| | 361 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Spy  | | | | 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 was near the close of the year 1780, that a solitary
traveller was seen pursuing his way through
one of the numerous little valleys of West-Chester.
The easterly wind, with its chilling dampness,
and increasing violence, gave unerring notice of
the approach of a storm, which, as usual, might
be expected to continue for several days: and the
experienced eye of the traveller was turned, in
vain, through the darkness of the evening, in quest
of some convenient shelter, in which, for the term
of his confinement by the rain, that already began
to mix with the atmosphere in a thick mist,
he might obtain such accommodations as his age
and purposes required. Nothing, however, offered,
but the small and inconvenient tenements
of the lower order of inhabitants, with whom, in
that immediate neighbourhood, he did not think it
either safe or politic to trust himself. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 362 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Lionel Lincoln, Or, the Leaguer of Boston | | | | 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: | No American can be ignorant of the principal
events that induced the parliament of Great
Britain, in 1774, to lay those impolitic restrictions
on the port of Boston, which so effectually destroyed
the trade of the chief town in her western
colonies. Nor should it be unknown to any American,
how nobly, and with what devotedness to
the great principles of the controversy, the inhabitants
of the adjacent town of Salem refused to
profit by the situation of their neighbours and fellow-subjects.
In consequence of these impolitic
measures of the English government, and of the
laudable unanimity among the capitalists of the
times, it became a rare sight to see the canvass of
any other vessels than such as wore the pennants
of the king, whitening the forsaken waters of Massachusetts
bay. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 363 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Lionel Lincoln, or, The Leaguer of Boston | | | | 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: | Although the battle of Bunker-hill was fought
while the grass yet lay on the meadows, the heats
of summer had been followed by the nipping frosts
of November; the leaf had fallen in its hour, and
the tempests and biting colds of February had
succeeded, before Major Lincoln left that couch
where he had been laid, when carried, in total
helplessness, from the fatal heights of the
peninsula. Throughout the whole of that long
period, the hidden bullet had defied the utmost
skill of the British surgeons; nor could all their
science and experience embolden them to risk
cutting certain arteries and tendons in the body
of the heir of Lincoln, which were thought
to obstruct the passage to that obstinate lead,
which, all agreed, alone impeded the recovery of
the unfortunate sufferer. This indecision was
one of the penalties that poor Lionel paid for
his greatness; for had it been Meriton who lingered,
instead of his master, it is quite probable
the case would have been determined at a
much earlier hour. At length a young and enterprising
leech, with the world before him, arrived
from Europe, who, possessing greater skill or more
effrontery (the effects are sometimes the same) than
his fellows, did not hesitate to decide at once on
the expediency of an operation. The medical staff
of the army sneered at this bold innovator, and
at first were content with such silent testimonials
of their contempt. But when the friends of the
patient, listening, as usual, to the whisperings of
hope, consented that the confident man of probes
should use his instruments, the voices of his contemporaries
became not only loud, but clamorous.
There was a day or two when even the watch-worn
and jaded subalterns of the army forgot
the dangers and hardships of the siege, to attend
with demure and instructed countenances to the
unintelligible jargon of the “Medici” of their
camp; and men grew pale, as they listened, who
had never been known to exhibit any symptoms
of the disgraceful passion before their more
acknowledged enemies. But when it became
known that the ball was safely extracted, and
the patient was pronounced convalescent, a calm
succeeded that was much more portentous to the
human race than the preceding tempest; and in
a short time the daring practitioner was universally
acknowledged to be the founder of a new
theory. The degrees of M. D. were showered
upon his honoured head from half the learned
bodies in Christendom, while many of his enthusiastic
admirers and imitators became justly entitled
to the use of the same magical symbols, as annexments
to their patrony micks, with the addition
of the first letter in the alphabet. The ancient
reasoning was altered to suit the modern facts, and
before the war was ended, some thousands of the
servants of the crown, and not a few of the patriotic
colonists, were thought to have died, scientifically,
under the favour of this important discovery. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 364 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Red Rover | | | | 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: | In submitting this hastily-composed and imperfect
picture of a few scenes, peculiar to the
profession, to your notice, dear Shubrick, I
trust much more to your kind feelings than to
any merit in the execution. Such as it may
be, however, the book is offered as another
tribute to the constant esteem and friendship of No one, who is familiar with the bustle and activity
of an American commercial town, would recognize,
in the repose which now reigns in the ancient
mart of Rhode Island, a place that, in its day, has
been ranked amongst the most important ports along
the whole line of our extended coast. It would
seem, at the first glance, that nature had expressly
fashioned the spot to anticipate the wants and to
realize the wishes of the mariner. Enjoying the
four great requisites of a safe and commodious haven,
a placed basin, an outer harbour, and a convenient
roadstead, with a clear offing, Newport appeared,
to the eyes of our European ancestors, designed to
shelter fleets and to nurse a race of hardy and expert
seamen. Though the latter anticipation has
not been entirely disappointed, how little has reality
answered to expectation in respect to the former!
A successful rival has arisen, even in the immediate
vicinity of this seeming favourite of nature, to defeat
all the calculations of mercantile sagacity, and to
add another to the thousand existing evidences “that
the wisdom of man is foolishness.” “An accident has disabled the Master of the out
“ward-bound ship called the `Royal Caroline!' Her
“consignee is reluctant to intrust her to the officer
“next in rank; but sail she must. I find she has
“credit for her speed. If you have any credentials
“of character and competency, profit by the occasion,
“and earn the station you are finally destined to fill.
“You have been named to some who are interested,
“and you have been sought diligently. If this reach
“you in season, be on the alert, and be decided.
“Show no surprise at any co-operation you may un
“expectedly meet. My agents are more numerous
“than you had believed. The reason is obvious;
“gold is yellow, though I am | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 365 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Red Rover | | | | 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: | The weight of the tempest had been felt at that
hapless moment when Earing and his unfortunate
companions were precipitated from their giddy elevation
into the sea. Though the wind continued to
blow long after this fatal event, it was with a constantly
diminishing power. As the gale decreased,
the sea began to rise, and the vessel to labour in
proportion. Then followed two hours of anxious
watchfulness on the part of Wilder, during which
the whole of his professional knowledge was needed,
in order to keep the despoiled hull of the Bristol
trader from becoming a prey to the greedy waters.
His consummate skill, however, proved equal to the
task that was required at his hands; and, just as the
symptoms of day were becoming visible along the
east, both wind and waves were rapidly subsiding
together. During the whole of this doubtful period,
our adventurer did not receive the smallest assistance
from any of the crew, with the exception of two
experienced seamen whom he had previously stationed
at the wheel. But to this neglect he was indifferent;
since little more was required than his own
judgment, seconded, as it faithfully was, by the exertions
of the mariners more immediately under his
eye. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 366 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Wept of Wish-ton-wish | | | | 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: | THE incidents of this tale must be sought in a
remote period of the annals of America. A colony
of self-devoted and pious refugees from religious
persecution had landed on the rock of Plymouth,
less than half a century before the time at which
the narrative commences; and they, and their descendants,
had already transformed many a broad
waste of wilderness into smiling fields and cheerful
villages. The labors of the emigrants had been
chiefly limited to the country on the coast, which,
by its proximity to the waters that rolled between
them and Europe, afforded the semblance of a connexion
with the land of their forefathers and the
distant abodes of civilization. But enterprise, and
a desire to search for still more fertile domains, together
with the temptation offered by the vast and
unknown regions that lay along their western and
northern borders, had induced many bold adventurers
to penetrate more deeply into the forests. The
precise spot, to which we desire to transport the
imagination of the reader, was one of these establishments
of what may, not inaptly, be called the
forlorn-hope, in the march of civilization through
the country. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 367 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Wept of Wish-ton-wish | | | | 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 already been said, that the hour at which
the action of the tale must re-commence, was early
morning. The usual coolness of night, in a country
extensively covered with wood, had passed, and the
warmth of a summer morning, in that low latitude,
was causing the streaks of light vapor, that floated
about the meadows, to rise above the trees. The
feathery patches united to form a cloud that sailed
away towards the summit of a distant mountain,
which appeared to be a common rendezvous for
all the mists that had been generated by the past
hours of darkness. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 368 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Bravo | | | | 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: | The sun had disappeared behind the summits of
the Tyrolean Alps, and the moon was already risen
above the low barrier of the Lido. Hundreds of
pedestrians were pouring out of the narrow streets
of Venice into the square of St. Mark, like water
gushing through some strait aqueduct, into a broad
and bubbling basin. Gallant cavalieri and grave
cittadini; soldiers of Dalmatia, and seamen of the
galleys; dames of the city, and females of lighter
manners; jewellers of the Rialto, and traders from
the Levant; Jew, Turk, and Christian; traveller,
adventurer, podestà, valet, avvocato and gondolier,
held their way alike to the common centre of amusement.
The hurried air and careless eye; the measured
step and jealous glance; the jest and laugh;
the song of the cantatrice, and the melody of the
flute; the grimace of the buffoon, and the tragic
frown of the improvisatore; the pyramid of the grotesque,
the compelled and melancholy smile of the
harpist, cries of water-sellers, cowls of monks,
plumage of warriors, hum of voices, and the universal
movement and bustle, added to the more permanent
objects of the place, rendered the scene the
most remarkable of Christendom. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 369 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Bravo | | | | 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: | When the Carmelite re-entered the apartment of
Donna Violetta, his face was covered with the hue
of death, and his limbs with difficulty supported him
to a chair. He scarcely observed that Don Camillo
Monforte was still present, nor did he note the brightness
and joy which glowed in the eyes of the ardent
Violetta. Indeed his appearance was at first unseen
by the happy lovers, for the Lord of St. Agata had
succeeded in wresting the secret from the breast of
his mistress, if that may be called a secret which
Italian character had scarcely struggled to retain,
and he had crossed the room before even the more
tranquil look of the Donna Florinda rested on his
person. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 370 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Heidenmauer, Or, the Benedictines | | | | 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: | The reader must imagine a narrow and secluded
valley, for the opening scene of this tale. The time
was that in which the day loses its power, casting
a light on objects most exposed, that resembles
colors seen through glass slightly stained; a peculiarity
of the atmosphere, which, though almost of
daily occurrence in summer and autumn, is the
source of constant enjoyment to the real lover of
nature. The hue meant is not a sickly yellow, but
rather a soft and melancholy glory, that lends to
the hill-side and copse, to tree and tower, to stream
and lawn, those tinges of surpassing loveliness that
impart to the close of day its proverbial and
soothing charm. The setting sun touched with
oblique rays a bit of shaven meadow, that lay in a
dell so deep as to owe this parting smile of nature
to an accidental formation of the neighboring eminences,
a distant mountain crest, that a flock had
cropped and fertilized, a rippling current that glided
in the bottom, a narrow beaten path, more worn by
hoof than wheel, and a vast range of forest, that
swelled and receded from the view, covering leagues
of a hill-chase, that even tradition had never peopled.
The spot was seemingly as retired as if it had been
chosen in one of our own solitudes of the wilderness;
while it was, in fact, near the centre of Europe, and
in the sixteenth century. But, notwithstanding the
absence of dwellings, and all the other signs of the
immediate presence of man, together with the
wooded character of the scene, an American eye
would not have been slow to detect its distinguishing
features, from those which mark the wilds of
this country. The trees, though preserved with
care, and flourishing, wanted the moss of ages, the
high and rocking summit, the variety and natural
wildness of the western forest. No mouldering
trunk lay where it had fallen, no branch had been
twisted by the gale and forgotten, nor did any upturned
root betray the indifference of man to the
decay of this important part of vegetation. Here
and there, a species of broom, such as is seen occasionally
on the mast-heads of ships, was erected
above some tall member of the woods that stood on
an elevated point; land-marks which divided the
rights of those who were entitled to cut and clip;
the certain evidence that man had long before extended
his sway over these sombre hills, and that,
retired as they seemed, they were actually subject
to all the divisions, and restraints, and vexations,
which, in peopled regions, accompany the rights of
property. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 371 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Heidenmauer, Or, the Benedictines | | | | 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: | The cottage of Lottchen, the mother of Berchthold,
was distinguished from the other habitations of
the hamlet, only by its greater neatness, and by that
air of superior comfort which depends chiefly on
taste and habit, and of which poverty itself can
scarcely deprive those who have been educated in the
usages and opinions of a higher caste. It stood a
little apart from the general cluster of humble roofs;
and, in addition to its other marks of superiority, it
possessed the advantage of a small inclosure, by
which it was partially removed from the publicity
and noise that rob most of the villages and hamlets
of Europe of a rural character. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 372 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Headsman, Or, the Abbaye Des Vignerons | | | | 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: | The year was in its fall, according to a poetical
expression of our own, and the morning bright, as
the fairest and swiftest bark that navigated the
Leman lay at the quay of the ancient and historical
town of Geneva, ready to depart for the country
of Vaud. This vessel was called the Winkelried,
in commemoration of Arnold of that name, who
had so generously sacrificed life and hopes to the
good of his country, and who deservedly ranks
among the truest of those heroes of whom we have
well-authenticated legends. She had been launched
at the commencement of the summer, and still
bore at the fore-top-mast-head a bunch of evergreens,
profusely ornamented with knots and
streamers of riband, the offerings of the patron's
female friends, and the fancied gage of success.
The use of steam, and the presence of unemployed
seamen of various nations, in this idle season of
the warlike, are slowly leading to innovations and
improvements in the navigation of the lakes of
Italy and Switzerland, it is true; but time, even at
this hour, has done little towards changing the habits
and opinions of those who ply on these inland
waters for a subsistence. The Winkelreid had the
two low, diverging masts; the attenuated and picturesquely-poised
latine yards; the light, triangular
sails; the sweeping and projecting gangways; the
receding and falling stern; the high and peaked
prow, with, in general, the classical and quaint air
of those vessels that are seen in the older paintings
and engravings. A gilded ball glittered on the
summit of each mast, for no canvass was set higher
than the slender and well-balanced yards, and it
was above one of these that the wilted bush, with
its gay appendages, trembled and fluttered in a
fresh western wind. The hull was worthy of so
much goodly apparel, being spacious, commodious,
and, according to the wants of the navigation, of
approved mould. The freight, which was sufficiently
obvious, much the greatest part being piled
on the ample deck, consisted of what our own
watermen would term an assorted cargo. It was,
however, chiefly composed of those foreign luxuries,
as they were then called, though use has now
rendered them nearly indispensable to domestic
economy, which were consumed, in singular moderation,
by the more affluent of those who dwelt
deeper among the mountains, and of the two principal
products of the dairy; the latter being destined
to a market in the less verdant countries of
the south. To these must be added the personal
effects of an unusual number of passengers, which
were stowed on the top of the heavier part of the
cargo, with an order and care that their value
would scarcely seem to require. The arrangement,
however, was necessary to the convenience
and even to the security of the bark, having been
made by the patron with a view to posting each
individual by his particular wallet, in a manner to
prevent confusion in the crowd, and to leave the
crew space and opportunity to discharge the necessary
duties of the navigation. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 373 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Headsman, Or, the Abbaye Des Vignerons | | | | 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: | While the mummeries related were exhibiting
in the great square, Maso, Pippo, Conrad, and the
others concerned in the little disturbance connected
with the affair of the dog, were eating their discontent
within the walls of the guard-house. Vevey
has several squares, and the various ceremonies
of the gods and demigods were now to be repeated
in the smaller areas. On one of the latter
stands the town-house and prison. The offenders
in question had been summarily transferred to the
gaol, in obedience to the command of the officer
charged with preserving the peace. By an act of
grace, however, that properly belonged to the day,
as well as to the character of the offence, the prisoners
were permitted to occupy a part of the edifice
that commanded a view of the square, and
consequently were not precluded from all participation
in the joyousness of the festivities. This
indulgence had been accorded on the condition
that the parties should cease their wrangling, and
otherwise conduct themselves in a way not to
bring scandal on the exhibition in which the pride
of every Vévaisan was so deeply enlisted. All
the captives, the innocent as well as the guilty, gladly
subscribed to the terms; for they found themselves
in a temporary duresse which did not admit
of any fair argument of the merits of the case,
and there is no leveller so effectual as a common
misfortune. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 374 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Monikins | | | | 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: | “Providence brought us together for more purposes than
were, at first, apparent. I have long hesitated about publishing
the accompanying narrative, for in England there is
a disposition to cavil at extraordinary facts, but the distance
of America from my place of residence will completely save
me from ridicule. The world must have the truth, and I see
no better means than by resorting to your agency. All I ask
is that you will have the book fairly printed, and that you
will send one copy to my address, Householder-hall, Dorsetshire,
England, and another to Capt. Noah Poke, Stonington,
Connecticut, in your own country. My Anna prays for you,
and is ever your friend. Do not forget us. Dear Sir,—Your favour is come to hand, and found me
in good health, as I hope these few lines will have the same
advantage with you. I have read the book, and must say
there is some truth in it, which, I suppose, is as much as befalls
any book, the Bible, the Almanac, and the State Laws,
excepted. I remember Sir John well, and shall gainsay nothing
he testifies to, for the reason that friends should not
contradict each other. I was also acquainted with the four
Monikins he speaks of, though I knew them by differentnames.
Miss Poke says she wonders if it's all true, which I wunt tell
her, seeing that a little unsartainty makes a woman rational.
As to my navigating without geometry, that's a matter that
was'n't worth booking, for it's no cur'osity in these parts,
bating a look at the compass once or twice a day, and so I
take my leave of you, with offers to do any commission for
you among the Sealing Islands, for which I sail to-morrow,
wind and weather permitting. The philosopher who broaches a new theory is
bound to furnish, at least, some elementary proofs
of the reasonableness of his positions, and the historian
who ventures to record marvels that have
hitherto been hid from human knowledge, owes it
to a decent regard to the opinions of others, to produce
some credible testimony in favor of his veracity.
I am peculiarly placed in regard to these
two great essentials, having little more than its
plausibility to offer in favor of my philosophy, and
no other witness than myself to establish the important
facts that are now about to be laid before the
reading world, for the first time. In this dilemma,
I fully feel the weight of responsibility under which
I stand; for there are truths of so little apparent
probability as to appear fictions, and fictions so like
the truth that the ordinary observer is very apt to
affirm that he was an eye-witness to their existence:
two facts that all our historians would do
well to bear in mind, since a knowledge of the circumstances
might spare them the mortification of
having testimony that cost a deal of trouble, discredited
in the one case, and save a vast deal of
painful and unnecessary labor, in the other. Thrown
upon myself, therefore, for what the French call les
pièces justîficatives of my theories, as well as of
my facts, I see no better way to prepare the reader
to believe me, than by giving an unvarnished narrative
of my descent, birth, education and life, up
to the time I became a spectator of those wonderful
facts it is my happiness to record, and with
which it is now his to be made acquainted. I have this moment heard of your being in town, and
am exceedingly rejoiced to learn it. A long intimacy with
your late excellent and most loyal father, justifies my claiming
you for a friend, and I waive all ceremony, (official, of
course, is meant, there being no reason for any other between
us,) and beg to be admitted for half an hour. I met your old neighbor —, this morning, on the
boulevards, and during an interview of an hour we did little
else but talk of thee. Although it has been my most ardent
and most predominant wish to open my heart to the whole
species, yet, Anna, I fear I have loved thee alone! Absence,
so far from expanding, appears to contract my affections, too
many of which centre in thy sweet form and excellent virtues.
The remedy I proposed is insufficient, and I begin to
think that matrimony alone can leave me master of sufficient
freedom of thought and action, to turn the attention I ought
to the rest of the human race. Thou hast been with me in
idea, in the four corners of the earth, by sea and by land,
in dangers and in safety, in all seasons, regions and situations,
and there is no sufficient reason why those who are
ever present in the spirit, should be materially separated.
Thou hast only to say a word, to whisper a hope, to breathe
a wish, and I will throw myself, a repentant truant, at thy
feet, and implore thy pity. When united, however, we will
not lose ourselves in the sordid and narrow paths of selfishness,
but come forth again, in company, to acquire a new
and still more powerful hold on this beautiful creation, of
which, by this act, I acknowledge thee to be the most divine
portion. Thy letter was put into my hands yesterday. This is
the fifth answer I have commenced, and you will therefore
see that I do not write without reflection. I know thy excellent
heart, John, better than it is known to thyself. It has
either led thee to the discovery of a secret of the last importance
to thy fellow-creatures, or it has led thee cruelly
astray. An experiment so noble and so praiseworthy, ought
not to be abandoned, on account of a few momentary misgivings
concerning the result. Do not stay thy eagle flight,
at the instant thou art soaring so near the sun! Should
we both judge it for our mutual happiness, I can become thy
wife at a future day. We are still young, and there is no
urgency for an immediate union. In the mean time, I will
endeavor to prepare myself to be the companion of a philanthropist,
by practising on thy theory, and, by expanding my
own affections, render myself worthy to be the wife of one
who has so large a stake in society, and who loves so many
and so truly. “At a full and overflowing meeting of the most
monikinized of the monikin race, holden at the house
of Peleg Pat, (we still used the human appellations,
at that epoeh,) in the year of the world 3,007, and
of the monikin era 317, Plausible Shout was called
to the chair, and Ready Quill was named secretary. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 375 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Monikins | | | | 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: | We soon secured rooms, ordered dinner, brushed
our clothes, and made the other little arrangements
that it was necessary to observe for the credit of
the species. Everything being ready, we left the
inn, and hurried towards the “Palais des Arts et des
Sciences.” We had not got out of sight of the inn,
however, before one of its garçons was at our heels
with a message from his mistress. He told us, in
very respectful tones, that his master was out, and
that he had taken with him the key of the strong-box;
that there was not actually money enough in
the drawer to furnish an entertainment for such
great persons as ourselves, and she had taken the
liberty to send us a bill receipted, with a request
that we would make a small advance, rather than
reduce her to the mortification of treating such distinguished
guests in an unworthy manner. The
bill read as follows:— “Sir,” said I, pulling off my hat with a profound
reverence, “I was not aware to whom I had the
honor of speaking. You appear to fill a variety
of employments, and I make no doubt, with equal
skill.” The undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
of the North-Western Leaplow Confederate Union,
has the honor to inform the Secretary of State, that our interests
in this portion of the earth are, in general, on the best
possible footing; our national character is getting every day
to be more and more elevated; our rights are more and more
respected, and our flag is more and more whitening every
sea. After this flattering and honorable account of the state
of our general concerns, I hasten to communicate the following
interesting particulars. AFFIDAVIT. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 376 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Homeward Bound, Or, the Chase | | | | 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: | The coast of England, though infinitely finer than our
own, is more remarkable for its verdure, and for a general
appearance of civilisation, than for its natural beauties.
The chalky cliffs may seem bold and noble to the American,
though compared to the granite piles that buttress the
Mediterranean they are but mole-hills; and the travelled
eye seeks beauties instead, in the retiring vales, the leafy
hedges, and the clustering towns that dot the teeming island.
Neither is Portsmouth a very favourable specimen of a
British port, considered solely in reference to the picturesque.
A town situated on a humble point, and fortified
after the manner of the Low Countries, with an excellent
haven, suggests more images of the useful than of the
pleasing; while a background of modest receding hills
offers little beyond the verdant swales of the country. In
this respect England itself has the fresh beauty of youth,
rather than the mellowed hues of a more advanced period
of life; or it might be better to say, it has the young freshness
and retiring sweetness that distinguish her females, as
compared with the warmer tints of Spain and Italy, and
which, women and landscape alike, need the near view to
be appreciated. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 377 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Homeward Bound, Or, the Chase | | | | 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: | for he hoped to be back again in the course of the succeeding
day. No time was to be lost, he knew, the return of the
Arabs being hourly expected, and the tranquillity of the open
sea being at all times a matter of the greatest uncertainty.
With the declared view of making quick work, and with the
secret apprehension of a struggle with the owners of the
country, the captain took with him every officer and man in
his ship that could possibly be spared, and as many of the
passengers as he thought might be useful. As numbers might
be important in the way of intimidation, he cared almost as
much for appearances as for any thing else, or certainly he
would not have deemed the presence of Mr. Dodge of any
great moment; for to own the truth, he expected the editor
of the Active Inquirer would prove the quality implied by
the first word of the title of his journal, as much in any
other way as in fighting. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 378 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Mercedes of Castile, Or, the Voyage to Cathay | | | | 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: | Whether we take the pictures of the inimitable Cervantes,
or of that scarcely less meritorious author from
whom Le Sage has borrowed his immortal tale, for our
guides; whether we confide in the graver legends of history,
or put our trust in the accounts of modern travellers,
the time has scarcely ever existed when the inns of Spain
were good, or the roads safe. These are two of the blessings
of civilization which the people of the peninsula would
really seem destined never to attain; for, in all ages, we
hear, or have heard, of wrongs done the traveller equally by
the robber and the host. If such are the facts to-day, such
also were the facts in the middle of the fifteenth century,
the period to which we desire to carry back the reader in
imagination. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 379 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Mercedes of Castile, Or, the Voyage to Cathay | | | | 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: | The slumbers of Columbus were of short duration.
While his sleep lasted it was profound, like that of a man
who has so much control over his will as to have reduced
the animal functions to its domination, for he awoke regularly
at short intervals, in order that his watchful eye might
take a survey of the state of the weather, and of the condition
of his vessels. On this occasion, the admiral was on
deck again, a little after one, where he found all things
seemingly in that quiet and inspiring calm that ordinarily
marks, in fine weather, a middle watch at sea. The men
on deck mostly slumbered, the drowsy pilot, and the steersman,
with a look-out or two, alone remaining erect and
awake. The wind had freshened, and the caravel was
ploughing her way ahead, with an untiring industry, leaving
Ferro and its dangers, at each instant, more and more
remote. The only noises that were audible, were the gentle
sighing of the wind among the cordage, the wash of the
water, and the occasional creaking of a yard, as the breeze
forced it, with a firmer pressure, to distend its tackle and to
strain its fittings. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
| 380 | Author: | Cooper
James Fenimore
1789-1851 | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | The Pathfinder, Or, the Inland Sea | | | | 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: | The sublimity connected with vastness is familiar to every
eye. The most abstruse, the most far-reaching, perhaps the
most chastened of the poet's thoughts, crowd on the imagination
as he gazes into the depths of the illimitable void. The expanse
of the ocean is seldom seen by the novice with indifference,
and the mind, even in the obscurity of night, finds a parallel
to that grandeur, which seems inseparable from images
that the senses cannot compass. With feelings akin to this admiration
and awe—the offspring of sublimity—were the different
characters with which the action of this tale must open,
gazing on the scene before them. Four persons in all—two
of each sex—they had managed to ascend a pile of trees,
that had been uptorn by a tempest, to catch a view of the
objects that surrounded them. It is still the practice of the
country to call these spots wind-rows. By letting in the
light of heaven upon the dark and damp recesses of the
wood, they form a sort of oases in the solemn obscurity of
the virgin forests of America. The particular wind-row of
which we are writing, lay on the brow of a gentle acclivity,
and, though small, it had opened the way for an extensive
view to those who might occupy its upper margin, a rare
occurrence to the traveller in the woods. As usual, the spot
was small, but owing to the circumstances of its lying on the
low acclivity mentioned, and that of the opening's extending
downward, it offered more than common advantages to the
eye. Philosophy has not yet determined the nature of the
power that so often lays desolate spots of this description:
some ascribing it to the whirlwinds that produce water-spouts
on the ocean; while others again impute it to sudden and
violent passages of streams of the electric fluid; but the effects
in the woods are familiar to all. On the upper margin
of the opening to which there is allusion, the viewless influence
had piled tree on tree, in such a manner as had not only
enabled the two males of the party to ascend to an elevation
of some thirty feet above the level of the earth, but, with a
little care and encouragement, to induce their more timid
companions to accompany them. The vast trunks that had
been broken and driven by the force of the gust, lay blended
like jack-straws, while their branches, still exhaling the
fragrance of wilted leaves, were interlaced in a manner to
afford sufficient support to the hands. One tree had been
completely uprooted, and its lower end, filled with earth,
had been cast uppermost, in a way to supply a sort of
staging for the four adventurers, when they had gained the
desired distance from the ground. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
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