labors. Accordingly, at
about eleven o'clock he might be seen issuing from the gate of his
residence in a wagon, driving a tall sorrel horse named Pumpkin. This
animal was ill suited to the dignity of his driver. He had a singularity
of gait which consisted in occasionally going on three legs, and at
times elevating both hind legs in a manner rather amusing than alarming;
often he persisted in backing when urged to go forward, and always his
emotions were expressed by the switching of his very light wisp of a
tail. Mrs. Cooper was most frequently Mr. Cooper's companion on these
daily excursions, although often the eldest daughter took the place in
the vehicle by her father's side.

[Illustration: THE CHALET]

In the late afternoon Cooper usually devoted some time to the
composition of his novels, without touching pen to paper. It was his
custom to work out the scenes of his stories while promenading the large
hall of his home. Here he paced to and fro in the twilight of the
afternoon, his hands crossed behind his back, his brow carrying the
impression of deep thought. He nodded vigorously from time to time, and
muttered to himself, inventing and carrying on the conversation of his
various imaginary characters. After the evening meal he put work aside,
and passed the time with the family, sometimes reading, often in a game
of chess with Mrs. Cooper, whom, ever since their wedding day, when they
played chess between the ceremony and supper, he had fondly called his
"check-mate." He never smoked, and seldom drank beyond a glass of wine
which he took with his dinner.

[Illustration: THE NOVELIST'S LIBRARY

From a drawing by G. Pomeroy Keese]

In the early morning, when Cooper shut himself in the library, he set
down on paper in its final form the portion of narrative that he had
worked out while pacing the hall the previous afternoon. The library
opened from the main hall, and occupied the southwestern corner of the
house. It was lighted by tall, deeply-recessed windows, against which
the branches of the evergreens outside flung their waving shadows. The
wainscoting was of dark oak, and the sombre bookcases that lined the
walls were of the same material. A large fireplace occupied the space
between the two western windows. Across the room stood a folding
screen[106] upon which had been pasted a collection of engravings
representing scenes known to the family during their tour and residence
in Europe, together with a