James Fenimore Cooper's Five Novels

by James Fenimore Cooper

  438.11–12 disappointment . . . at Salem] In February 1775, a detachment of British soldiers was sent north to Salem to seize eight cannons said to be held there, only to discover that they had been removed.

  440.25 stingy Tommy] Thomas Hutchinson, the last civilian royal governor of The Bay Colony, had left his native Massachusetts, and his mansion in Boston, for London in June 1774, never to return.

  448.6 Rape of the Lock.] Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock (1714), III.109–12.

  448.34 Lord Boot] As New Englanders pronounced the name of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713–1792), the British prime minister (1762–63) whose program of imperial reforms, especially the stationing of large numbers of troops in North America and the raising of taxes in the colonies to support them, made him anathema to many Americans.

  451.8 beaufet] Buffet.

  462.23 Hebe-looking] See note 39.29.

  463.3 King Henry IV.] Shakespeare, 1 Henry IV, II.iv.422.

  469.1 Thomas Gage] British general (1718–1787), commander of British forces in North America, 1763–75, and the last royal governor of Massachusetts, 1774–75.

  469.31–32 one of Harrison’s time-pieces] Chronometer for determining longitude, invented by Englishman John Harrison (1693–1776).

  469.37 as Joshua commanded the sun] See Joshua 10:13.

  472.15 the Mohairs] A derogatory term for civilian officials, as distinguished from scarlet-clad British officers.

  473.10 the Port-Bill] The Boston Port Act, passed by Parliament in March 1774 and effective June 1, closing Boston harbor and demanding compensation for tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party. One of the five so-called Intolerable Acts.

  475.5 Hamlet.] Shakespeare, Hamlet, III.ii.149–51.

  476.31 the whole family of Priam] Priam, legendary king of Troy, was said to have had some sixty-eight sons and eighteen daughters.

  481.39 the early part of 1774] In fact, the Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773.

  486.6 Julius Caesar.] Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, I.ii.198, 205–7.

  496.18 master Lovell] John Lovell (1710–1778), master of South Grammar School in Boston, 1734–75.

  496.31 old Noll] Boston merchant Andrew Oliver (1706–1774), brother-in-law of Thomas Hutchinson. He had been appointed to administer the Stamp Act in Massachusetts in 1765, but was hanged in effigy and had his office destroyed and home looted by Boston mobs before quickly resigning his post.

  497.38 the statue of Pasquin at Rome] An ancient statue put on display in Rome in the early sixteenth century (nicknamed “Pasquino”) was used for posting satirical notices (pasquinades).

  498.32–33 one individual . . . deserving of his suspicions.] Though not named in the novel, this figure, whom Lincoln will encounter three times and whose body he will observe among the dead after the battle of Bunker Hill, is Dr. Joseph Warren (1741–1775), the Boston physician who became the president of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in April 1775.

  502.5 King Henry VI.] Shakespeare, 1 Henry VI, II.i.5–7.

  507.9 Committee of Safety] Executive body of the patriot movement that emerged in Massachusetts during the imperial crisis, comparable to, and often in communication with, similar groups in other colonies.

  513.6 Davenant.] William Davenant (also spelled D’Avenant), “The Soldier Going to the Field” (1673), ll. 1–4.

  514.8 Plains of Abram] Plateau above Quebec City, site of the defeat of the French by British forces under Wolfe in September 1759.

  514.14–15 the Lieutenant-Colonel of the 10th, . . . and the old Major of marines] Respectively, Francis Smith, commander of the British expedition to Lexington and Concord; Hugh Percy (see note 41.3–4); and John Pitcairn, who led the British light infantry on April 19.

  521.23–24 the renowned march from Roxbury to Dorchester!] Just three weeks before the march on Concord, Gage ordered Percy to mount a show of force by leading a brigade across Boston Neck and into Dorchester. Along the way, Percy’s troops destroyed walls and fences and cleared spots from which provincials might stage ambushes against future marches.

  523.4 Macbeth.] Shakespeare, Macbeth, V.v.1–2.

  524.20 they stole the cannon] Cooper again refers to an actual incident, when in September 1774, two small British cannons were stolen by townsfolk and secreted out of Boston in a cart of manure.

  537.5 Marmion.] Walter Scott, Marmion (1808), V.355–57.

  537.13–14 Congress of Provincial Delegates] In October 1774, under the terms of the Massachusetts Government Act, another of the Intolerable Acts, Gage dissolved the provincial assembly, then meeting in Salem. In defiance, the assembly adjourned to Concord and reconstituted itself as the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.

  552.4 King Henry V.] Shakespeare, Henry V, IV.viii.117–18.

  558.21 “I’ll have ye transported to England] Believing that the disorder in Massachusetts was the product of a few rabble-rousers, Parliament in 1769 considered the extension to the colonies of a treason law from the reign of Henry VIII, enabling the Crown to bring the ringleaders to England for trial. The idea was not implemented, but the debate was publicized in the colonies, where it provoked considerable outrage.

  564.5 Hamlet.] Shakespeare, Hamlet, III.ii.238–41.

  577.4 Shakspeare.] Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, III.ii.260–61.

  579.29–580.6 Ward and Thomas . . . Warren . . . Putnam] Artemas Ward (1727–1800), commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts militia, and later Washington’s second in command; John Thomas (1724–1776), brigadier general of the militia in command at Roxbury, 1775–76; Joseph Warren (see note 498.32–33); Connecticut general Israel Putnam (1718–1790), renowned hero of the battle of Bunker Hill.

  580.17–18 every tale . . . of the wilds] Putnam was widely credited with having killed Connecticut’s last known wolf in 1742, a tale popularized in a 1788 biography by Putnam’s former aide-de-camp David Humphreys.

  584.3 Julius Caesar.] Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, IV.iii.283.

  585.39–40 “will visit the sins . . . fourth generation!”] Cf. Exodus 20:5.

  588.39 Pigot, Grant, Robertson, and the heir of Northumberland] British general officers Robert Pigot (1720–1796), James Grant (1720–1806), James Robertson (1720–1788), and Hugh Percy (see note 41.3–4).

  589.9–10 the joint heir of Hastings and Moira . . . Rawdon] Francis Rawdon-Hastings (1754–1826), 1st Marquis of Hastings and 2nd Earl of Moira.

  593.5 Duke’s-place] Duke’s Place, Aldgate, London; Jews were permitted to settle there in 1650 by order of Oliver Cromwell.

  600.8 Letter from a veteran Officer, &c.] [Robert Prescott], A Letter from a Veteran, to the Officers of the Army Encamped at Boston (1774).

  605.16 Prescott, of Pepperell] William Prescott (1726–1795), American commander at the battle of Bunker Hill, famous for his order “Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”

  612.6 Humphreys.] David Humphreys, “Address to the Armies of the United States of America” (1782), ll.61–64.

  623.4 Romeo.] Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, II.ii.12–13.

  624.21–22 to discover Terra Australis . . . or Parry finds veins] Terra Australis was the name for a southern continent whose existence was conjectured by the ancients, but whose reality would not be confirmed until 1820. English explorer James Cook (1728–1779) had come within seventy-five miles of the continent that would become known as Antarctica in 1773 before turning back. In 1819, another English explorer, William Parry (1790–1855), had penetrated deep into the Canadian Arctic in search of the fabled Northwest Passage.

  628.11 wards of Guy’s] Guy’s Hospital, Southwark, London, founded in 1721.

  632.3 Hamlet.] Shakespeare, Hamlet, III.iv.24. />
  633.19 black Billy] William Howe (see note 137.12), so called because of his dark complexion.

  639.16 Montgomery] Richard Montgomery (1738–1775), a former British army officer who led the unsuccessful American invasion of Canada in 1775.

  642.4 Cowper.] William Cowper, The Task (1785), III.221–22.

  642.13 tom-pungs.] Sleigh drawn by one horse.

  643.30 “Le bon temps viendra!”] French: The good times will come!

  648.18–19 “Wo unto you . . . greetings in the market!”] Luke 11:43.

  648.34–35 “Wo unto you . . . entering to go in!”] Matthew 23:13.

  649.1–3 “Whosoever shall say . . . is in danger of hell-fire.”] Matthew 5:22.

  649.17 you mus’n’t take heed for food nor raiment?] Cf. Matthew 6:25.

  650.13 Icarus] In Greek mythology, the son of the inventor Daedalus; wearing the waxen wings his father crafted for him, he flew too close to the sun and was drowned in the ocean.

  655.6 Anonymous.] “Winifreda” (ll.1–4), in Thomas Percy, Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765).

  662.35–36 the bloody hand] A standard feature in the heraldry of British baronets.

  667.3 Much ado about nothing.] Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, IV.i.1–2.

  677.3 cavesson] Bitless bridle for managing horses.

  678.3 Macbeth.] Shakespeare, Macbeth, IV.i.112.

  682.4–5 Old Cotton] English Puritan divine John Cotton (1585–1652), one of the clerical leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony during its first decades.

  686.5 King Henry VI.] Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI, III.iii.31–33.

  698.5 All’s well that ends well.] Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well, V.iii.155–57.

  708.3 Blair.] Robert Blair, The Grave (1743), l. 177.

  719.6 King Henry VI.] Shakespeare, 2 Henry VI, IV.viii.1–5.

  731.4 Slender.] Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, I.i.210–11.

  745.4 Two Gentlemen of Verona.] Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, III.i.1–2.

  746.27 an old man, in the uniform of an officer of the fleet] Admiral Samuel Graves (1713–1787), commander-in-chief of the North American station, 1774–76.

  755.4 Scott.] Walter Scott, Marmion (1808), VI.753–54.

  758.16 en flute] A warship stripped of part of its armaments for use as a transport.

  765.15–16 patriotism in the opinion of Sir Robert Walpole] Walpole (1676–1745) was said to have remarked of pretended patriots: “All those men have their price.”

  770.6 The Battle of the Kegs.] Francis Hopkinson, “The Battle of the Kegs” (1778), ll. 65–68. This patriotic poem describes an ingenious but ultimately ineffectual attack by the colonials on British ships in the harbor of Philadelphia on January 6, 1778. The kegs in question were filled with gunpowder and sent down the Delaware in the direction of the British fleet. Hopkinson was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, a delegate from New Jersey.

  771.32 The leader of this party] Though not identified, this figure is former British officer Charles Lee (1731–1782), who became commander of a wing of the Continental Army.

  781.4 Romeo.] Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, I.v.117–18.

  790.6 Burns.] Robert Burns, “The Auld Man’s Winter Thought” (1796), ll. 13–16.

  799.3 carcasses] Flaming projectiles full of combustible materials, designed to ignite buildings and flammable defenses.

  803.4 Shakspeare.] Shakespeare, Hamlet, V.ii.359.

  811.31 Urim and Thummim] Hebrew: Lights and Perfections; terms of conjectural meaning associated with divination; see Samuel 14:41.

  813.8 Bryant.] William Cullen Bryant, “The Old Man’s Funeral” (1824), ll. 1–6.