HALLECK, FITZ-GREENE, an American poet, b. at Guilford, Conn., in 1790. By his mother, Mary Eliot, Ile was descended from John Eliot, " the apostle of the Indians." He became a clerk in a bank in New York in 1813, in which employment he remained for many years. He was afterwards for a considerable time the confidential agent of Mr. John Jacob Astor in his commercial affairs, and was appointed by him one of the original trustees of the Astor library in New York—a position which he held to the end of his life. In 1849 he retired from banking and mercantile pursuits, and took up his residence in his native place, where he spent the remainder of his days. From his boy )nod, HaHeck wrote verses, some of which he sent to newspapers; but in his collected poems, he has included nothing published earlier than his lines on Twilight, which appeared in a New York paper in 1818. In the following year, he became associated with Joseph Rodman Drake in contributing the humorous series of The Ovoaker Papers to the same journal. The illness of Drake soon put an end to these papers, and lialleck commemorated his friend's death in a very beautiful little poem. In 1819 Haheck
wrote his longest poem. Bump, a satire on the literature, fashions, and politics of the time, in the measure of Don Juan. It is said to have occupied less than three weeks in its composition, and derived its immediate and great popularity rather from the pungency of its allusions than from any higher merit. In 1822-23 HaIleek visited Europe; and in 1827 published an edition of Ins poems, in which were included several pieces suggested by the scenes and associations of the old world, among which the lines on Alnwieic castle and on Burns particularly commanded admiration. HaBeck's style is spirited, flowing, and graceful; his versification almost always very smooth and harmonious. His poems display much geniality and tender feeling. Their humor is delicate and refined. Few poets, and particularly few American poets, who have written well and acquired popularity like HaIlea, have written so little. His whole poems are included in a 12mo. volume of very moderate size. Halieck died Nov., 1867.