines s of its story seem to me to blend in a charm that brings a sweet and genuine , i f not a power ful appeal of poetic reality across the century to this day of our comme moration . ’ At this point of the memorial exercises Drake s poem The A m er ican F lag was sung to stirring music composed for the 1 M s . occa ion by Edwin S Tracy , musical director of the orris High School ; one hundred pupils of the school participating in the mixed chorus were accompanied by the M orris High

School orchestra of several dozen instruments . The audience

‘ greeted this . number by rising and giving the composer an ovation .

- Charles de Kay, Esq . , the well known author , poet . and

o critic , as well as grands n of Drake , then presented a valuable e s : paper on the lineag o f our poet , which follow

1 r The music with piano accompaniment has been published by M .

Tracy, who also provided full score orchestration for hi s pupils in manu script . 3 8

JOSEPH RODM AN DRAKE

H 1 s A N CESTRY

, O f Joseph Rodman Drake the poet , who, like Keats died

l d ow n s . too ear y , it may be sai that he was his ance tor boy Good American doctrine , that , and well suited to the who wrote The A m erican F lag . F With the exception of Sir rancis Drake , from whose n e s family he descended , none of the am eems to have made ld l an y great noise in the wor , a though many there were on both sides of the Atlantic who upheld the name by their con duct and attainments as soldiers , sailors and citizens of emi t n en ce and worth . In Berlin during the reign of the firs t Germ an Emperor there lived a sculp or of note , named Drake ,

f . who w as an offshoot of this widely spread and e ficient stock He is best known for the winged figure on the Victory Column that overtops the statues along the Sieges Allée in the Thier

s garten , statue which represent the ancestors of the German autocrat .

However we Americans , in our ambition to make good use

of the present and prepare for the future , may neglect the past , it is only natural that we should like to know about the an

T . cestry of men of genius and of mark . hough we may rej ect x m the e tre e to which China , for instance , has pushed the

o f worship of ancestors , we can not shut our eyes to the value

to inherited traits , and so are led acknowledge that it is well

- for a man to have fore bears whom their fellows applauded . This is only to maintain a just po ise and keep the true per

s ective -v p in our attitude toward men , neither permitting our

selves to give undue weight to the forefathers of a stock , nor allowing ourselves to be hurried to the other extreme by our

preference for democracy . On e of the wisest among the

as Greeks under Roman rule , Plutarch , you may remember . t kept always to hat dignified moderateness . Whenever he

o t n c uld . he recoun ed the family origi of the men who live 3 9

his again in wonderful books . Yet the celebrity without known ancestry , or one of a base descent receives the fairest m and most impartial treat ent at his hands . Joseph Rodman Drake was the son of Jonathan Drake of s v Westche ter County , one o f a ery prolific branch of the M family . any relatives of his name bore their share of victory ’ and disaster in the Revolution . Joseph s mother was Hannah

Effi n Lawrence of the gham Lawrence family on Long Island .

John and Joseph were favorite names among the Drakes . At

1 06 the a meeting in 7 of j ustices , churchwardens and vestry of the parish which at that time included Westchester , East chester and Yonkers , John Drake is one of the justices and

is . Lieutenant Joseph Drake one of the vestry Jonathan , the ’ o p et s father , who died when Joseph Rodman was a child , was M the son of oses Drake of Dutchess County , who died during M the Revolution . One of the brothers of oses was Colonel Joseph Drake of New Rochelle who long outlived his famous grandnephew . Their father was Benjamin Drake , third in

F airfi eld n n descent from Samuel Drake of , Con , he havi g received a grant o f land in 1 650 from the freeholders of that m settle ent , and fourth from John Drake who came over from 1 6 0 n Plymouth to Boston in 3 , and settled in Windsor , Con , soon after that date . He was the son of another John of

Plymouth , England .

Thus these Drakes of Eastchester , Westchester and Dutchess hark back to a John Drake of Plymouth in England who was of the counc il of that seaport in 1 60 6 and one of a company empowered by James the F irst to attend to the settling of New

England . So far as known, this John Drake did not cross f the Atlantic . He was closely a filiated to the Drake family at

is v Ashe , that of Sir Francis Drake . He said to ha e had

m . twelve children , of who at least two sons came to America Notably w as it the John Drake “men tioned who came to Boston from Plymouth in 1 63 0 and settled in Windsor from whom the Westchester Drakes derive . T he coat of arms of Sir F rancis Drake is what the French e . name . We might call such a charge a r bus Now a “ ri n dr aco . drake in S hakespe a English is a dragon , in Latin F So the charge on the shield of Sir rancis was a dragon , called

in the jargon of British heraldry a wivern , a winged lizard R ev ol u such as Germans would call a Lindwurm . After the tion the American branches kept the monster as the charge

on the shield , but substituted for the wivern in the crest an

eagle . thereby asserting with emphasis their independence o f

in de en dan ce the mother country, that p for which so many t Drakes in Connecticut , New York and New Jersey had fough — and suffered . And especially those nearest to the poet his — father , uncles and cousins since their homes lay within tha t tormented and bloody ground where the raiders from the “ ” “ ” patriot and British lines , the cowboys and Skinn ers

plundered everybody with sinister impartiality . The Drake coat of arms was singularly appropriate to sea farers in southern England who m ay well have descended from vikin r m the g or bay en of a much earlier age , heathen who harried and in many spots founded towns on the south and — east shores of Britain . Drake or dragon was a well known

d n d vikin r wor for the long rowi g an sailing galley o f the g , so named because the prow and stern were carved in the form

of the head and tail of the monster . By virtue of his name a D d d a d seafi hter rake was or aine as a se goer an g . The Drakes of Eastchester and Westchester were related ,

, naturally to many other landed families , notably the descend o f T ants homas Hunt who as early as 1 652 owned portions of ’ Thro morton s ’ g Thro Neck on the East River , called g g s Neck s as ’ for hort , well as the Rodmans of Rodman s Neck in East

Born in 1 79 5 and losing his father at an early age Joseph , d m Ro an Drake had a sad childhood , which was darkened still further when his mother married again and with his sisters fo r left New Orleans . where his stepfather lived .

4 2 nor is it likely that the other American poets whose names are now given to adjacent streets , would have been thus honored by the Borough .

After the literary exercises at the M orris High School had been concluded with the singing of “ The Star Spangled ” e c Banner , the m mbers of the Society and guests pro eeded by m automobiles to Joseph Rod an Drake Park , at Hunts Point , where the graves of Drake and his sister had been substantially

eli tical restored by the Society, having been enclosed by an p b (1 iron fence set upon eight granite fence locks , whilst ’ Ti ffany bronz e tablet containing lines from Halleck s elegiac T po em on Drake had been placed upon the tombston e . he x 2 2 total e pense of this work was $ 73 5. A large and attentive audience witnessed the unveiling ex er T . h e . T cises Hon James L . Wells , reasurer of the State of “ New York , read an important paper on T he Hunt F amily ’ ” and Hunt s Point , which revealed a remarkable knowledge of local history , deduced from much research and personal in

. I t s formation is expected that this paper , which hould not

, be lost will be prepared for future publication when M r . Wells can find more time than is available now with his

arduous duties in the service of the State . T he unveiling of the tablet was gracefully performed by

M - iss Helena van Brugh de Kay, a great granddaughter o f the poet . A s the folds of the American flag were drawn aside . revealing the first verse of Halleck ’ s tribute to Drake Chair , m an P altsits o read the touching p em , which follows

J OS EP H RODM A N A K E A K DR P R , M A Y 2 1 1 9 , 9 5.

G R U R EEN BE THE T F .

- TZ G EENE ALL ECK FRI R H . Written at the old Hunt G range in memory of his friend and companion . J s o ph Ro man Drake , a few ays after his eath Sept e d d d . 2 1 1 82 0 , , . G reen be the turf above thee , Fr iend of my better days $

4 3

None knew thee but to love thee ,

Nor named thee but to praise .

Tears fell when thou wert dying,

From eyes unused to weep ,

And long, where thou art lying,

Shall tears the cold turf steep .

When hearts whose truth was proven ,

Like thine , are laid in earth , There should a wreath be woven

To tell the world their worth .

I And who wake each morrow ,

To clasp they hand in mine , o Who shared thy j y and sorrow , Whose weal and woe were thine

I t should be mine to braid it Around thy faded brow ; But I ’ ve in vain assayed it I And feel cannot now .

t While memory bids me weep hee ,

Nor thoughts , nor words are free , The grief is fix ed too deeply

That mourns a man like thee .

M r b Then . Davis on ehalf of the Society formally pre sented the tablet and railing to the city of N ew York through T the Hon . homas W . Whittle , Park Commissioner of the

Borough of the Bronx , who accepted the transfer in a few

- well chosen words . No sooner had he finished speaking than the first gun of the National Salute to the F lag was fired by F Y . G . . . Battery E , Second ield Artillery, N , N , Lieutenant A b M . s Ro ert W . arshall commanding the last gun was fired ,

T T he the Battery bugler sounded aps at the tomb . mem bers o f the Society and guests returned to the automobiles and x rode to Bron Park , the gorge of the river below the old ’ - snuff mill being reached at six o clock . The veil of evening

was soon to fall , as a fit termination of a glorious memorial day . Daylight lingered long enough for the unveiling of the 44

T iff any bronze tablet at the gorge and for an inspection of the ’ s exhibition of works Iby and relating to Drake in the Society museum in the M ansion above the gorge .

M r . At the unveiling exercises in the Bronx Park gorge , : , Davis , as chairman of the Council spoke as follows i N ature an d in L an ua e : F rien ds of the B eau tifu l n g g s T hinking in the ideal , expres ing the workings of imagina o e tive minds , poets live at an altitude and breathe an atm spher far removed from the valley of fog wherein the struggling millions wear their lives away .

Pained with the pressure of unfriendly hands ,

Sick of smooth looks , agued with icy kindness they fail to find in their fellows that respon sive sympathy and understanding which their spirits crave , and seek solace in these

shades where none intrude ,

To prison wandering thought and mar sweet solitude .

The frail body of him whom we honor today yielded up its

-fi T o o spirit at the early age of twenty v e . young to have experienced much of the bitterness o f life , of gentle manners

o and winning ways , yet even this amiable young man , s well beloved by his fellows as we know him to have been , found “ o in this river a face m re pleasant than the face of men , ” and in its waves found old companions . A century ago Drake loved to come and sit upon these banks ; he loved this gentle river talked to it as though it “ understood him ; called it my own romantic Bronx .

M n any thousands , in the interve ing years , have come and sat o up n these banks , have looked upon this river and have here found that respite from the troubles o f a weary li fe

which makes existence more endurable .

H is - - master piece a fairy tale , no wonder Drake was charmed by this fairyland of sylvan loveliness $ Under the spell of its as mag ic beauty , we stand here today and look around us it , require s no poet 5 imagination to appremate his poetic ecstasy 4 5

x Sweet sights , sweet sounds , all sights , all sounds e celling , $ ’ ’ ” Oh twas a ravishing spot formed for a poet s dwelling .

I f we may conceive that the spirit of Drake hovers over this

M a gathering at the close of this beautiful y day, how his soul must rej oice that this enchanted ground has been preserved inviolate and is dedicated in perpetuity to all the people , not alone of this great city , but of the world at large , for the beauties of the Bronx bring pilgrims from everywhere .

his On the bank of the river which inspired charming poem , the Bronx Soc iety of Arts and Sciences now dedicates one b verse in imperishable ronze , as a tribute alike to the poet and to the source of his inspiration .

Dr . Nathaniel L . Britton , Director of the New York Botanical Garden and a member of the Drake M emorial Com

m ittee . , presided at the gorge exercises He next presented ’ B n P altsits r o x . Chairman , who read Drake s poem on the which follows X B RON .

- I sat me down upon a green bank side ,

Skirting the smooth edge of a gentle river ,

Who se waters seemed unwillingly to glide , Like parting friends who linger while they sever ; o e Enforced to g , yet seeming still unr ady,

Backward they wind their way in many a wistful eddy .

G rey o ’ er my head the yellow -vested willow R f u fled its hoary top in the fresh breezes ,

G lancing in light, like spray on a green billow , Or the fine frost -work which young winter freezes ; ‘ When fi r st his power in infant pastime trying , ’ Congeals sad autumn s tears on the dead branches lying .

From rocks around hung the loose ivy dangling ,

And in the clefts sumach of liveliest green , - he Bright ising stars t little beach was spangling , The gold—cup sorrel from his gauzy screen

Shone like a fairy crown , enchased and beaded ,

. Left on some morn , when light flashed in their eyes unheeded

- -t The hum bird shook his sun ouched wings around , ’ ‘ The blu efi n ch caroll d in the still retreat ; The antic squirrel capered on the ground 46

Where lichens made a carpet for his feet m m k e Through the transparent waves , the ruddy l ’ l m k e. Shot up in glimmering spa rks his red fi n s tiny tw

There were dark cedars with loose mossy tresses , - ff fi aun tm g White powdered dog trees , and sti hollies

- G audy as rustics in their May day dresses , l n in Blue pelloret from purple leaves ups a t g

A modest gaze , like eyes of a young maiden

Shining beneath dropt lids the evening of her wedding .

The breeze fresh springing from the lips of morn , ’ Kissing the leaves , and sighing so to lose em , ’ The winding of the merry locust s horn , The glad spring gushing from the rock ’ s bare bosom x Sweet sights , sweet sounds , all sights , all sounds e celling , ’ ’ Oh $ twas a ravishing spot formed for a poet s dwelling .

I And did leave thy loveliness , to stand Again in the dull world of earthly blindness ?

Pained with the pressure of unfriendly hands , ? Sick of smooth looks , agued with icy kindness I Left for this thy shades , where none intrude , To prison wandering thought and mar sweet solitude ?

I Yet will look upon thy face again , o w n t x My roman ic Bron , and it will be

A face more pleasant than the face of men . I Thy waves are old companions , shall see - A well remembered form in each old tree ,

m in istrel s An hear a voice long loved in thy wild y .

A s the last verse was being read , the verse which had been M cast in bronze , iss Slyvia de Kay , a W insome maid of twelve

a - summers and a gre t granddaughter of the poet , drew aside the American flag and revealed those words which so peen “ ” liarl T he y signalize Drake as Bronx Poet . The setting of these unveiling exercises will not be effaced from the m em ory d d of those who ha the goo fortune to be present . The quiet w as l ’ of the scene broken on y by the echo of the river s rapids ,

- rustling trees , and the song notes or twitter of birds engaged d in the vespers of the fainting ay . T h e exercises closed with a view of the Drake exhib ition d alrea y alluded to .

F OREWORD

HEN som e years ago I first conceived the plan of form

W ing a collectionof the writings of Dr . Joseph Rodman Drake to be presented to the Bronx Society of Arts and

has I Sciences , as since been done , had no idea that so much i could be brought together . The usual catalogues and b bliog raphies of American poetry mentioned only a few editions .

It is grati fying , therefore , to be able to announce that the ’ so Society s collection now lacks only a few titles and is . far as known to me, the fullest complement of Drake editions in any public or private possession .

The bibliography presented here is not definitive , but it is nearly complete for separate publications of Drake

u 1 Aug st , 1 9 8 BIBLIOGRAPHY

ORDE R OF ARRA N G E M E NT

I . Writings of Drake . 3 . Some Books and Articles

2 . M Notes on some anu about Drake . M scripts of Drake . 4 . iscellany

1 T . WRI INGS OF DRAKE

T H E CR OA K ER s

The Poetry of the Portfolio . Collected by Oliver Ol d

12 e . . : 1 8 1 . school [ , Joseph Dennis ] Philadelphia H . Hall , 8 Includes for the first time in book form three poems by “

Co . : Drake and Halleck , signed Croaker , as follows

“ “ ’ T o - Abstract of a Surgeon General s [Dr . ’ “ M itchill s M m ] Report , and A Loving Epistle to r. W . ” Cobbett of North Hempstead , L . I .

Poems , by Croaker , Croaker Co . and Croaker , P J im . as published in the Evening Post . [ arallel lin es an d qu otation fr om S hakespeare] Published for the Reader . —1 1 New York 8 9 . — 6 . m . title , verso blank ; text , headed Poe s , pp [ 3 J 3 — T h e . S ignatures : A C in sixes . first edition in book form E s . The copy described is owned by Alfred T . White , q , of

fl leav es Y . Brooklyn , N . , and has pasted on the front y three of the original Croaker poems cut from the New York ”

Es . Evening Post . One of these is a squib To E . Simpson , q M T anager of the heatre , annotated in a contemporary hand : S with the names of the persons lampooned , as follows “ Sanford ; V B Van Buren ; C Clinton ; Justice 50

T Tompkins ; old R RO ; Shallow Judge Woodward ; SS W B Sp ncer P R Peter R . Livingston ; Walter 5 e ; — — W r , Bowne ; M M ayor ; C n and Christian and Warner

f M M e . ; Police Justices B -r Buckmaster ; H Ha f ; igs ; — — M —ll G r M ax V W Van Wyck ; G n Gelston—; and — P . W well and Gardinier ; B n Bolton ; G t Gilbert ; H — F M —ll M [ sic f or P P ll . ll ; eter H . Wendover ; Pe itchell

M itchill ] .

In the text of the book , identifications of names have been

: . 1 written with lead pencil on many of the pages , thus p 3 , ’ 1 M —rr— s Baron V H Van Hoffman ; p . 4, y Guards — 1 — . 2 1 L , 1 rv s . 4, ; M urray ; p . 4 , J Jarvis ; p Lynch p 2 2 . , Rose ; p . 3 , Primes ; p 5 — 2 c M ll M sic or M itchill] ; Bogardus ; p . 5, Do tor itchell [ f — — — — D k R r . 2 T s . 2 Dicky Riker ; p p . 5, Tompkins ; p 5, y — 6 M —ll M . 2 [ 2 6, B s Bogardus ; p , Doctor itchell for — M M C01. F F . 2 ; 2 . s l . M itchil ] ; p 7 , Dr rancis ; p 7, urray — — — — — — — n 2 8 n H ff B n B l st , p . , J , and y , and Chr and — — 2 8 k f . , B r c t John Ho f , Ben Bailey, Christian , Brackett ; p — — — — 8 8 M s M . 2 rn r . 2 , Colonel W Warner ; p , p apes ; p — M M g s eigs . There is no copy of this edition in the collection of the

1 8 . . n x . Bro Society of Arts and Sciences In 93 , A S Clark ,

f 1 0 M cK ee a bookseller , o fered a copy for $ ; the copy was 1 00 6 M ff an d . sold in 9 for $3 ; Dodd , ead Co o ered an uncut copy in 1 90 8 for $ 1 2 5 ; an uncut copy was sold in the M aier

. 1 6 1 0 b sale , on Nov , 9 9 , for $49 ; and the Cham erlain copy m 1 0 sold also in Nove ber , 9 9 , with a defective title and some pages spotted , fetched only o 8— ’ These p ems were reprinted on pp . 49 50 7 o f W aldie s

. 2 2 M a 1 1 8 6 Octavo Library , no , for y 3 , 3 , and of this issue ’ “ the Bronx Society has a copy . See also Holden s Dollar ” M 1 8 8 2 agazine , for June , 4 , p . 3 4 .

The Croakers by Joseph Rodm an Drake and F itz k Greene Hallec First Complete Edition [S eal of B radford Club M ] New York DCCCLX . 5 1

- e Royal half titl of Bradford Club Series . Number ’ - two , verso blank ; title page , with copyright , etc . on verso ; “ “ “ V — Club Copy, verso blank ; Preface , pp . [ J vi ; Con ” V i l — I — 1 1 tents , pp . [ J viii ; text , pp . [ ] 3 3 ; 3 4 blank ; Notes , ” 1 —1 1 80 — ~ . 1 8 1 1 1 pp [ 3 5] 79 ; blank ; Index , pp . [ ] 9 ; orna

1 1 - ment on verso o f p . 9 . Steel engraved portraits of Drake T h “ and Halleck as frontispieces . e S ociety has a Club M . . K o k r . ec Copy presented by John B oreau to Dr . L R e , but lacks the Drake portrait . Other copies seen are in the

b has New York Public Li rary, which also copies of the Sub ’ ” w ith a er scriber s Copy issue , in yellow wrappers p p label and in green pocked cloth , with gilt lettering on the back . These issues are identical save for the leaf which indicates T their is sue . he Club edition was for members and limited

T he ub to one hundred copies . other copies were sold to s scribers . The editors state in the preface : M ore than once since their first appearance in the columns of the daily newspapers ,

ff e e orts have b en made for their collection in print , and one or two unauthorized gatherin gs have thus been made while

0 ies m numerous c p ore or less complete , prepared with con

siderabl . e trouble , have been circulated in manuscript T he collection will be found to contain several original

M r Croakers by . Halleck , which , though written at the period l of the others , have not hitherto seen the ight , while several additions o f a similar nature have been made from the manu ” T he scripts of Drake . best edition of these pleasant satires , M with indispensable explanatory notes . In the anuscript Division of the New York Public Library there is a neatly - e written collection of the Croaker poems , in two pocket siz

a 1 80 2 , volumes , the p per of one having a watermark date of T and the other a watermark date of 1 8 1 5. hey belonged to M fl vleaf r . James Lenox , whose autograph is on the front of one o f the volumes and may have come to him i n his youth . 1 800 as he w as born in the city of New York in the year , ~

S on of Robert Lenox , one of the chief merchant princes of circulated in this form am ong the temporary compilations , m élite of the city of New York when the poe s were fresh and the talk of the town . ’

- . T he Brad ford edition has been an extra illustrator s hobby 1 0 1 1 6 w as l . , 9 , In the John D . Crimmins sa e , Nov there a copy extended to four volumes by the insertion of about 460

. portraits and plates , as well as some autograph letters It

- sold for $75. Less interesting extra illustrated copies have T - been sold for $50 or less . here is an extra illustrated copy in the New York Public Library .

T H E CU L P RI T F A Y

. The Culprit F ay . By the late Joseph Rodman Drake This poem was circulated in manuscript for many years before it was printed . Extracts , more or less garbled , had found their way into the L on don A theuwum and also in

American periodicals . It seems to have been printed entire

m B oston P earl re for the first ti e in the , from which it was

o f - printed , with the addition an important head note , in the - — 1 8 1 2 1 . e Y ork M irr or 1 1 . N w , of July , 3 5, pp 4 A portion of the poem had aleady appeared in the M irr or some years m before , but the above printings see to have been the first complete presentations and preceded its appearance in the ’ authorized collection of Drake s po ems which Dearborn pub ’ 1 8 M i lished . rr or in 3 5 for the poet s daughter It was in the , too m , that the authorized volu e received attention by an excel 2 1 1 8 1 6 —1 6 lent review , in the issue of November , 3 5, pp . 4 5.

F a The Culprit y and other Poems . By Joseph Rod

- m an . : Drake New York George Dearborn , Publisher .

1 83 5.

- half title , verso blank ; frontispiece portrait of Drake ,

T in painted by Rodgers and engraved on steel by . Kelly , with scription giving i n correctly the dates of birth and death o f Drake ; steel engraved title -page by James Smillie after Robert T H E

E U L P R K’E’ F A Y

A N D OT H ER P OE M S B Y

J OS EP H [FRO [OM A N DRA KE .

N ew $ uirk

G EORG E DEA RB ORND PUB LI S HER

ll 8 3 5 °

NG A VED TL E AG E OF I ST OL L ECTION OF OE M S E R TI P F R C P .

53

1 8 - . 1 8 W Weir , dated 3 5 ; printed title page dated 3 5, with 1 1 8 copyright of October 3 , 3 5 in the name of the publisher , on the verso , and below the imprint of Scatcherd and Adams ; ’ “ ’ dedication by Drake s daughter T o her father s friend F itz ” “ ” Greene Halleck , with verso blank ; Index , with verso 1 —8 F blank ; text , pp . [ ] 4 . igured blue cloth binding , with T ’ gilt lyre on both covers . here is a copy in the Society s col ’ lection . Halleck s own interesting copy , with numerous mar m gi al corrections , alterations , and notes in his hand , was sold 1 0 b on Nov . 4, 9 9 , at the auction of the J . Chester Cham erlain T collection of American first editions . his edition was also issued by Dearborn as a composite with Halleck ’ s Alnwick ” him 1 8 6 . Castle , with other Poems , published by in 3 The

Bronx Society has a copy presented by Dr . Britton . Its bind ing is ornamental cloth with a gilt lyre on both covers and the back is lettered simply DRAKE HALLECK . A copy

o in the New Yor k Public Library is bound in dark blue m rocco . a with the gilt lyre on both covers within a gilt p nel , and with the edges gilt . F — : T he a . 1 2 Analysis o f contents Culprit y , pp [ ] 3 To ” — F . a Friend [ itz Greene Halleck] , pp [ 3 3 ] 3 9 ; Extracts ” 1 — . 6 from Leon . An unfinished poem , pp [4 ] 5 ; Niagara — 60 6 1 5 . ; pp . 57 59 ; two songs , pp and Written in a lady “ M M l 62 cCal , . . [ l ] album , p ; Lines To a Lady iss E iza p ” 6 —6 63 ; “Lines Written on leaving New Rochelle , p . 4 5 “ ” “ ” — 6 — 0 T o 6 66 F . ; 0 . , H pe , pp 5 ; ragment pp 7 7 “ ” “ T M . o 1 . 2 , 3 ; [ p . 7 ; Lines , p 7 ; To Eva p 7 a Lady iss “ ”

. Eliza M cCall ] with a withered violet , p . 74 ; Bronx pp “ ” “ “ ” — —8 1 T h — 8 . ; e . , 79 75 77 ; Song , pp 7 79 ; To Sarah pp — 8 1 8 . F . American lag , pp 4

R d . o The Culprit Fay , and other Poems By Joseph

- : , . man Drake . New York George Dearborn Publisher

1 83 6 .

l l , ha f tit e , verso blank ; frontispiece portrait same as - 1 8 d o 1 83 5 edition ; steel engraved title page , same as 3 5 e iti n 54

- 1 8 6 as and so dated ; printed title page dated 3 , with verso in ” “ ° 1 8 3 5 edition ; dedication , verso blank ; Index , verso blank

2 . si . . . text , beginning with g B on p [9 ] and ending on p 9

This . is the second edition entirely reset and with slight cor ’ T he is rections . Society s copy bound in plain dark brown cloth with a gilt vase and flowers on both covers . The copy in the New York Public Library is bound in dark blue fl oriated cloth , with a gilt title on the back , and a gilt lyre on both — ” The covers . New York Book of Poetry , also published by 1 8 o Dearborn , in 3 7 , contains some p ems of Drake . It is the T i first collection of New York verse . here s a copy in the ’ Society s collection .

T he : F a Rococo containing the Culprit y , by Joseph

M c or h P ra Rodman Drake ; Lillian , by William a w t ed ; n d Th a e . b T Eve of St Agnes , / y John Keats ; ( hree of the most delicious poems ever written . ) With original notes

. . . : M Co . by N P Willis New York orris , Willis , , Pub lishers — . . 1 8 , No 4 Ann Street 44 . ° 8 - - , . 1 1 6 . cover title verso blank ; text , pp [ ] Back cover , “ . M b advertisements In the irror Li rary , being the New M — irror Extra No . Page 1 6 has a valuable note by

. B Willis The ronx Society has it in a set of The New M , d irror the original wrappers having been wasted in bin ing . T he New York Public Library has a copy in the original as issued wrappers , stitched , . These literary extras were issued with the periodical edited M “ . by George P orris and N . P . Willis , entitled : The New M ” , , e d irror of Literature Amusem nt , an Instruction , which 8 1 8 began on April , 43 , and ran till September 2 8 1 8 when , 44, its w as form changed . In the number for September 2 1 , 1 8 44 , l . . (vo 3 , . 8 no on p 39 , a poem by Drake was pre “ : T ” sented , entitled o the Defenders of New - Orleans which , had made its first appearance in a little New Jersey paper Y oun H ickor called g y . T he first three verses of this poem , “ omitting the fourth , were printed in the M agazine of H is 55

. 2 tory, vol 5 p . 74, ostensibly as an unpublished poem of Drake , notwithstanding its earlier appearance in print so T h many years before . e original m anuscript of the poem w as formerly in the collection of the late John D . Crimmins ,

. its 8 1 0 of New York City At the time of sale , on April , 9 7 , e its som critics had questioned authenticity as a Drake item .

F a The Culprit y , and other Poems . By Joseph Rod

- . : man Drake New York Van Norden and King, 45 Wall

1 8 . Street . 47 ° 8 1 8 portrait frontispiece of Drake , same plate as in 3 5

- edition ; half title , verso blank ; printed title , with copyright

1 8 . of 47 by George C De Kay on verso ; engraved title , with ” 1 8 date 47 , verso blank ; Index , with verso blank ; dedication ’ to Halleck by Drake s daughter , verso blank ; text , pp . [9 ]

2 8 . 9 . Page [ 4 ] is blank Black cloth , blind stamped borders ’ K a w as - in and gilt urn on both covers . De y the poet s son ’ n law , who had married Janet Halleck Drake , the poet s o ly b child . The copy owned y the Bronx Society has a presenta e ’ : . ll tion inscription , thus For C J Sti from the Author s — e a 1 8 . w s grandchild , New York 55 Charles Janeway Still , 1 868—1 880 r from , the eminent p ovost of the University of

T he Pennsylvania . New York Public Library has a copy with ” F 1 8 fl leaf M r . . s . F Bryant , August , 47 on a y , from the

William Cullen Bryant collection .

F . The Culprit ay . By Joseph Rodman Drake New 1 0 York : Rudd Carleton, 3 Grand Street, (Brooks Build

M . ing , cor . of Broadway . ) DCCCLIX

- F a hal f title , verso blank ; frontispiece of the y , with

- 1 8 recto blank ; title page , with copyright of 59 , and imprint “ ” e , o f R . Craighead , on verso ; Advertisem nt with verso T - blank ; quotation from ennant , with verso blank ; half title ” 1 —62 , . [ ] blank leaf ; to Poem , with verso blank ; text pp 3 ” “ Catalogue of the Publications of Rudd Carleton , con 1 — c , 5 ; verso sising of title , with two hildren on verso and pp 56

l T l b ank . here are a so copies which have a catalogue of of p . 5

, six pages differing in con tent . Brown pocked cloth gilt , lettering on back and blind stamped m on og ram i of the pub lishers on both covers . T he T his is the first separate edition of Culprit Fay , but “ 6 is unauthorized . On p . of the Catalogue an announce “ ment of “ a charming edition ” of the poem printed on col ”

. ored plate paper , bound in muslin Presumably it is the K a edition described above . J . R . D . De y , a grandson of the l The H om e poet , writing about this pub ication to the editor of l M 0 1 8 d : : J ourna , on arch 3 , 59 , sai Gentlemen An edition of ’ ’ T he F a Joseph Rodman Drake s poem , Culprit y , having been recently issued by a publishing house in this city , and ex ten sively advertised for sale , I hereby announce that the edi tion was published without the consent of the family of the

. late M r . Drake , and that the sale is peremptorily stopped It was the desire of the Author that his poems should not be pub lished erv en t , and , to p it , a few copies of this , and others , were i . e . printed some years since [ , for private circulation , and a copyright registered . It is doubtless in ignorance of

11 e . these facts that these gentlemen [ , Rudd and Carleton] ‘ ’ n ow issue it . Several other editions of The Culprit Fay have appeared at various times , which have as in this case ” been immediately suppressed . Notwithstanding this declara tion , Rudd and Carleton , or their successors , continued to

f ar bring out editions and the record thereof , so as ascertained , T h is given in this bibliography . e text of all editio ns with

. is the imprint of R Craighead from the same stereotype plates , x which show the natural wear in later impressions . The Bron Society copy has the 5 page catalogue ; two copies in the New York Public Library have a 6 page catalogue but varying in

- make up.

T he F a Culprit y By Joseph Rodman Drake . New

: 1 0 York Rudd Carleton , 3 Grand Street , (Brooks

ld , . . M Bui ing cor of Broadway ) DCCCLX . 57

- , n F a half title verso blank ; fro tispiece of the y , with 1 8 recto blank ; title , with copyright of 59 and imprint of R .

Craighead on verso ; Advertisement , verso blank ; quota

- e tion from Tennant , verso blank ; half title to Po m , verso — “ . 1 62 blank ; text , pp [ 3 ] ; blank leaf ; Catalogue of the

- Publications of Rudd Carleton , consisting o f half title , — . 1 6 . with cut of two children on verso , and pp [ ] Binding . ockm arked cl oth 1 8 brown p , like the 59 issue . Description made from a copy in the New York Public Library . /

F a The Culprit y By Joseph Rodman Drake . New

: 1 0 York Rudd Carleton , 3 Grand Street , (Brooks Build M ing , cor . of Broadway . ) DCCCLXII .

- F a half title , verso blank ; frontispiece of the y , with - 1 8 d recto blank ; title page , with copyright , of 59 , an imprint of “ ” R . Craighead , on verso ; Advertisement , with verso blank ;

- quotation from Tennant , with verso blank ; hal f title to ” — m I 62 . b . Poe , with verso lank ; text , pp [ 3 ] Brown pocked cloth , gilt lettering on back and blind stamped mono

n gram of the publishers on both covers . A manuscript i scrip tion on the front fl yleaf of the copy owned by the Bronx 2 d -1 861 Society bears the date of December , which proves

off 1 86 1 — that the issue was printed late in , the title page being

2 T dated ahead as of 1 86 . here is also a copy in the New

York Public Library .

P u b The Culprit F ay By Joseph Rodman Drake . [

’ m : 1 lisher s an ag ra ] New York Carleton , Publisher , 4 3

M . 81 . Broadway . (late Rudd Carleton ) DCCCLXIV

- F a , hal f title , verso blank ; frontispiece of the y with

1 8 . recto blank ; title , with copyright o f 59 and imprint of R “ ; Craighead , on verso ; Advertisement , with verso blank

- quotation from T ennant , with verso blank ; hal f title to “ ” 1 —62 . [ ] ; A new Catalogue Poem , verso blank ; text , pp 3 1 1 86 , . [ ] of Books issued by Carleton , with date 4 at top pp

- l e d l d l , 8 . Indigo colored c oth , mbosse with wave ines an pane s 58

gilt lettering on back . Described from copy in Brown Uni versity (Harris Collection).

d . T he Culprit F ay By Joseph R o man Drake New

1 . ( York : Carleton , Publisher , 4 3 Broadway late Rudd

M . Carleton . ) DCCC LXV F - a , half title , verso blank ; frontispiece of the y with — 1 8 t recto blank ; title page , with copyright of 59 , and imprin “ ” , of R . Craighead , on verso ; Advertisement with verso f T - blank ; quotation rom ennant , with verso blank ; hal f title to ” —62 c n . 1 . , Poem , with verso bla k ; text , pp [ 3 ] Red loth gilt lettering on back and gilt title in a panel on front copy .

Copy owned by Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences .

The Culprit F ay By Joseph Rodman Drake New

: 1 . York Carleton , Publisher , 4 3 Broadway (late Rudd

M . Carleton . ) DCCCLXV

- hal f title , with announcement of An Illustrated Edi ” as in - 1 8 tion in press , verso ; title page , with copyright of 59 , “ and imprint of R . Craighead , on verso ; Advertisement , T with verso blank ; quotation from ennant , with verso blank ; “ ” - — 62 . b . 1 hal f title to Poem , with verso lank ; text , pp [ 3 ] and Green cloth , gilt lettering on back gilt title in panel on front cover . Copy owned by Bronx S ociety of Arts and

Sciences . ' The illustrated edition promised in the announcement for 1 86 the Christmas holidays of 5, I have not seen . It w as the first edition “ with nearly one hundred exquisite illustrations ” “ ” by Lumley and was beauti fully bound in quarto . The C t w as a s 1 866 . opyrigh registered of At the Charles C . M 1 6 1 1 oreau sale , on April , 9 5, there was sold a complete set ’ of the engraver s proofs of the illustrations on India paper . T e hey w re bound in a volume , hal f mor occo , with a special

fi n el - - y executed title page .

’ F l a . P ose h R The Cu prit y A oem By J p odm an Drake . On e d d ll With Hun re I ustrations , by Arthur Lumley .

60

6 . in imitation of the engraving on p . 5 Copy owned by the

Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences .

2 2 Square title , with verso blank ; text , unnumbered

. pages . Grey cloth , with title in gold on front cover De scribed from copy in New York Public L ibrary .

F . The Culprit ay . A Poem By Joseph Rodman Drake ir With One Hundred Illustrations , by Arthur Lumley . [ C

o the F a : r . eu lor cu t f y ] New York Ca leton , publisher

M DCCCLXXXIII .

- - half title , with frontispiece on verso ; title page , with ’ copyright of 1 866 and imprint of T row s Printing and Book “ ”

Co . binding , on verso ; Advertisement , with quotation from

T - n ennant on verso ; half title , illustratio s , and text of poem ,

1 — 1 1 8 - pp . [ 3 ] . Illustrated throughout . Limp tan colored imitation morocco, with black silk binding cords , and gilt script title on front cover . Copy owned by the Bronx Society of

Arts and Sciences .

Literary Gems T he Culprit Fay By Joseph Rodman ’ - Drake New York and London G . P . Putnam s Sons The 1 8 1 Knickerbocker Press 9 . ° 2 1 . F 4 3 7 pp , text printed on one side only . rontispiece of F a M . 1 88 the y by W de eza , 9 . Copy owned by the Bronx

Society of Arts and Sciences .

F a The Culprit y , and other Poems , by Joseph Rodman

- . l Drake With a tit e page and vignettes by Edmund H .

. R ow fan t Garrett Printed for the Club , Cleveland M DCCCXCIII .

pp . 96 . The second publication of this private book T club . he edition consisted of five copies on vellum and -fi ve ninety copies on handmade paper . I have not seen this edition . 6 1

. T The Culprit Fay Illustrated by Ross and urner . [ New

: . 1 0 2 York ] George D Sproul , 9 . b text eauti fully printed , one side only , on 49 leaves of

m and genuine vellu , with illuminated initial letters , having a separate leaf of vellum for the highly illuminated title- page ; also blank leaves of vellum at the beginning and end of the m book . This is the edition of the St . Dunstan Illu inated

Classics , of which perhaps not more than ten copies were l s T . a issued . hey were e aborately bound A copy w sold at 2 1 auction by Stan V . Henkels , of Philadelphia , on Dec . , 1 0 A rt 9 4, for another sold at the American Galleries ,

on M 2 1 1 e 1 0 0 . arch 7 , 9 7 , fetch d $ I have not seen this edition .

T H E AM ERI CA N FLAG

The American Flag . By Joseph Rodman Drake . F Illustrated from original drawings by . O . C . Darley . M by Illum inated cover by John A . Hows . usic from Bellini , 6 . . . : , Geo . Danskin New York James G Gregory No 4

1 86 1 . Walker Street .

- b cover title , verso lank ; text of poem , with head illus

s , . tration , four leaves , with the versos blank ; music pp

advertisements , p . with head of liberty and imprint of

T he has . C . A . Alvord , on verso . Bronx Society a copy I have also examined three copies in the New York Publ ic

Library .

. The American Flag . By J . R . Drake e broadside , two columns of text on one sid only This is un very rare broadside edition , measuring 9 by 5% inches ,

, dated . It was probably printed during the Civil War and the word free in the last verse is emphasized by italics . Copy owned by the Bronx Society and is the only one I have ever t seen . It was formerly in the collection of American firs

. editions formed by J . Chester Chamberlain 6 2

T he American F lag Cantata for Bass and Tenor soli Chorus and Orchestra words by Joseph R odman

1 8 1 M a Op. Drake (A . D . 5) usic by Antonin Dvor k

: . 1 0 2 Vocal Score , Pr . Net New York G Schirmer h thr ee lin es in car tou c e . 1 8 . ] Copyright , 9 5, by G Schirmer [

- - ornamental cover title title page , with verso blank ; “ — F . . text of T he American lag, verso blank ; music , pp 3 47

Copy owned by the Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences .

The American F lag Words by Joseph Rodman Drake

M usic b . . T . M usic by Edwin S . racy [ ] Published y E S 8 1 1 T racy 1 1 9 5 Boston Road N . Y . Price c Copyright 9 5 T by E . S . racy 1 — 1 Royal music with words , pp . [ ] 3 . Blank outer

wrapper . This original setting was composed by Professor T M M racy, Director of usic in The orris H igh School , Bronx , M New York City, especially for the Drake emorial Celebra M a 2 1 1 x tion of y 9 , 9 5, given under the auspices of the Bron

Society of Arts and Sciences . C opy owned by the Society .

M I SCE L LAN EOU S WRI TI N G S

Selections from the poetry o f Drake have appeared in many

N ew - Y or k B ook o P oetr anthologies as , for example , the f y ’ ele (New York , Bryant s S ctions fr om the A m erican ’ P oets 1 8 0 o R ea in A (New York , 4 ) Grisw ld s d g s in m erican

P oetry P oets an P o (New York , and his d etry of A m ri a ’ e c (various editions ) ; T uckerman s Thoug hts on the P oets (New York , with an appreciative critique of T he F ’ Culprit ay D uy ckin ck s Cy cl opedia of A m erican L t ’ i erature; I rvin and otem oraries Waldron s g C p (New York .

11 . and their many successors .

“ : T o F - l l . of the principa references itz Greene Ha leck , Esq m b ” . A poe y Dr Joseph Rodman Drake , in The N ew Y ork 6 3

M irr or M 1 8 2 A m eri a M on M ~ , arch 3 , 3 ; poems in c n thly ag a

z i n e . 6 . 6 S ou ther n L iterar M essen er 2 2 6 , vol , p 5 ; y g , vol . , p . 3 ’ D m oc ati R ie e r c ev w . 1 . 2 0 2 D ollar M a a , vol 4, p ; Holden s g “ in 1 8 8 2 z e . T o , June , 4 , p 3 4 ; my Sister Caroline w as first

The I n d e en den t 1 8 2 printed in p , in 7 ; and a collection based T ’ upon the manuscript volume owned by Judge illou , Drake s

-in - N ew Y ork D ail Tribun e 6 brother law , in the y , January ,

1 88 1 . O A continuation of The Culprit Fay, signed beron ,

The N em Y or M r o appeared in k i r r . ’ is Interesting a fine poem , written in the spirit of Drake s F ” a n . The Culprit y , and inte ded as an introduction to it i T he . author , Dr Harry Lyman Koopman , now librar an of

Brown University, has presented a copy to the Drake Col

c lection owned by the Bronx So iety of Arts and Sciences , from which the following description has been made , viz .

’ The Crime of the Culprit F ay Introductory to Drake s Poem By Harry Lyman Koopman 3 0 0 Copies Printed as M anuscript for Private Distribution Burlington Ver 1 8 0 mont 9 . ’ title , with printer s name on verso ; dedication , with —2 2 verso blank ; text o f poem , pp . [ 5] ; blank leaf . Yellow paper cover ; on front cover : The Crime of T he Culprit ’ Fay H L Koopman s Yule Gift to his Friends “ The copy owned by the Bronx S ociety is inscribed : F or the

- Drake Collection , a token of life long homage from Harry ” Lym an Koopman . Judge Gedney arranged in libretto T he Culprit F ay for

1 88 . an operetta , as performed about 3 An ambitious attempt to set to music The Culprit Fay was made by the composer 1 1 8 8 . o Frederick Grant Gleason (b . 4 ; d in his pus 5,

. , a canI ata for soli , chorus , and orchestra Dudley Buck the a 1 8 . w s American composer (b . 3 9 , d called to Chicago as an organist in 1 869 . During the great fire he lost many “ The manuscripts , among them being a concert overture on 6 4

— R u l F a d , Cu prit y , Cite from American Composers by 1 6 I t has set s . . pert Hughes (Bo ton , p 7 also been e as a rhapsody for grand orchestra , by Henry Kimball Hadl y , as follows 62 Henry Hadley Op . The Culprit Fay A Rhapsody for Grand Orchestra after Joseph Rodman Drake ’ s Poem

Score Parts New York : G . Schirmer

F co - , ver title , verso blank , title , verso blank ; insert Pro ” F gramme Sketch , by Arthur arwell , English and German , — 1 . one leaf ; music score, no words , pp . 59 ; verso of p 59 and ’ recto of end cover , blank ; verso of cover has publisher s trade P M mark . Copies described in New York ublic Library ( usic

Division) and the Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences . T T h he description above is f or the full score . e rhapsody

in was published also the parts for the instruments . Hadley b M 1 0 8 egan the composition at ayence in April , 9 , and com

leted 1 0 p his work in the Spring of 9 9 . It won the prize of f b F M o fered y the National ederation of usic Clubs ,

- fi v e for which twenty competitors entered . The rhapsody

M a 2 8 1 0 was first performed on y , 9 9 , at Powers Theatre , M Grand Rapids , ich . The composer himself led the T heo

T c dore homas orchestra on this o casion of its production , as he did the Boston Symphony Orchestra on November 1 8 and 1 1 1 , 0 . l T T 9 9 It was p ayed by the heodore homas orchestra , M r . with Stock as conductor , at regular concerts of October 2 0 1 0 9 , , and 3 9 9 and in other cities , as Detroit , Cleveland , and M emphis . It was also included as a repertoire number by the Seattle Symphony orchestra and has been performed by the

Philadelphia Orchestra Association .

’ F ' Drake s The American lag . It has not been ascertained l whether the score was ever pub ished . 6 5

T N 2 . NO ES O SOM E M ANUSCRIPTS OF DRAKE

Original manuscripts of Drake are uncommon . In the fol is lowing record , which not intended to be complete , may be found some of the most interesting manuscripts that have survived . The New York Public Library has the original autographic ’ m : anuscript of Drake s Croaker poem , entitled To ” Esquire , whose first line is , Come , shut up your Blackstone ,

sparkle again . It is written on paper with a waterm ark 1 1 2 date of 8 . w 1 8 1 8 M 1 6 A poem ritten in , for iss Halleck , lines ; with “ l in another poem on the reverse , being A true and faithfu ” v en tor y of goods belonging to Doctor Swift , together two M ff Co . pages , folio , was o ered by Dodd , ead and , in Novem

1 1 0 0 0 o 1 0 1 . 6 1 . ber , 9 (Catalogue No , item ) for $ The p em “ ’ to M iss Halleck begins : In a fair lady s heart once a secret ” was lurking .

A Drake manuscript poem , in the sale of Gen . James Grant — M Co . 1 1 0 Wilson , by the erwin Clayton Sales , on April 3 , 9 5,

2 fetched $5 .

A poem of four verses of eight lines each , written on two “ : quarto pages , headed Lines addressed to the Defender of b 8th New Orleans , the Day efore the Battle of the of Janu ”

1 8 1 . . . . ary , 5 By Dr J R Drake , was sold by the Anderson 8 1 0 Auction Company , on April , 9 7 , in the autograph collee

m 6 . tion of John D . Cri mins , of New York City , for $4 It ’ $ en rous $ w as bv begins , Hail Sons of g Valour It bought

. William Randolph Hearst , the newspaper publisher It was c Y oun H ickor first printed in a little New Jersey paper alled g y , M irr or M and reprinted in The N ew , edited by orris and I ts in com 2 . 1 8 . . . 2 1 , no 5, p Willis , on Sept , 44 (vol 3

M a az in e o H istor . 5 p . pl ete printing in the g f y, vol

. 2 as l , 74, though hitherto unpub ished was an error 0 M a f . , , M . , 9 y Dodd , ead and Co o fered in Catalogue No

. 0 8 1 0 6 an to ra h manuscript , four pages , quarto 1 9 , item , an g p 66

being a prose literary criticism by Drake of a poem entitled , ”

0 . T he F aithless Heart , for $4 It was derived from the papers of F itz - Greene Halleck and came into the possession of ’ A l . p Gen . James Grant Wi son , Halleck s literary executor

C . ld M o , paren tly not so by Dodd , ead and it appeared in a M sale of effects of General Wilson , at the rooms of the erwin M 1 0 —1 2 1 1 0 2 68 Co . a , item of catalogue Clayton Sales , y , 9

3 2 2 .

- ; An autograph poem , three verses of eight lines each fol ff lowed by another o f two verses of four lines each in a di erent

handwriting , together two pages , octavo , was sold by the 2 Co . , Anderson Auction , of New York City , on December

1 0 1 u . Haber , of New York 9 9, in part of the library of Lo is J “

2 e , : City , item 5 4 for The Drake po m entitled Abe lard to Eloise , is the identical manuscript which was repro ’

B r an t an d his F riends . duced in Geri . James Grant Wilson s y It has been offered recently in a catalogue of George — m 2 2 0 . D . S ith , the well known bookseller , item 4, for $5 th A holograph letter of Drake to his sister , in regard to death of his grandmother , dated at New York , September

1 8 1 8 1 2 , , two pages , was sold at the Anderson Galleries , on

M 2 1 1 6 1 1 . arch 7 , 9 , for $ 5 T he first place of Drake manuscripts is easily held by a M a 1 1 1 6 volume sold by the Anderson Galleries , on y , 9 , in the Sanderson sale ; but the volume did not come from that t . w a collection , being added from a private source It s bough by a bookseller for $985 and has since been held at a much higher price . Some time before the sale it w as offered to me 0 0 for $5 through another dealer in autographs . This chief

- o en Drake memento is an autograph manuscript note b ok , “ : T rifi e l s . tit ed in Rhyme , by J Rodman Drake , New York ,

1 8 1 . 7 It has fifty closely written pages and title . octavo ’ m size , all in Drake s hand , co prising autographic or i ginals of “ ” “ ” ’ F a T he F The Culprit y , American lag (with Halleck s $ h . last verse in autograph ), Niagara , and s orter poems 1 The rest of the volume , more than 3 5 pages , have poems in

6 8

— 2 6 . T he . 3 5 The front cover . Croaker poems occupy pp 53 T he l Bronx Society has a reissue of 1 873 . New York Pub ic T h 86 an d 1 88 . e L ibarry has issues of 1 9 5 Boston Public

1 868 . Library has a reissue of 1 899 . All have the copyright of 1 0 A large paper edition , limited to 5 copies , was also issued

T he , in 1 869 . collection is like the duodecimo regular issue except the dedication which is here to Hamilton F ish ; it has — 2 0 2 also steel engravings facing pp . , 9 , b and [ 1 0 1 ] a good Wood ury type portrait of Drake , ’ from a m iniature in the possession of Drake s daughter , facing

2 c . p . [ 57 ] a similar pro ess portrait of Halleck , facing p

T here are no advertisements at the end of this issue .

Both varieties are in the New York Public Library .

itz— The Li fe and Letters o f F Greene Halleck . By

u otation r James Grant Wilson . [ $ ] New Yo k : D . Apple 1 8 6 . ton and Company, 9 ° 1 2 1 0 0 also large paper , royal of which copies were T printed . his work is the best source for information about the life of Drake , as well as of Halleck . Gen . Wilson was ’ T h Halleck s literary executor . e volume contains also two pleasant poe tical epistles written by Drake to Halleck from

Scotland . A large paper copy is owned by the Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences .

Bryant and his F riends : some Rem iniscences of the Knicker

- . lison bocker Writers By J ames Grant W . New York :

F 81 . 1 88 ords , Howard Hulbert 6 .

1 also large paper , royal of which 9 5 copies were

. b 2 80 printed A good iography of Drake is given on pp . [ ] 1 1 , b 3 accompanied by a steel portrait , engraved y Williams 2 2 —2 after the painting by Rodgers , and between pp . 9 93 there is a facsimile of the original autographic manuscript of ’ ” T Drake s Abelard to Eloise , signed by him . his work is in

the New York Publ ic Library . R o ers Pl aid t. g . B t urt. S culp

O T A T OF A LL ECK N H I S OU NG E EA S P R R I H I Y R Y R .

6 9

Joseph Rodman Drake . By James Grant Wilson , in

’ H M in ar er a az e . s . 6 . p g , vol 49 , p 5

In an address on New York authors , by James Grant

N ew Y ork G en eal o ical n B io ra hical R ecord Wilson , in g a d g p , 2 vol . 4 (January , o m Joseph R d an Drake , the author of The American ” t in Cen ur M z . . a a e Flag By James Grant Wilson , in y g , vol

8 . has 5 (July , p 439 . It portraits of Drake and Hal

n e . leck , and importa t facsimil s

Recollections of Joseph Rodman Drake . By James Grant ’

B oo N e . 0 1 0 in k w s . . Wilson , , vol 3 , p 4 b Other iographical or critical articles have been located , as follows : ’

The N ew Y ork M irror 1 8 . Drake s Poems , in , 3 5 It is a ’ four - column review of the first collected edition of Drake s

writings and was written , perhaps , by N . P . Willis .

- Alnwick Castle, with other Poems . [ By Fitz Greene Hal

' : b M D . leck] . New York George Dear orn , CCC XXXVI In

this first edition of Halleck , his remarkable elegiac poem On

- m . the Death of Joseph Rod an Drake , of New York , Sept — is printed on pp . 3 7 3 9 . A copy is owned by the

Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences . ’

The M uses of M anhattan , with Drake s portrait in the

osm o olitan 1 8 . margin is an article in the C p , January , 93 ,

F M . Honoring an American Poet . By . White , in

’ 1 . W eekl . . H arper s y, vol 54, p 3

, Joseph Rodman Drake . By Richard Henry Stoddard in 8 2 . . . , 3 ti l . 2 l l d 7 The Cri c, vo 4, a so ca le vol p The B ook M . . . , Joseph Rodman Drake . By A D Howe in

. 0 . ll m an . p . 4 Also relates to Ha eck , vol 5, 3

An American Poet Hon ored at Last . Joseph Rodman

M on thl . The B ook N ew s y, . l Drake By G . W Harris , in vo .

. M arch 1 1 . A good compilation . , 9 5 3 3 , no 7 , i n . . , Poetry of Joseph Rodman Drake . By A E Corning apprecia l 1 . . l n vo . p 4 A carefu ly written The B ookm a , 4 , 57 tion by a student of the Knickerbocker School . 70

T he T he . Joseph Rodman Drake . Poet of Bronx By

J our nal o the B r on x ham ~ P l ists B r onx . Victor Hugo a t , in f C 1 o om m erce . , ber f C , vol (October

M 4 . I SCELLANY

’ K RK A N D K S V (A ). DRA E PA DRA E GRA E

’ The N ew —Y ork M irr or M 1 8 ; A Poet s Grave , in , arch 4 3 7 .

with a w ooden g rav ed view of the Hunt cemetery by Adams . H is tor ical Grave of Drake . By Henry B . Dawson , in

F 1 8 2 . d . M a az in e . 2 1 , g , vol (3 series , vol ebruary , 7 pp 1 0 —1 0 5 7 .

Grave of Joseph Rodman Drake , with picture of the monu

The F our - Track N ew s ment and surroundings , in , January ,

1 0 2 8 . 9 , p . 4 ’ T o run a Street over a Poet s Grave . Proposed desecration “ c F ” of the T omb of the Author of The Ameri an lag , in the

Ev en in S un . 2 1 0 2 . g , Sept 7 , 9 “ T he by Poem on Grave of Joseph Rodman Drake , Henry

o S i N 1 0 8 F The N r th de ew s . G . Kost , in , June 7 , 9 riends ’ who honor Drake s memory should also read Clinton S col ’ “ lard s poem entitled , At the Grave of Joseph Rodman

N e Y o n w r k S u . Drake , published originally in the An interesting picture of the tomb of Drake and the old n cemetery gate at Hunts Point , after a drawing by E . Eldo

1 0 The A m erican A r chitect Deane , copyright 9 4, is in , Janu

ar 2 1 0 . y 3 , 9 4

Joseph Rodman Drake Park . Address of James L . Wells , 1 6 1 0 . September , 9 4 Printed pursuant to a Resolution of the T N . e w . North Side Board of rade [ York , pp 1 ’ 5 Tinted paper covers . Drake s The A m erican F lag 1 is given on p . 3 . A copy is in the collection of the Bronx

Society of Arts and Sciences .

d T en t A n R Joseph Ro man Drake Park , in h n ual epor t of

1 0 the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, 9 5, 7 1

— pp . 44 49 ; also report of the Drake M emorial Celebration by

Tw en t - rst A n the Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences , in y fi l R e or t 1 1 6 — n u a . 1 1 8 p , 9 , pp 3 5 3 . ’ ir m Communications about Drake s grave by H . A . G u e an d

N ew Y ork Tim e 2 1 0 s 8 1 0 . are in the , Sept . , 9 7, and Dec . 4, 9 9 M Grave of Drake in Peril . arch of Progress threatens to

N e Y o i e w rk T m s . wipe out the Hallowed Landmark , in , Dec 2 1 0 8 7 , 9 .

(B ) DRA K E PORTRAI TS

T he portrait painted by Rodgers and engrav ed by T . Kelly ’ as a frontispiece to the first collected edition of Drake s poems , e 1 8 . 3 5, has o ften been re ngraved or reproduced by process

Charles de Kay , Esq . , grandson of the poet , is the owner M o f a pretty painted m iniature of Drake by etcalf .

I con o hiles The Society of p , of New York , published , in F 1 0 . 9 3 , a portrait of Drake engraved by rancis S King, from 1 0 an oil painting by John Paradise , in an edition of 3 copies , seven impressions having been taken as proofs before letter .

The plates were destroyed w hen the edition w as completed . A copy of this print is in the collection of the Bronx Society of Arts and Sciences .