na of college life.
Hillhouse was judiciously withdrawn for this reason until the succeeding
year, leaving Cooper the youngest student in the college; he, however,
maintained a respectable position, and in the ancient languages
particularly had no superior in his class.

In 1805 he quitted the college, and obtaining a midshipman's warrant,
entered the navy. His frank, generous, and daring nature made him a
favorite, and admirably fitted him for the service, in which he would
unquestionably have obtained the highest honors had he not finally made
choice of the ease and quiet of the life of a private gentleman. After
six years afloat--six years not unprofitably passed, since they gave him
that knowledge of maritime affairs which enabled him subsequently,
almost without an effort, to place himself at the head of all the
writers who in any period have attempted the description of the sea--he
resigned his office, and on the first day of January, 1811, was married
to Miss De Lancey, a sister of the present Bishop of the Diocese of
Western New-York, and a descendant of one of the oldest and most
influential families in America.

Before removing to Cooperstown he resided a short time in Westchester,
near New-York, and here he commenced his career as an author. His first
book was _Precaution_. It was undertaken under circumstances purely
accidental, and published under great disadvantages. Its success was
moderate, though far from contemptible. It is a ludicrous evidence of
the value of critical opinion in this country, that _Precaution_ was
thought to discover so much knowledge of _English_ society, as to raise
a question whether its alleged author could have written it. More
reputation for this sort of knowledge accrued to Mr. Cooper from
_Precaution_ than from his subsequent real work on England. It was
republished in London, and passed for an English novel.

_The Spy_ followed. No one will dispute the success of _The Spy_. It was
almost immediately republished in all parts of Europe. The novelty of an
American book of this character probably contributed to give it
circulation. It is worthy of remark that all our own leading periodicals
looked coldly upon it; though the country did not. The _North American
Review_--ever unwilling to do justice to Mr. Cooper--had a very
ill-natured notice of it, professing to place the _New England Tale_ far
above it! In spite of such shallow criticism, however, the book was
universally pop