hero whose name he had received three quarters of a century before were thoroughly congenial. Thus he lived on, retaining his kindly feeling for the world, till the death summons suddenly came, Nov. 28, 1859. Although he had reached an age beyond the usual period allotted to man, the tidings of his death were received throughout the country with profound sorrow. But grief was deepest among those who had known him most intimately. His unpretending neighbors and the little children wept around his grave. 272. Characterization. What Irving was, has been indicated in some measure in the course of this sketch. He had a large, generous nature, the kindliness of which is everywhere apparent. Through his wide reading and extensive travels, he acquired a culture of great breadth. He was at home with the explorer on the prairie or with the sovereign in his court. The gentle elements predominated in his character; he was not inclined to make war upon mankind, and with savage zeal to denounce their wickedness and shams. He was an observer of humanity rather than a reformer; and he reported what he saw with all the grace of a rich imagination and delicate humor. He was always loyal to truth and right. But in dealing with human frailty, his severest weapon was kindly satire. He evoked a smile at the foibles and eccentricities of men. His heart was of womanly tenderness; and for the sorrows and misfortunes of men he had tears of sympathy. The death of such a man is a loss, not only to literature, but, what is much more, to humanity itself. FOR FURTHER READING AND STUDY. Annotated selections from "The Sketch-Book," "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Broken Heart," will be found on pages 403-426. In addition the student should read "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," "Westminster Abbey," and "Stratford-on-Avon " from "The Sketch-Book"; "The Poor Devil Author" and "The Devil and Tom Walker" from "The Tales of a Traveller"; "Dolph Heyleger" and "The Stout Gentleman" from Bracebridge Hall," and "Abbotsford." "The Life of Goldsmith," is admirable. Charles Dudley Warner's "Washington Irving" (American Men of Letters Series); Pierre M. Irving's "Life and Letters of Washington Irving." For critical estimates consult the general bibliography and Poole's "Index." JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. 273. A National Writer.-Cooper deserves the honor of being the most national of our writers. He was less influenced by foreign models and foreign subjects than any of his great contemporaries. The works upon which his fame chiefly rests are thoroughly American. He was the first fully to grasp and treat the stores of materials to be found in the natural scenery, early history, and pioneer life of this Republic. He was at home alike on land and sea ; and in his narrations he spoke from the fulness of his own observation and experience, and gave us pictures of those early days which will grow in interest as they are removed farther from us by the lapse of time. He opened a new vein of thought. It was largely owing to this freshness of subject and treatment that his works attained an extraordinary popularity, not alone in this country, but also in Europe. They came as a revelation to the Old World, which had grown tired of well-worn themes. They were eagerly seized upon, and translated into nearly every European tongue, and even into some of the languages of the Orient. No other American writer has been so extensively read. 274. Childhood Surroundings.-James Fenimore Cooper was born at Burlington, N. J., Sept. 15, 1789, the eleventh of twelve children. His father was of Quaker and his mother of Swedish descent. When he was thirteen months old, the family moved to Cooperstown, on the southeastern shore of Otsego Lake, in the central part of New York. In this picturesque region, diversified with mountains, lakes, and woods, the childhood of Cooper was passed. It was at that time on the borders of civilization, and the little village presented a striking mixture of nationalities and occupations. Along with German, French, and Irish adventurers were found the backwoodsman, the |