New-York tribune., 1874-05-22
HARPER


A paper Joseph Rodman Drake, by
General Grant Wilson, contains some poems by the
gifted author of the Culprit Fay" that have not be-
fore appeared in PRINT, together with anecdotes Of his
literary life. especially OF his friendship with Fltz
Greene Halleck. The " Cuprt Fay" by which Drake
Is best known the students Of American poetry,
written in the twentyrst year of his and occupied
three days in its composition, having been suggested
by conversation with Haleck and FenimOre Cooper on
the adaptation OF the Scottish streams 10 the of
poetry by their numerous romantic associations.
Cooper and Halleck maintained that American
streams furnished such capabilities, while Drake
took the opposite side of the argument, and
20 make good his point wrote the poem In
question. when Drake was on bls deathbed, at
he wfe's request, DR.. De Kay collected and copied
all poems which could be found, and took them 10
him. See, joe said he, what have done Burn
them said the dying poet they are valueless fas
tidOus selection of her fathers poems was, however,
made in October 1885, by the poets daughter and only
child, who ftly dedicated the volume to Fltz-Greene
Haleck, who solicited by publisher to write
Q memoir Of Drake, but declined. He remarked to
friend In alludDg TO the subject What could cay
about young poet whose uneventful career closed
OF twenty five should necessarily have been as brief
Stevens, whose life OF Shakespeare was compressed
n You remember, INTO some half dozen lines "
"In the history Of literary partnership" Gen.
Wilson, know OF none beautiful than that of
the sweet cOmpani6uship Of Drake and Halleck.
Genus does not readily amalgamate; hence partner
ships iu the literary world than they
In the commercial. Almost the only parallel to the
Voung American poets is that OF Beaumont and
FLETCHER, the nch conception OF whose twn.like
brains sPrang from an equally thorough and genuine
union Of congeDial minds. In both cases the poet
partners had much besides genius in common.
Contemporary critics give Beaumont the credit
Of restraining the eIuberant Wit and fancy OF
Fletcher; but truly, such the 'wOndrOus consi-
Dihty OF fancy Aubrey calls It, between them. that
II is utterly impossible to guess at the share of the
hramasts In the plays bearing their Joint Names for
there is nothing to distinguish them any way from
those written by Fletcher after grass was growing
over his friends The same, think may be said
Of those sprghtly jour despr, ! The Croakers con-
eerning which the public equally in the dark
respecting the from which individual poems
emanated, even after it wei! known that
they were the handiwork OF the literary part
oers FifzGreene Halleck and Joseph Rodman Drake
the Damon and Pythas Of American poets"
Mr.. Eugene Lawrence contributes aDe paper on
"Tbe Jews and their Prosecutors" in which he pays
lust tribute to the admirable intellectual qualities OF
that lonQsfering race "Jhe most remarkable trait in
the story Of the Jews singular devotion they have
always shown 10 mental culture, and the priceless
benefits they have reaped from their seduous care OF
education This has been the potent spring OF all their
wonderful preservatOns aud their lndestrucuDle
energy. The schoomaster has saved them
from the fate Of Babylon and OF Tyre. III
was because they were educated 10 INDUSTRY
peatness docilty and order that they survived the
prosecutions OF priests and kngs, and have behed the
destruction OF all foes. While papsl Rome left all
world in ignorance and has ever opposed the prog
Of knowledge in every land wne under ts barbaf-
oQs rJs NsV. spala aae SInsss yslr l"'i 9Th