d so lately possessed the novelty of
fiction, was too much for any writer.

_The Deerslayer_ was written after Mercedes and The Pathfinder, and was
very successful. Hetty Hunter is perhaps the best female character Mr.
Cooper has drawn, though her sister is generally preferred. The
Deerslayer was the last written of the "Leather Stocking Tales," having
come out in 1841, nineteen years after the appearance of The Pioneers in
1822. Arranged according to the order of events, The Deerslayer should
be the first of this remarkable series, followed by The Last of the
Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers, and The Prairie.

_The Two Admirals_ followed The Deerslayer. This book in some respects
stands at the head of the nautical tales. Its fault is dealing with too
important events to be thrown so deep into fiction; but this is a fault
that may be pardoned in a romance. Mr. Cooper has written nothing in
description, whether of sea or land, that surpasses either of the battle
scenes of this work; especially that part of the first where the French
ship is captured. The Two Admirals appeared at an unfortunate time, but
it was nevertheless successful.

_Wing-and-Wing, or Le Feu Follet_, was published in 1842. The interest
depends chiefly upon the manoeuvres by which a French privateer
escapes capture by an English frigate. Some of its scenes are among Mr.
Cooper's best, but altogether it is inferior to several of his nautical
novels.

_Wyandotte, or the Hutted Knoll_, in its general features resembles The
Pathfinder and The Deerslayer. The female characters are admirable, and
but for the opinion, believed by some, from its frequent repetition,
that Mr. Cooper is incapable of depicting a woman, Maud Meredith would
be regarded as among the very first class of such portraitures.

Next came the _Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief_, in one volume.
It is a story of fashionable life in New-York, in some respects peculiar
among Mr. Cooper's works, and was decidedly successful. It appeared
originally in a monthly magazine, and was the first of his novels
printed in this manner.

_Ned Myers_, in one volume, which followed in the same year, is a
genuine biography, though it was commonly regarded as a fiction.

In the beginning of 1844 Mr. Cooper published _Ashore and Afloat_, and a
few months afterward _Miles Wallingford_, a sequel to that tale. They
have the remarkable minuteness yet boldness of description, and dramatic
skill of