afterwards employed to so
much advantage in his romances of the sea, the finest ever written, is a
common and obvious remark; but it has not been so far as I know, observed
that from the discipline of a seaman's life he may have derived much of
his readiness and fertility of invention, much of his skill in surrounding
the personages of his novels with imaginary perils, and rescuing them by
probable expedients. Of all pursuits, the life of a sailor is that which
familiarizes men to danger in its most fearful shapes, most cultivates
presence of mind, and most effectually calls forth the resources of a
prompt and fearless dexterity by which imminent evil is avoided.

In 1811, Cooper, having resigned his post as midshipman, began the year by
marrying Miss Delaney, sister of the present bishop; of the diocese of
Western New York, and entered upon a domestic life happily passed to its
close. He went to live at Mamaroneck, in the county of Westchester, and
while here he wrote and published the first of his novels, entitled
_Precaution_. Concerning the occasion of writing this work, it is related,
that once, as he was reading an English novel to Mrs. Cooper, who has,
within a short time past, been laid in the grave beside her illustrious
husband, and of whom we may now say, that her goodness was no less eminent
than his genius, he suddenly laid down the book, and said, "I believe I
could write a better myself." Almost immediately he composed a chapter of
a projected work of fiction, and read it to the same friendly judge, who
encouraged him to finish it, and when it was completed, suggested its
publication. Of this he had at the time no intention, but he was at length
induced to submit the manuscript to the examination of the late Charles
Wilkes, of this city, in whose literary opinions he had great confidence.
Mr. Wilkes advised that it should be published, and to these circumstances
we owe it that Cooper became an author.

I confess I have merely dipped into this work. The experiment was made
with the first edition, deformed by a strange punctuation--a profusion of
commas, and other pauses, which puzzled and repelled me. Its author, many
years afterwards, revised and republished it, correcting this fault, and
some faults of style also, so that to a casual inspection it appeared
almost another work. It was a professed delineation of English manners,
though the author had then seen nothing of English society. It had,
however, t