Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-01-01
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
He Was First Historian of the
Navy.
How Cooper Was Trained for RAJ.
work HOW Io STUFFED the Laitcs
and tho Ocean what IIe Really
Did for Us.


David Ringwalt writes in the Phil
adelphia Ledger:
King So!omon's remark about books
in general might be applied to the
literature of the American navy. we
owe to our naval service countess
magazine articles, pamphlets and
bound volumes, which suggest the
comparisons found in school grammar,
good. better, best" or bad. worse.
worst" Unless one has looked over
some OF the alleged naval biographies
of the past he cannot understand what
wretched productions they We're. On
the other hand the navy has inspired
Brownell's verses, Bret Harris "On
Scarborough the amusing life of Com
"reminiscences, Porter's journal, the
scholarly writing of Prof. Sorley. Rear
Admiral Frank!in's breezy volume, the
lives OF Farragut and Porter, the his
stories OF Roosevelt and Maclay, and
the noble, lasting work of Captain Ma
han. These productions, alike p3trl-
otto and tasteful, solid and readable,
are we'll known AS for the bygone
trash a little of it is preserved in some
OF the notes TO Roosevclt's delightful
book on the war of 1872
JAMES Kenmore COOPER.
To Cooper. the novelist. the patriot
and the litigant. the generous, ;he
eccentric, and the pugnacious. we are
indebted for large share OF all THAI
is best in our naval literature. Like
one of his own pioneers, he bazed the
wa. No man of his time could have
prepared so mastery n book as Ma
In, sI-st
History" but Cooper elevated national
thought here and won the respect OF
intelligent Engilshmen. HIS, preiudices
against steam and ironclads. If not sus-
tanned by the facts were f)rcludires of
many Of his ablest contemporaries.
What he did for Us was TO show that
fireworks are not to he compared with
facts. The spread-c agleisin of his time
burst forth in essays of n school boy
nature. Cooper wrote as a man. If our
naval policy seemed 10 him weak, if our
public opinion was incorrect il the
enemy deserved more credit than we
were disposed to give him Cooper
wrote with mature dignity. So far from
counting popular approved, Cooper
seemed to relish being in the minority
Unlike Clay. he would have enjoyed be-
Ing right all the more If 1t kent him
from being President. There were peo-
pie who liked To believe that L'Insur-
Ecntc wns superior to the Cons relation
tho Guerrero fair match for tho Con-
siitutinn and Barclays force stronger
than Pe.ry's. ON such matters Cooner's
frank statement OF the truth gave Of
rense. lie believed in our navy so
,hcrcughly that he was willing to tell
the facts and discard the lctions.
CoopER'S EARLY TRAINING.
Born in Burlington N J.. Cooper was
pf1 In, Inf ~. .
beautiful OtseSo Lake. Ilc lived in an
atmosphere calculated to broaden the
mind. Traditions OF Indian warfare
taught the child Co admire the bravery
OF his countrymen. while neighbors
from all parts of Europe saved him
from that contempt of foreigners so
common III babyhood. and which baby
.Si: minds never outgrow. The storms
OF the tre:.ci Revolution sent refugees
from dozen lands into interior New
SolF. Tallcyrand. in the days of his
exile, visited coopers father. OF the
earliest storelieepers at Coopertown
one had been captain in the British
Army, and another had been Governor
of Martinique. The lesson that bright
minds and brave hearts may be driven
into the forest by political changes or
military disasters was taught by "A host
or EXAMPLES. and young Cooper. long
before he started out to write history
knew men who had helped to make il
and had been unmade in CONSEQUENCE.
4rTer some tim9 In a Village school
Cooper was sent to Albany. and became
the pupil of an English clergyman.
whose morals did not suggest Gold
smiths good parson. but who had been
well trained and could teach what he
knew. Cooper learned to look at both
sides OF the Revolutionary struggle
and 10 understand the dominant Brit
ish view OF law and government OF
Crown and colony No teacher could
have destroyed Cooper's patriotism
and an English schoolmaster may have
saved him from becoming n lingo
The death of the pedagoeue was fol-
lowed by Cooper's admission 10 Yale
College. He studied the scenery
around New Haven. neglected his
hooks. got into boyish scrapes. and was
finally expelled. his father arguing that
the college authorities were unjust.
throughout life Cooper retained pleas
ant memories of several Of the Yale
STAFF, and with Professor Siliiman he
maintained correspondence. Tt Il
not likely that Cooper misdeeds were
OF serious character but Yale may
have done wisely in eXpelinr a Youth
who refused 10 learn wha, she saw fl,
to teach. Professor Lcunsbl,ry. in hla
charming life of Cooper says that OK
pericnce in class room teaches one