ThenNo。3jumpedfortheboat，andfellagoodwayasternofit。ThenNo，4。jumpedfortheboat，andfellinthewaterawayastern。ThenevenNo。5madeajumpfortheboat——forhewasaCooperIndian。Inthematterofintellect，thedifferencebetweenaCooperIndianandtheIndianthatstandsinfrontofthecigarshopisnotspacious。Thescowepisodeisreallyasublimeburstofinvention;butitdoesnotthrill，becausetheinaccuracyofthedetailsthrowsasortofairoffictitiousnessandgeneralimprobabilityoverit。ThiscomesofCooper’sinadequacyasanobserver。
　　ThereaderwillfindsomeexamplesofCooper’shightalentforinaccurateobservationintheaccountoftheshooting—matchinThePathfinder。
　　"Acommonwroughtnailwasdrivenlightlyintothetarget，itsheadhavingbeenfirsttouchedwithpaint。"
　　Thecolorofthepaintisnotstated——animportantomission，butCooperdealsfreelyinimportantomissions。No，afterall，itwasnotanimportantomission;forthisnail—headisahundredyardsfromthemarksmen，andcouldnotbeseenbythematthatdistance，nomatterwhatitscolormightbe。
　　Howfarcanthebesteyesseeacommonhouse—fly？Ahundredyards？Itisquiteimpossible。Verywell;eyesthatcannotseeahouse—flythatisahundredyardsawaycannotseeanordinarynailheadatthatdistance，forthesizeofthetwoobjectsisthesame。Ittakesakeeneyetoseeaflyoranailheadatfiftyyards——onehundredandfiftyfeet。Canthereaderdoit？
　　Thenailwaslightlydriven，itsheadpainted，andgamecalled。ThentheCoopermiraclesbegan。Thebulletofthefirstmarksmanchippedanedgeoffthenail—head;thenextman’sbulletdrovethenailalittlewayintothetarget——andremovedallthepaint。Haven’tthemiraclesgonefarenoughnow？NottosuitCooper;forthepurposeofthiswholeschemeistoshowoffhisprodigy，DeerslayerHawkeye——Long—Rifle—Leather—Stocking—
　　Pathfinder—Bumppobeforetheladies。
　　"’Beallreadytoclenchit，boysI’criedoutPathfinder，steppingintohisfriend’strackstheinstanttheywerevacant。
　　’Nevermindanewnail;Icanseethat，thoughthepaintisgone，andwhatIcanseeIcanhitatahundredyards，thoughitwereonlyamosquito’seye。Bereadytoclench！’
　　"Theriflecracked，thebulletspeditsway，andtheheadofthenailwasburiedinthewood，coveredbythepieceofflattenedlead。"
　　There，yousee，isamanwhocouldhuntflieswitharifle，andcommandaducalsalaryinaWildWestshowto—dayifwehadhimbackwithus。
　　Therecordedfeatiscertainlysurprisingjustasitstands;butitisnotsurprisingenoughforCooper。Cooperaddsatouch。HehasmadePathfinderdothismiraclewithanotherman’srifle;andnotonlythat，butPathfinderdidnothaveeventheadvantageofloadingithimself。Hehadeverythingagainsthim，andyethemadethatimpossibleshot;andnotonlymadeit，butdiditwithabsoluteconfidence，saying，"Bereadytoclench。"Nowapersonlikethatwouldhaveundertakenthatsamefeatwithabrickbat，andwithCoopertohelphewouldhaveachievedit，too。
　　Pathfindershowedoffhandsomelythatdaybeforetheladies。HisveryfirstfeatwasathingwhichnoWildWestshowcantouch。Hewasstandingwiththegroupofmarksmen，observing——ahundredyardsfromthetarget，mind;onejasperraisedhisrifleanddrovethecentreofthebull’s—eye。ThentheQuartermasterfired。Thetargetexhibitednoresultthistime。Therewasalaugh。"It’sadeadmiss，"saidMajorLundie。Pathfinderwaitedanimpressivemomentortwo;thensaid，inthatcalm，indifferent，know—it—allwayofhis，"No，Major，hehascoveredjasper’sbullet，aswillbeseenifanyonewilltakethetroubletoexaminethetarget。"
　　Wasn’titremarkable！Howcouldheseethatlittlepelletflythroughtheairandenterthatdistantbullet—hole？Yetthatiswhathedid;fornothingisimpossibletoaCooperperson。Didanyofthosepeoplehaveanydeep—seateddoubtsaboutthisthing？No;forthatwouldimplysanity，andthesewereallCooperpeople。
　　"TherespectforPathfinder’sskillandforhis’quicknessandaccuracyofsight’"（theitalics[’’]aremine）"wassoprofoundandgeneral，thattheinstanthemadethisdeclarationthespectatorsbegantodistrusttheirownopinions，andadozenrushedtothetargetinordertoascertainthefact。
　　There，sureenough，itwasfoundthattheQuartermaster’sbullethadgonethroughtheholemadebyJasper’s，andthat，too，soaccuratelyastorequireaminuteexaminationtobecertainofthecircumstance，which，however，wassoonclearlyestablishedbydiscoveringonebulletovertheotherinthestumpagainstwhichthetargetwasplaced。"
　　Theymadea"minute"examination;butnevermind，howcouldtheyknowthatthereweretwobulletsinthatholewithoutdiggingthelatestoneout？forneitherprobenoreyesightcouldprovethepresenceofanymorethanonebullet。Didtheydig？No;asweshallsee。ItisthePathfinder’sturnnow;hestepsoutbeforetheladies，takesaim，andfires。
　　But，alas！hereisadisappointment;anincredible，anunimaginabledisappointment—forthetarget’saspectisunchanged;thereisnothingtherebutthatsameoldbullet—hole！
　　"’Ifonedaredtohintatsuchathing，’criedMajorDuncan，’I
　　shouldsaythatthePathfinderhasalsomissedthetarget！’"
　　Asnobodyhadmissedityet，the"also"wasnotnecessary;butnevermindaboutthat，forthePathfinderisgoingtospeak。
　　"’No，no，Major，’saidhe，confidently，’thatwouldbeariskydeclaration。Ididn’tloadthepiece，andcan’tsaywhatwasinit;butifitwaslead，youwillfindthebulletdrivingdownthoseoftheQuartermasterandJasper，elseisnotmynamePathfinder。’
　　"Ashoutfromthetargetannouncedthetruthofthisassertion。"
　　Isthemiraclesufficientasitstands？NotforCooper。ThePathfinderspeaksagain，ashe"nowslowlyadvancestowardsthestageoccupiedbythefemales":
　　"’That’snotall，boys，that’snotall;ifyoufindthetargettouchedatall，I’llowntoamiss。TheQuartermastercutthewood，butyou’llfindnowoodcutbythatlastmessenger。"
　　Themiracleisatlastcomplete。Heknew——doubtlesssaw——atthedistanceofahundredyards——thathisbullethadpassedintotheholewithoutfrayingtheedges。Therewerenowthreebulletsinthatonehole——threebulletsembeddedprocessionallyinthebodyofthestumpbackofthetarget。Everybodyknewthis——somehoworother——andyetnobodyhadduganyofthemouttomakesure。Cooperisnotacloseobserver，butheisinteresting。Heiscertainlyalwaysthat，nomatterwhathappens。Andheismoreinterestingwhenheisnotnoticingwhatheisaboutthanwhenheis。Thisisaconsiderablemerit。
　　TheconversationsintheCooperbookshaveacurioussoundinourmodernears。Tobelievethatsuchtalkreallyevercameoutofpeople’smouthswouldbetobelievethattherewasatimewhentimewasofnovaluetoapersonwhothoughthehadsomethingtosay;whenitwasthecustomtospreadatwo—minuteremarkouttoten;whenaman’smouthwasarolling—
　　mill，andbusieditselfalldaylonginturningfour—footpigsofthoughtintothirty—footbarsofconversationalrailroadironbyattenuation;
　　whensubjectswereseldomfaithfullystuckto，butthetalkwanderedallaroundandarrivednowhere;whenconversationsconsistedmainlyofirrelevancies，withhereandtherearelevancy，arelevancywithanembarrassedlook，asnotbeingabletoexplainhowitgotthere。
　　Cooperwascertainlynotamasterintheconstructionofdialogue。
　　Inaccurateobservationdefeatedhimhereasitdefeatedhiminsomanyotherenterprisesofhis。HeevenfailedtonoticethatthemanwhotalkscorruptEnglishsixdaysintheweekmustandwilltalkitontheseventh，andcan’thelphimself。IntheDeerslayerstoryheletsDeerslayertalktheshowiestkindofbook—talksometimes，andatothertimesthebasestofbasedialects。Forinstance，whensomeoneaskshimifhehasasweetheart，andifso，wheresheabides，thisishismajesticanswer:
　　"’She’sintheforest—hangingfromtheboughsofthetrees，inasoftrain——inthedewontheopengrass——thecloudsthatfloataboutintheblueheavens——thebirdsthatsinginthewoods——thesweetspringswhereIslakemythirst——andinalltheothergloriousgiftsthatcomefromGod’sProvidence！’"
　　Andheprecededthat，alittlebefore，withthis:
　　"’Itconsarnsmeasallthingsthattouchesafri’ndconsarnsafri’nd。’"
　　Andthisisanotherofhisremarks:
　　"’IfIwasInjinborn，now，Imighttellofthis，orcarryinthescalpandboastoftheexpl’iteaforethewholetribe;orifmyinimyhadonlybeenabear’"——andsoon。
　　WecannotimaginesuchathingasaveteranScotchCommander—in—Chiefcomportinghimselfinthefieldlikeawindymelodramaticactor，butCoopercould。OnoneoccasionAliceandCorawerebeingchasedbytheFrenchthroughafogintheneighborhoodoftheirfather’sfort:
　　"’Pointdequartierauxcoquins！’criedaneagerpursuer，whoseemedtodirecttheoperationsoftheenemy。
　　"’Standfirmandbeready，mygallantGoths！’suddenlyexclaimedavoiceabovethem;waittoseetheenemy;firelow，andsweeptheglacis。’
　　"’Father？father！’exclaimedapiercingcryfromoutthemist;
　　itisI！Alice！thyownElsie！spare，O！saveyourdaughters！’
　　"’Hold！’shoutedtheformerspeaker，intheawfultonesofparentalagony，thesoundreachingeventothewoods，androllingbackinsolemnecho。"Tisshe！Godhasrestoredmemychildren！Throwopenthesally—port;tothefield，Goths，tothefield！pullnotatrigger，lestyekillmylambs！DriveoffthesedogsofFrancewithyoursteel！’"
　　Cooper’sword—sensewassingularlydull。Whenapersonhasapoorearformusichewillflatandsharprightalongwithoutknowingit。Hekeepsnearthetune，butitisnotthetune。Whenapersonhasapoorearforwords，theresultisaliteraryflattingandsharping;youperceivewhatheisintendingtosay，butyoualsoperceivethathedoesn’tsayit。ThisisCooper。Hewasnotaword—musician。Hisearwassatisfiedwiththeapproximateword。Iwillfurnishsomecircumstantialevidenceinsupportofthischarge。MyinstancesaregatheredfromhalfadozenpagesofthetalecalledDeerslayer。Heuses"verbal，"for"oral";"precision，"for"facility";"phenomena，"for"marvels";"necessary，"for"predetermined";"unsophisticated，"for"primitive";"preparation，"for"expectancy";"rebuked，"for"subdued";
　　"dependenton，"for"resultingfrom";"fact，"for"condition";"fact，"
　　for"conjecture";"precaution，"for"caution";"explain，"for"determine";"mortified，"for"disappointed";"meretricious，"for"factitious";"materially，"for"considerably";"decreasing，"for"deepening";"increasing，"for"disappearing";"embedded，"for"enclosed";"treacherous;"for"hostile";"stood，"for"stooped";
　　"softened，"for"replaced";"rejoined，"for"remarked";"situation，"for"condition";"different，"for"differing";"insensible，"for"unsentient";"brevity，"for"celerity";"distrusted，"for"suspicious";
　　"mentalimbecility，"for"imbecility";"eyes，"for"sight";
　　"counteracting，"for"opposing";"funeralobsequies，"for"obsequies。"
　　TherehavebeendaringpeopleintheworldwhoclaimedthatCoopercouldwriteEnglish，buttheyarealldeadnow——alldeadbutLounsbury。
　　Idon’trememberthatLounsburymakestheclaiminsomanywords，stillhemakesit，forhesaysthatDeerslayerisa"pureworkofart。"
　　Pure，inthatconnection，meansfaultless——faultlessinalldetailsandlanguageisadetail。IfMr。LounsburyhadonlycomparedCooper’sEnglishwiththeEnglishwhichhewriteshimself——butitisplainthathedidn’t;andsoitislikelythatheimaginesuntilthisdaythatCooper’sisascleanandcompactashisown。NowIfeelsure，deepdowninmyheart，thatCooperwroteaboutthepoorestEnglishthatexistsinourlanguage，andthattheEnglishofDeerslayeristheveryworstthatevenCoopereverwrote。
　　Imaybemistaken，butitdoesseemtomethatDeerslayerisnotaworkofartinanysense;itdoesseemtomethatitisdestituteofeverydetailthatgoestothemakingofaworkofart;intruth，itseemstomethatDeerslayerisjustsimplyaliterarydeliriumtremens。
　　Aworkofart？Ithasnoinvention;ithasnoorder，system，sequence，orresult;ithasnolifelikeness，nothrill，nostir，noseemingofreality;itscharactersareconfusedlydrawn，andbytheiractsandwordstheyprovethattheyarenotthesortofpeopletheauthorclaimsthattheyare;itshumorispathetic;itspathosisfunny;itsconversationsare——oh！indescribable;itslove—scenesodious;itsEnglishacrimeagainstthelanguage。
　　Countingtheseout，whatisleftisArt。Ithinkwemustalladmitthat。