were their
visits to the hot-beds and melon hills. "Ah, those muskmelons! Carefully
were they watched." This penman was frankly proud of his melons, their
early growth and flavor. But for all his care this melon-pride met its
Waterloo one spring in a special box of superior seed, started in a
favored place for light and warmth, and to be early transplanted. Soon
the tiny green blades appeared, duly became leaflets, to the joy of the
Judge and the planter. "Those two venerable heads bending together in
close scrutiny over the young plants was a pleasant sight, in the
author's eager interest and genial sympathy of the Judge." But alas!
neither jurist nor novelist was a botanist, and the triumphantly
expected melon vines basely proved after a few more days of tender
nursing to be the leaves of "that vagabond weed, the wild-cucumber
vine." Here too he gathered material for future books, and did much
writing. Evening twilight often found him pacing the large hall, his
hands behind him, his head doing active duty in decisive nods of _yea_
and _nay_, and words spoken aloud for putting on paper in his library
next morning. Some of this writing was to his profit and pleasure, and
some, alas! to his sad disturbance--as was "A Letter to his Countrymen,"
published in 1834.

A picture of this Otsego-Hall home life would prove a sorry failure with
"Pumpkin" left out. Therefore appears Pumpkin, the family horse, who
earned his name by drawing a load of pumpkins for Seraphina, the cow, to
eat. It is of note that his horseship carried "a very light whisp of a
tail, and had a gait all his own in going at times on three legs and, at
times, kicking up both hind ones in a way more amusing than alarming, by
leaving an interesting doubt as to fore or aft movement, in the mind of
his driver."

Of Cooper's daily active life Mr. Keese notes: "He rose early, did much
writing before breakfasting at nine, and afterwards until eleven
o'clock. Then Pumpkin, hitched to his yellow buggy, was brought to the
door"; and when her health would allow, Mrs. Cooper often went with her
husband to their _chalet_ farm. Sometimes it was his author-daughter who
went with her father; and again, some friend was hailed from the street
for the trip. These several active hours would give him a fine appetite
for their three o'clock dinner, on his return. "The late afternoon and
evening were given to friends at home, or to visiting, and often to his
favorite game of che