作者：James Fenimore Cooper
出版社：Delphi Classics (Parts Edition)
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
Precaution by James Fenimore Cooper - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)试读：
The Complete Works ofJAMES FENIMORE COOPERVOLUME 1 OF 46PrecautionParts EditionBy Delphi Classics, 2013Version 1COPYRIGHT‘Precaution’(in 46 parts)James Fenimore Cooper: Parts Edition First published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by Delphi Classics.© Delphi Classics, 2017.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.ISBN: 978 1 78877 398 0Delphi Classicsis an imprint ofDelphi Publishing LtdHastings, East SussexUnited KingdomContact: sales@delphiclassics.comwww.delphiclassics.comJames Fenimore Cooper: Parts EditionThis eBook is Part 1 of the Delphi Classics edition of James Fenimore Cooper in 46 Parts. It features the unabridged text of Precaution from the bestselling edition of the author’s Complete Works. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. Our Parts Editions feature original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of James Fenimore Cooper, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.Visit here to buy the entire Parts Edition of James Fenimore Cooper or the Complete Works of James Fenimore Cooper in a single eBook.Learn more about our Parts Edition, with free downloads, via this link or browse our most popular Parts here. JAMES FENIMORE COOPERIN 46 VOLUMESParts Edition ContentsThe Novels1, Precaution2, The Spy3, The Pioneers4, The Pilot5, Lionel Lincoln6, The Last of the Mohicans7, The Prairie8, The Red Rover9, The Wept of Wish-Ton-Wish10, The Water-Witch11, The Bravo12, The Heidenmauer13, The Headsman: The Abbaye Des Vignerons14, The Monikins15, Homeward Bound16, Home as Found17, The Pathfinder18, Mercedes of Castile19, The Deerslayer20, The Two Admirals21, The Wing-And-Wing22, Wyandotté23, Afloat and Ashore24, Miles Wallingford25, Satanstoe26, The Chainbearer27, The Redskins28, The Crater29, Jack Tier30, The Oak Openings31, The Sea Lions32, The Ways of the HourThe Shorter Fiction33, Tales for Fifteen: or Imagination and Heart34, No Steamboats35, An Execution at Sea36, Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchief37, The Lake GunThe Play38, Upside Down: or Philosophy in PetticoatsSelected Non-Fiction39, A Residence in France40, Recollections of Europe41, The Chronicles of Cooperstown42, Ned Myers43, New YorkThe Criticism44, The CriticismThe Biographies45, James Fenimore Cooper by Thomas R. Lounsbury46, James Fenimore Cooper by Mary E. Phillipswww.delphiclassics.com PrecautionOR, PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURECooper’s first novel was published anonymously in 1820, when its author was thirty-one years old. Accounts differ, but it appears that it was Mrs Cooper who suggested that her husband write a novel, apparently in response to Cooper’s angry dismissal of an English tale he had been reading aloud to his family. At this time, Cooper was living with his wife in rural Scarsdale, NY. His naval career apparently behind him, with no definite career prospects on the immediate horizon and with his finances rapidly diminishing, Cooper took on the challenge with enthusiasm and, although only enjoying a modest success, Precaution was to be the commencement of a remarkable literary career spanning more than thirty novels and earning its author widespread acclaim.The plot of Precaution echoes the ‘society’ novel whose dismissal prompted Cooper to attempt a better book himself. Set in early nineteenth-century England, it relates the marriage-hunting experiences of the sons and daughters of the Moseley, Jarvis and Chatterton families. Amongst these romantic (and financial) machinations, the eponymous ‘precaution’ is that advised by Mrs Wilson – aunt and mentor of the protagonist, Emily Moesley. The novel recalls those of Jane Austen and many early readers and reviewers were convinced that the novel was the work of an English woman, much to Cooper’s amusement.The title page of the first editionCONTENTSPreface to the New EditionChapter I.Chapter II.Chapter III.Chapter IV.Chapter V.Chapter VI.Chapter VII.Chapter VIII.Chapter IX.Chapter X.Chapter XI.Chapter XII.Chapter XIII.Chapter XIV.Chapter XV.Chapter XVI.Chapter XVII.Chapter XVIII.Chapter XIX.Chapter XX.Chapter XXI.Chapter XXII.Chapter XXIII.Chapter XXIV.Chapter XXV.Chapter XXVI.Chapter XXVII.Chapter XXVIII.Chapter XXIX.Chapter XXX.Chapter XXXI.Chapter XXXII.Chapter XXXIII.Chapter XXXIV.Chapter XXXV.Chapter XXXVI.Chapter XXXVII.Chapter XXXVIII.Chapter XXXIX.Chapter XL.Chapter XLI.Chapter XLII.Chapter XLIII.Chapter XLIV.Chapter XLV.Chapter XLVI.Chapter XLVII.Chapter XLVIII.Chapter XLIX. An illustration from an early edition of the novel“Be wise to-day. It is madness to defer;To-morrow’s caution may arrive too late.”Preface to the New EditionThis book originally owed its existence to an accident, and it was printed under circumstances that prevented the usual supervision of the press by the author. The consequences were many defects in plot, style, and arrangement, that were entirely owing to precipitation and inexperience; and quite as many faults, of another nature, that are to be traced solely to a bad manuscript and worse proof reading. Perhaps no novel of our times was worst printed than the first edition of this work. More than a hundred periods were placed in the middle of sentences, and perhaps five times that number were omitted in places where they ought to have been inserted. It is scarcely necessary to add, that passages were rendered obscure, and that entire paragraphs were unintelligible.Most of the faults just mentioned have now been corrected, though it would require more labor than would produce an entirely new work, to repair all the inherent defects that are attributable to haste, and to the awkwardness of a novice in the art of composing. In this respect, the work and its blemishes are probably inseparable. Still, the reader will now be better rewarded for his time, and, on the whole; the book is much more worthy of his attention.It has been said that Precaution owes its existence to fortuitous circumstances. The same causes induced its English plot, and, in a measure, the medley of characters that no doubt will appear a mistake in the conception. It can scarcely be said that the work was commenced with any view to publication; and when it was finally put into a publisher’s hands, with “all its imperfections on its head,” the last thought of the writer was any expectation that it would be followed by a series of similar tales from the same pen.More than this the public will feel no interest in knowing, and less than this the author could not consent to say on presenting to the world a reprint of a book with so few claims to notice.Chapter I.“I wonder if we are to have a neighbor in the Deanery soon,” inquired Clara Moseley, addressing herself to a small party assembled in her father’s drawing-room, while standing at a window which commanded a distant view of the house in question.“Oh yes,” replied her brother, “the agent has let it to a Mr. Jarvis for a couple of years, and he is to take possession this week.”“And who is the Mr. Jarvis that is about to become so near a neighbor?” asked Sir Edward Moseley.“Why, sir, I learn he has been a capital merchant; that he has retired from business with a large fortune; that he has, like yourself, sir, an only hope for his declining years in son, an officer in the army; and, moreover, that he has couple of fine daughters; so, sir, he is a man of family in one sense, at least, you see. But,” dropping his voice, “whether he is a man of family in your sense, Jane,” looking at his second sister, “is more than I could discover.”“I hope you did not take the trouble, sir, to inquire on my account,” retorted Jane, coloring slightly with vexation at his speech.“Indeed I did, my dear sis, and solely on your account,” replied the laughing brother, “for you well know that no gentility, no husband; and it’s dull work to you young ladies without at least a possibility of matrimony; as for Clara, she is — — “Here he was stopped by his youngest sister Emily placing her hand on his mouth, as she whispered in his ear, “John, you forget the anxiety of a certain gentleman about a fair incognita at Bath, and a list of inquiries concerning her lineage, and a few other indispensables.” John, in his turn, colored, and affectionately kissing the hand which kept him silent, addressed himself to Jane, and by his vivacity and good humor soon restored her to complacency.“I rejoice,” said Lady Moseley, “that Sir William has found a tenant, however; for next to occupying it himself, it is a most desirable thing to have a good tenant in it, on account of the circle in which we live.”“And Mr. Jarvis has the great goodness of money, by John’s account,” caustically observed Mrs. Wilson, who was a sister of Sir Edward’s.“Let me tell you, madam,” cried the rector of the parish, looking around him pleasantly, and who was pretty constant, and always a welcome visitor in the family, “that a great deal of money is a very good thing in itself, and that a great many very good things may be done with it.”“Such as paying tythes, ha! doctor,” cried Mr. Haughton, a gentleman of landed property in the neighborhood, of plain exterior, but great goodness of heart, and between whom and the rector subsisted the most cordial good will.“Aye, tythes, or halves, as the baronet did here, when he forgave old Gregson one half his rent, and his children the other.”“Well, but, my dear,” said Sir Edward to his wife, “you must not starve our friends because we are to have a neighbor. William has stood with the dining-room door open these five minutes— “Lady Moseley gave her hand to the rector, and the company followed them, without any order, to the dinner table.The party assembled around the hospitable board of the baronet was composed, besides the before-mentioned persons, of the wife of Mr. Haughton, a woman of much good sense and modesty of deportment: their daughter, a young lady conspicuous for nothing but good nature; and the wife and son of the rector — the latter but lately admitted to holy orders himself.The remainder of the day passed in an uninterrupted flow of pleasant conversation, the natural consequence of a unison of opinions on all leading questions, the parties having long known and esteemed each other for those qualities which soonest reconcile us to the common frailties of our nature. On parting at the usual hour, it was agreed to meet that day week at the rectory, and the doctor, on making his bow to Lady Moseley, observed, that he intended, in virtue of his office, to make an early call on the Jarvis family, and that, if possible, he would persuade them to be of the party.Sir Edward Moseley was descended from one of the most respectable of the creations of his order by James, and had inherited, with many of the virtues of his ancestor, an estate which placed him amongst the greatest landed proprietors of the county. But, as it had been an invariable rule never to deduct a single acre from the inheritance of the eldest son, and the extravagance of his mother, who was the daughter of a nobleman, had much embarrassed the affairs of his father, Sir Edward, on coming into possession of his estate, had wisely determined to withdraw from the gay world, by renting his house in town, and retiring altogether to his respectable mansion, about a hundred miles from the metropolis. Here he hoped, by a course of systematic but liberal economy, to release himself from all embarrassments, and to make such a provision for his younger children, the three daughters already mentioned, as he conceived their birth entitled them to expect. Seventeen years enabled him to accomplish this plan; and for more than eighteen months, Sir Edward had resumed the hospitality and appearance usual in his family, and had even promised his delighted girls to take possession, the ensuing winter, of the house in St. James’s Square. Nature had not qualified Sir Edward for great or continued exertions, and the prudent decision he had taken to retrieve his fortunes, was perhaps an act of as much forecast and vigor as his talents or energy would afford; it was the step most obviously for his interests, and the one that was safest both in its execution and consequences, and as such it had been adopted: but, had it required a single particle more of enterprise or calculation, it would have been beyond his powers, and the heir might have yet labored under the difficulties which distressed his more brilliant, but less prudent parent.The baronet was warmly attached to his wife; and as she was a woman of many valuable and no obnoxious qualities, civil and attentive by habit to all around her, and perfectly disinterested in her attachments to her own family, nothing in nature could partake more of perfection in the eyes of her husband and children than the conduct of this beloved relative. Yet Lady Moseley had her failings, however, although few were disposed to view her errors with that severity which truth and a just discrimination of character render necessary. Her union had been one of love, and for a time it had been objected to by the friends of her husband, on the score of fortune; but constancy and perseverance prevailed, and the protracted and inconsequent opposition of his parents had left no other effects than an aversion in the children to the exercise of parental authority, in marrying their own descendents: an aversion which, though common to both the worthy baronet and his wife, was somewhat different in its two subjects. In the husband it was quiescent; but in the wife, it was slightly shaded with the female esprit de corps, of having her daughters comfortably established, and that in due season. Lady Moseley was religious, but hardly pious; she was charitable in deeds, but not always in opinions; her intentions were pure, but neither her prejudices nor her reasoning powers suffered her to be at all times consistent. Still few knew her that did not love her, and none were ever heard to say aught against her breeding, her morals, or her disposition.The sister of Sir Edward had been married, early in life, to an officer in the army, who, spending much of his time abroad on service, had left her a prey to that solicitude to which she was necessarily a prey by her attachment to her husband. To find relief from this perpetual and life-wearing anxiety, an invaluable friend had pointed out the only true remedy of which her case admitted, a research into her own heart, and the employments of active benevolence. The death of her husband, who lost his life in battle, caused her to withdraw in a great measure from the world, and gave time and inducement for reflections, which led to impressions on religion that were sufficiently correct in themselves, and indispensable as the basis of future happiness, but which became slightly tinctured with the sternness of her vigorous mind, and possibly, at times were more unbending than was compatible with the comforts of this world; a fault, however, of manner, more than of matter. Warmly attached to her brother and his children, Mrs. Wilson, who had never been a mother herself, yielded to their earnest entreaties to become one of the family; and although left by the late General Wilson with a large income, ever since his death she had given up her own establishment, and devoted most of her time to the formation of the character of her youngest niece. Lady Moseley had submitted this child entirely to the control of the aunt; and it was commonly thought Emily would inherit the very handsome sum left at the disposal of the General’s widow.Both Sir Edward and Lady Moseley possessed a large share of personal beauty when young, and it had descended in common to all their children, but more particularly to the two youngest daughters. Although a strong family resemblance, both in person and character, existed between these closely connected relatives, yet it existed with shades of distinction that had very different effects on their conduct, and led to results which stamped their lives with widely differing degrees of happiness.Between the families at Moseley Hall and the rectory, there had existed for many years an intimacy founded on esteem and on long intercourse. Doctor Ives was a clergyman of deep piety; and of very considerable talents; he possessed, in addition to a moderate benefice, an independent fortune in right of his wife, who was the only child of a distinguished naval officer. Both were well connected, well bred, and well disposed to their fellow creatures. They were blessed with but one child, the young divine we have mentioned, who promised to equal his father in all those qualities which had made the Doctor the delight of his friends, and almost the idol of his parishioners.Between Francis Ives and Clara Moseley, there had been an attachment, which had grown with their years, from childhood. He had been her companion in their youthful recreations, had espoused her little quarrels, and participated in her innocent pleasures, for so many years, and with such an evident preference for each other in the youthful pair, that, on leaving college to enter on the studies of his sacred calling with his father, Francis rightly judged that none other would make his future life as happy, as the mild, the tender, the unassuming Clara. Their passion, if so gentle a feeling deserve the term, received the sanction of their parents, and the two families waited only for the establishment of the young divine, to perfect the union.The retirement of Sir Edward’s family had been uniform, with the exception of an occasional visit to an aged uncle of his wife’s, and who, in return, spent much of his time with them at the Hall, and who had openly declared his intention of making the children of Lady Moseley his heirs. The visits of Mr. Benfield were always hailed with joy, and as an event that called for more than ordinary gaiety; for, although rough in manner, and somewhat infirm from years, the old bachelor, who was rather addicted to the customs in which he had indulged in his youth, and was fond of dwelling on the scenes of former days, was universally beloved where he was intimately known, for an unbounded though eccentric philanthropy.The illness of the mother-in-law of Mrs. Wilson had called her to Bath the winter preceding the spring when our history commences, and she had been accompanied thither by her nephew and favorite niece. John and Emily, during the month of their residence in that city, were in the practice of making daily excursions in its environs. It was in one of these little drives that they were of accidental service to a very young and very beautiful woman, apparently in low health. They had taken her up in their carriage, and conveyed her to a farm-house where she resided, during a faintness which had come over her in a walk; and her beauty air, and manner, altogether so different from those around her, had interested them both to a painful degree. They had ventured to call the following day to inquire after her welfare, and this visit led to a slight intercourse, which continued for the fortnight they remained there.John had given himself some trouble to ascertain who she was, but in vain. They could merely learn that her life was blameless, that she saw no one but themselves, and her dialect raised a suspicion that she was not English, It was to this unknown fair Emily alluded in her playful attempt to stop the heedless rattle of her brother, who was not always restrained from uttering what he thought by a proper regard for the feelings of others.试读结束[说明：试读内容隐藏了图片]