"Once more let me beseech you, stay!" cried Elizabeth." Do not, Leather-stocking, leave me to grieve for the man, who has twice rescued me from death, and who has served those I love so faithfully. For my sake, if not for your own, stay. I shall see you in those frightful dreams that still haunt my nights, dying in poverty and age, by the side of those terrific beasts you slew. There will be no evil, that sickness, want, and solitude can inflict, that my fancy will not conjure as your fate. Stay with us, old man; if not for your own sake, at least for ours." "Such thoughts and bitter dreams, Madam Effingham," returned the hunter, solemnly, "will never haunt an innocent parson long. They'll pass away with God's pleasure. And if the cat-a-mounts be yet brought to your eyes in sleep, 'tis not for my sake, but to show you the power of him that led me there to save you. Trust in God, Madam, and your honourable husband, and the thoughts for an old man like me can never be long nor bitter. I pray that the Lord will keep you in mind-the Lord that lives in clearings as well as in the wilderness-and bless you, and all that belong to you, from this time, till the great day when the whites shall meet the red-skins in judgment, and justice shall be the law, and not power. Elizabeth raised her head, and offered her colourless cheek to his salute, when he lifted his cap, and touched it respectfully. His hand was grasped with convulsive fervour by the youth, who continued silent. The hunter prepared himself for his journey, drawing his belt tighter, and wasting his moments in the little reluctant movements of a sorrowful departure. Once or twice he essayed to speak, but a rising in his throat prevented it. At length he shouldered his rifle, and cried with a clear huntsman's call, that echoed through the woods “He-e-e-re, he-e-e-re, pups-away, dogs, away; -ye'll be foot-sore afore ye see the ind of the journey!" The hounds leaped from the earth at his cry, and, scenting around the graves and the silent pair, as if conscious of their own destination, they followed humbly at the heels of their master. A short pause succeeded, during which even the youth concealed his face on his grandfather's tomb. When the pride of manhood, however, had suppressed the feelings of nature, he turned to renew his entreaties, but saw that the cemetery was occupied only by himself and his wife. "He is gone!" cried Effingham. Elizabeth raised her face, and saw the old hunter standing, looking back for a moment, on the verge of the wood. As he caught their glances, he drew his hard hand hastily across his eyes again, waved it on high for an adieu, and, uttering a forced cry to his dogs, who were crouching at his feet, he entered the forest. This was the last that they ever saw of the Leather-stocking, whose rapid movements preceded the pursuit which Judge Temple both ordered and conducted He had gone far towards the setting sun, the foremost in that band of Pioneers, who are opening the way for the march of our nation across the continent. THE END NOVELS OF J. FENIMORE COOPER. PRECAUTION. THE SPY; A TALE OF THE NEUTRAL GROUND. THE DEERSLAYER; or, THE FIRST WAar Path. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS; A NARRATIVE OF 1757. LIONEL LINCOLN; or, The Leaguer of Boston. THE BRAVO. THE PILOT; A TALE OF THE SEA. THE RED ROVER. THE TWO ADMIRALS. WING AND WING; or, LE FEU FOLLET. THE WATER WITCH; or, THE SKIMMER OF THE SEAS. AFLOAT AND ASHORE. MILES WALLINGFORD; SEQUEL TO AFLOAT AND ASHORE. THE CRATER; or, VULCAN'S PEAK. JACK TIER; or, THE FLORIDA REEF. THE SEA LIONS; or, THE LOST SEALERS. TRAVELLING BACHELOR. THE HEIDENMAUER; or, THE BENEDICTINES. THE HEA DSMAN. THE MONIKINS. HOMEWARD BOUND; or, THE CHASE. HOME AS FOUND. MERCEDES OF CASTILE; or, THE VOYAGE TO CAthay. WYANDOTTE; or, THE HUTTED KNOLL. SATANSTOE; or, THE LITTLEPAGE MSS., A TALE OF THE COLONY. THE CHAINBEARER. THE RED SKINS; or, INDIANS AND INJINS. OAK OPENINGS; or, THE BEE HUNTER, THE WAYS OF THE HOUR. NED MYERS. Leather Stocking Tales. The Sea Tales. ILLUSTRATED EDITION; with engravings on steel and wood, from drawings by F. O. C. Darley. Crown octavo. Per vol. PEOPLE'S EDITION; embossed cloth. vol. CHEAP EDITION $1 50 12mo. Per 1 00 ; paper covers. 16mo. Per vol. JAMES G. GREGORY, NO. 46 WALKER STREET, N. Y. 8 50 JAMES FENIMORE COOPER: OPINIONS OF HIS WORKS FROM DISTINGUISHED AUTHORS, STATESMEN, ETC. WASHINGTON IRVING. "Cooper emphatically belongs to the nation. He has left a space in our literature which will not easily be supplied." GEORGE BANCROFT. "The glory which he justly won was reflected on his country, and deserves the grateful recognition of all who survive him. His surpassing ability has made his own name and the names of the creations of his fancy household words' throughout the civilized world." EDWARD EVERETT. "The works of our great national novelist have adorned and elevated our literature. There is nothing more purely American, which the latest posterity 'will not willingly let die."" WILLIAM II. PRESCOTT. "His writings are instinct with the spirit of nationality. In his productions every American must take an honest pride. For surely no one has succeeded like Cooper in the portraiture of American character, or has given such glowing and eminently truthful pictures of American scenery. WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. "He wrote for mankind at large; hence it is that he has earned a fame wider than any author of modern times. The creations of his genius shall survive through centuries to come, and only perish with our language." DANIEL WEBSTER. "The enduring monuments of Fenimore Cooper are his works. While the love of country continues to prevail, his memory will exist in the hearts of the people. So truly patriotic and American throughout, they should find a place in every American's library." LEWIS CASS. "His country and the world acknowledge and appreciate his claims, and the productions of his genius will go down to posterity among the noblest efforts of the age. He will ever live in the history of human greatness.” CHARLES SUMNER. "As a patriot, who loved his country, who illustrated its history, who advanced its character abroad, and, by his genius, won for it the unwilling regard of foreign nations, he deserves a place in the hearts of the American people. HENRY W. LONGFELLOW. "The country owes him a great debt of gratitude, and all who are of the guild of authorship should show the most alacrity in paying it. I was in no country of Europe where the name of Cooper was not familiarly known." FRANCIS PARKMAN, Jr. "For myself, I have always felt a special admiration for Cooper's writings. They were my chosen favorites as a boy, and I may say, without exaggeration, that Cooper has had an influence in determining the course of my life and pursuits." JOHN P. KENNEDY. "No man has done more in his sphere to elevate and dignify our national character than Fenimore Cooper. His genius has contributed a rich fund to the instruction and delight of his countrymen, which will long be preserved among the choicest treasures of American letters, and will equally conduco to render our national literature attractive to other nations." " |