amusement, wrote several burlesque stanzas “To Ennui,” Halleck answering them in some lines on the same subject. The young poets decided to send their productions, with others of the same character, to William Coleman, the editor of the Evening Post. If he published them, they would write more; if not, they would offer them to Major M. M. Noah, of the National Advocate; and if he declined their poetical progeny, they would light their pipes with them. Drake accordingly sent Coleman three pieces of his own, signed “Croaker,” a signature adopted from an amusing character in Goldsmith’s comedy of “The Good-natured Man.” To their astonishment, a paragraph appeared in the Post the day following, acknowledging their receipt, promising the insertion of the poems, pronouncing them to be the productions of superior taste and genius, and begging the honor of a personal acquaintance with the author. The lines “To Ennui” appeared March 10, 1819, and the others in almost daily succession; those written by Mr. Halleck being usually signed “Croaker Junior,” while those which were their joint composition
