STANDARD LITERATURE SERIES THE SPY BY J. FENIMORE COOPER CONDENSED FOR USE IN SCHOOLS WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND EXPLANATORY NOTES NEW YORK AND NEW ORLEANS UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING CO. 1898 Copyright, 1895, by UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING CO. Press of J. J. Little & Co. Astor Place, New York Copyright, 1895, by CONTENTS INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL NOTE. A RURAL SCENE IN 1780. [Pg 3] [Pg 3] INTRODUCTION. James Fenimore Cooper was born in Burlington, N. J., in 1789—the year in which George Washington was inaugurated first President of the United States. His boyhood was passed at Cooperstown, N. Y., a village founded by his father. After completing his studies at Yale, young Cooper entered the American navy as midshipman, subsequently obtaining the rank of lieutenant. He also made some voyages in a merchant vessel, and in this service acquired that knowledge of sea life of which he made good use in many of his novels. Cooper has