ENTRY - John Maynard Home Page

1) Before us the boats began to thicken on the water, though the calmness of the day,
and the speed with which we moved, probably prevented our being followed by an
immense train of lighter craft. Two of the steam-vessels, however, had taken the
Cadmus in tow, and were bearing her towards the City.
(Notions of the Americans: Picked up by a Travelling Bachelor –
Cooper Edition/SUNY, Letter IV, To the Baron Von Kemperfelt, &c. &c.,
p. 51, June 1828: England; August 1828: United States)
5) ―RIDING AT ANCHOR‖
Cooper frequently uses the expression ―riding at anchor,‖ although there is a general
tendency to sweep the verb ―to ride‖ under the carpet. Quote #13, from Cooper‘s
letters, is figurative usage of a man, who has apparently ―done with the sea,‖ and is
thus ―riding at anchor.‖
HELMSMAN:
―…that a steam-vessel was riding at anchor, opposite [B: the town of] Buffalo, on
Lake Erie.‖ (line 2)
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER:
1) Jasper had warped the Scud out of the cove, and so far up the stream as to enable
him to pass through the outlet of the river whenever he chose, but there he still lay,
riding at single anchor. The drafted men were lounging about the shore of the cove,
undecided whether or not to pull off.
(The Pathfinder: or, The Inland Sea, Ch. XII, 1 st paragraph , p. 232/644;
Library of America, Leatherstocking Tales, vol. II: p. 178, Feb. / March
1840, London and Philadelphia)
2) The cutter rode at single anchor, without the breakers, resembling some wellimagined
and accurately-executed toy, intended rather for a glass case than for
struggles with the elements which she had so lately gone through,…
(The Pathfinder: or, The Inland Sea, Ch. XVIII, p. 361/644; Library of
America, Leatherstocking Tales, vol. II: p. 273, Feb. / March 1840,
London and Philadelphia)
3) …the anchor by which they rode was hove up.
(Homeward Bound – CSPCT, vol. 18, Ch. XXVII, p. 286, 1838)
4) ―I have dared even to exceed your instructions, Miss Effingham,‖ said Paul, ―for I
have promised the captain to endeavor to persuade you, and as many of the ladies as
possible, to trust yourselves to my seamanship, and to submit to be rowed to the spot
40