[Illustration: JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. ] JAMES FENIMORE COOPER by MARY E. PHILLIPS [Illustration: LEATHERSTOCKING. ] New York: John Lane Company London: John Lane: The Bodley Head Toronto: Bell and Cockburn MCMXIII Copyright, 1912 By Mary E. Phillips The University Press, Cambridge, U. S. A. Dedicated To The Young Of All Ages From The Years Of Ten To Ten Times Ten PREFACE The intention of this simply told _personal_ life of James FenimoreCooper, the creator of American romance, is to have all material_authentic_. The pictures of men, women, places and things are, asnearly as possible, of Cooper's association with them to reproduce abackground of his time and to make the _man_--not the author--itscentral foreground figure. From every available source since theearliest mention of the author's name, both in print and out, materialfor these pages has been collected. In this wide gleaning in the fieldof letters--a rich harvest from able and brilliant pens--the gleanerhereby expresses grateful appreciation of these transplanted values. Much, precious in worth and attractive in interest, comes into thesepages from the generous and good among the relatives, friends, andadmirers of Fenimore Cooper. And more than all others, the author'sgrand-nephew, the late Mr. George Pomeroy Keese, of Cooperstown, NewYork, has paid rich and rare tribute to the memory of his uncle, withwhom when a boy he came in living touch. Appeals to Cooper's grandson, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. , of Albany, New York, and also to hispublishers have been met in a spirit so gracious and their giving hasbeen so generous as to command the grateful service of the writer. For rare values, in service and material, special credits are due to Mr. George Pomeroy Keese, Cooperstown, N. Y. ; James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. , Albany, N. Y. ; Mr. Francis Whiting Halsey, New York City; Mr. EdwinTenney Stiger, Watertown, Mass. ; General James Grant Wilson, New YorkCity; Mr. Horace G. Wadlin, Librarian, Messrs. Otto Fleischner, Assistant Librarian, O. A. Bierstadt, F. C. Blaisdell, and others, of theBoston Public Library; Miss Alice Bailey Keese, Cooperstown, N. Y. ; Mrs. T. Henry Dewey, Paris, France; Mrs. Edward Emerson Waters, New YorkCity; and Miss Mary C. Sheridan, Boston, Mass. Mary E. Phillips. INTRODUCTION A life of Cooper, written with some particular reference to thepicturesque village among the Otsego hills, where he so long lived andin whose soil he, for some sixty years or more, has slept, has long beenneeded. That such a book should have become a labor of love in the handsof Miss Phillips is not more interesting than it is fortunate that thetask should have been accomplished so conspicuously well. Miss Phillipshas borne testimony to the resourcefulness and rare devotion with whichthe late Mr. Keese assisted her in researches extending over many years. None knew so well as he the personal side of Cooper's whole life story;none so assiduously and so lovingly, during a long life spent inCooperstown, gathered and tried to preserve in their integrity everysignificant and interesting detail of it. The turning point in Cooper's life was reached when he went toCooperstown, although he was little more than a child in arms. Mostcurious is it that his going should have resulted from the foreclosureof a mortgage. This mortgage had been given in the late Colonial periodby George Croghan, and covered a vast tract of native forest lands inOtsego. In these lands, through the foreclosure, Cooper's father, soonafter the Revolution, acquired a large interest, which led him toabandon his home of ease and refinement in Burlington, New Jersey, andfound a new, and, as it proved to be, a permanent one in the unpeopledwilderness at the foot of Otsego Lake. Except for this accident offortune, Leatherstocking and his companions of the forest never couldhave been created by the pen of Cooper. [Illustration: signature 'Francis W. Italsey'] ILLUSTRATIONS JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. From Appleton portrait. By permission of owner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. , of Albany, N. Y. _Frontispiece_ THE ENGLISH FYNAMORE COUNTRY AND FAMILY ARMS. COOPER'S BIRTHPLACE. Burlington, N. J. From a photograph by George W. Tichnor THE FENIMORE BOX. (Of light and dark woods, size 12-1/2 X 6-3/4 inches. )From photograph by permission of owner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. , Albany, N. Y. THE SUSQUEHANNA. By W. H. Bartlett CHINGACHGOOK ON COUNCIL ROCK. From a photograph by A. J. Telfer COUNCIL ROCK. From a photograph by A. J. Telfer THE MANOR. From outline on _first_ map of Cooperstown, 1788-1790. Bypermission of owner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. ORIGINAL OTSEGO HALL. From outline on 1800-1808 map of Cooperstown. Bypermission of owner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. JUDGE WILLIAM COOPER. By Gilbert Stuart. By permission of owner, JamesFenimore Cooper, Esq. GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. From a portrait by Woods, 1812 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, 1800. From "St. Memim's Gallery of Portraits" TALLEYRAND. From a portrait by F. Gérard POINT JUDITH. From a photograph by A. J. Telfer "EDGEWATER. " By courtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese MR. AND MRS. GEORGE POMEROY. By the courtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese THE OLD STONE HOUSE. By the courtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese COOPERSTOWN PRIOR TO 1835. From _The Family Magazine_, 1836-1837 DR. THOMAS ELLISON. By the courtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese ST. PETER'S CHURCH, ALBANY, N. Y. By the courtesy of Dr. Joseph Hooper, Durham, Conn. STATE STREET, ALBANY, N. Y. , 1802. By the courtesy of Dr. Joseph Hooper "NEAR SHORES" OF NEW HAVEN. From an old print DR. TIMOTHY DWIGHT. From an old print YALE COLLEGE, 1806. By the courtesy of Professor John C. Schwab, Ph. D. , Librarian, Yale University WILLIAM JAY IN YOUTH. By Vanderlyn. From Bayard Tuckerman's "WilliamJay, " etc. By courtesy of author and publishers, Dodd, Mead & Co. , N. Y. JUDGE WILLIAM JAY. From a crayon by Martin. Dodd, Mead & Co. , N. Y. SILHOUETTE OF JAMES COOPER WHEN A STUDENT AT YALE. By the courtesy ofProfessor John C. Schwab, Ph. D. OUTWARD BOUND. GIBRALTAR. From "_Le Monde Illustré_" SAILOR'S SNUG HARBOR. From _Frank Leslie's Weekly_, Vol. I OTSEGO HALL GATES. By courtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese BUFFALO BURNT. From an old woodcut in Spear's "United States Navy" THE "VESUVIUS. " From "Life of Fulton, " by J. F. Reigart, 1856 ONTARIO FORESTS. By W. H. Bartlett THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. By W. H. Bartlett THE PORT OF BUFFALO. From an old print CAPTAIN M. T. WOOLSEY. From Spear's "United States Navy" THE PATHFINDER. By F. O. C. Darley A BUBBLE OF A BOAT. By F. O. C. Darley CAPTAIN LAWRENCE. From a portrait by Chappel THE "WASP. " From an old print FRAUNCES TAVERN. By the courtesy of Dr. Joseph Hooper, Durham, Conn. LIEUT. GOV. JAMES DE LANCEY'S SEAL. From Vol. I, M. J. Lamb's "History ofNew York City" HEATHCOTE ARMS. From an old print HON. CALEB HEATHCOTE. From print by V. Belch FRAUNCES TAVERN LONG-ROOM. From "History of New York, " by Mary L. Booth, 1857 BURN'S COFFEE HOUSE. From an old print HEATHCOTE HILL. By the courtesy of J. W. Clapp, editor _Richbell Press_, Mamaroneck, N. Y. TANDEM. From a rare old color-print. By the courtesy of George SamuelTucker, Peterboro, N. H. COOPER'S FENIMORE FARM HOUSE. By the courtesy of Mr. George PomeroyKeese ELIZABETH FENIMORE COOPER IN THE OLD HALL HOME. By the courtesy ofElizabeth Cooper Keese COOPER'S ANGEVINE FARM HOME. From "Homes of American Authors. " G. L. Putnam Sons, 1853 MAMARONECK CREEK SLOOPS. From Bryant's "History of the United States" JUDGE JOHN JAY. From print of Trumbull portrait BEDFORD HOUSE. From an old print BEDFORD HOUSE LIBRARY. From Vol. II, Lamb's "History of New York City" HARVEY BIRCH'S CAVE. By courtesy of Arthur B. Maurice, author of "NewYork in Fiction" THE LOCUSTS OF COOPER'S TIME. From Lossing's "Field-Book of the War of1812" THE LOCUSTS OF TO-DAY. By courtesy of the owner, Lawrence Durham, Esq. TITLE-PAGE OF THE FIRST EDITION OF "THE SPY. " ENOCH CROSBY. From "History of Westchester County, N. Y. " By Spooner andShenard LAFAYETTE THEATRE. From _New York Mirror_, Vol. V. COOPER'S HEROINES. By courtesy of Rev. Ralph Birdsall and Miss CatherineN. Duyckinck WINDHURST'S NOOK, UNDER THE PARK THEATRE. From "History of New YorkCity, " by Mary L. Booth, 1859 JAMES FENIMORE COOPER, 1822. From a photograph of the J. W. Jarvisportrait. By permission of the owner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. , Albany, N. Y. FITZ-GREENE HALLECK. From print of Inman portrait. By permission ofowner, Gen. James Grant Wilson JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE, From "Poems" CRO' NEST. From "Poems, " by Joseph Rodman Drake SAMUEL WOODWORTH. From a rare lithograph THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET. By F. S. Agate CITY HOTEL AND WASHINGTON HALL. From Vol. II, "History of New YorkCity, " by M. J. Lamb, and from "Valentine's Manual" EARLY BROADWAY. Old prints WILLIAM WORDSWORTH. By B. Whitechurch COOPER'S NEW YORK CITY HOME IN BEACH STREET. By the courtesy of GeneralJames Grant Wilson ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL. From _The York Mirror_ OLD LEATHERSTOCKING. From "The Pioneers" NATTY'S CAVE. From an old print GENERAL JAMES CLINTON. From an old print CLINTON DAM. From a photograph by A. J. Telfer "TALES FOR FIFTEEN, OR IMAGINATION AND HEART. " By permission of theowner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. CHARLES WILKES. From portrait by Thos. Sully JOHN PAUL JONES. From portrait by C. W. Peale LONG TOM COFFIN. F. O. C. Darley BRYANT, WEBSTER AND IRVING. From sketch by Daniel Huntington by thecourtesy of owner, Mr. Day, Boston THE LANDING OF LAFAYETTE, 1824. From "Complete History of Lafayette, "1825 edition LAFAYETTE. Portrait by Sully LAFAYETTE'S BRANDYWINE VASE. From an old print JOB PRAY. By F. O. C. Darley THE BURNING OF CHARLESTOWN. From an old print WHIPPLE HOUSE, AT PROVIDENCE, R. I. From an old print MRS. JAMES MONROE. By the courtesy of General James Grant Wilson PRESIDENT'S HOUSE, WASHINGTON, D. C. , 1825. From an old print SUNRISE AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN. Drawn by Harry Fenn for D. Appleton and Co. , N. Y. GLENS FALL'S CAVERNS. From "The Hudson, " by Lossing HONORABLE MR. STANLEY. Portrait by G. Harlow, 1833 GLENS FALL. By W. H. Bartlett LAKE GEORGE, OR "THE HORICAN. " By W. H. Bartlett THE WAGER SEAL (1 X 1-1/8 inches). By permission of the owner, JamesFenimore Cooper, Esq. BRYANT. Portrait by Barrett "NATTY, THE TRAPPER. " By F. O. C. Darley HENRY CLAY. From a daguerreotype, engraved by Buttre CHANCELLOR KENT. Portrait by Chappel THE U. S. S. "HUDSON. " By W. J. Bennett WHITEHALL WHARF, 1826. From "Valentine's Manual" KEEP OF CARISBROOK. By J. And F. Harwood, London, 1841 HAVRE, BY NIGHT. From "Meyer's Universum" WINDMILLS OF MONTMARTRE. From an old French print THE CONVENT ST. MAUR. HOTEL DE JUMIÈGES. Found, verified and photographed for this Life ofCooper by kindness of Mrs. T. Henry Dewey of Paris, France SIR WALTER SCOTT. Portrait by G. S. Newton, 1824 MISS ANNE SCOTT. Portrait by W. Nicholson JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. After portrait by Madame de Mirbel, 1830 PIERRE JEAN DAVID D'ANGERS. Portrait by D'Aubrey. By courtesy of GeneralGeorge T. Cruft JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. From a photograph of the bust by David d'Angers, Paris, 1828. By permission of the owner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. MRS. JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. From a photograph of a drawing made atParis, 1890. By permission of James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. From a photograph of a drawing made at Paris, 1827. By permission of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese PROF. GEORGE WASHINGTON GREEN. By special permission of Mr. William DeanHowells and Harper & Brothers P. T. DE BÉRANGER. From a rare old print TALLEYRAND. From an old engraving DUCHESSE DE BERRI. From Soule photograph CHARLES X of FRANCE. From Soule photograph COOPER'S SUMMER HOME, ST. OUEN, 1827. Found, verified and photographedby the kindness of Mrs. T. Henry Dewey, Paris, France COOPER'S ST. OUEN TERRACE STUDY. Found, verified and photographed by thekindness of Mrs. T. Henry Dewey, Paris, France OLD MILL AT NEWPORT. From an old print THE STRUGGLE. By F. O. C. Darley THE NEWPORT BOX. By permission of the owner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART. By Pickersgill NATTY'S LAST CALL. From an old print THE PRINCESS BARBARA VASSILIEWNA GALITZIN From print of portrait by HeinFriedr. Füger LA GRANGE, COUNTRY HOME OF LAFAYETTE. From an old print LA GRANGE ARCHWAY ENTRANCE. From "Complete History of Lafayette" HÔTEL DESSEIN, CALAIS, FRANCE. From a rare old print CLIFFS OF DOVER. By C. Stanfield CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL CHOIR. From Soule photograph GREEN GATE, CANTERBURY. From _Port Folio_, 1814 ST. JAMES PLACE, LONDON. From Thornbury's "Old and New London" SIR FRANCIS CHANTREY. From _European Magazine_, 1822 SAMUEL ROGERS. Portrait by Thomas Lawrence ROGERS' LONDON HOME. From "Bohn's Handbook of London" ROGERS' BREAKFAST-ROOM. From _Illustrated London News_, 1857 CHARLES ROBERT LESLIE. From an old print SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH. Portrait by Thomas Lawrence HOLLAND HOUSE. By Stockdale LIBRARY OF HOLLAND HOUSE. By Charles R. Leslie. Used by permission ofthe British Museum. From left to right, portrait of Addison, LordHolland, Lady Holland, Dr. John Allen, Librarian Doggett GILT CHAMBER OF HOLLAND HOUSE. From lithograph by Richardson ROGERS' SEAT. From Leichenstein's "Holland House" LORD GREY. From a portrait by Thomas Lawrence MRS. JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART. From a portrait by W. Nicholson JOANNA BAILLIE. From "Life and Works of J. Baillie" SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE. From the Academy sketch, 1829 HOUSE OF THE GILLMAN'S, HIGHGATE, LONDON. From Hall's "Book of Memories" BOOM KEY AT ROTTERDAM. From an old etching MT. BLANC. By J. M. W. Turner LA LORRAINE VIEW OF BERNESE ALPS. From Swiss print NAHL'S MEMORIAL TO MADAME LANGHAN. From _European Magazine_, 1786 NARRA-MATTAH. By F. O. C. Darley CONNECTICUT EMIGRANTS. From an old print FALL OF THE STAUBBACH. From an old water color THE DEVIL'S BRIDGE. By W. H. Bartlett, 1836 FERNEY, VOLTAIRE'S LAKE LEMAN HOME. From _European Magazine_, 1786 THE SIMPLON PASS. By Lory FLORENCE, ITALY. From an old print PALAZZO RICASOLI, FLORENCE, ITALY. From special drawing by G. Amightti. By courtesy of Signor Agusto Ticci, Florence HORATIO GREENOUGH. From portrait in Boston Athenaeum. By courtesy of Mr. Charles K. Bolton, Librarian BUST OF JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. By Horatio Greenough, in Boston PublicLibrary. By courtesy of the Librarian, Mr. Horace G. Wadlin, andphotographed by Arthur Pierce Truette CHANTING CHERUBS. Detail from Raphael's Madonna del Trono LEOPOLD II, GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY. From Ballou's "Pictorial, " Vol. XVII PITTI PALACE, FLORENCE, 1828. From water color, 1830 COUNT ST. LEU. From "_La Jeunesse de Napoleon III_" by Stefane-Pol LETIZIA BOUNAPARTE. From color print by de Delpech MADAME MÈRE. From print of drawing by Princess Charlotte, in Vol. XX, _L'lllustration_ CHURCH OF ST. ILLARIO AND NARROW LANE. From photograph obtained by Sig. Agusto Ticci, Florence, Italy VILLA, ST. ILLARIO. From special photograph obtained by Mrs. T. HenryDewey, Paris, France CHARIOT RACES, FLORENCE. From an old print GENOA. By Vocher LEGHORN. From an old etching NAPLES. From an old water color CASA TASSO AT SORRENTO. From _"Vita di Torquato Tasso_" by AngeloSolerti CASA TASSO TERRACE-STUDY. From _"Vita di Torquato Tasso_, " by AngeloSolerti ST. PETER'S, EXTERIOR, ROME. From an old print ST. PETER'S, INTERIOR. From an old print ADAM MICKIEOWICZ. From the "Life of the Poet" PORTA RIPETTA. From an old etching ROMAN FORUM. By Sargent PORTA DEL POPOLO. From an old print FALLS OF MARMORA AT TERNI. From an old print ANCONA. By S. Prout LORETO. From an old print SCALLA MINELLI, VENICE. From an old print VENICE. By J. B. Pyne PIAZZA SAN MARCO. By Chilone PALACE OF THE DOGE. From an old print TASSO'S WELL. Special photograph by Marjorie Elizabeth Parks THE BRAVO. By F. O. C. Darley GLORY OF THE ASSUMPTION. By Titian ABSOLUTION OF ANTONIO. By F. O. C. Darley ALT MARKET, DRESDEN. From 1830 print by permission of owner, Mayor ofDresden, and courtesy of Herr Rudolf Drescher, Hanau-on-Main, Germany LAFAYETTE'S PARIS HOME, RUE D'ANJOU. From special photograph obtained byMrs. T. Henry Dewey, Paris, France LAFAYETTE'S BED-ROOM. From "Complete History of Lafayette" LOUIS PHILIPPE. From "_Galerie Napoléon_" GENERAL LAFAYETTE. From lithograph by Delpech QUEEN MARIE AMÉLIE. From an old print S. F. B. MORSE. From _L'Illustration, _ Vols. XXXI and XXXII N. P. WILLIS. By S. Lawrence TUILERIES GARDENS. From an old print TENIER'S WIFE. Portrait by Tenier. From photograph of original bypermission of the owner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. MRS. JAMES FENIMORE COOPER AND HER SON PAUL. From a photograph of apainting done at Paris, 1831. By permission of owner, James FenimoreCooper, Esq. THE CHILDREN OF MR. AND MRS. JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. From a photograph(given by Mr. George Pomeroy Keese) of a drawing made in Paris by MissSusan Cooper. By permission of owner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. Fromleft to right, Caroline Martha (Mrs. H. F. Phinney), Susan [unreadable]Fenimore, Anne Charlotte, Maria Frances [unreadable] Cooper THE ANGELUS. By J. F. Millet EUGÈNE-JOSEPH VERBOECKHOVEN. From a print PETER PAUL RUBENS. Portrait by the artist RUBENS' COLOGNE HOME. From Fairholt's "Homes and Haunts of Artists" CONVENT OF NUNNENWORTH. By Tombleson WATCH TOWER ON THE RHINE. From _The Art Journal_, 1880 HEIDELBERG AND CASTLE. From 1840 print VEVAY SHORES OF LAKE LEMAN. From _New England Magazine_ FÉTE DES VIGNERONS. By courtesy of Mrs. Rufus A. Kingman NOAH'S ARK VEVAY. 1833 By courtesy of Mrs. Rufus A. Kingman HOSPICE ST. BERNARD. By Major Cockburn BAY OF NAPLES. By James Hakywill NEW YORK HARBOR. By W. H. Bartlett COOPER'S OTSEGO HALL HOME. By courtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese COPY OF COOPER'S GARDEN SEAT. From photograph by A. J. Telfer COOPER'S LIBRARY AT OTSEGO HALL. From drawing by Mr. George PomeroyKeese JUDGE NELSON. From photograph by A. J. Telfer WILD ROSE POINT OR THREE MILE POINT. From a photograph by the courtesyof Mr. George Pomeroy Keese COOPER'S NEW YORK CITY HOME, ST. MARK'S PLACE. From a print by thecourtesy of owner, General James Grant Wilson HORACE GREELEY. From a portrait by J. C. Buttre PARK BENJAMIN. From a portrait by J. C. Buttre THURLOW WEED. From a portrait by C. B. Hall JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. From a daguerreotype by Brady. By permission ofowner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. COLONEL JOHN TRUMBULL. From portrait by Waldo and Jewett. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. From a Paris print COLUMBUS' FLEET. From an old print THE GLIMMERGLASS. From photograph by courtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese OTSEGO LAKE. Inset, Leatherstocking Falls and Natty Bumppo's Cave, fromphotographs by A. J. Telfer, Cooperstown, N. Y. JESSE D. ELLIOTT'S LAKE ERIE MEDAL. From Spear's "History of the UnitedStates Navy" MEDAL GIVEN TO JAMES FENIMORE COOPER BY JESSE D. ELLIOTT. Fromphotograph by the courtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese ISLAND OF ELBA. From an old print ELBA HOME OF NAPOLEON. From Abbott's "Napoleon" BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. From painting by W. H. Powell COOPER'S DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. COOPER'S DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE OF "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND THE "SERAPIS. " BATTLE OF THE "BON HOMME RICHARD" AND THE "SERAPIS" By J. Rogers STUMP EXTRACTOR. From "The Hudson, " by B. J. Lossing THE CHÂLET FARM. From photograph by the courtesy of Mr. George PomeroyKeese THE ESCAPE. From "Wyandotte. " By F. O. C. Darley MISS CAROLINE ADRIANCE FOOTE, AGE 13. From a daguerreotype by thecourtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese MISS ALICE TRUMBULL WORTHINGTON. From a daguerreotype by the courtesy ofowner, Mrs. Alice Worthington Synnott LIEUT. ALEXANDER SLIDELL MACKENZIE. From Duyckwick's "Cyclopedia ofAmerican Literature" HELL GATE. From "Pages and Pictures, " by Susan Augusta Cooper NIAGARA FALLS. By W. H. Bartlett JUDGE BAZIL HARRISON OF KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN. From _Hearth and Home_, 1870 HON. GERRIT SMITH. From an old print WILLIAM BRANDFORD SHUBRICK. From Lossing's "Field-Book of the War of1812" CHARLES MATHEWS. From "Memorials of Charles Mathew" by Mrs. Mathews JAMES H. HACKETT. From "Modern Standard Drama" STEWART'S MARBLE PALACE. From an old print MISS SUSAN AUGUSTA COOPER, ABOUT 1850. From a daguerreotype. Bypermission of the owner, James Fenimore Cooper, Esq. OTSEGO LAKE PARTY IN 1840. By J. L. Pease JOE TOM. From a photograph by the courtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese NATTY'S CAVE. From an old print OTSEGO HALL--BACK VIEW. From "Pages and Pictures, " by Susan AugustaCooper JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. From a daguerrotype by Brady. By permission ofthe owner, [unreadable] Cooper, Esq. , Albany, N. Y. THE SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE (JENNY LIND). Portrait by J. W. Orr From Soulephotograph JENNY LIND AT CASTLE GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY, 1850. From an old print DR. JOHN WAKEFIELD FRANCIS. From portrait by J. Goldbruam DR. FRANCIS' HOME IN NEW YORK CITY. By Richardson CHRIST'S CHURCH, COOPERSTOWN, N. Y. From a photograph by A. J. Telfer FENIMORE COOPER'S SCREEN GIFT. From a print by courtesy of Miss AliceBailey Keese BISHOP WILLIAM HEATHCOTE DE LANCEY. From Scharf's "History ofWestchester County, NY" DE LANCEY COAT OF ARMS. From "A God-Child of Washington, " by KatherineSchuyler Baxter THE NEW HOME AND THE OLD HOME. INDIAN HUNTER. By J. Q. A. Ward COOPER GROUNDS. From a photograph by A. J. Telfer THE CHILDREN'S TRIBUTE. From a photograph by A. J. Telfer LAKE OTSEGO. From a photograph by A. J. Telfer LEATHERSTOCKING FIGURE OF COOPER MEMORIAL. From a photograph by A. J. Telfer LEATHERSTOCKING MONUMENT. By R. E. Launitz, N. A. From a photograph byA. J. Telfer GEORGE POMEROY KEESE. From a photograph by permission of Mrs. GeorgePomeroy Keese BERRY POMEROY CASTLE. By courtesy of Mr. George Pomeroy Keese Acknowledgment is due The F. A. Ringler Company of New York City andMessrs. John Andrew and Son of Boston, Mass. , for the care and interestthey have shown in making the cuts used in this volume. [Illustration: THE ENGLISH FYNAMORE COUNTRY AND FAMILY ARMS. ] JAMES FENIMORE COOPER [Illustration: COOPER'S BIRTHPLACE, Burlington, N. J. ] The light of this world fell on James Fenimore Cooper September 15, 1789. The founder of American romance was born in a quaint, two-storiedhouse of stuccoed brick which now numbers 457 Main St. , Burlington, NewJersey. It was then "the last house but one as you go into the country"and among the best of the town. In a like house next door lived thefather of the naval hero, Capt. James Lawrence. These two houses openeddirectly on the street and their slanting roofs were shaded by talltrees rooted at the curbstones. This outline of Fenimore Cooper'sbirthplace is from the text-picture in "Literary Rambles, " by TheodoreF. Wolfe, M. D. , Ph. D. The first of his father's family in this newcountry was James Cooper, who came from Stratford-on-Avon, England, in1679. He and his wife were Quakers, and with Quaker thrift bought widetracts of land in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Seventy-five years afterJames Cooper stepped on American soil his great-grandson William wasborn, December 2, 1754, in Byberry township, Pennsylvania. On December 12, 1775, at Burlington, New Jersey, William Cooper marriedElizabeth, daughter of Richard Fenimore, whose family came fromOxfordshire of Old England, and, at intervals, held office in herprovinces. James, the future author and named for his grandfatherCooper, was the eleventh of twelve children. About 1807 Cooper, byrequest of his mother, said he would adopt the name of Fenimore as therewere no men of her family to continue it. The change was delayed by theuntimely death of Judge Cooper, and also to make less difficult thesettlement of his large estate. But in 1826 James Cooper applied to thelegislature for his change of name to James Cooper _Fenimore_. Thisrequest was not granted, but the change to "James Fenimore Cooper" wasmade. Cooper's comment on this outcome is a graphic record and"suggests, " says an authority, that "the legislature would do well toassume that a petitioner, in such a case, knew better than they did whathe wanted. " The hyphen, at first used, was soon dropped. And so it wasfor his mother's sake that he made world-wide his fame by the name ofJames _Fenimore_ Cooper. [Illustration: THE FENIMORE BOX. ] "The Fenimore Box" is an "English measure box, curious, and centuriesold, brought over by the first of the name. " It descended to Cooper fromhis mother, Elizabeth Fenimore, and is now treasured as a familyheirloom by his grandson, James Fenimore Cooper of Albany, New York. [Illustration: THE SUSQUEHANNA. ] As the first James Cooper and his wife were Quakers, perchance the sameQuaker thrift influenced William Cooper to follow the lead of GeorgeWashington, who, two years before, in order to find out the inlandwaterways of our country, came from the Mohawk Valley to the headwatersof the Susquehanna--this stream which Fenimore Cooper called "thecrooked river to which the Atlantic herself extended an arm of welcome. "Lake Otsego--the "Glimmerglass"--William Cooper saw first in the autumnof 1785. "Mt. Vision" was covered with a forest growth so dense that hehad to "climb a tree in order to get a view of the lake, and while upthe tree" he saw a deer come down "from the thickets and quietly drinkof its waters near Otsego Rock. " "Just where the Susquehanna leaves theLake on its long journey to the sea" this famous Council Rock "stillshows its chin above the water and marks the spot where Deerslayer metChingachgook the Great Serpent of the Delawares. " Now "its lake marginbelongs to a grandson of the author, who also bears his name, " is arecord found in Dr. Wolfe's "Literary Haunts and Homes. " In the redman's tongue Otsego means "a place of friendly meeting" of Indianwarriors. The author of "Deerslayer" has immortalized thatlake-country in the opening chapter of this book. [Illustration: CHINGACHGOOK ON THE COUNCIL ROCK. ] Of this visit to his future home and lands William Cooper has written:"In 1785 I visited the rough and hilly country of Otsego. I was alone, three hundred miles from home, without food of any kind. I caught troutin the brook and roasted them in the ashes. My horse fed on the grassthat grew by the edge of the waters. I laid me down to sleep in mywatch-coat, nothing but the wilderness about me. In this way I exploredthe country and formed my plans of future settlement. May, 1786, Iopened a sale of forty thousand acres of land, which in sixteen dayswere all taken up by the poorest order of men. " Here William Cooper laidout the site of Cooperstown, which, until 1791, when it became thecounty-town, was at times also called "Foot-of-the-Lake. " He built astore for his sturdy pioneers, giving credit for their simple needs oflife, and traded settlement products for them. His tenants put up loghouses, and paid rent in butter, wheat, corn, oats, maple-sugar, andfinally in pork;--so much that rentals known as "pork leases" were soldlike farms. Money was scarce in those days, --when one John Miller, andhis father, coming to the Lakeland's point of the river, felled a pine, over which they crossed to the Cooperstown site. Its stump was markedwith white paint and called the "bridge-tree" by Fenimore Cooper. Hissister Nancy's grandson, Mr. George Pomeroy Keese, from whom much willappear in these pages, has all there is left of that stump. [Illustration: COUNCIL ROCK. ] In a few years the town's growth gave such promise that William Cooperbegan to build his own home. It was generally known as "The Manor, " butthe patent of Cooperstown was not according to law a manor. It wasfinished in 1788, when a few streets were laid out and the town's firstmap was made. And October 10, 1790, he brought his family and servants, some fifteen persons, and their belongings, from Burlington New Jersey, to this early pioneer home. Mr. Keese says that "The Manor" was of woodwith outside boarding, unplaned; that it was two stories high, had twowings and a back building added in 1791. It first stood facing Main St. And Otsego Lake and directly in front of the later Otsego Hall, nowmarked by the Indian Hunter. In 1799 it was moved down the street, andwas burned down in 1812. In its time it was the most stately privatehouse for miles around. The second home, Otsego Hall, built in 1798, wasof bricks which were made at the outlet of the lake. It had seventy feetof frontage by fifty-six of depth, and had two stories with attic andbasement. The main hall measured twenty-four by forty-eight feet and therooms on either side were twenty feet wide. Otsego Hall is said to havebeen of the exact, generous proportions of the Van Rensselaer ManorHouse at Albany, New York, where Judge Cooper was a frequent visitor. His own Hall home on Otsego's southern shore ever had "the air andcapacity of a mansion and a history of hospitality well deserved. " [Illustration: THE MANOR. ] [Illustration: ORIGINAL OTSEGO HALL. ] [Illustration: JUDGE WILLIAM COOPER. ] To a friend William Cooper wrote: "I began life with a small capitaland a large family, and yet I have already settled more acres than anyman in America; and I trust no one can justly impute to me any act ofoppression. Your good sense and knowledge will excuse this seemingboast. " He elsewhere said that he owed his success to "a steady mind, asober judgment, fortitude, perseverance, and above all, common sense. "And here he lived as a wise and kind landlord among his people. For nineyears he was First Judge of the County Court of Common Pleas, and heserved two terms in Congress. Of Judge William Cooper there are threeportraits, --Gilbert Stuart's of 1797-98, Trumbull's of 1806, and one byan unknown artist. His kindly gray eye, robust figure, and firmexpression bear out the story of his life as told by these portraits. James Fenimore Cooper, in a letter to his wife, dated Canajoharie, 1834, wrote of his father: "I have been up to the ravine to the old Freyhouse. It recalled my noble-looking, warmhearted, witty father, with hisdeep laugh, sweet voice, and fine, rich eye, as he used to light the waywith his anecdotes and fun. Old Frey, with his little black peepers, pipe, hearty laugh, broken English, and warm welcome, was in thebackground. I went to the very spot where one of the old man's slavesamused Sam and myself with an imitation of a turkey that no artist hasever yet been able to supplant in my memory. " This Heindrick Frey was anoted character of the Mohawk Valley over one hundred years ago. It was, however, to the first home on Otsego's shore that the futurecreator of American romance was brought when a babe some thirteen monthsold. Here, in the heart of the wilderness, his infancy was passed. Otsego Hall sheltered his budding boyhood and young manhood. Grace andrefinement dwelt within the household; without, voices of the forestawakened and nurtured his naturally active mind, which later on was notless influenced by the mysteries of the sea. The Six Nations were yet apower in the Mohawk Valley, then the highway to the land of the settingsun beyond. And they are now remembered in the names of the principallakes and streams of the country that once was theirs. The boy wasface-to-face with the "grim warriors, braves, and chieftains that theman, Fenimore Cooper, translated into his pages, with a touch true tothe red man's life, " his instinct in trading, his friendly and hostileintent. Here Nature was his first and unforgettable teacher. From "Pagesand Pictures, " by his daughter, Susan Fenimore Cooper, much will begiven in this book. Miss Cooper has drawn some pretty pen-pictures ofher father's child-life. She writes: "From the first bow and arrow, kiteand ball, to later feats in fishing, riding, shooting, and skating, allwere connected with his highland home. " He was "healthy and active; abrave, blithe-hearted, impetuous, most generous and upright boy. " Of hischildhood another record is: "A gray-eyed, light-haired, ruddy boy, nimble as a deer and gay as a bird; on the lake, plying his oar lustilyor trimming his sail to the mountain breeze; and whenever he found awave high enough to lift his little boat, his veins would thrill with astrange delight, and he would ask himself whether this was like thoseocean waves of which he had heard such wonders. " The little lad's nextstep in learning was taken under the gentle rule of his elder sister, Hannah, who had her schooling in New York City, and afterwards improvedher leisure by extensive reading. She was a model of domestic virtuesand was greatly beloved, especially by the poor, to whom she was ever anangel of mercy. She often went with her father on his official visits tothe seat of government, and when, in 1800, at the age of twenty-threeyears, she lost her life by a fall from her horse, her early death waswidely and deeply mourned. Her memory was always cherished with peculiartenderness by her brother James, the special charge of her loving care. [Illustration: GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. ] A letter, written by him in 1841 to his old "messmate, " CommodoreShubrick, reveals no wane of Cooper's love for and pride in this sister, and his letter's "political discovery" reveals that Miss Cooper'sattractions were as fully appreciated by the eminent of her own countryas by those of foreign shores. So comes into these pages a youthful, slender romance of the later hero of Tippecanoe and still laterPresident of the United States. [Illustration: WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, 1800. ] OTSEGO HALL, COOPERSTOWN, February, 28, 1841. I have made a great political discovery lately, which must not go any further than Mrs. Shubrick and Mary. In 1799, when Congress sat in Philadelphia, my father was a member, as was also General Harrison. You know I had a sister killed by a fall from a horse in 1800. This sister passed the Winter in Philadelphia with my father. Miss Anne Cooper [the author's daughter] was lately in Philadelphia, where she met Mr. Thomas Biddle, who asked if our family were not Harrison men. The reason of so singular a question was asked, and Mr. Biddle answered that in 1799 Mr. Harrison was dying with love for Miss Cooper, that he (Mr. Biddle) was his confidant, and that he _thinks_ but does not _know_ that he was refused. If not refused it was because he was not encouraged to propose, so you see I stand on high grounds and am ready to serve you on occasion. Don't let this go any further, however. I confess to think all the better of the General for this discovery, for it shows that he had forty years ago both taste and judgment in a matter in which men so often fail. Mary will open her eyes at this somewhat wider than ever, but she must not open her mouth until she gives her allegiance to him who will know all her thoughts. With best regards _Yours as ever_, J. FENIMORE COOPER. NOTE. --Later light on the subject reveals Mr. Harrison's "dying of love" as a hearty admiration and esteem for the rare grace and charm of character, mind, and person possessed by Judge Cooper's young daughter. [Illustration: TALLEYRAND. ] During 1795 many distinguished exiles came to this new-country home, andamong those who found their way to Otsego Hall was the Marquis deTalleyrand, who was pleased to write an acrostic on Miss Cooper, thenseventeen. The famous Frenchman's record, in part, of this visit was"_Otsego n'est pas gai_. " Compared to the France of Talleyrand's daythis record was true. The _Otsego Herald's_ motto of that time was Historic truth our _Herald_ shall proclaim, The Law our guide, the public good our aim. In its issue of October 2, 1795, appeared the celebrated diplomat'sAcrostic. Aimable philosophe au printemps de son âge, Ni les temps, ni les lieus n'altèrent son esprit; Ne cèdent qu' à ses goûts simples et son étalage, Au milieu des deserts, elle lit, pense, écrit. Cultivez, belle Anna, votre goût pour l'étude; On ne saurait ici mieux employer son temps; Otsego n'est pas gai--mais, tout est habitude; Paris vous déplairait fort au premier moment; Et qui jouit de soi dans une solitude, Rentrant au monde, est sur d'en faire I'ornement. In affectionate remembrance of Miss Cooper the hill just northwest ofCooperstown was named for her, and "Hannah's Hill" commands one of thetown's finest views. In the quiet shades of Christ's Church yard "belleAnna" rests beneath a slab bearing some lines by her father, but not hername. The August before this sad event Judge Cooper gave the first of the many"lake parties" that floated over Otsego--"which no waters can rival. " Inthe fairness of her youth Miss Hannah was there with her little sister, later Mrs. Pomeroy; and also, among the gay "five and twenty friendsfrom Philadelphia, " were their brothers. Indian canoes and flat-bottomedskiffs conveyed them to the eastern shore, where, at Two-Mile Point, afrightened fawn, startled from its forest home by the dogs of Shipmanthe hunter, --who later outlined "Leatherstocking, "--darted from theleafy thicket and plunged into the lake. At once all were in motion torescue the little creature now swimming for life. It was successfullybrought to land and became a great pet with Judge Cooper's children; butone day, frightened by strange, fierce dogs, it bounded into the forestdepths for refuge, and never returned. The centennial anniversary of this first picnic was celebrated by thethird and fourth generation of Judge Cooper's descendants, who met atPoint Judith to honor the occasion. Of the verses written by Mr. GeorgePomeroy Keese concerning this event two are: [Illustration: POINT JUDITH. ] And one hundred years have come and gone Since our country then was new, And now we keep in memory dear Our love for the good and true. To one who came to his forest home And gave to our village its name;To the son, the touch of whose magic pen Has lifted to world-wide fame. In this summer of 1800 Richard, Judge Cooper's eldest son, built hishouse of frame on "Apple Hill. " It was the second villa-like home in thevillage. Its site, now known as "Fernleigh, " is the country-seat ofStephen Clark, Esq. "Edgewater, " overlooking Lake Otsego, is the landthat, after Judge Cooper's death in 1809, fell to his son Isaac. Here, the following year, Isaac Cooper built his home of brick. Later, itchanged in form, use, and ownership, but again became a familypossession through the marriage of Mr. Theodore Keese with the daughterof George Pomeroy and Ann Cooper. Renewing in all ways the charm andgrace of its early days, "Edgewater, " as the home of Mr. George PomeroyKeese, the grandson of Fenimore Cooper's youngest sister Ann, commandsat the foot of the lake its length, breadth, beauty, and inspiration. [Illustration: "EDGEWATER. "] The old stone house, known as the "Deacon Pomeroy's place, " that stoodat the corner of Main and River streets, gives--in a quaint gable--anenduring record of romance in this sister Ann's young-life. It wasbuilt of stone in the peculiar herring-bone style by Judge WilliamCooper for a wedding gift to his only living daughter, Ann, when shemarried George Pomeroy, grandson of Gen. Seth Pomeroy and linealdescendant of that Sir Ralph de Pomeroy who came to England with Williamthe Conqueror. In this quaint gable appear the intertwined lettersG. A. P. C. --the initials of the bridegroom and bride, --with the date 1804beneath. [Illustration: MR. AND MRS. GEORGE POMEROY. ] The Cooper room of this old stone house, now the home of Mrs. Benedict, a granddaughter, shelters family portraits from William Cooper's timedown to the present day--five generations. What stories might it nottell of the attractive originals? Many were the letters that FenimoreCooper wrote from Europe to this sister, Mrs. George Pomeroy, of theold stone house. Mrs. Benedict has also placed there many souvenirs of her sister, Constance Fenimore Woolson, gathered during-her long residence inEurope, including the author's writing-table and her chair. [Illustration: THE OLD STONE HOUSE. ] "Master Oliver Cory kept the village school" in those child-days ofFenimore Cooper, and long after. "He was well qualified for that post;laborious, upright, firm, yet patient and kindly by nature. Histraining of the boys was excellent. Saturdays were given to religiouslessons, and he paid careful but quiet attention to their morals andmanners. " From his sister Hannah's teaching Judge Cooper's youngest sonwent to Master Cory's school. It was kept in "one of those tastelessbuildings that afflict all new countries, " and here was called the"Academy. " It served Cooperstown in timely ways for religious andpolitical meetings; public courts were held here, and a ball was givennow and then under its roof. As to the school, time and incident broughtout a taste for music in the pupils of Master Cory. It seems that JudgeCooper had brought from Philadelphia a large upright organ of imposingappearance and power, which he placed in his manor-house hall. Itsarrival in the village made a summer's sensation. When put up andadjusted, a rehearsal of country dances, reels, and more serious musiccame floating through the broad door and ample windows of Otsego Hallinto Master Cory's domain, the Academy, which stood in the adjoiningstreet. As, with magic effect the strains of "Hail Columbia" poured intothe schoolroom, Master Cory skilfully met a moment of open rebellionwith these words: "Boys, that organ is a remarkable instrument. Younever heard the like of it before. I give you half an hour'sintermission. Go into the street and listen to the music!" [Illustration: COOPERSTOWN PRIOR TO 1835. ] These "Academy boys" were ambitious; each annual exhibition was crowded, to listen to the speeches "of Coriolanus, Iago, Brutus, and Cassius" by"raw lads from the village and adjoining farms, " in all the bravery oflocal militia uniform--blue coats "faced with red, matross swords, andhats of '76. " On such an occasion James Cooper, then a child of eightyears, became the pride and admiration of Master Cory for his movingrecitation of the "Beggar's Petition"--acting the part of an old manwrapped in a faded cloak and leaning over his staff. It is recorded thatJames had the fine, healthy pie-appetite usual to his age, for, says therecord, when his eldest brother "was showing the sights of New York tothe youngest, he took him to a pasty-shop, and, after watching the boyeat pasty after pasty, said to him: 'Jim, eat all you want, but rememberthat each one costs the old man a lot. '" Pasty then outbalanced propertyfor "Jim. " In due time the lad outgrew the Academy's instruction, but from boyto-man he never outgrew Master Cory's affection, nor his own for thedear home scenes on the shores of the "Haunted Lake, " which he was sosoon to leave for his first important schooling. The books he wrotelater tell how he never forgot the howl of the wolf across the icy fieldof Otsego on cold winter nights, the peculiar wail of the sharp-toothedpanther in the quiet wood roads, nor the familiar springs where the deerlingered latest. One autumn day, while still a pupil under Master Cory'scharge, the future author of "The Pioneers" was at play in his father'sgarden, when suddenly he was surprised by a deer which came leaping overthe fence from the street, almost brushing his face as it bounded awayinto the pine woods at the back of the house. This incident he oftenrelated to his children. It was not long before this youngest son was sent from home. Theeventful journey to Albany was made in the care of a near and worthyfarmer, "who was carrying toward the Hudson a load of wheat from thefields of Otsego. " They went over the fine turnpike, --the great highwayof that day, --"just finished from the Hudson to Cherry Valley. " Thechild had heard much of this wonder of roads from the gentlemen at hisfather's table who were interested in it, and he was eager to see itstoll-gates and stone bridges. After leaving "the corduroy tracks"leading to it from Cooperstown, the famous turnpike burst upon thegratified schoolboy's vision. As they trotted slowly along the farmerpointed out, among-other marvels of the way, "a tavern for every mile"of the sixty between Albany and Lake Otsego. A long-train of farmers'wagons, filled with the precious wheat, was slowly rolling eastward, passing-emigrant wagons of "growing families" and household gear movingwestward to the great lake countries. All this delighted the boy ofnine, who was finally set down at the door of St. Peter's Rectory atAlbany, New York. Here for four years he became one of the four youngpupils of the Rev. Thomas Ellison, rector of the church. Dr. Ellison wasan Englishman and a graduate of Oxford--a rare scholar and a king's man. From him came Cooper's strong preference for English church governmentand equally strong feeling against the Puritans of Old and New England. While the Puritan's character was not pleasing to Cooper, he himselfwas called a "Puritan of Puritans, " and it was to them he referred inthe following: "Whatever else I may think of the Yankees, --a calmer, firmer, braver people do not walk this earth. " Of this sentiment "TheWept of Wish-ton-Wish, " published in 1829, gives ample proof. [Illustration: DR. THOMAS ELLISON. ] The Rev. Joseph Hooper, author of the "History of St. Peter's Church, Albany, N. Y. , " related an incident of Cooper's old Rectory school daysthere. The story came to Dr. Hooper from Mr. Edward Floyd de Lancy, sonof Bishop de Lancy of Western New York, and is as follows: It was the custom of the Rev. Thomas Ellison when he became too feebleto personally direct his workmen, to sit upon the stoop of the Rectoryand watch the removal of the sandbank which covered the chosen site forthe new church, corner of State and Lodge streets. Hundreds of loads hadto be carted away before the foundation could be laid, and some of thecarter's pay tickets on quartered playing-cards are preserved in St. Peter's archives. But the great hole in the ground had a greatattraction for the boys of Albany, and they would leap into it to playtag and leap-frog until the stern voice of the Dominie called them toorder, when they would scamper away or hide in some corner out of sightof the piercing eyes of Dr. Ellison. Sometimes they would answer himmockingly, to his great annoyance. He could not pursue them, but hecould, when his own pupils joined with the other boys, as they oftendid, give them stern and severe lectures upon their conduct, for theywere playing on ground to be used for a sacred purpose. Even the rod ofcorrection was used without curing them of this habit. Young Cooper wasoften a ringleader, and their pranks would often continue until darknessconcealed them from the watchful and angry Rector, to whom, nevertheless, they gave due honor and respect. [Illustration: ST. PETER'S CHURCH, ALBANY, N. Y. ] [Illustration: STATE STREET, ALBANY, N. Y. , 1802. ] From one of his "Sketches of England, " written to William, Judge JohnJay's second son, comes, in part, Cooper's graphic description of Dr. Ellison: "Thirty-six years ago you and I were school fellows andclassmates in the home of a clergyman of the true English school. Thisman entertained a most profound reverence for the King and the nobility;was not backward in expressing his contempt for all classes ofdissenters and all ungentlemanly sects; was particularly severe on theimmoralities of the French Revolution, and, though eating our bread, wasnot especially lenient to our own; compelled you and me to begin Virgilwith the eclogues, and Cicero with the knotty phrases that open theoration in favor of the poet Archias, because these writers would nothave placed them first in the books if they did not intend people toread them first; spent his money freely and sometimes that of otherpeople; was particularly tenacious of the ritual and of all decencies ofthe Church; detested a democrat as he did the devil; cracked his jokesdaily about Mr. Jefferson, never failing to place his libertinism instrong relief against the approved morals of George III. , of severalpassages in whose history it is charitable to suppose he was ignorant;prayed fervently on Sunday; decried all morals, institutions, churches, manners but those of England from Monday to Saturday. " The lad from Otsego soon became a prime favorite with his tutor, whotook pleasure in teaching him. The old-fashioned, heroic romances were arare delight to him, --a taste which was thought to come from his mother, who was very fond of such reading. One vacation, at about the age ofeleven, he and a playmate lost themselves in the exciting interest ofsuch a tale; "Don Belianus of Greece" made so deep an impression onCooper that after reading it he said seriously to his playfellow that hewould write a book himself, and would "begin it at once. " And, like "DonBelianus of Greece, " this story was to have "knights, and squires, andhorses, and ladies, and castles and banners. " With the glory of hisstory in mind, the boy had utterly forgotten his hearty dislike ofpen-work at school. But his active brain soon put to flight thishobgoblin; he thought of the bit of a blue newspaper--the _OtsegoHerald_--printed in Cooperstown by the father of his comrade. So theyplanned to use the resting-time of the press for the printing of thisnew book, of which, however, only a few chapters were put in type. Thenew author soon wearied of his work; but none the less it was the firststep in his future literary career. During 1801 a man near fifty, cleanly clad in sailor's gear but withoutstockings or neckcloth, appeared before Judge Cooper and asked if thelot between Fenimore and the village was for sale. The answer was, "Yes, but the price is high, " and naming it, the stranger requested that adeed be made out at once; he counted down the amount in gold, and gavehis name as Esaias Hausman. He had built for himself a small rude houseon this lot and lived alone in it for years. The secrets of his formerlife, his wide learning (once found teaching a college presidentHebrew), and disappearance at times, were never solved. Only his deathrevealed a purse of gold worn between his shoulder-blades. There was nowill, so to public sale went the little hut and its lake-shore lot. Thisman of mystery made a deep impression on Cooper's boy-mind, and later, in 1838, was the subject of several pages of the author's "Chronicles ofCooperstown. " Then there was James Allen, --a Scotch master-mason, --whocame his way from the "Land o' Cakes" in 1801, and found, as anemployee of Judge Cooper, an opening for his trade, and soon became agreat favorite with the Cooper boys. This master-mason took great pridein exact work, with which no trifling was permitted. No stone could bemoved but his true eye would detect it in a flash, and wild was the furywith which his fiery trowel flew for the culprit, and with suchconvincing force that it was wise to avoid further meddling with the"gude mon's" work. Of "Jamie Allen, " master-mason and staunch _auldkirke mon_, many an amusing story is told in Fenimore Cooper's"Wyandotté, or the Hutted Knoll, " written in 1843. These men amongothers marked the unusual in Cooper's vacations from Dr. Ellison'sschool-rule at Albany. Later in life he wrote a lively memory-sketch ofhis tutor, the rector of St. Peter's Church. But the death in 1802 ofthis accomplished gentleman sent his pupil--then a stripling ofthirteen--to Yale. He entered the freshman 1802-3 January-term class, and, "excepting the poet Hillhouse, two weeks his junior, James Cooperwas the youngest student in college. " There "his progress in his studiesis said to have been honorable to his talents. " And "in the ancientlanguages he had no superior in his class. " [Illustration: "NEAR SHORES" OF NEW HAVEN. ] Cooper owned to having learned little at college. When left to his ownbent, his early love for out-of-door life drew him to roam the hills andexplore near shores, and to his first view of the grand old ocean, whichlater claimed his tribute of service. For a boyish frolic in his junioryear the lad left Yale, and this incident ended his college career. Itis of record that Judge Cooper took the boy's part against the facultyversion and brought his son home. Yet something from his books JamesCooper must have gleaned, for there is a story of a young sailor who, insome public place in the streets of an English port, attracted thecuriosity of the crowd by explaining to his companions the meaning of aLatin motto. [Illustration: DR. TIMOTHY DWIGHT. ] [Illustration: YALE COLLEGE, 1806. ] [Illustration: WILLIAM JAY IN YOUTH. ] The Albany, school-boy days of William Jay and James Cooper were renewedat Yale where was welded their strong life-friendship. On the collegeroll of their time appear amongst other names that of John C. Calhoun ofSouth Carolina, and the scholarly poet Hillhouse of New Haven. In theDodd, Mead & Company's 1892 issue of "William Jay and the ConstitutionalMovement for the Abolition of Slavery, " by Bayard Tuckerman, with apreface, by John Jay, appears a letter dating 1852, written by JudgeWilliam Jay to his grandson. This letter gives graphic glimpses ofYale College life during the student days there of its writer and JamesCooper: "The resident graduates were denominated 'Sirs'; their place inChapel was called 'the Sirs pew'; and when spoken of in college 'Sir'was always placed before their names. At that time the freshmenoccupied, in part, the place of sizers in the English universities, andthey were required to run errands for the seniors. My room-mate was SirHolly (Dr. Horace Holly). As a mere freshman, I looked up to myroom-mate with great respect, and treated him accordingly. About halfpast five in winter, the bell summoned us from our beds, --I rose, generally, before six, --made the fire, and then went, pitcher in hand, often wading through snow, for water for Sir Holly and myself. Of thecollege bell, " the letter continues: "at six it called us to prayers inthe chapel. We next repaired to the recitation-rooms and recited, bycandlelight, the lessons we had studied the preceding evening. At eightwe had breakfast, --our meals were taken in a large hall with a kitchenopening into it. The students were arranged at tables according to theirclasses. All sat on wooden benches, not excepting the tutors; thelatter had a table to themselves on an elevated platform whence theyhad a view of the whole company. But it was rather difficult for them toattend to their plates and to watch two hundred boys at the same time. Salt beef once a day, and dry cod were perhaps the most usual dishes. OnSunday mornings, during the winter, our breakfast-tables were gracedwith large tin milk-cans filled with stewed oysters; at the properseason we were occasionally treated with green peas. As you may suppose, a goodly number of waiters were needed in the hall. These were allstudents, and many of them among the best and most esteemed scholars. Atnine the bell warned us to our rooms. At twelve it called us to arecitation or a lecture. After dinner we recommenced our studies for thethird time, at four o'clock. During study hours the tutors wouldfrequently go the rounds, looking into our rooms to see that we were notplaying truant. Before supper, we all attended prayers in the chapel. " [Illustration: SILHOUETTE OF JAMES COOPER WHEN A STUDENT AT YALE. ] Although, from the necessity of his times, Chief-Justice John Jay was aslave owner, his son, William--refined, benevolent, pleasing in manner, but with a temper easily aroused by injustice--became an early, alert, and strong advocate of the anti-slavery cause. This eminent jurist whobuilt his life upon the plan of his words, "Duties are ours andconsequences are God's" (as did also Cooper), was graphically addressedand described by Cooper as "Thou most pugnacious man of peace. " [Illustration: OUTWARD BOUND. ] Leaving Yale to the more studious, no doubt the young man enjoyed thisbrief period of home-life and the distinguished guests drawn by itshospitality to Otsego Hall. Yet even this could not for long hold himthere. Perhaps he was influenced by what he heard from them of the greatoutside world, and he, too, wished to see what it was like. As astepping-stone to a commission in the navy, Judge Cooper secured a berthfor his son, who shipped as a sailor before-the-mast in the _Stirling_, of Wiscasset, Maine, John Johnston master and part owner. In the care ofa merchant, young Cooper went down to the docks to look about the shipand sign the articles, and the next day he returned in his sailor'sgarb. The _Stirling_ was taken into the stream, and his new comrades, amixture of nations, --four Americans, a Portuguese, a Spaniard, aPrussian, a Dane, an Englishman, a Scotch boy, and a Canadian, --tumbledaboard, not quite themselves; but by night they were in working trim. The young commander was described as "kind and considerate of allhands, " and the ship as "carrying a motley crew. " When "all hands" werecalled to get the _Stirling_ under way, Cooper, with another boy, wassent aloft to loose the foretopsail. With eager will he tugged stoutlyat "the robbins, " when the second mate appeared just in time to preventhim from dropping his part of the sail into the top. The good-heartedmate had a kindly mind for the "new hand, " and the men were too busy tonotice small failures aloft. Young Cooper soon found an old salt whotaught him to knot and splice with the best of them, and old Barnstablewas repaid for these lessons by the merry times they had together whenthey got ashore. However, with her cargo of flour, the _Stirling_ sailedfrom New York in the autumn of 1806 for the English market at Cowes, andtherefore when Cooper should have been taking his class degree at Yale, he was outward bound on the sea's highway. Being to the manor born didnot admit the sailor before-the-mast to the captain's cabin, but nodoubt the long, rough voyage of forty stormy days did make of the youngman a jolly tar. Through her usual veil of fog came Cooper's first viewof Old England when threatened with Napoleon's invasion. Forty-odd sailof warships were sighted by the night-watch when the _Stirling_ passedthe straits of Dover at daybreak. They gave the young man anobject-lesson that he never forgot, in the watchfulness and naval powerof Great Britain. The _Stirling_ had but dropped anchor in Englishwaters when she was boarded by a British man-of-war's boat-crew, and oneof her best hands was forced into the English navy service, and anothersailor barely escaped, he having satisfactory papers. At London a thirdhand was lost, and Captain Johnston himself was seized by a press-gang. [Illustration: GIBRALTAR. ] Finally, in round-jacket and tarpaulin, the future guest of SamuelRogers and Holland House, planted his feet on British soil. At London hesaw about everything a gay young fellow of seventeen in sailor's gearcould, of that wonderful city, --or so thought Ned Myers, one of hisshipmates, who was with him most of the time. Concerning these jauntsMyers says: "I had one or two cruises of a Sunday in the tow of Cooper, who soon became a branch pilot in those waters about the parks and theWest End, the Monument, St. Paul's and the lions; Cooper took a look atthe arsenal, jewels, and armory [Tower of London]. He had a rum time ofit in his sailor's rig; hoisted in a wonderful lot of gibberish. " Andwith his fine stories of each day's sights in old London town, the youngsailor would make merry evenings for his forecastle comrades, of whomit is recorded his strength could lay flat on their backs in twominutes. In January the _Stirling_ spread her sails for another stormypassage, --to the straits of Gibraltar. On running out, the ship wasboarded by a gun-boat officer, who tried to press a Swede; whereupon, young Cooper thinking it an insult to our flag, began high words withthe Englishman, but was soon silenced by Captain Johnston. The_Stirling_ met with various stirring adventures, being chased by aBay-of-Biscay pirate and rescued by the timely appearance of a Britishcruiser. It was thick westerly weather when they ran into the straits, and as the English fleet was off Cape Trafalgar, Captain Johnstonrealized the danger of being run down in the night, and came on deckduring the middle watch for a sharp lookout on the forecastle. Nightorders were given when came the warning, "Sail ho!" and through themists and shadows was seen dimly a two-decker bearing directly clownupon them. The Captain ordered the helm "hard up!" and called Cooper to"bring a light. " With a leap he rushed to the cabin, seized the light, and in half a minute it was swinging from the mizzen rigging, hispromptness saving the ship. So near were the two vessels that the deckofficer's voice was distinctly heard calling his quarter-master to "portthe helm. " As the great mass swept by them she seemed about to crushtheir railing with the muzzle of her guns. While the _Stirling_ was lying off the old Moorish town of Almaria, Cooper and others were sent ashore in a jolly-boat to boil pitch. Toreturn to the ship they put off in a heavy sea, knowing it would bedifficult to work through the surf; but orders were orders, and delaywould not help. So off they plunged, when suddenly a breaker "took thebow of the boat, and lifting her almost on end, turned her keeluppermost. " All hands got safely ashore--how, none could tell. A secondlaunching resulted as the first, but with a third they succeeded inforging their way out, and boarded the ship. Later they ran short ofprovisions. But the _Stirling's_ return cargo was brought back safely toLondon, where the ship lay at anchor for two months or more, and thensailed in July for America. After a voyage of fifty-two days she droppedanchor at Philadelphia, September 18, 1807. So much for this good shipnamed for Stirling Castle of Bonnie Scotland. Such were the lessons young Cooper learned in this rough but manlyschool. A brother officer who knew him well said, "He was active, prompt, and efficient, a pleasant shipmate, always ready to do his duty, and rigorous too in exacting it of others. " Of Cooper's "Naval History"was added, "It is the noblest tribute ever paid to a noble profession. "Aboard the _Stirling_ on these several cruises Cooper learned much thatafterwards appeared in his sea tales. It was of this sea-service that hewrote, "I have been myself one of eleven hands, officers included, tonavigate a ship of three hundred tons across the Atlantic Ocean; and, what is more, we often reefed topsails with the watch. " Of the_Stirling_ he wrote, "The ship was on a bow-line most of the time"; andhe thought her "one of the wettest ships that ever floated when headingtip against the sea. " A lively account of this eleven months' service isfound in Cooper's story of "Ned Myers. " This life of his shipmate aboardthe _Stirling_ was written in 1843. The old salt was a battered hulk inthe "Sailor's Snug Harbor" when Cooper was on the crest of the wave ofhis literary fame, and the old sailor, wondering if this Cooper could bethe comrade of his youth in the _Stirling_ days of yore, wrote, afterthe twenty-five years of separation, to inquire. The answer was, "I amyour old shipmate, Ned. " Later, "Ned" was invited to visit the Hall. Many remember the interesting two in 1843. "Hardly a day passed thatthey were not seen, as the heavy Hall gates swung open at eleveno'clock, coming out for a morning walk or a sail on the lake;--Cooper'sportly form, and by his side a shriveled figure with halting step, leaning heavily on a crooked stick which served for a cane. They were asstrong in contrast as it was possible for men to be. " It was during thisvisit that the old sailor spun his life-yarn in his own way and Cooperwove it into his book, "Ned Myers. " [Illustration: SAILOR'S SNUG HARBOR. ] Perhaps the following interesting Cooperstown story of Cooper's youthis of the time of his return from his _Stirling_ voyage. One day a merrygroup of young men proposed a footrace, the course to be around thesquare--a distance of about one hundred yards. James Cooper was named asone of the runners, and his rival was soon chosen. According to custom, the village boys, girls, men, and women were spectators. Like amettlesome steed in curb young Cooper looked at the wager, --a basket offruit, --then at his race-mate, and accepted the challenge, but not oneven terms. It was not enough for a sailor simply to outrun a landsman;he could do more. A little girl stood near, her bright face eager withwatching for the fray. Cooper turned quickly and caught her up in hisarms, and with the pride and muscle of an athlete exclaimed, "I'll carryher with me and beat you!" Away they flew, Cooper with his laughingburden upon his shoulders; one corner was turned, and the excited crowdsaw with surprise James Cooper with his small rider keeping pace withthe other flying youth. Another, and the other corners were soon passed;both sprang like race-horses near the end of the course, but Cooper, with his little black-eyed girl aloft and the perspiration pouring downhis manly brow and cheeks, was the first to reach the mark, and amidstsuch cheers and hurrahs as only pioneers can freely give, and as freelyenjoy. The fruit he had won, but soon it was shared by all around. Thatlittle girl, later the wife of Captain William Wilson, often told thestory of her ride on pleasant James Cooper's shoulders. [Illustration: OTSEGO HALL GATES. ] While never a rhymester, Cooper, in his early manhood and at rare timesafter, did write occasional sentimental and comic verses that betokenedboth clever imagination and other merit. Into the _Otsego Herald_printing-office a poor epileptic ballad-singer came one day to ask helpfrom a group of gentlemen A purse was made up for him, but he, lookingamong them, said if one of them would write for him "a fewverses--something new"--they would be worth more than the silver givenhim. Young Cooper offered to try, and asked on what subject he shouldwrite "There's nothing sells like ballads, " was the reply. So the balladwas promised; and some thirty or more pathetic verses were written atonce, about the small frontier village recently burnt by troops underColonel Murray during the close of the last war with England. Thisballad bore the high-sounding title of "Buffalo Burnt, or the DreadfulConflagration. " It won such success among the farm-house gentry thatthe singer returned for another ballad and obtained it. Some years laterMr. Cooper was invited to a tea-party in a near village, when a younglady, led to the piano for music, began to sing, much to the author'sdisturbing amazement, "Buffalo Burnt, or the Dreadful Conflagration. " [Illustration: BUFFALO BURNT. ] So passed the pleasant vacation days of our young sailor, whose trainingbefore-the-mast enabled his father to obtain for him a midshipman'scommission in the United States Navy, for which James Cooper reportedfor duty at New York City, January 12, 1808. At the age of nineteen hefirst served aboard the _Vesuvius. _ Thence he was ordered to Oswego, NewYork, to build the brig _Oneida_ for Lake Ontario service, and which thespring of 1809 saw launched. [Illustration: THE "VESUVIUS. "] [Illustration: ONTARIO FORESTS. ] While the war flurries which called for the building of the vessel weretethered, Cooper had learned his lesson in ship-building, ship-yardduties, and water-border life; and these served him more than thirtyyears later in his matchless Indian story, "The Pathfinder. " Miss SusanCooper has left some interesting pages of this period of her father'snaval service; in part they read: "In 1808 several young officers underLieutenant Woolsey were ordered to the shores of Lake Ontario forbuilding a small vessel of war. Among them was Mr. Cooper, then amidshipman in the service. Their road lay for many a mile through theforest to the mouth of the Oswego River, --their destination, --where the_Oneida_, a brig mounting sixteen guns, was built and launched. Theyenjoyed the wild coloring of frontier life They roamed the forests andexplored the shores in leisure hours. Cruises among the Thousand Islandswere frequent; many were the fine fish caught and good chowders eaten. The picturesque beauties of the region, the countless islands, weregreatly enjoyed and never forgotten by the young midshipman. " Theyouthful officers were ordered to Buffalo, and stopping for the night ata rude frontier inn, it was Cooper's duty to inquire what they mighthave for supper. "Mine host shook his head ruefully; he could promisevery little. 'Give us what you eat yourself; you must have food of somekind, ' said Cooper. Mine host looked melancholy; on his honor he assuredthe young officers he had absolutely nothing to set before them butgame, steak, and brook-trout; and, maybe his wife could find cranberriesfor a tart! A month earlier they should have had a dish of fried porkfit for the President, with a pumpkin pie after it. 'Game's plenty, butnothin' else!' added the publican with a sigh. Mine host was pining forpork! On this expedition Mr. Cooper saw Niagara for the first time. Hewas struck with the grandeur of the cataract, but felt its sublimecharacter far more deeply on a later visit--after his return fromEurope. " [Illustration: THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. ] [Illustration: THE PORT OF BUFFALO. ] When the _Oneida_ was launched the gallant young officers resolved tocelebrate the event by giving a ball. "This was an enterprise of adesperate character;--building a brig hundreds of miles from a ship-yardwas a trifle to giving a ball in the wilderness. True, one fiddle andhalf a dozen officers were something; refreshments and a militaryball-room might be hoped for; but where, pray, were the ladies to comefrom?" They would not think of dancing with each other, and ladies mustbe found. Vigorous efforts were made by sending boats in some directionsand carts miles in others, to invite the ladies; and they accepted. Asthe hour drew near a very delicate point came up for decision--thehonors due different fair claimants. After a council of war, LieutenantWoolsey gave to his master-of-ceremonies these orders: "All ladies, sir, provided with shoes and stockings are to be led to the head of theVirginia reel; ladies with shoes, and without stockings, are consideredin the second rank; ladies without shoes or stockings you will lead, gentlemen, to the foot of the country dance!" Such was a grand militaryball in Oswego County in 1808-9. [Illustration: CAPTAIN M. T. WOOLSEY. ] About this time occurred an amusing incident of their raw youngmess-servant, fresh from Ireland: "A table-cloth had taken fire and wasin full blaze; Paddy was at the moment filling a teapot from an amplekettle in his hand. 'Pour the water on the table!' called out one of theofficers. 'Sure, the wather is _hot_, your honor!' exclaimed Paddy, ingreat dismay, holding the kettle at a very safe distance from theblazing cloth, and his face such a picture of helpless despair as tomake Mr. Cooper heartily laugh at every after-thought of it. " The passing of thirty or more years made of this light-hearted youngmidshipman a well-known writer, with the purpose that his next bookshould tell of this unforgettable region of the great lakes. He wishedto-bring into it the sailors and Indians as, by coming in close contactwith them, "he knew their personalities and characteristics. " Then, forest scenes without "Natty Bumppo" could scarce come from his penafter the drawings of old "Leatherstocking" of "The Pioneers, " "Hawkeye"of "The Mohicans, " and the "aged trapper" of "The Prairie. " So it cameabout that "Natty, the lover, " stepped into these pages--Natty, "sosimple, so tender, so noble and true--what shall be said of him? We mustall needs love him; it is not with words but with tears that we wringhis hand and part from him on the lake shore" as "The Pathfinder. "Glowing and brave proved his Mabel, as "the bubble of a boat floated onthe very crest of a foaming breaker, "--yet not for him. But the rippleof the lake's waves and rustling of forest leaves are as unforgettableas the low, sweet tones of "Dew-of-June. " Of "The Pathfinder" and CooperBalzac wrote: "Its interest is tremendous. He surely owed us thismasterpiece after the last two or three raphsodies he has given us. " [Illustration: THE PATHFINDER. ] [Illustration: A BUBBLE OF A BOAT. ] In the year 1809 Cooper was attached to a gun-boat serving on LakeChamplain, and on November 13 following, he was ordered to the _Wasp_, under Capt. James Lawrence, of Burlington--a personal friend, and alsothe heroic commander of the _Chesapeake_ in her action with the_Shannon_, in which his last words were, "Don't give up the ship!" Itwas aboard the _Wasp_ that Cooper's lifelong friendship with CommodoreShubrick of South Carolina began, who, like himself, and a year younger, was a midshipman. To this friend the author dedicated "The Pilot, " "RedRover, " and other stories. [Illustration: CAPTAIN LAWRENCE. ] [Illustration: THE "WASP. "] Political feeling ran high in those early days of 1809, and prominentpersons did not escape from their opponents with hitter feeling only. Soit came about that in December of that year, Judge Cooper, on leaving ahot convention, met his death, --the result of a blow on the head, as hewas coming down the steps of the State capitol at Albany, New York. Noone of his day who was engaged in the work of large buying and sellingof land made so deep an impression as did Judge Cooper on his times, andon his author son, whose land books disclose to posterity with historicexactness the hardships and values of the pioneers of our country. After Judge Cooper's death Richard Fenimore, his eldest son, became thehead of the family, and it was to him that James wrote from New York, May 18th, 1810 I wrote you yesterday, a letter in a great hurry, as its contents are of some importance. I employ the leisure time offered today, to inform you more fully of my views. When you were in the City, I hinted to you, my intention of resigning at the end of this session of Congress, should nothing be done for the Navy--my only reason at that time was the blasted prospects of the service. I accordingly wrote my resignation and as usual offer'd it to Capt. Lawrence, for his inspection--he very warmly recommended to me to give the service the trial of another year or two--at the same time offering to procure me a furlough which would leave me perfect master of my actions in the interval--I thought it wisest to accept this proposition--at the end of this year I have it in my power to resign, should the situation of the Country warrant it. Like all the rest of the sons of Adam, I have bowed to the influence of the claims of a fair damsel of eighteen. I loved her like a man and told her of it like a sailor. The peculiarity of my situation occasion'd me to act with something like precipitancy. I am perfectly confident, however, I shall never have cause to repent of it--. As you are _cooly_ to decide, I will as _cooly_ give you the qualities of my mistress. Susan De Lancey is the daughter of a man of very respectable connections and a handsome fortune--amiable, sweet-tempered and happy in her disposition. --She has been educated in the country, occasionally trying the temperature of the City--to rub off the rust--but hold a moment, it is enough she pleases _me_ in the qualities of her _person_ and _mind_--. Like a true quixotic lover, I made proposals to her father--he has answered them in the most gentlemanly manner--. You have my consent to address my daughter if you will gain the approbation of your mother--He also informs me that his daughter has an estate in the County of Westchester in reversion, secured to her by a deed in trust to him--. I write all this for _you_--you know _I_ am indifferent to anything of this nature. Now I have to request--you will take your hat and go to mother, the boys, girls, and say to them have you any objection that James Cooper shall marry at a future day, Susan De Lancey. If any of them forbid the bans may the Lord have forgiven them--for I never will--. Then take your pen and write to Mr. De Lancey stating the _happiness_ and _pleasure_ it will give all the family to have this connection completed--all this I wish you to do immediately, as I am deprived of the pleasure of visiting my flame until this is done, by that confounded _bore_, delicacy--be so good as to inclose the letter in one to me, at the same time don't forget to inclose a handsome sum to square the yards here and bring me to Cooperstown. I wish not to interrupt you in your attempt to clear the estate--my expenditure shall be as small as possible. _Your brother, _ James Cooper. The de Lanceys were Huguenots and their loyalty to England during theRevolution made several of them British officers. Although Cooper wasever a staunch American, this incident, with several others in hislater life, seemed unfavorable to some few who were only too willing toquestion his loyalty. [Illustration: FRAUNCES TAVERN. ] [Illustration: GOV. JAMES DE LANCEY'S SEAL. ] [Illustration: HEATHCOTE ARMS. ] Miss de Lancey's great grandfather, Stephen, was the first of thisaristocratic Westchester-County family on American soil. He fledfrom Normandy on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, and in1686 came to New York. Here his son James became chief-justice andlieutenant-governor, and married Ann, eldest daughter of the Hon. CalebHeathcote, lord of the manor of Scarsdale, Westchester, and whose manorhouse was Heathcote Hill, which their fourth son, John Peter de Lancey, Cooper's father-in-law, inherited from his mother. One of a number ofservices the old-world Derbyshire Heathcote-Hill family rendered to itscountry was giving to the Bank of England its first president. The deLancey name still clings to the new-world history in Fraunces Tavern, built by Stephen de Lancey in 1700, for his home. Sixty-two years laterit became the tavern of Samuel Fraunces. In 1776 and 1783 it was theheadquarters of General Washington, and in its famous _Long Room_ "TheFather of his Country" made his farewell address, and bid adieu to hisgenerals. Number 130 Broadway was the de Lancey home of 1730, and herewas given the first inauguration ball of our nation. On this site wasbuilt "Burn's Coffee House, " which teemed with interesting events. TheCity Hotel took its place in 1806. John Peter de Lancey marriedElizabeth, daughter of Col. Richard Floyd, and in 1789 came toHeathcote Hill, Westchester County, which he rebuilt on the site of theold manor house, burned down. In this home he lived out his days. Herehis son, William Heathcote, Bishop of Western New York, was born; andalso his lovely daughter, Susan Augusta; here she was wooed and won bythe handsome young naval officer, and on New Year's day, 1811, becameMrs. James Cooper. In 1899 Dr. Theodore F. Wolfe writes of Cooper andHeathcote Hill--that some of the great trees which waved their greenleafage above him lingering here with sweetheart or bride yet shade thegrounds, but the household that welcomed him and gave him a beloveddaughter lie in a little grass-grown cemetery near to this old home. Mrs. Cooper had a sweet, gracious way of guiding by affection herhusband, and he gave her his heart's devotion through the forty yearsof their happily mated life. Cooper and his young bride began life byplaying a game of chess between the ceremony and supper. Then, hedriving two horses tandem, they made their wedding journey toCooperstown in a gig. His furlough ended a few months later, and toplease his wife, he resigned in May from the navy. Long afterwards hewrote, "She confesses she would never have done for Lady Collingwood. "For a year or more Cooper and his wife lived with her father atHeathcote Hill, Mamaroneck, New York, and afterwards in a near-bycottage on the "Neck, " which Cooper named "Closet Hall" because it wasso small, and he described it as the home of the Littlepage family in"Satanstoe. " Only two old willows remain of the group that almostconcealed Cooper's wee house, now entirely rebuilt, and they named theplace as the home of Alice B. Havens, who wrote here some of her poemsand stories--so Dr. Wolfe writes of Closet Hall. After some briefhousekeeping in this "wee home, " the young people again made a part ofthe family at Heathcote Hill, where they lived until 1814. Then, withthe two little girls born to them, they went for a short time toCooperstown, and thence to their Fenimore farm of some one hundred andfifty acres along Otsego's southwestern shores. "On a rising knolloverlooking lake and village a handsome stone house was begun for theirlife home. " The near-by hill, called Mount Ovis, pastured the Merinosheep which he brought into the country. He loved his gardening, andwas active for the public good, serving as secretary of the countyAgricultural Society, and also of the Otsego County Bible Society. Inthe full flush of youth and its pleasures there were the pleasantdiversions of driving, riding, and rowing. So lived flute-playingCooper, brave and handsome, at twenty-five. [Illustration: HON. CALEB HEATHCOTE. ] [Illustration: FRAUNCES TAVERN. ] [Illustration: BURN'S COFFEE HOUSE. ] [Illustration: HEATHCOTE HILL. ] [Illustration: TANDEM. ] [Illustration: COOPER'S FENIMORE FARM HOUSE. ] Cooper's mother was then living with her older sons at Otsego Hall, andit is recorded that "she took great delight in flowers, and the end ofthe long hall was like a green-house, in her time"; that "she was agreat reader of romances; a marvelous housekeeper, and beautifully niceand neat in her arrangements: her flower-garden at the south of thehouse was considered something wonderful in variety of flowers. " Betweenher Old-Hall home and the families of her children, --Richard's on "AppleHill, " Isaac's at "Edgewater, " Nancy's at the "Old Stone House, " andJames's at "Fenimore, "--these years were full of charm and interest forthem all, which later became sweet and enduring memories. Sadness creptin, through the loss of James's daughter Elizabeth; but two more came tolift this shadow in the Fenimore home. In 1817 Cooper and his young family started for a few month's visit toHeathcote Hill, and later in this year he lost his mother. As the stonehouse, then building at Fenimore, burned down in 1823, the land was soldlater, and the few months' expected absence grew into seventeen years. Perhaps it was this thread of loss added to his wife's wishes that ledCooper to build a country home on the Scarsdale farm, --a portion of thede Lancey estate, which came to Mrs. Cooper after her marriage. Here hebuilt the picturesque home in which his literary career began. "Nothingthat Cooper knew remains excepting the superb land and water view, "which drew him to place this home of his there, and he has picturedmile upon mile of the shimmering, sail-dotted Sound in scenes of his"Water Witch. " It is of record that the windows of the room in which hewrote "Precaution, " "The Spy, " and "The Pioneers" overlooked thisenchanting vista which then and later claimed place in his books. It wasfour miles from Mamaroneck and some twenty-five from New York City. Theheight on which the new house stood was called Angevine, from a formerHuguenot tenant. It gave a glorious view over miles of fine woodedcountry, with a broad reach of Long Island Sound beyond, over which weremoving white, glittering sails "a sailor's eye loves to follow. " Ofactive habits and vigorous health, Cooper threw himself with almostboyish eagerness into the improvement and beautifying of thishomestead, --planning the barn, building the then new zigzag, ha-hafence, watching the growth of shrubs and trees that he had transplanted, and with cheering talk lightening the labors of his workmen. [Illustration: ELIZABETH FENIMORE COOPER IN THE OLD HALL HOME. ] [Illustration: COOPER'S ANGEVINE FARM HOME. ] [Illustration: MAMARONECK CREEK SLOOPS. ] "In 1818 Cooper was made paymaster, and in the next year quartermasterin the Fourth Division of Infantry, New York State Militia. As GovernorClinton's aid, in blue and buff uniform, cocked hat, and sword, andtitle of colonel, he would go to reviews on his favorite horse, 'Bull-head. '" At that time each village on the Sound had its sloop which carried thefarmer's produce thrice a week through the perils of Hell Gate to Fultonmarket, and brought back tea, sugar, cloth, calicoes, and silks, and, perchance, some volume fresh from the London press, --a bit of Byron'sbrilliance, a romance from the unknown author of "Waverley, " one of MissEdgeworth's charming tales, or the more serious religious work ofWilberforce--which had "arrived by packet-ship from England"--the nextday's papers would announce. Lucky was thought the household that couldfirst cut the pages of the new print. Reading, which always enters so naturally into country life, madepleasant their evening hours and rainy days at Angevine. Mr. Cooper wasa fine reader. His voice was deep, clear, and expressive, and duringthose quiet country evenings he often read aloud to one "who listenedwith affectionate interest through a long life, " and he read to her withspecial pleasure. For Shakespeare he was always ready. Pope, Thompson, and Gray were also in favor, but not more than a page or two at a timeof Milton. He thought that Shakespeare should have written "ParadiseLost. " "He took the greatest delight in the 'Waverley' novels, and neverdoubted they were written by Walter Scott, the poet. On one occasion anew novel chanced to lie on the table and he was asked to read it. Thetitle and look of the book were not to his taste; he opened it, however, and began. Suddenly, after reading through a few pages, it was thrownaside in disgust: 'I can write a better book than that myself!' was hisexclamation. " Mrs. Cooper laughed at the absurd idea that he, whodisliked writing even a letter, should write a book, and playfullychallenged him to make good his word; and when urged to begin, he atonce outlined a tale of English high-life. As the story grew, the writerbecame interested, and before long the first pages of Cooper's firstbook, "Precaution, or Prevention is Better than Cure, " were written. When finished, much to his amazement, Mrs. Cooper further urged him topublish it; so, with the manuscript, they set out in their gig to seekcounsel of the Jays at Bedford, and other friends, who approved. "Onelady, not in the secret, felt sure she had read it before. " It waspublished, without the author's name, August 25, 1820, and was creditedto an English woman. A. T. Goodrich, the publisher, surprised the publicby declaring it the work of an American gentleman of New York. It wassoon republished in England, and claimed the attention usually accordedthat style of book in its day. Whatever of its worth, the work hadawakened Cooper's powers; and its modest success in a field new to himled his friends to urge him to write on subjects that were in near touchwith his daily life. None knew better than he the frontier andsea-faring life of his own and earlier times. So, then, forhome-country subjects, and thinking it would be his last attempt, heexclaimed, "I will write another book!" and soon decided on patriotismas its _motif_. At this period many were the visits to Judge Jay'sWestchester home at Bedford. The house, part of wood and part of stone, had a spacious, comfortable piazza along its front. The interior hadmore of cheerfulness than of elegance, but a great air of abundance, andwas a peaceful shelter for the waning days of that eminent statesman andpatriot. Of this household Cooper wrote later: "I scarcely remember tohave mingled with any family where there was a more happy union of quietdecorum and high courtesy than I met with beneath the roof of Mr. Jay. "To no place more fitting than his wistaria-covered library could Cooperhave gone for patriotic inspiration. The venerable Judge, as he smokedhis long clay pipe, used to delight in telling anecdotes of theRevolution, "the truth of which, " he said, "never had been and neverwould be written. " [Illustration: JUDGE JOHN JAY. ] [Illustration: BEDFORD HOUSE. ] [Illustration: BEDFORD HOUSE LIBRARY. ] One summer afternoon, while sitting on his broad piazza under thelindens, Cooper, with others, listened to the Judge's recital of thestory of a spy's great struggles and unselfish loyalty while serving hiscountry in the American Revolution, and the story gave Cooper an ideafor his "Harvey Birch. " The fact that strolling peddlers, staff in handand pack on back, were common visitors then at country houses, becameanother aid. "It was after such a visit of a Yankee peddler of the oldsort, to the cottage at Angevine, that Harvey's lot in life wasdecided--he was to be a spy and a peddler. " It was something to theauthor's after regret that he drew the dignity of George Washington intothe "Harper" of this story. [Illustration: HARVEY BIRCH'S CAVE. ] "The entire country between the Americans on the skirts of the Highlandsand the British on Manhattan--or 'the Neutral Ground'--suffered more inharried skirmishes, pillage, violence, fire, and the taking of lifeitself, than any of its extent during this strife. " Scarsdale andMamaroneck were in this region, with White Plains close by. FortWashington was on a near height, and Dobb's Ferry a few miles off. "TheCoopers' daily drive from Angevine discovered a pretty thicket, someswampy land, and a cave in which to hide the loyal, to be fed byfriendly hands at night until escape was possible. There were also athand the gloomy horrors of a haunted wood where gliding ghosts foughtmidnight battles"--all of this the farmers _knew_ and could tell of, too. One of them, "Uncle John, " lived just below the home hill in a weecot of four walls, each of a different color--red, yellow, brown, andwhite. He frequently came up the Angevine-home hill to tell, between hisapples, nuts, and glasses of cider, tales of what he, too, _knew_, to agood listener, --the master of the house. Then there was "Major Brom B. , a hero of the great war, with his twenty-seven martial spirits, alluniformed in silver gray, his negro Bonny and his gun, 'the Bucanneer, 'had not its fellow on the continent. " These were all aids, and sourcesof unfailing interest about the many Westchester chimney firesides ofthat day. In his "Literary Haunts and Homes, " Dr. Theodore F. Wolfetells of a fine, old-time home, beyond the valley below Cooper'sAngevine farm, where he placed many an exciting scene of this comingtale. In 1899 Dr. Wolfe notes the house as changed, only by a piazzaacross its front, from the days when Cooper knew it well, and that itwas pleasantly shaded by many of the fine, tall trees that gave it thename of "The Locusts, " which it kept in his story as the home of theWhartons. The descendants of the family he used to visit still livethere, and one of them showed Dr. Wolfe all that was left of "The FourCorners, " Betty Flanigan's hotel, whence Harvey Birch, Cooper's hero, escaped in Betty's petticoats. Cooper made these familiar scenes ofsouthern New York the background of his second book, "The Spy, a Tale ofthe Neutral Ground, " which also was published, without the author'sname, December 22, 1821. Its success called for a new edition thefollowing March, and its translation into many foreign tongues. OfCooper's "Betty Flanigan" Miss Edgeworth declared, "An Irish pen couldnot have drawn her better. " Except Irving's "Sketch Book, " his"Knickerbocker's History of New York, " and Bryant's thin volume of eightpoems, there were few books by native writers when "The Spy" appeared;and "then it was that the new world awakened to the surprising discoveryof her first _American_ novelist. The glory that Cooper justly won wasreflected on his country, of whose literary independence he was thepioneer. 'The Spy' had the charm of reality; it tasted of the soil. "While the American press was slow to admit the merit of "The Spy, " acordial welcome was given the book in "The Port Folio. " It was writtenby Mrs. Sarah Hall, mother of the editor, and author of "Conversationson the Bible. " This act of timely kindness Cooper never forgot. June 30, 1822, Washington Irving, from London, wrote Mr. John E. Hall, theeditor: "'The Spy' is extremely well spoken of by the best circles, --nota bit better than it deserves, for it does the author great credit. " [Illustration: THE LOCUSTS OF COOPER'S TIME. ] [Illustration: TITLE-PAGE OF THE FIRST EDITION OF "THE SPY. "] [Illustration: ENOCH CROSBY. ] In 1826, when "The Spy" was before the footlights in Lafayette Theatre, on Broadway, near Canal Street, Enoch Crosby, the supposed original spy, appeared in a box with friends, and "was given thunders of applause. "From "Portraits of Cooper's Heroines, " by the Rev. Ralph Birdsall ofCooperstown, is gleaned: On the walls of the Newport home of the Rev. John Cornell hang two old portraits that have close connection with theinner history of "The Spy. " To their present owner they came from theNew York home of his mother, the late Mrs. Isaac Cornell, and to herthey came from the Somerville, New Jersey, home of her father, Mr. Richard Bancker Duyckinck, who in his turn received them from his aunt, Mrs. Peter Jay, --the subject of one of these portraits and at one timemistress of the Jay mansion at Rye. Over one hundred years ago it wasthat, from the walls of this rare old home at Rye, Westchester County, the grace of these ladies on canvas caught James Cooper's thought to usethem, by description, in his coming book, "The Spy. " Chapter XIIIdescribes closely the personal appearance and style of dress of theseportraits. "Jeanette Peyton, " the maiden aunt of Cooper's story, owesher mature charm to the portrait of Mary Duyckinck, wife of Peter Jay. From the "cap of exquisite lawn and lace, " her gown of rich silk, shortsleeves and "large ruffles" of lace which with "the experience of fortyyears, " also veiled her shoulders, to the triple row of large pearlsabout her throat, --all these details are found in Cooper's text-pictureof Jeanette Peyton. His "Sarah Wharton" no less closely follows theportrait of Mrs. Jay's older sister, Sarah Duyckinck, who became Mrs. Richard Bancker. Her name Sarah may have been given purposely to SarahWharton of Cooper's story. Cooper was thirty-two when it was written, and it is not unlikely that Mrs. Jay, then eighty-five years of age, waspleased with this delicate tribute the young novelist paid to the beautyof her own and her sister's youth. [Illustration: LAFAYETTE THEATRE. ] [Illustration: COOPER'S HEROINES. ] Four daughters and a son now shared the author's home life, and in orderto place his little girls in a school and be near his publishers, Cooperrented a modest brick house on Broadway, across the street from Niblo'sGarden, near No. 585, Astor's home, which was a grand resort ofHalleck and Irving, who wrote there a part of his "Life of Washington. "Cooper's house was just above Prince Street--then almost out of town. [Illustration: WINDHURST'S NOOK, UNDER THE PARK THEATRE. ] The modern club being then unknown, the brilliant men of the day met intaverns, and there talked of "everything under the starry scope ofheaven. " In the 1820's there was Edward Windhurst's famous nook underthe sidewalk below Park Theatre, where Edmund Kean, Junius Brutus Booth, Cooper, Morris, Willis, and Halleck made gay and brilliant talk. In the "Life and Letters of Fitz-greene Halleck, " by General James GrantWilson, it appears that Cooper was warmly attached to Halleck since1815, when they first met. Fitz-greene Halleck is credited with takingCooper's earliest books to Europe in 1822 and finding a London publisherfor them. The novelist called his friend "The Admirable Croaker, " onaccount of a series of amusing and satirical verses written by Halleckand Drake and published over the signature of "Croaker and Co. , " in thepublic press of that day. Into this atmosphere of charm came delightfuland delighting Joseph Rodman Drake, with his "six feet two" of splendidyouth; he was thought by some "the handsomest man in New York. " From outthis brilliant group comes the record that "'Culprit Fay, ' written inAugust, 1816, " says Halleck, "came from Cooper, Drake, DeKay, andHalleck, speaking of Scottish streams and their inspiration for poetry. Cooper and Halleck thought our American rivers could claim no suchtribute of expression. Drake differed from his friends and made good hisstand by producing in three days 'The Culprit Fay' from the Highlands ofthe Hudson; but, " is added, "the Sound from Hunt's Point, his familiarhaunt of _salt_ water, made his inspiration. " [Illustration: JAMES FENIMORE COOPER, 1822. ] [Illustration: FITZ-GREENE HALLECK. ] [Illustration: JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE. ] [Illustration: CRO' NEST. ] To the City Hotel came Morris again with Dana, Cooper, and his friend, Samuel Woodworth, author of "The Old Oaken Bucket"--to plan "TheMirror, " in 1823. [Illustration: SAMUEL WOODWORTH. ] [Illustration: THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET. ] The story of the old song's writing is: At noon on a summer's day in1817 Woodworth, whose pen-name was "Selim, " walked home to dinner fromhis office at the foot of Wall Street. Being very warm, he drank a glassof water from his pump, and after drinking it said, "How much morerefreshing would be a draught from the old bucket that hung in myfather's well!" Then his wife--whom the poet called hisinspiration--exclaimed, "Why, Selim, wouldn't that be a pretty subjectfor a poem?" Thus urged, he began writing at once, and in an hour's timefinished the heart-stirring song so well known as "The Old OakenBucket. " At this City Hotel Cooper himself in 1824 founded "The Bread and CheeseClub"--so named because membership was voted _for_ with bits of bread, and _against_ with bits of cheese. He called it the "Lunch. " Later on, the "Lunch, or Cooper's Club, " met in Washington Hall, corner ofBroadway and Chambers Street. Among its distinguished members wereChancellor Kent, DeKay, naturalist, King, later president of ColumbiaCollege, the authors Verplanck, Bryant, and Halleck, Morse the inventor, the artists Durand and Jarvis, and Wiley the publisher. They metThursday evenings, each member in turn caring for the supper, alwayscooked to perfection by Abigail Jones--an artist of color, in that line. It was at one of these repasts that Bryant "was struck with Cooper'srapid, lively talk, keen observation, knowledge, and accurate memory ofdetails. " Said he: "I remember, too, being somewhat startled, coming asI did from the seclusion of a country life, with a certain emphaticfrankness of manner, which, however, I came at last to like and admire. "Many an attractive page might be written of these talks with Mathews, rambles with DeKay, and daily chats with his old messmates of the sea, and this "Bread and Cheese Club. " Cooper was scarcely in France beforehe sent frequent missives to his friends at the club to be read at theirweekly meetings; but it "missed its founder, went into a decline, andnot long afterward quietly expired. " General Wilson says that it was atWiley's, corner of Wall and New Streets, in a small back room christenedby Cooper "The Den"--which appeared over the door--that he first met"The Idle Man, " R. H. Dana. Here Cooper was in the habit of holdingforth to an admiring audience, much as did Christopher North about thesame time in "Blackwood's" back parlor in George Street, Edinburgh. John Bartlett's Bookshop, too, --"a veritable treasury of literarysecrets, "--in the new Astor House, became a haunt for the bookmen of itstimes. Cooper was fond of the society of literary men when he could meetthem as _men_, and not as lions. He once said: "You learn nothing abouta man when you meet him at a show dinner and he sits up to talk _for_you instead of talking _with_ you. When I was in London Wordsworth cameto town, and I was asked to meet him at one of those displays; but Iwould not go. " Then Mrs. Cooper said: "But you met him afterwards, mydear, and was very much pleased with him. " To this Cooper replied: "Yes, at Rogers', and _was_ very much pleased with him; but it was because Imet him in a place where he felt at home, and he let himself outfreely. " [Illustration: CITY HOTEL AND WASHINGTON HALL. ] [Illustration: EARLY BROADWAY. ] [Illustration: WILLIAM WORDSWORTH. ] [Illustration: COOPER'S NEW YORK CITY HOME IN BEACH STREET. ] [Illustration: ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL. ] After some stay on Broadway, Cooper moved his family to their BeachStreet abode. Some twenty paces from Hudson it stood, --a brick house ofmany attractions in the wrought iron railings, marble steps, archeddoorway, high ceilings, with heavy, ornate mouldings, massive oakendoors, and Venetian blinds of the deep windows. Spacious and invitingwas this city home during the 1820's, in the fashionable district ofSt. John's. In April, 1823, while living here, Cooper was made a memberof the Philadelphia Philosophical Society. August of this year he losthis first son, --the youngest child, --Fenimore; and he himself wentthrough a serious illness, brought on by an accident: "On returningfrom a New Bedford visit his carriage broke down, and always glad to beafloat, he took passage in a sloop for New York. Being anxious to reachhome, when the wind began to fail, and to make the most of the tide, hetook the helm and steered the little craft himself through Hell Gate. The day was very stormy, and the trying heat brought on a suddensun-stroke-like fever. " February 3, 1824, his second son, Paul, wasborn. "The Spy" finished and the glow of success upon its author, he againresolved "to try one more book. " For this work his thoughts turned inlove to the home of his childhood, so closely associated with the little"Lake of the Fields. " "Green-belted with great forest trees was this'smile of God'--from Mount Vision dreaming at its feet, to the denselywooded 'sleeping lion' guarding its head, nine miles to the north. " Ofthe new book Cooper frankly said: "'The Pioneers' is written exclusivelyto please myself. " Herein Leatherstocking makes his first appearance, and for all time, as Natty Bumppo, "with his silent footfall steppedfrom beneath the shadows of the old pines into the winter sunlight. " [Illustration: OLD LEATHERSTOCKING. ] An old hunter--Shipman by name--often came with his rifle and dogsduring the early years of the new colony, to offer his game at WilliamCooper's door, and was a great attraction for the lads of Otsego Hall. Adim memory of Shipman served as an outline only for Cooper's creation, "Natty, " as in strength and beauty of character he came from thewriter's pen, to live through the five "Leatherstocking Tales, " as "theever familiar friend of boys. " While Cooper placed no real characterfrom life in this book, Judge Temple is accepted as a sketch of hisfather. The aim was to create a character from the class to which eachbelonged. Thus served brave old Indian John as "Chingachgook"; Mr. Grant, the missionary; and "Monsieur Le Quoi, " the Frenchman. In"Chronicles of Cooperstown" it appears that a real "Mr. Le Quoy excitedmuch interest in the place, in being superior to his occupation as acountry grocer. " One day a Mr. Renouard, a seaman, entered his shop forsome tobacco, and returned in a few minutes agitated and pale, excitedlyasking, "Who is the man that sold me this tobacco?" At the answer, "Mr. Le Quoy, " he replied, "Yes, Mr. Le Quoy de Mesereau. When I went toMartinique to be port-captain of St. Pierre, this man was civil governorof the island, and refused to confirm my appointment. " It was learnedlater that the French Revolution drove Mr. Le Quoy with little money toa New York friend, --a Mr. Murray, --who also knew well Judge Cooper, andthey both advised this country store until peaceful France could anddid invite its owner to return to his island home. [Illustration: NATTY'S CAVE. ] An Indian alarm of the early-village period of 1794 formed the openingchapter of the new book, but the incidents were mainly creations ofCooper's fancy. Yet the pigeon-flights, Natty's cave, which shelteredElizabeth Temple from the forest fire, and each charming picture of theGlimmerglass country, are true to life. The academy, court-house, jail, inn; the "'Cricket'--that famous old cannon which sent its thundersthousands of times over the Otsego hills on days of rejoicing--arefairly given. " The old gun was found when digging the cellar of JudgeCooper's first house, and was said to have been buried by troops underGen. James Clinton, who marched from Albany against the Indians in 1779. They cut their way through forests, brought their boats to Lake Otsego, and their headquarters were in a log house built on the future site ofthe first Hall. The place where was the old Clinton Dam is now marked bythe Daughters of the American Revolution as the _one_ Cooperstown, connecting link with the War of Independence. [Illustration: GENERAL JAMES CLINTON. ] [Illustration: CLINTON DAM. ] The outward appearance of the old Hall is fairly given by Cooper's pen, but once within, all is a faithful record, "even to the severed nose ofWolfe, and the urn that held the ashes of Queen Dido. " The tale was of agreat landlord living among his settlers on property bearing his name. The book was "The Pioneers, or, Sources of the Susquehanna, " and"thirty-five hundred copies sold before noon of the day it waspublished. " It was of "The Pioneers" that Bryant wrote: "It dazzled the world by thesplendor of its novelty. " An interesting incident of Cooper's kindness of heart is of this dateand some ten years later came to light as follows: After his return fromEurope in 1833 he one day gave to his eldest daughter "a small bookbound in boards. " It was entitled "Tales for Fifteen, or, Imaginationand Heart" by Jane Morgan. He said to her: "Dearie, here is a littlebook that I wrote for Wiley, " adding that he had bought it at a newsstand on his way home. It appears "when Wiley failed a number of hispatrons wrote stories and gave them to him. " These two--one called"Heart" and the other "Imagination" were written by Cooper, but"curiously enough, "--were published under the pen-name of "Jane Morgan. "The book is very rare; only two copies are known to be in existence. The thought of writing a romance of the sea first came to Mr. Cooperwhile dining at Mr. Charles Wilkes', where the table-talk turned on "ThePirate, " just issued by the author of "Waverley. " When his marinetouches were highly praised for their accuracy, Cooper held they werenot satisfactory to the nautical reader. His friends thought moreaccuracy might better please seamen but would prove dull reading for thegeneral public. With his usual spirit, Cooper refused to be convinced, and on his way home that evening "the outlines of a nautical romancewere vaguely sketched in his mind"; but he never dreamed it wouldbecome one of a series of sea-stories. "I must write one more book--asea tale--" he said, "to show what can be done in this way by a sailor!"The stirring struggles of the American Revolution again enlisted theauthor's loyal pen-service in the character of that bold adventurer, John Paul Jones, and his cruise in _The Ranger_, when he made his daringdescent upon Whitehaven and St. Mary's Isle, which suggested to Cooperhis plot for "The Pilot. " Two ships, a frigate and the schooner _Ariel_, were drawn for the tale. During its writing the author had many doubtsof its success. Friends thought the sea tame when calm, and unpleasantin storms; and as to ladies--the reading of storms would surely makethem seasick. His first encouragement came from an Englishman of taste, though a doubter of American talent. To Cooper's surprise, thisauthority pronounced his sea tale good. Then came the favorable opinionof Commodore Shubrick, of which the author wrote: "Anxious to know whatthe effect would be on the public, I read a chapter to S----, nowcaptain, which contained an account of a ship working off-shore in agale. My listener betrayed interest as we proceeded, until he could nolonger keep his seat. He paced the room furiously until I got through, and just as I laid down the paper he exclaimed: 'It is all very well, but you have let your jib stand too long, my fine fellow!' I blew it outof the bolt-rope in pure spite!" And thus it was that when the author"came beating out of the 'Devil's Grip, '" this old messmate jumped fromhis seat and paced the floor with strides, not letting a detail escapehim. Cooper was fully satisfied and accepted the criticism, and thetale, alive with spirited description of sea-action, won the day. It waswritten with all the author's power and accuracy of detail. In "Mr. Gray" appeared John Paul Jones, while "Long Tom Coffin" was said to beMr. Irish, the mate of the _Stirling_, in which the lad "Cooper made hisvoyage before-the-mast. " Of this mate and the Yankees the author wrote:"He too was from Nantucket, and was a prime fellow, and fit to command aship. " Prof. Brander Matthews calls this simple-hearted cockswain andNatty Bumppo "co-heirs of time. " The famous fifth chapter of "The Pilot"was the first fiction to show that "a master of the sea tale had comeinto the world, and it has never been surpassed in literature of thesea. " This, the third of Cooper's novels, won for him his greatestpopularity. It was dedicated to William Branford Shubrick, United StatesNavy--the author's loyal friend since their days together on the _Wasp_, in 1809. Its inscription reads in part: "My Dear Shubrick--by your oldMessmate, the Author. " A few days after "The Pilot" was issued, January, 1824, Cooper wrote this friend: "I found Wiley had the book in the handsof his five printers--on my return--for reprint. So much for our jointefforts. " Concerning "The Pilot" and its author, this appeared in the_Edinburgh Review_: "The empire of the sea is conceded to him byacclamation. " [Illustration: "TALES FOR FIFTEEN, OR IMAGINATION AND HEART. "] [Illustration: CHARLES WILKES. ] [Illustration: JOHN PAUL JONES. ] Meeting Cooper at dinner three months later, Bryant wrote his wife that"he seemed a little giddy with the great success his works have met. "Another said: "What wonder that the hearty, breezy author of 'The Spy, ''The Pioneers, ' and 'The Pilot, ' should, by a certain 'emphaticfrankness of manner, ' have somewhat startled the shy, retiring, countrypoet who had not yet found his place on _The Evening Post!"_ Later, in1824, to Richard Henry Dana's newsy letter about Cooper's foreignstanding, Bryant replies: "What you tell me of the success of ourcountryman, Cooper, in England, is an omen of good things. I hope it isthe breaking of a bright day for American literature. " Bryant's memorialaddress after Cooper's death remains a splendid record of theirunclouded friendship, based on mutual respect. It was delivered atMetropolitan Hall, in New York City, February 25, 1852. The occasion washonored by the presence of the most brilliant men of the time. DanielWebster presided, assisted by William Cullen Bryant, and WashingtonIrving. At that time these three men were made the subjects of a pencilsketch by Daniel Huntington. [Illustration: LONG TOM COFFIN. ] Mr. George Palmer Putnam thus describes a meeting between Irving andCooper, after the latter's return from Europe: "One day Mr. Irving wassitting at my desk, with his back to the door, when Mr. Cooper came in(a little bustling as usual) and stood at the office entrance, talking. Mr. Irving did not turn (for obvious reasons), and Cooper did not seehim. I had acquired caution as to introductions without mutual consent, but with brief thought--sort of instinct--I stoutly obeyed the impulseof the moment, and simply said, 'Mr. Cooper, here is Mr. Irving. ' Thelatter turned, Cooper held out his hand cordially, dashed at once intoan animated conversation, took a chair, and, to my surprise and delight, the two authors sat for an hour, chatting in their best manner aboutalmost every topic of the day and former days; and Mr. Irvingafterwards frequently alluded to the incident as being a very greatgratification to him. Not many months afterwards, he sat on the platformand joined in Bryant's tribute to the genius of the departed novelist. " [Illustration: BRYANT, WEBSTER AND IRVING. ] September 18, 1851, Irving wrote: "The death of Fenimore Cooper is anevent of deep and public concern. To me it comes with a shock; for itseems but the other day that I saw him at Putnam's, in the full vigor ofmind and body, 'a very castle of a man. ' He left a space in ourliterature which will not be easily supplied. I shall not fail toattend the proposed meeting. " It is recorded that "Yale never, in later years, saw fit to honorherself by giving Cooper his degree, but Columbia, in this instance moreintelligent than either Harvard or Yale, in 1824, conferred on theauthor the honorary degree of A. M. " When, in 1824, General Lafayette, as the Nation's guest, landed from the_Cadmus_ at Castle Garden, Mr. Cooper made one of the active committeeof welcome and entertainment. Of his part in the Castle-Garden ball, andhis enthusiasm, a friend wrote: "After working hard all day inpreparations and all night in carrying them out, towards dawn he went tothe office of his friend Charles King and wrote out a full and accuratereport, which appeared in Mr. King's paper the next day. " Concerningthis famous Castle-Garden ball, Cooper himself wrote: "A tall spar wasraised in the center, a vast awning of sail-cloth covered the whole, which was concealed by flags that gave a soft, airy finish--all floodedby lights. Music of the national air hailed Lafayette's arrival. Thebrilliant throngs and gay dancers over the floor fell into line like acharm, forming a lane, through which the old man passed, giving andreceiving warm and affectionate salutations at every step to the smallmarquee in the midst, prepared for the 'Guest of the Nation. ' He waslike a father among his children. " In various other ways Cooper paidtributes of courtesy to General Lafayette during this visit to America. [Illustration: THE LANDING OF LAFAYETTE, 1824. ] As the three successful books which the author had now written dealtwith the strength and struggles of liberty-loving Americans for theirnew country, his wide sense of justice suggested writing on loyalty fromthe other point of view--the Mother Country's--as held by men of birthand honor. This loyalty to England Cooper made the subject of his nextbook. It was a dangerous venture, and a time too near the dearly-boughtlaurels of our young republic in its separation from England. But theauthor made every effort for accuracy on all points; he was tireless inhis study of history, state papers, official reports, almanacs, andweather-records. A journey "to Yankee Land" familiarized him with everylocality he so faithfully described in the pages of "Lionel Lincoln. " "ALegend of the Thirteen Republics" was an added title to the firstedition only (1825) of "Lionel Lincoln, " for Cooper's intention to writea story of each of the thirteen states was given up later, and the title"A Narrative of 1775" took its place. The author himself was notsatisfied with this work, nor with the character of "Lionel Lincoln, "whose lack of commanding interest makes "Job, " his poor half-wittedbrother and son of "Abigail, "--a tenant of the old warehouse, --the_real_ hero of the book. Of its author, Bancroft the historian wrote:"He has described the battle of Bunker's Hill better than it has everbeen described in any other work. " Another high authority says:"'Lionel Lincoln' certainly gives spirited battlepieces--notably thebattle of Bunker's Hill, which is a masterpiece. " Rhode Island peoplemay care to know that a part of this book was written in Providence, inthe home of Mr. John Whipple, which stands on the verge of the old elmtrees of College Street. Here, too, Cooper may have studied on theopening scenes of "The Red Rover. " [Illustration: LAFAYETTE. ] [Illustration: LAFAYETTE'S BRANDYWINE VASE. ] [Illustration: JOB PRAY. ] [Illustration: THE BURNING OF CHARLESTOWN. ] Early spring of 1825 found Fenimore Cooper in Washington, whence hewrote: "I have just witnessed one of the most imposing ceremonies ofthis government; I allude to the inauguration of the President of theUnited States. " It was that of John Quincy Adams, who succeeded JamesMonroe. Elsewhere one learns that Cooper had dined at the White House;he gave a description of Mrs. Monroe as first lady of the land. [Illustration: WHIPPLE HOUSE, AT PROVIDENCE, R. I. ] [Illustration: MRS. JAMES MONROE. ] [Illustration: PRESIDENT'S HOUSE, WASHINGTON, D. C. , 1825. ] Up to this year the author had signed his name "James Cooper"; then, inremembrance of his mother's wish, he changed it, and by the April, 1826, act of Legislature the family name became Fenimore Cooper. During the summer of 1825 Mr. Cooper made one of a party of youngmen, --which included also the Hon. Mr. Stanley, afterwards Lord Derby, Prime Minister of England, and the Hon. Wortley Montagu, later LordWharncliffe, in an excursion to Saratoga and the Lake George country. They went slowly up the Hudson, paid a brief visit to West Point, thenceto Catskill, where, like Leatherstocking, they saw "Creation!"--as Nattysaid, dropping the end of his rod into the water, and sweeping one handaround him in a circle--"all creation, lad. " In the hills they saw thetwo small ponds, and the merry stream crooking and winding through thevalley to the rocks; and the "Leap" in its first plunge of two hundredfeet: "It's a drop for the old Hudson, " added Natty. The Shakers werecalled upon in their beautiful valley and neat village at Lebanon; gooddinners were eaten at friendly tables in Albany; and gay were the timesthey had in Ballston and Saratoga. Thence to the Lake George region, itswooded heights, islands, crystal lakes, silent shores. For a while theylingered with delight, then turned back for the dark, still caverns inthe heart of Glens Fall. These caverns were, Natty said, "Two littleholes for us to hide in. " He added, "Falls on two sides of us, and theriver above and below!--it would be worth the trouble to step up on theheight of this rock and look at the pervarcity of the water. It falls byno rule at all. " Within the shadows and silence of these caverns Mr. Stanley suggested to Cooper that "here was the very scene for aromance, " and the author promised his friend that a book should bewritten in which these caves would play an important part. A story ofstrong Indian make-up first came then to the author's mind. Beforeleaving, these caverns and the surrounding country were closely examinedfor future use. [Illustration: SUNRISE AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN. ] [Illustration: GLEN'S FALL'S CAVERNS. ] [Illustration: HONORABLE MR. STANLEY. ] Besides his youthful and Lake Ontario experiences with Indians, Cooperfollowed parties of them from Albany to New York, and several times toWashington, for the purpose of closely studying their natures andhabits; all authorities in print were consulted. On his return home thebook was begun and rapidly written. "Planned beneath the summer leaves, on the far shore of picturesque Hell Gate, above smiling fields andbowering orchards of his Angevine home, those leaves had scarcely fallenwhen the story was told--'the most uniformly exciting and powerful ofhis fictions'--'The Last of the Mohicans, ' and Natty and Chingachgookwere left in the wilderness beside the rude grave of Uncas. " Again theycame into the shadow of the unbroken forest, as called for by the _one_friend he now constantly consulted, --his faithful, loving life-mate. Atthe time of its writing Cooper had a serious illness, during which hismind was filled with ideas for this book. Suddenly rousing himself oneof these autumn afternoons, he called for pen and paper, but too ill touse them, asked Mrs. Cooper, watching anxiously by his side, to writefor him. Fearing delirium, she wrote, thinking it would relieve him. Apage of notes was rapidly dictated, which seemed to his alarmed nursebut the wild fancies of a fevered brain. It proved to be a clear accountof a lively struggle between "Magua" and "Chingachgook, " and made thetwelfth chapter of the book. Why the author called Lake George byanother name is thus explained: "Looking over an ancient map, he foundthat a tribe of Indians the French called _Les Honcans_ lived by thisbeautiful sheet of water, and thinking the English name too commonplaceand the Indian name too hard to pronounce, he chose the 'Horican' asbetter suiting simple Natty. " This book, "The Last of the Mohicans, "proved, perhaps, to be the most popular of all his works up to 1826. [Illustration: GLENS FALL. ] [Illustration: LAKE GEORGE, OR "THE HORICAN. "] A present-day man-of-letters writes of Cooper: "He paints Indians andIndian scenes with a glow of our sunset skies and the crimson of ourautumn maples, and makes them alive with brilliant color. Rifles crack, tomahawks gleam, and arrows dart like sunbeams through the air. Indiansfleet of foot and full of graceful movement are these dusky Apollo'sUncas. Cooper's readers never yawn over these tales of the forest or thesea. He is the swan on the lake, the eagle in the air, the deer in thewood, and the wind on the sea. " So writes Prof. Brander Matthews. Thatlife-student of the American Indian, Francis Parkman, wrote: "It is easyto find fault with 'The Last of the Mohicans, ' but it is far from easyto rival or even approach its excellence. " It is said that "Magua, " ofthis book, "is the best-drawn Indian in fiction; from scalp-lock tomoccasin tingling with life" and the tension of the canoe-chase on theHorican. During this Lake George excursion a question came up between the Hon. Mr. Stanley, the Hon. Wortley Montagu, and Mr. Cooper as to who was the"Premier Baron of England. " Cooper named Lord Henry William Fitzgerald(3rd son of James, 1st Duke of Leinster) 22nd Baron de Ros [b. 1761--d. 1829] as his man; whose title came from Henry I. , to Peter, Lord ofHolderness called Ros. Each of his two friends claimed another as the"Premier Baron of England. " All were so confident that a wager waslaid, and later inquiry proved Cooper right. In due time the debtwas paid with a large gold, silver-filled seal. On its stone--achrysoprase--appeared a baron's coronet and the old Scottish proverb:"He that will to Cupar maun to Cupar!" The incident serves to affirmCooper's wide information and accurate memory. [Illustration: THE WAGER SEAL. ] This winter of 1825-26 Cooper and his family made their home at 345Greenwich Street, not many steps from 92 Hudson Street, where lived thepoet William Cullen Bryant, who often went around the corner for a walkwith his friend. [Illustration: BRYANT. ] General Wilson wrote: "Soon after Bryant went to New York he met Cooper, who, a few days later, said: 'Come and dine with me tomorrow; I live atNo. 345 Greenwich Street. ' 'Please put that down for me, ' said Bryant, 'or I shall forget the place. ' 'Can't you remember three-four-five?'replied Cooper bluntly. Bryant did remember 'three-four-five, ' not onlyfor that day, but ever afterward. " During this spring Cooper followed a deputation of Pawnee and SiouxIndians from New York to Washington, in order to make a close study ofthem for future use. He was much interested in the chiefs' stories oftheir wild powers, dignity, endurance, grace, cunning wiles, and fiercepassions. The great buffalo hunts across the prairies he had never seen;the fights of mounted tribes and the sweeping fires over those boundlessplains all claimed his eager interest and sympathy, with the resultingdesire to place "these mounted tribes" and their desert plains beyondthe Mississippi in another Indian story. One of the chiefs of thisparty--a very fine specimen of a warrior, a remarkable man in everyway--is credited with being the original of "Hard-Heart" of "ThePrairie, " which an authority gives as Cooper's favorite book. On aknoll, and within the glory of a western sunset, stood Natty, born ofthe author's mind and heart, as he first appeared in this book. "Theaged trapper--a nobly pathetic figure contrasted with thesquatter"--looms up, colossal, against the gleaming radiance ofdeparting day; and full well he knows his own leaving for the long-homeis not far off--for the remarkable life of wondrous Leatherstockingcloses within these pages. Of other characters and the author Prof. Matthews says: "He was above all things a creator of character. --He candraw women. --The wife of Ishmael Bush, the squatter, mother of sevenstalwart sons and sister of a murderous rascal, is an unforgottenportrait, solidly painted by a master. " "The Prairie" was begun in thewinter of 1826, in the New York, Greenwich-Street home, while Cooper wasunder the weather from the old fever effects. The closing of hisfather's estate, and debts contracted against him by those whom he hadhelped, emptied his purse and left him a poor man. To meet these callsof honor and his own needs, he wrote when not able to do so, and for ashort and only time in his life called in the aid of coffee for hiswork. Wine he drank daily at dinner only, and he never smoked. [Illustration: "NATTY, THE TRAPPER. "] [Illustration: HENRY CLAY. ] [Illustration: CHANCELLOR KENT. ] When Cooper followed the Sioux and Pawnee Indians to Washington, in1826, Henry Clay, Secretary of State, offered him the appointment ofUnited States Minister to Sweden. It was declined in favor of theconsulship to Lyons, France, which latter would allow him more freedomand protect his family in case of foreign troubles. With this trip toEurope in view his family busily studied French and Spanish. Returningto New York, Cooper's club gave him a farewell dinner, at which theauthor said he intended to write a history of the United States Navy. Atthis dinner he was toasted by Chancellor Kent as "the genius which hasrendered our native soil classic ground, and given to our early historythe enchantment of fiction. " [Illustration: THE U. S. S. "HUDSON. "] May 1 the town house was given up for a month of hotel life, and on June1, at eleven o'clock, Mr. And Mrs. Cooper and their children boarded the_Hudson_ at Whitehall Wharf for Europe. They left a land-squall--theirmaid Abigail--ashore and found some rough weather ahead before June 30. "A fine clear day brought in plain sight ninety-seven sail, which hadcome into the Channel, like ourselves, during the thick weather. Theblue waters were glittering with canvas. " A little later Cooper wrote:"There is a cry of 'Land!' and I must hasten on deck to revel in thecheerful sight. " The _Hudson_ brought up at Cowes, Isle of Wight, July2, 1826; "after a passage of thirty-one days we first put foot inEurope, " wrote Cooper. In this "toy-town" they found rooms at the"Fountain, " where the windows gave them pretty vistas, and eveningbrought the first old-country meal, also the first taste of the famousIsle-of-Wight butter, which, however, without salt they thought"tasteless. " As eager newcomers to strange lands, they made severalsight-seeing ventures, among which was enjoyed the ivy-clad ruin ofCarisbrook, the one-time prison of Charles I. A few days later theylanded on the pier at Southampton, which town is recorded as being"noted for long passages, bow-windows, and old maids. " Here they foundpleasant lodgings, friends, and a sister of Mrs. Cooper's whereby timewas pleasantly passed by the family while Cooper went up to London tosee his publishers. On his return they were soon aboard the _Camilla_, "shorn of one wing" (one of her two boilers was out of order), and ontheir way to France. At midnight they were on deck for their first sightof France; "Land!--of ghostly hue in the bright moonlight, and otherlights glittering from the two towers on the headlands near by. " Landingat the small port of Havre, they had some weary hours of search beforefinding shelter in _Hotel d'Angleterre_. By a "skirted wonder" of theport their luggage soon passed the customs next morning and they werestarted for Paris. They were charmed with the dark old sombre, mysterious towers and fantastic roofs of Rouen, where Cooper bought alarge traveling carriage, in which they safely passed the "ugly dragons"that "thrust out their grinning heads from the Normandy towns" on theway to the heart of France. From the windmills of Montmartre they tookin the whole vast capital at a glance. A short stay was made at a smallhotel, where soon after their arrival they engaged "a governess for thegirls. " She proved to be "a furious royalist, " teaching the childrenthat "Washington was a rebel, Lafayette a monster, and Louis XVI amartyr. " Under the rule of returned royalists was attempted theexclusion of even the _name_ of Bonaparte from French history. "Mygirls, " Cooper wrote, "have shown me the history of France--officiallyprepared for schools, in which there is no sort of allusion to him. "Their next venture was Hotel de Jumièges in a small garden, far fromthe Faubourg St. Germain, where they had an apartment of six rooms. Cooper wrote: "The two lower floors were occupied as a girls'boarding-school;--the reason for dwelling in it, our own daughters werein the school; on the second floor there was nothing but our ownapartment. " And here, next door to their nun-neighbors of the conventSt. Maur, Cooper wrote the last pages of "The Prairie. " It was publishedin the autumn of 1826, by Lea and Carey, of Philadelphia. [Illustration: WHITEWALL WHARF, 1826. ] [Illustration: KEEP OF CARISBROOK. ] [Illustration: HAVRE, BY NIGHT. ] [Illustration: WINDMILLS OF MONTMARTRE. ] [Illustration: THE CONVENT ST. MAUR. ] [Illustration: HOTEL DE JUMIÈGES. ] Cooper was very fond of walking, and to get a general idea of Paris heand Captain Chauncey--an old messmate and officer in the navy--made thecircuit of the city walls, a distance of nineteen miles, in four hours. For two hours the captain had Cooper "a little on his quarter. " "By thistime, " Cooper wrote, "I ranged up abeam, "--to find a pinching boot onhis friend's foot. Near the finish the mate of this "pinching boot"became "too large, " and the captain "fell fairly astern. " But withoutstopping, eating, or drinking, they made the distance in four hours to aminute. Washington Irving wrote from Madrid the following spring: "I left Parisbefore the arrival of Cooper, and regret extremely that I missed him. Ihave a great desire to make his acquaintance, for I am delighted withhis novels. His naval scenes and characters in 'The Pilot' areadmirable. " Cooper soon became known in France by his presence at adinner given by the U. S. Minister to Canning then in Paris. In "Bryant and His Friends" General James Grant Wilson says: "Scott andCooper met at the Princess Galitzin's, in Paris, November, 1826; and, says Scott's diary, 'so the Scotch and American Lions took the fieldtogether. '" In Miss Cooper's "Pages and Pictures" appears her father'sfirst interview with the author of "Waverley, " of which Cooper wrote inpart: "Ten days after the arrival of Sir Walter Scott I ordered acarriage one morning. I had got as far as the lower flight to the doorwhen another carriage-steps rattled, and presently a large, heavy manappeared in the door of the hotel. He was gray, limped a little, walkingwith a cane. We passed on the stairs, bowing. I was about to enter thecarriage when I fancied the face and form were known to me, and itflashed on my mind that the visit might be to myself. The stranger wentup the large stone steps, with one hand on the railing and the other onhis cane. He was on the first landing as I stopped, and, turning, oureyes met. He asked in French, 'Is it Mr. Cooper that I have the honor tosee?' 'I am, sir. ' 'Oh, well then, I am Walter Scott. ' I ran up, shookthe hand he stood holding out to me cordially, and expressed my sense ofthe honor he was conferring. He told me the Princess Galitzin had beenas good as her word and given him my address, --and cutting shortceremony he had driven from his hotel to my lodgings. " Realizing all atonce that he was speaking French to Cooper's English, he said: "Well, Ihave been _parlez-vousing_ in a way to surprise you. These Frenchmenhave my tongue so set to their lingo I have half forgotten my ownlanguage, ' he continued in English, and accepted my arm up the nextflight of stairs. " They had some copyright and other talk, and SirWalter "spoke of his works with frankness and simplicity"; and as toproof-reading, he said he "would as soon see his dinner after a heartymeal" as to read one of his own tales--"when fairly rid of it. " When herose to go Cooper begged he might have the gratification of presentinghis wife. Sir Walter good-naturedly assented. When Mrs. Cooper and theirnephew William Cooper were introduced, he sat some little time relatingin Scotch dialect some anecdotes. Then his hostess remarked that thechair he sat in had been twice honored that day, as General Lafayettehad not left it more than an hour before. Sir Walter was surprised, thinking Lafayette had gone to America to live, and observed, "He is agreat man. " Two days later Sir Walter had Cooper to breakfast, where theScotch bard appeared in a newly-bought silk gown, trying "as hard as hecould to make a Frenchman of himself. " Among others present was MissAnne Scott, who was her father's traveling companion. "She was in halfmourning, and with her black eyes and jet-black hair might very wellhave passed for a French woman. " Of Scott Cooper wrote: "During the timethe conversation was not led down to business, he manifested a strongpropensity to humor. " In naming their common publisher in Paris "hequaintly termed him, with a sort of malicious fun, 'our gosling' (hisname was Goselin), adding that he hoped at least he 'laid golden eggs. '"Mr. Cooper was warmly interested in aiding Sir Walter's "Waverley"copyrights in America, and concerning their author he later wrote: "InAuld Reekie, and among the right set, warmed, perhaps, by a glass of'mountain dew, ' Sir Walter Scott, in his peculiar way, is one of thepleasantest companions the world holds. " About 1830, when Cooper wassitting for his portrait by Madame de Mirbel, that artist--for itspose--asked him to look at the picture of a distinguished statesman. Cooper said: "No, if I must look at any, it shall be at my master, " andlifting his eyes higher they rested on a portrait of Sir Walter Scott. [Illustration: SIR WALTER SCOTT. ] [Illustration: MISS ANNE SCOTT. ] [Illustration: JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. ] [Illustration: PIERRE JEAN DAVID D'ANGERS. ] One of Cooper's steadfast friends exclaimed of him:--"What a love hecherished for superior talents in every ennobling pursuit in life!" Thischaracteristic no doubt led him into that day life of Pierre Jean Davidd'Angers, whose brave soul had battled its way to artistic recognition. In M. Henry Jouin's "David d'Angers et ses Relations Littéraires, "Paris, 1890, appear two letter records of this master-sculptor as toCooper. In that of David to Victor Pavie, November, 1826, is: "Next weekI am to dine with Cooper; I shall make his bust. If you have not yetread his works, read them, you will find the characters vigorouslytraced. " A note adds that the sculptor kept his word, and this bust ofCooper appeared in the "Salon of 1827. " Paris, March 30, 1828, Davidagain writes of Cooper to Victor Pavie:--"Dear friend, in speaking ofthe sea, I think of 'The Red Rover' of my good friend Cooper. Have youread it? It interests me much. " A note adds: "Without doubt the authorhad presented his new book to the sculptor, " who gave to Cooper thisbust, modeled in 1826. Mrs. Cooper thought the bust and the Jarvisportrait of her husband were "perfect likenesses. " Later on David'sgenius again found expression in a bronze medallion of his "good friendCooper. " David has given the striking intellectual of Cooper's head ofwhich an authority of that time wrote: "Nature moulded it in majesty, yet denied it not the gentler graces that should ever adorn greatness. " [Illustration: JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. ] [Illustration: MRS. JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. ] [Illustration: JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. ] "In Paris Cooper's style of living gave his ideas of the duties andposition of an American gentleman. In a part of the handsome Hotel deJumièges he lived, keeping his carriage and service required by a modestestablishment; and his doors were always open to every American who hadclaims on his society. Meanwhile nothing was allowed to break in uponhis literary duties, for which a part of each day was set aside. " Sowrote one who became a friend staunch and true at this time in Paris. Oftheir meeting he wrote: "I shall never forget the first day I sawCooper. He was at good old General Lafayette's, in the little apartmentof the rue d'Anjou, --the scene of many hallowed memories. " Lafayette'skind heart had granted an interview to some Indians by whom a recklesswhite man was filling his purse in parading through Europe. With winningsmile the great, good man told these visitors to return to their homewhile yet they could. Mr. G. Continued: "As I was gazing at this scene Isaw a gentleman enter whose appearance called off the General'sattention. He was in the prime of life (thirty-five), and of that vigorwhich air and manly exercise give. I had seen the heads of great men, and there were some close to me, but none with such a full, expansiveforehead, such strong features, a mouth firm without harshness, and aneye whose clear gray seemed to read you at a glance while it fears notto let you read him in turn. 'Who is he?' I whispered to agrand-daughter of the General near me. 'Mr. Cooper; do you not know Mr. Cooper? Let me introduce you to him. ' 'Cooper, ' said I to myself; 'canit be that I am within five paces, and that there, too, are the feebleof the race around which his genius has shed a halo like that of Homer'sown heros?' I was fresh from 'The Mohicans, ' and my hand trembled as itmet the cordial grasp of the man to whom I owed so many pleasing hours. I asked about the Indians. 'They are poor specimens, ' said he;'fourth-rate at best in their own woods, and ten-times worse for thelives they are leading here. '" Later, Mr. G. Met the author inLafayette's bed-room, and saw how warmly he was welcomed by the greatpoet Béranger. Still later Mr. G. And Cooper met in Florence, where theyhad much fine talking and walking "on calm summer evenings. " Of theBard-of-Avon it is noted that Cooper said: "Shakespeare is my travelinglibrary. To a novel-writer he is invaluable. Publishers will havemottoes for every chapter; I never yet turned over Shakespeare withouthitting upon just what I wanted I like to take them, whenever I can, from our own poets. It is a compliment they have a right to, and I amglad when I can pay it. " Concerning the author's habits, this friendconcludes: "When Cooper left his desk he left his pen on it. He came outinto the world to hear and see what other men were doing. If they wantedto hear him, there he was, perfectly ready to express opinions of men orthings. It was delightful to hear him talk about his own works, he didit with such a frank, fresh, manly feeling. " [Illustration: PROF. GEORGE WASHINGTON GREEN ("MR. G. ")] [Illustration: P. T. DE BÉRANGER. ] [Illustration: TALLEYRAND. ] [Illustration: DUCHESSE DE BERRI. ] [Illustration: CHARLES X of FRANCE. ] Among the great again was seen the ever-favored yet not "gai"Talleyrand. Of the incident Cooper noted: "It is etiquette for the kingsof France to dine in public on January 14 and on the monarch'sfête-day. " Wishing to see this ceremony, Mr. And Mrs. Cooper were sentthe better of the two permissions granted for the occasion. Cooperdescribes the ceremony--the _entrée_ of Charles X: _"Le Roi_, tall, decidedly graceful; the Dauphin to his right, the Dauphine to his left, and to her right the Duchess of Berri. " Passing Cooper, he continues:"Near a little gate was an old man in strictly court-dress. The longwhite hair that hung down his face, the _cordon bleu_, the lame foot, and the unearthly aspect made me suspect the truth, it was M. DeTalleyrand as grand chamberlin, to officiate at the dinner of hismaster"; whereby proving his own words: "It is not enough to be someone, --it is needful to do something. " A near Abbé whispered ofTalleyrand to Cooper: "But, sir, he is a cat, that always falls on itsfeet. " Yet of Talleyrand another's record is: "But if Charles Mauricewas lame of leg--his wit was keener and more nimble than that of any manin Europe. " Brushing past the gorgeous state-table to Mrs. Cooper, theauthor adds: "She laughed, and said 'it was all very magnificent andamusing, ' but some one had stolen her shawl!" [Illustration: COOPER'S SUMMER HOME, ST. OUEN, 1827. ] Cooper was ever a home-lover. Wherever he might be in foreign lands, hecontrived to have his own roof-tree when possible. Therefore, the summerof 1827 sent them from rue St. Maur to the village of St. Ouen, on thebanks of the Seine and a league from the gates of Paris. The villageitself was not attractive, but pleasant was the home, next to a smallchâteau where Madame de Staël lived when her father, M. Necker, was inpower. Some twenty-two spacious, well-furnished rooms this summer homehad, in which once lived the Prince de Soubise when _grand veneur_ ofLouis XV, who went there at times to eat his dinner--"in what served usfor a drawing-room, " Cooper wrote. The beautiful garden of shade-trees, shrubbery, and flowers, within gray walls fourteen feet high, was ablooming paradise; and for it all--horses, cabriolet, grandassociations--was paid two hundred dollars per month for the season offive. "The Red Rover" was written in these three or four summer months in St. Ouen on the Seine, whence the author's letters tell of watching themoving life on the river, the merry washerwomen as they chatter, joke, and splash beneath his terrace; how he tried punting, and left it to"honest Pierre, " who never failed to charge him double fare, and of whomhe tells a pretty story; how they all enjoyed the village _fêtes_, withwhirligigs and flying-horses, whereby the French contrive to make andspend a few _sous_ pleasantly. "I enjoy all this greatly, " wrote Cooper. Excursions were made, --one to Montmorenci, in plain view of Paris; andthe author explains that the Montmorenci claim to being "the firstChristian baron" is of the Crusade War-Cry date and origin. His wifeand he took all the pretty drives in their cabriolet, but later he tookto the saddle for the out-of-field paths, where pleasant salutationswere exchanged with kindly-hearted peasants. Of these rambles Cooperwrote: "One of my rides is ascending Montmartre by its rear, to thewindmills that night and day are whirling their rugged arms over thecapital of France. " Montmartre, he said, gave him a view "like a glimpseinto the pages of history. " He often met royalty dashing to and fromParis. The king with his carriage-and-eight, attended by a dozen mountedmen, made a royal progress truly magnificent. [Illustration: COOPER'S TERRACE STUDY, ST. OUEN. ] [Illustration: OLD MILL AT NEWPORT. ] [Illustration: THE STRUGGLE. ] Overhanging the river at the garden side was a broad terrace which endedin a pleasant summer-house, and here many pages of the author's nextbook--"The Red Rover"--were written. After he left the navy, and whilehe was living in Angevine, Cooper became part owner in awhaling-ship, --_The Union_, of Sag Harbor. She made trips to differentparts of the coast, and several times, for the pleasure of it, Cooperplayed skipper. Under his direction she once carried him to Newport, with which he was greatly pleased. He explored the old ruin there, butno fancy could ever persuade him to see more than a windmill in it; butthe charm of Newport's situation, harbor, and shore lines lingered inhis mind and served him for the opening and closing scenes of this work. After its publication he received from some Newport gentlemen the giftof a little box made from the keel of the _Endeavor_, Cook's famousexploring ship, which wound up its world-circling voyage in Newportharbor. On the lid of the box was a silver-plate engraving. In Cooper'sstory the "Red Rover" appears on this Newport scene in the height of hiscareer, --an outlaw in spirit, a corsair in deed. In early life he was ofquick mind, strong will, with culture and social position, but wildlypassionate and wayward; and smarting under official injustice, in anevil hour he casts his lawlessness loose on the storm-tide of life. Thevoice of an elder sister, who had given something of a mother's deeplove and tenderness to the wayward youth, falls upon his ear. Oldmemories are awakened; home feeling revives; conscience is aroused, andin the very hour of its greatest triumph the proud spirit bows inpenitence, --the Rover surrenders his captives. A like change of heartcame, through a mutual love of the birds of heaven, to a real pirate whochanced upon a cabin in the forest's solitude and here confessed hislife to its inmate, Audubon, who left this "striking incident" a recordin his works. However, "Dick Fid, that arrant old foretop man, and hiscomrade, Negro Sip, are the true lovers of the narrative;--the last, indeed, is a noble creature, a hero under the skin of Congo. " "The RedRover" is all a book of the sea. In Sir Walter Scott's journal, January, 1828, appears: "I have read Cooper's new novel, 'The Red Rover. ' Thecurrent of it rolls entirely on the ocean. Something too much ofnautical language. It is very clever, though. " Its author "has oftenbeen idly compared to the author of 'Waverley, ' but to no such heritageas Scott's was ever Cooper born. Alone he penetrated the literarywilderness, blazing paths for those who should come after himthere";--and a Columbus of letters for others to follow on the sea'shighway was he. [Illustration: THE NEWPORT BOX. ] [Illustration: JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART. ] A misprint in Lockhart's "Life of Scott" made his comment on Cooper mostunfortunate by an "s" added to the word manner. Sir Walter's journalreads: "This man who has shown so much genius has a good deal of manner, or want of manner, peculiar to his countrymen. " Cooper, hurt to thequick for himself and his country at being rated "a rude boor from thebookless wilds, " by one he had called his "sovereign" in past cordialrelations, resented this expression in his review of Lockhart's workfor the _Knickerbocker Magazine_, 1838, and for so doing he was harshlycriticised in England. October, 1864, the literary editor of _TheIllustrated London News_ wrote: "I am almost inclined to agree withThackeray in liking Hawkeye 'better than any of Scott's lot. ' What noblestories those five are in which the hero is described from youth toage!" From "Thackeray in the United States, " by General James GrantWilson, comes: "At an American dinner table" (the talk was of Cooper andhis writings) "Thackeray pronounced Leatherstocking the greatestcharacter created in fiction since the Don Quixote of Cervantes"; and hethought the death scene in "The Prairie, " where the old trapper said"Here!" surpassing anything he had "met in English literature. " [Illustration: NATTY'S LAST CALL. ] Of Natty's answer to the Spirit Land call Cooper's own words are: "Thetrapper was placed on a rude seat, which had been made, with studiedcare, to support his frame in an upright and easy attitude--so as to letthe light of the setting sun fall full upon the solemn features. Hishead was bare, the long, thin locks of gray fluttering lightly in theevening breeze. The first glance of the eye told his former friendsthat the old man was at length called upon to pay the last tribute ofnature. The trapper had remained nearly motionless for an hour. His eyesalone had occasionally opened and shut. When opened, his gaze seemedfastened on the clouds which hung around the western horizon, reflectingthe bright colors, and giving form and loveliness to the glorious tintsof an American sunset. The hour--the calm beauty of the season--theoccasion, all conspired to fill the spectators with solemn awe. Suddenly, while musing on the remarkable position in which he wasplaced, Middleton felt the hand which he held grasp his own withincredible power, and the old man, supported on either side by hisfriends, rose upright to his feet. For a moment he looked about him, asif to invite all in presence to listen (the lingering remnant of humanfrailty), and then, with a fine military elevation of the head, and witha voice that might be heard in every part of that numerous assembly, hepronounced the word--'Here!' "When Middleton and Hard Heart, each of whom had involuntarily extendeda hand to support the form of the old man, turned to him again, theyfound that the subject of their interest was removed forever beyond thenecessity of their care. " Concerning social life Cooper wrote: "Taking into consideration ourtastes and my health, the question has been, not how to get into, buthow to keep out of, the great world. " But for the happy chance ofinquiry at the gate of a friend, the author would "have dined with theFrench Lord-High-Chancellor, without the smallest suspicion of who hewas!" Of French women Cooper adds: "The highest style of French beautyis classical. I cannot recall a more lovely picture than the Duchessde----[this title and blank are said to veil the identity of thePrincess Galitzin] in full dress at a carnival ball, where she shonepeerless among hundreds of the _élite_ of Europe. And yet this woman wasa grandmother!" [Illustration: THE PRINCESS BARBARA VASSILIEWNA GALITZIN. ] In a letter dated Paris, November 28, 1826, written by Mrs. Cooper toher sister, appears of Mr. Cooper:--"They make quite a Lion of him andPrincesses write to him and he has invitations from Lords and Ladies. Hehas so many notes from the Princess Galitzin I should be absolutelyjealous were it not that she is a Grandmother. We were at a Soirée therethe other evening among Dutchesses, Princesses, Countesses, etc. " [Illustration: LA GRANGE, COUNTRY HOME OF LAFAYETTE. ] [Illustration: LA GRANGE ARCHWAY ENTRANCE. ] Once with and twice without Mrs. Cooper, the author visited La Grange, the country home of General Lafayette, some twenty-seven miles fromParis and near Rosay. He tells us that La Grange means barn, granary, orfarm, and that the château came to Lafayette through his wife; that ithad some five hundred acres of wood, pasture, meadow, and cultivatedland; that the house is of hewn stone, good grayish color, with its fiveplain, round towers and their high, pyramidal slate roofs making a partof the walls; that the end towers are buried in ivy planted by CharlesFox. He tells how small, irregular windows open beautifully through thethick foliage for the blooming faces of children, in their home-part ofLa Grange. He gives rare pictures of the great stairway, the General'sbed-room, cabinet, and library in the tower-angle overlooking thewillow-shaded moat. Beneath this library was the author's own bed-room. Then came the array of drawing-rooms and innumerable other rooms, wherehospitality seemed to know no limit. Lafayette's cabinet containedmany portraits, --one of Madame de Staël, and one of his own father. Ofthis room, and the library, and his grand old host Cooper wrote: "Ipassed much of our visit alone with him in these two rooms. No one canbe pleasanter in private, and he is full of historical anecdotes that hetells with great simplicity and frequently with great humor. " Thechâteau stands on three sides of an irregular square, and is one of themost picturesque structures in the country. The winding road enters athicket of evergreens, crosses a bridge, and passes beneath an arch tothe paved court. Together, Cooper and his host had many walks and drivesthereabouts, and, all in all, the author fell under the spell ofLafayette's personal charm and his simple integrity of character. Between Lafayette's richness of years and Talleyrand's old age there wasa gulf, --one had attained nearly everything worth striving for; theother had lost the same. [Illustration: HÔTEL DESSEIN, CALAIS, FRANCE. ] Cooper and his family entered France July, 1826, and February, 1828, they thought the time had come to change the scene, and proceeded toEngland. "I drove around to the rue d'Anjou to take my leave of GeneralLafayette, " wrote Cooper. To Calais they had rain and chill and darknessmost of the way. Passing through the gate, they drove to the innimmortalized by Lawrence Sterne and Beau Brummel, where they foundEnglish comfort with French cooking and French taste. One of February'sfine days they left the Hotel Dessein to embark for England. After atwo-hours' run the cliffs of Dover appeared on each side of thatport, --the nearest to the continent, --making these chalk cliffs seem, Cooper says, "a magnificent gateway to a great nation. " Leaving thefishing-boats of the French coast, "the lofty canvas of countless shipsand several Indiamen rose from the sea, " as they shot towards theEnglish shore, many "bound to that focus of coal-smoke, London. " Quietlylanding at Dover-haven, they went to Wright's tavern, where they missedthe French manner, mirrors, and table-service, but "got in their place agood deal of solid, unpretending comfort. " In due time Mr. Wright putthem and their luggage into a comfortable post-coach, and on the road hecalled "quite rotten, sir, " to London. To Americans, at that date, theroad proved good, and also the horses that made the sixteen miles toCanterbury in an hour and a half, where they drove to another Mr. Wright's; going to four of the name between Dover and London, Cooperconcluded with an apology that "it was literally all Wright on thisroad. " The visit to Canterbury cathedral was made during "morningvespers in the choir. It sounded odd to hear our own beautiful servicein our own tongue, in such a place, after the _Latin_ chants of canons;and we stood listening with reverence without the screen. " London metthem "several miles in the suburbs down the river, " but they suddenlyburst out onto Waterloo bridge, over which they were whirled into theStrand and set down at Wright's hotel, Adam Street, Adelphi; "and, "wrote Cooper, "we were soon refreshing ourselves with some of worthyMrs. Wright's excellent tea. " [Illustration: CLIFFS OF DOVER. ] [Illustration: CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL CHOIR. ] [Illustration: GREEN GATE, CANTERBURY. ] The second night in London Cooper, stretched out on a sofa, was reading, when some street musicians began to play beneath his window severaltunes without success; "finally, " he wrote, "the rogues contrived, afterall, to abstract half a crown from my pocket by suddenly striking up'Yankee Doodle!'" After some hunting they took a small house in St. James Place, which gave them "a tiny drawing-room, a dining-room, threebed-rooms, offices, and house-service for a guinea per day. " A guineamore weekly was added for their three fires, and their own maid and mangave personal service during this London season. Of his man-servantCooper wrote: "The English footman I engaged is a steady, little, oldman, with a red face and a powdered poll, who appears in black breechesand coat, but who says himself that his size has marred his fortune. Heis cockney born, about fifty; quality and splendor act forcibly on hisimagination, and he is much condemned in the houses where I visit onaccount of his dwarfish stature"; and we are told that the English favorpretty faces for their maids and fine figures for their footmen. [Illustration: ST. JAMES PLACE, LONDON. ] To a Mr. Spencer whom Cooper met in France was due the visit soon paidhim by his near neighbor, the author of the "Pleasures of Memory. " OfSamuel Rogers Cooper wrote: "He very kindly sought me out"; and, "fewmen have a more pleasant way of saying pleasant things. " His visit wasfollowed by an invitation to breakfast the next morning. Coopercontinues: "It was but a step from my door, and you may be certain I waspunctual. " He found the poet's home perfection for a bachelor's needs;only eighteen feet front, but the drawing-room and dining-room werelined with old masters. And in the bow-window stood the "Chantrey Vase, "placed by its maker when artist workman in the room where he laterdined as Chantrey the sculptor and Rogers' honored guest. The librarywas filled with valuable books and curiosities in history, literature, and art. Of this poet's dream-home Cooper wrote: "Neither he nor any oneelse has a right to live in so exquisite a house and expect everybody tohold their tongues about it. Taking the house, the host, the mentaltreats he dispenses, the company, and the tone, it is not easy toconceive of anything better in their way. Commend me in every respect tothe delicious breakfasts of St. James Place!" On one occasion, "Rogers, talking of Washington Irving's 'Columbus, ' said, 'in his airy, significant way, ' as Moore called it, 'It's rather long. ' Cooper turnedround on him and said sharply, 'That's a short criticism. '" Thisbanker-poet could be severe on his English friends too, as it appears"Lady Holland was always lamenting that she had nothing to do. One day, complaining worse than ever that she did not know 'what to be at, '" saidRogers, "I could not resist recommending her to try a novelty--try anddo a little good. " [Illustration: SIR FRANCIS CHANTREY. ] [Illustration: SAMUEL ROGERS. ] [Illustration: ROGERS' LONDON HOME. ] [Illustration: ROGERS' BREAKFAST ROOM. ] Through Samuel Rogers Cooper was soon dining at Holland House, in themuch-carved and gilded room where Sully and embassy supped in 1603. By aword to the porter, Sir James Mackintosh had planned a pleasanthalf-hour for his American friend in the gardens, where was Rogers'seat, and then in the library on the second floor, where he saw itseach-end tables. The generous space between is said to have been pacedby "Addison when composing, " and his inspiration quickened by kindly"bottles placed on them for that purpose. " The artist Charles RobertLeslie caught a rare glimpse on canvas of this library, in which appearhis friends Lord and Lady Holland, who were also the host and hostess ofFenimore Cooper. We are told by him that the dining-table was square;that the host had one corner and the hostess the centre; and theAmerican author, "as the stranger, had the honor of a seat next to LadyHolland. " When talking, he was offered by her a plate of herring, ofwhich he frankly avowed he "ought to have eaten one, even to the finsand tail"; but little dreaming of their international worth just then, the herring were declined. With good humor his hostess said: "You do notknow what you say; they are _Dutch_. " With some vigor of look and toneCooper repeated--"Dutch!" The reply was: "Yes, Dutch; we can only getthem _through an ambassador_. " Then Cooper rose to the occasion byreplying: "There are too many good things of native production torequire a voyage to Holland on my account. " Of their host Rogers' recordwas: "Lord Holland always comes down to breakfast like a man upon whomsudden good fortune had just fallen--his was the smile that spoke themind at ease. " And after his death were found on Lord Holland'sdressing-table, and in his handwriting, these lines on himself: Nephew of Fox and friend of Gay, Enough my meed of fame If those who deighn'd to observe me say I injured neither name. [Illustration: ROGERS' SEAT. ] "Here Rogers sat, and here forever dwell With me, those Pleasures that he sang so well. " After dining at Lord Grey's Cooper wrote of him: "He on all occasionsacted as if he never thought of national differences"; and the authorthought him "the man of most character in his set. " We are told thatEngland is the country of the wealthy, and that the king is seldom seen, although the royal start from St. James for Windsor was seen anddescribed as going off "at a slapping pace. " [Illustration: CHARLES ROBERT LESLIE. ] [Illustration: SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH. ] [Illustration: HOLLAND HOUSE. ] [Illustration: LIBRARY OF HOLLAND HOUSE. ] [Illustration: GILT CHAMBER OF HOLLAND HOUSE. ] [Illustration: LORD GREY. ] [Illustration: MRS. JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART. ] But it was in that dreamland of Rogers' that Cooper's heart found itsgreatest joy. There he met the artists, --Sir Thomas Lawrence, handsomeand well-mannered; Leslie, mild, caring little for aught save his tastesand affections; and Newton, who "thinks himself" English. Here, dining, he meets again Sir Walter Scott, his son-in-law and later biographer, Mr. Lockhart, Sir Walter's daughters, Mrs. Lockhart and Miss Anne Scott. He says Mrs. Lockhart "is just the woman to have success in Paris, byher sweet, simple manners. " He had a stately chat with Mrs. Siddons, andSir James Mackintosh he called "the best talker I have ever seen; theonly man I have yet met in England who appears to have any clear ordefinite notions of us. " Rare indeed were these flash-lights of geniusthat Samuel Rogers charmed to his "feasts of reason and flow of soul. " [Illustration: JOANNA BAILLIE. ] [Illustration: SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE. ] With Mr. Southby Cooper went to see Coleridge at Highgate, where, hesays, "our reception was frank and friendly, the poet coming out to meetus in his morning-gown. I rose to take a nearer view of a littlepicture, when Mr. Coleridge told me it was by his friend Allston. " Fromthe bard of Highgate they went to see Miss Joanna Baillie at Hampstead, and found her "a little, quiet woman, a deeply-seated earnestness abouther that bespoke the higher impulses within; no one would have thoughther little person contained the elements of a tragedy. " [Illustration: HOUSE OF THE GILLMAN'S, HIGHGATE, LONDON. ] An Amsterdam engagement for early June called Cooper and his family fromLondon before the end of the season, and prompted him to say, "Theforce of things has moved heavier bodies. " Quitting England was by nomeans easy, but "the weather was fine and the North Sea smooth as adish. " They paddled the whole night long in their "solid good vessel, but slow of foot. " With morning "a low spit of land hove in sight, and atree or a church tower" rose out of the water, --this was Holland. AtRotterdam "the boat was soon alongside the Boom Key. " With somefluttering about the dykes and windmills of Dutchland, a flight throughBelgium soon brought them once more to Paris. [Illustration: BOOM KEY AT ROTTERDAM. ] Cooper was a keen observer and a calm critic of both home and foreignfolk. That he was stirred to strong words by unpleasing comments on hiscountry appears in his "Notions of Americans: Picked up by a TravelingBachelor. " This book of facts, showing wide and accurate knowledge, wasintended to enlighten and clear away mistakes. Instead of this, it drewupon its writer critical fire both at home and abroad, and was the firstof the many shadows of his after life. His stories of our new countrytaught Europe more about America than Europe had ever learned before. His love for, and faith in, his own country were strong. Abroad he was astaunch defender of her free institutions, and foreigners deemed himmore proud of his American birth than of his literary birthright ofgenius; and yet, at home he was voted "an enemy of all that the fathersof the Republic fought for. " However, the opinion of those who knewCooper best was given by his Bread and Cheese Club friend, Dr. JohnWakefield Francis, as, --"He was an American inside and out--a thoroughpatriot. " It was said that as an aristocratic American he neverpresented letters of introduction. Yet in foreign lands his society wassought by the most distinguished men of his time. However of this, therare pleasure of these London days he ever held in warm remembrance. Flying from the summer heat of Paris, the family soon left forSwitzerland with a team of sturdy Norman horses, a postilion riding thenear beast. It slipped and fell, rolled over and caught its rider's legbeneath, but was saved its breaking by the make of his old-fashionedboot, "so with a wry face and a few _sacr-r-r-es, _ he limped back to hissaddle. " In their salon of the inn at Avallon were curious emblem pictures ofdifferent nationalities: one a _belle_ of fair hair; another a _belle_of raven locks; a third a _belle_ of brown ringlets;--all these forEurope; but for the United States was "a _wench_ as black as coal!" Sothought Switzerland of us in the days of 1828. One lovely day Cooper"persuaded A. To share" his seat on the carriage-box. Rounding a ruinheight "she exclaimed, 'What a beautiful cloud!' In the direction of herfinger I saw, " wrote Cooper, "a mass that resembled the highest wreathof a cloud; its whiteness greatly surpassed the brilliancy of vapor. Icalled to the postilion and pointed out the object. '_Mont Blanc, _Monsieur!' It was an inspiration when seventy miles by an air line fromit. This first view of the hoary Alps always makes a thrilling moment. " [Illustration: MONT BLANC. ] Later came morning rides and evening strolls. The modest stonecountry-house which they took for economy and the author's love of quiethome-life was _La Lorraine_, and belonged to the Count de Portales ofNeufchâtel. There was a high field near, where, one day, when Mr. Cooperwas teaching his little son Paul the "mysteries of flying a kite, " theycaught the rare fleeting glimpse of a glittering glacier. _La Lorraine, _only half a mile from Berne, is noted as "one of the pretty littleretired villas that dot the landscape, " with "the sinuous Aar glancingbetween" it and the town. The trim little garden and half-ruinedfountain were well shaded by trees, and the adjoining farmhouse andbarn-yard, all Swiss, made a fine playground for the children's summerholiday. The house and its furniture they found "faultlessly neat. "There was a near-by common where hoops, rope-jumping, and kites could beenjoyed. From this point and the cottage windows "was a very beautifulview of the Alps--an unfailing source of delight, especially during theevening hours. " Cooper has given some fine descriptions of their life inthe glow of this Alpine country; of harvest-time and mountain gleaners. He tells of a visit to Hindelbank to see the sculptor Nahl's wondrousidealism in stone, which represents a young mother, the pastor's wife, and her babe. The infant lies in passive innocence on its mother'sbosom, while her face is radiant with the light of a holy joy on theresurrection morn. Her hand is slightly raised in reverent greeting ofher Redeemer. Of this work Cooper writes: "I take it to be the mostsublime production of its kind in the world. " And they found it in "oneof the very smallest, humblest churches in Europe. " [Illustration: LA LORRAINE VIEW OF BERNESE ALPS. ] [Illustration: NAHL'S MEMORIAL TO MADAME LANGHAN. ] In the small, uncarpeted study of _La Lorraine_ a new book was plannedand begun. For the story's setting the author's mind turned to thefar-away, new home-country, and early frontier life in Connecticut. There he brought the transatlantic Puritan and the North American Indiantogether--the strong, stern Puritan family affection in close contactwith the red-man's savage cruelty, dignity, and his adoption of a whitechild. A fair-haired little girl is torn from her mother and cared forby a young Indian chief, once a captive in the white settlement. Yearspass over the bereaved family, when an Indian outbreak restores the lostchild to her parents' roof as "Narra-Mattah, " the devoted wife of aNarraganset warrior-chief, and the young mother of his little son. Thisbook draws a strong picture of pure family devotion; even the oldgrandfather's heart, beneath his stiff Puritan garb, beats anunforgettable part. Sorrow for the lost child gave the story itsname--"The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish" (then thought to mean in the Indianlanguage, "Place of the Whip-poor-will")and it has been said todescribe the settlement of the Fenimore family in America. [Illustration: NARRA-MATTAH. ] Many and interesting were their excursions. One was to Interlachen, withits glimpse of the Jungfrau, and the Lauterbrunnen valleys "full ofwonder and delight. " At Lauterbrunnen they walked to the famous Falls of_Staubbach_, which Cooper describes and explains as meaning "Torrents ofDust. " [Illustration: CONNECTICUT EMIGRANTS. ] As the summer had fled autumn winds began to whistle through the lindensof _La Lorraine_, and the snow began to fall upon its pretty garden, warning the author to fly south with his fledglings and their motherbefore the Alpine passes were closed by real winter. Cooper resignedthe consulate at Lyons, which was given him solely "to avoid theappearance of going over to the enemy" while abroad. A carriage and twoservitors were engaged. One of these, Caspar, had his soldiering underthe first Napoleon, and many were the camp tales he had to tell in a wayto please his employers. At the old town of Alstetten, with paintedwooden houses at the foot of the Am Stoss, they arrived, more than readyfor breakfast, which was somewhat delayed because, said Cooper, "ourGerman was by no means classical; and English, Italian, and French wereall Hebrew to the good people of the inn. " It was "easy to make thehostess understand that we _wished_ to eat, --but _what_ would we eat? Inthis crisis I bethought me of a long-neglected art, and crowed like acock. The shrill strain hardly reached the ear of the good woman beforeit was answered by such laughter as none but village lungs could raise. William--an admirable mimic--began to cackle like a hen. In due time wehad a broiled fowl, an _omelette_, and boiled eggs. " At another placewhere they stopped for mid-day luncheon Cooper writes: "We asked for afruit-tart, and--odors and nosegays!--they gave us one made of onions, which they thought very good fruit in its way, and we ate exactly asmuch as we wished. " [Illustration: FALL OF THE STAUBBACH. ] "The baths of Pfäffer, " he wrote "in my own unworthy person have wroughta sudden and wondrous cure"; and of his visit to the Devil's Bridge overthe Reuss: "We entered a gorge between frightful rocks, where the riverwas fretting and struggling to get in before us. " From the yawning mouthof a gloomy cave came the tinkling bells of pack-horses to Italy by theSt. Gothard. To the roar of the river and the rushing of winds withoutthey plunged through this dark "Hole of Uri, " which brought them to arugged rock-rift pass with but a thread of heaven's blue far above them;and here "a slight, narrow bridge of a single arch spanned the gorgewith a hardihood that caused one to shudder. " Its slender, unrailed, fifteen feet of width was eighty of span, and one hundred above theboiling torrent that fell on broken rocks below, and over it; wroteCooper: "The wind blew so furiously that I really wished for a rope tohold on by. This was the far-famed Devil's Bridge; other bridges mayhave been built by imps, but Beëlzebub himself had a hand in this. " [Illustration: THE DEVIL'S BRIDGE. ] [Illustration: FERNEY, VOLTAIRE'S LAZE LEMAN HOME. ] They enjoyed the beauty of Lake Geneva, and were charmed by theattractions of "Ferney, " Voltaire's home on Leman's shore, and enjoyedthe solemn gorge-valley of the Rhone, and through the Simplon passedinto fair Italy. As they "drew near a small chapel in a rock Casperflourished his whip, calling out the word 'Italia!' I pulled off my hatin reverence, " wrote the author. Down the steep mountains, over bridgedtorrents, past the hill-towns and valley-lands, they came to the City ofthe Lily, --fair Florence of the Arno. "As early as 1829, " Cooperthought, "the unification of Italy was irresistible. " [Illustration: THE SIMPLON PASS. ] [Illustration: FLORENCE, ITALY. ] [Illustration: PALAZZO RICASOLI, FLORENCE, ITALY. ] In Florence a home was soon found in the Palazzo Ricasoli, Via delCocomero. Lofty of ceiling--twenty feet--was their apartment, in whichthey enjoyed "two noble bed-rooms, several smaller ones, a largedrawing-room, dining-room, baths, a small court and garden within theiron gates, and all for the modest sum of sixty dollars per month. " Theoil burned in their lamps the home-folk "would be happy to use on theirsalads. " Here, around the cheering glow of great wood-fires, theAmerican author would gather his friends, old and new. From Otsego daysa blazing hearth-stone ever rejoiced his cheery nature, and his way oflaying the wood and nursing the flames horrified his Italian servants aswaste of fuel. The chill of the _tra montana_ brought into this circleof warmth and light many eminent foreigners; and of home-country folk, that true American, Horatio Greenough, often basked in the bright glowof the author's wood-fires at Florence. Later Greenough wrote: "Fenimore Cooper saved me from despair after myreturn to Italy. He employed me as I wish to be employed; and up to thismoment has been a father to me. " Greenough's last work was a bust of hisillustrious friend, the American novelist, which he proposed to cast inbronze, at his own expense, and place in the field where stands the OldMill in Newport, and where the opening scene of "The Red Rover" is laid. He took counsel with Cooper's friends as to a monument to the author, and among his papers was found an elaborate design for the work. [Illustration: HORATIO GREENOUGH. ] Cooper loved to encourage rising talent in young artists. He gave themorders, and also his cheering sympathy. One of these wrote that Coopergave him a free letter-of-credit on his banker in Paris, and added: "Ihad occasion to use it more than once, and my drafts were alwayscheerfully accepted. Since then I have paid him, though he never wouldhave asked for the money; nobody but he and I ever knew of thetransaction. " A Boston man writes of his visit to the Florence studio ofGreenough: "My eye fell upon a bust which awakened sea and forestpictures, --the spars of an elegant craft, the lofty figure of a hunter, the dignified bearing of a mysterious pilot. " It was the bust ofFenimore Cooper. Of the sculptor it was noted that "he always referredwith emotion to the gleam of sunshine which encouraged him at thiscrisis, in the friendship of our late renowned novelist, Cooper. " [Illustration: BUST OF JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. ] In the Pitti one day they passed before Raphael's _Madonna del Trono_, and the sculptor pointed out to his companion the fine drawing in thetwo little angel figures of the foreground, in the act of singing. Cooper asked if the subject would not lend itself to sculpture;afterwards one of his daughters copied the figures, and the result ofthe mutual interest in the design was an order from Cooper for a groupwhich in a few months Greenough executed in marble. It was exhibited inAmerica under the title of "The Chanting Cherubs. " It was Cooper's"Chanting Cherubs"--the first group of its kind from an American chisel--that led to Greenough's order for the statue of Washington, andinspired the pen of Richard Henry Dana to write: Whence came ye, cherubs? from the moon? Or from some shining star? Ye, sure, are sent a blessed boon, From kinder worlds afar; For while I look my heart is all delight: Earth hath no creatures half so pure and bright. [Illustration: CHANTING CHERUBS. ] Later on Greenough came to them "all booted and bearded beyondrecognition" save in "his walk and his talk. " During Cooper's later American press troubles his close friend, Greenough, wrote him: "You lose your hold on the American public withrubbing down their skins with brick-bats. " And yet, during Greenough'sdark days, he said: "What is the use of blowing up bladders forposterity to jump upon for the mere pleasure of hearing them crack?" Theauthor's keen delight in architecture, sculpture, and painting then gavehim daily pleasure in the churches, palaces, and art-galleries of _BellaFirenzi_. Familiar from youth with his father's engravings of antiquesculpture subjects, he writes of his first glimpses of the originals inthe Pitti: "I stood, hat in hand, involuntarily bowing to the circle ofmarble figures that surrounded me. " [Illustration: LEOPOLD II, GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY. ] [Illustration: PITTI PALACE, FLORENCE, ITALY, 1828. ] Attired in "a black coat, breeches, and vest with steel buttons, lacefrills and ruff, a sword and a dress-hat, " our author was presented atthe brilliant Tuscan Court. Grand Duke Leopold II left on Cooper's minda strong impression of integrity of character; his simplicity andjustice were borne out in his greeting: "They tell me you are theauthor of many books, but as it has never been my good fortune to meetwith them, I can say no more on this subject than that I have heard themwell spoken of by those who have. " Cooper was asked "a hundred questionsas to America, " and assured of the prince's pleasure in seeing him atcourt and his being in Tuscany. When leaving Florence Cooper paid hisparting respects at the Pitti in an hour's pleasant converse, and thenpresented the Grand Duke with a copy of "The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish, "printed in his city of the Arno. Here Cooper and his family had some gaycarnival days with their various friends. Among them was the Count St. Leu, son of Queen Hortense and King Louis of Holland, and the author'ssometimes host, and "one of the handsomest men of his age" that Cooperever met. We are told of the Count: "He lived in good style, having afine villa where I dined lately, and a palace in town. " By those nearesthim he was addressed "your Majesty, " and held some "little show" ofroyalty. Princess Charlotte, his wife, and daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, the author also knew. He met Madame Mère, who is described as "a slightold lady, with little remains of beauty except fine black eyes. " She wasquiet, simple; in short, motherly, when seen by Cooper the winter of1828-29. [Illustration: COUNT ST. LEU. ] [Illustration: LETIZIA BOUNAPARTE. ] [Illustration: MADAME MÈRE. ] Longing for the open country came with the early Italian spring, and ahillside villa just outside the walls of Florence was secured. A narrowlane ran between this villa _St. Illario_ and its rustic church of thesame name. The villa had two projecting wings with belvederes and roofedterraces, one of which connected with the author's study. Herein hewrote of "the witchery of Italy"--the land he loved next to his own. Hisletters give glorious glimpses of the Arno, their strolls toBellosguardo's heights, the churches, monasteries, costumes, and songsof the peasants--all attuned to poesy. Frequent were the exchanges ofcivility between the author's study and the good old _curato_ across thelane. Cooper wrote of him: "The man has some excellent figs, and ourcook, having discovered it, lays his trees under contribution. " Hecontinues: "One small, green-coated, fresh fig is the precise point offelicity. But the good _curato_, besides his figs, has a pair of uneasybells in his church-tower that are exactly forty-three feet from myears, which ring in pairs six or eight times daily. There are matins, noontide, vespers, to say nothing of christenings, weddings, andfunerals. " Then follows a rare account of a night funeral service ending beneathhis study walls. [Illustration: CHURCH OF ST. ILLARIO AND NARROW LANE. ] [Illustration: VILLA, ST. ILLARIO. ] During the great Florentine _fête_ of St. John, the patron saint of thecity, --from the Count St. Leu's windows on the Arno, --the author and hisfamily saw the display of gala-boats decked with thousands ofcolored-paper lanterns. [Illustration: CHARIOT RACES, FLORENCE. ] They enjoyed the chariot races in the wide Piazza Santa Maria Novella, where the small obelisks point the start and finish of the races. Thesewere followed by the _corso dei barberi_--barbed horse-races withoutriders--down the longest street of the town. Then followed the FrenchMinister's masked ball, amusing as well as splendid, readers of Cooper's"Italy" will find. But more than all, on their return to Villa St. Illario, were they charmed with the brilliant illumination of the noblecathedral dome, which against the dark skies "looked like a lineengraving of fire. " So closed this festa of Florence in the grand-ducaldays, bright in gay gear and alive with everybody, from prince to_contadini_. Then he came in happy touch with the impulsive, laughing, singing, dark-haired Italians, and to the finer aspects of their naturehe was partial. They were in sharp contrast to the Puritan band in thevalley of the Connecticut, which his pen pictured in the finishingtouches of "The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish, " when in his study at _CasaRicasoli. _ [Illustration: GENOA. ] Press censorship and no English printing-house in Florence forced Cooperto leave his family and go to Marseilles. His letters give some prettypictures which passed his carriage windows on the way. Of Genoa: "Theseaward prospect was glorious. " The islands "were borrowed by Leonardo, "and a circuit of the city walls was made on horseback. Full of charmand interest was the road "on the margin of the sea"--from Genoa toNice. In his "Excursions in Italy" appears of Genoa: "I looked back withlonging-eyes at _Genoa la Superba_ and thought it well deserved thetitle. " "The whole of this coast, " he wrote, "is as picturesque andglorious as the imagination can picture it. " He tells of feluccas andother water-craft that claimed a sailor's eye; and the landward views ofMentone, Santa Monica, the heights, arches, and passes, and thewasp-like Villa Franca, perched on its ledge up two hundred feet--forfear of "the bears" said the guide. In Marseilles an English printer wassecured and brought back to Florence. Besides being deaf and dumb hisname--Richard Heavysides--bore out the burden of an unfortunate temperto the necessity of sending this printer back to Marseilles. Finally, bythe kindness of the grand duke's librarian, a small edition of "The Weptof Wish-ton-Wish" was printed, and early sheets sent to publishers inParis, London, and Philadelphia. In England the book was called "TheBorderers, " being based on the story of Eunice Williams of Deerfield, Mass. , but it was more highly valued in England and France than inAmerica. [Illustration: LEGHORN. ] The Mediterranean blue on Cooper's journey to Marseilles allured himinto conceiving another sea tale. Its writing, however, was delayed by amild return of the old fever that was induced by the summer sun ofItaly. Longing, therefore, for the water breezes, mid-summer found himwithin "sight and sound" of the sea waves. He writes "July 29 the wholefamily went to Leghorn, where the salt air was grateful, and I snuffedthe odor of this delightful sea with a feeling that was 'redolent of joyand youth. ' We feasted our eyes on the picturesque rigs and barks ofthose poetical waters, and met several men from the Levant, --anAlgerian Rais calmly smoking his chibouque on the deck of his poleacre, many Sardinians, Tuscans, Jews, and three Russians. Rowing under thebows of a Yankee, I found one seated on the windlass playing on theflute, --as cool a piece of impudence as can well be imagined for aMassachusetts man to practice in Italy! The delicious odors of theseaport were inhaled with a delight no language can describe. " [Illustration: NAPLES. ] At Leghorn Cooper engaged a Genovese felucca, "_La Bella Genovese_, --acraft of thirty tons, beautiful mould, lateen-rigged, carrying two ofthat sail and a jib, and ten men for her crew. " Aboard this small vesselthe author and his family spent six days of pure pleasure, yet "somewhatbitten by fleas. " They touched at Elba and other islands, and skirtedthe coasts of Tuscany, the Roman States, and so on to Naples, of whichCooper wrote: "Oh Napoli! glorious, sunny, balmy Napoli!" This cruisingalong the western coast of Italy in the _Bella Genovese_ suggested tothe author one of his favorite stories, "Wing-and-Wing, " which waspublished twelve years later. In Naples several weeks were passed at ahotel; thence to a short-time home of their own on the cliffs ofSorrento. The very air of Italy was a delight to this sunny-heartedsailor, who so deeply felt the charm of all Italian nature. "The housewe have taken, " he wrote, "is said to be the one in which Tasso wasborn. It stands on the brow of the cliffs, within the walls of the town, and in plain sight of every object of interest on the bay. We occupy theprincipal floor only, though I have taken the entire house. There is achapel beneath the grand _sala_, and kitchens and offices somewhere inthose lower regions. We enter by a porte-cochère into a court which hasa well with a handsome marble curb and a flight of broad, marble stepsfit for a palace. " Seaward several rooms led to the _sala_, fifty feetlong, and facing the water. Cooper tells of its tiled floor, gildedcouches, chairs, and marble busts. The great charm of the house was itsterrace, fifty feet long by twenty-five wide, and protected by a stonebalustrade, massive and carved, hanging over the blue Mediterranean, andgiving to view Vesuvius, Ischia, and all the coast of glorious sea. Hearing an outcry from his son Paul one day, his father found the boywith his head fast between two of these great spindles--"in a way thatfrightened me as well as the youngster himself. It was like beingimbedded in a rock. Below the terrace runs a narrow beach, where ourchildren delight to play, picking up shells and more thanshells, --ancient mosaics. There is a little room off from the terrace Iuse for writing, " and where he could watch the beauty of the sea. Muchof "The Water Witch" was rapidly written in this study on the inspiringterrace of _Casa Tasso_, Vesuvius in sight. Daily excursions were made. When four-of-the-clock threw the rock shadows far over the water, theywent a-boating. On land they made "donkey" and "non-donkey" jaunts. _Capo di Monti_, overlooking the town landing-place, was also a favoriteresting-place, and gave some bright pictures of native life. By anamusing practice of giving their king--a fine old mendicant with a lameleg--and his daily-growing train a _grano_ a day at the gate, Cooper andhis family on their excursions were freed from an army of beggars. Allwere grateful, and wished the American _admiral_ "a thousandyears, "--save one poor creature, who blundered into "a hundred, " uponwhich his angered fellows cudgeled him with blows and words intoshouting, "A thousand years, and long ones. " Donkeys and boats weretaken for Amalfi with her convent-crowned cliffs above the sea. Notuntil the chill _tra montana_ and the snow-powdered mountain-topsreminded them that but one fire could be kindled in their vast Sorrentohome did they leave it one morning, with ninety-six of their well-wisherbeggars in the court to bid them good-speed on their way to the EternalCity. [Illustration: CASA TASSO AT SORRENTO. ] [Illustration: CASA TASSO TERRACE-STUDY. ] In the autumn of 1830 Cooper and his family entered Rome through thegate of St. John, and drove across the city to the Hotel de Paris, justbelow the Pincio and near the _Porta del Popolo_. After dinner, withstill an hour of daylight, and eager to see what Rome was like, Coopercalled a guide, and, holding Paul by the hand, sallied forth through thenarrow, crooking streets over the bridge of the angels to St. Peters. "Pushing aside the door, I found myself in the nave of the noblesttemple in which any religious rites were ever celebrated. To me therewas no disappointment, and as I stood gazing at the glorious pile, thetears forced themselves from my eyes. Even little Paul was oppressedwith the vastness of the place, for he clung close to my side and keptmurmuring, 'What is this? What is this? Is this a church?' I turned awayimpressed with the truth that if ever the hand of man had raised astructure to the Deity in the least worthy of His Majesty, it was this!" [Illustration: ST. PETER'S, EXTERIOR, ROME. ] [Illustration: ST. PETERS, INTERIOR. ] [Illustration: ADAM MICKIEOWICZ. ] The usual roof-tree was soon found in the via Ripetta, where their backwindows overlooked the tawny Tiber and gave them views of Castle St. Angelo and St. Peter's dome glorified by each day's setting sun, andhere was passed their winter in old Rome. The Eternal City's ruins weremost interesting to Cooper; it was his special delight to ride for hourswith some friend over the Campagna, lingering among fragments ofstructures or statues of ancient days. Perhaps none who rode with himgave him more pleasure than the famous Polish poet, Adam Mickieowicz, --aman full of originality, genius, and sadness for the fate of his lostcountry. All of this won Cooper's sympathy and help in zealous writingand speaking for the suffering Poles; and one, Count TruskalaskieWuskalaskia, later on found a welcome at Otsego Hall. [Illustration: PORTA RIPETTA, WHERE COOPER LIVED IN ROME. ] Our author also saw something of social Rome, as is noted: He "was at agrand ball--faultless as to taste and style"--given by a prince to aprince near to the royal family of England. Of compatriots he writes:"_We_ have had a dinner, too, in honor of Washington, at which _I_ hadthe honor to preside. You will be surprised to hear that we sat downnear seventy Yankees in the Eternal City!" [Illustration: ROMAN FORUM. ] "The Water Witch, " now nearly finished, required printing, which somekind Italian friends nearly brought about in Rome; but the bookcontained this sentence: "Rome itself is only to be traced by fallentemples and buried columns, " which gave offense where none was intendedand barred the work's issue there. The story was finished and laid asideuntil spring, when, after five delightful months in Rome and a few daysat Tivoli, Cooper and his family reluctantly drove through the _Portodel Popolo_. In their own carriage, with four white horses, and theirservitors in another with four brown ones, they passed up the Adriaticcoast to Venice. [Illustration: PORTA DEL POPOLO. ] Miss Cooper's "Pages and Pictures" gives her father's graphic account ofthis interesting journey, --how, in a wild mountain-road they fell inwith pilgrims neither way-worn nor solemn, but most willing to talk. They seemed moving pictures with their staffs, scrip, and scallop-shellcapes, returning from Rome. Then came Terni and its famous waterfall--amile away, they knew, for they walked there. Man-made were those falls, by the turning of a pretty stream many hundred years ago. [Illustration: FALLS OF MARMORA AT TERNI. ] High bridges and hermit nooks were passed, and then a long aqueduct with_Gothic_ arches, called _Roman_ in the guide-books; an old temple turnedinto a church, and but a trifle larger than a Yankee corn-crib. Thenover the fine road beyond Foligno, and the hill Fiorito, and they rolledeasily down into the Ancona country, where they found the shrine ofLoreto. [Illustration: ANCONA. ] [Illustration: LORETO. ] Ancona gave them their first sight of the Adriatic--less beautiful inhue than the Mediterranean blue, it seemed to our travelers. But with asailor's joy in rope, pitch, and tar, Cooper hurried with his usualboyish eagerness to the port, and with a lively interest examined itsseveral rusty-looking craft. The next day found them again on the way, of which he writes: "Walking ahead of the carriage this morning, weamused ourselves on the beach, the children gathering shells on theshores of the Adriatic. " Short stops were made in Bologna and Ferrara, then northward to the coast. Afloat and a pull for an hour brought themto Venice. Through the Grand Canal and under the Rialto they glided tothe opening port beyond. They left their craft at the _Leone Bianco_, orwhite lion. Entering, they found "a large paved hall" a few steps abovethe water. From their windows they could see the gliding gondolas;beyond the splashing of an oar no sound came from their movement. "Everything was strange, " wrote Cooper. "Though a sailor and accustomedto water, I had never seen a city a-float. It was now evening; but afine moon shedding its light on the scene rendered it fairy-like. " Thatnight a friend showed him the other ways than the water-ways of Venice. Through lane-like, shop-lined ways, over bridges, and through theGiant's Clock-tower he passed into the great square of St. Mark, with"much surprise and pleasure. " By its glittering lamps, and over it allthe moonlight, he felt as if "transported to a scene in the ArabianNights. " [Illustration: SCALLA MINELLA, VENICE. ] [Illustration: VENICE. ] Later he writes: "I have set up my own gondola and we have been lookingat the sights. " For weeks their easy gondola--which in form andlightness reminded him so much of the Indian bark-canoe--"went glidingalong the noiseless canals, " and Cooper studied his Venice for apurpose. He became interested in the details of its singular governmentand read many books about it. The heartless trifling with sacredpersonal rights in order to glorify the ruling powers of _San Marco_, asshown by the life of crime in its secret councils, seemed terrible tohim. And so came about the thought of writing a book in which both viewsof the subject, as clear and just as his pen could draw them, should begiven. And whoever has read "The Bravo" will know that it faithfullypictures Venetian life. The great Piazza, the splendid church, thetowering belfry, --rebuilt, --the small Piazza and its columns; the Palaceof the Doge, with its court, well, giant's stairway, lions' mouths, dungeons and roof prisons, and the Bridge-of-Sighs, leading to itsneighbor, the Prison Building--all are here, with beautiful _Venetia_in the pride of her most glorious days near their waning. These and muchmore make up the fearful picture of Venice's cold cruelty, as revealedto the author of "The Bravo" in authentic historical records. Gelsomina, the jailer's daughter, a sweet and delicately-drawn character, got hername and general character from real life. Miss Cooper writes that whentheir "family was living on the cliffs of Sorrento a young peasant girlbecame one of the household, --half nurse, half playfellow to thechildren. She bore the sweet name of Gelsomina. Simple, innocent, andchildlike, yet faithful to duty, Gelsomina was soon in high favor withgreat and small, and, in charge of the young flock, made one of everyfamily party about the bay. " At such times "she was always in gaycostume, --light-blue silk jacket with gold lace; a flowing skirt; herdark hair well garnished with long golden pins and bodkins; a gold chainof manifold strands encircled her throat, and drops long and heavy hungfrom her ears. One afternoon, after playing with her young charges, Gelsomina went for water to that picturesque marble well in the court. While bending over the curbstone and drawing up the bucket, likeZara-of-Moriah fame, she dropped one of her long, heavy ear-rings intothe water. Great was the lamentation of the simple creature! Warm wasthe sympathy of the household. " But the old well was far too deep togive up this heirloom and family treasure, which was gone beyondGelsomina's tears to recover. Gelsomina would have followed her Americanfriends north, but a portly, stately, dignified aunt "would not trusther so far from the orange-groves of Sorrento. " When the hour of partingcame, pretty Gelsomina received from her mistress a fine pair of newear-rings, and tears of gratitude fell upon the trinkets as she kissedthe hand of the giver. Her name and something of her sweet innocence andfidelity were given to the jailer's daughter of "The Bravo. " "The well is deep--far down they lie, beneath the cold, blue water! My ear-rings! my ear-rings!" [Illustration: PIAZZA SAN MARCO. ] [Illustration: PALACE OF THE DOGE. ] [Illustration: TASSO'S WELL. ] This book, one of Cooper's favorite works, was an artist's picture ofVenice, and was written to martial music in Paris, in 1830, where Cooperarrived on the eve of a revolution, for a stay of three years. It waspublished by Lea and Carey, Philadelphia, in 1834, and did not findfavor in America, but was much liked in Germany and France. Prof. Brander Matthews writes:--"The scene in which Antonio, the oldfisherman, is shrived by the Carmelite monk, in his boat, under themidnight moon upon the lagoon, is one of the finest in the whole rangeof literature in fiction. " [Illustration: THE BRAVO. ] Concerning the carrying off of the art treasures of Venice by theFrench, Cooper wrote: "One great picture escaped them; it stood in adark chapel completely covered with dust and smoke. Within a few yearssome artist had the curiosity to examine this then unknown altarpiece. The picture was taken down, and being thoroughly cleaned, proved to be'The Assumption'"--Titian's masterpiece, some think. It is now in theAcademy of Fine Arts in Venice. Cooper tells of a monument Canova had"designed for Titian, beautifully chiseled out of spotless marble. " Theauthor found it "beneath the gloomy arches of the church, " and thoughtit "singularly dramatic and startling"; but it had been erected to thehonor of Canova himself instead of to the painter! [Illustration: GLORY OF THE ASSUMPTION. ] [Illustration: ABSOLUTION OF ANTONIO. ] [Illustration: ALT MARKET, DRESDEN. ] From Venice Cooper and family went by way of Tyrol to Munich, where hemuch admired the king of Bavaria's art collections. After this briefvisit they moved on to Dresden, passing here some pleasant months in acheerful apartment overlooking the Alt Market. The quaint and busy showof homely German life, the town, gardens, river, bridge, and finegallery "worthy of Italy, " were enjoyed. _The Water Witch_, "wrecked onthe Tiber, was now safely launched on the broader waters of the Elbe. "It was issued by Lea and Carey, Philadelphia, in 1830. Comparing national traits became at times an unfortunate habit withCooper. He was provoked by a Dresden schoolmaster's surprise that hischildren were not black; and, again, because he could not convince anEnglish scholar that in Boston "to gouge" did not mean the cruelpractice "to squeeze out a man's eyes with the thumb. " This Englishscholar was Sir James Mackintosh. On the return to Paris from Germany several places were tried beforefinding a short distance across the Seine, No. 59 rue St. Dominique, --anoff-and-on home for three years. Here the salon was thirty feet long andlofty--to a sailor's delight, seventeen feet; above the doors werepaintings in gilded frames; and there were four large mirrors, and vastwindows reaching to the floor. The dining-room, even larger, opened onthe garden. After this manner the doctor of the Duke of Orleans builthis home for himself--and this American tenant. The turmoil in thiscity of light at once attracted him in the near view of the Revolutionof July. Having known General Lafayette since 1824, these two fine menwere brought in close touch on Cooper's second visit to Paris. In 1831the Marquis Lafayette was the center of American life here, andconsequently he and our author were constantly and intimately throwntogether. [Illustration: LAFAYETTE'S PARIS HOME, RUE D'ANJOU. ] Lafayette's neat, simple apartment in a hotel of some pretension was inthe rue d'Anjou. There were a large antechamber, two salons, and aninner room, where he wrote, and finally had his bed. His town servantswere his German valet, Bastien, who served during the last visit toAmerica, a footman, and a coachman. Cooper wrote: "When I show myself atthe door Bastien makes a signal of assent, intimates that the generalis at dinner; but I am at once ushered into the bed-room. Here I findLafayette at table--so small as to be covered with a napkin, his littlewhite dog his only companion. " It was understood that the guest haddined, so he takes a seat in the chimney-corner, and as they talk thedinner goes on to its finish of dates, which are shared by the visitor. The last of these pleasant visits grew from the usual half hour toalmost two, as they chatted of the great and small and all in their fineway. Lafayette thought Louis Philippe "the falsest man" he ever met. OfCharles X he "spoke kindly, " giving him "an exactly opposite character, "and Marie Antoinette he believed "an injured woman. " [Illustration: GENERAL LAFAYETTE'S BED-ROOM. ] [Illustration: LOUIS PHILIPPE. ] [Illustration: GENERAL LAFAYETTE. ] When Mr. McLane, our minister to England, made a flight to Paris in1830, Lafayette strongly urged Cooper to give him the pleasure ofpresenting him with Mr. McLane to Louis Philippe at a Palais Royal"evening. " Concerning the event Cooper noted: "Though such a visit wascontrary to my quiet habits, I could do nothing but comply. " His book onFrance relates the event and concludes with: "We all got invitations todine at the palace in a day or two. " But Cooper "never had any faith inthe republican king, " and thought "General Lafayette had been the dupeof his own good faith and kind feelings. " Queen Marie Amélie, who wasthe daughter of Ferdinand I of the two Sicilies, asked Cooper which hemost preferred of all the lands he had visited. His quick and strictlytruthful reply was: "That in which your majesty was born for its nature, and that in which your majesty reigns for its society. " As the "evening"was for men Cooper noticed that "the queen and her ladies worebonnets. " [Illustration: QUEEN MARIE AMÉLIE. ] December 8, 1830 the Americans in Paris gave General Lafayette a dinnerover which Cooper presided. And, says Professor Lounsbury, "in a speechof marked fervor and ability, he had dwelt upon the debt due from theUnited States to the gallant Frenchman, who had ventured fortune andlife to aid a nation struggling against great odds to be free. " As "Itwas not in his [Cooper's] nature to have his deeds give lie to hiswords, " he was fairly caught in a public controversy that brought uponhim the following unpleasant results. During this period a public dispute arose on the comparative expenses ofAmerican and French government, which Lafayette was called upon tosettle, and he appealed to Cooper as an American authority. In hisspirited defense of the gallant Marquis, our author was caught in amaelstrom of harsh criticism. It ended in his victory abroad, butbrought upon him uncalled-for comment from the American press for"attacking the authorities of a friendly country"--as that pressunjustly termed it. At Paris in 1831, by the request of an English friend, Cooper wrote of"The Great Eclipse" which he saw June 16, 1806, at his Cooperstown home. This account was found after his death and appeared in _Putnam'sMagazine_ of 1869. It included a thrilling tragedy and closed asfollows: "I have passed a varied and eventful life--but never have Ibeheld any spectacle which so plainly manifested the majesty of theCreator, or so forcibly taught the lesson of humility to man as thetotal eclipse of the sun. " From Paris, in 1832, Cooper wrote: "I care nothing for criticism, but Iam not indifferent to slander. If these attacks on my character shouldbe kept up five years after my return to America, I shall resort to theNew York courts for protection. " Cooper gave the press the full period, then, said Bryant, --himself an editor, --"he put a hook in the nose ofthis huge monster of the inky pool, dragged him to land, and made himtractable. " After these five years had passed Cooper noted, February, 1843: "I have, beaten every man I have sued who has not retracted hislibels. " [Illustration: N. P. WILLIS. ] In Paris, in 1832, our author was meeting many foreigners of note, andamong the Americans was N. P. Willis, then sketching his "Pencillings bythe Way, " and breakfasting with Cooper, and strolling with him throughthe Tuileries gardens. [Illustration: S. F. B. MORSE. ] Samuel F. B. Morse, who was later to chain electricity for future use, was then a young artist painting in the Louvre, and helping Cooper tobuy pictures. Of one purchase is noted: "Shortly after the revolutionof 1830, passing through the Carousel, he bought a portrait, coveredwith dust but of apparent rare beauty, from a dealer in antiques, whosaid it was a Teniers. This painting was shown to Morse and toArchbishop Luscomb of Paris, also an art critic of his day, both of whomverified the dealer's statement. Catalogues and prints of originals ofTenier's wife later proved the picture to be her portrait painted roundin form by that artist and afterwards cut to the square. " [Illustration: TUILERIES GARDENS. ] [Illustration: TENIER'S WIFE. ] Some twenty years later Morse wrote: "We were in daily, almost hourly, intercourse during the years 1832-33. I never met a more sincere, warm-hearted, constant friend. " Their relations were ever warm andclose. Cooper himself was winning, in the heart of France, a welcome for"the beloved _Bas-de-cuir_ with _la longe carabine, _--that magic rifleof his that so seldom missed its mark and never got out of repair. "Surely his life and pursuits conformed to his motto: "Loyalty to truthat any price. " Those who best knew him best loved him. The charm of hisfamily life during these pleasant days has found attractive expressionin the portraits of his children drawn about this time by his daughterSusan, as shown on the opposite page. [Illustration: MRS. JAMES FENIMORE COOPER AND HER SON PAUL. ] [Illustration: THE CHILDREN OF MR. AND MRS. JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. ] During the dreadful siege of cholera in Paris, Cooper and his familyremained in the stricken city, fearing to fare worse with countrydiscomforts. In contrast to many instances of heroic devotion wereartists' funny pictures of the scourge. The Tuileries gardens weredeserted, and Paul missed his apple-women friends of the corners betweenrue St. Dominique and Pont Royal; and the flight through the city of Mr. Van Buren and other friends were a few personal incidents of thisawesome time. July 18 Cooper and his family left Paris for the Rhine country. Theyenjoyed Brussels, and old Antwerp's Dutch art and its beautifulcathedral-tower that Napoleon thought should be kept under glass. Theyfound Liège "alive with people" to greet their arrival at the _GoldenSun_, where they were mistaken for the expected and almost new king, Leopold, and his fine-looking brother. Sad truth brought cold looks andback views among other shadows of neglect. Cooper noted: The "_GoldenSun_ veiled its face from us; we quit the great square to seek morehumble lodgings at the _Black Eagle_, a clean, good house. " In Liègewere seen the venerable, interesting churches, which caused Cooper tothink, "I sometimes wish I had been educated a Catholic in order tounite the poetry of religion with its higher principles. " He called _TheAngelus_ "the open prayer of the fields, " and wrote of it: "I rememberwith pleasure the effect produced by the bell of the village church asit sent its warning voice on such occasions across the plains and overthe hills, while we were dwellers in French or Italian hamlets. " [Illustration: THE ANGELUS. ] In the "Life of Samuel F. B. Morse" by Samuel Irenaeus Prime appearsCooper's letter from "Spa, July 31, 1832, " to My Dear Morse: I have had a great compliment paid me, Master Samuel, --You must know there is a great painter in Bruxelles of the name of Verboeckhoven, (which means a _bull and a book baked in an oven!_) who is another Paul Potter. He out does all other men in drawing cattle, --Well, sir, this artist did me the favor to call at Bruxelles with the request that I would let him sketch my face. He came after the horses were ordered, and knowing the difficulty of the task, I thanked him, but was compelled to refuse. On our arrival at Liège, we were told that a messenger from the governor had been to inquire for us, and I began to bethink me of my sins, --however, --it proved Mr. Bull-and-book-baked had come [by dilligence] to Liège (sixty-three miles) and got the governor to give him notice, by means of my passport, when we came. Of course I sat, --the likeness--like all other pictures you have seen of my chameleon face--has a vastly live-like look, --the compliment is none the less, and, provided the artist does not mean to serve me up as a specimen of American wild beasts, I shall thank him for it. To be followed twelve posts by a first-rate artist, who is in favor with the King, is so unusual, that I probed him a little. I found him well skilled in his art, --his gusto for natural subjects, strong, --and his favorite among all my books is "The Prairie, " which you know is filled with wild beasts. Here the secret is out. --He sent me a beautiful pencil sketch of a Belgian hind as a memorial of our achievement. [Illustration: EUGÈNE-JOSEPH VERBOECKHOVEN. ] Cooper and his family spent some days drinking the waters at Spa, withbest effects for Mrs. Cooper--not over-strong since the Paris days. Theyleft its grass of "ghostly green" when the "dog-star raged with all itsfury, " and "came on old Aix-la-Chapelle, well-cloaked and carriagewindows closed. " In compliment to the republic of letters the postmancalled on Cooper here, and like tribute was also paid two posts fartheron, where he was asked if he "was the man who wrote books!" That day waswell spent when they reached the terrace above the Rhine and got theirfirst view of the towers of Cologne. In "fine, lofty rooms" overlookinga garden, they here enjoyed a night's rest, a breakfast, and then apilgrimage to "the unfinished cathedral, that wonder of Gothicarchitecture. " A visit was paid to the house in which Rubens was born, it is said, and the very room which sheltered the last moments of Maryof Medicis, wife of Henry IV and mother of Louis XIII of France. Cooperthought it "a better sort of burgher home, " and saw it as "a publichouse. " [Illustration: RUBENS' COLOGNE HOME. ] Again on the wing, they passed the student-town of Bonn, Rhine ruins ofcharming legend on the near and far banks of the river, until on anisland in the Rhine they found rest and refreshment at a convent-inn. The host, wife, child, cook, and soldiers three, quartered there, gavethem welcome and good cheer. Their parlor was that of the lady abbess, and her bedchamber fell to Mrs. Cooper. "The girls were put into cells, where girls ought never to be put, " wrote their father. _He_ "salliedforth alone, in quest of sensation, " and got it in the muttering ofthunder, and the flashing of lightning over the "pitchy darkness of theseven mountains. " And he and the fiercely howling winds from the treeshad a chase through the gloomy cloisters, whence he saw, in the vast, cavern-like kitchen, the honest islanders eating with relish his surplussupper. [Illustration: CONVENT OF NUNNENWORTH. ] As the storm grew in strength Cooper went to the corridor above, leadingpast their rooms To-and-fro he paced until a bright flash revealed thefar, end door to which he went, opened, and entered into utter darkness. Taking a few steps he paused--"for the whole seemed filled by a clatter, as of ten thousand bat-wings against glass. " His hand rested onsomething--he knew not what--when by another vivid flash he saw that hewas in an open gallery of the convent chapel. The bat-wings were small, broken panes of the high arched windows, rattling in the gale. Yet bythe chasing flashes of angry light he saw beneath him grim figures inthe shadowy motions of troubled spirits. They wore upon his nerves, until he caught himself shouting: "'Ship ahoy; ship ahoy! What cheer, what cheer?' in a voice as loud as the winds. " He was about to speakwhen his gallery door opened and the withered face of an old croneappeared by a flash; then came thunder, and the face vanished. After apause the door opened again, and on the same uncomely face, when, without thought, our author gave a loud, deep groan. The door slammed onthe time-stricken form, and he was again alone with the storm-demons whonow soon grew drowsy and went to sleep, and he himself went tobed, --and, wrote he, "slept like a postillion in a cock-loft, or amidshipman in the middle-watch. " But regret came in the morning whenMrs. Cooper told her husband how a poor old soul, frightened by thestorm, had stolen into the chapel to pray, where, on hearing strangegroans, she dropped her candle and fled in fear to Madam's maid, whogave her bed-shelter for the night. An after-breakfast look at thestorm-ridden chapel disclosed other good reasons than the groans for thepoor creature's flight. A peace offering made sweet her next night'ssleep, when the travelers had gone on their way, diving here and thereinto lore and legend of the mighty Rhine-stream. [Illustration: WATCH TOWER ON THE RHINE. ] Near the Prussian frontier was "a castle that stood beetling on a cragabove the road, " where smoke actually arose from a beacon-grate thatthrust itself out "from a far-front tower. " Such attractions were notto be passed, and up the winding way over two hundred feet they went, and over the small drawbridge, guarded by one groom and the Dutch growlof a ferocious mastiff. In walls, towers, queer gap terraces, --givinglovely glimpses of the Rhine, --court, outside stairways of iron, fineold Knights' Hall--its huge fire-place, and its center droplights oflamps fitted into buckhorns--and curious armor, Cooper found additionalmaterial for his prolific pen. During the year 1832 Cooper gave "The Heidenmauer, a Rhine Legend, " tothe world. While the book itself is full of mediaeval, Rhine-countrycharm, of brilliant charge and countercharge, of church and state power, unfortunately for its author in its "Introduction" was this sentence:"Each hour, as life advances, am I made to see how capricious and vulgaris the immortality conferred by a newspaper. " This brought upon itswriter a whirlwind of caustic criticism in the American papers, and soonbecame a challenge of battle by one who was to prove himself brave, able, fearless, and _right_ through coming years of hot and bitterstrife. By one of the leading editors the glove was taken up in thesewords: "The press has built him up; the press shall pull him down. "Posterity has forgotten the stirring conflict, but Cooper's books willnever fail to fire the heart and brain of every mother's son for alltime. In a skiff, spreading a sprit sail, they crossed the Rhine at Bingen bythat postmaster's assurance of "Certainly, as good a ferry as there isin Germany. --_Ja_--_Ja_--we do it often. " Through the Duchy of Nassauthey tested its wines from Johannesberg to Wiesbaden. Then up the Mainto Frankfort, on to Darmstadt, and thence to Heidelberg. It was quitedark when they "crossed the bridge of the Neckar, " but "Notwithstandingthe obscurity" wrote Cooper, "we got a glimpse of the proud old ruinoverhanging the place, looking grand and sombre in the gloom of night. "He thought the ruins by daylight "vast, rather than fine" though partshad "the charm of quaintness. " The "picturesque tower" was noted, adding"but the finest thing certainly is the view from the garden-terraceabove. " Below it, unrolls miles of the beautiful Neckar valley country, through which they drove to Ludwigsburg and on to Stuttgart. Beyond, appeared a distant view of "a noble ruin" crowning a conical eminence. This was the Castle of Hohenzollern, "the cradle of the House ofBrandenburg" to which a thunderstorm prevented their intended visit. [Illustration: HEIDELBERG AND CASTLE. ] Returning to a vale of Wurtemberg they saw "a little rivulet" whichbegan the mighty Danube stream on its way to the Black Sea, and drove upto the inn at Tuttlingen, of which point Cooper wrote: "This is theBlack Forest, --The wood was chiefly of larches, whence I presume itsname. " Warned by their host-postmaster of a long climb of mountainseparating the Rhine and Danube rivers, in a coach and six they lefthim for Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls. The mountain crest gave them asweeping view of Lake Constance when its waters looked "dark and wild"wrote Cooper, adding, "we suddenly plunged down to the banks of theRhine and found ourselves once more before an inn-door, in Switzerland. "So in the late summer of this year their second visit was made to theland of Lake Leman, whose waters are overshadowed by noble mountains;and its surface broad, tranquil, and blue. Enchanting distance made afairy air-castle of a tiny château on a little grassy knoll washed bythe lake, but a near view decided the family "to take refuge in afurnished house, _Mon Repose_, " in a retired corner quite near theshore at Vevay. [Illustration: VEVAY SHORES OF LAKE LEMAN. ] A boat, with honest John Descloux and his two crooked oars, was soonsecured, and many an hour was spent listening to his lore of Leman, asthey floated their several hours a day over its waters, under fair skiesand foul. [Illustration: FÉTE DES VIGNERONS, 1833. ] During this Switzerland vacation Cooper's fancy was strongly attractedby Vevay's celebration of an old-time festival, _abbaye des Vignerons_, or great holiday of the vine-dressers. It was "a gay and motley scene, blending the harvest-home with a dash of the carnival spirit. " Shepherdsand shepherdesses in holiday attire and garlands, tripping the measuresof rustic song and dance. Aproned gardeners with rake and spade, theirsweethearts with bread-baskets of fruit and flowers, uniting in thedance _à la ronde_, as they came to a certain point in the procession;and so went the reapers, mowers, gleaners, herdsmen, and dairy-maids inAlpine costume, timing their steps to horn and cow-bell, and singing theheart-stirring chorus _Ranz des Vachs_, or the "Cowherds of the Alps, "the wild notes coming back in many an Alpine echo. The festivalconcluded with a rustic wedding, the bride being dowered down to thebroom and spindle by the lady of the manor. [Illustration: NOAH'S ARK, VEVAY, 1833. ] Such a holiday on the shores of Lake Leman, and the Pass of St. Bernard, Cooper placed as a background for his plot based on the hard oldfeudal-times law--that (in the canton of Berne) the odious office ofexecutioner or headsman was made a family inheritance. The efforts ofthe unhappy father and mother to save their son from such a fate make upthe pathetic interest of "The Headsman, " issued in 1833. The Hospice ofSt. Bernard so well described in this book was visited by the authorthe previous year. [Illustration: HOSPICE ST. BERNARD. ] When the power to write first dawned on Cooper's mind there came alsoand grew with it the desire to serve his native land in the field ofletters. Love of country and countrymen guided his ardent, generous penin "The Spy, " "The Pioneers, " "The Last of the Mohicans, " and "ThePrairie, " written before he went to Europe. European society he entered, and was courted as literary men of reputation are courted there, butalways with the honest pride of being an American. Under these pleasantconditions "The Red Rover, " "The Traveling Bachelor, " "The Wept ofWish-ton-Wish, " and "The Water Witch" were written. But "The Bravo" wasfollowed by such "a series of abuse in the public press" at home thatwhen Cooper returned, November 5, 1833, these onsets greatly surprisedhim. His nature was roused by attack; but "never was he known to quail, "wrote a famous English critic of him, and added: "Cooper writes like ahero!" He believed the public press to be a power for life or death to anation, and held _personal_ rights as sacred; and challenged on theselines he became a lion at bay. Excepting from his fine old personalfriends, staunch and true, he had a chilling reception. For saying, atan evening party a few days after landing, that he had been sadly joltedby the bad pavement and was surprised that the town was so poorlylighted, he was seriously warned by these warm friends: "By the shade ofWashington! and the memory of Jay! to be more prudent; not a syllable ofpavements or a word of lamps could be uttered. " Because he thought thebay of Naples of more classic interest than the bay of New York, he wasvoted "devoid of taste and patriotism. " So hurt was he by publicdistrust that he thought seriously of writing no more; its injustice ledhim to criticise harshly many changes which had occurred during hisabsence. The Indian trail had made way for canal-boats, connecting theocean with the inland seas; the railroads had come, with other activecommercial interests, to stay. [Illustration: THE BAY OF NAPLES. ] [Illustration: NEW YORK HARBOR. ] After their return from Europe Cooper and his family passed some wintersin New York City--those of 1833-34 and 1835-36 in Bleecker Street nearThompson. There he "first erected his household gods, French gods these, for the house throughout was equipped with furniture from France, andministered solely by French servitors, " writes Doctor Wolfe. But lovefor the old Hall on the shores of Otsego grew strong beyond resistance. It was vacant and of forlorn appearance when the author returned to itin 1834. From a simple, roomy, comfortable house it was made over into apicturesque country-seat, from designs, English in style, drawn byProfessor Morse, who was at Cooperstown during alterations. Some ofthese, without thought of the cold Otsego winters--ice and snow on thebattlemented roof--made leaks frequent and disturbing. [Illustration: OTSEGO HALL AFTER THE RECONSTRUCTION OF 1834. ] In 1835 Cooper wrote of this home: "The Hall is composite enough, Heavenknows, being a mongrel of the Grecian and Gothic orders; my hall, however, is the admiration of all the mountaineers--nearly fifty feetlong, twenty-four wide, and fifteen feet high. I have raised the ceilingthree feet, and regret it had not been ten. I have aversion to a roomunder jurymasts. " [Illustration: COOPER'S LIBRARY AT OTSEGO HALL. ] The library was a well-shaped room of twenty by twenty-four feet, theceiling twelve feet above. Its deep, dark oak windows opened on thethick shade-trees of the quiet southwest; the walls, well-lined withbooks of value, could show no complete set of his own. In one corner ofthis room was a large folding screen on which were pasted print-picturesof places they had visited during their seven years' tour of Europe; alike screen was in the hall. In this library was the author's plain, shining, English walnut writing-table and chair, whose first owner wasRichard Fenimore, Cooper's maternal grandfather, of Rancocus, NewJersey; many of Cooper's works were written upon it. On the oppositeside of the hall was the author's bedchamber. It is interesting to learnfrom Mr. Keese that the large north bed-rooms, so cold in winter, wereknown as "Siberia" and "Greenland, " while those on the south, and warmin summer, were called "Florida" and "Italy. " We are told the groundswere changed by winding walks and the setting out of trees--not a fewwith Cooper's own hands. And under these fine trees, in their southwestfavored corner, shadows and sunlight play hide and seek about a copy ofMr. And Mrs. Cooper's favorite garden seat. Great gates were made forthe garden entrance, as heavy and hard to move as those of "The HuttedKnoll" in the author's story of "Wyandotté. " It was indeed an attractivehome, made more so by its attractive inmates. Concerning these Mr. Keesewrites: "Noting Cooper's fondness for animals, the family brought fromParis a magnificent 'tiger' cat weighing fifteen pounds--'Coquelicot' byname. He lived at the Hall until the day of his death, and occupied themost comfortable chair in the parlor and was rarely disturbed. " Finallythe old Hall became their only home, and here, in his stronghold at thefoot of the Glimmerglass, Cooper kept open house for his friends. [Illustration: COPY OF COOPER'S GARDEN SEAT. ] During the summer months he took a lively interest in his garden. Fromhis daughter we learn: "It was his delight to watch the growth ofdifferent plants day by day. His hot-beds were of the earliest, and hewas the first to grow egg-plant, Brussels sprouts, and other unusualvegetables and fruits. " The first and choicest of fruit or vegetable wasgathered by himself as a little offering to Mrs. Cooper, and placed byhim at her plate at table. And he took great pleasure in carrying withhis own hands baskets of choice fruit and vegetables to differentfriends and neighbors. Many were these that the author and his oldshipmate Ned Myers carried about the village to different homes. [Illustration: JUDGE NELSON. ] Many also were the talks that Cooper and his friend and constantcompanion, Judge Nelson, of the Supreme Court, had on garden affairs, aswell as on legal and political questions of the day; many were theirvisits to the hot-beds and melon hills. "Ah, those muskmelons! Carefullywere they watched. " This penman was frankly proud of his melons, theirearly growth and flavor. But for all his care this melon-pride met itsWaterloo one spring in a special box of superior seed, started in afavored place for light and warmth, and to be early transplanted. Soonthe tiny green blades appeared, duly became leaflets, to the joy of theJudge and the planter. "Those two venerable heads bending together inclose scrutiny over the young plants was a pleasant sight, in theauthor's eager interest and genial sympathy of the Judge. " But alas!neither jurist nor novelist was a botanist, and the triumphantlyexpected melon vines basely proved after a few more days of tendernursing to be the leaves of "that vagabond weed, the wild-cucumbervine. " Here too he gathered material for future books, and did muchwriting. Evening twilight often found him pacing the large hall, hishands behind him, his head doing active duty in decisive nods of _yea_and _nay_, and words spoken aloud for putting on paper in his librarynext morning. Some of this writing was to his profit and pleasure, andsome, alas! to his sad disturbance--as was "A Letter to his Countrymen, "published in 1834. A picture of this Otsego-Hall home life would prove a sorry failure with"Pumpkin" left out. Therefore appears Pumpkin, the family horse, whoearned his name by drawing a load of pumpkins for Seraphina, the cow, toeat. It is of note that his horseship carried "a very light whisp of atail, and had a gait all his own in going at times on three legs and, attimes, kicking up both hind ones in a way more amusing than alarming, byleaving an interesting doubt as to fore or aft movement, in the mind ofhis driver. " Of Cooper's daily active life Mr. Keese notes: "He rose early, did muchwriting before breakfasting at nine, and afterwards until eleveno'clock. Then Pumpkin, hitched to his yellow buggy, was brought to thedoor"; and when her health would allow, Mrs. Cooper often went with herhusband to their _châlet_ farm. Sometimes it was his author-daughter whowent with her father; and again, some friend was hailed from the streetfor the trip. These several active hours would give him a fine appetitefor their three o'clock dinner, on his return. "The late afternoon andevening were given to friends at home, or to visiting, and often to hisfavorite game of chess with Mrs. Cooper. " Some two years after Cooper's return from abroad, a friend about to sailfor Europe met him walking leisurely along Broadway with his coat openand a great string of onions in his hand. Seeing several persons turn tolook at him, then speak to each other, the friend too turned--"andbehold, it was Cooper!" After greetings he raised his bunch of onionsand said: "I have turned farmer, but am obliged to come to town now andthen, as you see. " Kind remembrances were sent to Greenough; and ofItaly he added: "There is no place where mere living is such a luxury. " Fenimore Cooper had a keen sense of the ridiculous. His table-talk byhis own fireside was full of cheery life, fun, and glowing merriment. "Severe and stern his fine face could be when touching on serioussubjects, " but his relish of the ludicrous and comical was very stronglymarked, and when such came his way in reading, it was carried at once tothe family circle and read by him with zest, and a laugh so hearty itbrought the tears rolling down his cheeks. While in Europe he outlined asatirical tale in which the men's parts should be seriously assumed bymonkeys. An English baronet, Sir John Goldencalf, and a Yankee skipper, Captain Noah Poke, were made to travel together through the differentparts of Monkeyland, called Leaphigh, Leaplow, and Leapthrough, representing England, America, and France. This tale was hastily writtenin his New York home on Bleecker Street near Thompson. Of thesecountries, their people, and that time, the story was a strong, clever, and ludicrous picture, which in this day would be accepted as such, andbe equally helpful and amusing to writers and readers. It was called"The Monikins, " and was published in 1835. Delight in the scenery of Switzerland led Cooper to put in book form hisnotes on his visits to that small country of many interests andmagnificent views. Under the name of "Sketches in Switzerland, " it waspublished in 1836. The France and England part of his "Gleanings inEurope" went to print the next year. Concerning his book on old England, Cooper, in the autumn of 1837, writes: "They tell me it has made a stirin London, where I get abused and read _à la Trollope_. It ought to dothem good, but whether it does or not depends upon Divine grace. " Thiseffort has been called keen, clever, but untimely, tending rather to setpeople by their ears than to save them from their sins. In the summer of 1837 Cooper found himself facing the disputed ownershipof "Three-Mile Point" of Lake Otsego. On his return from Europe he foundthat his townspeople regarded this point--Myrtle Grove--as belonging tothem. But Judge Cooper's will left it to all his heirs until 1850, whenit was to go to the youngest bearing his name. While willing to allowthe villagers picnic privileges, Cooper insisted on his clear title tothis pretty shore point; but Cooperstown Solons hotly fought what theycalled "the arrogant claims of one J. Fenimore Cooper, " who, however, finally proved his title by winning the case at law. But he lost muchof the good-will of his townsmen, whom he thought "progressive inkilling the red-man and chopping down trees. " [Illustration: WILD-ROSE POINT OR THREE-MILE POINT. ] The beauty of this Wild-Rose Point claimed Cooper's earliest love. Hemade it the scene where Deerslayer and Chingachgook rescued Wah-ta-Wah. Its flatiron-shaped pebble-beach jutted out from the lake's west shoreand was covered with fine old forest trees garlanded with vines; andfrom their graveled rootage there gurgled a limpid spring of sweetwaters. Then a wild brook came brawling down the hills to find itsgentle outlet on the beach. Azalias and wild roses made its shrubbery, while pitcher-plant, moccasin-flower, gentians blue and white, withbrilliant lobelias, were among the native blossoms that charmed theauthor's childhood and made this Three-Mile Point especially dear tohim. [Illustration: COOPER'S NEW YORK CITY HOME, ST. MARK'S PLACE. ] The Italian part of Cooper's "Gleanings in Europe" was brought to printin 1838, and later in this year appeared "The American Democrat. " Then"Homeward Bound, " its sequel, "Home as Found, " and the "Chronicles ofCooperstown"--all came in hot haste from the author's modest three-storybrick home in St. Mark's Place near Third Avenue in New York City. Inthese books Cooper told his side of foreign and town troubles, and itwas said that not ten places or persons could complain in truth thatthey had been overlooked. Thereby New York society and the Americanpress became greatly excited. Cooper was ever a frank friend or an openenemy. A critic wrote of him and this time: "He had the courage to defythe majority and confound the press, from a heavy sense of duty, withungrateful truths. With his manly, strong sense of right and wrong hehad a high regard for courage in men and purity in women, but, with hiskeen sense of justice, he was not always judicious. Abroad he defendedhis country with vigor, and was fearless in warning and advising her, when needful, at home. While he never mistook 'her geese for swans, ' hewas a patriot to the very core of his heart. " However, thisover-critical writing soon became newspaper gossip, and began for Coopersix long years of tedious lawsuits, finally settled in his favor in1843. With such able men as Horace Greeley, Park Benjamin, and ThurlowWeed among others in battle-array against him, Cooper closed this strifehimself by making a clear, brilliant, and convincing six-hour addressbefore the court during a profound silence. Well may it be said: "It wasa good fight he fought and an honorable victory he won" when he silencedthe press as to publishing private or personal affairs. His speech wasreceived with bursts of applause, and of his closing argument an eminentlawyer said: "I have heard nothing like it since the days of Emmet. " "Itwas clear, skilful, persuasive, and splendidly eloquent, " is another'srecord. At the Globe Hotel the author wrote his wife the outcome, andadded: "I tell you this, my love, because I know it will give youpleasure. " In "American Bookmen, " by M. A. De Wolfe Howe, it appears thatwhen going to one of his Cooper trials Mr. Weed picked up a new book toshorten the journey. It proved to be "The Two Admirals, " and says Weed:"I commenced reading it in the cars, and became so charmed that I tookit into the court-room and occupied every interval that my attentioncould be withdrawn from the trial with its perusal. " Mr. Howe adds:"Plaintiff and defendant have rarely faced each other under strangerconditions. " [Illustration: HORACE GREELEY. ] [Illustration: PARK BENJAMIN. ] [Illustration: THURLOW WEED. ] While in the St. Mark's-Place home the family found Frisk, described byMr. Keese as "a little black mongrel of no breed whatever, rescued fromunder a butcher's cart in St. Mark's Place, with a fractured leg, andtenderly cared for until recovery. He was taken to Cooperstown, wherehe died of old age after the author himself. Mr. Cooper was rarely seenon the street without Frisk. " The shores of Otsego, "the Susquehanna's utmost spring, " Cooper made thescenic part of "Home as Found, " but high authority asserts thecharacters to be creatures of the author's fancy, all save one, --"avenerable figure, tall and upright, to be seen for some three-scoreyears moving to and fro over its waters; still ready to give, stillready to serve; still gladly noting all of good; but it was with thefeeling that no longer looked for sympathy. " It was of "Home as Found"that Morse wrote to Cooper: "I will use the frankness to say I wish youhad not written it. But whenever am I to see you?" The effect of this conflict with the press so cut the sale of Cooper'sbooks that in 1843 he wrote: "I know many of the New York booksellersare afraid to touch my works on account of the press of that righteousand enlightened city. " Of these disturbing conditions Balzac's opinionwas: "Undoubtedly Cooper's renown is not due to his countrymen nor tothe English: he owes it mainly to the ardent appreciation of France. " Cooper's income, from England, suffered on account of an act ofParliament change, in 18381 of the copy-right law. But his Londonpublisher, Bentley, was credited with usually giving the author about$1500 each for his later stories. Report gave him about $5000 each forhis prior works. May 10, 1839, Cooper published his "History of the United States Navy. "It was first favored and then, severely criticised at home and abroad;but the author was fourteen years in gathering his material, and hisclose contact with navy officers and familiarity with sea life made himwell qualified for the work. He had not yet convinced the press that anauthor's and editor's right to criticise was mutual; that each mighthandle the other's public work as roughly as he pleased, but neithermight touch on the other's private affairs. However, the "Naval History"sold well and has borne the test of time, and still remains an authorityon subjects treated. There are many officers who well remember theirdelight on first reading those accounts of the battles of long-ago, ofwhich Admiral Du Pont said that any lieutenant "should be ashamed not toknow by heart. " One well qualified to judge called Cooper's "NavalHistory" "one of the noblest tributes ever paid to a noble profession. " When "The Pathfinder" came later from the author's pen critics werestartled from the press-estimate of his character by "the novel beautyof that glorious work--I must so call it, " said Bryant. Natty's goodnessa dangerous gift might prove for popular success, but its appeal toWashington Irving won this record: "They may say what they will ofCooper; the man who wrote this book is not only a great man, but a goodman. " Balzac held it to be "_un beau livre_" and thought Cooper owed hishigh place in modern literature to painting of the sea and seamen, andidealizing the magnificent landscapes of America. It was of Cooper andhis works that Balzac wrote: "With what amazing power has he paintednature! How all his pages glow with creative fire!" [Illustration: J. W. TRUMBULL. ] Concerning Cooper's innate love for his home-country scenery, Dr. Francis gives this incident: "It was a gratifying spectacle to seeCooper with old Colonel Trumbull, the historical painter, discanting onCole's pencil in delineating American forest-scenery--a theme richest inthe world for Cooper. The venerable Colonel with his patriciandignity, and Cooper with his aristocratic bearing, yet democraticsentiment. Trumbull was one of the many old men I knew who delighted inCooper's writings, and in conversation dwelt upon his captivatinggenius. " [Illustration: JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. ] Personally, Mr. Cooper was a noble type of our race. He was of massive, compact form, a face of strong intelligence and glowing with masculinebeauty, in his prime. His portraits, though imposing, by no means dojustice to the impressive and vivacious presence of the man. This penpicture is by one who knew the author well. [Illustration: CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. ] [Illustration: COLUMBUS' FLEET. ] On July 8, of this year, Cooper was made a member of the GeorgiaHistorical Society, and the following autumn "Mercedes of Castile" camefrom his pen. It relates the first voyage of Columbus, and "withspecial knowledge of a seaman, the accuracy of an historian, and withsomething of the fervor of a poet. " Gleaning Miss Cooper's "Pages and Pictures, " one reads, as to "TheDeerslayer": "One pleasant summer evening the author of 'ThePathfinder, ' driving along the shady lake shore, was, as usual, singing;not, however, a burst of Burns's 'Scots wha ha' wi' Wallace bled!' orMoore's 'Love's Young Dream, '--his favorites, --but this time a politicalsong of the party opposing his own. Suddenly he paused as a woods'opening revealed to his spirited gray eye an inspiring view of Otsego'spoetical waters. " When the spell was broken he turned to his beloveddaughter and exclaimed: "I must write one more book, dearie, about ourlittle lake!" Another far-seeing look was taken, to people thisbeautiful scene with the creatures of his fancy, followed by a moment ofsilence, then cracking his whip, he resumed his song with some carelesschat, and drove home. A few days later the first pages of the new bookwere written. When the touch of Time was frosting his own head, he leadsNatty, as a youth, over the first warpath of his hero. And so the"Glimmerglass" and its "Mt. Vision" country grew into the story of "TheDeerslayer"; it is "the very soul of the little lake overflowing withyouthful freshness and vivid with stirring adventure. " [Illustration: THE GLIMMERGLASS. ] On the bosom of its waters is anchored "Muskrat Castle, " and over it, toand fro, move the "Ark of Floating Tom" and the Indian canoes, whichgave a strange, wild interest to the story. Afloat and ashore come thoseunlike sisters, --proud Judith, handsome but designing, andsimple-hearted Hetty, gentle, innocent, and artless; both so real andfeminine, and yet so far removed from their supposed father, thebuccaneer. Then comes this Uncas of the eagle air, swooping with lithemovement to his rocky trysting-place. And Uncas is in strong contrastwith "The Pathfinder's" "Arrowhead, " who was a wonder-sketch of thered-man's treachery and vengeance, while his sweet girl-wife, "Dew-of-June, " shows, true to life, an Indian woman's unfalteringdevotion to her savage lord. Over all its pages broods the commandingspirit of "The Deerslayer, "--the forest's young Bayard who has yet tolearn what the taking of human life is like. So, in "The Deerslayer, "printed in 1841, the "Little Lake" (Otsego), with its picturesqueshores, capes, and forest-crowned heights, was made classic soil. Justback of "The Five-Mile Point. "--where Deerslayer gave himself up tomerciless Indian justice at the Huron Camp, and later was rescued byBritish regulars--is the rocky gorge, Mohican Glen, through which apurling brook ripples by its stone-rift banks thatched with great clumpsof rose and fern. From the gravel-strewn shore of Hutter's Point beyond, the eyes of Leatherstocking first fell upon the Glimmerglass, andimpressed by its wonder and beauty he exclaimed: "This is grand! 't issolemn! 't is an edication of itself. " Leaning on his rifle and gazingin every direction, he added: "Not a tree disturbed, but everything leftto the ordering of the Lord, to live and die, to His designs and laws!This is a sight to warm the heart. " [Illustration: OTSEGO LAKE. ] The tribes, hunters, and trappers had their "own way of callingthings, " and "seeing the whole basin, often fringed with pines, wouldthrow back the hills that hung over it, " they "got to calling the placethe 'Glimmerglass. '" At Gravelly Point opposite, Deerslayer killed hisfirst Indian, and above are the tree-tops where rose the star that timedHist's meeting with her lover. Some distance to the north is thespot--now known as the "Sunken Islands"--which marks the site of MuskratCastle, and is near the last resting-place of Hetty Hutter and hermother. And far to the southwest lies a long, low, curving beach juttingsickle-shape into the lake. As a favored haunt of muskrats, it was oncecalled Muskrat Cove, and now Blackbird Bay. Just beyond lies Fenimore, the home of Cooper's early married life. In the author's pages on England, published in 1837, was expressed awish to write a story on "the teeming and glorious naval history of thatland. " Our own country at that time had no fleet, but Cooper's interestin his youthful profession made quite fitting to himself the words ofhis old shipmate, Ned Myers: "I can say conscientiously that if my lifewere to be passed over again it would he passed in the navy--God blessthe flag!" Out of England's long naval records Cooper made "The TwoAdmirals, " an old-time, attractive story of the evolution of fleets, andthe warm friendship between two strong-hearted men in a navy full ofsuch, and at a time before the days of steam. "Cooper's ships live, " sosays Captain Mahan; and continues: "They are handled as ships then were, and act as ships still would act under the circumstances. " This navalhistorian thought "the water a noble field for the story-teller. " "TheTwo Admirals" first appeared in _Graham's Magazine, _ for which Cooperwas regularly engaged to write in 1842. On June 16 of this year adecision was rendered in the "Naval History" dispute. One of thequestions was whether Cooper's account of the battle of Lake Erie wasaccurate and fair and did justice to the officers in command, andwhether he was right in asserting that Elliott, second in command, whomPerry at first warmly commended and later preferred charges against, didhis duty in that action. Cooper maintained that while Perry's victory in1813 had won for himself, "as all the world knows, deathless glory, "injustice had been done to Elliott. Three arbitrators chosen by theparties to the dispute decided that Cooper had fulfilled his duty as anhistorian; that "the narrative of his battle of Lake Erie was true; thatit was impartial"; and that his critics' "review was untrue, notimpartial"; and that they "should publish this decision in New York, Washington, and Albany papers. " Later Commodore Elliott presented Cooperwith a bronze medal for this able and disinterested "defense of hisbrother-sailor. " [Illustration: JESSE D. ELLIOTT'S LAKE ERIE MEDAL. ] [Illustration: MEDAL GIVEN TO JAMES FENIMORE COOPER BY JESSE D. ELLIOTT. ] Professor Lounsbury's summary of Cooper's "Naval History" is: "It issafe to say, that for the period which it covers it is little likely tobe superseded as the standard history of the American navy. Laterinvestigation may show some of the author's assertions to be erroneous. Some of his conclusions may turn out as mistaken as have his propheciesabout the use of steam in war vessels. But such defects, assuming thatthey exist, are more than counterbalanced by advantages which make it afinal authority on points that can never again be so fully considered. Many sources of information which were then accessible no longer exist. The men who shared in the scenes described, and who communicatedinformation directly to Cooper, have all passed away. These are lossesthat can never be replaced, even were it reasonable to expect that thesame practical knowledge, the same judicial spirit and the same power ofgraphic description could be found united again in the same person. "Most amusing was Cooper's own story of a disputing man who being told:"Why, that is as plain as two and two make four, " replied: "But Idispute that too, for two and two make twenty-two. " Cooper called the Mediterranean, its shores and countries, "a sort of aworld apart, that is replete with charms which not only fascinate thebeholder, but linger in the memories of the absent like visions of aglorious past. " And so his cruise in 1830, in the _Bella Genovese_, entered into the pages of "Wing-and-Wing. " The idea was to bringtogether sailors of all nations--English, French, Italian, andYankee--on the Mediterranean and aboard a French water-craft of peculiarItalian rig--the lateen sail. These sails spread like the great whitewings of birds, and the craft glides among the islands and hovers aboutevery gulf and bay and rocky coast of that beautiful sea. Under herdashing young French captain, Raoul Yvard, _Le Fen Follet_(Jack-o'-Lantern or fire-fly, as you will) glides like a water-spritehere, there, and everywhere, guided by Cooper's sea phrases, --for whichhe had an unfailing instinct, --that meant something "even to theland-lubber who does not know the lingo. " It is said many down-eastfishermen never tire of Cooper, but despise many of his followersbecause of their misuse of sea terms. But more of "Wing-and-Wing": therewas lovely Ghita, so sweet and brave, and anxious for her daring younglover Raoul, and stricken by the tragedies that befell her in the wakeof Lord Nelson's fleet. The brown mountains of Porta Farrajo, "a small, crowded town with little forts and a wall, " Cooper had seen. [Illustration: ISLAND OF ELBA. ] He had tested its best inn, _The Four Nations_, by a good dinner in itsdining-room of seven mirrors and a broken tile floor, and had some talkwith its host as to their late ruler, --he said Napoleon came thatevening, sent at once for Elba's oldest flag, which was run up on theforts as a sign of independence. [Illustration: ELBA HOME OF NAPOLEON. ] Cooper saw Napoleon's Elba home, --"a low, small house and two wings, with ten windows in its ninety feet of front. " He also saw the morecomfortable one-story home of Napoleon's mother. Other isles and shoresseen then--during his cruise in the _Bella Genovese_--found place in"Wing-and-Wing, " published in 1842. The knowledge thus obtained oflocalities and the Italians led Cooper to say: "Sooner or later Italywill, inevitably, become a single state; this is a result that I hold tobe certain, though the means by which it is to be effected are stillhidden. " [Illustration: THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. ] [Illustration: COOPER'S DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. ] During 1843 appeared in _Graham's Magazine_ Cooper's "Life-Sketch ofPerry, " "The Battle of Lake Erie, " and "The Autobiography of aPocket-handkerchief, " or "Social Life in New York. " This volume of_Graham's Magazine_ also included the life of "John Paul Jones, " whereinappeared Cooper's masterful description of the celebrated battle of the_Bon Homme Richard_--one of the most remarkable in the brief annals ofthat time of American naval warfare. [Illustration: THE BATTLE OF BON HOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS. ] [Illustration: COOPER'S DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE OF "BON HOMME RICHARD" ANDTHE "SERAPIS. "] Of John Paul Jones himself Cooper wrote: "In battle, Paul Jones was brave; in enterprise, hardy and original; invictory, mild and generous; in motives, much disposed todisinterestedness, though ambitious of renown and covetous ofdistinction; in pecuniary relations, liberal; in his affections, naturaland sincere; and in his temper, except in those cases which assailed hisreputation, just and forgiving. " Fenimore Cooper was a veritable pioneer in spirit. He delighted in thedetails of American "clearing, "--from the first opening of the forest tosunlight, by the felling of trees and stump-extractor, to the neat drainand finished stonewall. On the mountain slope of Otsego's shore, andless than two miles from Cooperstown, lay his small farm belted withwoodland, from which he had filched it in true pioneer fashion. Concerning Cooper's "costly contest with the soil, " Mr. Keese tells us:"The inspiring beauty of its commanding views caught Cooper's fancy forbuying it far more than any meager money returns its two hundred acrescould promise. " [Illustration: STUMP EXTRACTOR. ] After ten years of devoted care the author is on record as saying withsome humor: "for this year the farm would actually pay expenses. " Butfull returns came in charming views over field, wood, and lake, wherehis fancy built "Muskrat Castle" and the "Ark of Floating Tom. " Besides, its pork and butter were the sweetest, its eggs the whitest andfreshest; its new peas and green corn "fit for the pot" were the firstin the country. When the morning writing hours were over at the Hall, itwas to the Châlet, as he called this farm, that he drove, to look afterhis horses, cows, pigs, and chickens. [Illustration: THE CHÂLET FARM. ] The dumb creatures soon learned to know and love him. They would gatherabout him and frequently follow him "in a mixed procession often not alittle comical. He had a most kindly feeling for all domestic animals, "and "was partial to cats as well as dogs; the pet half-breed Angoraoften perched on his shoulders while he sat writing in the library. "Then there were the workmen to direct, for whom he always had a kindlyword. One of these said: "We never had to call on him a second time fora bill; he brought us the check. When I knocked at his library door itwas surprising how quickly I heard the energetic 'Come in. ' When I methim in the street in winter he often said: 'Well, Thomas, what are youdriving at?' If work was dull he would try to think of something to setme about. " Of Cooper's activity was added: "When the masons wererepairing his home, in 1839, he, at fifty, and then quite stout, went uptheir steep, narrow ladder to the topmost scaffold on the gable end andwalked the ridge of the house when the chimney was on fire. " The Châletbrought to the author's mind "Wyandotté, " or "The Hutted Knoll, " a taleof border-life during the colonial period. A family of that time forcesfrom the wilderness an affluent frontier home and settlement for itssuccessors. In "Sassy Dick" the idle and fallen Indian is patheticallyportrayed: Dick's return to the dignity of Wyandotté, the Indian chief, by reason of the red-man's fierce instincts, is a pen-picture strong incontrasts, illustrating how "he never forgot a favor nor forgave aninjury. " This story and that of Ned Myers were published in 1843. [Illustration: THE ESCAPE--FROM "WYANDOTTE"] Of these years there are records of Cooper's kindly love for littlefolk. Miss Caroline A. Foot, a schoolgirl of thirteen and a frequentvisitor at Otsego Hall, had always a warm welcome from Mr. Cooper andhis family. When she was about to leave her Cooperstown home for anotherelsewhere, "she made bold to enter his sanctum, carrying her album inher hand and asking him to write a verse or two in the same. " Thoseverses have been treasured many years by that little girl, who becameMrs. George Pomeroy Keese. Two of her treasured verses are: TO CAROLINE A. FOOT But now, dear Cally, comes the hour When triumph crowns thy will, Submissive to thy winning power I seize the recreant quill: Indite these lines to bless thy days And sing my peans in thy praise. In after life when thou shalt grow To womanhood, and learn to feel The tenderness the aged know To guide their children's weal, Then wilt thou bless with bended knee Some smiling child as I bless thee. J. FENIMORE COOPER. Otsego Hall, August, 1843. [Illustration: Miss CAROLINE ADRIANCE FOOT, AGE 13. ] The delight of the winsome little lady was great, not only for theloving sentiment but also for the autograph, which is now both rare andvaluable. Not long after the capture of her verses a copy of them wassent to her friend Julia Bryant, daughter of Mr. Cooper's friend, thepoet. Miss Julia wrote at once in reply that she never would be happyuntil she too had some lines over the same autograph. An immediaterequest was made of Mr. Cooper at his desk in the old Hall library, andwith "dear Cally" by his side, he wrote: Charming young lady, Miss Julia by name, Your friend, little Cally, your wishes proclaim;Read this and you'll soon learn to know it, I'm not your papa the great lyric poet. J. FENIMORE COOPER. On page 155 of "The Cooperstown Centennial" there appears "A newglimpse of Cooper"--caught and kept by yet another little girl whofirmly believed the author to be "a genuine lover of children. " Shewrites that to meet him on the street "was always a pleasure. His eyetwinkled, his face beamed, and his cane pointed at you with a smile anda greeting of some forthcoming humor. When I happened to be passing thegates of the old Hall, and he and Mrs. Cooper were driving home from hisfarm, I often ran to open the gate for him, which trifling act he alwaysacknowledged with old-time courtesy. His fine garden joined my father's, and once, being in the vicinity of the fence, he tossed me severalmuskmelons to catch, which at that time were quite rare. " In 1844 Mr. Cooper sent this youthful miss a picture-book, "The Young American'sLibrary. " "The Primer" came with a note "written on large paper, with alarge seal. " It was a reprint from an English copy, and kept for sixtyyears, it is still thought "delightful reading. " In part theaccompanying note reads: "Hall, Cooperstown, April 22, 1844. Mr. Fenimore Cooper begs Miss Alice Worthington will do him the favor toaccept the accompanying book (which was written expressly for PrincessAlice of Great Britain). "Mr. Cooper felt quite distressed for Miss Worthington's muff during thelate hot weather, and begs to offer her the use of his new ice-houseshould the muff complain. " Miss Alice and her cousin were out walking avery warm April day, with their "precious muffs, which gave him themerry thought about the ice-house. " [Illustration: Miss ALICE TRUMBULL WORTHINGTON. ] Four years later Miss Worthington received another letter from Mr. Cooper, in acknowledgment of her sending to him a newspaper clippingabout one of his books. Of this letter is noted: "His handwriting wasfine, beautifully clear, and very distinguished. " The note reads: OTSEGO HALL, COOPERSTOWN, Feb. 12, 1848. MY DEAR MISS ALICE WORTHINGTON, --I have received your letter with the most profound sentiments of gratitude. The compliments from the newspapers did not make half the impression that was made by your letter; but the attentions of a young lady of your tender years, to an old man, who is old enough to be her grandfather, are not so easily overlooked. Nor must you mistake the value I attach to the passage cut from the paper, for, even that coming through your little hands is far sweeter than would have been two candy-horns filled with sugar-plums. I hope that you and I and John will have an opportunity of visiting the blackberry bushes next summer. I now invite you to select your party--of as many little girls, and boys, too, if you can find those you like, to go to my farm. It shall be your party, and the invitations must go out in your name. You can have your school if you like. I shall ask only one guest myself, and that will be John, who knows the road. With highest consideration, Your most obliged and humble servant, J. FENIMORE COOPER. During 1844 Cooper brought to print "Afloat and Ashore" and "MilesWallingford"--"which two are one, " he wrote, "with a good deal of lovein part second for the delight of the ladies. " Adventure is plenty, however, and the water-craft very much alive. In England "MilesWallingford" appeared under the name of its heroine, Lucy Harding; and, says one: "It is a hard task not to fancy he was drawing, in slightparticulars at least, the picture of his own wife, and telling the storyof his early love. " The tale is of the good old times in New York, andland scenes of her river counties. Those interested in Cooper's review of the naval court-martial ofLieutenant Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, for the execution of Spencer, will find the whole subject and its lesson of fearful retribution in_Graham's Magazine_ of 1843-44. Alleged "mutiny on the high seas" wascharged to young Spencer. He was the son of Secretary of State John C. Spencer who, as superintendent of public instruction, rejected withharsh, short comment Cooper's "Naval History" offered (unknown to theauthor) for school use and directed the purchase of Mackenzie's "Life ofPerry. " Just as Cooper was putting through the press his severecriticism of Mackenzie's version of the Battle of Lake Erie, the_Somers_ returned from her unfortunate cruise. Cooper instantly stoppedhis paper at the expense of a round sum to the printer, saying: "Thepoor fellow will have enough to do to escape the consequences of his ownweakness. It is no time to be hard on him now. " [Illustration: LIEUT. ALEXANDER SLIDELL MACKENZIE. ] The year 1845 brought from Cooper's pen "Satanstoe"--quaint, old-fashioned, and the first of his three anti-rent books. Its hero, amember of the Littlepage family, writes his own life-story. From hishome on one of the necks of Long-Island Sound, in Westchester County, hevisits New York City, catches a glimpse of the pleasant Dutch life inAlbany, and with comrades plunges into the wilderness to examine, work, and settle his new, large grant of land at Mooseridge. ProfessorLounsbury's able life of Cooper affirms of "Satanstoe": "It is a pictureof colonial life and manners in New York during the eighteenth century, such as can be found drawn nowhere else so truthfully and vividly. " Thetitle "Satanstoe" was given in a moment of Cooper's "intense disgust" atthe "canting" attempt then made to change the name of the dangerouspassage of Hell Gate, East River, to Hurl Gate. [Illustration: HELL GATE. ] "The Chainbearer, " second of the anti-rent series, was published earlyin 1846, and continues the story of "Satanstoe" in the person of thehero's son, who finds in the squatters on his wilderness inheritancethe first working of the disorderly spirit of anti-rent--the burningquestion of New York at that time. Honest Andries Coejemans and hispretty niece Ursula, the wily Newcome and rude Thousandacres of thisstory are each strong types of character. The key to Cooper's own character is expressed in his words: "The mostexpedient thing in existence is to do right. " In the hour of danger toaid in protecting the rights of the people from abuse of these rights bythe evil minded among themselves, he held to be the high duty of everyhonest, generous, and wise citizen. With such sentiments in mind, hewrote "The Redskins"--the third and last of the anti-rent series. Distinguished jurists of our country have declared "remarkable, " thelegal knowledge and skill in this series of books. Eighteen hundred and forty-six saw also in book form Cooper's "Lives ofDistinguished American Naval Officers, " which had already appeared in_Graham's Magazine_. Many of these eminent men had been the author'sfriends and messmates in early life. In 1847 "The Crater, or Vulcan'sPeak--A Tale of the Pacific, " came from Cooper's pen. The Introductionstates that the book was written from the journal of a distinguishedmember of the Woolston family of Pennsylvania, who "struggled hard tolive more in favor with God than in favor with man, " and quotes thatwarning text of Scripture: "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heedlest he fall!" and adds, "we have endeavored to imitate the simplicityof Captain Woolston in writing this book. " The story of "a ship-wreckedmariner, cast away on a reef not laid down on any chart. " This barrenspot the castaway makes to bloom as a rose, then brings immigrants tohis Pacific Eden, which finally vanishes like a dream. The work is saidto be an excellent study of the author's own character. Full of spirit and vigor at fifty-eight, Mr. Cooper in June, 1847, madea pleasant few weeks' visit to the middle west, going as far as Detroit. The country beyond Seneca Lake--the prairies and fine open groves ofMichigan--was new to him. Affluent towns with well-tilled lands between, full of mid-summer promise, where forty years before he had crossed awilderness, gave added interest to the entire way. He was far moredeeply impressed with sublime Niagara than in his earlier years andbefore he had seen all the falls of Europe. The idea of weaving itsmajesty into an Indian story came to him, but, alas! was never written. [Illustration: NIAGARA FALLS. ] He was pleased with the growth and promise of Buffalo and Detroit, wascharmed with "the beautiful flowery prairies and natural groves ofMichigan, " and wrote of them: "To get an idea of Prairie Round, --imaginean oval plain of some thirty-thousand acres, of surprising fertility, without an eminence; a few small cavities, however, are springs of waterthe cattle will drink. " In the prairie's center was a forest island ofsome six hundred acres "of the noblest native trees, " and in the heartof this wood was a small round lake a quarter of a mile across. Intothis scene Cooper called some creatures of his fancy; among them abee-hunter, suggested by the following incident. One morning not long after his return from Europe he was passing, asusual, his leisure hours at the mountain farm. While overlooking hisworkmen he espied a small skiff leaving an opposite shore-point of thelake and making directly for his own landing. Mr. Cooper thought theboatman was on an errand to himself. Presently the stranger, tin pail inhand, made his appearance and inquired of Cooper and his men whether alarge swarm of bees had been seen "somewhere there-abouts. " He had losta fine swarm early in the morning several days before, and had sincelooked in vain for them; but "a near-by farmer's wife had seen themcross the lake that way. " No bees had been seen by the men of Châlet. One of them said, however, "bees had been very plenty about the blossomsfor a day or two. " The farmer began to look about closely, and from theunusual number of bees coming and going among the flowers on the hill, he felt sure his honeybees were lodged somewhere near. So, with Mr. Cooper, much interested, the search for the lost swarm began. A younggrove skirted the cliffs; above were scattered some full, tall, foresttrees, --here and there one charred and lifeless. The farmer seemed veryknowing as to bees, and boasted of having one of the largest bee-shedsin the county. Rustic jokes at his expense were made by the workmen. They asked him which of the great tall trees his bees had chosen; theywished to know, for they would like to see him climb it, as Mr. Cooperhad said that no axe should fell his forest favorites. The farmer noddedhis head and replied that there was no climbing nor chopping for himthat day--the weather was too warm; that he intended to call his beesdown--that was his fashion. Taking up his pail he began moving among theflowers, and soon found a honey-bee sipping from the cup of arose-raspberry. He said he knew at once the face of his own bee, "to saynothin' of the critter's talk"--meaning its buzzing of wings. A glasswith honey from the tin pail soon captured the bee: uneasy at first, itwas soon sipping the sweets. When quite satisfied it was set free, andits flight closely followed by the farmer's eye. Another bee was foundon a head of golden-rod; it was served the same way but set free at anopposite point from the first's release; this second flight was alsoclosely noted. Some twelve of the tiny creatures from the clover anddaisies were likewise treated, until the general direction of the flightof all was sure. This "hiving the bees" by the air-line they naturallytook to their new home proved the farmer to be right, for an old, half-charred oak-stub, some forty feet high and "one limb aloft wastheir lighting-place, and there they were buzzing about the old blightedbough. " The farmer then went to his boat and brought back a new hive andplaced it not far from the old oak; he put honey about its tiny doorwayand strewed many flowers around it. With the sunset his bees had takenpossession of their new home, and by moonlight they were rowed acrossthe lake and placed beside the mother-swarm in the farmer's garden. [Illustration: JUDGE BAZIL HARRISON OF KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN. ] The author placed this incident in the "Prairie Round" of "The OakOpenings. " Its Indian Peter shows how Christian influences in timetriumph over revenge--the deadliest passion of the red-man's heart. OnNew Year's Day, 1848, "The Oak Openings" was begun, and the followingspring saw it finished. This note appears in the author's diary:"Saturday, January 1, 1848. Read St. John. No church. Weather very mild, though snow fell in the night. Walking very bad, and I paid no visitsoutside of the family. Had ---- at dinner. A merry evening with theyoung people. Played chess with my wife. Wrote a little in 'OakOpenings' to begin the year with. " Cooper was a born story-teller, and with a born sailor's love of saltwater could not for long keep from spinning tales of the sea. All ofwhich accounts for spirited and original "Jack Tier, " which came fromhis pen in 1848. The story was called at first "Rose Budd"--the name ofthe young creature who is one of its important characters. But plain, homely, hard-working "Jack, " under a sailor's garb, following hercommonplace, grasping husband the world over, and finding herself inwoman's gear and grief by his side when he made his last voyage of allwithout her--it is she who had _earned_ the real heroine's right to thename "Jack Tier. " It is a story of the treacherous reefs off Florida andthe deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. All those quiet years in Cooperstown the author kept pace in mind andinterest with the times, and often gave expression to his opinion oncurrent events. Of General Scott in Mexico he wrote, February 1, 1848:"Has not Scott achieved marvels! The gun-thunders in the valley of theAztecs were heard in echoes across the Atlantic. " Years before this thelast chapter of "The Spy" paid tribute to the "bravery of Scott'sgallant brigade" in 1814, at Lundy's Lane, not far from Niagara. ThatCooper strongly condemned Scott's "General Order" is another record oflater years. Reform--along all lines of service--was Cooper's watchword; hishome-cry, first and last, was to "build up our navy!" And, with hisknowledge of naval affairs and accurate estimate of seamen of allgrades, what an admirable secretary of our navy these qualificationswould have made him! His political instincts seemed clear and unerring. April 13, 1850, he thought "Congress a prodigious humbug; Calhoun'sattitude another, " as was also Webster's answer, which, however, had"capital faults. " From almost a seer and a prophet came in 1850 thesewords: "We are on the eve of great events. Every week knocks a link outof the chain of the Union. " This was written to a dear and valued friendof South Carolina, to whom a few months later he further wrote: "TheSoutherns talk of fighting Uncle Sam, --that long-armed, well-knuckled, hard-fisted old scamp, Uncle Sam. " And among the dearest of hislife-long friends stood this "Southern" Commodore, William BranfordShubrick. Yet in close quarters, "he would rather have died than lied tohim. " His standards of honesty were as rock-hewn; and his words on hisfriend Lawrence perhaps apply as aptly to himself: "There was no moredodge in him than there was in the mainmast. " [Illustration: HON. GERRIT SMITH. ] During some years prior to 1850, political party issues on"Anti-slavery, " grew from mild to violent. And famous in the annals ofCooperstown was the spirited debate, between Mr. Cooper, forcolonization, and his friend, the Hon. Gerrit Smith, for immediateabolition. This vital question of national interest was given able andexhaustive treatment by both debaters who spoke several hours while "Theaudience listened with riveted attention. " At its close the twogentlemen walked arm in arm to the "Hall, " Cooper's home, where theydined together. From Mr. Keese comes an anecdote of Commodore Shubrick's visit to hisold shipmate at Cooperstown: "Mr. Cooper had a raw Irishman in hisemploy, as a man of all work. Sending him to the post-office one day forthe mail, he told him to ask if there were any letters for CommodoreShubrick. Pat came to the window and with great confidence called out, 'Is there any letter for Commodore Brickbat?' 'Who?' said the astonishedpostmaster. The name was repeated. A villager coming in at that time, the postmaster asked him if he knew who was visiting Mr. Cooper. 'Commodore Shubrick, ' was the reply. 'All, that's the name!' said Pat;'and sure, didn't I come near it, though!'" [Illustration: WILLIAM BRANDFORD SHUBRICK. ] Possibly the sailing of Sir John Franklin in 1845 for the frozen countryof the North Star led Fenimore Cooper to write "The Sea Lions, " in thewinter of 1849. When the Highlands were white, and its tree-life hoarywith frost, the author could pen best his picture of a voyage to theice-bergs, rifts, and snow-drifts, for which his two schooners, bothcalled _The Sea Lion, _ were launched. In the early years of his married life Cooper made many visits to theisland home of a relative, by marriage, who, off the eastern shore ofLong Island, led a half-sea life that was full of attraction for theyoung sailor. This gentleman only, his family and dependents, lived onShelter Island, between which and the mainland all coming and going wasby boat. Here they had shooting, fishing, and cruising a-plenty. Theauthor's thorough knowledge of these waters was the probable reason forstarting his two sealers from this port in search of valuablesealing-grounds in the polar seas. The schooners and their captains wereAmerican. One of the sealers was owned by an old, hard-fisted miser ofPuritanic pattern, whose sweet niece Mary, pretty and simply good, makesthe very lovable heroine of this book. Beneath the low porch and withinthe thrifty garden and great orchard of her island home, Mary's hearthad been captured by Roswell Gardner, the daring young captain of heruncle's schooner _The Sea Lion_. In the faith of the Star and the Crossthe young girl worshipped with strong and childlike piety, while herlover "stood coldly by and erect with covered head, "--a doubter, buthonestly striving to find his balance. Mary prays and hopes while theyoung man sails to the far-away ice land, where, shipwrecked and alonewith his Maker, he finds the light of Truth shining for him on thefar-away shores of his frozen hold. Of this sea tale Professor Lounsburywrites: "'The Sea Lions' is certainly one of the most remarkableconceptions that it ever entered into the mind of a novelist to create. "And he adds: "It is a powerful story. " "Ways of the Hour" came from Cooper's pen in 1850. The purpose of thisstory was to attack trial by jury. From the time of Cooper's friendship with Charles Mathews in the early1820's, he had been in touch with the stage, and in June, 1850, hementions writing a three-act play in "ridicule of new notions. " Thetitle was "Upside Down; or, Philosophy in Petticoats"--a comedy. Of thisplay Cooper's friend Hackett, the American Falstaff of that day, wrotehim: "I was at Burton's its first night and saw the whole of the play. The first act told well; the second, pretty well, but grew heavy; thethird dragged until the conclusion surprised the attention into _warmapplause_. " [Illustration: JAMES H. HACKETT. ] This clever but not over-successful farce closed the literary career ofJames Fenimore Cooper. [Illustration: CHARLES MATHEWS. ] Of Charles Mathews, the peerless comedy artist of England, and FenimoreCooper, his old-time friend, Dr. John Wakefield Francis, wrote: "During a memorable excursion made to Albany with [the actor] Dunlap, Mathews, and Mr. Cooper in the spring of 1823, I found him abounding indramatic anecdotes as well as associations the striking scenery of theHudson brought to mind. 'The Spy' was, however, the leading subject ofMathews' conversation. Cooper unfolded his intention of writing a seriesof works illustrative of his country, revolutionary occurrences, and thered man of the western world. Mathews expressed in strong terms thepatriotic benefits of such an undertaking, and complimented Cooper onthe specimen already furnished in Harvey Birch. The approbation ofMathews could never be slightly appreciated. There was little offlattery in him at any time. He was a sort of 'My Lord Lofty, ' whovalued himself in pride of opinion. Such an individual could not butenlist the feelings of Mr. Cooper. I hardly know whether I have everseen Mr. Cooper manifest as much enthusiasm with any other person whenoccasion was felicitous, the subject of interest, and the comedian inhis happy vein. Dunlap, were he speaking, might tell you of his[Cooper's] gratuities to the unfortunate playwright and the dramaticperformer. " In 1832 William Dunlap's "History of the American Theatre"was "Dedicated to James Fenimore Cooper Esq. , by his Friend, theAuthor. " It was in this year of 1850 that the author's daughter, Susan Augusta, had her "Rural Hours" about ready to print. And of this book her fatherwrote: "It will be out in July. There is elegance, purity, knowledge, and grace about it. It will make her _the_ Cooper at once. Quite putsher papa's nose out of joint. " More, concerning this book and New YorkCity of that day, appears in her father's letter to her mother, writtenin that city at the Broadway Hotel, September 19, 1850. BROADWAY HOTEL, September 19, 1850. MY BELOVED S, --The post office is sadly out of joint. I wrote you the day I arrived. .. . Right and left I hear of "Rural Hours. " I am stopped in the street a dozen times a day to congratulate me. The price of the fine edition is $7. 00. It will be the presentation volume of the season. I can see that Putnam expects to sell some eight hundred or a thousand of them. .. . The improvements here are wonderful. They build chiefly of brown freestone and noble edifices of five and six stories with a good deal of architectural pretension. .. . I sat three times for lithographs yesterday and with vastly better success than before. The pictures are all very like and very pleasing. I am to have one which will fall to your lot as a matter of course. Your letter of Tuesday reached me this morning. You ought to have had three letters from me by Tuesday evening. F. 's [the author's daughter Frances] shawl went by "A. " I suppose it is a courting shawl. It is almost the only one of the kind Stewart had--a little too grave perhaps but scarcely so for the country. Stewart is making a palace of a store. He takes the whole front of the block on Broadway with fifteen windows in front--and all of marble. With the tenderest regards to all, I remain yours Most affectionately, J. F. C. [Illustration: STEWART'S MARBLE PALACE. ] [Illustration: MISS SUSAN AUGUSTA COOPER ABOUT 1850. ] Miss Cooper makes alive each season's charms, as they pass over theGlimmerglass and wane beyond Hannah's Hill. From gentry tohumble-folk, real Cooperstown types appear and disappear among thesepages; and even the "half-a-dozen stores" have place, where "at the samecounter you may buy kid gloves and a spade; a lace veil and a jug ofmolasses; a satin dress and a broom, " among other things of even greatervariety. She tells how St. Valentine's Day was celebrated in a veryoriginal way as _Vrouwen-Daghe_, or women's day of the old Dutchcolonists. [Illustration: OTSEGO LAKE PARTY IN 1840. ] She also records that first lake party to Point Judith, given by hergrandfather, Judge Cooper, in August, 1799, but leaves the descriptionof her father's lake parties to Mr. Keese: "He was fond of picnicexcursions on the lake, generally to the _Three Mile Point_, and oftenwith a party of gentlemen to Gravelly, where the main treat was achowder, which their host made up with great gusto. He could also brew abowl of punch for festive occasions, though he himself rarely indulgedbeyond a glass of wine for dinner. " Concerning these festivities Mr. Keese adds: "Lake excursions until 1840 were made by a few private boatsor the heavy, flat-bottomed skiff which worthy Dick Case kept moored atthe foot of Fair Street. But Dick's joints were too stiff to row morethan an easy reach from the village; to the Fairy Spring was the usualmeasure of his strength. The Three Mile Point was the goal of the bestoarsmen. Dick's successor in the thirties was an ugly horse-boat that in1840 gave place to the famous scow of Joe Tom and his men, which fortwenty years took picnic parties to the Point. A president of ourcountry, several governors of the State, and Supreme Court judges wereamong these distinguished passengers. Doing such duty the scow is seenin the 1840 pictures of Cooperstown. No picnic of his day was completewithout famous 'Joe Tom, ' who had men to row the scow, clean the fish, stew potatoes, make coffee, and announce the meal. Rowing back in thegloaming of a summer's night, he would awake the echoes of NattyBumppo's Cave for the pleasure of the company. " At times a second echowould return from Hannah's Hill, and a third from Mt. Vision. [Illustration: JOE TOM. ] [Illustration: NATTY'S CAVE. ] Between the lines can be read the hearty and cheery author's pleasure inall this merriment, yet, none the less, life's shadows exacted fullattention, as the following shows: "Cooper took a generous and activepart in sending relief to the starving people of Ireland; for, March 8, 1847, James Fenimore Cooper heads his town committee, and, 'in the nameof charity and in obedience to the commands of God, ' he urges an appeal'from house to house, for _Food_ is wanting that we possess inabundance. '" "Cooper would admit of no denial of principle but could be lenient tooffenders. One day he caught a man stealing fruit from his garden. Instead of flying into a passion, he told him how wrong it was to makethe neighbors think there was no way of getting his fruit but bystealing it, and bid him the next time to come in at the gate and askfor it like a true man. Cooper then helped him to fill his basket andlet him go. " The author's fine fruit trees must have been tempting! One day while walking in the garden with some ladies, Mr. Cooper led theway to a tree well laden with fine apples. Unable to reach them, hecalled to a boy in the street, and presenting him to his friends as oneof the best boys in the village, --one who never disturbed his fruit, --helifted the little fellow up to the branches to pick apples for theguests, and then filled his pockets as a reward for his honesty, andpromised him more when he came again. The delighted boy waited for a fewdays and then repeated his visit to the tree, but forgetting to askpermission. Not knowing him from frequent intruders, Mr. Cooper's highvoice from a distance, added to the savage barking of his watch-dog, frightened the well-meaning forager into a resolve that he would notforget the easier way next time of first asking before picking. [Illustration: OTSEGO HALL--BACK VIEW. ] The author's genuine interest in his hometown folk never waned. Amongthe many and sincere expressions of his good-will were the free lectureshe gave to the villagers. His descriptions of naval actions were fullof vigor. On the blackboard he presented fleets, changing theirpositions, moving ship after ship as the contest went on, at the sametime stating the facts in history and using his cane as a pointer. [Illustration: JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. ] It is of note that Mr. Cooper's personal appearance in 1850 wasremarkable. He seemed in perfect health and highest energy and activityof faculties, but the autumn of this year found him in New York Cityunder mild ailments. His friend, Mr. George Washington Green, regrettednot noting better his last talk with the author about this time, ofwhich he says: "He excused himself that morning at Putnam's for notrising to shake hands. 'My feet, ' said he, 'are so tender that I do notlike to stand longer than I can help. ' Yet when we walked together intoBroadway, I could not help turning now and then to admire his commandingfigure and firm bearing. Sixty years seemed to sit lightly on him. Aftera short stroll we went to his room at the _Globe_ and sat down to talk. I never found him so free upon his own works and literary habits. Heconfessed his partiality for Leather stocking. Said he: 'I meant to haveadded one more scene and introduced him in the Revolution, but Ithought the public had had enough of him, and never ventured it. '" [Illustration: THE SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE (JENNY LIND). ] Cooper's enjoyment of the marvelous voice of "The Swedish Nightingale, "as Jenny Lind was called, the publication of his daughter's "RuralHours, " and the active progress of his own book sales are noted in hisletter to his beloved wife. BROADWAY HOTEL, Friday, Nov. 15, 1850. MY DEAREST W. , --Julia and Miss Thomas came down with me to hear Jenny Lind. "Have you heard Jenny Lind?" "How do you like Jenny Lind?" are the questions which supplant "Fine weather to-day" and other similar comprehensive remarks. I am patiently waiting for the "Lake Gun" [a magazine article]. I am well and shall commence in earnest next week. Tell Sue [his daughter] I have seen Putnam, who will be delighted to publish her new book. "Naval History" is a little slack for the moment. There are less than a hundred copies of second edition on hand and the third must be shortly prepared. The fine edition will be published to-morrow. About two hundred copies have been sent to the trade and with that issue he will start. He has had five and twenty copies done up in papier machia at $9. 00. N---- is well. D. Z. Is still here. Old Peter is not yet married, but the affair is postponed until Spring, when the bride and groom will return to America. They wish to prolong the delightful delusion of courtship. I hope they may be as happy as we have been and love each other as much forty--days after their union as we do forty years. .. . Yours J. F. C. [Illustration: JENNY LIND AT CASTLE GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY, 1850. ] At No. 1 Bond Street stood the old-time mansion of Dr. John W. Francis, where were welcomed many eminent in arts and letters at home and abroad, and where their host wrote his "Reminiscences of Sixty Years. " Here itwas that Cooper, on his last visit to New York, came seeking aid for hisfailing health. But with December the author returned to Cooperstown, whence he wrote a friend: "I have gone into dock with my old hulk, to beoverhauled. Francis says I have congestion, and I must live low, deplete, and take pills. While I am frozen, my wife tells me my hands, feet, and body are absolutely warm. The treatment is doing good. Youcannot imagine the old lady's delight at getting me under, in the way offood. I get no meat, or next to none, and no great matter insubstitutes. This morning being Christmas, I had a blow-out of oysters, and at dinner it will go hard if I do not get a cut into the turkey. Ihave lost pounds, yet I feel strong and clearheaded. I have had a narrowescape, if I have escaped. " [Illustration: DR JOHN WAKEFIELD FRANCIS. ] [Illustration: DR. FRANCIS'S HOME IN NEW YORK CITY. ] The following spring Cooper again went to New York City, whence he datesa letter to his wife: Saturday, March 29, 1851 COLLEGE HOTEL, NEW YORK Your letter of Thursday has just reached me. I am decidedly better. --Last night I was actually dissipated. L. ---- came for me in a carriage and carried me off almost by force to Doctor Bellows, where I met the Sketch Club, some forty people, many of whom I knew. I stayed until past ten, ate a water ice, talked a great deal, returned, went to bed fatigued and slept it off. --My friends are very attentive to me, they all seem glad to see me and think I am improving, as I certainly am. .. . I shall come home shortly--I want to be in my garden and I wish to be in your dear hands, love, for though you know nothing you do a great deal that is right. Last evening I passed with Charlotte M. --who wanted to take me home to nurse me. There is no chance of seeing S. ----. Adieu, my love. .. . My blessing on the girls--all four of them. J. F. C. In April, 1851, the poet Bryant wrote of him "Cooper is in town, in illhealth. When I saw him last he was in high health and excellentspirits. " These spirits were not dashed by the progressing malady thattook him home to Cooperstown. Not realizing what illness meant, hebravely accepted what it brought, --the need to dictate the later partsof his "History of the United States Navy, " and the "Towns ofManhattan, " when he himself could no longer write. The latter wasplanned, partly written, and in press at the time of his death. Thatwhich was printed was burnt, the manuscript in part rescued, andfinished by the pen of one of the family. It was Fenimore Cooper's happiness to be blessed with a family whosegreatest pleasure was to supply his every needed comfort; and one of hisdaughters was ever a companion in his pursuits, the wise and willingwriter of his letters and dictations, and the most loving, never-tiringnurse of his latter days. Of these last months there is a prettychild-record by a friend who, "entering without notice, " one day saw Mr. Cooper "lying at full length on the parlor floor, with a basket ofcherries by his side. Upon his chest, vainly trying to bestride theportly form, sat his little grandson, to whom he passed cherries, andwho, in turn, with childish glee, was dropping them, one by one, intohis grandfather's mouth. The smiles that played over the features ofchild and man during this sweet and gentle dalliance were something noteasily forgotten. A few months after this both child and man had passedbeyond 'the smiling'; aye, and 'the weeping, ' too. " Letters from Cooperstown led Dr. Francis to go there August 27, 1851, tosee his esteemed friend in his own home. And of Cooper the Doctorwrote: "I explained to him the nature of his malady--frankly assured himthat within the limits of a week a change was indispensable to lessenour forebodings of its ungovernable nature. He listened with fixedattention. --Not a murmur escaped his lips. Never was information of sograve a cast received by any individual in a calmer spirit. " So passed the summer days of 1851 with the author, near his little lake, the Glimmerglass, and its Mt. Vision, when one mid-September Sundayafternoon, with his soul's high standard of right and truth undimmed, James Fenimore Cooper crossed the bar. While from youth Cooper was a reverent follower of the Christian faith, his religious nature deepened with added years. Eternal truth grew inhis heart and mind as he, in time, learned to look above and beyond thisworld's sorrows and failures. In July, 1851, he was confirmed inChrist's Church, --the little parish church just over the way from theold-Hall home, whose interests he had faithfully and generously servedas sometime warden and as vestryman since 1834. [Illustration: CHRIST'S CHURCH, COOPERSTOWN, N. Y. ] Of one such service Mr. Keese writes that in 1840 the original Christ'sChurch of Cooperstown underwent important alterations. Its entireinterior was removed and replaced by native oak. As vestryman Mr. Cooperwas prime mover and chairman of the committee of change, and hearing ofthe chancel screen in the old Johnstown church, first built by SirWilliam Johnson, he took a carpenter and went there to have drawingsmade of this white-painted pine screen, which at his own expense he hadreproduced with fine, ornamental effect in oak, and made it a gift toChrist's Church. It was removed from Christ's Church about 1891, badlybroken and abandoned. This so disturbed Cooper's daughters that hisgrandson, James Fenimore Cooper of Albany, New York, had the piecescollected, and stored them for using in his Cooperstown home; but he--byrequest of the Reverend Mr. Birdsall--had them made into two screens forthe aisles of the church, where they were erected as a memorial to hisfather, Paul Fenimore, and his great-grandfather, Judge William Cooper. [Illustration: FENIMORE COOPER'S SCREEN GIFT. ] Mr. Keese's words, dating January, 1910, are: "And now comes in a rathersingular discovery made by the writer a few days ago: In looking over abook in my library, published about ninety years ago, there is anarticle on Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, England, with a steelengraving of the front of the Abbey, which is almost identical with thedesign of the original screen in Christ Church. Who was responsible fortransplanting the same to this country appears to be unknown, but thefact is interesting in that Newstead Abbey was the home of the Byronfamily and that of Lord Byron. " In a letter of April 22, 1840, to H. Bleeker, Esq. , Cooper wrote of thisscreen: "I have just been revolutionizing Christ's Church, Cooperstown, not turning out a vestry but converting its pine interior intooak--_bona fide_ oak, and erecting a screen that I trust, though it mayhave no influence on my soul, will carry my name down to posterity. Itis really a pretty thing--pure Gothic, and is the wonder of the countryround. " Of Cooper himself was said: "Thus step by step his feet were guided intothe ways of peace. " It was of the Protestant Episcopal church that hiswife's brother, William Heathcote de Lancey--a genius of goodness--wasbishop. [Illustration: BISHOP WILLIAM HEATHCOTE DE LANCEY. ] A beautiful, tender, and touching tribute to the love of his life wasFenimore Cooper's will. In part it reads: "I, James Fenimore Cooper, give and bequeath to my wife, Susan Augusta, all my property, whetherpersonal or mixed, to be enjoyed by her and her heirs forever. I make mysaid wife the executrix of my will. " In a little over four months his wife followed him to the far country. Of his children, Elizabeth, the first-born, died in infancy; SusanAugusta, the author, was the second; the third, Caroline Martha, becameMrs. Henry Frederick Phinney; next came Anne Charlotte, then MariaFrances, who married Richard Cooper; Fenimore, the first son, they lostin babyhood, and Paul Fenimore, the youngest, became a member of the barin Albany, New York. [Illustration: THE DE LANCEY ARMS. ] Cooper left his family a competency, but the Hall home soon passed intoother hands; later it was burnt. From rescued brick an attractive housewas built on the west bank of the Susquehanna for his daughters SusanAugusta and Anne Charlotte, both now resting near father and mother inChrist's Church yard. Their niece, Miss Susan Augusta Cooper, daughterof their sister, Maria Frances, Mrs. Richard Cooper, now lives in thispicturesque house, and there she reverently treasures many personalbelongings of her famous grandfather, and also those of herauthor-aunt, Susan Augusta Cooper, whose best memorial, however, is thenoble orphanage on the river-bank some ways below. The oaken doors savedfrom the flames of the burning Hall served for this new home, whichoverlooked the grounds of their old home. The site of the latter ismarked by Ward's "Indian Hunter. " Aptly placed, peering through mists ofgreen toward the author's church-yard grave, he is a most fittingguardian of the one-time garden of Fenimore Cooper. [Illustration: THE NEW HOME AND THE OLD HOME. ] [Illustration: INDIAN HUNTER. ] By the generosity of the late Mrs. Henry Codman Potter, this hunter'sdomain has been transformed into beautiful "Cooper Grounds"; and herethe red-man of bronze keeps ward and watch over memories that enshrinethe genius of a noble soul whose records of this vanishing race are forall time. [Illustration: COOPER GROUNDS. ] A gentleman just from continental Europe in 1851 said of people there:"They are all reading Cooper. " A traveler, returned from Italy aboutthat time, wrote: "I found all they knew of America--and that was not alittle--they had learned from Cooper's novels. " When an eminentphysician who was called to attend some German immigrants asked how theyknew so much of their new-home country, they replied: "We learned it allfrom Cooper. We have four translations of his works in German, and weall read them. " February 22, 1852, Charles G. Leland of Philadelphiawrote of Cooper's works: "There were several translations issued atFrankfort, Germany, in 1824, in two hundred and fifty parts, a secondlarge edition in 1834, and a third in 1851. All his works, more thanScott and Shakespeare, are household words to the German people. "Library records of to-day show no waning of this early popularity ofthe "Leatherstocking Tales" and "Sea Stories" of Fenimore Cooper. In1883 Victor Hugo told General Wilson that excepting the authors ofFrance, "Cooper was the greatest novelist of the century. " It was Balzacwho said: "If Cooper had succeeded in the painting of character to thesame extent that he did in the painting the phenomena of nature, hewould have uttered the last word of our art. " From Hanau-on-Main, Germany, January, 1912, Herr Rudolf Drescher writes:"Within two years two new translations of Cooper's complete works havebeen issued. One at Berlin, the other at Leipsic. 180 pictures by theartist Max Slevogt held one edition at $192, the other with lesspictures was $60, and both were sold. Cheaper editions without picturesalso met with large sales. I possess an 1826, German copy of 'ThePioneers. '" Another record is, Cooper's works have been seen "in thirtydifferent countries, in the languages of Finland, Turkey and Persia, inConstantinople, in Egypt, at Jerusalem, at Ispahan. " The author's literary cruise, dating back three years before thelaunching of "The Pilot" in 1823, was a long one. And no admiral ofmortal fame ever led so sturdy and motley a fleet--from the proudman-of-war to the light felucca, gondola, and bark-canoe--over ocean andinland waters. With visions of forests, its moving spirit and skilfulpilot still stands at the helm, the full light of the ages upon "eye, arm, sail, spar, and flag. " Thus is Fenimore Cooper firmly anchored inthe mind and heart of posterity as the creator of American romance. August, 1907, "Historic Cooperstown" held her Memorial Celebration. Herfounder, Judge William Cooper, his hardy pioneers, and the "memory ofone whose genius had given her Glimmerglass country world-wide fame, "were honored with world-wide tributes. Among these were addresses, heartfelt, and able, from the late Bishop Henry Codman Potter, on "TheReligious Future"; Francis Whiting Halsey, on "The Headwaters of theSusquehanna"; George Pomeroy Keese, on "Early Days of Cooperstown, " andJames Fenimore Cooper of Albany, New York, on his great-grandfather"William Cooper. " From "The Cooperstown Centennial" one learns that at five o'clock onWednesday afternoon of August 7 many people were reverently taking partin solemn services around the grave of James Fenimore Cooper and beneaththe glinting tree-shadows of Christ's Church yard. The service beganwith a procession of young girls in white surrounding the author's lastresting-place, where verses on Cooper were recited by Miss Wilkinson;then the little folk sang the lyric tribute of Mr. Saxton: 0, great magician, may the life We lead be such a one as thine-- A simple life, transcending art, A spirit close to Nature's heart, A soul as strong and clear, and fine. [Illustration: THE CHILDREN'S TRIBUTE. ] After singing, the children, gathering around, covered the marble slabwith their tributes--the flowers of the season. Some poetic pictures inblank verse were given of Cooper's works, by the Reverend Dr. W. W. Battershall of St. Peter's Church in Albany, New York, the presentrector, and successor of Doctor Ellison, Cooper's boyhood instructor. Then the Rev. Ralph Birdsall, rector of the author's "little parishchurch, " spoke of Fenimore Cooper's church-yard home: "A marble slabthat bears no praise for fame or virtue; only a simple cross, symbol ofthe faith in which he lived and died, and upon which he based his hopesof immortality. " The soldier lying near, brought from the field ofhonor; the author's old neighbors, who exchanged with him in life thefriendly nod; hands that were calloused with the axe and shovel, andJudge Temple's aged slave in narrow home--all sleeping beneath the samesward and glancing shadows are not less honored now than is the plain, unpolished slab of stone, bearing two dates, --of birth and entrance intothe life eternal of James Fenimore Cooper. On his airy height of the "Cooper Memorial, " gleaming white through thelakewood slope of Mt. Vision, wondrous Leatherstocking stands, a raretribute to simple, uplifting goodness. Clad in his hunting-shirt, deerskin cap, and leggings, his powder-horn and bullet-pouch swung overhis shoulder, his dog Hector at his feet, looking up with speakingexpression into the fine, wise, honest face of his master, stands Natty, gazing over all the lake he loved so well. [Illustration: LAKE OTSEGO. ] ---- o'er no sweeter lake Shall morning break or noon-cloud sail; No fairer face than thine shall take The sunset's golden veil. J. G. WHITTIER. "Cooper had no predecessor and no successor in his own field offiction; he stood alone, --he was a creator, and his 'Natty' will standforever as the most original of pioneer characters, " wrote Henry M. Alden. [Illustration: LEATHERSTOCKING. ] With Rev. Mr. Birdsall, many think the time has come when the fame ofFenimore Cooper demands a world-given memorial in Cooperstown. Alifelike statue from an _artist's_ chisel should show the "'prose poetof the silent woods and stormy seas' seated, pen in hand, gazingdreamily for inspiration over the Glimmerglass, where the phantomcreatures of his genius brood. " Let it stand, a new-world literaryshrine, in the square fronting the Old-Hall home site, which northwardcommands a sweeping view of his "little lake" and a side glimpse oflofty Leatherstocking of the tree-tops--not far away. [Illustration: LEATHERSTOCKING MONUMENT. ] And strewn the flowers of memory here. For one whose fingers, years ago, Their work well finished, dropped the pen; Whose master mind from land to sea Drew forms heroic, long to be The living types of vanished men. A. B. SAXTON. [Illustration: GEORGE POMEROY KEESE. ] IN MEMORIAM GEORGE POMEROY KEESE On April 22, 1910, and at the home of his son, Theodore Keese, in NewYork City, came the Spirit-Land call to the late George Pomeroy Keese. It was also in New York City that he was born, on January 14, 1828. Hisparents were Theodore Keese and Georgiann Pomeroy, niece of JamesFenimore Cooper. This grand-nephew of the author enjoyed four score andmore of full, active years, mostly spent in Cooperstown, N. Y. , and hegave of them generously in serving the welfare and interests of thatvillage. There Edgewater, Mr. Keese's attractive home, overlooks, fromthe south, the entire length and beauty of Lake Otsego, whose waters andbanks are haunted by Cooper's creations. From Mr. Keese is quoted: "George Pomeroy of Northampton, Mass. , came to Cooperstown among theearly settlers in 1801. He married the only living sister of FenimoreCooper in 1803. "His ancestry dates back to the coming of William the Conqueror fromNormandy in 1066. At this time Ralph de Pomeroy accompanied the Normanduke to England and rendered him such valuable assistance that hereceived from him no fewer than fifty-eight lordships in Devonshire as areward for his services. Selecting a favorable site, not far from thebanks of the river Dart, Ralph de Pomeroy erected thereon the celebratedstronghold that now bears the family name of Berry-Pomeroy Castle, thestately ruins of which are still visited as one of the most picturesqueobjects of interest in the county of Devon. "The descendants of the founder of Berry-Pomeroy retained the landsbelonging to their ancestral home until the time of Edward VI, when atthe period of the rebellion of that date they were seized by the crownand bestowed upon the haughty Lord Protector Somerset in whose familythey still remain. " October 10, 1849, Mr. Keese married Caroline Adriance Foote, daughter ofSurgeon Lyman Foote, U. S. A. , who, with seven of their children, survivesher husband. From childhood Mrs. Keese well knew Fenimore Cooper. From his tender years to the age of twenty-four Mr. Keese lived in closetouch with the author until his death in 1851. Afterwards such nearassociation, affection and ability made Mr. Keese a veritable strongholdof authentic values concerning this grand-uncle. After his five yearsof patient, careful direction given to the preparation of this_personal_ life of James Fenimore Cooper, the spirit of George PomeroyKeese passed to the Land of Everlasting Light. As a traveled, scholarly, wise, and gentle man, Mr. Keese kept in livepace with current events, and he possessed that strong, rare quality ofcharacter which "says little and does much, " and compels esteem anddevotion from all human kind. Amongst Mr. Keese's various writings is "The Historic Records ofChrist's Church, Cooperstown, N. Y. " The rector, Reverend Ralph Birdsall, has written of its author: "At the altar of Christ's Church abides thesecret that made Mr. Keese a man so widely honored and beloved. " MARY E. PHILLIPS. [Illustration: RUINS OF BERRY-POMEROY CASTLE, 1825. ] INDEX "Afloat and Ashore, " 305 Albany, N. Y. , 4, 8, 27-31, 38, 62, 104, 120, 123, 345 Alden, Henry M, 355 Allen, James, 34-35 "American Democrat, The, " 272 d'Angers, Pierre Jean David, 144-146 "Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief, The, " 293 Baillie, Joanna, 183 Balzac, 60, 276, 278, 350 Bancker, Richard, Mrs. (Sarah Duyckinck), 88-89 Bancroft, George, 117 Barnstable, 43 Battershall, W. W. , 353 Belgium, 184, 244-247 Bella Genovese, the, 290-293 Benedict, Mrs. Clare, 22-23 Benjamin, Park, 273, 275 Béranger, 151 de Berri, Duchesse, 153 Birdsall, Rev. Ralph, 86, 342, 353-355 Bleeker, H. , 343 Bonaparte, Princess Charlotte, 205 Bonaparte, Madame Letizia, 205, 293 Bonaparte, Napoleon I, 44, 137, 192, 244, 292 Bonaparte, Napoleon Louis, Count St Leu, 204-205, 207 Booth, Junius Brutus, 90 Box, Newport, 159 "Bravo, The, " 225-229, 259 Bread and Cheese Club, 95-9, 185 Bryant, Julia, 301-302 Bryant, W. C. , 84, 105, 110-113, 128, 238, 278, 338 Buffalo, N. Y. , 52-56 Burlington, N. J. , xii, 1, 2, 8, 60 Canning, George, 139 Case, Dick, 327-328 Cave, Harvey Birch's, 81 "Chainbearer, The, " 307-308 Champlain, Lake, 60 Charles X of France, 153, 234 Chauncey, Capt. Isaac, 138 Chauntry, Sir Francis, 174-176 Clay Henry, 131 Clinton, De Witt, 75 Clinton, Gen. James, 104 Cole, Thomas, 278 Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 183 Columbus, 281-282 Cooper, Ann, Cooper's sister _See Mrs. Geo. Pomeroy. _ Cooper, Anne Charlotte, daughter, 16, 344-345 Cooper, Caroline Martha, 344 Cooper, Elizabeth, daughter, 71-72, 344 Cooper, Elizabeth Fenimore, mother, 2, 3, 64, 71-73 Cooper, Fenimore, son, 88, 100, 345 Cooper, Hannah, sister, 13-19 Cooper, Isaac, brother, 20, 72 Cooper, James, great-great-grandfather, 2. Cooper, James Fenimore. Accuracy, 106, 109, 115-118, 123, 127, 277, 282, 288-290; ancestry, 2-4; birth, 1; boyhood, 12, 13, 19, 23-35, 39; courage, 259, 273, 308; death, 340; honors, public, 99, 111-112, 114, 131, 192, 281; prices of works, 276-277, 350; industry, 43, 114; generosity, 57, 105-106, 219, 329, 332; screen gift, 340-343; love of art, 198, 203, 239-240; marriage, 68; name, change of, 2, 119-120; naval officer, 53-70; patriotism, 64, 79, 185, 232, 243, 258-260, 273; personality, 12, 49, 111-112, 149-152, 259, 267, 269, 280-281. Portraits: bust by d'Angers, 145; bust by Greenough, 198-200; daguerreotype by Brady, 279, 333; in oil by Jarvis, 91, 146; in oil by Madame de Mirbel, 143; Paris drawing (1827), 148; Yale silhouette, 39; sailor, the, 42-48; translations of works, 350. Cooper, James Fenimore, grandson, x, 3-5, 342, 351. Cooper, Maria Frances, daughter, 324, 342-345. Cooper, Paul Fenimore, son, 100, 214, 216-217, 243, 342, 345. Cooper, Richard Fenimore, brother, 20, 26, 62, 72. Cooper, Richard Fenimore, nephew, 344, 345. Cooper, Susan Augusta, wife, 63-65, 68, 71-72, 77, 98, 124-125, 132, 146-147, 154, 165-166, 247, 250, 264, 268, 314, 323-324, 334-338, 343-344. Cooper, Susan Augusta, daughter, 13, 54, 71, 139, 142, 220, 243, 265, 268, 282, 314, 323-327, 334-335, 344-345, 347. Cooper, Susan Augusta, granddaughter, 345, 347. Cooper, William, father, 2, 4-11, 16, 34, 36, 42, 53, 62, 101, 103, 112, 342, 351. Cooper, William, nephew, 142, 193. Cooperstown, N. Y. , xi, 15, 33, 69, 71, 274, 296-299, 315, 317, 328, 336, 338-348, 351-354. Châlet Farm, 296-299, 311-314, 327. "Chronicles of, " 34, 102. Fenimore Farm home, 71-72. Manor, The, 8, 9, 103. Otsego Hall, 8, 9, 16, 100, 261-265, 300, 317, 340, 345-347. Otsego Lake, 4, 5, 6, 18-21, 27-28, 71, 104, 261, 265, 276, 282-286, 296, 324-328, 340, 356. Three-Mile Point, 270-272, 327-328. Cory, Master Oliver, 23-25. "Crater, The, " 308-309. Croghan, Geo. , xii. Crosby, Enoch, 80, 86. Dana, Richard Henry, 96, 111, 201. "Deerslayer, The, " 5, 282-286. DeKay, James E. , 93, 95. Drake, Joseph Rodman, 92-93. Drescher, Rudolf, 350. Dunlap, William, 322-323. Dwight, Timothy, 36, 37. _Edinburgh Review, The_, 110. Elba, 291-293. Elliott, Jesse D. , 287-289. Ellison, Dr. Thomas, 28-33, 35, 353. England, 2, 44, 111, 115-118, 169-172, 277, 305. Erie, Lake, Battle of, 293-294, 306. "Excursions in Italy, " 210. Fenimore, Elizabeth. _See Mrs. Wm. Cooper_. Fenimore, Richard, 2, 262. Fenimore box, 3. Florence, Palazzo Ricasoli, 197-198. Florence, Villa St. Illario, 206-208. Floyd, Elizabeth, 67. Floyd, Col. Richard, 67. France, 135, 157, 168-169, 228, 237, 243. Francis, Dr. J. W. , 186, 278, 322, 336-337, 339-340. Frey, Heindrick, 11, 12. Galitzin, Princess, 139-140, 164-166. Gelsomina, 226-228. George, Lake, 120, 125-126. Germany, 228, 247, 251, 253-255, 349-350. Gibraltar, 46. "Gleanings in Europe, " 236, 270. Glens Fall, 122-124. Goodrich, A. T. , 78. _Graham's Magazine_, 287, 293, 305, 308. Greeley, Horace, 273, 275. Green, Geo. Washington, 149-152, 332. Greenough, Horatio, 198-203, 268. Grey, Charles, Earl, 181. Hackett, James H. , 321. Hall, J. E. , 84. Hall, Mrs. Sarah, 84. Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 90, 92-93, 95. Halsey, Francis Whiting, 351. Harrison, Judge Bazil, 313. Harrison, William Henry, 14-16. "Headsman, The, " 257. Heathcote, Hon. Caleb, 66. Heidelberg and Castle, 253-254. "Heidenmauer, The, " 252. Hell Gate, 100, 124, 176, 307. Holland, 180, 183-184. Holland House, 45, 177-180. Holland, Lady, 176, 180. Holland, Lord, 178-180. "Home as Found, " 272, 276. "Homeward Bound, " 272. Hooper, Dr. Joseph, 29. Howe, M. A. DeWolfe, 274. Hudson River, The, 93, 120-121. _Hudson_, The, 132-133. Hugo, Victor, 350. Huntington, Daniel, 112-113. Irish, Mr. , 109-110. Irving, Washington, 84, 90, 112-113, 138-139, 176, 278. Isle of Wight, 44, 133-134. Italy, 197-268. Jarvis, John Wesley, 91-95. Jay, John, Chief Justice, 32, 41, 77-78, 80, 259. Jay (Mary Duyckinck), Mrs. Peter, 88-89. Jay, William, 32, 34, 41. Johnston, Capt. John, 43-44, 46. Jones, John Paul, 108-109, 294-295. Kean, Edmund, 90. Keese, George Pomeroy Keese, ix, x, xi, 7, 19, 21, 264, 267, 274, 296, 317, 327-328, 340, 342-343, 351, 357. Keese, Mrs. Geo. Pomeroy Keese, 300-301, 357. Kent, Chancellor James, 95, 131-132. King, Charles, 95, 114. _Knickerbocker Magazine_, 162. Lafayette, General, 114-116, 137, 142, 149-157, 166-169, 233-237. de Lancey, Edward Floyd, 29. de Lancey and his seal, Lieut. Gov. James, 65-66. de Lancey, John Peter, 63-64, 66-67. de Lancey, Stephen, 65, 67. de Lancey, Susan Augusta. _See Mrs. J. F. Cooper_. de Lancey, Bishop Wm. Heathcote, 68, 343-344. Lawrence, Capt. James, 1, 60-61, 63, 316. Lawrence, Sir Thomas, 182. Leatherstocking, 5, 19, 59, 100-101, 120, 123-130, 162-164, 189-190, 243, 278, 282, 322, 332-384. Leghorn, 211-212. Leland, Charles G. , 349. Leopold II of Tuscany, 202-204. Leslie, Charles Robt. , 177-178, 182. "Letter to his Countrymen, A, " 267. Lind, Jenny, 334-335. "Lionel Lincoln, " 115-118. Lockhart, John Gibson, 161-162, 182. Lockhart, Mrs. Sophia Scott, 181-182. London, 44-45, 47, 134, 170-184, 186, 210. Louis Philippe, 234-236. Lounsbury, Thomas R. , 237, 288-290, 307, 320. Luscomb, Archbishop, 240. McLane, Mr. Louis, 235-236. Mackenzie, Lieut. Alex. Slidell, 305-306. Mackintosh, Sir James, 177, 182, 232. Mahan, Capt. A. T. , 287. Marie Amélie, 236-237. Mathews, Charles, 320-322. Matthews, Brander, 110, 126, 130, 229. "Mercedes of Castile, " 281-282. Mickieowicz, Adam, 218-219. "Mohicans, The Last of the, " 269. Monroe, Mrs. Elizabeth, 119. Montague, Wortley, 120, 126. Morris, Geo. P. , 90, 93. Morse, Samuel F. B. , 95, 239, 243, 262. Myers, Ned, 45, 49, 265, 286, 299. "Myers, Ned, " 48-49. Naples and Bay, 212-213, 259-260. "Naval History Dispute, " 287-288. "Naval Officers, Lives of Distinguished, " 308. "Navy, History of the United States, " 48, 277-278, 288-290, 305, 338. Nelson, Judge Samuel, 265, 266. Newport, R. I. , 158-159, 198. _News, Illustrated London_, 162. New York City, 67-128, 131-132, 259-269, 323-324. Burn's Coffee House, 67-68. Castle Garden, 114-115, 335. City Hotel, 67, 93, 95. Fraunces Tavern, 67. Homes, Cooper's: Beech St. , 98-99. Bleeker St. , 260, 269. Broadway, 88, 90, 98. Greenwich St. , 128, 130. St. Mark's Place, 272-276. Theatres: Burton's, 321. Lafayette, 87. Park, 90. Washington Hall, 95. Niagara Falls, 56, 309-310, 315. North, Christopher, 96, 259. "Notions of Americans, " 185. "Oak Openings, The, " 314. Oaken Bucket, The Old, 93-95. _Oneida, The_, 53-54, 56. Ontario, 54, 123. Oswego, N. Y. , 53. _Otsego Herald_, 17, 18, 33, 51, 101. Paris, 136, 137-138, 184, 210, 228, 232-243, 248. Parkman, Francis, 126. "Pathfinder, The, " 59-60, 278, 282, 283-284. Perry, Oliver Hazard, 287, 293, 305. "Pilot, The, " 62, 106-111, 351. "Pioneers, The, " 54, 74, 105, 111, 258. Pomeroy, Mr. And Mrs. George, 18, 21-23. _Post, The Evening_, 111. "Prairie, The, " 59, 129-130, 138, 162-164, 258. "Precaution, " 74, 77-78. Putnam, George P. , 112-113, 335. _Putnam's Magazine_, 238. Quoi de Mesereau, Mon. Le, 102. "Recollections of Europe, " 135, 157, 168. "Red Rover, The, " 62, 98, 118, 146, 156, 158, 160, 198, 238. "Red Skins, The, " 308. "Rhine, Excursions up the, " and Rhine Country, 244, 247-255. Rogers, Samuel, 45, 174-176, 178, 180-183. Rome, 216-220. Home in, 218. Ruins, 218-220. St. Peter's, 216-218. Sailor's Snug Harbor, 48-49. "Satanstoe, " 306-307. Saxton, A. B. , 352-356. Scott, Miss Anne, 141-142, 182. Scott, Sir Walter, 76-77, 139-143, 160-162, 182. Scott, Gen. Winfield, 315. "Sea Lions, The, " 318-320. Shubrick, Wm. B. , 62, 109-110, 316-319. "Sketches of England, " 32, 270, 286. Smith, Gerrit, 317. _Somers_, The, 305-306. Sorrento, 213-215, 227-228. Southby, William, 183. Spencer, John C. , 305. "Spy, The, " 74, 83-87, 100, 111, 258, 315. Stanley, Hon. E. G. (Lord Derby), 120, 123, 126, 127. _Stirling_, The, 43-44, 46-48. Switzerland, 186-196. St. Bernard, Hospice and Pass of, 257-258. Bridge, Devil's, 193-195. Homes, Cooper's: _La Lorraine_, Berne, 187, 189, 191. _Mon Repose_, Vevay, 255. Cooper's book: "Sketches in Switzerland. " "Switzerland, Sketches in, " 269-270. "Tales for Fifteen, " 105-107. Talleyrand, Charles Maurice de, 16-18, 108, 153-154. Thackeray, Wm. M. , 162. "Tier Jack, " 314-315. Tom, Joe, 328-329.