| | 181 | Author: | Smith
Seba
1792-1868 | Add | | | Title: | John Smith's Letters, with 'picters' to Match  | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Modern English collection | UVA-LIB-Text | University of Virginia Library, Early American Fiction, 1789-1875 | UVA-LIB-EarlyAmFict1789-1875 | | | | Description: | Dear Father—I take my pen in hand to let you
know that I'm as hearty as a bear, and hope these few lines will find you, and
mother, and grandfather, and cousin Debby, and
all the children, enjoying
the same blessing. We stood our march remarkable
well, and are all alive, and safe, and
sound as a whistle. And Sargent Johnson makes
a most capital officer. He's jest sich a man as is wanted down
here—there's no skeering him, I can tell you. He'd fight against
bears, and wild-cats, and the British, and thunder and lightnin', and any
thing else, that should set out to meddle with our disputed territory. And he's
taken a master-liking
to me, too, and says if he has any hard fighting
to do, although I'm the youngest in the company,
he shall always choose me first for his right-hand
man. He says I had more pluck at the drafting than any one in the whole
company, and he should rather have me by his side in battle, than any
three of the rest of'em. But maybe you'd like to hear something about our march
down here, and so on. Dear Father—Tell mother I ain't shot yet,
though we've had one pretty considerable of a brush, and expect every day to
have some more. Colonel Jarvis has took quite a liking to our little
Smithville detachment. He says we are the
smartest troops he's got, and as long as we stick by him, it isn't Sir John
Harvey, nor all New-Brumzick, nor even Queen
Victory herself can ever drive him off of Fitzherbert's farm. Perhaps you
mayn't remember much about this Fitzherbert's
farm, where we are. It is the very place where the British nabbed our Land
Agent, Mr. McIntire, when he was abed, and asleep, and couldn't help
himself, and carried him off to Frederiction
jail. Let 'em come and try to nab us, if they dare; if they wouldn't wish
their cake was dough again, I'm mistaken. We've got up pretty considerable
of a little kind of a fort here, and we keep it manned day and
night—we don't more than half of us sleep to once, and are determined
the British shall never ketch us with both eyes shet. Dear Father—We stick by here yet, takin' care
of our disputed territory and the logs; and while we stay here the British will
have to walk as
straight as a hair, you may depend. We ain't had
much fighting to do since my last letter; and some how or other, things
seem to be getting cooler down here a little, so that I'm afraid we ain't agoing
to have the real scratch, after all, that I wanted to have. A day or two
arter we took the logging camp and brought the men and oxen off here prisoners
of war, we was setting in the fort after dinner
and talking matters over, and Sargent Johnson
was a wondering what a plague was the reason
the British didn't come up to the scratch as they talked on. He said he
guessed they wasn't sich mighty fairce fellers for war as they pretended
to be, arter all. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 182 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Add | | | Title: | The Prairie | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Modern English collection | UVA-LIB-Text | University of Virginia Library, Early American Fiction, 1789-1875 | UVA-LIB-EarlyAmFict1789-1875 | | | | Description: | Much was said and written, at the time, concerning
the policy of adding the vast regions of Louisiana, to
the, already, immense and but half-tenanted territories
of the United States. As the warmth of controversy,
however, subsided, and personal considerations
gave place to more liberal views, the wisdom of the
measure began to be, generally, conceded. It soon
became apparent to the meanest capacity, that, while
nature had placed a barrier of desert to the extension
of our population in the west, the measure had made
us the masters of a belt of fertile country, which, in
the revolutions of the day, might have become the
property of a rival nation. It gave us the sole command
of the great thoroughfare of the interior, and
placed the countless tribes of savages, who lay along
our borders, entirely, within our control; it reconciled
conflicting rights, and quieted national distrusts;
it opened a thousand avenues to the inland trade, and
to the waters of the Pacific; and, if ever time or necessity
should require a peaceful division of this vast
empire, it assures us of a neighbour that would possess
our language, our religion, our institutions, and
it is also to be hoped, our sense of political justice. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 183 | Author: | Hawthorne
Nathaniel
1804-1864 | Add | | | Title: | The Scarlet Letter | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Modern English collection | UVA-LIB-Text | University of Virginia Library, Early American Fiction, 1789-1875 | UVA-LIB-EarlyAmFict1789-1875 | | | | Description: | A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments
and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women,
some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was
assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of
which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with
iron spikes. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 184 | Author: | Bird
Robert Montgomery
1806-1854 | Add | | | Title: | The Hawks of Hawk-hollow | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Modern English collection | UVA-LIB-Text | University of Virginia Library, Early American Fiction, 1789-1875 | UVA-LIB-EarlyAmFict1789-1875 | | | | Description: | It has been seen how the rejoicings at the
promontory were interrupted in their very beginning,
by the sudden discovery of the refugee, so
Drad for his derring-doe and bloody deed,
that his mere name had thrown all present into
confusion. The crowning climax was put to the
general panic, when some of the late pursuers were
seen returning, early in the afternoon, whipping
and spurring with all the zeal of fear, and scattering
such intelligence along the way as put to flight
the last resolution of the jubilants. The news immediately
spread, that Oran Gilbert had burst into
existence, not alone, but with a countless host of
armed men at his heels; that he had attacked and
routed the pursuers, hanging all whom he took
alive, especially the soldiers; and that he was now,
in the frenzy of triumph, marching against the
devoted Hillborough, with the resolution of burning
it to the ground. Such dreadful intelligence
was enough to complete the terror of the revellers;
they fled amain—and long before night, the flag
waved, and the little piece of ordnance frowned in
utter solitude on the top of the deserted head-land.
It is true that there came, by and by, couriers with
happier news, but too late to arrest the fugitives;
and as these riders made their way towards the
village, expressing some anxiety lest it should be
attacked, they rather confirmed than dispelled the
fears of the few inhabitants of the valley. From
one of the coolest and boldest, Captain Loring, who
fastened on him at the park-gate, learned that there
had been no action indeed, and that the fugitive
had made his escape; but, on the other hand, it
appeared that there were refugees in the land,—
that they had hanged a soldier named Parker, and
made good their retreat from the place of execution—that
the greatest doubt existed among the
pursuers in relation to the route they had taken
and the objects they had in view, some believing,
on the evidence of a certain quaker, who had been
their prisoner, that they were marching by secret
paths against the village, while others insisted that
this was a feint designed only to throw the hunters
off the scent, and to secure their escape,—that, in
consequence, the party had divided, pursuing the
search in all directions, in the hope of discovering
their route,—and, finally, that it was now certain,
the band, whose number was supposed to be very
considerable, was really commanded by the notorious
Oran Gilbert. From this man also, Captain
Loring learned a few vague particulars in relation
to the two greatest objects of his interest, namely
Henry Falconer and the young painter, who had
fallen into a quarrel in consequence of some misunderstanding
about their horses, the officer having
used harsh language not only in regard to the
unceremonious seizure by Herman of his own
steed, but in reference to a similar liberty the refugee
had previously taken with the painter's,
which, Falconer averred, was an evidence of intimacy
and intercourse betwixt Mr. Hunter and the
outlaw it behooved the former to explain, before
thrusting himself into the company of honest men
and gentlemen. This quarrel, it seemed, had been
allayed by the interference of Falconer's brother
officers; and the informant had heard something
said of a proposal to drown the feud in a bowl.
As for the man of peace, Ephraim, it appeared,
that his spirited assistance during the chase, and
especially his success in exposing the secret haunt
of the tories in the Terrapin Hole, the scene of
Parker's execution, had not only removed all suspicion
in relation to his character, but had highly
recommended him to the favour of his late
captors. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 185 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Add | | | Title: | The Last of the Mohicans | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Modern English collection | UVA-LIB-Text | University of Virginia Library, Early American Fiction, 1789-1875 | UVA-LIB-EarlyAmFict1789-1875 | Leather-stocking tales | leather stocking tales | | | | Description: | It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of
North America, that the toils and dangers of the wilderness
were to be encountered, before the adverse
hosts could meet in murderous contact. A wide,
and, apparently, an impervious boundary of forests,
severed the possessions of the hostile provinces of
France and England. The hardy colonist, and the
trained European who fought at his side, frequently
expended months in struggling against the rapids of
the streams, or in effecting the rugged passes of the
mountains, in quest of an opportunity to exhibit
their courage in a more martial conflict. But, emulating
the patience and self-denial of the practised
native warriors, they learned to overcome every difficulty;
and it would seem, that in time, there was
no recess of the woods so dark, nor any secret place
so lovely, that it might claim exemption from the inroads
of those who had pledged their blood to satiate
their vengeance, or to uphold the cold and selfish
policy of the distant monarchs of Europe. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 186 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Add | | | Title: | The Last of the Mohicans | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Modern English collection | UVA-LIB-Text | University of Virginia Library, Early American Fiction, 1789-1875 | UVA-LIB-EarlyAmFict1789-1875 | Leather-stocking tales | leather stocking tales | | | | Description: | The bloody and inhuman scene which we have
rather incidentally mentioned than described, in the
close of the preceding volume, is conspicuous in the
pages of colonial history, by the merited title of
“The massacre of William Henry.” It so far deepened
the stain which a previous and very similar
event had left upon the reputation of the French
commander, that it was not entirely erased by his
early and glorious death. It is now becoming obscured
by time; and thousands, who know that Montcalm
died like a hero on the plains of Abraham, have
yet to learn how much he was deficient in that moral
courage, without which no man can be truly great.
Pages might be written to prove, from this illustrious
example, the defects of human excellence; to
show how easy it is for generous sentiments, high
courtesy, and chivalrous courage, to lose their influence
beneath the chilling ascendency of mistaken
selfishness, and to exhibit to the world a man who
was great in all the minor attributes of character,
but who was found wanting, when it became necessary
to prove how much principle is superior to policy.
But the task would exceed our fanciful prerogatives;
and, as history, like love, is so apt to surround
her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary
brightness, it is probable that Louis de Saint Véran
will be viewed by posterity only as the gallant defender
of his country, while his cruel apathy on the
shores of the Oswego and of the Horican, will be
forgotten. Deeply regretting this weakness on the
part of our sister muse, we shall at once retire from
her sacred precincts, within the proper limits of our
own humbler vocation. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 187 | Author: | Hawthorne
Nathaniel
1804-1864 | Add | | | Title: | Mosses from an Old Manse | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Modern English collection | UVA-LIB-Text | University of Virginia Library, Early American Fiction, 1789-1875 | UVA-LIB-EarlyAmFict1789-1875 | Wiley and Putnam's library of American books | wiley and putnams library of american books | | | | Description: | In the latter part of the last century, there lived a man of science—
an eminent proficient in every branch of natural philosophy—who,
not long before our story opens, had made experience of a spiritual:
affinity, more attractive than any chemical one. He had left his,
laboratory to the care of an assistant, cleared his fine countenance
from the furnace-smoke, washed the stain of acids from his fingers,
and persuaded a beautiful woman to become his wife. In those
days, when the comparatively recent discovery of electricity, and
other kindred mysteries of nature, seemed to open paths into the
region of miracle, it was not unusual for the love of science to rival
the love of woman, in its depth and absorbing energy. The higher
intellect, the imagination, the spirit, and even the heart, might all-find
their congenial aliment in pursuits which, as some of their
ardent votaries believed, would ascend from one step of powerful
intelligence to another, until the philosopher should lay his hand
on the secret of creative force, and perhaps make new worlds for
himself. We know not whether Aylmer possessed this degree of
faith in man's ultimate control over nature. He had devoted himself,
however, too unreservedly to scientific studies, ever to be weaned
from them by any second passion. His love for his young wife
might prove the stronger of the two; but it could only be by
intertwining itself with his love of science, and uniting the strength
of the latter to its own. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 188 | Author: | Hawthorne
Nathaniel
1804-1864 | Add | | | Title: | Mosses from an Old Manse | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Modern English collection | UVA-LIB-Text | University of Virginia Library, Early American Fiction, 1789-1875 | UVA-LIB-EarlyAmFict1789-1875 | Wiley and Putnam's library of American books | wiley and putnams library of american books | | | | Description: | We, who are born into the world's artificial system, can never
adequately know how little in our present state and circumstances
is natural, and how much is merely the interpolation of the perverted
mind and heart of man. Art has become a second and
stronger Nature; she is a step-mother, whose crafty tenderness
has taught us to despise the bountiful and wholesome ministrations
of our true parent. It is only through the medium of the
imagination that we can lessen those iron fetters, which we call
truth and reality, and make ourselves even partially sensible what
prisoners we are. For instance, let us conceive good Father
Miller's interpretation of the prophecies to have proved true. The
Day of Doom has burst upon the globe, and swept away the whole
rece of men. From cities and fields, sea-shore, and mid-land
mountain region, vast continents, and even the remotest islands of
the ocean—each living thing is gone. No breath of a created
being disturbs this earthly atmosphere. But the abodes of man,
and all that he has accomplished, the foot-prints of his wanderings,
and the results of his toil, the visible symbols of his intellectual
cultivation, and moral progress—in short, everything
physical that can give evidence of his present position—shall
remain untouched by the hand of destiny. Then, to inherit and
repeople this waste and deserted earth, we will suppose a new
Adam and a new Eve to have been created, in the full development
of mind and heart, but with no knowledge of their predecessors,
nor of the diseased circumstances that had become encrusted
around them. Such a pair would at once distinguish between
art and nature. Their instincts and intuitions would immediately
recognize the wisdom and simplicity of the latter, while the
former, with its elaborate perversities, would offer them a continual
succession of puzzles. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 189 | Author: | Hall
James
1793-1868 | Add | | | Title: | The wilderness and the war path | | | | Published: | 1997 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Modern English collection | UVA-LIB-Text | University of Virginia Library, Early American Fiction, 1789-1875 | UVA-LIB-EarlyAmFict1789-1875 | Wiley and Putnam's library of American books | wiley and putnams library of american books | | | | Description: | The life of the American Indian is not so destitute of the interest
created by variety of incident, as might be supposed by a
casual observation of the habits of this singular race. It is true
that the simple structure of their communities, and the sameness
of their occupations, limit the Savage within a narrow sphere of
thought and action. Without commerce, agriculture, learning, or
the arts, and confined to the employments of war and hunting,
the general tenour of his life must be monotonous. His journies
through the unpeopled wilderness, furnish him with no information
as to the modes of existence of other nations, nor any subjects
for reflection, but those which nature supplies, and with
which he has been familiar from childhood. Beyond his own
tribe, his intercourse extends only to savages as ignorant as himself,
and to traders but little elevated above his own moral standard. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
|
