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author. The lines 'To Ennui' appeared March 10, 1819, 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 

 ' Croaker & Co.' " 



The best known of Drake's contributions to the series was 

 " The American Flag," which appeared on May 29. In the 

 first draft the poem concluded with the lines — 



As fixed 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 

 suggest a substitute, whereupon Halleck improvised the stanza 

 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 

 original idea, and the other would modify it, until both were 

 satisfied. It was essentially a social muse that the young men 

 cultivated, and we must think it was a happy comradeship as 

 well as a poetic enthusiasm which made Drake one day lay 

 his cheek down upon the manuscript and exclaim " O, Halleck, 

 isn't this happiness ! " 



The impression that Drake's poetry sprang from his daily 

 life among his friends, rather than from an inner ambition, 

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

 we get of him in the New York society of his time. He was 

 a handsome young doctor, who had married well, and would 

 have a career in his profession; incidentally he was a poet. 

 One thinks of Oliver Wendell Holmes, who resembled Drake 

 in more than one respect — in his wit, his delicacy of taste, his 

 social gift, his lovableness. The affectionate regard in which 



