FOKTIll.
HOW SWEET'TIS TO RMTKX. j
I
Pi samuel r.- vr.!:, esq.
J f nv -nye.-l '! 1; to return i
V'iicre o icj we've happy hotn.
'J'iio' pa lor now lii'-'n lamp nj ly Inrn, j
A ml years have rolled bel'vcen.
r?;' loops (,>n v: ! itneve'.
That v j>t our purlin; lhc:i,
if.i. i.i thn smiles f>2* trie thus : ] !
We live whole years again.
tell us o? a fount that flov. M
!n happier <1 ?vs of yore,
Whosewa'.v:!Irij/'it t:-. !iy- itli 1 ta.ve.l:
A!i.?, Rio ft-Jit'd i;o num-l
]! ;? siiiiiirjr "MeiaVy .' Jill ay
Prcscn's ;>.nr cap, a:;1', when
We s p the sv.vcls of vanquish'tl years,
Vi e live those year, again.
-I-1"-?. ?L~'t-~^ From,
tie Su'iihsrn Ltlnrafy Jh.^en^'-r.
JAMES FFNIM0R15 CUUiM.ti, wy,
Until the close of the last ccnt .ry, American
literature was of an rx'.rctmiy miscellaneous
character, an;! sustained by no
writers who were authors by profession.
Occasionally, a lawyer, a divine, a politician,
or a schoolmaster, might turn
aside from the serious business of his life,
and compile or compose a book upon the
.subjects connected with bis individual
pursuits; and incipient poets, lovers and!
wits, adorn the pages of the two or three
magazines then existing, with quaint sonnets,
ballads, squibs, elegies and epigrams:
further than this, American literature
had neither form nor c-nnlincss. AVc I
except here the diplomatic correspondence!
cf Washington, Lee, Hamilton, Adams,
and other distinguished writers and scho
Inrs of the revolution; compositions,
which for elegance of diction, strength
and directness of expression, and Roman
vigor of style, are surpassed by no writings
of a later period, and may compare
with the best of ihe brightest era of JJri?1.
no nf literature as
tisli literature; it. iu ?
a pursuit, of authors by profession, to
which tiiese remarks have reference.?
After Americans became independent of
Great Britain, they began to think for
themselves in literature as well as in politics;
and writers on various subjects began
to make their appearance, and rapidly
to increase in numbers, dignifying and
elevating their pursuit, by the extent,
variety, and boldness of their productions,
and by the genius and learning they displayed.
Bat not until about the year seventeen
hundred and ninety, could A me-!
rican literature be properly classed, or
authors be disignated by names derived
from their devotion to one branch of lear-'
ning. And although at the period wcj
have just named, few or no writers fol
lowed, to the. exclusion of other branches'
of science, or other professions, any one '
path of literature, still, with less dillicul-i
ty than twenty y.ars before, they ad-'
mined of classification under respective!
heads. Thus, in 1700, the United Stiles
could boast her historians,her biographers,
her jurists, her theologians, her 'rarollers,
her poets, and her novelists; and so
rapid, since that period, has been her
progress in every fielu of literature, art;
and science, that at this lime she holds aj
proud rank in the world 01 icucrs. u>
which, during the last forty years, her
contributions in the various departmentof
science, have been equalled by no nations
except England, and perhaps tiermany.
Of the classes of writers abovcmcntioncd,
the novelist was the slowest in his
advances into public favor. The severeeast
of character of that grave generation,
which telaincd traces of the stern and
severely moral tone of feeling derived
from the early settlers of the colonics,
presented powerful obstacles to the introduction
of a species of literature, whose
object was amusement, and which, in the
-opinion of the sober people of the age,
was akin to the sorceries of the Moahites
and Ammonites, and a temptation of the
devil. The first American novelist, who
had the temerity to encounter these puritanic
prejudices, was a clergyman! the
Rev. l)r. Belknap. lie was an accurate
scholar, and distinguished for the soundness
of his learning in various departments
of science, especially legal juris1
1 ? ?? llsnt fir.
J>ruuc:icc, iiidiui > t ?41 a?? j#**..*... 7
not usually invite the attention of divines.
Some of his opinions upov society an-'
political government, were of a c; ginal
and dangerous chancier; and rttcli
as he did not think it wise to divulge without
sotne precautions. He therefore, in
imitation of certain French writers, wrote
n novel, i:i which he introduced many
well-drawn characters, which he made the
medium of expressing sentiments .he deeio?d
it imprudent to convey to the public
through a more direct channel. This novel
lie entitled "The Foresters.'" It became
very popular, and tire reverend novelist,
instead of being, with his book,
compared with Aaron and the golden calf,
tempting men to idolatry, in lieu of pointing
the.11 to Heaven, gained by his proiioeiion,
dtserved reputation.
< hie or two unsuccessful imitations of
'"The Foresters," followed soon afterward-;
but no novelist appeared until
1703, when Ciiarl?s Brockden Brown published
" Vf'ieland," which noble composition
gave the author a title to rank
among the most popular writers of liction
of his time. This was succeeded by
Arthur Mervvn, Edgar Iluntly, Clara
Howard, and others, which added to the
fame of the writer. These novels are
characterised by a richness of language,
j iage betray ihs poet of nutwrc, and man
>f genius. Brown was l!ie pioneer in the
i viUis of American fiction; and like all
.v:-o travi J an unbeaten path, had many
bstaeies to encounter. The novelist of
hat period was looked upon as little beti
ter than an infdcl; his work was seldom
I met with in the library of the learned, or
!iif: boudoir of the rich and refined; and
a devout abhorrence for works ol thcima
ginatinn, was inculcate;! -1 considered
j a goodie: I of morality. Ti;;s prejudice
i has no: yr-t rtiircly sub/ided; and the experience
of many readers will no doulri
j readily revert to instances of its exhibi*
i lion like the fallowing: "A young friend,
' :ii't a great u .bile since, on entering Ills
' studv after hi.; return from church, was
I *
! struck with the meagre appearance of his
j book-ease. O.s examination, he took
j from it the cixcs of threescore novels,
j the accumulation of years, including many
'of Scott's and Cooper's IIis pious mo(titer,
taking advantage of his absence,
j had torn out and burned their godless conj
tents, and replaced the harmless skclc'
tons.
i The next novelist of importance was
; Mrs. Foster, who, inspired by the popuI
lariiy of Wicland and its successors,
wrote a lively novel, called "The Roarj
ding School;" hut only adJed another to
a numerous species of English novels,
adapted to the taste of the day. Its sitecess,
however, was limited. Shortly afterward?,
she published "The Coquette,"
ja fiction of the same class and degree of
merit; but many of its incidents having
actually Inppcued, and several of the
characters which were drawn with skill
and truth, being prominent living individuals.
it created a certain kind of ariifi
cial excitement, and was read by every
body. This novel was instrumental in
creating a taste (or fictitious compositions,
'which was increased by the publicatio<>f
"Charlotte Temple,' a captivating
fiction from the pen of Mrs. Ilavvson.?
I Several other works by the same graceful
writer, afterwards made their appearance;
and were extensively read and admired
Many romances, from anonymous
authors, and from others whose
| names were then known, but which fame:
has not recorded, were successively publisned,
read and forgotten.
The fame of the Great Unknown, and
the revolution in public sentiment in relation
to fiction, at length drew many competitors
into the Held, both in Great Britain
and the United Stales. The genius of
.Sir Waller Scott seemed to have enkind
led a hundred minds. Among the. numo
rous candidates for noveiistic honors in
America, the gentleman whose name lias
given title to this paper, was destined to
stand forth the most distinguished. Mr.
Cooper is a native of Burlington, in the
state of New Jersey, lie was educated
at lulc UoJtege, ami suuscqueiuiy
a midshipman in tl;s navy, it. which situation
lie acquired lint nautical knowledge |
lo which his countrymen arc indebted for
1 he "Pilot." the "Red Rover," and the
" Water Witch." At the close of the last
war, he left the service, which after the
peace, presented no .attraction? to an active
and ardent mind, and returned in the
family mansion of his father, Judge
Cooper, then residing in New York, in
the vicinity of Otsego Lake?the romantic
scenery of which the novelist lias described
in ' The Pioneer." with the pen
of a poet and naturalist. Retirement, to
an imaginative mind, is the parent of in-!
volition: invention pants for expression;
the pen is at once seized as the medium,
and the hermit is converted into the author.
The genius of Cooper soon caught '
inspiration from the objects by which lie
was surrounded, and as the result of his |
seclusion, lie produced a work of fiction,
entitled "Precaution." Although this
novel possesses distinguished merit, and
is surpassed by but two or three of .MrCooper's
later productions, it was re
oeivcd with indifference by the American
public; lor 'Wavcrlcy and Guy Manncring,
at this period, had created, or rather confirmcd
the taste for English 1 teraturc of
this class, and a corresponding contempt
for domestic talent. "Precaution'' was
not only neglected, but. so severely criticised,
that the author, if he had looked
i for fame to his countrymen, would never
j have resumed his pen. 1'ut the ilriiish
press, with that justice, dignity and candor,
which lias almost universally characterised
it, in relation to American literature,
tanghl the Americans to appreciate
l is genius. The English critics
praised his book; his countrymen reechoed
their opinions, read and piaiscd it
also: for now it was propcily endorsed,
1 hnr;? rrn?!/l hr? rti\ r.? r ?r 'Pn tltn incli/*A
IVI iw i ? w wuni ?v V i< v V<4 1 1/1 J. IIIV j n s; 11 vv
ami gooil sense of (lie English press,
| which may claim (he distinction of giving
I America her most celebrated novelist, Mr.
j Cooper is also indebted to the ultimate
i success of his second novel, "The Spy,"
J a revolutionary tale, which the encouragement
of the Hritish press induced him to
j publish, although not until some time
afterward, in the year 1822.
In 1823, Mr. Cooper sent forth his
third work, "The Pioneer," the principal
scones of which are laid in the American
wilderness. Taught by ibis time
how to estimate their novelist, the American
press received this production more
favorably, but still held back the full
meed of praise, until they could hear fiom
the other side of the water.
It is not the object of the writer to discuss
the merits of these novels, but to .offer
a brief notice of them and their author.
The " Pilot," the scenes of which arc
aid on the coast of England, in the rcvoluiionarv
war, ami i!:e hero of which, who
Paul Jones, was published in the year
1921, and forthwith became pnpuhft*?
The time embraced by the whole booh,
excepting the last chapter, is less than
seventy-two hours. It is undoubtedly
one of the best, as it certainly is the most
finished, of .Mr. Cooper's fictions. ''Lionel
Lincoln" soon followed "The Pilot,"
'in IIr-tfi; and its popularity was unprecedented.
The scenes of this romance arc
; laid in Boston during its occupation by
;t!ie British troops, at the beginning oi
| the rcroluntionarv struggle. It is second,
in point of merit, to others by the same
author, but yields to none of them in interest.
It was this production that created
in Boston and throughout New England,
a popularity for Mr. (Jooper's works,
at one period so great, as to become among
novel readers, almost a mania.
i - i cn\n \i .. n a a r ]
ill io^u, lur. v^ouper scui uiu nuiu nis
prolific pen, another annual;?for his appearance
was now marked with the regularity
cf the seasons; ami a new novel,
yearly, from the "author of the Spy," as
ho was designated, had got to be as much
a matter of course, as the annual message
from the president* This, his sixth
romance, is entitled "The Last of Mohi'cans,"
and is assimilated, in the peculiarities
of its principal scones and characters,
to "The Pioneers," both of which
fictions may, with propriety, be denominated
in contradiction to " Nautical,"?
"Indian novels:" their prominent features
being the portraiture of Indian manners
unci customs, the peculiarities of which
arc exhibited in the habitudes of certain
aboriginal characters therein introduced.
In painting Indian scenes df still life, or
in delineating the warrior and hunter, the
battle or the chase, our novelist, as he is
the first who seize I upon subjects so lull
of interest for the romancer, so is he
alone and unrivalled in this branch of his
art. The forest, ocean, and camp, constitute
the legitimate umpire of Mr. Cooper's
genius. At his bidding the savage
warrior, the fearless seaman, the gallant
soldier, move, speak and act with wonderful
reality. But in the streets of a
city; in the green fields; in the pallor or
in the bower, he is not so entirely at
home: and the details of rural and domes
I 11 v 11 ilT, ?1IU U [) |U11 i II11 V UIISW11UU U) WIC
character of his genius. His mind is
deeply imbued with love for the stern and
the Mi'ilime: as a poet, he doubtless would
have written very much like Campbell.
In 1S27, Mr. Cooper published his seventh
romance, entitled " The Prairie,"
a fiction of the same species of the Pioneers,
and by judicious critics esteemed
one of the best from his pen. The
"author of the Spy" had now attained to
tiiat degree of popularity, when, at length,
an author's productions arc received unquestioned,
read without criticism, and
lire>?me a part of the current literature of
the n?c. The words " By the author of
(lie Spy." on the title page of a novel,
was now sufficient for its introduction,
unread, not only into the boudoir, but into
the I 'warics of men "f |j>!e and learning.
Having successfully overcome the
rapids, quicksands and w!i;ilpoo!s which
obstructed Ids onset, Mr. Cooper lu\il now
only to spread hisj sail, recline at case
in his bark, and, wafted by the breezes
of popular favor, glide peacefully over
the placid sea of literary fame.
The popularity of the Frciiic was unprecedented
bv anv previous works from
I J .J
the same pen. At litis period, the English
language presented the remarkable
feature ?f two of its writers, natives of
different land?, engrossing the whole field
of romance, controlling tlie public taste,
and each founding at the same time, in
opposite hemispheres, an immortal school
of fiction. Scott opened thn treasures of
the highlands, and scattered their inexhaustible
stores throughout Christendom:
and by the power of his unaided genius,
he has thrown a classic interest over the
hills, glens, towers and lakes of his native
country, as imperishable as the charm
i which the epic poets of Rome and (Ircecc
jhave thrown around their lands. Cooper
I unfolded the mysteries of the pathless
' wilderness, snn'ciKil its native lords from
the oblivion into which they were sinking,
and bade them live, before the eyes of the
admiring world, in all the poetry and romance
of their chararrrs. The magic of
his pen has invested the forest with an
interest sncb as genius can alone create,
He has so portrayed the character of a
[primitive people, woo were 7/11'? UIIUI lilt
!contact of civilization made ilicm brutes,
'that, when they shall at length live only
: in the page of history, it is alone through
the inspired pen of the novelist, that fujturc
ages will most delight to contemplate
their character. Both Scott and Cooper
I have thrown an exaggerated poetic in|terest
around the characters they most
J loved to draw; and the rude highlandci
of the Scottish hills, ami the savage n|
the American wilds, are, perhaps, equally
! indebted to the imagination of the novc!
list for the peculiar charms with which
itiicy arc invested, when exhibited to the
[reader through their seductive pages.?
I The novelty of the subjects and characters
on which Sir Walter Scott exercised
his pen, contributed essentially, not only
to the popularity of his novels in England,
but especially in America. Here, we
knew lut little or nothing of highlanders
from observation; ar.d our imaginations
exaggerating what little knowledge we
did possess through distorted and imported
traditions, prepared us for the reception
of romances (such as Scott's carlici
novels,) professing to portray the more
romantic features of their manners anti
habits. Aside from their iiitrinsi" n.trit,
: novels of Cooper also, from causes1
similar to these, became universally popular
in England. An Englishman who
has never visited America, has peculiar;
j ideas of that terra incognita, an Amcri-1
jean forest, and of its aboriginal iuhahi-|
J tants. His imagination invests both ivith;
i a sort of oriental interest, of which an;
j American cannot well conceive. This
| can be readily rcforrcd to that "distanco
which lends enchantment to the. view,"
and that leads us, this side of tiio Allan'j
tic, to view all connected with England
j through a singularly false medium; an ol
j 1 usion, which, by merely substituting the!
telescopic lor the microscopic distance, it
J has been proven may easily be dispelled.
} Mr. Cooper, so far as the English public
j were concerned, had his work half done
tn his hands: and his pictures of Indian
j character and western life and adventure,
i were received in Great Britain with unj
bounded enthusiasm:
In 1533, the "Red Rover"' male its
'appearance, and won for the author fresh
laurel.*, both from his countrymen and
Europeans. His works had not only
; reached Great Britain, but previous to
his time had drawn the attention of Ger,
many and France, into the languages of
I which nations they were translated, and
' received w ith a popularity rivalling that
I which they had met with in England and
the United Slates. Perhaps no novel has
, been more extensively read by all classes
of society, than this last mentioned production.
The whole of this year, with the
exception of a few weeks spent in England,
was passed by Mr. Cooper in France,
Belgium and Holland. The year lS2f),
whic h he also spent 0:1 the continent, was
marked in his literary history by the publication
of two works?"The Notes of a
Travelling Bachelor," and the ' Wept of
the Wish-Ton-Wisb." Neither of these
productions materially increased his popularity
as a wiiter. The first was not a
'fiction. Mr. Cooper had been so long
trcati g his friends to an annual hamper
ciI" champaign, that ihey would not put
up Vlth healthy cider, though bearing the
same brand, ifc hail created and fostered
?, I'..- Cwiiii/ttic rit 111 nn<!linn<_ rsnr! hp
H IWI I ?' t> l I I / i.'j ...Vl,vv ?..M . . ?
cotild not complain. The voting ladies
pouted t?:cir pretty 1 ips i'rum vexation, ami
would not read it from sheer spite. The
you 112 gentlemen took it up cavalierly,
and determined to rend and abuse it ot:t of
revenue. The "Travelling Bachelor"
was read nevertheless with approbation
by a large class of renders, whom bis novels
bad reached, ft proved to bo a work
displaying the finest powers of the novelist,
and although of a difil rent character
front his former productions, well worthy
to rank among them, and advance undisputed
claims to a high place in the branch
of literature t? which it belongs. ' The
Wept of the Wish-Ton-V. ish," an I niian
tale, or novel, published -non afterwards
in the same year, was far from obtaining
the popularity of its predecessors. In
IfrJO, Mr. Cooper orni'trd sending forth
his annual lii.Tmu. 'i 1;is year, also, fie
passed on the continr:.'. during which ,
period, we believe, he was acting as our
consul a' Lyons. !u lv;l, he published
w:..,L ?* 1
1!rC? " ilirr ai iiCiiy a iKivuivai ii\m t \ ? li
redeemed (Jic doubtful success oi" !
Wept ?; 1" iIm: Vi U!i.Ton-\NW which, to
pursue ft llgore before adopted, f:.<i a
I brief shadow. as if Iroru a p:.issicloud,
j upon the bright waters over wiiich liir. j
b.irk I'iitl hitherto been prnsporou.-ly ca- |
j rroii1";ic* apparent resemblance,? j
j which, in treating similar themes could j
not b?: avoided, without too tnrsniTest n?*i:ftee,
between tliis work and Use "Ken!
, Hover," caused some severe and not always
just criticisms from the press, on its
lirst appearand ; but t'.is di'i not a lied its
. popularly, wlticli eventually equally, if
it did not surpass, tbnl acquired by the
production wi lt which it was compared.
The Water Witch was not only dramatised
and successfully performed on the American
boards, but, also, many of the prej
vious novels by the same author, received
j this testimony of popularity.
I In ISiiS, Mr. Cooper was still residing
in Europe, where he had been since lSt>8,
1 touring through i.ngianu, ueigium, v?er'ninny,
Franco atul itaiy. As the fruit,
no doubt, of a some-time sojourn in Veinicc,
lie gave to the world this year, his
; | twelfth hook and eleventh novel. "The
i1 Bravo of Venice." This wa< the first
, time Mr. Cooper had placed the scenes of
i his fictions in other than his native land.
! Up to this period he had been emphatically
a native novelist. lie had explored
'the empire of American fiction, before
i, untrodden, and proved to the world that
. jKuropc was not alone the land of story.
lie had shown that ivied walls, lime
worn castles and gloomy dungeons, were
. | not necessary to make a land a land of ro,;
mance; that the war of the revolution ri ;
vailed, in romantic interest, the wars of
/.vnc-ifTrc- that the Indians warriors
I I 'i C * I IIUU ? V. - 4)
j equally with the turbancd Saracen, was
-; the theme of the romancer; fand that
i' heroes need not always to he clad in iron
i mail, nor heroines have only knightly
. lovers sighing at their t'cet, or breaking
lances and heads to attest their devotion,
i! Solely by his geniosand industry, lie had
laid the foundation for a school of ro,
mancc as original, as extensive, and des:.
tined to be ..s perpetual as that instituted
> in another land by the author of Wavcri'ley.
In quitting a Held where lie reigned
t: without a rival, to adventure on ltnfami
liar ground, evinced, at least, temerity;
and, if it did not endanger the lame lie
had already won in many a tilt, it at least
! promi cd no adequate honors to one who
I had already plucked unfading laurels.?
The "Hr:.vo," however, attested 01, ?wn
page, the legitimacy of its nuihorsfJ^^BB
the genins of Cooper pervaded the
There were two causes, however,
.nilitaled against its unmixed popuh^H^^H
in England and in America; ahhouHmm
Italy, France and Cermany, it wasTt^^flflH
eminently successful. The EnglisftjH^^^^H
was sated with continental produggB^J^E
from English pens, in every po6sib!c%ldtpfl^^^B
The Bravo was regarded as only
of this genvs, although comiuv^^^^^H
a source which enforced its favoragtaa^^^^^
[caption. It is not, however, "Tie't^nHH|
| understood, that the Bravo was
lar in England; viewed with some-afriti^^^H
contemporaries, it was only compar^yi^^H
| ly so. Its reception was infinilcly^mtfjS^^H
| flattering titan that which usually
: fled the best continental novels
same class, in uie unuen mates
i not well received, although the
just advanced, could not, in this
affect it. The objection, a somewhau^^^H
vi'licu^ Ortc, Was, !I,nt it was a
work; and, many thought. with
jealousy, that Mr Cooper should havctS^^^^
hiustod American .subjects before
sorted to 'he l.arkneyeti themes of ItalaK^^H
story. There may, perhaps, be
foundation in a wholesome- nations
tor those prejudices. They matcriam^^H
affected his popularity in the LnitcdS.at<5ji^H^B
although his I'ainc was too i-rndy estSSBM
blishcj to be sensibly moved by it. ..
has Seen accurately remarked by Sir
tcr?coit, that the leputntion of
i is licit!]'.;- gained nor lost by a single
In I'.Oo, Ueidenmaucr" (liealliedB^^B
wall) or ''The Rcncdirtir.cs," follnweiK^M
the Bravo. The scenes of this fiction aro_^M|
, likewise laid in Europe. This work,
| had to contend with the prejudices abnv^^Hfl
mcntiom d. It was moreover written wiih^^H
somewhat less vigor and beauty of style^^^H
than characterised the former works
the same author. Mis spirit seemed to^^H
languish heneath a foreign sky, and labo^HH
and art to have succeeded the freshness
inspiration. A comparison of his two
works with the Prairie and Red Rovc^^HH
showed clearly that America was the
pire, ns well as the birthplace, of
; Cooper's
The novel of the '
| the Spy," and his fourteenth
| published iri 1S31. ie H
! Headsman of Bcrnc." With the
j Witch, Mr. Cooper appears to hr.re
...
iucn autru to hip American ?<>:: as a !
vciiit, and to have left ilie iie.i.i to tl'ejHR
numerous aspirants for bis fame. who now gl
brvqn to occupy tlic arena, The scenes Sj
of lists uo' i'i are l.iid i i Switzerland. Its ~-a
[appearance revived in n measure the svnn- ^
injj popularity of lis author i" the United %
States, altliotijrh his r.oiintrvioiMi were not
pleased thai their most di-tinuul-tiod no- A
veiist should expatriate both himself and .3
his novels. The Headsmen is malleoli
with all the beauties of Mr. -Cooper's best I
ant! mnst popular cornpositi?rs. We believe
it wa? previous to the publication w
this romance, that the author received N
the appointment of Charge d'Affaires for
the United Stales at Paris, '''i'he Moni- ..i*
kins," Mr. Cooper's fourteenth and 'a-<t
i . n 1 .i._ ii ? .i v> i r.i
niiVCM, iihiuwiij ifjr 11erfuaimiii. ii ni'ir
few traces of our author's nian.it-r, and
ivas limited in its popiiJniity.
I t 1 some pnlitma] strielurrs np!
peered t'roin the pest of Mr. Cooper, that j
were ron?hlv handled hy t: c American
prcs?. In I?3l?. two series of ' Sketches tw
| of Switzerland, hy an American," and ft
I in ISM?, " i. inland, hy an American." i*f
j ami " Cleaning:* in F.tirepe," wore given
| to tho public from tl.c press of Carey &
I L"n, who have uniformly, we helievp^/^i
j [iron Mr. Cooper's publishers. These Sx-'
' works, completing his nineteenth and last
: hook, and heing his thirty-eighth vr-lvmo, "&
I prod need in the space of nim.tteii years,
' hoar trstimnney that the pen of the no- .?
\ eli.-l has parted with no modicum of thp s?
|strength am! heanty of style, with which A
he has clothed his description of Amen- t?
j ran scenery in the pages of the Spy, ?
t'i"it,'i> ninl l>ir?forrc. A!p. Connpr hn* * 3L
I14MII1V. urn* ... ..... y - , - j ^
' suppressed tnanv portions of the original '?
jmanusciipt of tlie Sketches of Swiizer- ip
| land, for reasons which he has slightly
' touched npou in his preface. These vo- />
lumes do not rela'c.cNclusivcly to Switzer- I ( *
land: France, (icrmnnv, Italy and II<>!--'' :
land, ate includm in the observatijns of *
the writer. The first volume opens at [
Paris in 1S2S, and leaves the author lit ,
.Milan. ri'he second volume also begins t
~ It
n! Pari-*, a:iu 1U0 reflections of Idc writer v. <
embrace some ol' the countries above- \
named. Wc arc particularly struck with
! the boldness and truth of Mr. Cooper's *
caustic remarks in his volumes on Eng- ft
j land, in relation to Americans nt home *- x
and abroad. He has herein *srrr.wn-4?ij5-fc|
'self an able, impartial and fearless ccu-~~^B
1 sor of the foibles and faults of his coun
trymcn. These last works have been favornbly
received, although the bold alti
| UkIc the writer has assumed, has elicited
severe and often merited criticism. Mr.
j Cooper is n?nv in his fiftieth year; his fi.
gore rather above the usual height, robust,
and slightly inclined to portliness. Ills I
forehead is massive, and of an intellec- m
tual shape, and his eyes lively and ex- B
pressive, denoting a thinking man and a
close observer. His appearance is com-^^H
inanding. His manners arc perhaps some- ^H|
what reserved, but his address is courtc-^^H
ous and pleasing. lie is at present a resident
of New York, and will doulv/ess
J yield to tlic renewed inspiration f fhe
native American muse, and cntw?c him.
self for many succeeding years ar',ntJ our
hearts; for we are reluctant t Relieve,
j flint lie has yet filled up thc'lfssurc of
lii> country S honor.