New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-17

at the bar rs In the field OF ct0n. Gernaps MS suts
against Thurlow Weed of The Albany ECeaing Jour
nal, were amusing az any. What adds TO the IN
erest of the is the fact that Weed was devoted
admirer Of Coopers novels, and it was said that Ill
the very heat Of tho controversy he sat all night
to read I" The Pathfinder" which mad Just come out
The first onslaughts did not seem to be made fiom
any ill.will, but from puro wantonness or Mt
least very slight political hostility. Mr.
| Weed and the press generally met the first suit
IN a very supcrcIous and very Jauuty manner
! Even when Cooper o6talned u verdict Of SlO0
| W cod could still afford to be witty and iaunty lie
wroto that" the value of Mr.. Coopers character has
| been indIcialy determined. II is worth exactly
| $780," This remark was sent anonymously u HE
! TRIBUNE. and it Immediately cost lawsuit
| Cooper had already gained several small verdicts
| from country newspapers. In his own journal MI.
| Weed rccited these verdics. repeated all the at
! tscks on the novelist and invited hlm to prosecute
! again If he thought he c0uld obtain 500 more.
| Mr.. Cooper promptly accepted tho challenge ana
! brought suit. Weed did not appreciate the TACT
! that he was dealing not with politician bus WIN
| q nan indifferent to or contcmptuOus OF popular
| clanloI. The press dropped its jocular tone anu
! took high ground about the liberty Of the press
SUITS multiplied until they had reached the number
OF seven AGAINST Mr. Weed. still be aid rot liinch'
He stood manfuly in the gap for freedom OF speech
| And lie announced that he should con;lnGo publish
! Ing ;hese attacks until Cooper ceased prosecuting
| IIo was, indeed. encouraged by tie result Of two
suits in April. 1912, in which, although he was
beaten the verlicts only fol- the small sums OF
| Sol and 81. The tide seemed to DC tuning, aud
new food Of abusc set in with the journals. but
their cheerful auticlpatons dissipatcd by the
result Of q srlt in Nay which broucht verdict 81
| $32J. The press va, indignant. and 1t Suggested
that il judges and iurics persisted in carrying on
is against the press, the editors ahonld unto
in petition to the LEGISLATURE TO pass law com
pelnnc Judges and iurcs to 90 their duty. Before
sprofound suggestion could be acted On. suit N
.ptcmber resulted in verdict OF 500 IN the
/ following month a new suit was began. W ced
| had fought his balto maufully. Bat the business
of publishing libsllous paragraphs at these rates.
low as they were WAS ccasing to he either peasant
OF profitable I;es.des his counsel fees. the al.
verse vor!icts carried with them heavy costs. lie
concluded to let the liberty of tlc press take care OF
! itself Accordingly. cn the 11tb of December,
! 1912. be published thoSgI with a cTGmbling COM
nrnt q Tctractiou Of all III, previous 'a,ements.'
| Cooper began his career as az author cCmpa-l-
lively ato in lite his entrance into literature
! was almost accidental, and not The deliberate
! choosing Of a career. Eo WIS the eleventh Of
! twelve thild'cn, and born in Burlington. New
/ >
ho was OF Quaker descent, and on his mothers,
| Elizabeth renimoIe, Of Swedish. His own namc
| Has az FIRST simply James Cooper and it Was net
till ls2G that Mt the wish Of his grandmother by
! act Of the Legislature OF Ncw.Yolk he took tic
namc of Feuimore. st the &c Of thirteen he was
member Of the freshman class Of Yale Inch grad
uated in SOC: but be did not graduate. In conse-
! quence of Il bo,ish frolic in his third year he
dismissed. In the autumn CT 1906 be took a voy
| age rs a sailor before the mast to England and the
! Mediterranean, and his return. IN 1sOS, he
commissioned as a nIdshipmau in The United States
| Navy. But IT. $40 his naval career was ended by
an attachmeng which spranc up between hiG and
Miss De Lancy, a daughter Of John Peter De Lancy,
OF Weschester County. Tbs lovers were married
January /. 1911, when Cooper was iast turned OF
twontyonc, aud the bride lacked little of being
nineteen. IL was a marriage Of uncommon felicity.
" 1t seldom falls TO tho lot Of the bographcr to re-
cord home life more serene and happy than that
which fell to the share Uf the nan whose literary
life is the gloonicst to be found in Tie history Of
American Men Of Letters. Cooper, like many Per
sons of fiery temperament and strong will WAS very
easily managed through his alectiOls.' Up 10
1921 lie ed life happy donicstic lie that gave
no indication of his future career. The one thing
no dill not do was TO write Ills first work, Pre-
caution was the result Of accident Reading
day to his wife novel descriptive of English
society. which lie did not like, lie suddenly laid
down his book and said: 2" believe could write
better story myself" Challenged to make good his
Toast, lie sat down TO perform tic task wrote ont
a lew pages, and was determined to 90 Oh by he
| encouragement Of bis wife. The tale did not st
tract much attention IN tins country, ard was
printed in England and noticed with no suspicion
Of It's American origin. His next venture was Tho
| Spy" published in December, 1921. TIE circum-
| stances attending It's composition little Less
remarkable than those OF the preceding novel 1t
| was written with reluctance and doubt, the an
thor having conception OF the Importance of his
creation. But after the reception Of that Coopcrs
literary activity knew tagging; he was as pro
| Gc as industrious, and his published works
number nearly hundred volumes. 1t IS noticed
by tie biosfapher that Cooper is the father OF tho
sea.nOvel. lie was the first author who ever wrote
a real story, and ITS composition also acct
dental. In discussion at dinner table il New.
York in 1922 about tho authorship of tbs Waveroy
Novels it WAS said that The Pirate" could not lie
by Scott for Scott had no familiarity with sea life.
Cooper however, sad that tho reason that made
the others uncertain made him confident that scott
was the author of The Pirate for it was the
work of ii landsman and not ii sailor. As he could
not convince his opponents by argument he deter
mined to convince them by writing sea story and
" The Pilot" was the result.
Professor Lounsbury has given US in this brief
biography perfectly rounded picture of Cooper
and al admirable estimate OF his gcnins in which
no attempt is made to mako him appear other or
better than he was. 1t is the limit imposed
in this series that precIulod that reference to Coop
ers contemporaries and to Lis Comrades which
might perhaps haye.made hIn appear less isolated
in hls social life than he really was We shunid
IKE to quote the entire summary OF bis character
but can only find space for the closing paragraphs:
The fedrlesSness aud the tuthfulness of his ma