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T.S. Arthur - "The Iron Rule"

New Philadelphia Book Publisher Highlights Local Talent
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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Philadelphia literary world will celebrate the launch of two new players today, April 10th: Kay Square Press, a new publishing company focused on Philadelphia-area artists, their stories, and their art; and Kay Square's first release, 'With the Rich and Mighty: Emlen Etting of Philadelphia' (ISBN: 978-0-9815129-0-7), a critical biography by Kenneth C. Kaleta.

FlatSigned Press Alleges Don Imus Remarks Damage Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Nathan Yungerberg, an accomplished model scout and professional child photographer is launching a nation-wide casting call to find the cover model for his highly anticipated book release, 'The Model Child: A Parents Guide to the Child Modeling Industry' (ISBN: 978-0-9817018-0-6).

Books: The Pathfinder

J >> James Fenimore Cooper >> The Pathfinder




"Take my word for it Davy, your antiquity will do you no good in
this affair; and as for your blood, it is not older than your bones.
Well, well, man, ye know the Sergeant's answer; and so ye perceive
that my influence, on which ye counted so much, can do nought for
ye. Let us take a glass thegither, Davy, for auld acquaintance
sake; and then ye'll be doing well to remember the party that marches
the morrow, and to forget Mabel Dunham as fast as ever you can."

"Ah, Major! I have always found it easier to forget a wife than
to forget a sweetheart. When a couple are fairly married, all is
settled but the death, as one may say, which must finally part us
all; and it seems to me awfu' irreverent to disturb the departed;
whereas there is so much anxiety and hope and felicity in expectation
like, with the lassie, that it keeps thought alive."

"That is just my idea of your situation, Davy; for I never supposed
you expected any more felicity with either of your wives. Now,
I've heard of fellows who were so stupid as to look forward to
happiness with their wives even beyond the grave. I drink to your
success, or to your speedy recovery from this attack, Lieutenant;
and I admonish you to be more cautious in future, as some of these
violent cases may yet carry you off."

"Many thanks, dear Major; and a speedy termination to an old
courtship, of which I know something. This is real mountain dew,
Lundie, and it warms the heart like a gleam of bonnie Scotland.
As for the men you've just mentioned, they could have had but one
wife a piece; for where there are several, the deeds of the women
themselves may carry them different ways. I think a reasonable
husband ought to be satisfied with passing his allotted time with
any particular wife in this world, and not to go about moping for
things unattainable. I'm infinitely obliged to you, Major Duncan,
for this and all your other acts of friendship; and if you could
but add another, I should think you had not altogether forgotten
the play-fellow of your boyhood."

"Well, Davy, if the request be reasonable, and such as a superior
ought to grant, out with it, man."

"If ye could only contrive a little service for me, down among the
Thousand Isles, for a fortnight or so, I think this matter might
be settled to the satisfaction of all parties. Just remember,
Lundie, the lassie is the only marriageable white female on this
frontier."

"There is always duty for one in your line at a post, however
small; but this below can be done by the Sergeant as well as by
the Quartermaster-general, and better too."

"But not better than by a regimental officer. There is great waste,
in common, among the orderlies."

"I'll think of it, Muir," said the Major, laughing, "and you shall
have my answer in the morning. Here will be a fine occasion, man,
the morrow, to show yourself off before the lady; you are expert
with the rifle, and prizes are to be won. Make up your mind to
display your skill, and who knows what may yet happen before the
_Scud_ sails."

"I'm thinking most of the young men will try their hands in this
sport, Major!"

"That will they, and some of the old ones too, if you appear. To
keep you in countenance, I'll try a shot or two myself, Davy; and
you know I have some name that way."

"It might, indeed, do good. The female heart, Major Duncan, is
susceptible in many different modes, and sometimes in a way that
the rules of philosophy might reject. Some require a suitor to
sit down before them, as it might be, in a regular siege, and only
capitulate when the place can hold out no longer; others, again,
like to be carried by storm; while there are hussies who can only
be caught by leading them into an ambush. The first is the most
creditable and officer-like process, perhaps; but I must say I
think the last the most pleasing."

"An opinion formed from experience, out of all question. And what
of the storming parties?"

"They may do for younger men, Lundie," returned the Quartermaster,
rising and winking, a liberty that he often took with his commanding
officer on the score of a long intimacy; "every period of life
has its necessities, and at forty-seven it's just as well to trust
a little to the head. I wish you a very good even, Major Duncan,
and freedom from gout, with a sweet and refreshing sleep."

"The same to yourself, Mr. Muir, with many thanks. Remember the
passage of arms for the morrow."

The Quartermaster withdrew, leaving Lundie in his library to reflect
on what had just passed. Use had so accustomed Major Duncan to
Lieutenant Muir and all his traits and humors, that the conduct
of the latter did not strike the former with the same force as it
will probably the reader. In truth, while all men act under one
common law that is termed nature, the varieties in their dispositions,
modes of judging, feelings, and selfishness are infinite.



CHAPTER XI.

Compel the hawke to sit that is unmann'd,
Or make the hound, untaught, to draw the deere,
Or bring the free against his will in band,
Or move the sad a pleasant tale to heere,
Your time is lost, and you no whit the neere!
So love ne learnes, of force the heart to knit:
She serves but those that feel sweet fancies' fit.
_Mirror for Magistrates._


It is not often that hope is rewarded by fruition so completely as
the wishes of the young men of the garrison were met by the state
of the weather on the succeeding day. The heats of summer were
little felt at Oswego at the period of which we are writing; for
the shade of the forest, added to the refreshing breezes from the
lake, so far reduced the influence of the sun as to render the
nights always cool and the days seldom oppressive.

It was now September, a month in which the strong gales of the coast
often appear to force themselves across the country as far as the
great lakes, where the inland sailor sometimes feels that genial
influence which characterizes the winds of the ocean invigorating
his frame, cheering his spirits, and arousing his moral force.
Such a day was that on which the garrison of Oswego assembled to
witness what its commander had jocularly called a "passage of arms."
Lundie was a scholar in military matters at least, and it was one
of his sources of honest pride to direct the reading and thoughts
of the young men under his orders to the more intellectual parts of
their profession. For one in his situation, his library was both
good and extensive, and its books were freely lent to all who
desired to use them. Among other whims that had found their way
into the garrison through these means, was a relish for the sort
of amusement in which it was now about to indulge; and around which
some chronicles of the days of chivalry had induced them to throw
a parade and romance not unsuited to the characters and habits
of soldiers, or to the insulated and wild post occupied by this
particular garrison. While so earnestly bent on pleasure, however,
they on whom that duty devolved did not neglect the safety of the
garrison. One standing on the ramparts of the fort, and gazing on
the waste of glittering water that bounded the view all along the
northern horizon, and on the slumbering and seemingly boundless
forest which filled the other half of the panorama, would have
fancied the spot the very abode of peacefulness and security; but
Duncan of Lundie too well knew that the woods might, at any moment,
give up their hundreds, bent on the destruction of the fort and
all it contained; and that even the treacherous lake offered a
highway of easy approach by which his more civilized and scarcely
less wily foes, the French, could come upon him at an unguarded
moment. Parties were sent out under old and vigilant officers, men
who cared little for the sports of the day, to scour the forest;
and one entire company held the fort, under arms, with orders to
maintain a vigilance as strict as if an enemy of superior force
was known to be near. With these precautions, the remainder of
the officers and men abandoned themselves, without apprehension,
to the business of the morning.

The spot selected for the sports was a sort of esplanade, a little
west of the fort, and on the immediate bank of the lake. It had been
cleared of its trees and stumps, that it might answer the purpose
of a parade-ground, as it possessed the advantages of having its
rear protected by the water, and one of its flanks by the works.
Men drilling on it could be attacked, consequently, on two sides
only; and as the cleared space beyond it, in the direction of the
west and south, was large, any assailants would be compelled to
quit the cover of the woods before they could make an approach
sufficiently near to render them dangerous.

Although the regular arms of the regiment were muskets, some fifty
rifles were produced on the present occasion. Every officer had
one as a part of his private provision for amusement; many belonged
to the scouts and friendly Indians, of whom more or less were
always hanging about the fort; and there was a public provision
of them for the use of those who followed the game with the express
object of obtaining supplies. Among those who carried the weapon
were some five or six, who had reputation for knowing how to use
it particularly well -- so well, indeed, as to have given them a
celebrity on the frontier; twice that number who were believed to
be much better than common; and many who would have been thought
expert in almost any situation but the precise one in which they
now happened to be placed.

The distance was a hundred yards, and the weapon was to be used
without a rest; the target, a board, with the customary circular
lines in white paint, having the bull's-eye in the centre. The
first trials in skill commenced with challenges among the more
ignoble of the competitors to display their steadiness and dexterity
in idle competition. None but the common men engaged in this
strife, which had little to interest the spectators, among whom no
officer had yet appeared.

Most of the soldiers were Scotch, the regiment having been raised
at Stirling and its vicinity not many years before, though, as in
the case of Sergeant Dunham, many Americans had joined it since its
arrival in the colonies. As a matter of course, the provincials
were generally the most expert marksmen; and after a desultory
trial of half an hour it was necessarily conceded that a youth who
had been born in the colony of New York, and who coming of Dutch
extraction, was the most expert of all who had yet tried their
skill. It was just as this opinion prevailed that the oldest
captain, accompanied by most of the gentlemen and ladies of the
fort, appeared on the parade. A train of some twenty females of
humbler condition followed, among whom was seen the well-turned
form, intelligent, blooming, animated countenance, and neat,
becoming attire of Mabel Dunham.

Of females who were officially recognized as belonging to the class
of ladies, there were but three in the fort, all of whom were
officers' wives; Mabel being strictly, as had been stated by the
Quartermaster, the only real candidate for matrimony among her sex.

Some little preparation had been made for the proper reception
of the females, who were placed on a low staging of planks near
the immediate bank of the lake. In this vicinity the prizes were
suspended from a post. Great care was taken to reserve the front
seat of the stage for the three ladies and their children; while
Mabel and those who belonged to the non-commissioned officers of
the regiment, occupied the second. The wives and daughters of
the privates were huddled together in the rear, some standing and
some sitting, as they could find room. Mabel, who had already been
admitted to the society of the officers' wives, on the footing of
a humble companion, was a good deal noticed by the ladies in front,
who had a proper appreciation of modest self-respect and gentle
refinement, though they were all fully aware of the value of rank,
more particularly in a garrison.

As soon as this important portion of the spectators had got into
their places, Lundie gave orders for the trial of skill to proceed
in the manner that had been prescribed in his previous orders.
Some eight or ten of the best marksmen of the garrison now took
possession of the stand, and began to fire in succession. Among
them were officers and men indiscriminately placed, nor were the
casual visitors in the fort excluded from the competition.

As might have been expected of men whose amusements and comfortable
subsistence equally depended on skill in the use of their weapons,
it was soon found that they were all sufficiently expert to hit the
bull's-eye, or the white spot in the centre of the target. Others
who succeeded them, it is true, were less sure, their bullets striking
in the different circles that surrounded the centre of the target
without touching it.

According to the rules of the day, none could proceed to the second
trial who had failed in the first, and the adjutant of the place,
who acted as master of the ceremonies, or marshal of the day, called
upon the successful adventurers by name to get ready for the next
effort, while he gave notice that those who failed to present
themselves for the shot at the bull's-eye would necessarily be
excluded from all the higher trials. Just at this moment Lundie,
the Quartermaster, and Jasper Eau-douce appeared in the group
at the stand, while the Pathfinder walked leisurely on the ground
without his beloved rifle, for him a measure so unusual, as to
be understood by all present as a proof that he did not consider
himself a competitor for the honors of the day. All made way for
Major Duncan, who, as he approached the stand in a good-humored
way, took his station, levelled his rifle carelessly, and fired.
The bullet missed the required mark by several inches.

"Major Duncan is excluded from the other trials!" proclaimed the
Adjutant, in a voice so strong and confident that all the elder
officers and the sergeants well understood that this failure was
preconcerted, while all the younger gentlemen and the privates felt
new encouragement to proceed on account of the evident impartiality
with which the laws of the sports were administered.

"Now, Master Eau-douce, comes your turn," said Muir; "and if you
do not beat the Major, I shall say that your hand is better skilled
with the oar than with the rifle."

Jasper's handsome face flushed, he stepped upon the stand, cast a
hasty glance at Mabel, whose pretty form he ascertained was bending
eagerly forward as if to note the result, dropped the barrel of his
rifle with but little apparent care into the palm of his left hand,
raised the muzzle for a single instant with exceeding steadiness,
and fired. The bullet passed directly through the centre of the
bull's-eye, much the best shot of the morning, since the others
had merely touched the paint.

"Well performed, Master Jasper," said Muir, as soon as the result
was declared; "and a shot that might have done credit to an older
head and a more experienced eye. I'm thinking, notwithstanding,
there was some of a youngster's luck in it; for ye were no' partic'lar
in the aim ye took. Ye may be quick, Eau-douce, in the movement,
but yer not philosophic nor scientific in yer management of the
weepon. Now, Sergeant Dunham, I'll thank you to request the ladies
to give a closer attention than common; for I'm about to make that
use of the rifle which may be called the intellectual. Jasper would
have killed, I allow; but then there would not have been half the
satisfaction in receiving such a shot as in receiving one that is
discharged scientifically."

All this time the Quartermaster was preparing himself for the
scientific trial; but he delayed his aim until he saw that the eye
of Mabel, in common with those of her companions, was fastened on
him in curiosity. As the others left him room, out of respect
to his rank, no one stood near the competitor but his commanding
officer, to whom he now said in his familiar manner, --

"Ye see, Lundie, that something is to be gained by exciting
a female's curiosity. It's an active sentiment is curiosity, and
properly improved may lead to gentler innovations in the end."

"Very true, Davy; but ye keep us all waiting while ye make your
preparations; and here is Pathfinder drawing near to catch a lesson
from your greater experience."

"Well Pathfinder, and so _you_ have come to get an idea too,
concerning the philosophy of shooting? I do not wish to hide my
light under a bushel, and yer welcome to all ye'll learn. Do ye
no' mean to try a shot yersel', man?"

"Why should I, Quartermaster, why should I? I want none of the
prizes; and as for honor, I have had enough of that, if it's any
honor to shoot better than yourself. I'm not a woman to wear a
calash."

"Very true; but ye might find a woman that is precious
in your eyes to wear it for ye, as -- -- "

"Come, Davy," interrupted the Major, "your shot or a retreat. The
Adjutant is getting impatient."

"The Quartermaster's department and the Adjutant's department are
seldom compliable, Lundie; but I'm ready. Stand a little aside,
Pathfinder, and give the ladies an opportunity."

Lieutenant Muir now took his attitude with a good deal of studied
elegance, raised his rifle slowly, lowered it, raised it again,
repeated the manoeuvres, and fired.

"Missed the target altogether!" shouted the man whose duty it was
to mark the bullets, and who had little relish for the Quartermaster's
tedious science. "Missed the target!"

"It cannot be!" cried Muir, his face flushing equally with indignation
and shame; "it cannot be, Adjutant; for I never did so awkward a
thing in my life. I appeal to the ladies for a juster judgment."

"The ladies shut their eyes when you fired!" exclaimed the regimental
wags. "Your preparations alarmed them."

"I will na believe such calumny of the leddies, nor sic' a reproach
on my own skill," returned the Quartermaster, growing more and
more Scotch as he warmed with his feelings; "it's a conspiracy to
rob a meritorious man of his dues."

"It's a dead miss, Muir," said the laughing Lundie; "and ye'll jist
sit down quietly with the disgrace."

"No, no, Major," Pathfinder at length observed; "the Quartermaster
_is_ a good shot for a slow one and a measured distance, though
nothing extr'ornary for real service. He has covered Jasper's
bullet, as will be seen, if any one will take the trouble to examine
the target."

The respect for Pathfinder's skill and for his quickness and
accuracy of sight was so profound and general, that, the instant
he made this declaration, the spectators began to distrust their
own opinions, and a dozen rushed to the target in order to ascertain
the fact. There, sure enough, it was found that the Quartermaster's
bullet had gone through the hole made by Jasper's, and that, too,
so accurately as to require a minute examination to be certain of
the circumstance; which, however, was soon clearly established, by
discovering one bullet over the other in the stump against which
the target was placed.

"I told ye, ladies, ye were about to witness the influence of
science on gunnery," said the Quartermaster, advancing towards the
staging occupied by the females. "Major Duncan derides the idea of
mathematics entering into target-shooting; but I tell him philosophy
colors, and enlarges, and improves, and dilates, and explains
everything that belongs to human life, whether it be a shooting-match
or a sermon. In a word, philosophy is philosophy, and that is
saying all that the subject requires."

"I trust you exclude love from the catalogue," observed the wife
of a captain who knew the history of the Quartermaster's marriages,
and who had a woman's malice against the monopolizer of her sex;
"it seems that philosophy has little in common with love."

"You wouldn't say that, madam, if your heart had experienced many
trials. It's the man or the woman that has had many occasions to
improve the affections that can best speak of such matters; and,
believe me, of all love, philosophical is the most lasting, as it
is the most rational."

"You would then recommend experience as an improvement on the
passion?"

"Your quick mind has conceived the idea at a glance. The happiest
marriages are those in which youth and beauty and confidence on
one side, rely on the sagacity, moderation, and prudence of years
-- middle age, I mean, madam, for I'll no' deny that there is such
a thing as a husband's being too old for a wife. Here is Sergeant
Dunham's charming daughter, now, to approve of such sentiments, I'm
certain; her character for discretion being already well established
in the garrison, short as has been her residence among us."

"Sergeant Dunham's daughter is scarcely a fitting interlocutor in
a discourse between you and me, Lieutenant Muir," rejoined the
captain's lady, with careful respect for her own dignity; "and yonder
is the Pathfinder about to take his chance, by way of changing the
subject."

"I protest, Major Duncan, I protest," cried Muir hurrying back
towards the stand, with both arms elevated by way of enforcing
his words, -- "I protest in the strongest terms, gentlemen, against
Pathfinder's being admitted into these sports with Killdeer, which
is a piece, to say nothing of long habit that is altogether out of
proportion for a trial of skill against Government rifles."

"Killdeer is taking its rest, Quartermaster," returned Pathfinder
calmly, "and no one here thinks of disturbing it. I did not think,
myself, of pulling a trigger to-day; but Sergeant Dunham has been
persuading me that I shall not do proper honor to his handsome
daughter, who came in under my care, if I am backward on such an
occasion. I'm using Jasper's rifle, Quartermaster, as you may see,
and that is no better than your own."

Lieutenant Muir was now obliged to acquiesce, and every eye turned
towards the Pathfinder, as he took the required station. The air
and attitude of this celebrated guide and hunter were extremely
fine, as he raised his tall form and levelled the piece, showing
perfect self-command, and a through knowledge of the power of the
human frame as well as of the weapon. Pathfinder was not what is
usually termed a handsome man, though his appearance excited so
much confidence and commanded respect. Tall, and even muscular,
his frame might have been esteemed nearly perfect, were it not for
the total absence of everything like flesh. Whipcord was scarcely
more rigid than his arms and legs, or, at need, more pliable; but the
outlines of his person were rather too angular for the proportion
that the eye most approves. Still, his motions, being natural, were
graceful, and, being calm and regulated, they gave him an air and
dignity that associated well with the idea, which was so prevalent,
of his services and peculiar merits. His honest, open features
were burnt to a bright red, that comported well with the notion of
exposure and hardships, while his sinewy hands denoted force, and
a species of use removed from the stiffening and deforming effects
of labor. Although no one perceived any of those gentler or more
insinuating qualities which are apt to win upon a woman's affections, as
he raised his rifle not a female eye was fastened on him without a
silent approbation of the freedom of his movements and the manliness
of his air. Thought was scarcely quicker than his aim; and, as
the smoke floated above his head, the butt-end of the rifle was
seen on the ground, the hand of the Pathfinder was leaning on the
barrel, and his honest countenance was illuminated by his usual
silent, hearty laugh.

"If one dared to hint at such a thing," cried Major Duncan, "I
should say that the Pathfinder had also missed the target."

"No, no, Major," returned the guide confidently; "that _would_ be
a risky declaration. I didn't load the piece, and can't say what
was in it; but if it was lead, you will find the bullet driving down
those of the Quartermaster and Jasper, else is not my name Pathfinder."

A shout from the target announced the truth of this assertion.

"That's not all, that's not all, boys," called out the guide, who
was now slowly advancing towards the stage occupied by the females;
"if you find the target touched at all, I'll own to a miss. The
Quartermaster cut the wood, but you'll find no wood cut by that
last messenger."

"Very true, Pathfinder, very true," answered Muir, who was lingering
near Mabel, though ashamed to address her particularly in the
presence of the officers' wives. "The Quartermaster did cut the
wood, and by that means he opened a passage for your bullet, which
went through the hole he had made."

"Well, Quartermaster, there goes the nail and we'll see who can
drive it closer, you or I; for, though I did not think of showing
what a rifle can do to-day, now my hand is in, I'll turn my back
to no man that carries King George's commission. Chingachgook is
outlying, or he might force me into some of the niceties of the
art; but, as for you, Quartermaster, if the nail don't stop you,
the potato will."