of the village gleaming amidst the green leafage of the
valley.

It is impossible not to idealize the village when one views it from this
height. To the tourist, who comes merely to admire, it is a view that
possesses the glamour of enchantment. How happy should be the people who
dwell in this peaceful village, surrounded by such charming scenery! How
lofty should be their ideals, and how pure their lives, who abide amid
such glories of nature!

But for residents of Cooperstown this view is one that has more than
beauty. It grips the heart. As the resident looks down upon the streets
and houses amongst the trees it is with a sympathetic knowledge of the
dwellers there, and of the joys that delight them, of the sorrows that
crush them, of the sins that dog them, and of the hopes that inspire
them.

The drama of life has been many times enacted amid the scenes of this
village, and here is the prologue and epilogue of many a romance and
tragedy.

Boys and girls are at play in the streets, and are skylarking along the
shore of lake and river. Ambitious youngsters go out into the wider
world to seek their fortunes. But there is always a homecoming. Youth
has its day.

There are two aged men from different quarters of the village who daily
resort in summer to the Cooper Grounds, and sit in the sunshine upon the
same bench. Either is visibly uneasy until the other arrives. But
together they are happy. On this spot where the history of the village
began they take turns at being narrator and listener, while each relates
to the other the story of his life, and describes his triumphs in days
that are gone. They give no heed to passers-by, or to the traffic of
neighboring streets. But a village church bell tolls, and they fall
silent, lifting their heads to watch the funeral train as it passes the
Cooper Grounds and winds slowly upward from the main street to the quiet
garden by the lake, on the slope of the eastern hills.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 128: George S. Dougherty, in _Chicago Saturday Blade_, January
8, 1916.]

[Illustration: VILLAGE MAP OF COOPERSTOWN]

VISITORS' GUIDE

Chief points of interest are indicated on the village map, in the order
most convenient for a short tour, by letters from A to M.

A--Cooper Grounds. Site of Fenimore Cooper's residence.

B--Cooper's grave in Christ churchyard. Christ Church, erected 1807, in
which he worshipped.

C--Fernleigh, the Clark residence, where Bishop Po