Brief description:
The Culprit Fay: A Poem
“West Point, seated in the romantic Highlands, in the shadow of Cro’ Nest, and guarding, as it were, the very throat of the Hudson where it breaks through the mountain barrier on its way to the sea, has been the scene of many historic incidents which have left an impression on all who lingered there. There is an old West Point tradition that the talented young author, Joseph Rodman Drake, conceived the quaint idea of “The Culprit Fay” as a result of a bantering wager at The Mess, that no tale of love without human element could be made of interest. Whether the tradition be wholly true, the fact remains the young Drake received his inspiration under the shadow of Cro’ Nest, and his West Point elfins, goblins, sprites, and fairies will live as long as American verse receives the honor that is its due.”
From West Point in Literature by Brigadier General Wm. Carter, Lord Baltimore Press, 1909
“West Point, seated in the romantic Highlands, in the shadow of Cro’ Nest, and guarding, as it were, the very throat of the Hudson where it breaks through the mountain barrier on its way to the sea, has been the scene of many historic incidents which have left an impression on all who lingered there. There is an old West Point tradition that the talented young author, Joseph Rodman Drake, conceived the quaint idea of “The Culprit Fay” as a result of a bantering wager at The Mess, that no tale of love without human element could be made of interest. Whether the tradition be wholly true, the fact remains the young Drake received his inspiration under the shadow of Cro’ Nest, and his West Point elfins, goblins, sprites, and fairies will live as long as American verse receives the honor that is its due.”
From West Point in Literature by Brigadier General Wm. Carter, Lord Baltimore Press, 1909
Publication
Budd & Carleton