New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-08-05

| Cooper, on the other hand, idealIzes after tbs
method Of Schiller he lends H. hero, together
with the qualities whIch belong 20 h.s pesincn
IN lie, and are Ct material rather than spiritual
nature those advantages and those qualities
which are universally human. but which 10 no;
! strictly correspond with the former. Hence, IN
the case Of the latter. our attention Is only d.
rected TO his external doIngs. and we 30 not re-
fleet on the inner connection OF his thoughts AMI
incllnaiions As soon as We begin 10 reflect on
this. the illusion vanshes, and we have an artl-
hcIal being before Us while IN the case OF Ma
than, We are constantly obliged 10 CONCEIVE OF
him as whole and the more strange he appears
TO US at first. the better DO We understand him
on further acquaintance, fort the very reason that
| this circumstance awakens our reflection
The second character is the ancient Presbyterl-
an, who has withdrawn from the old world andls
founding his sacred and simply religious church
in the new, and who relies quite as much on the
independence of individuals on their uncOn-
dltlonal submission 10 the rules OF morality.
This character Is we'll depicted in the Wept-of-
! Wlsh-ton-Wish and has not been surpassed by
later writers There Is nothing new VI the con-
| IT,,
| Midlothian, the situation only being changed.
Sealsfed and others have only added greater
variety Of settlers OF the difference so full Of
interest, between the sturdy, and somewhat arts
tocratc. slave-holdlng Ylrginian. and the Pun
! tanic Yankee and the southern Creole, We md
/ not trace IN Cooper.
We come at last to the Indians. BY our ear
| - 3.
! liar with these, that we do not comprehend de-
scrlptlons. for example Ike those of Calm and
vet. If we look more closely at the subject, there
Is no essential difference between them. Cooper
! depicts the costume and the usages OF his Indians
as sufficiently wild and adventurous. They
/ tattoo themselves. they hold their dehrlOus war
| dances. they torture each other, rs It stands In
the book and yet, when we look at the pic
! lures of Catlin, we do not recognise our old
/ friends again. The reason of this Is, that Cooper
paints his Indians as ideal so that not only their
rude natural force, and the perfection of their
senses, make a strong Impression on men accus
toned TO cultivation, but also, IN some degree
their mental characteristics. Their mode of
thought Is less developed, less artificial, II Is
true. than that of the Europeans, but II is purcr
and nobler at least this holds of his favorltes,
the UncaS. the Conanchets, &c. They bear 4
striking family resemblance TO our RlnaldInl and
Aballino. those undetermined brgands We are
affected by Cooper's Indians IN the same way as
/ by Hawkeye We are carried away oy the sensu-
Gus charm of the narrative without rejecting on
the actual qualities of his character. WheH We
! look more narrowly. find only figures ar
rayed in an attractive costume, with no key to
! their inner motives, and whom. accordingly, we
cannot class with responsible beings. They
awaken only lyrical emotions, like the mist
pictures OF OssIan we have no dramatic rela-
tons with them On the other hand, the sensu-
Gus charm before spoken OF Is IN the highest
/ degree attractive. The history OF the wander
mgs OF the Indians, of their marvellous sense
for the trail OF the rapid combination with which
/ they read whole history IN torn leaf, the de-
scnption of forest and prairie fires, and the pre-
.ence OF mind displayed on their occurrence
occasionally, We must confess, give US the idea
OF rodomontade hut they enchaln our nte-
rest, that we would willingly forgive the writer
for lying on a small scale.
We must allude to another defect OF Cooper,
which is connected again with an advantage.
He is so rgld a Puritan, that We find no trace oi
the sexual relations Ia his works. This is GER
tainly an excellence when we compare him, for
example. with Seasiield, who allow. by far too
! great space TO the material side of love, and
not seldom falls into the morbid and unbeautliul;
/ but II not only deprves his deneatlons of wo-
man OF all lite. but shows a deficiency In his
men, which we cannot supply, without disturb
| ing the image OF them which he presents. Still,
1t cannot be denied that the Puritan severity OF
! the Americans, IN this respect, has something
! very commendable
The heroes of the nautical romances, the Pilots,
| the Red RoyerS, IN their devoted, heroic DISPOSE
ton. their nationality and their wild fanatclsn,
resemble to hair the characters already spoken
Of The Pilot, IN whom the renowned Amen
/ can naval hero, Paul Jones, is described, is
second edition of the Spy, and a iorerunner OF
the Bravo and In the inner kernel OF his nature
is as incomprehenslOle az the latter. The sea
stories show still more clearly, what we have
| stated of the others. that Cooper does not at
tempt the psychological development of his he
roes but aims only al the brilliant representation
/ Of their material action. The real heroes OF
/ his nautical romances the ships, which gam
truly individual, characteristic, and interesting
! HE We cherish an interest for them, ike the
/ sailors who belong to them. and we value the
/ human characters only as they influence their
motions The descriptions OF sea storms OF the
hgh,ning-hke rapidlty with which the machine
obevs the spirit OF the losing, seeking and md
ing, which Cooper has given, mold US IN breath
! less excitement Al the same time, ne was the
first who introduced this kind OF composition TO
! the public He mas since found a countless host
| Of lmItatoTs.
! OF the REMAINING novels Of Cooper. nothing Is