apper" of "The Prairie." So it came
about that "Natty, the lover," stepped into these pages--Natty, "so
simple, so tender, so noble and true--what shall be said of him? We must
all needs love him; it is not with words but with tears that we wring
his hand and part from him on the lake shore" as "The Pathfinder."
Glowing and brave proved his Mabel, as "the bubble of a boat floated on
the very crest of a foaming breaker,"--yet not for him. But the ripple
of the lake's waves and rustling of forest leaves are as unforgettable
as the low, sweet tones of "Dew-of-June." Of "The Pathfinder" and Cooper
Balzac wrote: "Its interest is tremendous. He surely owed us this
masterpiece after the last two or three raphsodies he has given us."

[Illustration: THE PATHFINDER.]

[Illustration: A BUBBLE OF A BOAT.]

In the year 1809 Cooper was attached to a gun-boat serving on Lake
Champlain, and on November 13 following, he was ordered to the _Wasp_,
under Capt. James Lawrence, of Burlington--a personal friend, and also
the heroic commander of the _Chesapeake_ in her action with the
_Shannon_, in which his last words were, "Don't give up the ship!" It
was aboard the _Wasp_ that Cooper's lifelong friendship with Commodore
Shubrick of South Carolina began, who, like himself, and a year younger,
was a midshipman. To this friend the author dedicated "The Pilot," "Red
Rover," and other stories.

[Illustration: CAPTAIN LAWRENCE.]

[Illustration: THE "WASP."]

Political feeling ran high in those early days of 1809, and prominent
persons did not escape from their opponents with hitter feeling only. So
it came about that in December of that year, Judge Cooper, on leaving a
hot convention, met his death,--the result of a blow on the head, as he
was coming down the steps of the State capitol at Albany, New York. No
one of his day who was engaged in the work of large buying and selling
of land made so deep an impression as did Judge Cooper on his times, and
on his author son, whose land books disclose to posterity with historic
exactness the hardships and values of the pioneers of our country.

After Judge Cooper's death Richard Fenimore, his eldest son, became the
head of the family, and it was to him that James wrote from

New York, May 18th, 1810

I wrote you yesterday, a letter in a great hurry, as its contents
are of some importance. I employ the leisure time offered today, to
inform you more fully of my views.