The Spy | Page 5

work of this description, at the time it was written, that the first
volume of The Spy was actually printed several months, before the
author felt a sufficient inducement to write a line of the second. The
efforts expended on a hopeless task are rarely worthy of him who
makes them, however low it may be necessary to rate the standard of
his general merit.
One other anecdote connected with the history of this book may give
the reader some idea of the hopes of an American author, in the first
quarter of the present century. As the second volume was slowly
printing, from manuscript that was barely dry when it went into the
compositor's hands, the publisher intimated that the work might grow
to a length that would consume the profits. To set his mind at rest, the
last chapter was actually written, printed, and paged, several weeks
before the chapters which precede it were even thought of. This
circumstance, while it cannot excuse, may serve to explain the manner
in which the actors are hurried off the scene.
A great change has come over the country since this book was
originally written. The nation is passing from the gristle into the bone,
and the common mind is beginning to keep even pace with the growth
of the body politic. The march from Vera Cruz to Mexico was made
under the orders of that gallant soldier who, a quarter of a century
before, was mentioned with honor, in the last chapter of this very book.
Glorious as was that march, and brilliant as were its results in a military

point of view, a stride was then made by the nation, in a moral sense,
that has hastened it by an age, in its progress toward real independence
and high political influence. The guns that filled the valley of the
Aztecs with their thunder, have been heard in echoes on the other side
of the Atlantic, producing equally hope or apprehension.
There is now no enemy to fear, but the one that resides within. By
accustoming ourselves to regard even the people as erring beings, and
by using the restraints that wisdom has adduced from experience, there
is much reason to hope that the same Providence which has so well
aided us in our infancy, may continue to smile on our manhood.
COOPERSTOWN, March 29, 1849.
[Illustration: MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE STORY OF THE SPY]
[The footnotes throughout are Cooper's own.]
CHAPTER I
And though amidst the calm of thought entire, Some high and haughty
features might betray A soul impetuous once--'twas earthly fire That
fled composure's intellectual ray, As Etna's fires grow dim before the
rising day. --Gertrude of Wyoming.
It was near the close of the year 1780 that a solitary traveler was seen
pursuing his way through one of the numerous little valleys of
Westchester. [Footnote: As each state of the American Union has its
own counties, it often happens that there are several which bear the
same name. The scene of this tale is in New York, whose county of
Westchester is the nearest adjoining to the city.] The easterly wind,
with its chilling dampness and increasing violence, gave unerring
notice of the approach of a storm, which, as usual, might be expected to
continue for several days; and the experienced eye of the traveler was
turned in vain, through the darkness of the evening, in quest of some
convenient shelter, in which, for the term of his confinement by the rain
that already began to mix with the atmosphere in a thick mist, he might
obtain such accommodations as his purposes required. Nothing

whatever offered but the small and inconvenient tenements of the lower
order of the inhabitants, with whom, in that immediate neighborhood,
he did not think it either safe or politic to trust himself.
The county of Westchester, after the British had obtained possession of
the island of New York, [Footnote: The city of New York is situated on
an island called Manhattan: but it is at one point separated from the
county of Westchester by a creek of only a few feet in width. The
bridge at this spot is called King's Bridge. It was the scene of many
skirmishes during the war, and is alluded to in this tale. Every
Manhattanese knows the difference between "Manhattan Island" and
the "island of Manhattan." The first is applied to a small District in the
vicinity of Corlaer's Hook, while the last embraces the Whole island; or
the city and county of New York as it is termed in the laws.] became
common ground, in which both parties continued to act for the
remainder of the war of the Revolution. A large proportion of its
inhabitants, either restrained by their attachments, or influenced by
their fears,