James
Fenimore
Cooper,

born in New
Jersey, 1789;
died in New

York, 1851.

The great novelist of the period, and one whose works have given pleasure to a very wide circle of readers, is James Fenimore Cooper. He was born

in Burlington, New Jersey, September 15, 1789. His
father was the owner of several thousand acres of
land near the head waters of the Susquehanna River,
in the state of New York. In the year 1790 the
family moved to this property, then on, if not beyond,
the frontier of civilization. The village of Coopers-
town had been founded on the shore of Otsego
Lake, and the family home was established here.
It was not, indeed, in the style of the usual pioneer
settler, for the Coopers were rich; but it brought
Cooper in his boyhood into contact with pioneers,
trappers, hunters, and friendly Indians.
He was
sent to Yale College, but had some difference with
the authorities which prevented him from completing
the course. From 1806 to 1811 he lived the life of
a sailor; at first "before the mast" on a merchant
vessel, afterwards as a junior officer in the United
States navy. The experiences of these two periods.
in his early life are reflected in the subjects and
materials of his most successful books. He married
in 1811, and lived for some years in Westchester
County, New York. In 1834 he rebuilt his father's
house in Cooperstown, and there, in Otsego Hall, as
it was called, lived until his death, September 14, 1851.

While his writings were always widely read, Cooper was never a popular man. He was aggressive in the expression of his opinions, and his views were often unpalatable to the public taste in America and in

Europe. He was an ardent American and republican; and in social circles abroad sometimes gave offence by the freedom with which he defended his ideas. On the other hand, he saw plainly and felt keenly the faults of our then rather crude civilization, and described them in caustic language. One of his novels, "Home as Found," is a satire on American social and business life. Americans were at that time more sensitive to such criticism than they are now; and Cooper's expressions aroused furious anger. He was vilified in the newspapers to such an extent that when he instituted a series of suits for damages, he was almost invariably successful, although the general sympathy was with the offending papers rather than with him. Probably the best service a friend can do to a friend is to point out his faults to him; and there is nothing for which America owes more gratitude to Cooper than for his faithfulness in this respect. But people are not usually grateful for such service; and it is possible that the manner of the criticism may be to blame for the extreme bitterness with which it was received.

tion," 1820.

Cooper's first novel was "Precaution," published in "Precau1820. It is said that he was reading an English novel and remarked, as he put it down, "I believe I could write a better book myself." It may be that he did; but "Precaution" is not a very good book. It is a story of English life and manners, and naturally suffers from its author's comparative unfamiliarity with the subject. It was suggested to him that he could probably do better with an American theme; and

"The Spy," 1821.

Cooper, taking this good advice, wrote and published, in 1821, "The Spy." With the issue of this he at once became famous. It was an American story, placed in American scenery. It was free from the morbid strain which injures Brown's most effective work. It had movement, life, vivid description, interesting incident. It seemed to European readers like a breath of forest breeze. It was the beginning of one of the great literary successes of history. Between the years 1820 and 1850 Cooper published thirty-nine different works, of which thirty-two are novels; besides a large number of articles, controversial, historical, political, and on other topics. Among these works was "The History of the Navy of the United States," which will always be a standard on its subject. The novels were written very rapidly, and they vary greatly in interest and excellence. There are two series of five each, however, which will probably always be read with pleasure. They are the five "Leatherstocking" tales: "The Pioneer,” “The Last of the Mohicans," "The Prairie," "The Pathfinder," "The Deerslayer"; and the five sea tales: "The Pilot," "The Red Rover," "The Water Witch," "The Two Admirals," "Wing and Wing." These owe their special excellence largely to the fact that the frame in which the picture is placed is the actual early experience of the author. The first series reproduces the scenery and the life of his home in the forests of central New York. The second reproduces the life and scenes of his five years of sea experience. The "Leatherstocking" series takes

its name from the leading character in some of them and a prominent character in all; a trapper and hunter named Natty Bumppo, but called "Deerslayer," "Leatherstocking," "Hawkeye," and other names in the different books. He is one of the living characters of fiction; perhaps more perfect than is exactly natural; but a real, living, breathing, loving, lovable man. Says Lowell, in the "Fable for

Critics":

He has drawn you one character, though, that is new,
One wild flower he's plucked that is wet with the dew
Of this fresh Western world, and, the thing not to mince,
He has done naught but copy it ill ever since.

The men who have given to one character life

And objective existence are not very rife;

You may number them all, both prose writers and singers,
Without overrunning the bounds of your fingers,

And Natty won't go to oblivion quicker

Than Adams the Parson or Primrose the Vicar.

There is a story that the other series was begun at the suggestion of a discussion about the authorship of Scott's "Pirate." 'Pirate." This had just appeared "by the Author of Waverley," and "the Author of Waverley" was still a literary secret. Cooper maintained that the book showed unmistakable signs of being the work of a landsman. The thought suggested the idea of writing a book which should utilize his own sea experiences; and "The Pilot" was the result. These sea stories are bright and breezy, as such tales ought to be. They do not contain any character which has impressed itself on the

world's imagination as has that of "Leatherstocking." But in incident and descriptive power they are probably equal to the other series. One could select a few of Cooper's other stories, as "The Spy," "Satanstoe," or "Lionel Lincoln," which are individually equal to any of the ten already mentioned. But, partly from their mutual connection, partly from their reproduction of his own experiences, and partly from their inherent superiority, the books of these two series are likely always to be the most popular of Cooper's writings. Take for special study a passage from "The Pioneers" describing a deer hunt in the water, and introducing Natty Bumppo and the Indian Mohegan.

THE PIONEERS, CHAPTER XXVII

The buck was now within fifty yards of his pursuers, cutting the water gallantly, and snorting at each breath with terror and his exertions, while the canoe seemed to dance over the waves, as it rose and fell with the undu5 lations made by its own motion. Leatherstocking raised his rifle and freshened the priming, but stood in suspense whether to slay his victim or not.

“Shall I, John, or no?" he said. "It seems but a poor advantage to take of the dumb thing, too. I won't; Io it has taken to the water on its own natur', which is the reason that God has given to a deer, and I'll give it the lake play; so, John, lay out your arm, and mind the turn of the buck; it's easy to catch them, but they'll turn like a snake."

15 The Indian laughed at the conceit of his friend, but

continued to send the canoe forward with a velocity that proceeded much more from his skill than his strength.