" The Culprit Fay" was written to refute an assertion, by Fenimore Cooper and Halleck, that the rivers of this country furnished no such romantic associations as the Scottish streams for purposes of poetical composition. The scene is laid in the highlands of the Hudson, but the chief associations relate to salt water, " the poet drawing his|inspiration from his familiar haunt on the Sound, at Hunt's Point." "The Culprit Fay " is an exquisite creation of the fancy and will always re- Uiin for its author a niche in the gallery of American poets. A selection of his poems, including "The

• Hist. >Iaf;., Feby., 1ST2.

Culi>rit Fay," was made, and published in 1S36, by

j his only child, the wife of Commodore McKay.

Edgar Allan Poe, wrote some of his most noted productions while a resident of Westchester County, including the famous "Raven". Although he was very poor during most of the time, this was probably the brightest period of his melancholy life ; for he was happier in the companionship of his wife, the lovely Virginia Clemm, and her mother, than at any other stage of his chequered career. His wife's death, after a residence in the county of about three years, was a sad blow to the poet's sensitive organization ; but it is plciiisant to think that the sweetest as well as the saddest memories of his "dear heart" his "dear Virginia," were associated with the charming landscapes of Morrisania and Fordham. Poe was nearly thirty-four years old when, in the autumn of 1844, he removed to New York City from Philadelphia. Born in Boston, in January LSll, his early life was as chequered and eventful as his manhood was dark and stormy. The Poe family was one of the oldest and most respectable in Maryland.