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that some historian will kindly take them into notice and them into a what is immortal f ner of his volume for in short the mighty of all their toil their hardships and is nothing but immortal fame and what fe immortal fame why half a page of dirty paper alas alas how humiliating the idea that the renown of so great a man as should depend upon the pen of so k man as and now having refreshed ourselves after and perils of the field it us to return once more to the scene of conflict and in what were the results of this renowned conquest the fortress of being the fair and in a manner the key to new its capture was speedily followed by the entire of the province this was not a little promoted by the gallant and courteous of the peter though a man terrible in battle yet in the hour of victory was he with a spirit generous merciful and humane he not over his enemies nor did he make defeat more by for like that mirror of virtue the renowned he was more anxious to do great actions than to talk of them after they e done he put no man to death ordered no conquest of new houses to be burnt down permitted no to be on the property of the and even gave one of his officers with his walking staff having been in the act of a hen he moreover issued a inviting the inhabitants to to the authority of their high but declaring with that whoever refused should be lodged at the public expense in a goodly castle provided for the purpose and have an armed re to wait on them in the bargain in consequence of these beneficent terms about thirty stepped forward and took the oath of in reward for which they were graciously permitted to remain on the banks of the where their descendants reside at this very day but i am told by divers observant travellers that they have never been able to get over the chap fallen looks of their ancestors and do still from father to son manifest marks of the sound given them by the sturdy the whole country of new having thus yielded to the arms of the triumphant peter was s of reduced to a colony called south river and j under the of a lieutenant governor to the con ol of the supreme government at new am this great was called william or rather who derived his as did of from the dimensions of his nose which projected from the centre of his like the of a he was the great of the tribe of the one of the most ancient and honourable families of the province the members of which do gratefully the origin of their dig not as your noble families in england would do by having a glowing in their but by one and all wearing a right goodly nose stuck in the very middle of th faces thus was this perilous enterprise terminated with the loss of only two men van home a tall spare man who was knocked overboard by the boom of a in a flaw of wind and fat van who was suddenly carried off by an both however were as having bravely fallen in the service of their country true it is peter peter s triumphant return stay had one of his limbs terribly being shattered to pieces in the act of the fortress but as it was fortunately his wooden leg the wound was promptly and effectually healed and now remains to this branch of my history but to mention that this hero and his victorious army returned to the where they made a solemn and triumphant entry bearing with them the conquered and the remnant of his battered crew who had for it appears that the gigantic had only fallen into a at the end of the battle from whence he was speedily restored by a wholesome of the nose these captive heroes were lodged according to the promise of the governor at the expense in a and spacious castle being the prison of state of which the immortal conqueror of bay was appointed governor and which has ever since remained in the possession of his descendants this castle though very much altered and is still in being and stands at the corner of pearl street facing s slip at it was a pleasant and goodly sight to the joy of the people of new at beholding their warriors once more return from this war in the wilderness the old women thronged round van who gave the whole history of the campaign with accuracy saying that he took the credit of fighting the whole battle himself and especially of die stout which he considered himself as clearly entitled to seeing that it was effected by liis own stone the throughout the town gave to their little who followed in after the drums with paper caps on their heads and sticks in their breeches thus taking the first lesson in the art of war as to the sturdy they thronged at the heels of peter wherever he went their greasy in die ail and shouting hard for it was indeed a day of roaring and a huge dinner was prepared at the in honour of the where were ass in one glorious the great and the little of new there were the and his peter a the with their at their elbows the officers at the elbows of the and so on to the lowest of every having his rag at his side to finish his pipe drink off his heel and laugh at his flights of immortal in short for a city feast is a city feast all the world over and has been a city feast	48
that his trade was wholly different that he was a poor and had never with a watch m his that there were men in the art whose business it was to attend t those matters but for his part he should only the and put the whole in con why master of mine cried p er turning suddenly upon him with a countenance that almost the of shoes into a perfect dost thou pretend to with the movements of government to and correct and patch and a machine the principles of which are above thy comprehension and its simplest too subtle for thy understanding thou not correct a error m a com a piece of the whole mystery of is open to thy inspection hence with s his terrific threat thee to the leather and stone which are thy head thy shoes and to the on for which has fitted thee but his until it made ihe ring if ever i catch the or any of tribe again with of by st but have every a of ye d alive and your hides d for drum heads that ye may noise to some purpose r this threat and the tremendous voice in which it was uttered caused the whole multitude to with fear the hair of the orator on his head like his own swine s and w a knight of the present but his heart died within him and he felt as though he could verily escaped through the eye of a needle but though this measure produced the desired effect in the community to order ye k tended to injure the popularity of the great among the enlightened vulgar many accused of entertaining highly aristocratic sentimental and of leaning too much in the indeed there appeared to be some ground such an accusation is he always carried him with a very lofty soldier like port p t r s court somewhat particular in hia dress dressing himself when not in in simple but rich and was especially noted for having his sound leg which was a very comely one always arrayed in a red and high shoe though a man of great of manners yet there was something about him that rude while it encouraged frank and even social intercourse he likewise observed some appearance of court and etiquette he received the common class of visitors on the stoop before his door according to the custom of our dutch ancestors but when were formally re in his parlour it was expected they would appear in clean linen by no means to be and always to take their hats off on public occasions he appeared with great pomp of for in truth his station required a show and dignity and always rode to in a yellow with red wheels these symptoms of state and ceremony properly the porch commonly in front of with benches on each side what government the least popular consider ble discontent among the they had been accustomed to find easy access to their former and in particular had lived on terms of extreme with the they therefore were very impatient of these dignified precautions which intrusion but peter had his own way of thinking in these matters and was a of the dignity of office he always maintained that government to be the least popular which is most open to popular access and control and that the very against court ceremony and the reserve of men in power would soon despise rulers among whom they found even themselves to be of consequence such at least had been the case with the administration of william the who bent on making himself popular had listened to every man s advice suffered every body to have to his person at all hours and in a word treated every one as his thorough equal by this means every and public was enabled to measure wits with him and to find out the true dimensions not only of his person but his mind and what great man can stand such scrutiny it is the mystery that of government great men gives them half greatness we are always inclined to think highly of those who hold themselves aloof from out examination there is likewise a kind of reverence for office which leads us to the merits and of men in power and to suppose that they must be constituted rent from other men and indeed is as necessary in politics as in religion it ce is of the first importance that a country should be governed by wise men but then it is almost important that the people should believe to be wise for this belief alone can produce to keep up therefore this desirable confidence in rulers the people should be allowed to see as of them as possible he who gains access to soon finds out by what fo li i the world is governed he there is in as well as in every thing else that many a measure which is posed by the million to be result of great wisdom and deep deliberation is the effect of mere or perhaps of hare experiment that rulers have their and errors as well as other men and after all are not so wonderfully peter to with superior to their fellow as he at first since he finds that e his opinions have had some weight with thus awe into confidence confidence and familiarity produces contempt peter on the contrary hy himself with dignity and was looked up to with great reverence as he c g fe for any thing he did the public always gave um credit for very profound ones however unimportant was a matter of speculation and his very red excited some respect as being the stockings of other men these times may we refer the rise of pride and aristocratic distinctions and indeed i cannot but	48
with reverence to the planting of those mighty dutch have taken such vigorous root and s in our state the blood which has in a work published many after the tune here treated in by c w a m it is mentioned that was counted the richest in new and fi d to ive whole indian money or and had a son and daughter who according to the dutch custom di die it equally family pride flowed down through a of steady virtuous generations since the of of must certainly be pure and worthy and if so then a van the van the homes the the and all the descendants of the ancient the only nobility and real lords of the soil have been led to mention thus particularly the well claims of our genuine dutch because i have noticed with great sorrow and vexation that they have been what aside in latter days by foreign it is really astonishing to behold how great have sprung up of late years who pride themselves excessively on the score of thus he who can look up to his father without humiliation not a little import ance he can safely talk of his grandfather k stiu more but he who can look to his great grandfather without blushing is absolutely intolerable in his pretensions to us what a piece of work is here i be these of an hour and these of a day i custom of but from what i have in the part of this chapter i would not have n reader imagine that the great peter was a governor ruling his subjects with a rod of on the contrary where the dignity of authority was not he with and courteous condescension in he though i fear my more enlightened republican readers will consider it a proof of his ignorance and that in preventing the cup of social ufe from being dashed with the of he promoted die and happiness of the people and by their minds firom subjects which they could not understand and which only tended to their passions he enabled them to attend more faithfully and to proper becoming more useful tis and more attentive to their families and fortunes so far firom having any unreasonable he delighted to see the poor and the man rejoice and for this purpose was a of holidays and public amusements under his reign was first introduced the custom of eggs at or new year s day was also observed with and exhibition bt a young in by the of bells and firing of guns every house was a e to the jolly god of cherry brandy true and were set afloat on the occasion and not a poor man in town but made it a point to get drunk out of a principle of pure economy taking in liquor enough to serve him for half a year afterwards j t would have done one s heart good also to seen the peter seated among the old and their wives of a saturday noon the great trees that spread their over the battery the young men and women as they danced on the green here lie would smoke his pipe crack his joke and for e rugged toils of war in the sweet f peace he would occasionally give to those of the young men ho iii ed and kicked most vigorously and and th ve a hearty in au honesty to the that held out longest j r d all her which he as proofs of her being the best once it is true the harmony of the wi s rather interrupted a young pf great figure in the gay world and who having p ter shocked li ij come fr m of c led t e in the ity her in not than ha f a dozen and these too of an t an through e as the old ladies ah felt shocked in the extreme the young ladies m and felt excessively for the p or thing and even the governor himself was observed to be a troubled in mind to complete of the good she undertook the course of a to describe iii which she had learned dancing master at whether she if too animated in her feet or vagabond the liberty of ch his services is that in tlie of a grand which would hive a modern ball sh made a expected display the whole was thrown into great admiration country members w re not a little the good peter himself w ho was n h modesty felt the ss of the female continued in ever since the f his in had long offended his eye and though extremely averse to with the of ladies yet he immediately recommended that every one should be furnished with a to the bottom he likewise ordered that the ladies and indeed the gentlemen should use no other step in dancing than and turn and double trouble and forbade under pain of his high displeasure any young lady to attempt what was termed exhibiting the graces these were the only he ever im upon the sex and these were considered by th m as and resisted with that becoming always manifested by te gentle sex whenever their privileges are in t peter plainly per that if he attempted to push the any there was danger of their leaving off altogether so a wise man in the ways of women he held his peace suffered them ever to wear their coats and cut their as high as they pleased chapter it peter much by the of the east and the giants of merry land and how a dark and horrid conspiracy was carried on in tie british cabinet against the prosperity of the we are now approaching towards the crisis of work and if i be	48
he vainly to at the time of receiving the alarming from south river the great peter was busily employed in certain indian troubles that liad broken out about and was moreover meditating how to relieve his eastern borders on the he however sent word to calm ik the south to be of good hearty to incessant and to let him know if matters wore a more threatening appearance in which case he would repair his warriors of the to spoil the merriment of these merry for he exceedingly to have a bout hand to hand with some half a score of these giants having never encountered a giant in his whole unless we may so call the stout and he was but a one nothing further however occurred to the tranquillity of and his co and his remained at home it upon cakes bacon and and running horses and fighting for which they were greatly renowned at hearing of this peter was very well pleased for notwithstanding his inclination to measure weapons with these monstrous men of the yet he had already as much employment nearer home as he could turn his hands to little did he think worthy soul that this southern calm was but the deceit l to a most terrible and fatal storm then which was soon to burst forth and the city of new plot of the british cabinet w so it was that while this excellent go r was giving his little laws and not them but them too incessantly travelling the rounds of his from place to place to ss and while busy at one comer all the rest getting in an uproar this very time i say a dark and plot against him in that nursery of mon projects the british cabinet the news b achievements on the according age old historian of new had not a little talk and marvel in the s of europe and the same profound writer es us that the cabinet of england began to tain great jealousy and uneasiness at the power of the and the r of its sturdy the same historian were sent e council of the east to assistance of the british cabinet in this mighty province lord sterling his right to long island and at the time lord whose agent as has e been mentioned had so alarmed man laid his claim before the cabinet to the charles u s lands of south river which h were and forcibly detained firom him by these daring of the thus did the unlucky empire of the stand in imminent danger of the te of and being torn limb from limb to be shared among its savage neighbours but while these powers were their and waiting for the signal to tooth and nail upon uttle t dutch the lion who sat as all at once settled the claims of all parties by laying his own upon the spoil for we are told that hia majesty charles the not to be perplexed by these several pretensions made a present of a large tract of north america ing the of new to his brother the duke of york a truly royal none but great have a right to give away what does not belong to them that this gift might not be merely his majesty on the of march ordered that an should be forthwith prepared to the city of new by land and water and put his brother in complete possession of the premises author und a d thus are situated the affairs of the the honest so ar from thinking of the in which their are d are smoking their and thinking of nothing at all the of the province are at this moment in full while the active peter ho takes all the labour of thinking and acting himself is busily some method of bringing the grand council of to in the mean while an angry cloud is on the horizon soon shall it about the ears of these ind put the of their stout hearted governor completely to the trial but come what may i here pledge my hat in all warlike and he shall still himself with the gallant bearing and honour of a noble minded obstinate old forward then to the shine out stars on the renowned city of the and may the blessing of st go with thee honest peter the c e of t chapter iii of peter expedition into the east country that though an old bird he did not trap great nations resemble great men in this particular that their greatness is seldom known they get in trouble therefore has been wisely the ordeal of true which like gold can never receive its real estimation until it has passed through the furnace ik proportion therefore as a nation a community oi an individual possessing the inherent quality oi greatness is involved in perils and misfortunes ii proportion does it rise in grandeur and ever when sinking under calamity makes like a house on fire a more glorious display than ever it did in the fairest period of its prosperity the vast empire of china though with population and and the wealth of nations has through a succession of drowsy ages and were it not for its internal revolution and the of its ancient of by the might have presented nothing but an uninteresting detail of dull monotonous prosperity and might have passed into oblivion with a herd of their if they had not been overwhelmed by a the renowned city of has acquired only from its ten years distress and final paris rises in importance by the plots and which have ended in the exaltation of the napoleon and even the mighty london itself has through the records of time celebrated for nothing of moment excepting the plague the great fire and	48
s plot thus cities and seem to creep along in silent obscurity under the pen of the historian until at length they burst forth in some tremendous calamity and snatch as it were from the explosion the above principle being admitted my reader will plainly perceive that the city of new and its dependent province are on the high road to greatness dangers and threaten from every side and it is really a matter of astonishment to me how so small a state has been able in so short a time to itself in p s ae m so many difficulties ever since the province was first taken by the nose at the fort hope in the tranquil days of van it gradually increasing in historic importance and could it have had a more appropriate to conduct it to the of grandeur than peter in the fiery heart of this iron headed old war sat all those fi e of courage described by and had the philosopher mentioned five hundred more to the back of them i verily believe he would have been found master of them all the only misfortune waa that he was deficient in the better part of called discretion a cold blooded virtue which could not exist in the tropical climate of his mighty soul hence it was he was continually hurrying into those un heard of that give an air of romance to all his history and hence it was that he now conceived a project worthy of the hero of la himself this was no other than to repair in person to the great council of the bearing the sword in one hand and the in the other to require immediate for the innumerable of that treaty wh ch in an of his council evil hour he had formed to put a stop to those repeated on the eastern borders or to his and appeal to arms for on declaring this resolution in his the venerable members were seized with vast astonishment for once in their lives they ven to setting forth the of exposing his sacred person in the midst of a strange and barbarous people with sundry other all which had about as much influence upon the determination of the peter as though you were to our to turn a rusty with a therefore to his presence his van he commanded him to hold himself in readiness to accompany him the following morning on this his enterprise now the was a little stricken in years yet by dint of keeping up a good heart and having never known care or sorrow having never been married he was still a wag and of great capacity hi the this last was ascribed living a jolly life on those at the he forth hook which peter had granted tc hun for his gallantry at fort be this as it may there was nothing that more delighted than this command of the great peter for he could haye followed the old governor to the world s end with and loyalty and he moreover still remembered the and dancing and and other of the east country and entertained dainty recollection of numerous kind and whom he longed exceedingly again to encounter thus then did this mirror of s forth with no other attendant but his upon one of the most perilous ever re in the annals of knight for a single warrior to openly among a whole nation of foes but above all for a plain downright to think of with the whole council of new england never was there known a more desperate undertaking ever since i have entered upon the of this but hitherto has he kept me in a state of incessant action and anxiety with the toils and dangers he is constantly oh for a chapter of the attended by van reign of van that i it repose on it as on a feather bed is it not enough peter that i have already rescued thee from the f these terrible by bringing he powers of to thine aid is it lot enough that i have followed thee ike a guardian spirit into the midst of the horrid of fort that i have been put to my to keep thee safe and now off with my single pen the of blows that fell upon thy rear now narrowly thee from a deadly thrust by a mere tobacco box now thy skull with when even thy stubborn ram l failed to resist the sword of the stout and now not merely bringing thee off alive but triumphant from the of the gigantic by the desperate means of a stone is not all this enough but must still be plunging into new difficulties and in headlong thy and thy historian and now the ruddy faced like a draws aside the curtains of the night and out fi om his bed the jolly peter s and s mare red haired startled at being caught so late in the embraces of dame with many a stable oath he his footed and and lashes and up the like a post boy half an hour and now behold that of fame and the peter a hi and on his that brass sword which had wrought such fearful deeds on the banks of the behold hard after him his van mounted on a broken wall eyed mare his stone which had laid low the mighty under liis arm and his trumpet displayed in his rights hand decorated with a gorgeous banner oi which is the great of the see them proudly issuing out of the city gate like an iron clad hero of with his squire at his heels the follow ing them with their eyes and shouting many a a parting wish and hearty cheering farewell hard farewell honest	48
pleasant be your way prosperous your return the hero that ever drew a s sword and the that ever trod shoe leather legends are silent the events our in this their tons travel excepting the which gives the substance of a pleasant uttle heroic poem written on the occasion by who appears to have been the i bet of new this manuscript ns that it was a rare to behold the great peter and his loyal the morning sun and rejoicing in the clear countenance of nature as they it through the pastoral scenes of in those days was a sweet and rural valley with many a bright wild flower refreshed by many a pure and ere and there by a little dutch cottage sheltered under some sloping hill and almost buried m trees now did they enter upon the of con this was moreover of the ui school in there are two pieces addressed to in d s of upon his marriage with old ms t now called blooming about four miles from new vol ii p joyous reception op to compliment renowned heroes by of and gorgeous furniture the women crowded to the doors to gaze upon him as he passed so much does in arms delight the gentle sex the little children too ran after him in troops staring with wonder at his his breeches and the silver of his wooden leg nor must i omit to mention the joy which many betrayed at beholding the jovial van who had them so much with his trumpet when he bore the great peter s challenge to the the kind hearted alighted from his mare and kissed them all with infinite loving and was right pleased to see a crew of crowding around him for hb blessing each of whom he patted on the head bade him be a good boy and gave him a penny to buy the manuscript makes but mention of the governor s adventures upon thb expedition excepting that he was received with extravagant courtesy and respect by the great of the who almost talked him to death with complimentary and con peter s s i will not detain my readers by dwelling on his with the grand council suffice it to mention it was like au other a great deal was said and very little done one conversation led to another one conference which it took a dozen te explain at the end of which the parties found themselves just where they were at first excepting that entangled themselves in a host of questions of etiquette and conceived a cordial distrust of each other that rendered their future ten times more difficult than ever in the these which bewildered the brain and the ire of the sturdy peter who was perhaps of all men in the world least fitted for he privately received the first intimation of the dark conspiracy which had been in the cabinet o england to this was added the intelligence that a hostile had sailed from england destined to reduce the province of new and that the grand for certain of the particulars of this ancient see col state it is singular that smith is silent with to this memorable expedition of peter his imminent t council of had engaged to co i rate by sending a great army to new by land unfortunate peter did i not enter sad upon this ill expedition did i not tremble when i saw with no other but own head with no other but an honest tongue a con science and a rusty with no other pro but st and ho attendant but a did i not tremble when i beheld thee thus sally forth to contend with all the knowing powers of new oh how did the sturdy old warrior rage and roar when he found himself like a hon in the hunter s toil now did he to draw his sword and to fight bis way through all the of the east now did he resolve to break in upon the of the and put every mother s son of them to death at length as his wrath sided he resorted to safer though less glorious concealing from the council his knowledge or heir he privately despatched a j x messenger with to his new in an uproar his at new them of the danger commanding them to put the city in a posture of defence while in the mean time he would endeavour to his enemies and come to their assistance this done he felt himself rose slowly shook himself like a and issued forth firom his den in much the same as giant despair is described to have issued from doubting castle in the history of the pilgrim s progress and now much does it grieve me that i must leave the gallant peter in this imminent but it us to hurry back and see what is going on at new for greatly do i that city is already in a il such was ever the of peter doing one heart and soul he was too apt to leave else at while a of he was to is things in person which modern days are trusted t his little ter was sure to get iii to uproar ail w owing to that uncommon of t which induced to to nobody s land which had acquired him the re y of th of was chapter iv horn the people of new were ms great panic by the rf a threatened the manner in which there is no sight more truly interesting to a than to contemplate a where every individual has a voice in affairs where every individual thinks himself the of the nation and where every individual thinks it his duty to himself for the good of his country i say there is nothing more	48
and most powerful people under the sun yet were the of peter somewhat n that point they dreaded moreover lest that speeches stem hero should th of obeying his orders th had wasted time in to the l of the mob than which they well new there was nothing he held in more exalted contempt to i np therefore as s as possible fer lost grand o the and as over the i state of the devise measured safety two things were nm agreed upon hi this assembly first city a state of de fence and that mb the danger vas im ther be no time which points being i d they ii to making long speeches and one ther in and for about time this unhappy city first visited by that talking universally la this country so invariably wherever a f wise men together breaking but iu long windy speeches caused as suppose by the foul is ever a now it was that the ingenious method of measuring tlie merits of an g cause of this by the hour glass he being considered the orator who spoke longest on a question for which excellent invention it is recorded we are indebted to the same profound dutch critic who judged of books by their size this sudden passion for endless so little with the customary gravity and of our sage forefathers was supposed by certain learned philosophers to have been im together with divers other barbarous from their savage neighbours who were peculiarly noted for their long and council fires who would never undertake any affair of the least importance without previous and among their and men but the real cause was that the people in their representatives to the grand were particular in choosing them for their talents at talking without inquiring whether they possessed the more rare difficult and oft times important talent of holding their tongues the consequence was that this body was composed of the most men in the com as they considered themselves placed there to talk every man concluded that his duty to his and what is more his of silence with them required that he should ha on every subject whether he understood it or not there was an ancient mode of burying a by every soldier throwing his of earth on the corpse until a mighty mound was formed so whenever a question was brought forward in this assembly every member pressing to throw on his of wisdom the subject was quickly buried under a huge mass of f t we are told that when were admitted into the school of they were for two years silence and were neither permitted to ask questions nor make remarks after they had thus acquired the art of holding tongues they were gradually permitted tb make inquiries and finally to communicate their opinions what a pity is it that while up the rubbish and rags of antiquity we should suffer these precious to he unnoticed what a effect would this wise of have if introduced in bodies and how wonderfully would it have tended to business in the grand council of the vol ii q revival of thus did dame wisdom whom the of antiquity have a a woman seem to take mischievous pleasure in the venerable of new dam the old of long pipes and short pipes which had been almost by the grasp of peter now sprung up with violence not that the cause of difference still existed but it has ever been the fate of party names party t remain long after the gave ride to them have been forgotten to complete the lie and bewilderment the fatal word economy which one would have thought was dead and buried with william the once more set afloat like the apple of discord in the council of to which sound principle of policy it deemed more expedient to throw away twenty thousand upon an plan of defence than thirty thousand on a good and one the province thus making a clear saving of ten thousand but when they came to discuss the mode of fence then began a war of words that all description the members being as i pipes short pipes s in opposite were to pro seed with am ing and regularity in the discussion of the questions before them whatever was proposed by a long pipe was opposed by the whole tribe of short pipes who uke true considered it their first duty to effect the of the long pipes their second to themselves and their third to consult the welfare of the country this at least was the creed of the most upright among the party for as to the great mass they left the third out of the question altogether in this great collision of hard heads it is astonishing the number of projects for defence that were struck out not one of which had ever been heard of before nor has been heard of since un less it be in very modem projects that threw the system of the ingenious completely in the back ground still however nothing could be decided on for so soon as a formidable host of air castles were reared by one party they were by the other the simple stood gazing in anxious expectation of the mighty egg that was to be with all this but they gazed in vain for it appeared that the grand was determined q s plans os ta the province as did the gigantic his army by it with tongue indeed there was a portion of the members consisting of fat self important old ers who smoked their pipes said nothing excepting to negative every of defence that was o these were of that class of wealthy old citizens who having a fortune button their pockets shut their mouths look rich and are good	48
for nothing all the rest of their lives like some which having swallowed a pearl its shell settles in the mud and parts with its life sooner than its treasure every plan of defence seemed to these gentlemen with ruin an armed force was a of upon the public property to fit out a naval was to throw their money into the sea to was to bury it in the dirt in short they settled it as a sovereign so long as their pockets were full no matter how much they were a kick left no a broken head cured itself but an empty purse was of all the to heal and one in which nature did nothing for the patient arrival of the enemy thus did this venerable assembly of lavish away that time which the of affairs rendered invaluable in empty and speeches without ever agreeing except on the point with which they started namely that there was no time to be lost and delay was at length st taking compassion on their distracted situation and anxious to preserve them from so ordered that in the midst of one of their most noisy on the subject of and defence when they had nearly fallen to in consequence of not being able to convince each other the question was happily settled by a messenger who into the chamber and informed that the hostile fleet had arrived and was ac advancing up the bay thus was all further necessity of either or completely and thus was the grand council saved a world of words and the province a world of expense a most absolute and glorious triumph of economy a n i al al chapter vi in which the troubles of new appear to showing the in time of peril of a people defend themselves by resolution like a an assemblage of cats engaged in and one another with hideous in each other s faces and on the point of breaking forth into a general f are suddenly put to and confusion by the startling appearance pf a house dog so was the no less of new amazed astounded and totally dispersed by the sudden arrival of the enemy every member made the best of his way home along as fast as his short legs could g under their heavy and as he went with and terror when he arrived at his castle he the street door and buried himself in the cellar without daring to peep out lest he should have his head carried off by a cannon ball fearful the sovereign people all crowded into the market place together with the instinct of sheep who seek for safety in each other s company when the shepherd and his dog are and the wolf is round the fold far from finding relief however they only increased each other s terrors each man looked in his neighbour s face in search of but only found in its wo a confirmation of his own dismay not word now was to be heard of conquering great britain not a whisper the sovereign virtues of economy while the old women heightened general gloom by their fate and incessantly for protection on st and peter oh how did they the absence of the lion hearted peter and how did they long for the comforting presence of van indeed a gloomy uncertainty hung over the te of these adventurous heroes day after day had elapsed since the alarming message from the governor without bringing any further tidings of his safety many a fearful conjecture was as to what had befallen him and his loyal squire i ad they not been devoured alive by the peter of and cape they put to the question by the great if were they not smothered by the terrible men of in the midst of thb consternation and perplexity r like a mighty night mare sat g the little city of new dam the ears of the multitude were by a strange and distant sound it p it grew louder and and now it at the city gate the could not be mistaken in the well known a of joy burst from their lips as the peter covered with dust and followed by came galloping into the marked place the first of the having they gathered round the honest tt ny ad he dismounted from his horse with greetings and congratulations ih breathless accents he related to them the marvellous adventures through which the old governor and had gone in their escape from the of the terrible but though the manuscript with its customary where any thing hi secret the gi ent peter is concerned ia ta the of this re t the particular state the not me to induce in a there i let it suffice to say that peter was anxiously revolving in his mind r could make good his escape with honour and certain of the out r the t of the touched at the eastern arts t obtain needful supplies and to on e grand council of the league for its promised operation upon hearing of this the perceiving that a moment s delay were made a secret and much did it grieve his lofty soul to be to turn his back even upon a nation of es many hair breadth and divers pe did they sustain as they sound of trumpet through the fair of the east already was the country in an with hostile preparation and they were to take a large circuit in their along through the mountains of the back bone from whence the peter forth one day like a lion and put to whole of consisting of three his of a family who on their way to take possession of some corner l die new nay the faithful had great difficulty at	48
sundry times to p him in the excess of his wrath from descending down from the mountains and falling sword in hand upon certain of the border towns who were forth their the first movements of the governor reach ing his dwelling was to mount the roof from whence he contemplated with aspect the hostile this had already come to anchor in the bay and consisted of two stout having on board as john us three hundred red coats having taken this survey he sat himself down and wrote an to the commander the reason of his in the hour without obtaining previous permission so to do this letter was in the most dignified and courteous terms though i have it from authority that his teeth were and he had a bitter grin upon his all the while he wrote having despatched his letter the grim peter to and fro about the town a most war countenance by the s his thrust into his breeches pockets and whistling a low dutch tune which bore no to the music of a north east wind i n a storm i the very dogs m they eyed him a way in dismay while the old and ugly women of new ran howling at his heels imploring him to save em from murder robbery and pitiless the reply of colonel who commanded tb wa in terms of equal courtesy with the letter of the governor declaring the right and title of his british majesty to the province where he affirmed the dutch to be ere and demanding that the town c should be forthwith rendered into his majesty s obedience and protection promising at the same time life liberty estate and free trade to every dutch who should readily submit to his majesty s government peter read over this friendly with some such harmony of aspect as we may i e a farmer who has long been upon his neighbour s soil reads the loving letter of john that him of an action of the old go however was not calls a council of war to be taken by surprise but ae sum in o his pocket he stalked times across the room took a pinch of snuff with great vehemence then k y his hand promised to send an answer the n ing in the mean time he called a general council of war of his and not for the purpose of asking advice that as has been already shown he valued not a rush but to make unto them his and require their prompt before however he his council he resolved upon three important points to give up the city without a little fighting for he deemed it highly to the dignity of so renowned a city to suffer itself to be captured and stripped without receiving a few into the bargain secondly that the majority of his grand council was composed of utterly destitute of true bottom and that he would not therefore suffer th n to see the summons of colonel lest the easy terms it held out might induce them to for a surrender his orders being duly it was a the council t t piteous sight to behold the late who had the whole british iii but of hiding places and then c cautiously forth through narrow lanes and starting at dog that as though it had been a discharge of posts for british rs and in excess of panic into formidable soldiers at their however in despite of perils aiid difficulties of the kind safe without the loss of a i man at the hall of assembly they took their seats and awaited in fearful silence the arrival of the governor in a few moments the wooden leg of the peter was heard in regular and hearted upon the staircase he entered the chamber arrayed in full suit of and ing hb not on his but tucked his arm as the governor never equipped himself in this manner less something of martial nature were working within his fearless his council re him as if they saw fire and sword i in his iron countenance and forgot to light their pipes in breathless suspense i the great peter was as eloquent as he indeed these two rare seemed to go hand in hand in his composition and like most great whose are only confined to the field of argument he was always ready to enforce his hardy words by no less hardy deeds his speeches were generally marked by a approaching to and by truly decision addressing the grand he touched briefly upon the perils and hardships he had sustained in escaping from his foes he next reproached the council for wasting in idle debate and party that time which should have been devoted to their country he was particularly indignant at those who conscious of individual security had disgraced the of the province by im and against a noble and a powerful those cowardly who were incessant in their and at the lion while distant or asleep but the moment he approached were the first to away he now called on those who had and determination been do in their against great britain to stand forth and support their by their actions for it was not words that the spirit of a nation he proceeded to recall the golden of former prosperity which were only to be gained by with standing their enemies for the peace he which is effected by force of is always sure and than that which is patched up by he d moreover to arouse their martial fire by t them of the time when before the frowning of fort he had led on to victory he strove likewise to awaken their by assuring them of the protection of who had hitherto maintained them in safety amid all the savages of the	48
in a resolute body into the room with a of and at their heels and abruptly demanded a perusal of the letter thus to be broken in upon by what he esteemed a rascal and that too at the very moment he was grinding under an irritation from abroad was too much for the with his wooden leg be peter he tore the letter in a pieces threw it in the face of the est broke his pipe over the of the next hurled his box at an who was just making a sat out at the door and finally the le meeting die by kicking them down s with his wooden leg s soon as the could recover the confusion into which their sudden exit thrown them and had taken a little time to they protested against the conduct of the which they did not hesitate to highly b and somewhat they then d a public meeting where they read the pro and addressing the assembly in a set speech ted at full length and with appropriate and exaggeration the and ive of the governor declaring fc for their own parts they did not value a the being kicked and by the ber toe of his but they felt for the of the sovereign people thus rudely in smith s history of n y si fear of the suited by the outrage committed on the honour of their representatives the of the had a violent u of the people as it came home to that delicacy of feeling and jealous i character in all true who they may bear injuries without a murmur jealous of their sovereign di and there is no knowing to what a t of ment they might have been provoked peter had not the greasy been somewhat more afraid of their governor than they were of st english or the d himself a sublime spectacle s chapter viii peter defended the city of new for several days by dint of the strength of his head is something exceedingly sublime and in the spectacle which the present i of our history presents an illustrious and little city the of an im e extent of country host of and old women by a determined and strong headed fortified by mud resolutions by sea nd and threatened with desolation without while its very are torn with and commotion never did record a page of more complicated dis unless it be the strife that distracted the during the siege of where parties were cutting each other s its at the moment when the victorious les of had down their s peter s gallant letter and were fire and sword into the of the temple governor triumphantly tj has been recorded put his grand council to the and thus delivered himself from a multitude of impertinent despatched a reply to the of the wherein he asserted the right and title ol their high the lords states general to the province of new and in the of his cause set the british nation at defiance my anxiety to my readers and myself from these disastrous scenes prevents me from giving the whole of gallant letter which concluded in these manly and affectionate terms as touching the threats in your conclusion we have nothing to answer only that we nothing but what god who is as just as shall lay upon us all things being in hia gracious disposal and we may as well be pre served by him with small forces as by a great army which makes us to wish you all happiness and prosperity and recommend you to his my lords your thrice humble and affectionate servant and friend p tempting terms offered having resolutely thrown his the ive peter stuck a pair of horse pistols iii his t an immense powder horn on his side his sound leg into a boot and his fierce little war hat on the top of his id up and down in front of his house to defend his beloved city to the last i all these struggles and re prevailing in the unhappy city of new and while its worthy but ill go nor was the above quoted letter the did not remain idle they agents secretly employed to the fears i of the and moreover far and wide through the adjacent country repeating the terms they had held out in their to surrender the simple with the st and professions they that every man who voluntarily to the authority of his british majesty retain possession of his house and his garden that he ould be suffered to smoke his pipe speak wear as many breeches as he pleased and port bricks and stone from s the are instead of them on the spot he should on no account be compelled to learn th english language or keep accounts in any way than by casting them up on his fingers them down upon the crown of his hat as is still observed among the dutch at the present day that every man should be quietly to inherit his ther s hat coat pipe and every other personal and that no man should be obliged to con form to any improvements inventions or any other modem but on the contrary should be permitted to build his house follow his trade manage his farm rear his and his c precisely as his ancestors did before him since time finally that he should have all the benefits of free trade and should not be required to acknowledge any other saint in the than st who should as before be considered the saint of the city these terms as may be supposed appeared very satisfactory to the people who had a great disposition to enjoy property and a most singular aversion to engage in a contest where they could	48
gain uttle more than threatened s and broken heads the first of which they in philosophic indifference the latter in utter by these means therefore id the succeed in the and affections of the from their gallant old governor whom they considered as bent upon them into hideous and did not hesitate to speak their minds freely and abuse him most heartily behind his back like as a mighty who though assailed and by roaring waves and still keeps on an course and though overwhelmed by boisterous still from the troubled deep and blowing with violence so did the peter pursue his determined career and rise contemptuous above the of the but when the british warriors found by the tenor of his reply that he set their power at defiance they forthwith despatched officers to and and and and and all those towns on long island which had been subdued of by the immortal stirring up the pro vol ii s dismay in new of preserved fish and and those other illustrious to the city of new by land in the mean while the l ships made awful preparation to commence an assault by water the streets of new now presented a scene of wild dismay and consternation in tain did the gallant order the citizens to arm and in the public square or market place the whole party of short pipes in the course of a single night had changed into old women a only to be by the recorded by as having happened at rome at the approach of when statues in pure were converted into sheep and turning into ran about the streets the harassed peter thus from without and tormented from within by the and at by the and growled and raged like a furious bear tied to a stake and worried by a of scoundrel finding however that all further attempts to defend the city were vain and hearing that an of and moss was ready to him from the east he was at length com agreed ok in spite of his proud hearty which his throat until it had nearly choked him to to a treaty of surrender words cannot express the of the on receiving this agreeable intelligence they obtained a conquest over their enemies not have indulged greater i the streets with their congratulations they their governor as the father and rf his country they crowded to house to testify their gratitude and were ten times more noisy in their than when he re turned with victory perched upon his from the glorious capture of fort but the indignant peter shut his doors and win and took refuge in the recesses of his mansion that he might not hear the of the in consequence of this consent of the governor it was demanded of the forces to treat of the terms of surrender accordingly it of six wa s appointed both sides and on the g th of august a highly to the province and honourable to was agreed to by the enemy who had conceived a high opinion peter s refusal of the of the and the and unbounded discretion of their governor one thing alone remained which was that the articles of surrender should be and signed by the governor when the respectfully waited upon him for this purpose they were received by the hardy old warrior with the most grim and bitter courtesy his warlike were laid aside an old indian was wrapped about his rugged limbs a red night cap his frowning brow an iron grey beard of three days growth gave additional to his thrice did he seize a little worn out stump of a pen and essay to sign the paper thrice did he his teeth and make a most horrible countenance as though a dose of and had been offered to his lips at length dashing it from him he seized his sword it from the swore by st he d sooner die than yield to any power under heaven in vain was every attempt to shake this sturdy were exhausted to no for two whole days i to sign the e house of the peter by the and for two whole days did e partake himself to his arms and persist in a refusal to the at length the finding that boisterous measures did but incense more determined themselves of an humble expedient by which happily the governor s ire might be soothed and his resolution and now a solemn and mournful procession headed by the and and followed by the moves slowly to the governor s dwelling bearing the here they the stout old hero drawn up like a giant into his castle the doors strongly and himself in full with his cocked hat on his head firmly posted with a at the garret window there was something in this formidable position that struck even the vulgar with awe and admiration the multitude could not but reflect with self upon their own conduct when they beheld their hardy but deserted old governor thus faithful to his post like a hope and prepared to defend his city to the last g fi s these were over by the of public apprehension the tb ma be fore the house g off th with most respectful who was of that popular class of t r described by as being eloquent stepped forth aud addressed the in a speech of three hours e a in the most pathetic terms the situation of and ur g him in a constant repetition of the same arguments and words to sign the the mighty peter eyed him from his little garret window in grim r and then his eye would glance over the and an indignant like that of an angry would mark his iron e but though he was a man of m had a heart as big	48
as an ox and a head that would have set to scorn yet after all he was a mere mortal wearied out by these repeated and this eternal and perceiving that he complied the inhabitants would follow their own inclinations or rather their fears without waiting for finally lie ordered to hand p th paper it was accordingly hoisted to him on the of a pole and having his name at the bottom of it he them all for a set of cowardly threw the at their heads the and was heard down stairs with the most vehement indignation the in took to their heels even the were not slow in the premises fearing lest the sturdy peter might issue from his den and greet them with some unwelcome of his displeasure within three hours after the surrender a of british beef fed warriors poured into new taking possession of the fort and and now might be heard from all quarters the sound of made by the old dutch who were busily employed in up their doors and windows to protect their from these fierce whom they contemplated in silent from the garret windows as they through the streets thus did colonel richard the commander of the british forces enter into quiet entrance of the british of the conquered realm as tt for the duke of york the victory was with no other outrage than that of changing name of the province and its metropolis w were new york so have continued to be called unto the day the inhabitants according to treaty allowed to maintain quiet possession of their but so did they retain of the british nation that in a meeting of the leading citizens it was determined never to ask any of their to retirement of peter ix the dignified retirement and mortal surrender of peter the thus then have i concluded this great historical but before i lay aside my weary pen there yet remains to be performed one pious duty if among the variety of readers that may this book there should be found any of those souls of true nobility which glow with celestial fire at the history of the generous and the brave they will doubtless be anxious to know the fate of the gallant peter to gratify one such heart of gold i would go more than to instruct the curiosity of a whole of philosophers no sooner had that high signed the articles of than determined not to witness the humiliation of his favourite city he turned his back on its walls and made a growling retreat to his y or his try which was situated about two miles off where he passed the remainder of his days in retirement there he enjoyed that tranquillity of mind which he had never known amid the cares of government and tasted the sweets df absolute and authority which his subjects had so often dashed with the bitterness of opposition no could ever induce him to the city on the contrary he would always have his great chair placed with its back to the windows which looked in that direction until a thick grove of trees planted by his own hand grew up and formed a screen that effectually ex it from the prospect he continually at the and improvements introduced by the forbade a word of their detested language to be spoken in his family a readily obeyed since none of the household could any thing but dutch and even ordered a fine avenue to be in front of his house because it con of english cherry trees the same incessant vigilance that blazed when he had a vast province under his care now showed itself equal vigour though in in hi limits he with watch the of his ry every with punished every upon his orchard or his with and conducted every stray ot cow in triumph to the pound but to the neighbour the stranger or the weary wanderer his spacious doors were ever open and his fire place that emblem of his own warm and generous heart had always a comer to receive and cherish them there was an tion to this i must confess in case the ill was an or a yankee to whom though he might extend the hand of as he could never be brought to yield the rites of hospitality nay if ome straggling merchant of the east should at his door with his cart load of tin ware or wooden the fiery peter would issue forth like n giant from his castle and make such a furious among his pots and that the of notions w fain to himself to instant flight his handsome suit ot re worn by the brush were hung up in the d state bed chamber and regularly the first ir day of every month and his cocked hat and sword were suspended in grim repose over the parlour mantle piece forming to a length portrait of the renowned admiral yon in his domestic empire he maintained strict discipline and a well organized government but though his own will was the supreme law yet the good of his subjects was his constant object he watched over not merely their immediate comforts but their morals and their ultimate welfare for he gave them abundance of excellent nor could any of them complain that when occasion required he was by any means in wholesome the good old dutch those i of an overflowing heart and a spirit which are falling into sad among my fellow citizens were faithfully observed in the mansion of governor new year was truly a day of open handed liberality of and warm hearted when the bosom seemed to swell with genial good fellowship and the table was attended with an freedom mid honest and s q v md mouthed merriment unknown in these days of and refinement and were	48
strong hold of the family still seen certain of the peter length portrait m martial terrors the parlour wall his cocked hat and hang up in the best bed his breeches were for a long while suspended in the hall until some years since they occasioned a dispute between a new married and his silver wooden leg is still ed up in the store room as an invaluable reflections chapter x the author s reflections upon what has been said among the numerous events are each in their turn the most and melancholy of all possible in your interesting and history there is none that occasions such deep and heart grief as the decline and fall of your renowned and mighty where is the reader who can contemplate without emotion the disastrous events by which the great of the world have been while wandering in imagination among the gigantic ruins of states and and marking the tremendous that wrought their overthrow the bosom of the melancholy with sympathy to the surrounding desolation and powers have each had their rise their progress and their each in its turn has swayed a potent each has returned to its and thus did it fare with the empire of their high at the drawn under the peaceful reign of the the reign of and the reign of peter the strong its history is fruitful of instruction and of being pondered over attentively for it thus among the ashes of departed ness that the sparks of true knowledge are i and the lamp of wisdom let reign of walter the warn against to that contented security that fondness for comfort and repose tl produced by a state of prosperity and these tend to a nation to pride of character to render it patient of deaf to the calls of honour and of cause it to cling to peace like the pillow at the expense of every valuable consideration such th evil from which it one right produces the of a second oi suffered makes way o ther and the nation that thus through a love of peace has sacrificed honour and in will at length have to fight for existence let the disastrous reign of william the from this history serve as a warning against that feverish mode of that acts without depends on and projects and to lucky that and and at length with the of and that for popularity by the prejudices and the rather than commanding the respect of the that seeks safety in a multitude of and itself by a variety of contradictory schemes and opinions that mistakes for hurry for decision for wholesome economy bustle for business and for that is violent in council sanguine in expectation in action and feeble in execution that without enters upon them without preparation them without energy and ends them in confusion and defeat let the reign of the good show the effects of vigour and decision even when destitute of cool judgment and surrounded by let it show how frankness and high courage will command respect and secure honour even where success is but how to manage the many fit the same time let it caution against a too ready reliance on the good faith of others and a too honest confidence in die loving professions of powerful neighbours who most friendly when they most mean to betray let it teach a attention to the opinions and wishes of the many who in times of peril must be soothed and led or apprehension will the deference to authority let the empty of his sub their their violent resolutions their against an absent enemy and their on his approach teach us to distrust and despise those whose courage dwells but in the tongue let them serve as a lesson to repress that of speech destitute of real force which too often breaks forth in popular bodies and the vanity rather than the spirit of a nation let them caution us against too much of our own power and and a noble enemy true gallantry of soul would always lead us to treat a foe with courtesy and proud a contrary conduct but takes from the merit of and renders defeat doubly disgraceful but i cease to dwell on the stores of excellent effects of the capture of fort ca examples to be drawn from the ancient of the he who attentively will discover the threads of gold which run throughout the web of history and are invisible to the dull eye of ignorance but before i conclude let me point out a solemn warning furnished in the subtle chain of events by which the capture of fort has produced the present of our globe attend then gentle reader to this plain which if thou art a king an emperor ot other powerful i advise thee to treasure up in thy heart though little expectation have i that my work will fall into such hands for well t know the care of ministers to keep all grave and books of the kind out of the way of unhappy lest they should read them and learn wisdom by the treacherous of then did the a transient triumph but drew upon their heads the vengeance of peter who all new from their hands by the conquest of new peter aroused the claims of lord who appealed to the cabinet of great britain who subdued the whole province of t cause of the french new by this great achievement th whole extent of north america from to the was rendered one entire upon the crown but mark the con the hitherto scattered colonies being thus and having no rival colonies to check or keep them in awe great and and finally becoming too strong for tb mother country were enabled to shake off it bonds and by a glorious revolution	48
vi contents pack chap v in which the author puts a mighty question to the by the assistance of the man in the moon which not only thousands of people from great embarrassment but likewise this treating of the first settlement of the province of chap i in which are contained divers reasons why a man should not write in a hurry also of master his discovery of a strange country and how he was rewarded by the chap ii containing an account of a mighty ark which floated under the protection of st from holland to island the descent of ihe strange animals a great victory and a description of the ancient village of chap iii in which is set forth the true art of making a bargain together with the miraculous escape of a great metropolis in a fog and the biography of oi v t i o w w vm chap iv how the heroes of to gate and how they were received there chap v how the heroes of returned somewhat wiser than they went and how the sage o dreamed a dream and the dream that he dreamed chap vi containing an attempt at and of the of the great city of new chap vii how the city of new great the protection of the t contents vii page in which is recorded the golden reign of van chap i of the renowned van his as likewise his unutterable wisdom in the law case of and r and t ie great admiration of the public chap ii containing some account of the grand council of new also divers especial good philosophical reasons why an should be fat with other particulars touching the state of the province the town of new arose out of mud and came to be polished and polite together wi a picture of our great great grand chap iv containing further particulars of the golden age and t constituted a fine lady and gentleman in the days of walter the chap v in the reader is into a walk which ends very differently from what it chap vl faithfully describing the ingenious people of and showing moreover the true meaning of liberty of conscience and a curious device among these sturdy to keep up a harmony of intercourse and promote population chap vii these simple turned out to be notorious how they built air castles and attempted to the in the mystery r l r i f i i i r lu jl d s viii contents page chap viii how the fort was fearfully how the renowned fell into a profound doubt and how he finally the of the reign of william the chap i showing the nature of history in general containing the universal of william the and how a man may learn so much as to render him good for nothing chap ii in which are recorded the projects of a ruler of universal genius the art of fighting by and how that the van came to be at fort chap iii containing the fearful wrath of william the and the great of the new because of the affair of fort and moreover how william the did strongly the city together with the exploits of chap philosophical reflections on the folly of being happy in times of prosperity sundry troubles on the south how william the had well nigh ruined the province through a word as also the secret expedition of re o o j oo chap v how william the enriched the province by a multitude of laws and came to be the of lawyers and p and how the people became exceedingly enlightened and unhappy under his in contents ix page chap vi of the pipe and of the u into which the was thrown by reason of his having enlightened the chap containing divers fearful accounts of border wars and the of the moss of with the rise of the great council of the east and the decline of william the the first part of the reign of peter and his troubles with the council chap i in which the death of a eat man is shown to be no very matter of sorrow and how peter acquired a great name from the un chap ll showing how peter the himself among the rats on entering into office and the perilous mistake he was guilty of in his dealings with the chap iii containing various speculations on war and showing that a treaty of peace is a great chap iv how peter was greatly by his the moss and his conduct chap v how the new became great in arms and of the catastrophe of a mighty army together with peter s measures to i the city and how he was the original founder of the j j p g j u t m t contents chap vi how tl e people of the east country were afflicted with a evil and th judicious measures for the thereof chap w records the rise and renown of a show ig that a man li e	48
a be pi ed up to greatness and importance by containing the second part of the of peter the and his gallant achievements on the chap i in which is exhibited a warlike portrait of the great peter and how general von distinguished himself at fort ca m m chap ii showing how profound secrets are often brought to light with the proceedings of peter the when he heard of the misfortune of chap iii containing peter s voyage up the and the wonders and delights of that re chap iv describing the powerful army that assembled at the city of new together with the interview between peter the and general von and peter s sentiments touching un k r t is ri i c chap v in which the author very of himself after whidi is to be found much interesting history about peter the and his contents xl chap vl the great advantage the author has r der ni thk f together something is about to happen s chap vii c the ever re in or with the exploits oi x me w i w i i i m ii i w w m so chap in and the reader the le into a very grave discourse is recorded the conduct of peter ms y i i w w w w w i v the third part of the of peter the with the british and the t l and fall of the dutch i how relieved the sovereign people from the of taking care of the nation with sundry particulars of his conduct in time of peace chap ii how peter was much by the moss of the east and the giants of and how a dark and horrid conspiracy was carried on in the british cabinet against the prosperity of chap iii of peter s expedition into the east country showing that though an old bird he l chap iv how the people of new were thrown into a great panic by the news of a threatened i invasion and the manner in which they fortified k contents chap v showing how the grand council of the new came to be gifted with long tongues together with a great triumph of economy chap vi in which the troubles of new appear to showing the bravery in time of peril of a people who defend themselves by resolutions chap vii containing a disaster of the and how peter like a second suddenly dissolved a parliament r i i i o i w w i j r i i m fm chap viii how peter defended the city of new for several days dint of the strength of his head l l l l l w chap ix containing the dignified retirement and mortal surrender of peter the chap x the author s reflections upon what has been account of the author was some i i recollect in the of the of a stranger applied for lodgings at the independent hotel in street of which i am landlord he was a small brisk looking old dressed in a rusty black coat a pair of olive velvet breeches and a cocked hat he had a few gray hairs and and his beard seemed to be of some eight and hours growth the only piece of finery which he bore about him was a bright pair of square silver shoe and all his baggage was contained in a pair of saddle bags he carried under hia arm his whole appearance was out of the common run and my wife who is a very shrewd body at once set down ar some master as the independent hotel is a very house i was a little at first where to pot him but my wife who seemed taken with his looks would needs put him in her best chamber which is set off with the of the whole family done in black by those two great painters jar and wood and commands a very pleasant view of the grounds on the collect together with the r r oi the c xiv account of poor and and the full front of the hospital o that it is the room in the whole house during the whole time that he staid with us we found him a very worthy good sort of an old gentleman though a little queer in his ways he would keep in his room for days together and if any of the children cried or made a noise about his door he would out in a great with his full of papers and say something about his ideas which made my wife believe sometimes that he was not altogether indeed there was more than one son to make her think so for his room was always covered with scraps of paper lying about at and whidi he let any body for be said he bad laid them all proper so he might know where to find them though for that matter he was half his worrying the in search of some book or which he had carefully put out of tl way i shall never forget what a he mad	48
because my wife out his room his was and put every thing to rights he swore he would never be able to hia papers in order again in a th upon th my wife to ask him what he did with so and papers and he told her that he was seeking immortality which made her think more than ever that the poor old s head was a little cracked he was a v inquisitive body and when not in his room was continually peering about town hearing all the news and very thing that was going on this was the case election time he id nothing bat bustle about from to attending au ward meetings and rooms though i could never find that he took part the author t tbe on be and al w tb fc n a nd old indies who wc tea ber the two parties were like two each at a of nation and end tb y would tear the very coat off its and expose its indeed he was an among the n who would around him to hear him talk of an afternoon os be smoked his pipe on tiie bench before the door and i really believe he would have brought oyer the whole to own side of the question if they could ever have found out what it was he was very given to argue or as he called it about the most trifling and to do him i ny body that was a for him except it was a grave looking gentleman who called now and then to and ol en posed him iu an argument but this is l g i i e out thi t ia the and pf must be a man of leaning and i have my doubts if he bad not hand in the following history had been a with us and a y p y began to be uneasy and to find who and what he was she made bold to put question to his the who in his dry way he was one of he which mean ome new party in politics i to so i after pass old r a but my wife who takes matters on herself and is as i a kind of a woman at last got out of patience and hinted she thought it high time some should xvi account op a sight of b mt people s money to whidi the old replied in a mighty manner that she need not make herself uneasy for that he had a treasure j to his saddle bags worth her whole house put together this was the only answer we could ever get from him and as my wife by some of those odd ways hi which women find out every thing learnt that he was rf very great being related to the of and to the man of that name she did not like to treat him is more she even offered merely by way of making things easy to let him live free if he would teach the children their letters and to try her best and get the neighbours to send their children also but the old gentleman took it in such and seemed so at being taken for a that she never dared speak on the subject again about two months ago he went out of a morning with a in his and has never been heard of since all kinds of inquiries were made after him but in vain i wrote to his relations at but they sent for answer that he had not been there since the year before last when he had a great dispute with the man about politics and left the place in a and they had neither heard nor seen any thing of him from that time to this i must own i felt very much worried about the poor old gentleman for i thought something bad must have happened to him that he should be missing so long and never return to pay his bill i e advertised him in the newspapers and though my melancholy advertisement was published by several humane yet i have never been able to learn any thing satisfactory about him my wife now said it was high time to take care of ourselves the author if he had left anything behind in his that would os for his board and lodging we however but old books and writings and his pair of saddle bags which being opened in presence of the contained only a few articles of worn out clothes and a large bundle of blotted paper on looking over this the told us he had no doubt it was the treasure which the old gentleman had spoke about as it proved to be a most excellent and history of new which he advised us by all means to publish assuring us that it would be so eagerly thought up by a public that he had no doubt it would be enough to pay our ten over upon this we got a very learned who teaches our children to prepare it for the press which he accordingly has done and has moreover added to it a number of notes of his own and an of die as it was at the time mr writes about this therefore is a true statement of my reasons for having this work printed without waiting for the consent of the author and i here declare that if he ever returns though i much fear some unhappy accident has be him i stand ready to account with him like a true and man which is all at from the public s humble servant the foregoing account of the author was to the first edition of this work shortly after its publication a letter was account of firom	48
by mr dated at a mt die banks o the h he liad the of certain ancient as this was one of those few and into which newspapers never find their way it is not a matter of that mr should never have seen the that were made concerning him and that he learn of the of his history mere accident he expressed much concern at its appearance as thereby he was from making several important and alterations as well as by curious hints which he had collected during his travels the of the sea and his at ad finding that there was no longer ay immediate necessity ai his return to new york he extended his journey up to the residence of his relations t on his way thither he stopped for some days at whidi city he to have f partiality he found it altered and was concerned at which the were and die consequent decline of the good old dutch manners indeed he was informed that were making sad in all parts of the state where they had given great trouble and vexation to the regular dutch by the introduction of gates and country school houses it is said also that mr shook his head sorrowfully at noticing the gradual decay of the great palace but highly indignant at finding that the ancient dutch church which stood in the middle of die street since his last visit the lame of mn s history the author xix t he received much flattering attention fi its worthy some of whom however pointed out two or very great had into that of a lump o sugar over the tea which they assured him had been for years past several moreover were somewhat that their ancestors had not been mentioned in his and showed oi their neighbours who bad been while the it must be confessed themselves vastly thereupon ng these in the of letters patent of nobility their t which in this republican country is a matter of no little and it ia said that he enjoyed high favour and countenance firom who once asked him to dinner and was two or three times to shake hands with him when they met in the street which certainly was going great differed in politics indeed certain of the governor s friends to whom he could venture to his mind on such matters have assured us that he entertained a considerable for author r he even once wi t so far as to openly too at his table just after dinner that r waa a very sort of ii old gentleman and fool from all which many have been led to suppose that had author been different politics and the newspapers instead of histories he might hav of and profit be a a justice in the ten pound court besides the and already mentioned he was h f by the o ml who entertained him very at his xx account of library and reading room where they used to drink water and talk about the he found mr cook a man after his own of great literary and a curious of books at parting the latter in ci friendship made him a present of the two oldest works in his collection whidi were the earliest edition of the and s famous account of the new by the last of which greatly in this his second edition having passed some time very agreeably at our author proceeded to where it is but justice to he was received with o arms and treated with won j loving kindness he was much looked up to by the family being the first historian of the name and was considered almost as great a man as his cousin the man with whom by the by he became perfectly reconciled and contracted a strong friendship in spite however of the kindness of his relations and their great attention to his comforts the old gentleman soon became restless and discontented his history being published he had no longer any business to occupy his thoughts or any to excite his hopes and this to a busy mind like his was a truly deplorable situation and had he not been a man of morals and regular habits there would have been great danger of his taking to politics or both which vices we daily see men driven to by mere and idleness it is true he sometimes employed himself in preparing a second edition of his history wherein he endeavoured to and improve many passages with which he was dissatisfied and to some mistakes that had crept into it for he was particularly anxious that his work should be noted s the author xxi which indeed ib the very life goal of but the glow of composition had he had to leave many places untouched which he would have altered and even where he did make alterations he seemed always in doubt whether they were for the better or the worse after a residence of some time at he b to feel a strong desire to return to new york which he ever with the warmest affection not merely because it was his native but because he really considered it the vary city in the whole world on bis return he entered into the fuu of the advantages of a literary reputation he was continually to write hand bills and productions of import and although he never with the public papers yet had he the credit of writing innumerable essays and smart things that appeared on all subjects and all sides of the question in ii which h was clearly detected by his style he contracted moreover a considerable debt at the office in consequence of the numerous letters he received from authors and his he was applied to by every charitable society for yearly which he gave	48
very cheerfully considering these as so many compliments he was once invited to a great ner and was even twice summoned to attend as a at the court of quarter indeed so did he become that be could no longer about as formerly in all and comers of the city according to the bent of his humour unnoticed and but several times when he has been the streets on his usual of observation equipped with his cane and cocked hat the little boys at play have been known to cry there goes v at which the old gentleman seemed not a little pleased looking these in the light of the praises of posterity xxii account of the author in a word if we take into all these various and distinctions together with an passed on him in the port with which we are told the old gentleman was so much overpowered that he was sick for two or three days it must be confessed that few authors have ever lived to receive such illustrious rewards or have so completely enjoyed in advance their own immortality after his return from mr took up his residence at a little retreat which the had granted him on the in gratitude for his honourable mention ct their it was pleasantly on the borders of one of die salt beyond s hook subject indeed to be occasionally and much in the summer time with but otherwise very agreeable producing abundant crops of and here we are sorry to say the good old gentleman fell ill of a fever occasioned by the neighbouring when he found his end he disposed worldly affairs leaving the bulk to the new york historical society his and s work to the library and his saddle bags to mr side he forgave all his enemies that is to say all that bore any enmity towards him for as to himself he declared be died in to all the world and after several kind messages to his relations at as well as to of our most dutch citizens he expired in the arms of his friend the his remains were according to his own request in st mark s dose by the bones favourite hero peter and it is that the society have it in mind to erect a monument to his memory in the green to the public to oblivion the memory of incidents and t a tribute of renown to the many great and wonderful transactions of our dutch native of the city of new york produces this essay lake the great father of history whose words i have just quoted i treat of times long past over which the twilight of uncertainty had already thrown its and tlie t of was about to descend for ever with great solicitude did i long the early his of thia venerable and ancient gradually slipping our t trembling on the lips of narrative old age and day by day into the in a little i those reverend dutch who serve as tl of good old times will be gathered to their tl children engrossed by the empty or insignificant transactions of the present age will ne to treasure up the recollections of the past and shall search in vain for of the days of the the origin of our city will be buried in eternal oblivion and even the names and of van william and peter be enveloped in doubt f and fiction like those of and of king arthur and of determined therefore to if possible this threatened i sat myself to work to gather ther all the fragments of our ancient history which still existed and like my where no written could be found have endeavoured to continue the chain of history by well traditions in this undertaking which has been the sole business of a long and solitary life it is incredible the of learned authors i have consulted but little purpose strange as it seem though such multitudes of works have been written about this country there are which give and account of the history of new york or of its three first dutch i have however gained much valuable and curious matter from an elaborate manuscript written in exceeding pure and classic low dutch excepting a few errors in which was found in the of the family many legends letters and other documents have i likewise in my among the family and lumber of our dutch citizens and i have gathered a host of well traditions from divers excellent old ladies of my acquaintance who requested that their names might not be mentioned not must i neglect to acknowledge how greatly i have been assisted by that admirable and institution the new york historical society to which i here publicly i my sincere in the conduct of this work i have adopted no individual model but on the contrary have simply contented myself with and the of approved ancient i have preface the utmost and the td truth throughout my history i have it after the manner o with various characters of ancient drawn at full length and coloured i have it with profound political speculations like sweet it with the graces of sentiment like and into the the dignity the grandeur and magnificence of i am aware that i shall the censure of numerous very learned and judicious critics for indulging too frequently in the bold manner of my favourite and to be candid i have found it impossible always to resist the of those pleasing which like banks and fragrant beset the dusty road of the historian and him to turn aside and refresh himself from his but i trust it will be found that i have always resumed my staff and addressed myself to my weary journey with spirits so that both my readers and myself have by the indeed though it has been my constant wish and uniform	48
endeavour to rival himself in observing the unity of history yet the loose and manner in whidi many of the facts recorded have come to hand such an attempt extremely difficult this difficulty was likewise increased by one of the grand objects contemplated in my work which was to trace the rise of sundry customs and institutions in this best of cities and to compare them when in the of with what they are in the present old age of knowledge and improvement but the chief merit on which i value myself and found my for future r ard is that faithful with which i have this invaluable little work carefully xxvi preface ing away the and the of which are too apt to spring np and choke the seeds of and wholesome knowledge had i been anxious to the superficial throng who like over the of literature or had i been anxious to commend mj to the of literary have availed myself of the obscurity that the years of our city to introduce a thousand pleasing but i have discarded many a tale and marvellous adventure whereby the drowsy air of summer might be maintaining that fidelity gravity and dignity which should ever distinguish the p for a writer of this an elegant critic must sustain the character of a wise man writing fi r the of posterity one who has studied to inform himself well has pondered his subject with care and addresses himself to our judgment rather than to our imagination thrice happy therefore is this our renowned city in hav ing incidents worthy of swelling the theme of history doubly thrice happy g it in having such a historian as myself to relate them for after all gentle reader cities and in of themselves are nothing without an historian it is the patient who records their pro as they rise i who forth the splendour of their who their feeble a they to decay who together their scattered fragments as they rot and who at length the ashes into the of his work and a monument to their renown to all succeeding ages what has been the fate of many fair cities of antiquity whose nameless ruins the plains of europe and and awaken the fruitless inquiry i the traveller p they have preface into dust and they e perished for want of a historian the may weep over their the poet may wander among their arches and broken columns and indulge the flights of his fancy but alas alas the modem historian whose pen like my own is doomed to confine itself to dull matter of act seeks in vain their remains for some memorial that may tell the instructive tale of their glory and their ruin wars says destroy nations and with them all their monuments their discoveries and va the torch of science has more than once been extinguished and a few individuals who have escaped by accident the thread of generations tlie sad misfortune which has happened to so many happen again and from the same sad cause to tenth of those which now flourish on the face t the globe with most i them the time their by origin their foundation together with the of their settlement are forever buried in the of years and the same would have been the case with this fair portion of the earth if i had not snatched it firom obscurity in the very nick of time at the moment that those matters recorded were about entering into the of oblivion if i had not dragged them out as it were by the very locks just as the monster s were closing upon them for ever and here have i as before observed carefully collected and arranged them and scrap en en and commenced in this little work a history to serve as a foundation on which other may hereafter raise a noble swelling in process of time until s york may be equally with s or and england and now indulge me for a moment while i lay down my pen to some little eminence at the distance of two or three hundred years a head and casting a bird s eye glance over the waste of years that is to roll between discover little i i at this moment the pr and of them all posted at the head oi his host of literary with my book under my arm and new york on my back pressing forward like a gallant commander to honour and immortality such are the vain glorious that will now and then enter into the brain of the that as with celestial light his solitary chamber cheering his weary and him to in his labours and i have freely given utterance to these whenever they have not i trust from an unusual spirit of but merely that the reader may fi r once have an idea how an author thinks and feels while he is a kind of j very rare and curious and much to be i so containing r ingenious speculations concerning the creation population of the world as connected with the history of new york chapter l of the world according to the best authorities the world in which we dwell is a huge reflecting mass floating in the vast ethereal ocean of infinite space it has the form of an being an at opposite parts for the of two imaginary poles which are supposed to penetrate and unite at the centre thus forming an on which this mighty orange turns with a regular the of light and darkness whence proceed the of day and night are produced by this revolution presenting the different parts of the earth to the rays of the sun the latter is according to the best that is to say the latest accounts a luminous or fiery	48
body of a prodigious magnitude firom which this world is driven by a or power and to which it is drawn by a or attractive force otherwise called the attraction of a history of tion the or rather the of these two opposing impulses producing a circular and annual revolution hence result the different seasons of the year spring summer autumn and winter this i believe to be the most approved modem theory on the subject though there be many philosophers who have entertained very different some too of them entitled to much deference from their great antiquity and illustrious thus it was advanced by some of the ancient that the earth an extended plain supported by vast pillars and by others that it rested on the head of a snake or the back of a huge but as they did not provide a resting place for either the pillars or the the whole theory fell to the ground for want of proper foundation the assert that the heavens rest upon the earth and the sun and moon swim therein like fishes in the water moving from east to west by day and gliding along the edge of the horizon to their original stations during the n ht wh according to the of in a it it a vast plain encircled by of milk and other delicious that it is studded seven mountains and m centre by a rock of gold and that b great occasionally up the moon which accounts for the phenomena of f besides and many other equally sage we have the profound conjectures of son of al son of son of son ot son of who is commonly and bat who takes the humble title of which means y note b t sir w jones ind t v r hi la work he has d hia of w i to the of h wa d the in the li l the tb c h e h flight of th prophet he u that the a i oa te the h f india the right tha land of tha k win and africa the tail the ii r thai aa has existed before the j he a h aa a mere of that it ha me and to fm of some of ms it will be mi i mm ua l ai a w the many opinions of h rs and wi nd that ha a had equal as to the nature the son f the have a that it b a vast wheel of brilliant fire f f that it ia nicely a or here of ti an crystal t k at of whom stands it waa bnt a h g i l i ir or ti n d h d tha to be a and th the stars whirled the and set on the but i little attention to tha fr t de ii cap t cap ap t p i p de in ii sec t l p de iv p history of philosopher the people of having re them by him fit m their city a mode of answering doctrines much resorted tb in former days another of hers do declare that certain constantly from the which in a single point of the by day constitute the sun but being scattered and rambling about in the dark at night collect in various p and form stars these are regularly burnt out and ed not unlike to the lamps in our streets and require a fresh supply of tor the next m it is even recorded that at certain remote and obscure periods in consequence of a great of the sun has been completely burnt out and sometimes not for a month at a time a most melancholy circumstance the very idea of which gave vast concern to that worthy weeping philosopher of antiquity in addition to various speculations it was the opinion of hei that tiie sun is a magnificent abode the light it arising from certain luminous or clouds swimming in its transparent atmosphere but we will not enter at present into the ture of the sun that being an inquiry not immediately necessary to the of this history neither will we ourselves in any more of the endless of philosophers touching the form of globe but content ourselves with the theory advanced in the beginning of this chapter and will proceed to illustrate by experiment the of motion therein ascribed to this planet l ii c sec d l i p t l p c t pi p i p new york von or as die name rendered into english was long celebrated in the university of for most profound gravity of and his talent at going to sleep in the midst of to the infinite relief of his students who thereby worked their way through college with great ease and little study in the course of one of his lectures the learned professor seizing a bucket of water swung it round his head at arm s length the impulse with which he threw the vessel fi om him being a force the of his arm as a power and the bucket which was a substitute for the earth describing a circular round about the head and of professor von which formed no bad representation of the sun all of these particulars were duly explained to the class of gaping students around him he them moreover that the same principle of which retained the water in the bucket the ocean from flying from the earth in its rapid and he further them that should the motion of the earth be suddenly checked it would fall into the sun through the force of a most event to this planet and one which would also obscure though it most probably would not the an unlucky one of those who seem sent	48
into the world merely to annoy worthy men of the order desirous of the of the experiment suddenly arrested the arm of the professor just at the moment that the bucket was in its which immediately descended with astonishing precision on the philosophic head of the of youth a hollow sound and a red hot hiss attended the contact but the theory was in the manner illustrated for the unfortunate bucket perished in the conflict but the blazing countenance of professor history of von emerged firom amidst the waters th a e with unutterable n the were ly and wiser than t it is a circumstance which greatly many philosopher that nature often to second his most profound and elaborate efforts so that oft i after having invented one of the most ingenious and natural imaginable she will have the to act directly in the te of his system and con his most this is a and grievance since it throws the censure cf the vulgar and entirely upon the philosopher whereas the fault is not to be ascribed to his theory is unquestionably correct but to the of dame nature who with the of her is continually indulging in and and seems to take pleasure in all philosophic rules and the most learned and of her thus it with respect to the foregoing ry explanation of the of our it jl ears that the force has long since ceased to while its remains in the world therefore according to the theory as it stood ought in strict to tumble into the sun philosophers were convinced that it would do so md awaited in anxious impatience the of their but the planet her se notwithstanding that she had philosophy and a whole university of learned opposed to her conduct the philosophers took this m very ill part and it is thought they would never have die slight and which they conceived put upon them by the world had not a professor kindly as a between the parties and a new york the world would not accommodate itself to tha theory be wisely determined to accommodate the theory to the world he therefore informed his brother that the motion of the earth round the suit was no sooner by the conflicting above described than it became a r c the causes which gave it origin his leaned brethren readily joined in the opinion being heartily glad of any e q that would decently them from and ever since that memorable era the world has been left to take her own course and to around the sun in such as she thinks proper chapter ii or creation a of lent y which the of a world is to he as folks would imagine thus briefly my reader to the worlds and gi him some idea of its form and situation he will naturally be to know from whence it came and how it was created and indeed the clearing up of these points is absolutely essential to my history inasmuch as if world had not been formed it is more than probable that this renowned island on which is situated the city of new would never ba e had an existence the of my history therefore requires thai i to notice the or formation of this our globe and now i give my readers fair warning that i am about to plunge for a chapter or two into as complete a as ever historian was perplexed withal therefore i advise them to take hold of my skirts and keep history of close at my heels venturing neither to the right hand nor to the left lest they get in a of unintelligible learning or have their brains knocked out by some of those hard names which will be flying about in all directions but should any of them be too indolent or chicken hearted to accompany me in this perilous undertaking they had better take a short cut rounds and wait for me at the beginning of some chapter of the creation of the world we have a thousand contradictory accounts and though a very satisfactory one is furnished by divine revelation yet every philosopher feels himself in honour bound to furnish us with a better as an impartial historian i consider it my duty to notice their several theories by which mankind have been so ex and instructed thus it was the opinion of certain ancient that the earth and the whole system of the universe was the deity himself a doctrine most maintained by and the whole tribe of as also by and the of philosophers likewise the famous system rf uie and and by means of his sacred the formation of the world the of nature and the principles both of music and morals other to the system of squares and the the and the sphere the the the and the while others the great theory which the construction rf our globe and all that it contains to the of four material elements air earth fire and water with ap l cap f i c de l iii c hem sur p de i cap s tim ap t iii p new york e assistance of fifth an and nor must i omit to mention the great system taught by before the siege of revived by of laughing memory improved by i that king of good fellows and by the but i decline inquiring whether the of which the earth is said to be composed are eternal or recent whether they are or whether agreeably to the opinion of they were or as the maintain were arranged by a supreme intelligence whether in fact the earth be an or whether it be animated by a soul j which opinion was maintained by fl host of philosophers at the head of whom stands di great that temperate sage who threw the cold water of philosophy	48
on the form of intercourse and the of love an exquisitely refined intercourse but much better adapted to the inhabitants of his imaginary island of than to the sturdy race composed of rebellious flesh and blood the matter of fact island we besides these systems we have moreover the poetical t of old who the whole universe m the regular mode of and the plausible of others that the earth was from the great a which floated in chaos and was cracked by die of the celestial to illustrate this last in his theory of the has is with an accurate drawing and description both of the i ii cap i cap de l cap ad p f in i cap tim de ap iii hem de des t p et al x book i history of and texture of this egg which is found to bear a near resemblance to that of a goose such of my readers as take a proper interest in the origin of this our will be pleased to learn that the most profound of antiquity among the and have alternately assisted at the of this strange bird and that their have been caught and continued in different tones and from philosopher to philosopher unto the present day but while briefly noticing long celebrated systems of ancient let me not pass over with neglect those of other philosophers which though less universal and renowned have equal claims to attention and equal chance for thus it is recorded by the in the pages of their inspired that the angel transformed himself into a great plunged into the watery abyss and brought up the earth on his then issued from him a mighty and a mighty snake and placed the snake erect upon the back of the and he placed the earth upon the head of the snake the negro philosophers of affirm that the world was made by the hands of angels excepting their own country which the supreme being himself that it might be excellent and he took great pains with the and made them very black and beautiful and when he had the first man he was well pleased with him and smoothed him over the face and hence his nose and the nose of all his descendants became flat the philosophers tell us that a woman fell down from heaven and that a took philosophy new york her upon its back because every place was covered with water and that the woman sitting upon the with her hands in the water and up the earth whence it finally happened that the earth became higher than the water but i forbear to quote a number more of these ancient and philosophers whose deplorable ignorance in despite of all their compelled them to write in languages which but few of my readers can understand and i shall proceed briefly to notice a few more intelligible and theories of their modern and first i shall mention the great who conjectures that this globe was originally a globe of liquid fire fi om the body of the sun by the o a as a spark is by the collision of flint and steel that at first it was surrounded by gross which and in process of time constituted according to their earth water and air which gradually arranged themselves according to their respective round the burning or mass that formed their centre on the contrary that the waters at first were universally and he himself with the idea that the earth must be eventually washed away by the force of rain rivers and mountain torrents until it is confounded with the ocean or in other words absolutely into itself sublime idea far surpassing that of the tender hearted of antiquity who wept herself into a fountain or the good dame of in france who for a of tongue unusual in her sex was doomed to five hundred thousand and thirty nine ropes of and actually ran account of or indians is history of out at hei eyes before half the hideous task was the same philosopher who in his after the for which the mischief loving swift discharged oh their heads a most has distinguished himself by a very theory respecting the earth he conjectures that it was originally a which being selected for the abode of man was removed from its eccentric and whirled round the sun in its present regular motion by which change of direction order succeeded to m in the arrangement of its parts the philosopher adds that the was produced by an salute from the watery tail of another s through sheer envy of its improved condition t thus a melancholy proof that jealousy may prevail even among the heavenly bodies and discord inter that celestial harmony of the so sung by the poets but i pass over a variety of excellent theories among which are those of and and extremely that my time will not suffer me to give them the notice they deserve and shall conclude with that of the renowned dr this learned who is as much distinguished rhyme as reason and for as serious and who has recommended himself to the good graces of the ladies by letting them into all the and other topics of scandal of the court of has fallen upon a theory worthy of his imagination according to his opinion the huge mass of chaos took a sudden occasion to like a barrel of and in that act exploded the sun in its flight by a similar exploded the earth which in like guise exploded the moon and thus by a of the whole new lit b produced and set most id i by the great variety of theories her alluded to every one of which if thoroughly examined will be found consistent in all its parts my readers will perhaps be led	48
to conclude that the creation of a world is not so difficult it task as they at first imagined i have shown at least a score of ingenious methods in which a world could be constructed and i have no doubt that had any of the philosophers above quoted the use of a good find the philosophical at his command he would engage td manufacture a planet as good or if you would take his word for it better than this we and here i cannot help noticing the kindness of in creating for the great relief of bewildered philosophers by their assistance more sudden and are effected in the system of nature than are wrought in a exhibition by the working sword of j ould one of our modem in his flights among the stars ever find himself lost in the clouds and in danger of tumbling into the abyss of nonsense and absurdity he has but to seize by the beard mount of its tail and away h l in triumph like an on his ot a on her to sweep the out of the sky it is ail old and vulgar about a beggar on horseback which i would not for the world have applied to these reverend philosophers but i must confess that some of them when they are mounted on one of those fiery are as wild in their as was part i cent i u history of when he to manage the chariot of one drives his at full speed against the sun and the world out of him with the mighty another more moderate makes his a kind of beast of burden carrying the sun a regular supply of food and a third of more disposition to throw his like a into the world and blow it up like a powder magazine while a fourth with no great delicacy to this planet and its inhabitants that some day or his my modest pen while i write it shall absolutely turn tail upon our world and it with water surely as i have already observed were provided by providence for the benefit of philosophers to assist them in theories and now having several of the most prominent theories that occur to my recollection i leave my judicious readers at ml liberty to choose among them they are all serious speculations of learned men all fer essentially from each and all have the same title to belief it has ever been the task of one race of philosophers to the works of their and more splendid in their stead which in their turn are and replaced by the air castles of a succeeding generation thus it would seem that knowledge and genius of which we make such great parade consist but in the errors and of those who have gone before and new errors and to be detected by those who are to come after us theories are the mighty soap with which the children of science amuse themselves while the honest vulgar stand gazing in stupid admiration and these learned with the name of wisdom surely was right in his opinion that philosophers are but a sort of themselves in things to new york incomprehensible or which if they could be would be found not worthy the trouble of discovery for my own part until the learned have come to an agreement among themselves i shall content myself with the account handed down to us by moses in which i do but follow the example of our ingenious neighbours of who at their first settlement proclaimed that the colony should be governed by the laws of until they had time to make better one thing however appears from the unanimous authority of the before quoted philosophers supported by the evidence of our own senses which though very apt to deceive us may be cautiously admitted as additional testimony it appears i say and i make the as deliberately without fear of contradiction that this globe really was created and that it is composed of land and water it appears that it is curiously divided nd out into and islands among which i boldly declare the renowned island of new york will be found by any one who seeks for it in its proper place chapter how jar that famous nick named and how he committed an in not having four sons with the great trouble of philosophers caused thereby and the discovery of america who is the first sea ring man we read of three sons ham and authors it is true are not wanting who that the had a number of children thus makes him ther of the gigantic gives him a son called history of or who was the first of cakes and others have mentioned a named from whom descended the or or in other words the dutch nation i regret exceedingly that the nature of my plan will not permit me to gratify the curiosity my readers by the history of the great indeed an undertaking would be attended with more trouble than many people would for the good old seems to have been a great traveller in day and to have passed under a different name in every country that he visited the for instance give lis his story merely hi name into a trivial alteration which to an historian skilled in will appear wholly unimportant it appears likewise that he had exchanged his and among the for the gorgeous of and appears as a monarch in their annals the him under the name of the indians as the greek and roman writers con found him with and the with and but the chinese who rank ar the most extensive and inasmuch as they have known the world much longer than any one else declare that was no other than and what gives this assertion some air of is that it is a	48
fact admitted by the most enlightened that travelled into china at the time of the building of the tower of probably to improve himself in the study of languages and the learned dr gives is the additional information that the ark rested on a mountain tm the of china from this mass of rational conjectures and many might be drawn but i shall content myself with the simple fact stated in the that j three sons l em ham and new york it it is ii m remote and obscure tjie great of this aid and how events the most distant and to the are inevitably the one to the other it remains to the philosophy to discover these mysterious and it is the triumph of skill to detect and drag some latent chain of tion which at first sight appears a to the observer thus many of my readers less wonder what the i of can have with this history and many will stare when that the whole history of this quarter of the has taken its and course the simple circumstance of t s having but three but to explain we are told by sundry very becoming sole heir and proprietor of the earth in fee a er the like a good father out his estate among his to he asia to ham africa and to europe it is a thousand times to be lamented that he had but three sons for had there been a fourth he would doubtless have america which of course would have be i forth from obscurity on the occasion and thus many a hard working historian and would have been spared a prodigious mass of weary respecting the first discovery and population of this country however having provided for his sons looked in all probability upon our country as mere wild unsettled land and said nothing about it an to this of the may we the misfortune that america did not come into the world as early as the other quarters of uie globe it is true some writers have him fi om this towards posterity and asserted that he really did america thus it was the opinion of m k c history of a french writer possessed of that of thought and of reflection so peculiar to his nation that the immediate descendants of peopled this quarter of the globe and that the old himself who still retained a passion for the sea ring ufe the the pious and ther a french remarkable for his aversion to the marvellous common to all great travellers is of the same opinion nay he goes still and upon the manner in which the discovery was effected which was by sea and under the immediate direction of the great i have already observed the good ther in a tone of becoming indignation that it is an arbitrary supposition that the of were not able to penetrate into die new world or that they never thought of it in effect i can see no reason that can justify such a notion who can seriously believe that and his immediate descendants knew less than we do and that the and pilot of the greatest ship that ever was a ship which was formed to an unbounded ocean and had so many and to guard against should be ignorant of or should not have communicated to his descendants the art of on the ocean therefore they did sail on the ocean therefore they sailed to therefore america was discovered by now all this exquisite chain of reasoning which is so strikingly characteristic of the good father being addressed to the faith rather than the understanding is op posed by de who declares it a real and most ridiculous to suppose that ever entertained the thought of discovering america and as is a dutch writer i am inclined to believe he must have been much better acquainted with the worthy crew of the ark than his and of course possessed of more accurate sources of information it is astonishing how new york mate do daily become with the and other great men of antiquity as intimacy with time and as the learned are particularly inquisitive and in their with the i should not be surprised if some future writers should gravely give us a picture of men and manners as they existed be fore the flood more copious and accurate than the bible and that in the course of another century the of the good should be as current among as the voyages of captain cook or the renowned history of robinson i shall not occupy my time by discussing the huge mass of additional conjectures and respecting the first discovery of country with which unhappy themselves in to satisfy the doubts of an incredulous world it is to see these laborious panting and toiling and under an enormous burden at the very outset of their works which on being opened turns out to be nothing but a mighty bundle of straw as however by they seem to have established the fact to the of all the world that this country has been discovered i shall avail myself of their labours to be extremely brief upon this point i shall not therefore stop to inquire whether america was first discovered by a wandering vessel of that celebrated fleet which according to africa or by that expedition which the us discovered the islands or whether it was by a temporary colony firom as hinted by and i shall neither inquire whether it was first discovered by the chinese as with great advances nor by the in under nor by the german as mr has history of to to the s of the learned city of nor shall i investigate the more modem claims of the founded on the of prince in the century who returned it has been concluded that he must have gone to america and that	48
cannot give my ith to this opinion i pass over the supposition of the learned who being both an and a is entitled to great respect that north america was peopled by a strolling company of and that was founded by a colony from china or the first being himself a chinese nor shall i history of more than barely m that th settlement of america to the to the to the to a party from to the the l to the le to he to the martin d to the together with the sage of de that england ireland and the may id for that honour nor will i bestow any attention or credit to die idea that america is the region of described b that dreaming traveller the or that it the visionary of described by neither will i stop to investigate the sh assertion of that each of die be was originally furnished with an adam and eve or the more flattering opinion of dr supported by many nameless that adam was of the indian race or the startling conjecture c and so highly honourable to mankind that the whole human species is accidentally descended a remarkable family of this last i must own came upon me suddenly and very i have often the in a while gazing in stupid wonder af the extravagant of a all at once by a sudden stroke of the wooden sword across bis shoulders little did i think at such times that it would ever fall to my lot to be treated with equal and that while i was beholding these grave the eccentric of the hero of they would on a sudden turn upon me and my readers and with flourish us into beasts i determined from that moment not to bum my fingers with any more c their but content myself with die methods by new york fi which they transported the descendants of these ancient and respectable to this great field of this was done either by by land or by water thus joseph d three passages by land first by the north of europe secondly by the north of asia and by region southward of the straits of the learned his by a pleasant route across fi rivers and arms of the sea through and and various writers among whom are de and anxious for the of these travellers have fastened the two together by a strong chain of by which means they could pass over but should even this fail that industrious old gentleman who books and has constructed a natural bridge of ice fi om continent to continent at the distance of four or five miles fi om s straits for which he is entitled to the thanks of all the wandering who ever did or ever will pass over it it is an evil much to be lamented that none of the worthy writers above quoted could ever commence his work without immediately declaring against every writer who had treated of the same subject ip this particular authors may be compared to a certain sagacious bird which in building its nest is sure to pull to pieces the nests of all the birds in its neighbourhood this unhappy to the progress of sound knowledge theories are at best but productions and when committed to the stream they should take care that like the notable pot which were fellow they do not crack each other for my part when beheld the have quoted gravely for unaccountable things aiid i d history of ing about matters for ever hidden from eyes like a man the glories of li t and the beauty and harmony of colours i fell back in at the amazing extent of human ii if cried i to myself these learned men can systems of what would be their were they furnished with materials if they can argue and dispute thus about subjects beyond their knowledge what would be the of their observations did they but know what they were talking about should old when he comes to upon their conduct while on earth have the least idea of the usefulness of their labours he will class them with those notorious wise men of who a bull twisted a rope of sand and a velvet purse from a sow s ear my chief surprise is that among the many writers i have noticed no one has attempted to prove that this country was peopled from the or that the first inhabitants floated hither on islands of ice as white bears about the northern or that they were conveyed hither by as modem pass firom to or by as posted among the stars or after the manner of the renowned who like the new england on full blooded made most of on the back of a golden given him by the but there is still mode left by which this could have been peopled which i have reserved for the last because i consider it worth all the rest it is by accident speaking of the islands of solomon new ea and new holland the profound father in fine all these countries are peopled and it u some have been so by accident now if it could have happened in that manner why might it hot have been new at the and by the am with the a her p rf this in of possible premises is an improvement in l skill aiid proves the good ther superior even to for he can torn the world without any thing to rest his upon it is only surpassed by the dexterity with which the sturdy old in another place cuts the knot nothing says he is more easy the inhabitants of both are certainly the descendants of the same ther the common ther of mankind received an express order from heaven to people the world and it has	48
been peopled to bring this about it was necessary to overcome all difficulties in the way and they have also been pious how does he put all the herd of laborious to the blush by explaining in five words what it ha ip co t fo prove they knew nothing they have been picking af th lo k and at e h ut th ho st i er at the door by bursting ma when i once a jar he is at tp in as nations as he pleases this a that a lit piety is better pi car b pa of and is a practical fi of that by ye shall move fro i here quoted and a variety of q which i have consisted but which are omitted fe pf the reader i can only dr conclusions which luckily however re sufficient for my purpose first that this part of the has n been peopled q e d to support which we have living proofs in the numerous tribes of indies it secondly that it been pe q in five hundred ways as proved by a of o the their history op tions seem to have been eye witnesses to the fact that the people of this country had a variety which as it may not be thought much to their credit by the common run of readers the less we say on the subject the better the question therefore i trust is for ever at rest chapter v in which the author puts a mighty question to the hy the assistance of the man in the moon which not only thousands of people great embarrassment but likewise this hook the writer of a history may in some respects be unto an adventurous knight who having undertaken a perilous by way of establishing his fame feels bound in honour and chivalry to turn back for no difficulty nor hardship and never to shrink or whatever enemy he may encounter under this impression i resolutely draw my pen and fall to with might and at those questions and subtle which like fiery and bloody giants beset the entrance to my history and would fain me from the very threshold and at this moment a gigantic question has started up which i must needs take by the beard and utterly subdue before can advance another step in my historic undertaking but i trust this will be the last adversary i shall have to contend with and that in the next book i shall be enabled to conduct my readers in into the body of my work the question which has thus suddenly arisen is what right had the first of america to land and take possession of a country without first gaining the consent new york of its inhabitants or them an adequate compensation for their territory a question which has many fierce and has much distress of mind to multitudes of kind hearted folks and indeed until it be totally and put to rest the worthy people of america can by no means enjoy the soil they with clear right and title and quiet the first source of right by which property is acquired in a is discovery for as all mankind have an equal right to any thing which has never before been appropriated so any nation that an country and takes possession thereof is considered as enjoying full property and absolute empire therein this proposition being admitted it follows clearly that the who first visited america were the real of the same nothing being necessary to the establishment of this fact but simply to prove that it was totally by man this at first appear to be a point of some difficulty for it is well known that this quarter of the world with certain animals that walked erect on two feet had something of the human countenance uttered certain unintelligible sounds very much like language in short had a marvellous resemblance to human beings but the zealous and enlightened fathers who accompanied the for the purpose of the kingdom of heaven by establishing and on earth soon cleared up this point greatly to the satisfaction of his the pope and of all christian and they plainly proved and as there were no indian writers arose on the other side the feet was considered as fully b v c b i c c history of admitted and established that the two legged race of animals before mentioned were mere detestable monsters and many of them giants which last of have since the times of and been considered as and have received no quarter in either history chivalry or song indeed even the philosophic bacon declared the americans to be people by the laws of nature inasmuch as they had a barbarous custom of sacrificing men and feeding upon man s flesh nor are these all the proofs of their utter many other writers of tells us their is so visible that one can hardly form an idea of them different from what one has of the brutes nothing the tranquillity of their souls equally insensible to and to prosperity though half naked they are as contented as a monarch in his most splendid array fear makes no impression on them and respect as little this is support ed by the authority of m f it is not easy says he to describe the d of their indifference for and all its advantages one does not well know what motives to propose to them when one would persuade them to any service it is vain to offer them money they answer that they are not hungry and the whole assuring us that ambition they have none and are more desirous being the objects of ambition with us honour reputation riches posts and distinctions are unknown among them so that this powerful spring of action the cause of so much seeming	48
good and real evil in the world has no power over them in a word these unhappy mortals may be compared to children in whom the of reason is not completed now all these peculiarities although in the states of greece they would have entitled their new york to honour as having to practice those rigid and the mere talking about acquired certain old the m of and philosophers yet were clearly proved in the present to a b and nature totally beneath the character but the be who had undertaken to turn these unhappy savages into dumb beasts by dint of advanced s stronger proofs for as certain di of the sixteenth century and among the rest affirm the americans go naked and have no they have nothing says reasonable animal except die and even that mask was allowed to avail bat little for it was soon found that they were of a copper complexion md being of a complexion it all the same as if they were and are black and black said the pious crossing is the colour of the devil f t i so far from being able to own property tliey liad no tight even to personal freedom for liberty is too bait a deity to gloomy temples all whidi c plainly the r fc of and that these had no title to th that they tliat were a perverse dumb black seed mere wild beasts f the forests hke them either be subdued or t he foregoing arguments therefore and a of others equally whidi i forbear to it was ly evident that this of the k be when first visited was a howling wilderness inhabited by nothing but wild beasts and the visitors acquired an property therein by the right of discovery this right being established we now come to the next which is the r t acquired by the history of cultivation of the soil we are told is an obligation im posed by nature on mankind the whole world is ap pointed for the nourishment of its inhabitants but it would be incapable of doing it was it every nation is then obliged by the law of nature to cultivate the ground that has to its share those people like the ancient and modern who having fertile countries disdain to cultivate the and choose to live by are wanting to themselves and deserve to be as savage and beasts now it is notorious that the savages knew nothing of when first discovered by the but lived a most vagabond life rambling firom place to place and upon the spontaneous luxuries of nature without her generosity to yield them any thing more whereas it has been most unquestionably shown that heaven intended the earth should be and sown and and laid out into cities and towns and farms and country seats and pleasure grounds and public gardens all which the indians knew nothing about therefore they did not improve the talents providence had bestowed on them therefore they were careless therefore they had no right to the therefore they deserved to be it is true the savages might plead that they drew all the benefits fi om the land which their simple wants required they found plenty of game to hunt which together with the roots and of the earth furnished a variety for their fi and that as heaven merely designed the earth to the abode and satisfy the wants of man so long as those purposes were answered the will of heaven was accomplished b i c likewise ac new york but this proves how they were of the blessings around they were so much the more savages for not having more wants for knowledge is in ome degree an increase of desires and it is this superior both in the number and magnitude of his desires that the man from the beast therefore the indians in not having more wants were very unreasonable animals and it was but just that they make way for the who had a thou ai d their one and therefore would turn the earth to more account and by it more truly fulfil the will of heaven besides and and and and many wise men beside who have considered the matter properly have that the property of a country cannot be acquired by hunting cut ting wood or drawing water in it nothing but precise of limits and the intention pf cultivation establish the possession now as the probably from never having read the authors above quoted had never complied with any of these necessary forms it plainly followed that they had no right to the soil but that it was completely at the disposal of the first comers who had more knowledge more wants and more elegant that is to say artificial desires than themselves in entering upon a newly discovered country therefore the new comers were but taking possession of what according to the doctrine was their own property therefore in opposing them the savages were their just rights the laws of nature and the will of heaven therefore they were guilty of and on the case therefore they were hardened against god and man therefore they ought to be but a more irresistible right than either that i have mentioned and one which will be the most readily admitted by my reader provided he be blessed with of e history of and is the right acquired by all the world knows the lamentable state in which these poor savages were found not only deficient in the comforts of life but what is still worse most and unfortunately blind to the miseries of their situation bat no sooner did the benevolent inhabitants of their sad condition than they immediately went to to and improve it they introduced among them rum	48
gin brandy and the other comforts of and it is astonishing to read how soon the poor savages learnt to estimate these blessings they likewise made known to them a thousand by which the most diseases are and healed and that they might comprehend the benefits and enjoy the comforts of these they previously introduced among them the diseases which they were calculated to cure by these and a variety of other methods was the condition of these poor savages wonderfully improved they acquired a thousand wants of which they had before been ignorant and as he has most sources of happiness who has most wants to be gratified they were rendered a happier race of beings but the most important branch of civilization and which has most been by the zealous and pious fathers of the church is the introduction of the christian ith it was truly a sight that might well inspire horror to behold these savages stumbling among the dark mountains of and guilty of the most horrible ignorance of religion it is true they neither stole nor they were sober and faithful to their word but though they acted right habitually it was all in vain unless they acted so from the new comers therefore used every method to induce them to embrace and practise the true religion except indeed that of setting them the example but notwithstanding all these complicated labours for new york th good was the obstinacy of stubborn wretches that they refused to ac knowledge the strangers as then and p ted in the doctrines they endeavoured to most that from their conduct the of christianity did not seem to believe in it themselves was not this too much for human patience would not one suppose that the from europe provoked at their incredulity and discouraged by their stiff obstinacy would for ever have abandoned their shores and consigned them to their original ignorance and misery but no so zealous were they to effect the comfort and eternal salvation of these pagan in that they even proceeded from the of persuasion to the more painful and one of persecution let loose among them whole troops of fiery nd furious them by fire sword by stake and got hi consequence of which measures the cause of christian love and charity was so rapidly advanced that in a very few years not one fi h of the number of existed in south america that were found there at the time of its discovery what stronger right need the european advance to the than this have not whole nations of savages been made acquainted with a thousand imperious wants and indispensable comforts of which they were wholly ignorant have they not been literally hunted and smoked out of the and lurking places of ignorance and and absolutely into the right path have not the things the and filthy f this world which were too apt to engage their worldly and selfish thoughts been taken from them and have they not instead thereof been taught to set their affections on things above and finally to use the words of a reverend spanish father in a let of ter to his superior in th to say that these savage have yielded any thing more than an to in to them a pitiful tract of this dirty planet in exchange a inheritance in the kingdom of heaven here then are three complete and sources of right established any one of which was more than ample to establish a property in the newly discovered regions of america now so it has happened in certain parts of this delightful quarter of the globe that the right of discovery has been so asserted the influence of cultivation so extended and the progress of salvation civilization so that what with their attendant s diseases and other partial evils that often hang on the skirts of great benefits the savage have some how or another been utterly and this all at once brings me to a fourth right which is worth all the others put together for the original to the soil being all dead and buried and nd one remaining to inherit or dispute the soil the as the next immediate occupants entered upon the possession as clearly as the to the clothes of the male and as they have and all the learned of the law on their side they may set all actions of at defiance and this last right may be entitled the right by or in other words the by but lest any scruples of conscience should remain on this head and to settle the question of right for ever his pope alexander vi issued a mighty bull by which he generously granted the newly discovered quarter com b il c new york of globe to the and who thus having law and gospel on their side and being with great spiritual zeal showed the pagan savages neither nor affection but the work of discovery civilization and with ten times more fury than ever thus were the european who first discovered america clearly entitled to the soil and not only entitled to the soil but likewise to the eternal thanks of these savages for having come so far endured so many perils by sea and land and n such pains for no other purpose but to improve their forlorn and condition for having made them with the comforts of life for having introduced among them the light of religion and finally for having hurried them out of the world to enjoy its reward i but as argument is never so well understood by us selfish mortals as when it comes home to ourselves and as i am particularly anxious that this question should be put to rest for ever i will suppose a parallel case by way of the candid attention	48
attending to any body s business sooner than their own and having pulled off his coat and five pair of breeches he advanced up and laid the comer stone of the ch in the presence of the whole multitude just at the commencement of the month in a similar manner and with the example of my worthy before my eyes have i proceeded in writing this most history the honest no doubt thought my great grandfather was doing nothing at all to the purpose while he was making such a world of bustle about the building of his church and many of the ingenious inhabitants of this fair city will unquestionably suppose that all the preliminary chapters with the discovery population and final settlement of america were totally and su new york and that the main business the history of new york is not a more advanced than if i had never taken up pen never were wise people more mistaken in conjectures in consequence of going to work slowly and deliberately the church came out of my grand ther s hands one of the most goodly and glorious in the known world excepting that like our at washington it was begun on so grand a scale that the good folks could not to finish more than the wing of it so likewise i trust if ever i am enabled to finish this work on the plan i have of which in simple truth i sometimes have my doubts it will be found that i have pursued the est rules of my art as in the writings of all the great american and wrought a very large history out of a small subject which now a days is considered one of the great triumphs of historic skill to proceed then with the thread of my story in the ever memorable year of our lord on a saturday morning the five and twentieth day of march old style did that worthy and as he has been called master henry set sail firom holland in a stout vessel called the half moon being employed by the dutch east india company to seek a north west passage to china henry or as the dutch call him was a man of renown who had learned to smoke tobacco under sir walter and is said to have been the first to introduce it into holland which gained him much popularity in that country and caused him to find great favour in the of their high the lords states general and also of the honourable west india company he was a short square old gentleman with a double chin a mouth and a broad copper nose which was supposed in those history of days to have acquired its fiery hue from the constant neighbourhood of his tobacco pipe he wore a true tucked in a belt and a s cocked hat one side of his head he was remarkable for always up his breeches when he ye out his orders and his voice sounded not unlike the of a tin trumpet owing to the number of hard north which he had swallowed in the course of his sea ring such was of whom we have heard so much and know so little and i have been thus particular in his description for the benefit of modem painters and that they may represent him as he was and not according to their common custom with modem heroes make him look like caesar or or the of as chief mate and favourite companion the chose master robert of in england by some his name has been and ascribed to the circumstance of his having been the first man that ever tobacco but this i believe to be a mere more especially as certain of his are living at this day who write their names he was an old comrade and early school mate of the great with whom he had often played and sailed boats ip a neighbouring pond when they were little b from whence it is said the first derived his bias to wards a sea life certain it is that the old about declared robert to be an prone to mischief that would day or other come to the gallows he grew up as boys of that kind often grow up a rambling heedless tossed about in all quarters of the world meeting with more perils and wonders than did the sailor without growing a whit more wise new york or ill under every misfortune he comforted himself with a of tobacco and the truly philosophic that it will be all the same thing a hundred years hence he was skilled in the art of carving and true lovers knots on the bulk heads and quarter and was considered a great wit on board ship in consequence of bis playing on every body around and now and then even making a face at old when his back was turned to this universal genius are we indebted for many particulars this voyage of which he wrote a history at the request of the who had an aversion to writing himself from having received so many about it when at school to supply the of master s journal which is written with true log book i have availed myself of divers family traditions handed down from my great great grand ther who accompanied the expedition in the capacity of cabin boy from all that i can learn few incidents worthy of remark happened in the voyage and it me exceedingly that i have to admit so noted an expedition into my work without making any more of it oh that i had the advantages of that most writer of who in his account of the famous expedition has the whole at his disposal and and his into heroes and although all the world knows them to have been a mere gang	48
of sheep on a expedition or that i had the privileges of dan and dan to my with giants and to entertain our honest with an occasional concert of and and now and then with the show of honest old and his fleet of but alas the good old times have long gone by when your would history of descend upon this globe in their own proper persons and play their upon its wondering inhabitants suffice it then to say the voyage was prosperous and tranquil the crew being a patient people much given to slumber and and but little troubled with the disease of thinking malady of the mind which is the sure of discontent had laid in abundance of gin and sour and every man was allowed to sleep quietly at his post unless the wind blew true it is some slight dissatisfaction was shown on two or three occasions at certain unreasonable conduct of thus for instance he to sail when the wind was light and the weather serene which was considered among the most experienced dutch as certain weather or that the weather would change for the worse he acted moreover in direct contradiction to that ancient and sage rule of the dutch who always took in sail at night put the a port and turned in by which precaution they had a good night s rest were sure of knowing where they were the next morning and stood but little chance of running down a continent in the dark he likewise the firom wearing more than five and six pair of breeches under pretence of rendering them more alert and no man was permitted to go aloft and hand in sails with a pipe in his mouth as is the invariable dutch custom at the present day all these though they might for a moment the constitutional tranquillity of the honest dutch made but transient impression they eat drank and slept and being under the guidance of providence the ship was safely conducted to the coast of america where sundry unimportant and off and on she at length on the fourth day of september entered that majestic bay which new york at day its ample bosom before the city of new york and which had never before been visited by any european it has been in our that when the great was first blessed with a view of this island he was observed for the first and only time in his life to exhibit strong of astonishment and admiration he is said to have turned to master and uttered these remarkable words while he pointed towards this paradise of the new see there th as was always his way when he was uncommonly pleased he did puff out such clouds of true it nd i am not ignorant of the ct that in a certain book of voyages by one is to be found a letter written to the first by one or john on which some writers are inclined to found a belief that this delightful bay had been visited nearly a century previous to the age of the now this it has met with the countenance of certain very judicious and learned men i hold in utter and that for various good and substantial reasons fir because on strict examination it will be found that the description given by this applies about as well to the bay of new york as it does to my night cap secondly because that john for whom i already begin to feel a most bitter unity is a native of and every body knows the of these by which they away the fix m the brows of the immortal called and bestowed them on their and i make no doubt they are equally ready to rob the of the credit of discovering this adorned by the city of new and placing it beside their discovery of south america and i my in of the pretensions of inasmuch as his expedition sailed from holland being truly and absolutely a dutch enterprise and though all the in the world were introduced on the other side i would set them at as my attention if these three reasons be not sufficient to satisfy every of this ancient all i can say is they are descendants from their venerable dutch ancestors and totally unworthy the trouble of convincing thus therefore the title to his renowned discovery is fully g history of dense tobacco smoke that in one minute the was out of sight of land and master was to wait until the winds dispersed this impenetrable fog it was as my great great grand ther used to in truth i never heard him for he as might be expected before i was it was indeed a spot on which the eye might have for ever in new and never ending beauties the island o spread wide before them like some sweet vision of or some ir creation of industrious magic its smiling green swelled one above another with c luxuriant growth some pointing their foliage towards the clouds which were transparent and others loaded with a of vines bowing their branches to the earth that was covered with flowers on the gentle of the hills were scattered in gay profusion the dog wood the and the wild whose scarlet and white blossoms glowed brightly among the deep green of the surrounding foliage and here and there a curling of smoke rising from the little that opened along the shore seemed to promise the weary a welcome at the hands of their fellow creatures as they stood gazing with attention on the scene before them a red man crowned with feathers issued from one of these and contemplating in silent wonder the gallant ship as she sat like a stately swan swimming on a silver lake sounded the war and bounded	48
into the woods like a wild deer to the utter astonishment of the who had never heard such a noise or witnessed such a in their whole lives of the transactions of our with the savages and how the latter smoked copper pipes and ate dried how they brought great store of tobacco and how they shot one of the ship s crew and how he was buried i shall say nothing being that i consider new york them history after a few days m the bay in to themselves after sea weighed anchor to explore a mighty river which emptied into the bay this river it is said was known among the by the name of the t though we are assured in an excellent little history published in by john that it was the and master who wrote some time afterwards the same so that i very incline in of the opinion of these two honest gentlemen be this as it may up this river did the adventurous proceed little doubting but it would turn out to be the much looked for passage to the journal goes on to make mention of divers views between the crew and the natives in the voyage up the river but as they would b impertinent tb my history i shall pass over them in silence except the dry joke the old and his school fellow robert does such vast credit to their that i cannot refrain from it i master his mate determined to try some of the men of the whether they had any in them so they them into the aad gave them so much wine and that they were all and one of them had his wife with him which as any of our women would do in a strange place in the end one of them was which had been of our ship all the time we had there and that was strange to them for they could not tell how to take it f having satisfied himself by this ingenious experiment this river is likewise laid down in s map as and river y s f history of that the natives an honest social race of who had no objection to a drinking bout and were very merry in their cups the old chuckled to himself and a double of tobacco in his cheek directed master to have it recorded for the of all the natural philosophers of the university of which done he proceeded on his voyage with great self complacency after sailing however above an hundred miles up the river he found the watery world around him began to grow more shallow and confined the current more rapid and perfectly fresh phenomena not uncommon in the ascent of rivers but which puzzled the honest a consultation was therefore called and having full six hours they were brought to a determination by the ship s running whereupon thej concluded that there was but little chance of getting to china in that direction a boat however was despatched to explore higher up the river which on its return confirmed the opinion upon this the ship was off and put about with great difficulty being like most of her sex exceeding hard to govern and the adventurous according to the account of my great great grand ther returned down the with a prodigious in his ear i being satisfied that there was of getting to china unless like the blind man he returned whence he sat out and took a fresh start he forthwith the sea to holland where he was received with great welcome by the honourable east india company who were very much rejoiced to see him come back safe with their ship and at a large and respectable meeting of the first merchants and of it was determined that as a y for the eminent services he had performed and the important discovery he had made the great river new york should be called after his name and it continues to be called river unto this very day chapter an of a mighty ark floated under the protection st from holland to the descent of the strange animals a great victory and a description of the ancient village of the accounts given by the great and master of the country they had discovered excited not a little talk and speculation among the good people of holland letters patent were granted by government to an association of merchants called the west india company for the exclusive trade on river on which they erected a trading house called fort o orange from whence did spring the great city of but i forbear to dwell on the various commercial and which took among which was that of block who discovered and gave a name to block island since for its cheese and shall barely confine myself to that which gave birth to this renowned ci it was some three or four years after the return of the immortal that a crew of honest low dutch set sail from the city of for the shores of america it is an loss to history and a great proof of the darkness of the age and the lamentable neglect of the noble art of book making since so cultivated by knowing captains and learned that an expedition so interesting and important in its should be passed over in utter silence to my great great er am i again x history of ed for the few facts i am enabled to give concerning it he having once more embarked for this witb a full determination as he said of ending his days here and of a race of that should rise to be great men in the land the ship in which these illustrious set sail was called the or good woman in compliment to the wife of the president of the	48
west india company who was allowed by every body except her husband to be a sweet tempered lady when not in it was in truth a most gallant vessel of the most approved dutch construction and made by the ship of who it is well known always model their ships after the fair forms of their country women accordingly it had one hundred feet in the beam one hundred feet in the and one feet from the bottom of the stem post to the like the model who was declared to be the greatest in it was full in the bows with a pair of enormous cat heads a copper bottom and withal a most prodigious the who somewhat of a religious man the ship with pagan such as or which tions i have no doubt occasion the misfortunes and of many a noble vessel he i say on the contrary did erect for a head a goodly image of st equipped with a low broad hat a huge pair of trunk and a pipe that reached to the end of the thus gallantly furnished the ship floated sideways like a majestic goose out f the harbour of the great city of and all the bells that were not otherwise engaged rung a triple bob major on the joyful my great great grandfather remarks that the voyage was uncommonly prosperous for being under the new york care of the ever st the seemed to be endowed with qualities unknown to vessels thus she made as much lee way as could get along very nearly as fast with the wind as when it was a and was particularly great in a calm in consequence of which singular advantages she made out to accomplish her voyage in a very few months and came to anchor at the mouth of the a little to the east of island here lifting up their eyes they beheld on what is at present called the shore a small indian village pleasantly in a grove of spreading elms and the natives all collected on the beach gazing in stupid ad at the a boat was immediately despatched to enter into a treaty with them and approaching the shore hailed them through a trumpet in the most terms but so horribly confounded were these poor savages at the tremendous and uncouth sound of the low dutch language that they one and all took to their heels over the hills nor did they stop until they h buried themselves head and ears in the on the other side where they all miserably pe to a man and their bones being collected and decently covered by the society of that day formed th t mound called rattle snake hill which rises out of the centre of the salt a little to the east of the animated by this for victory our heroes ashore in triumph took possession of the sod as in the of their high the lords states general and marching forward carried the village of by storm notwithstanding that it was vigorously defended by some half a score so called because one joseph a and murderer was hanged in chains on that island the d may history of of old and looking about them they were so transported with the of the place that they had very little doubt the blessed st had guided them thither as the very spot whereon to settle their colony the softness of the soil was wonderfully adapted to the driving of piles the and around them afforded ample opportunities for the of and the of the shore was peculiarly to the building of in a word this spot with all the for the foundation of a great dutch city on making a report therefore to the crew of the they one and all determined that this was the destined end of their voyage accordingly they descended from ae men women and children in goodly groups as did the animals of from the ark and formed themselves into a which they called by the indian name as all the world is doubtless perfectly acquainted with it may seem somewhat superfluous to treat of it in the present work but my readers will please to recollect that notwithstanding it is my chief desire to satisfy the present age yet i write likewise for posterity and have to consult the understanding and curiosity of some half a score of centuries yet to come by which time perhaps were it not for this invaluable history the great uke and other great cities might be perfectly extinct sunk and forgotten in its mud its inhabitants turned into and even its situation a fertile subject of learned and investigation among let me then rescue from oblivion the humble of a place which was the egg from whence was the mighty city of new york men by into o new york t is at present but a small village pleasant ly situated among rural scenery on that part of the shore which was known in ancient legends by the name of f and commands a grand prospect of the superb bay of new york it is within but half an hour s sail of th latter place you have a wind and may be seen from the city nay it is a well known which i can testify from my own experience that on a clear still summer may hear from the battery of new york ihe oi the broad mouthed laughter of tlie dutch at who like most other are for their powers this is peculiarly the case on sunday evenings when it is remarked by an ingenious and observant philosopher who has made great discoveries in the of this city that they always laugh which he attributes to the of their having their clothes on these n in fact like the in the dark ages all die of the place and being infinitely	48
more adventurous and more knowing than their masters carry on all the foreign trade making frequent voyages to town in loaded with and they are great the changes of weather almost as accurately as an they are moreover exquisite on three in whistling they boast the powers of his l for not a horse or an ox in the place when at the plough or before the will a foot until he hears the well known whistle of his black driver and companion and from their amazing skill at casting up accounts upon their fingers they are regarded with as much veneration as were the f in the ancient maps is given to a tract of country extend ing from about to ri history of of os when ui o the sacred of numbers as to the honest of like wise men and sound philosophers they never look beyond their pipes nor trouble their head about any affairs out of their immediate neighbourhood so that they live in profound ignorance of all the troubles anxieties and of this distracted planet i am even told that many among them do verily believe that of which they have heard so much tradition is situated on long island that evil and are the two ends of the world that the is still under the dominion of their high and that the city of new york still goes by the name of they meet every saturday afternoon at the only tavern in the place which bears as a sign a square headed likeness of the prince of orange where they smoke a silent pipe by and invariably drink a of to the success of von who they imagine is still sweeping the british channel with a t mast head in short is one of the little in the vicinity of this most beautiful of cities which ire so many strong holds and whither pi of our dutch forefathers have and where they are cherished with devout dress of the original is l from ther to the broad skirted coat and br ad breeches continue from generation to generation and several knee of silver are wear that made such gallant display in the days of th of the language likewise continues by barbarous and so correct is the village in his dialect new york that his of a much the ct tm the as the of a hand chapter hi in h id ike art of a g the of a great metropolis a fog and the biography of certain heroes of ui the trifling which concluded the last chapter discharged the filial duty which the city of new york owed to as being the mother and having given a picture of it stands at present i return with a soothing sentiment of self to dwell upon its early history the crew of the being soon by firom holland the settlement went on in magnitude and the ing ds in a short time to uncouth sound of the dutch language and an intercourse took place between them and the new comers the were much given to long talks and the dutch to silence n this particular therefore they each other completely the would make speeches about the big the and the great spirit to which the others would listen very attentively smoke their pipes and her the poor savages were delighted they instructed the new in the best art of and tobacco while the latter in return made them drunk with true and then learned them the art of making a brisk trade for was soon opened the dutch were honest in their dealings and history of ed by weight l it as an invariable ble of that the hand of a weighed one pound and his foot two pounds it is true the simple indians were often puzzled by the great between bulk and weight for let them place a bundle of never so large in one and a put his hand or foot in the other the bundle was sure to kick the beam was a a known to weigh more than two pounds in the market of i this is a singular but i have it direct from my great great grand ther who had risen to considerable importance in the colony being promoted to the office of weigh master on account of the uncommon of his foot the dutch possessions in this part of the globe now to assume a very appearance and were comprehended under the general title of on account as the sage of their great resemblance to the dutch which indeed was truly remarkable excepting that the former were rugged and and the latter level and about this time the tranquillity of the was doomed to suffer a temporary in captain sir samuel sailing under a commission from governor of virginia visited the dutch on river and demanded their submission to the english crown and dominion to this demand as they were in no condition to resist it they submitted for the time like discreet and reasonable men it does not appear that the the of on the contrary i am told that when his vessel first in sight the worthy were seized with such a panic that they fell to smoking their pipes with vehemence n w i much that they quickly raised a cloudy which with the surrounding woods and completely enveloped and their beloved village and the dr regions of h o that the terrible captain passed on totally that a little dutch settlement lay in the mud under cover of all this in of this fortunate escape the worthy inhabitants have continued to smoke almost without unto this very day which is said to be the cause of the remarkable fog that oft hangs over of a clear upon the departure of the enemy our ancestors took full six months to	48
being one of those new york ib that always a thing after it come to pass this supernatural vas as highly of j as it was among the enlightened na of antiquity the wise was more indebted his sleeping than his waking moments for all his je achievements and seldom undertook any great first soundly sleeping upon it and the same may be said of the good van who w as thence a the this cautious having chosen the that should accompany in the proposed expedition e them to repair to their homes take a good night s rest settle all family affairs and make their wills before departing on this voyage into unknown and indeed this last was a precaution always taken by our forefathers even in after times when they ie more adventurous and tp or or or any other country that lay beyond the great waters of the chapter iv the of to gate how they were received there and now t e rosy blush of mom began to mantle in the east and soon the rising sun emerging from golden and purple clouds his rays on the tin of it was that delicious season of the year when nature breaking fi om the of old winter like a blooming from the tyranny of a sordid old ther threw herself blushing with ten thousand charms into the arms of youthful spring i history of very blooming grove with the notes of love the very insects as thej the dew that the tender grass of the joined in the joyous the vii gin timidly put forth its the voice of die was heard in the land and the heart of man dissolved away in tenderness oh sweet had i thine reed wherewith did charm the plains or oh gentle ion thy pastoral pipe wherein the happy of the isle so much delighted then might i attempt to sing in soft or ni the rural beauties of the scene but save this goose wherewith to wing my flight i must in resign all poetic of die fancy and pursue my narrative in humble prose comforting myself with the hope it may not so sweetly upon the imagination of my reader yet may it commend with virgin modesty to his better judgment in the and simple garb of truth no sooner did the first rays of dart into the windows of than the little was all in motion forth issued from his castle the sage van and seizing a shell blew a r blast that soon all his followers then did they resolutely down to the water side escorted by a multitude of relatives and who all went down as the common phrase expresses it to see them off and this shows the antiquity of those long often seen in our city composed of all ages sizes and sexes laden bundles and some f country cousins about to depart for home in a market boat the good bestowed his forces in a of three and hoisted his flag on board a little round dutch boat shaped not unlike a tub which had formerly been the jolly boat of the and now all new york being they bid to the throng upon the beach shouting after them even when out of hearing them a happy voyage them to take good care of themselves not to get drowned with an other of those sage and invaluable generally given by to such a go down to the sea in ships and adventure upon the deep waters in the mean while the cheerily urged their across the bosom of the bay and soon left behind them the green of ancient and first they touched at two small islands which lie nearly opposite and which are said to have been brought into existence about the time of the great of the it broke through the and made its way to the ocean for in this tremendous uproar of the water we are told that many huge fragments of rock and land were rent from the mountains and swept down by this river for sixty or seventy miles where some of them ran on the just and formed the identical islands in question while others drifted out to sea and were never heard of more a sufficient proof of the fact is that the rock which the basis of these islands is exactly similar to that of the and moreover one of our philosophers who has diligently the a tt is a long by certain of our that is to having been often and never contradicted it has grown to be pretty nigh equal to a settled fact that the was a lake up by the mountains of the in of time becoming mighty and and the mountains and weak in the back by reason of their extreme old age it suddenly rose upon them and after a violent struggle effected its escape this is said to have come to pass in very remote time probably before that rivers had lost the art of running up hill the foregoing is a in which i do not pretend to be skilled notwithstanding that i do give it my belief ot of their respective has even gone so far as to a e me in confidence that island was nothing more nor less than a on s i se leaving these wonderful little they next by s island since terrible firom its fi fortress and grinning they would by no means however land upon this island since they doubted much it might be the abode of and spirits which in those days did greatly abound throughout this savage and pa country just at this it of jolly came rolling and tumbling by turning up their sleek sides to the sun and up the element in sparkling showers no sooner did the sage mark this than he was great ly rejoiced this	48
exclaimed he if i mistake not well the is a t well fish a among fishes his looks plenty and prosperity i greatly this round i fish doubt not but this i a happy omen of the success of our undertaking so saying he directed his to steer in the tract of these fishes turning therefore directly to die left they swept the strait called the east river and here the rapid tide which courses through this strait on the gallant tub in which van had embarked hurried it forward with a in a dutch boat by that the good who had all his life long been accustomed only to the drowsy of was more than ever convinced that they were in the hands of some supernatural power and that the jolly were them to some fair haven that was to fulfil their wishes and expectations a r in the new york us borne away by the current they doubled that boisterous point of land since called s hook leaving to the right the rich winding of the where our in nt navy is now a days put out to nurse they drifted into a magnificent expanse of water surrounded by pleasant shores whose was exceed to the eye while the were looking them on what they conceived to be a serene and sunny lake they beheld at a a crew of painted savages busily employed in fishing who seemed more like the of this romantic region their slender lightly balanced like a feather on the surface of the bay at sight of these the hearts of the heroes of were not a little troubled but as good fortune would have it at the bow of the s boat was stationed a very man named which being interpreted means a name given him in token of his courage no sooner did he behold these than he trembled with excessive and although a good half mile distant he seized a that lay at hand and turning away his head fired it most in the of the blessed sun the and gave the an kick that laid him prostrate with in the bottom of the boat but such was the of this tremendous fire that the wild men of the woods struck with consternation seized hastily upon their and shot away into one of the deep of the long island shore this signal victory gave new spirits to the hardy and in honour of the achievement they gave the name of the to the surrounding bay and it has continued to be called s bay firom that time to the present the heart of the good van who properly i e a point of land history of having no land of his own was a gi eat admirer of people s expanded at the sun prospect of rich on settled country around him and into a reverie he straightway began to riot in the possession of vast meadows of salt marsh and interminable patches of from this vision he was all at once awakened by the sudden turning of the tide which would so m have hurried him from this land of promise had not the discreet given signal to steer for where they accordingly landed hard by the rocky heights c that happy retreat where our jolly eat for the good of the and the that are sacrificed on here seated on the by the side of a small stream that ran sparkling among the grass they r themselves after the toils of the seas by the ample stores which they had provided f r this perilous voyage thus well fortified their powers they fell into an earnest consultation what was further to be this was the first council dinner ever eaten at by christian and here as tradition relates did the great between the and the which had a singular influence on the building of the hie sturdy whose eyes had be i delighted the salt that spread their along the coast at the bottom of s bay by all means to return thither and found the intended city this was opposed by the ten and many arguments passed between them the particulars of this have not reached us which is ever to be lamented this much is certain that the sage put an id to the dispute by to explore still further in the route which tlie mysterious had so clearly pointed out whereupon the sturdy tough breeches abandoned the expedition took new york possession of a hill and in a fit of great peopled all that of which has to be l the unto this day by this time the jolly like some wanton sporting on the side of a green hill began to n down ae of the heavens and now the tide once more turned in favour the again committed themselves to its discretion and along western shores were borne towards the straits of s and here ihe wanderings of the current occasioned not a little marvel and perplexity to these illustrious now would they be caught by the wanton and sweeping round a point would wind deep into some little that the island of now were they hurried narrowly hj the very of impending rocks with the and crowned with groves that threw a im shade on the waves beneath and anon they were borne way into die mid and a rapidity that very much the sage van o as he saw the land receding on side began exceedingly to doubt that was hem dip the tamed their es a new tion to bloom no signs of human appeared to check e of nature who here in all her variety those hills now like the of s up plants i of wealth and adorned with the vigorous natives of the soil the oak the generous the graceful here and there die reared his majestic head the giant	48
its tide rolled gently back towards the quarter where lay their much regretted home the woe heroes of eyed each other this u a narrow strait in the sound at the distance of miles above new tt is dangerous to shipping unless under the cart of bj reason of numerous rocks sh and have sundry such as the pan a bade pot c and are violent and turbulent at certain times of tide certain wise men who instruct these modem days have softened the above characteristic name into which means nothing i leave them to their own tlie name given t mr author is supported by the map in a tory published in by s history of america aa by a journal still written in the th and to be found in hazard s state papers and an old ms written in french speaking of various alterations in about this be d en r d a history of with countenances their had been j by the disaster s ne w re cast the western shore where headed by one they took possession of all the lying about th six mile stone which is held by the at this present writing the w re driven by stress of to a distant coast where having with them a of genuine they were enabled to the savages set ting up a kind of tavern from whence it is said did spring the ir town of in which descendants have ever since continued to be as to the they were thrown the coast and may still be found in those parts bnt the most singular luck attended the great ten who falling overboard was preserved sinking by the multitude of his garments thus up he floated on the waves like a until he landed safely on a rock where he was found the next morning busily his many breeches in the sunshine i forbear to treat of the long consultation of our how they determined that it would not do to found a city in this neighbourhood and ho at length with fear and trembling they ventured once more upon the element and their course back for suffice it in simple to say that toiling back through the scenes of their yesterday s voyage at length c ned the southern point of and a distant view of their beloved and here they were opposed by an obstinate that resisted all the efforts of the exhausted weary and they could no longer make head against the power of the tide or rather as some will have it of old who anxious to guide them to a spot whereon be founded his strong hold in this western world sent half a score of potent that rolled the tub of new van high and dry on the of having thus in a manner been guided by supernatural power to this island their first care was to light a fire at the foot of a large tree that stood upon the point at pi called the battery then gathering together great store of which on the shore and the of their they prepared and made a council the worthy van was observed to be particularly zealous in his to the for having the cares of the expedition especially committed to his care he deemed it incumbent on him to eat profoundly for the public good in proportion as he filled himself to the very brim with the dainty before him did the heart of this excellent seem to rise up towards his throat until he seemed crammed and almost choked with good eating and good nature and at such times it is when a s heart is in his throat that he may more truly be said to speak firom it and his speeches abound with kindness and good fellowship thus the worthy having swallowed the last possible morsel and washed it down with a fervent his heart yearning and his whole fi in a manner with unbounded every thing around him seemed excellent and delightful and laying his hands on each side of his and rolling his half closed eyes around on the beautiful of land and water before him he exclaimed in a fat half smothered what a charming prospect i the words died away in his throat he seemed to on the scene for a his eyelids heavily closed over their his head drooped upon his he slowly sunk the green turf and a deep sleep stole gradually him and the sage dreamed a and lo the good st came riding over the tops of the trees in that history of self same wherein he brings his yearly children and he came and descended hard by where the heroes of had made their late and the shrewd van knew him by his broad hat his long pipe and the resemblance which he bore to the bow of the pe by the fire and he sat down and as he smoked the smoke from his pipe ascended into the air and spread over head and the sage him and he hastened and climbed up to the tap of one of the trees and saw that the smoke spread over a great extent of country and as he considered it more attentively he that the great volume of smoke assumed a of marvellous forms where in dim obscurity he saw out palaces and and lofty all which lasted but a moment and then away the whole rolled off and nothing but the green woods were left and when st had smoked his pipe he twisted it in his hat band and laying his finger beside his nose gave the astonished van a veiy significant look then mounting his he returned over the tree tops and disappeared and van awoke fix m hi sleep greatly in and he aroused his companions and related to them his dream aiid interpreted it that it the	48
will of st that they should settle down and build the city here and that the smoke of the pipe was a type how vast should be the extent of the city as the of its smoke should spread over a vast extent of c and they all with one voice assented to this excepting ten who declared the meaning to be that it should be a city wherein a little fire should occasion a great smoke or in other words a very little both which interpret have strangely come to pass i the great object of their perilous expedition therefore new thus happily the ers returned merrily to where they were received with great and here calling a general meeting of all the wise men and the of they the whole history of their voyage and of the dream of van and the people lifted up their voices and blessed the good st and from that time forth the sage van was held in more honour than ever for his great talent at dreaming and was pronounced a useful citizen and a right good man when he was asleep chapter vl containing an attempt at and the of the great new the original name of the island wherein the of was thus thrown is a matter of some dispute and has already undergone considerable p a melancholy proof of the of all things and the vanity of all our hopes of lasting fame for who can expect his name wiu live to posterity when even the names of mighty islands are thus soon lost in m and uncertainty i the name most current at the present day and which is likewise by the great historian is which is said to have originated in a custom among the in the early settlement of wearing men s hats as is still done among many tribes hence as we are told by an old governor who was somewhat of a wag and flourished almost a century since and had paid a visit to the wits of philadelphia hence arose the of man hat first given to the in history of and afterwards to the island a stupid joke well enough for a governor among the more venerable sources of on this subject is that valuable history of the american written by master richard in s wherein it is called and nor must i forget the excellent book precious matter of that historian who expressly calls it m another still more ancient and by the countenance of our ever to be lamented dutch an is that found in certain letters still which passed between the early and their neighbour ing powers wherein it is called indifferently and which are evidently unimportant variations of the same name for our wise forefathers set store by those either in or which form the sole study and ambition of many learned men and women of this age this last name is said to be derived from the great indian spirit who was supposed to make this island his abode on account of its uncommon delights for the indian traditions affirm that the bay was once a lake filled with silver and golden fish in the midst of which lay this beautiful island covered with every variety of fruits and flowers but that the sudden of the laid waste these scenes and ma took his flight beyond the great waters of these however are legends to which very cautious must be given and although i am willing to admit the last quoted of the name as this history is to be found in the library of the new york society hazard s col york very suitable for prose yet is there another one founded on still more ancient and which i delight in seeing that it is at once poetical melodious and significant and this is recorded in the before mentioned voyage of the great written by master who dearly and correctly it that is to say the island of or in other words a land flowing with milk and honey v it having been solemnly resolved that the seat of should be transferred firom the green shores of to this island a vast multitude embarked and across the mouth of the under the guidance of the who was appointed pro or patron to the new settlement and here let me bear testimony to the honesty and of our worthy forefathers who purchased the soil of the native indians before a sin e roof a circumstance singular and incredible in die annals of discovery and the first settlement was made on the point of the island on the very spot where the good st had appeared in the dream here they built a mighty and fort and trading house called fort which stood on that eminence at present occupied by the custom house with the open space called the green in front around t potent fortress was soon seen a numerous of dutch houses with all which seemed lovingly to under its walls like a brood of half chickens sheltered under the wings of the mother hen the whole was surrounded by an of strong to guard against any tion of the savages who in about the and forests that over those tracts of country at present called street street and pearl v history of no was the colony once planted than it took root and for it would seem that this thrice island is like a where every foreign weed finds kindly and soon shoots up and to greatness and now the having advanced in age and stature it was thought high time it should receive an honest christian name and it was accordingly called new it is true there were for the original indian name and many of the best writers of the province did continue to call it by the title of hie but this was by the authorities as	48
being and savage besides it was considered an excellent and measure to name it after a great city of the old world as by that means it was induced to the greatness and of its in the manner that little are called after great saints and and renowned of upon which they all copy their examples and to be very men in day and generation the state of the settlement and the rapid increase of houses gradually awakened the good a deep into which he had after the building of the fort he now began to think it was time some plan should be devised on which the increasing town should be built therefore his and together they took pipe in mouth and forthwith sunk into a very sound deliberation on the subject at the very outset of the business an unexpected difference of opinion arose and i mention it with as being the first on record in the of new it was a breaking forth of the grudge and that had existed between those two eminent and ever since their unhappy on n w york the co t of the great had very wealthy and powerful from his which the whole chain of mountains that stretch along the gulf of i s bay and from part of which his descendants have been in latter ages by die of the and the an ingenious plan for the was offered by who proposed that it should be cut up and by after the manner of the most ad in holland to this was opposed in place thereof that they should run out and by means of piles driven into the bottom of the river on which the town should be built by these means said he triumphantly shall we rescue a considerable space of territory from these immense rivers and build a city that shall rival or any in europe to this proposition ten or ten breeches replied with a look of as much scorn as he could possibly assume he cast the utmost censure upon the plan of his as being preposterous and against the very order of things as he would leave to every true for what said he is a town without it is like a body without veins and and must perish for want of a free circulation of the vital tough breeches on the contrary retorted with a sarcasm upon his who was somewhat of an arid dry habit he remarked that as to the of the blood being necessary to existence ten breeches was a living contradiction to his own assertion for every body knew there had not a drop of blood through his wind dried for good ten years and yet there was not a greater in the whole colony have seldom much effect in in argument nor have i ever seen a man history of convinced of error by being convicted of at least was not the case at present ten breeches was veiy in reply and breeches who was a little man and never up the last word with increasing spirit breeches had the advantage of the greatest but tough had that invaluable coat of mail in argument called ten had therefore the most but breeches the best so that though ten breeches made a dreadful about his ears and battered and him with hard words and sound arguments yet tough breeches hung on most resolutely to the last they parted therefore as is usual in all arguments where both parties are in the right without coming to any conclusion but they hated each other most heartily for ever after and a similar breach with that between the houses of and did the of ten breeches and tough breeches i would not fatigue my reader with these dull matters of ct but that my duty as a historian requires that i should be particular and in truth as i am now treating of the critical period when our city like a young first received the and turns that have since contributed to give it the present picturesque for which it is celebrated i cannot be too minute in de their first causes after the unhappy i have just mentioned i do not find that any thing was said on the subject worthy of being recorded the council consisting of the largest and oldest heads in the community met regularly once a week to on this momentous subject but either they were by the war of words they had witnessed or they were naturally averse to the exercise of the tongue and the consequent exercise of the it is the most silence was the question as usual lay on the the members qui new smoked their pipes making but few laws without ever any and in the mean time the a of the settlement went as it pleased god as most of the council were but little skilled in the mystery of c pot hooks and they determined most not to puzzle either themselves or posterity with records the secretary however kept the minutes of the council with tolerable precision in a large with brass t the journal of each meeting consisted but of two stating in dutch that the council sat this day and smoked twelve pipes on the of the colony by which it appears that the first did not their time by hours but pipes in the same manner as they measure distances in holland at this very time an admirably as a pipe in the mouth of a true bom is never liable to those accidents and that are continually putting our out of order in this manner did the profound of new smoke and and week to week month to and year to year in what manner they should their settlement mean while the took care of itself and like a sturdy which is suffered to nm about wild by and and other by	48
kind hearted had a great for their neighbours on account of their being pleasant men to with aiid de skilled in the art of making a bargain now and then a crew of half human sons of the forest would make their appearance in the streets of new painted and decorated with beads and feathers about with an air of list in the market place the dutch boys in the use of the bow and arrow at other times with liquor and and yelling about the town like so many to the great dismay of all the good who would hurry their children into the house the doors and throw water upon the enemy from the garret windows it is worthy of mention here that our fore were yery par r in bidding up these wild men as excellent v examples and for reasons that may be gathered from the history of master who tells us that for the least offence the n soundly beats his wife and turns her out doors and another much some of them have every year a new wife whether this example had any influence or not history does not mention but it is certain that our were miracles fidelity and true it is that the good understanding between our and their savage neighbours was liable to and i have heard my grandmother who was a very wise old woman and well in the history of these parts te l long story of a r s ii m history of ing about a between the new and the which was known by the name of the war and which took near a in dark which for a long while went by the name of murderer s valley the of this war was long current among the nurses old wives and r ancient of the but time and improvement have almost both the tradition and the scene of for what was once the blood stained is now in the centre of this p q u city and known by the name of d tlie wealth and consequence of new and its at length awakened the tend solicitude of the mother country who finding it a and colony and that it promised to great profit and no trouble all at once became anxious about its safety and began to load it with tokens of regard in the same manner that your knowing people are sure to rich relations with their af and loving kindness the usual marks of protection shown by mother countries to wealthy colonies were forthwith manifested j die first care always being to send rulers to the new with orders to squeeze as much fix m it as it will yield accordingly in the year of our lord van was appointed governor of the province of under the commission and control of their high the lords states of the united the l ed west india company this renown old gentleman arrived at new in the merry month of june the sweetest month in all the year when dan seems to dance np the transparent when the robin th and a thousand other wanton make the woods to re sound with and the luxurious little bob f new york among the blossoms of the meadows all which happy persuaded the old of new who were skilled in the art of events that this be a ha y and prosperous administration but as it would be tory to the consequence of the first dutch r of the great province of l to be thus introduced at the end of a chapter i will put an end to this second book of my history that i may him in with more dignity in the beginning of my next end of book second n i ft hb the h k reign t j van i i i i i i t r chapter l of the renowned van his virtues as his unutterable wisdom in the law case of and and the great of the public and very much to be is the task of the feeling historian who writes the history of his native land if it fall to his lot to be the sad of calamity or crime the mournful page is watered with his tears t nor can he recall the most prosperous and era without a melancholy sigh at the reflection that it has passed away for ever i know not whether it be owing to an love for the simplicity of former times or to that certain tenderness of heart incident to all sentimental but i candidly confess that i cannot look back on the happier days of our city which i now describe without a sad of the spirits with a hand do i withdraw the curtain of oblivion that the modest merit of our venerable ancestors and as their figures rise to my mental vision humble myself before the mighty shades such are my feelings when i the family mansion of the and spend a lonely hour in the chamber where hang the portraits of my history of new york in like the forms they represent with pious do i gaze on the countenances of those renowned who have preceded me in the steady march of existence whose and temperate blood now through my flowing slower and slower in its feeble until its current shall soon be stopped for ever i these say i to myself are but frail of the mighty men who flourished in the days of the but who alas have long since in that tomb towards which my steps are and irresistibly hastening as i pace the darkened chamber and lose myself in melancholy the shadowy images around me almost seem to steal once more into existence their countenances	48
to assume the animation of life their eyes to pursue me in every movement i carried away by the of fancy i almost myself surrounded by the shades of the and holding sweet with the of antiquity i ah i bom in a age abandoned to the of a stranger and a weary pilgrim in thy native land with no weeping wife nor of helpless children but doomed to wander neglected through those crowded streets and by foreign from those where once thine ancestors held sovereign empire i let me however lose the historian in the man nor the recollections of age to overcome me while dwelling with fond on the virtuous days of the on those sweet days of simplicity and ease which never more will dawn on the lovely island of the renowned or walter van was descended from a long line of dutch who had away their lives and grown t upon the bench of in and who history of had themselves with such wisdom and propriety that they were never either heard or talked of r which next to being a d be the object of ambition to all sage and r his of is said to be a corruption of the original t which in english means a name admirably descriptive of his habits for though he was a man shut up within himself like an and of such a turn that he scarcely ever spoke except in yet did he never make up his mind on any doubtful point this was clearly accounted for by his affirmed that he always conceived every subject on so comprehensive a scale that he had not room in his head to turn it over and examine both sides of it so that he always remained in doubt merely in consequence of the astonishing magnitude of his ideas there are two opposite ways by which s men get into one by talking a vast deal and thinking a little and the other by holding their tongues and not thinking at all by the first many a superficial the reputation of a man of quick parts by the other many a vacant like the owl the of birds comes to be by a world with all the attributes of wisdom this by the way is a mere casual remark which i would not for the universe have it thought i apply to governor van on the contrary he was a very wise for he never said a foolish thing and of such invincible gravity that he was never known to laugh or even to smile through the course of a long and prosperous life certain however it is there never was a matter proposed however simple and on which your common narrow minded mortals would determine at the first glance but what the renowned put on a mighty m vacant kind of look shook his head and new having smoked for five minutes with earnest ness observed that he had his doubts about the matter which in process of time gained him the of a man slow of belief and not easily imposed on the person of this illustrious old gentleman was a formed and nobly as though it had been by the hands of some cunning dutch as a model of majesty and grandeur he was exactly five feet six inches in height and six feet five inches in his head was a perfect sphere far in magnitude that of the great who thence called or head indeed of such dimensions was it that dame nature herself with all her sex s ingenuity would have been puzzled to a neck capable of supporting it wherefore she wisely declined the attempt and settled it firmly on the top of his back bone just between th shoulders where it remained as as a ship of war in the mud of the his body was of an form particularly at bottom was wisely ordered by providence seeing that he was a man of habits and very averse to the idle his legs exceeding ere sturdy in proportion to the weight they had to sustain so that when erect he had not a little the appearance of a beer barrel standing on his that in index of the mind presented a vast p or by any of those and which the human countenance is termed ex two small grey eyes feebly in the midst like two stars of lesser ma in a and his fed cheeks which seemed to have taken toll of every thing went into his were curiously and with dusky ce af le his were as regular as his person he daily history of took his four stated meals exactly an hour to each he smoked and doubted hours and he slept the remaining twelve of the four and twenty such was the renowned van a true her for his mind was either elevated above or settled below the cares and of world he had lived in it for years without feeling the least curiosity to know whether the sun round it or it round the sun and he had even watched for at least half a the smoke curling from his pipe to the ceiling without once troubling his head with any of those numerous theories by which a philosopher would have perplexed his brain in for its rising above the surround ing atmosphere in his council he presided with great state and he sat in a huge chair of solid oak in the celebrated forest of the by an experienced of and curiously carved about the arms and feet into exact of gigantic claws instead of a he swayed a long pipe wrought with and which had been presented to a of holland at the conclusion of a treaty with one of the petty powers in this stately chair would he sit and this magnificent pipe would he smoke shaking his right	48
knee with a constant motion and fixing his eye for hours together upon a little print of which hung in a black frame against the op wall of the council nay it has even been said that when any deliberation of extraordinary length and was on the carpet the renowned would absolutely shut his eyes for full two hours at a time that he might not be disturbed by external and at such times the internal commotion of bis mind was evinced by certain regular sounds which his admirers declared were merely the noise of conflict made by his doubts and new york it is with infinite difficulty i have been enabled to collect these of the great man under x the respecting him were so scattered and vague and divers of them so questionable in point of that i have had to give up the search after many and the admission of still more which would have tended to the colouring of his portrait i have been the more anxious to folly the person and habits of the renowned van firom the that he was not the first but also th best governor that ever presided over this ancient and respectable province and so tranquil and benevolent was his reign that i do not find throughout the whole of it a single instance of any being brought to punishment a most sign of a merciful governor and a case excepting in the reign of the illustrious king log from whom it is hinted the renowned van was a the very outset of the career of this excellent magistrate like that of solomon or to speak more like that of the illustrious governor of was distinguished by an example of legal that gave flattering of a wise and hi the very morning after he had been solemnly in office and at the moment that he was making his breakfast fi om a prodigious dish filled with milk and indian he was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of one a very important old of new who complained bitterly of one inasmuch as he fi ed to come to a settlement of accounts seeing that there was a heavy balance in favour of the said governor van as i have already observed was a man of few words he was likewise a mortal enemy to writings or being disturbed at his breakfast having listened attentively to the statement of history of giving an occasional as he a mi ty of indian into his ther as a sign that be the or comprehended the he ci unto him hi and out of his breeches pocket a huge jack knife despatched it s a summons by his a warrant summary was as effectual in those simple as seal ring of the rt among the the two parties being before him each produced a book of accounts i in a language and character that would have but a high or a learned of egyptian to understand the sage ter took em one after the other and having poised them in his hands and attentively counted over the number of leaves fell straightway into a very great doubt and smoked for half an hour without saying a w rd at length laying his finger beside his nose and shutting his eyes for a moment with the air of a man who has just caught a subtle idea by the tail he slowly took his pipe his mouth puffed forth a column of tobacco smoke and with marvellous gravity and solemnity that having carefully counted over the leaves and weighed the books it was found that one was thick and as heavy as the therefore it was the final opinion of the court that the accounts were equally balanced therefore wan die should give a receipt and should give a receipt and the should pay the costs this decision being straightway made known general joy throughout new for the immediately perceived that they had a very wise and magistrate to rule over them but its happiest effect was that ai other took place the whole of his administration and the office of fell into such decay that there was not one of those new york known in the province for many years i am the more particular in dwelling on this transaction not because i the most on record and well worthy the attention of but because it was a miraculous event in the history of the renowned the only tim hie was ever known to come to a decision in the whole course of his life chapter ii containing some account of the grand council of new dam as also divers especial good philosophical reasons why am should he at with other particulars touching the slate of the province in of the early of the province i must caution my readers against them in point of dignity and power with those worthy gentlemen are d in this enlightened a set of unhappy victims of ty who ct the most dependent hen in the doomed to bear the secret nd their own party arid the and r rf the whole world beside set up like at christmas holidays to be and shot at by ev ry and vagabond in the land on the contrary the dutch enjoyed that authority tested in all of colonies or they were in a manner absolute in their little it if i disposed over both law and to but the mother country whidi it is well known is deaf to all complaints against its provided they discharge the of main duty of their station out a good this hint will be of importance to prevent my readers firom being seized with doubt and incredulity whenever in the course of this history they encounter the uncommon circumstance of a governor acting with independence and in opposition to the opinions of the to assist the	48
doubtful in the business of a board of was appointed which presided immediately over the police this potent body consisted of a or with powers between those of the present mayor and five who were equivalent to and five who as sub devils or bottle to the in the same manner as do assistant to their at the present day it being their duty to fill the pipes of the hunt the for for dinners and to discharge such other offices of kindness as were occasionally required it was moreover understood though not that they should consider themselves as l for the blunt wits of the and should laugh most heartily at all their jokes but this last was a duty as rarely called in action in those days as it is at present and was shortly in consequence of the death of a fat little who actually died of in an effort to fierce a laugh at one of van s best jokes in return for these humble services they were permitted to say yes and no at the council board and to have that privilege the run of the public kitchen h ng graciously permitted to eat and drink and smoke au those snug and public for the ancient were equally famous with their ni modem the post of therefore e that of assistant was eagerly by all y york of a certain description who have a huge relish for good fi and an humble ambition to be great men hi a small thirst a little brief authority that shall render them the terror of the and the that shall enable than to lord it over poverty vice outcast and hunger driven that shall place in their hands the lesser but of the law and give to their a hound like pack of and bum greater than the they hunt down i my readers will excuse this sudden warmth which i confess is of a grave historian but i have a mortal to bum and little great the ancient of this with those of the present time no less in form magnitude and intellect than in and privilege the like our were generally chosen by weight and not only the weight of the body but likewise the weight of the head it is a practically observed in all honest plain thinking regular cities that an should be t and the wisdom of this can be proved to a certainty that the body is in some measure an image of the mind or rather that the mind is to the body like melted lead to the clay in which it is cast has been insisted on by many men of science who have made human nature their peculiar study for as a learned gentleman of our own city there is a constant relation between the moral character of all intelligent and their physical constitution between their habits and the structure of their bodies thus we see that a lean spare body is generally accompanied by a restless mind either the mind wears down the body by its continual motion or else the body not affording the mind sufficient house room keeps it continually in a state of fir tossing and worry history of about from the uneasiness of its situation whereas your round sleek fat is ever attended by a mind like itself tranquil aiid at ease and we may always observe that your well fed are in general very of their ease and comfort being great enemies to noise discord and disturbance and surely none are more likely to study public tranquillity than those who are so careful of their own who ever hears of fat men heading a riot or together in turbulent no it is your lean hungry men who are continually worrying society and setting the whole community by the ears the divine whose doctrines are not sufficiently attended to by philosophers of the present age allows to every man three souls one immortal and rational seated in the brain that it may overlook and the body a second consisting of the surly and passions which like powers lie around the heart a third mortal and destitute of reason gross and brutal in its and in the belly that it may not disturb the divine soul by its now according to this excellent what can be more clear than that your fat is most likely to have the most regular and well mind his head is like a huge chamber containing a prodigious mass of soil brains whereon the rational soul lies and as on a feather bed and the eyes which are the windows of the are usually half closed that its may riot be disturbed by external objects a mind thus comfortably lodged and protected from disturbance is most likely to perform its functions with regularity and ease by dint of good feeding moreover the mortal and malignant soul which is confined in the belly and which by its raging and roaring puts the irritable soul in the neighbourhood of the heart in an intolerable passion new york and thus renders men and when hungry is completely silenced and put to rest whereupon a host of honest good fellow qualities and which had lain peeping out of the holes of the heart finding this asleep do pluck up their spirits turn out one and all in their suits and up and down the their possessor to laughter and a thousand fi offices towards his fellow mortals as a board of formed on this model think but very they are the less likely to and about opinions and as they generally business a hearty dinner they are naturally disposed to be and indulgent in the administration of their duties was conscious of this and therefore a measure for which i can never forgive him ordered in his that no judge should hold	48
genial days of van therefore ma y b fig fe were neither pi oar tions mm i nor were there c lar attended he was lucky la without as n of ib those days with his nose into s nor nt his own his io us to pieces the characters of o h every eat he was drank he was w to when die set the lo whether he sleepy lor not all which i so t of i am told every wife out new made int of always her husband with at least one this of of good to the dutch a feast e mat cm h d the usual by to the if a tt th pi wiu reigned il t v i t m i i i i y it til i p iii i i our great great di i f the w mi turn o e p th pages of some th re m hearts arid of the am i lo aiid witb or a train bald u under the of hi tailor of with nothing but nd th be e j cities springing mines up to the mu of cannon charging page and in and who are of a less martial but equally ardent and who withal are a little ven to the marvellous will dwell with cm descriptions of pi unheard of events escapes hardy adventures and all those t hat just along the boundary line of a third class who not to speak slightly of them are of a lighter and over the records of past times as they do over the pages of a novels ly fa k delight in e ia i tt crimes ft md to the a c a j f dot pore over of to gate the operations of the arid the gradual and effected by the of knowledge the of if ihe classes but to in tranquil reign f i them x rt and bear the tedious picture of prosperity and which as a me to draw and i them that as soon as i can possibly upon any thing horrible or it shall go hard but i will make it this being pr i torn with great the of my who are men possible after my own heart grave and f md of taking a start from first and so hunting a down all the of and such naturally be anxious to witness the first of the newly colony and the primitive manners and customs among k the reign of van or the i grieve ence however by describing the increase and improvement of new dam their own will doubtless present to them t e hke so many pains taking and slowly and surely pursuing their labours they will behold the prosperous history of log hut to tim im i and aft and from die to the ponderous in they to te ib of or cherished by a sat end do in a e os has been mentioned in a not b ring to i on he the building of their city the cows in a of ok it under their and as th e ad each of which the good houses of die and pi l e whidi streets of new york at this very day t it of er ten breeches or h plan of d v s not adopted made a with ii a ia on die and which mean d h parts of die ground laid out inn to these be ascribed die first of i which originally was along a creek du to what at present is wall street the lower part soon became very and and a house was in process of time at the head of iti being at that day the head of inland the of tough on this house h been several and at present is a yellow brick house no broad with the end to the street with an lo ar fi ur iron as n w ill other no k than their rivals stationed themselves along the shore f the and with in making little and firom which that of mud which this to these would the hours when the tide had left the that they snuff iq the of mu mire which they observed had a truly wholesome and reminded them of holland to de labours and example of this ter of are we indebted the acres of artificial on which of in the rivers are built and which if we may credit the of learned of this city have been very in the yellow fever the houses of the higher were generally con excepting the end which was of small black and and always ha street as our ancestors like their descendants were very much given outward show and were noted for putting the best leg the house was furnished abundance door arid small windows cm every date of was by iron figures on the front and on the top of the roof was a fierce the into the way the wind blew these like ihe on the tops of our pointed ways that every man a wind io his mind af d y would have thought old had set tt of tp this j the most loyal went to tbe weather on the top of the	48
a house which was the most as he had a servant employed every history f morning to up and it whichever the wind in those of and sunshine a thi leading in domestic the test of able a t of j hie never opened l marriages dew year da st or some great it was ornamented ith gorgeous brass into the device of a do find of a lion head and with religious zeal that it was oft worn out by tbe veiy ta den its the house was a state o under the discipline of and and the ood those days were a kind exceedingly tb be in that an of the day tells u that many of his grew to have fingers like a and some of them he had little doubt could the matter be examined into would be found to have the tails f but this i look upon io be a mere sport of or what worse a i the grand the where the passion lor was indulged without la this apartment no one was permitted to the and her who it once a week for die of giving it a thorough an putting h s always e of leaving shoes the door devoutly cm their feet after the i it with fine white which into angles and curves and h washing die and polish ing the furniture and tf in r tlie to keep th i lie r locked di r it bi brought round tiie s as t the mil r they always entered in at and st e er ij li in the to have a d it the fire h tr of before the were iv i a and and ie the very cat g a o had k pr er right to a corner here tke i fc sit ki pe fe en looking in the fire with half shut eyes and thing r hours er the ion the would y herself in i her ib i the the hearth listening with breathless h df a o who wa the am perched a tile ine w forth for a winter a series about new england heads and cape and i rs among the indians la happy a well regulated always rose with e dis at and went to bed at sun r t bs a private meal and om of and at being surprised by from a neighbour an occasions but thou our ancestors were thus averse to dinner p lu history of yet tbey t up the social of intimacy by al called tea parties as this is the first of those hate since become so fashionable in this city j am mj ir readers will be very curious to receive information on the subject sorry am i that there be in my description to excite th m i can neither delight them with accounts of ting crowds nor brilliant nor towering feathers nor sparkling diamonds nor trains i can detail no anecdotes of scandal in those times the simple folk were either too or too good to each other s characters to pieces nor can i any anecdotes of how one lady cheated or another into a passion far as yet there was no of old o met to win each other s money and e their own at a card table these parties were generally ned to the higher classes or that is to say such as kept their own cows drove their own the assembled three o clock and went ar way about six it was in winter time when the r hours were a little earlier that the ladies might get home before dark i do not find that they ever treats ed their company to or or them with or sour as is often done in the present age of refinement our ancestors were fond of more sturdy substantial fare the tea table was crowned with a huge dish weu stored with of t brown cut up into and swimming in the company being seated the genial board and each with a fork their in at the pieces in this mighty dish in the same manner as sailors new york p r oar indians spear si the lakes sometimes the table was gi ed apple pie or i l ol preserved and but it was sure to an enormous dish of of in s and called nuts or a kind ef cake at present scared known in this excepting in dutch the was served out of a majestic t pot with paintings of t i ana pig with boats in the air and built in the clouds aiid sundry other ingenious dutch the distinguished th by their in this pot from a tear kettle which would have made of these days to look at it to the a lump of sugar laid beside each cup and the company alternately and with great decorum until ah improvement introduced by a shrewd and old lady which was to a large lump directly over the tea table by d string from the ceiling so that it could be swung hi mouth to mouth an ingenious expedient which is still kept up by some s in but which without exception in flat bush and all our dutch villages at these primitive tea parties the utmost propriety and dignity of prevailed no nor no gambling of old ladies nor chattering and of young ones no self satisfied of wealthy gentlemen with their brains in their pockets nor and monkey of smart young with no brains at all on the contrary the young ladies seated themselves in their chairs and knit their own stockings nor ever opened their lips excepting to say history op at	48
to any was a i tj iii iu d like w as to of bis pipe m se d the hue and white ti th wherein pas ol and his dog ta great swung on his and appeared jo out of the whale like a barrel of fire the parties broke up without noise and t coffin non they were carried home by their that is tp say by the nature had such of the could to a the gentlemen their to their respective and took of them with a hearty at the door which as it was an established piece of etiquette done in and honesty of heart occasioned no at that time nor at the present our great grand of the custom it argue a great want of reverence in their descendants to say a word against it chapter iv further age and what lady and gentleman in the days of walter the in this period of my history when the island of presented a scene th veiy of those glowing pictures drawn of the golden reign c there was as i observed a y ignorance an honest simplicity among its ii ia new were i ev able but understood by the d age lor which i am doomed even the those arch upon the the and grey customs of seemed for a while with incredible and and indeed almost as if they had not been sent into the world to bother mankind y and confound the universe hair by the of art was back from their with a candle and with a little cap of which fitted exactly to heads their of were striped with a variety of gorgeous the coloured robes of though i must confess these were rather sh nt scarce reaching the knee but then they made up in the i generally equalled that of ip small clothes and what is still more they were au of th own of which circumstance as may be supposed i they were not a vain these the honest days in which ev woman fit home read the bible and wore e and top rf y fe with patch work into many devices and worn outside th se in ct convenient where all good care stored away such things as they wished to have at hand by which often came to be and i remember there was a story when i was a boy that the lady of wool van once had occasion to empty her right pocket in search of a wooden and the was discovered lying among some rubbish in one comer but we must not give too much ith to all these stories the anecdotes of these remote periods being very tp exaggeration hi of besides these notable pockets they likewise wore ms mrs and suspended firom their by red or among the more and classes by brass and even silver chains tokens of and industrious i much in of the of the it doubtless was introduced for the purpose of giving the a chance to be seen which were generally of blue with magnificent red or perhaps to display a well turned ankle and a neat though serviceable foot set ofi by a high shoe with a large and splendid silver thus we find that the gentle sex in all ages have shown the same disposition to a upon the laws of decorum in order to betray a lurking beauty or an innocent love of finery from the sketch here given it will be seen that our good differed considerably in their ideas of ft fine figure fix m their dressed descendants of the present day a fine lady in those times under more clothes even on a fair summer s day than would have clad the whole of a modern ball room nor were they the less admired by the gentlemen in on the contrary the greatness of a lover s passion seemed to increase in proportion to the magnitude of its and a in a of was declared by a low dutch of the province to be radiant as a and luxuriant a full blown certain it is that in those days the heart of a lover could not contain more than one lady at a time whereas the heart of a modem gallant has often foam enough to half a dozen the reason of which i conclude to be that either the hearts of the gen have grown larger or the persons of the ladies smaller this however is a question for to determine but there was a secret charm in these which new no doubt entered into the consideration of the prudent the wardrobe of a lady was in those days her only fortune and she who had a good stock of and stockings was as absolutely an as is a with a store of bear skins or a with a plenty of rein deer the ladies therefore were very anxious to display these attractions to the greatest advantage and the best rooms in the house instead of being adorned with of dame nature in water colours and needle work were always hung round with abundance of garments the and e property of the females a piece of os that still among the of our dutch villages such were the of the ancient city of in simplicity of manners the renowned and so sung by dan who tells us that the washed the family linen and the her own the gentlemen in who figured in the circles of ihe gay world in these ancient time in particulars with the whose smiles they were ambitious to deserve true it is their merits would make but a very impression upon the heart of a modern they neither drove their nor their for as yet those gaudy were not even of neither did they distinguish themselves by their	48
brilliancy at the table and their with for our fore of too pacific a disposition to need those pf the every soul throughout the town being in full before nine o clock neither did they establish their claims to at the expense of their for as yet those against the pockets of society and the of all young gentlemen were unknown iu i every good made the clothes history of of her husband and and even the of van himself it no to out her husband not but what there were some two or who manifested the first of what is and who held labour in contempt about and market places in the sunshine what little money could at and and their neighbours horses in short who promised td be the the talk and of town had not their career i by an of honour with a far other however was the truly gentleman of those days his which served for and evening street and drawing room was a coat made perhaps by the hands of the of his a and gallantly with abundance of large brass buttons half a score breeches heightened e proportions of his his shoes decorated by enormous copper a low crowned broad hat his his down his back in d prodigious of skin t equipped he with pipe in to some fair s such a pipe good reader as that which did si tune in praise of his but one of true and with a charge of fi cow pen tobacco with this would he resolutely set himself down before the fortress and rarely in the process of to smoke the fair enemy into a surrender upon honourable terms such was the happy reign of van celebrated in many a long forgotten song as the real golden age the rest being nothing but count copper washed coin in that period a sweet and holy calm new york ml reigned over the whole province the smoked his pipe in peace the substantial solace of his domestic cares after her daily toils were done sat at the door with her arms crossed over her of snowy white without being insulted by or vagabond boys those unlucky who do so our streets displaying under the roses of youth the thorns and of then it was that the lover with ten breeches and the with of half a score indulged in all the innocent of virtuous without fear and without reproach for what had that to fear which was defended by a shield of good equal at least to the bull hides of the in ah and ni ver to be forgotten age when thing was better than it has ever been since or ever will be r channel w quite dry at low water when the in the were all salmon and en the moon shone with a pure and whiteness instead of that melancholy yellow light which is the of her sickening at the she every night witnesses in this city i happy would it have been for new could it always have existed in this state of ignorance and lowly simplicity but alas the days pf childhood are too to last i cities like men grow out of them in tj ne and are doomed alike to grow into the bustle the cares and miseries of the world let no man congratulate him when he the of his bosom or tiie city of his birth increasing in magnitude and importance let the history of his own life teach him the dangers of the and this history of convince him of the c of the other q history of chapter v in which the reader it into a which ends very what it commenced in the year of our lord one thousand eight hundred and four on a fine afternoon in the glowing month of i took my customary walk upon die battery which is at once the pride and of this ancient and city of new york i remember well the m for it immediately preceded that remarkably winter in which our sagacious in a of economical y pulled to pieces at an expense of several hundred dollars the wooden which had cost them several thousand and distributed the rotten fragments which were worth considerably less than among the shivering poor of the city never since the of the walls of or the heaven built of had there been known such a nor did it go multitudes were blinded in vain attempts to smoke themselves warm with this charitable substitute for fire wood and an complaint of sore eyes was moreover produced which has since every winter particularly among those who undertake to bum ro ten who warm with the charity of others or who use patent chimneys the year and month just did i take my of meditation on that same battery which though at present no battery the most delightful walk aod commands the noblest prospect in the whole known world the ground on which i trod was by recollections of the past and as i slowly wandered through the long alley of like so standing on end diffused a melancholy new york and shade my imagination drew a contrast between the surrounding scenery and what it was in the classic days of our forefathers where the government house by name but the custom house by occupation proudly reared its brick walls and wooden pillars there stood the low but substantial red mansion of the renowned van around it the mighty of fort defiance to every absent foe but like many a warrior and gallant captain confined their martial deeds to alone alas those threatening had long since been by time and like the walls of presented no traces to the inquiring eye of the the mud breast works had long been with the earth and their site converted into the and leafy	48
of the battery where the gay his sunday coat and the laborious relieved from the dirt and of the week poured his weekly tale of love into the half averted ear of the sentimental the bay still presented the sheet of water studded with islands sprinkled with fishing boats and bounded by shores of picturesque but the dark forests which once clothed these shores had been by the savage hand of cultivation and their tangled and impenetrable had into and fields of grain ven governor s island once a smiling garden to the sovereigns of the province was now covered with a tremendous so that this once island resembled a fierce little warrior in a big cocked hat breathing and defiance to the world for some time did i indulge in this pensive train of thought in sober sadness the present day with the years behind the mountains the progress of improvement and the history of zeal with which our worthy endeavour to the of venerable customs prejudices and errors from the overwhelming tide of modem when by d my ideas took a different turn and i in sensibly to an enjoyment of the beauties around it was one of those rich days which he particularly upon the island of and its not a floating cloud obscured the the sun in glorious splendour through his ethereal course seemed to his honest dutch countenance into an unusual expression of as he smiled his evening salutation upon a city which he delights to visit with his most beams the very winds seemed to hold in their in mute attention lest they should e the tranquillity of the hour and the bosom of the bay presented a polished mirror in which nature beheld herself and smiled the standard of our city like a choice handkerchief is reserved for days of hung motionless on the flag which forms the handle to a gigantic and even the tremulous leaves of the and the which like the tongues of the immortal sex are seldom still now ceased to to the breath of every thing seemed to in the profound repose of the formidable eighteen slept in the of the wooden seemingly gathering fresh to the battles of their country on the next th of july the solitary drum on governor s island forgot to call the garrison to their the evening gun had not yet sounded its signal for all the regular well meaning poultry throughout the country to go to and the fleet of at anchor between island and on their and suffered the innocent to lie for a while in the soft mud of their native banks my own feelings with the and i should have new york upon one of fragments of benches which our have provided for the benefit of liad not the extraordinary of the couch set all repose at defiance in the of this soothing slumber of the soul my attention was attracted to a black speck peering above the western horizon just in the rear of it and the would be cities of and which three are starting on the course of existence and other at the commencement of the race now it skirts the loi shore of ancient spreading its wide i firom the high of quite to the and erected by the sagacity of police for the embarrassment of now it the serene vault of heaven cloud rolling over like successive the of day darkening the vast expanse and bearing thunder and hail and tempest in its bosom the earth seems agitated at the confusion of the is the late mirror is lashed into waves that roll their broken in murmurs to the shore the boats that q in vicinity of island now hurry to the shore the late dignified and before the merciless descending torrents of rain and sounding hail the walk the are thronged by servant maids and little with their pocket over their hats from the storm the late prospect presents one scene of and wild uproar as though old chaos had resumed his reign and was back into one vast turmoil the conflicting of nature to oh reader i the awful combat sung by old of and the to yourself the long of heaven streaming at the heads of tbe gigantic sons of history of earth in short to all that has ever been said or sung of tempest storm and and jn will save me the trouble of describing it whether i fled from the fury of the storm or boldly at my post as our gallant train band who march their soldiers through the rain without are points which i leave to the conjecture of the reader it is possible he may be a perplexed also to reason why i introduced this most and of tempest to disturb the serenity of my work on latter point i will instruct his ignorance he view of the battery was given merely to gratify the reader with a correct description of that celebrated place and the parts adjacent secondly the storm played ofi partly to give a little bustle and life to this tranquil part of my work and to keep my drowsy readers from asleep and partly to serve as a or rather an to the times that are about to the pacific province of and that the administration of the renowned van it is thus the experienced play puts all the the french horns die drums and trumpets of his in to in one of those horrible and called and it is thus he his der his lightning his and to the raising of a ghost or the of a hero we will now proceed with our history whatever may be advanced by philosophers to the contrary i am of opinion that as to nations the old that honesty is the best policy is a sheer and mistake it might have answered	48
well enough in die honest times when it was made but in these days if a nation to rely merely upon the of its dealings it will fare something like an honest man among thieves who unless he have something mare than new york us ta depend upon stands but a poor chance of l his company such at least was the case with the government of the new which like a worthy old quietly settled itself down into the ci of new as into a snug elbow chair and fell into a comfortable nap while in the meantime its cunning neighbours stepped in and picked its pockets thus may we the commencement of all of this great province and its magnificent to the tranquil security or to speak more accurately to the unfortunate honesty of its government but te i dislike to begin an important part of my history towards the end of a chapter and as my readers like my di must doubtless be exceedingly fatigued with the long walk we have taken and the tempest we have sustained t bold it meet we shut up the book smoke a pipe and thus refreshed our spirits take a fair start in the next ch ter chapter vi ike ingenious people of and moreover the true meaning of and a curious device among these sturdy to keep up a harmony intercourse and promote population that my readers may the more fully comprehend the extent of the calamity at this very moment impending over the honest province of and its governor it is necessary that i give some account of a of strange upon the eastern fit now so it came to pass that many years previous to the time c hich we are treating the sage cabinet of england l history of had adopted a certain national creed a kind of walk of or a religious in which loyal subject was directed to travel to to pay the um by the way a certain shrewd race of men being very given to indulge their own opinions on all manner of subjects a exceedingly to your go of did most to think for themselves in matters of religion they considered a natural and lie liberty of conscience as however they possessed that habit of mind which always thinks aloud which in a manner rides cock on the tongue and is for ever other people s ears it naturally followed that their liberty of conscience likewise implied liberty of speech being freely indulged soon put the country in a and aroused the pious indignation of the of the church the usual methods were adopted to them that in those days were considered so in bringing back stray sheep to the fold th t is to say they were they were they were they were line upon line upon lash lash here a little and there a great deal were exhausted without mercy and without success at length the worthy of the church wearied out by their were driven in the excess of their tender mercy to adopt the scripture text an literally heaped live embers on their heads nothing however could subdue that invincible spirit of independence which has ever distinguished thi singular race of people o that leather than submit to su tyranny they one and all ii ed for the wilderness of america where they might enjoy th ii luxury of talking no sooner did t ey land on new york this soil than as if they had caught the disease r m the climate they all lifted up their voices at once and for the space of one whole year did keep up such a joyful that we are told they frightened bird and beast out of the neighbourhood and so completely dumb founded certain fish which abound on their coast that they have been called dumb ever since from this simple circumstance unimportant as it seem did first that renowned privilege so loudly boasted of throughout this country which is so exercised in newspapers ward and which the right of talking without ideas and without of public of public of great characters and destroying little ones in short that grand of our country the liberty of speech the simple of the land for a while these strange folk in utter astonishment but that they harmless though noisy weapons and were a lively ingenious good humoured race of men ihey became very friendly and and gave them the name of which in the or ma language silent men a since into the familiar epithet of which they retain unto the present day true it is and my as an historian will not me to pass it over in silence that the zeal of these good people to maintain their rights and privileges did for a while betray them into errors which it is easier to than defend having served a regular in the school of persecution it them to show that they had become in the art they accordingly employed their leisure hours in or hanging divers r history of and fi r daring to abuse the cm which they now clearly proved to imply nothing more than that every man should think aa he matters of he thought right fin wise it would be giving a latitude to now as they the majority were perfectly that alone right it consequently that whoever thought different from then thought wrong and whoever thought wrong and persisted in not being convinced and converted was a of the liberty of conscience and a corrupt and member of the body and deserved to be off and cast into the fire now i ll warrant there are hosts of my readers ready at once to lift up their hands and eyes with that with which we always contemplate the and errors of our neighbours and to exclaim at these but mist en people for on others	48
the injuries they had suffered themselves for indulging the preposterous idea of convincing the mind by g the body and establishing the doctrine of charity and forbearance by persecution but in simple truth what are we doing at this very day and in this very enlightened nation but acting upon this very same principle in our political have we not within but a few years released ou from the of a government which cruelly denied us the privilege of ourselves and using in latitude that invaluable member the tongue and are we not at this very moment striving our best to over the opinions tie up the tongues or ruin the fortunes of one another what are our great political but mere political our pot house but little of our newspapers but mere posts and where the unfortunate individuals are with new york rotten egg i and our of appointment but a grand da where sacrificed r their political wh re then is the difference in principle between onr and those ready to condemn g the people treating th re is none the difference is merely thus we instead of we c instead of we turn out of instead of hanging and where they burnt an in i e tar and feather cr bum in f ig y this political p being some how or the grand of our liberties and an proof that this is a free country but notwithstanding the fervent zeal with which this holy war wa against the whole race of we do not find that the of thi new co was in any ways thereby on the they multiplied to a degree which would be to any man with the marvellous of this growing country this increase may indeed be partly ascribed to a singular custom among them and which was probably borrowed fix m the ancient republic of where we are the young ladies either firom being great and or else like many modem very fond of with matters that did not to their sex used fi to engage with the men in and other exercises of the the custom to which i allude was known by the name of a superstitious observed by the you le of both sexes with which they terminated their and which was kept up with religious by the more and vulgar part of the community this ceremony was likewise in those primitive times considered j to matrimony their where ist history of ours usually finish by which means they acquired tint acquaintance with each other s d qualities be fore marriage which has been pronounced by hen the sure basis of a happy union thus early did this and ingenious people display a at making a bargain which has ever since distinguished them and a strict to the good old vulgar about buying a pig in a to this sagacious custom therefore do attribute the increase of the or yankee tribe for it is a certain ct well by court records and parish that wherever the practice of prevailed there was an number of sturdy bom unto the state without the license of the law or the benefit of clergy and it is truly that the learned in his on has entirely overlooked this singular ct did the of their birth operate in the least to their on the contrary they grow up a long sided raw hardy race of wood and and who by their united efforts tend towards those notable tracts of country called and cape chapter simple turned out to he notorious hon they air and attempted to the in the mystery of in the last chapter i have given a and account of the origin of that singular race of the country eastward of the n w i have yet to mention certain peculiar habits which them exceedingly to our ever honoured dutch ancestors the mb of these was a certain rambling with which like the sons of they seem to have been gifted by and which them on to shift their residence from place to place so that a yankee is in a constant state of occasionally here and there clearing lands for other people to enjoy building houses for others to and in a manner may be considered the wander ing of america his first thought on to the years of manhood is tp himself in the world which means nothing more nor less than to begin his to this end he takes unto himself for a wife some dashing country that is to say a rosy passing rich in red glass beads and mock shell with a white gown and shoes for sunday and deeply skilled in the mystery of making apple long and pie having thus provided himself like a time with a heavy wherewith to his shoulders through the journey of life he literally sets out on the tion his whole household furniture and farming are hoisted into a covered cart his own and his wife s wardrobe packed up in a which done he shoulders his axe takes staff in hand yankee and off to the woods as confident of the protection of providence and as upon his own resources as did ever a of when he into a strange country of the hav ing buried himself in the wilderness he himself a log hut away a corn field and patch and providence smiling upon his labours is soon surrounded im y of a snug and half score of who by their size seem to sprung all out of the earth like a crop of but it the nature of this most to rest contented with ai y state of is darling passion and having thus in his his next care is to p a mansion worthy the residence of a a palace of pine boards immediately springs up in the midst of the wilderness large	48
parish an with windows of all dimensions but so and withal that every blast gives it a fit of the by the time the outside of this mighty air castle is completed either the funds or the zeal of our adventurer are exhausted so that he barely manage s to half finish me room where the whole tc ther while the rest of the house is devoted to the of or of and potatoes and is decorated with fanciful of and dried the outside remaining grows black with time the wardrobe is laid under contribution for old hats and breeches to stuff in the broken windows while the four winds of heaven keep up a whistling and howling about this palace and play as many as they did of in the cave of old the humble log hut which this ing within its narrow but comfortable walls stands hard by in contrast degraded into a cow house or pig and the whole scene reminds one forcibly of a fable which i am surprised has never been recorded of an who his humble habitation which he filled with great respectability ta crawl into the empty shell of a he would no doubt have resided with great sl e and splendour the envy and new york hate of all pains of his d had he not perished with cold in of his mansion completely arid t his b to rights one imagine that e to enjoy e of his situation to talk politics neglect his own business tb th of the nation like a useful and ti but now it is that his again to he soon grows tired of a spot where ii longer any room for improvement his air windows and all his cart shoulders his axe puts himself at the head of his family and away in search of new lands again to fell tr es again to dear again to a and again to sell off and wander were th people of who red upon the eastern of and my readers may easily imagine what neighbours this light hearted but restless tribe must have be il to our if they cannot i ask if they have ever one of our regular well organized h whom it hath heaven to with th neighbourhood of a french boarding house the honest old cannot take his afternoon s pipe on beach before door but he is persecuted with the of the chattering of women arid of children he cannot sleep at night for the of some amateur who chooses to the moon and display in ton by playing de in on the the or other soft instrument nor can he leave the street door open but his house is by the visits of a troop of dogs who even carry their into the the parlour if my have ever witnessed the of such history of h so situated they may form some idea how our worthy ancestors were distressed by their nd hours of of these we are told penetrated into the new and threw whole into consternation by their and their intolerable two evil habits in those parts or only known to be our ancestors were noted as being men of truly and who neither knew nor cared au t about any body s concerns but their own many were committed on the where several were brought to a stand and tortured with questions and which occasioned as much vexation and heart burning as does the modem right of search on the high seas great jealousy did they likewise stir up by their and among the divine sex for being a race of brisk lively pleasant they soon the light of the simple from their ponderous dutch among other hideous customs they attempted to introduce among them that of which the dutch of the with that eager passion for novelty and foreign natural to their sex seemed very well inclined to follow but that their mothers being more experienced in the world and better acquainted with men and things all such but what chiefly to our ancestors with these strange folk was an liberty which they occasionally took of entering in into the of the new and settling themselves down without leave or license to improve the land in the manner i have before noticed this mode of taking possession of new land was termed and hence is derived the new york a name odious in the ears of all great and which is given to those who seize upon land first and take their chance to make good title to it afterwards all these and many others which were con tended to form that dark and cloud which as i observed in a former chapter was slowly gathering over the tranquil province of new the pacific cabinet of van however as will be perceived in the bore them all witb a that to their immortal by passive endurance to this increasing of wrongs like the sage old woman of who by dint of carrying about a calf firom the time it was bom continued to carry it without difficulty when it had grown to be an ox chapter viii horn the was the into a profound doubt and horn he finally by this time my readers must fully perceive what an task i have collecting and with the of past times whose events almost defy the powers of exploring a little kind of of history which had lain near ly for ages buried under the rubbish of years and almost totally forgotten up the limbs and oi and endeavouring to put them together so as to restore them to original form now the character of an forgotten hero like a now s history of a half inscription and now lighting upon a manuscript which after painful study scarce the trouble of perusal in such case how much has the	48
discussion such at least was the case at present for while the renowned van was daily with his doubts and his resolution growing weaker and weaker in the contest the enemy pushed further and into his and assumed a most formidable appearance in the neighbourhood of fort here they founded the mighty town of or as it has since been called a place which if we may the of that worthy historian john hath been in by reason of the therein and so daring did these men of become that they extended of for which their town is illustrious under the very noses of the garrison of fort that the honest could not look toward that quarter without tears in their eyes this injustice was regarded with proper indignation by the gallant van he absolute ly trembled with the amazing violence of his and history of the of his which seemed to be the more turbulent in their workings from the length of the body in which they were agitated he forthwith proceeded to strengthen his his breast works his and his position with a double row of after which precautions he with despatched a fr with tremendous accounts of his perilous situation never did the modem hero who himself at the second war show greater in the art of letter or distinguish himself more upon paper than the heroic van the chosen to bear these alarming was a t man as being least liable to be out or to lose leather on the journey and to his speed he was mounted on the horse in the remarkable for his length of limb of bone and hardness of trot and so tall that the messenger was obliged to climb on his back by means of his tail and such extraordinary speed did he make that he arrived at fort in little less than a month though the distance was full two hundred or about miles the extraordinary appearance of this stranger have thrown the whole town of new into a had the good people troubled themselves about any thing more than their domestic with an appearance of great hurry and business and smoking a short travelling pipe he proceeded on a long swing trot through the muddy lanes of the metropolis whole of dirt which the dutch children were making in the road and for which kind of the children of this city have ever been on arriving at the governor s house he climbed down from his in great roused the gray headed old who like his new york s and the venerable of our court was nodding at his rattled at the door of the council chamber and startled the members as they were over a plan for establishing a public market at that very moment a gentle or rather a deep drawn w is heard from the chair of the governor a of smoke was at the same instant observed to escape from his lips and a light cloud to ascend from the bowl of his pipe the council of course supposed him engaged in deep sleep for the good of the community and according to custom in all such cases established every man out silence in order to maintain tranquillity when of a sudden the door flew open and the little into the apartment to the middle in a pair of boots which he had got into for the sake of expedition in his right hand he held forth the and with his left he grasped firmly the band of his which had unfortunately given way in the exertion of descending from his horse he resolutely up to the governor and with more hurry than delivered his message but fortunately his ill tidings came too late to the tranquillity of this most of rulers his venerable had just breathed and smoked his his and his pipe having been exhausted together and his soul having escaped in the last that curled from his tobacco pipe in a word the renowned walter the who had so often with his now slept with his and governed in his stead end of book third s containing the of the reign of the chapter l showing the nature of history in general containing more the universal of william the and how a man may learn so much as to render himself good ay hen the lofty is about to enter on his description of the plague that one of his modern the reader that hu history is now going to be exceeding solemn serious and pathetic and hints with that air of with which a good dame draws forth a choice morsel from a cupboard to a favourite that this plague will give his history a most agreeable variety in like manner did my heart leap within me when i came to the of fort good hope which i at once perceived to be the of a series of great events and entertaining such are the true subjects for the historic pen for what is history in but a kind of a register of the crimes and miseries that man has inflicted on his fellow man it is n huge on human nature to which we add page after page volume er volume as if we were smith s vol i history op new york up a monument to the honour rather than the in of our species if we turn over the pages of these that man has written of himself what are the characters dignified by the df great and held up to the admiration of posterity robbers renowned only for the magnitude of their and the wrongs and miseries they have inflicted on warriors who have hired themselves to the trade of blood not motives virtuous patriotism or to protect the injured and but merely to gain the glory of being and in their fellow beings i what are the great events that constitute a	48
glorious era the of the desolation of happy splendid cities smoking in their ruin the works of art tumbled in the dust the shrieks and groans of whole nations ascending heaven it is thus the may be said to on the miseries of mankind they are like the birds of prey that over the field of battle to on the mighty dead it was observed by a great of inland lock that rivers lakes and were only formed to feed in like manner i am tempted to believe that plots wars and are ordained by providence only as food for the historian it is a source of great delight to the philosopher in studying the wonderful economy of nature to trace the mutual of things how they are created for each other and how the most and apparently unnecessary animal has its uses thus those of flies which are so often as useless are created for the of and on the other hand are evidently made to flies so those heroes who have been such in the world were provided as for the poet and the his t history of the poet and historian were destined to record the achievements of heroes these and many similar reflections arose in my mind as i took up my pen to commence the reign of william for now ihe stream of our history which hitherto has rolled in a tranquil current is about to depart for ever firom its peaceful haunts and through many a turbulent and rugged scene like some sleek ox having fed and in a rich field lies sunk in luxurious and will bear repeated and before it its limbs and ly its so the province of the ned having long and grown under the prosperous of the was reluctantly awakened to a y conviction that by patient its had become so and that it was to than endure tlie reader will now witness the manner in a peaceful community advances towards a state of war which it is too apt to f as a horse does a drum with much and parade but witli little progress and too with the wrong end foremost who in ascended ihe chair to borrow a though clumsy af of modem was in form feature and character the very reverse of van his renowned he was of very respectable descent his being in the ancient town of and our hero we are told made very curious into the nature and operations of those when a boy whidi is one reason why he afterwards came to be so ingenious a governor his name according to the most ingenious was a corruption of that is to say or and expressed the hereditary disposition of his new york hich for nearly two centuries had kept the windy town of in hot water and produced more and than any ten families in the place and so did inherit this that he had scarcely been a year in the of he was universally known by the m of william the he was a brisk little old gentleman who had dried and withered away partly through the natural process of years and partly bom being and burnt up by his fiery soul which blazed like a vehement in his bosom constantly him to most and i have heard it observed by a profound and philosophical judge of human nature that if a woman as she grows old the of her life is very precarious but if she she lives for ever such likewise was the case with william the who grew in proportion as he dried he was some such a little as we may now and then see briskly about the streets city in a broad skirted coat with buttons ly as large as the shield of an old cocked hat stuck on the back of his head and a cane as high as his chin his was broad but his features sharp his nose turned up with a most curl his cheeks like the regions were into a dusky in consequence of the neighbourhood of fierce little grey eyes through which his soul beamed as fervently as a tropical sun blazing through a pair of burning glasses the comers of his mouth were curiously into a kind of work not a little resembling the wrinkled an irritable dog in a word he was one of the most positive restless ugly little men that ev put himself in a passion about nothing such were the personal of william the but it was the sterling riches his mind that raised history of him to dignity and power in his youth he had passed with great credit through a celebrated academy at the noted for producing finished scholars with a despatch except by of our american which seem to of arts by some patent machine he very on the of several of the and made so gallant an in the dead languages as to bring off captive a host of greek and latin together with divers and all which he constantly in conversation and writing with as much as would a triumphant general of display the spoils of the countries he had he had moreover puzzled himself considerably with logic in which he had advanced so as to attain a very by name at least with the whole of and but what he chiefly valued himself on was his knowledge of in which having once upon a time ventured too deeply he came well nigh being smothered in a of unintelligible a fearful peril from the effects of which he never perfectly recovered in plain words like many other profound in this bewildering science he so confused his brain with abstract speculations which he could not comprehend and artificial which he could not realize that he could never think clearly on any subject however simple through the whole course of his ufe afterwards this i must confess	48
was in some measure a misfortune for he never engaged in argument of which he was exceeding fond but what between logical and he soon involved himself and his subject in a fog of and and then would get into a mighty passion with his adversary for not being convinced it is in knowledge as in he who sports and on the sur ce makes more noise and and more attention than the new york industrious pearl who in search of treasures to the bottom the universal of william were the subject of great marvel and admiration among his countrymen he figured about at the with as much as does a profound at who has mastered half the letters of the chinese and in a word was pronounced a universal genius i have known many universal in my time though to speak my mind freely i never knew one who for the ordinary purposes of life was worth his weight in straw but for the purposes of government a sound judgment and plain common sense is worth all the sparkling genius that ever wrote poetry or invented theories strange as it may sound therefore the universal acquire of the illustrious were very much in his way and had he been a less learned man it is possible he would have been a much greater governor he was exceedingly fond of trying philosophical and political experiments and having stuffed his head full of scraps and of ancient and and and and the laws of and and and the imaginary of and the of and a thousand other of venerable antiquity he was for ever bent upon introducing some one or other of them into use so that between one contradictory measure and another he entangled the government of the little province of in more knots during his administration than half a dozen could have no sooner had this bustling little man been blown by a of fortune in the seat of government than he called together his council and delivered a very animated speech on the of the as every body knows what a glorious opportunity a governor a president or even an emperor has of his enemies in his speeches history of and where he has the talk all on his own side they may be sure the high william did not so an occasion to escape him of that gallantry of to all able before he commenced it is recorded that he took out his pocket handkerchief and gave a very blast the nose according to the usual of great this general i believe is intended as a signal trumpet to call the attention of the but with william the it boasted a more classic cause for he had read of the singular expedient of that who when he the his tones by an or pitch pipe this preparatory being performed he commenced by expressing a humble sense of his own want of talents his utter of the honour d upon him and his humiliating to discharge the important duties of his new station in short he expressed so contemptible all opinion of himself that many simple country s present ignorant that these were mere words of course always used oa such occasions were very uneasy and even felt that he should accept an office for which he was so inadequate he then proceeded in a manner highly classic profoundly and nothing at all to the purpose being nothing more than a account of all the govern ments of ancient and the wars of and together with the rise and ml of sundry about which the assembly knew no more than their great who were yet thus having the manner of your learned convinced the audience that he was a man of many words and great he at length came to the less important part of his speech the situation of the province and here he worked himself into a fearful rage against the new york whom he compared to the who rome and the and who the fairest plains of nor did he forget to mention in terms of c the insolence with which they had en upon the of new and the audacity with which they had commenced the town of new and planted the patches of under the very walls of fort having thus wrought up his tale of terror to a climax he assumed a self satisfied look and declared with a nod of knowing import that he had taken measures to put a final stop to these that he had been to have recourse to a engine of war re lately invented in its effects but by necessity in a word he was resolved to conquer the by for this purpose he had prepared a tremendous instrument of the ordering commanding an the forthwith to remove depart and withdraw from the districts regions and und pain suffering all the and in such case made and provided c this he assured them would at once the the ce of tlie co and he pledged his as a that within two months after wm publish not one stone should remain on another m my of the towns which they had built the council remained for some time silent after he had finished whether dumb with admiration ax the of his project or put to sleep by the length of his th e of the times doth not mention su ce k to say they at length gave a general of the was immediately with due ceremony having the seal of the which was about the si e of a attached to it by a broad red governor history of having thus his felt greatly the council die put on his cocked hat and small clothes and mounting a tall raw trotted out to his country seat which was situated in a sweet swamp now called dutch street but more commonly	48
known by the name of dog s misery here like the good he from the toils of taking lessons in government not from tbe but from the honoured wife of his bosom who was one of that peculiar kind of females sent upon earth a little before the flood as a punishment for the sins of mankind and commonly known by the of knowing women in fact my duty as an historian me to make known a circumstance which was a great secret at the time and consequently was not a subject of scandal at more than half the tea tables of new but which like many other great secrets has out in the lapse of years and this was that the great the though one of the most potent little men that ever breathed yet submitted at home to a of government neither laid down in nor in short it partook of the nature of a pure tyranny bind is familiarly government an absolute sway which though exceedingly in these modem days was very rare among the if we may judge from the made about the domestic economy of honest which is the only ancient case on record the great however off all the and of his particular friends who are ever ready to joke a man on sore points of the kind by that it was a of his own election to which he submitted through choice adding at the same time a pro found which he had found in an ancient author that he who would to should first learn to obey new york i i f r i chapter ii in which are recorded the sage projects of a ruler of universal genius the art of fighting by and van came to be fur honoured at fort u n iy i r was a more is still better a more economical measure devised than this of the by an expedient likewise so humane so gentle and pacific th re were ten chances to one in favour of its succeeding but then there was one chance to ten that it would succeed as the would have it that single chance carried th day the was perfect in all its well constructed well written well sealed an weu published all that was wanting to its effect was that the should stand in awe of it but pro to relate they treated it with the most absolute contempt applied it to an purpose and thus did the first warlike come to ia end ra fate which i am informed ha be but top many it it was a long time before could be persuaded by the united efforts of all his that his war measures had failed in producing any effect contrary he flew in a passion whenever any one dared to f on its and swore that though it was slow in yet when once it began to work it would soon the land of these however that test of all experiments both in philosophy and politics at length convinced the great that his was and that notwithstanding he bad waited four years in a state of constant irritation yet u history of he was still further off than ever firom the object of his wishes his in the east became more and more troublesome in their and founded the colony of close upon the skirts of fort they moreover commenced the ir settlement of the red hills within the of their high while the patches of were a continual to die garrison of van upon beholding therefore the of his measure the like many a worthy of laid the blame not to the medicine but the quantity administered and resolutely resolved to double the dose in the year therefore being the fourth year of his reign he against them a second of heavier metal than the former written in thundering long sentences not one word of which was under five this in fact was a kind of non intercourse bill forbidding and all and between any and every of the said yankee and the said fortified post of fort ht op and ing commanding and all his loyal and well beloved subjects to furnish them with no supplies of gin or sour to buy none of their pacing horses pork apple brandy yankee rum water apple or wooden but to starve and them the face of the land another pause of a ensued during which the last received the same attention and experienced the same fate as the first at the end of which term the gallant van despatched his annual messenger with his customary of complaints and entreaties whether the regular interval of a year intervening between the arrival of van s was occasioned by the regularity of his move new york ments or by the immense distance at whidi he was from the seat of is a matter of uncertainty some have ascribed it to the of his who as i hav j noticed were chosen from the shortest and of his garrison as least likely to be worn out on the road and who being men generally travelled fifteen miles at day and then laid by a whole to rest all these however are matters of conjecture and i rather think it may be ascribed to the of this worthy country and which has ever influence all its public not to do things in a hurry the gallant van in his respectfully represented that several years had now elapsed since his first application to his late the renowned van during which interval his garrison had been reduced nearly one eighth by the death of two of hi most and soldiers who had accidentally eaten themselves on some t salmon caught in die river he further stated that the enemy persist in their taking no notice of the fort or its	48
inhabitants but themselves down and forming all around it so that in a little while he should nd himself enclosed and by the enemy and totally at their mercy but am g the most of his i find the following still on record which may serve to show the bloody minded of these savage in the time they of have not and taken in the lands of although and against the of nations but have our nation in purchased broken up lands but have also them with come in the night which the had en up and intended to aud have beaten the servants of the high and mighty the honored which were upon history of master s lands from lands with sticks and in hostile manner and amongst die rest ever a in his head with a that the blood ran very strongly his body but what is still more those of sold a that to the honored under that it liad eaten of grass they had not any foot of inheritance they the for if the would have given for damage which the com denied because man s as men use to say can master s the receipt of this melancholy intelligence the whole community there was something in it that spoke to the dull comprehension and touched the feelings of the vulgar who generally require a kick in the rear to awaken dignity i have known my fellow citizens bear without murmur a thousand essential of their rights merely because they were not obvious to their senses but the moment the unlucky was shot upon our the whole body was in a so the enlightened though they had treated the of their eastern neighbours with but little regard and left their governor to bear the whole of the war with his single pen yet now every individual felt his head broken in the broken head of and the unhappy of their fellow citizen the being impressed carried and sold into awakened a of from every bosom this name is no in some id m st of the time we find the name of who is r the unfortunate hero above alluded to t col pass new y council by the of the sat earnestly to deliberate upon was be done liad at length fallen into t some for he d tribute as we make to the petty as sacrifice to the others were for out his posed as their to the l nd they hai sl i a measures w lis such cases proposed and abandon a the had it to adopt the means which being the overlook fer off aiid h t which he t such things as arc reach and to all folks who are to the naked s them the council as i have said in their pursuit after jack accidentally stumbled on the very wire in need of which was to a body of arid de s to the relief and of the this was such o that in tb ii months the whole consisting of a and twelve men was ready to march and was foi that ih the square now known by the of the so g at this juncture the whole was into consternation by the sudden arrival o f the who came straggling into town at the head of his crew of the tidings of his own defeat and the capture of post of fort by the ferocious the of this important fortress is an impressive warning to all military it was neither carried by storm nor famine no practicable breach was effected by history of cannon or mines no were up by red hot shot nor were the s or the garrison destroyed by the bursting of in ct the place was taken by a no less singular than and o e that can never of success whenever id occurs of putting it in practice happy am i to add for the credit cf our illustrious rs that it was a which though it the vigilance yet left the bravery of the van and his garrison perfectly s ee reproach it appears that the heard of the regular habits of the garrison watched a opportunity and silently introduced th the fort about the middle pf a day r when its s l them selves with he dinner and smoked out their pipes were and all si most at their post uttle dreaming of so disastrous an occurrence the enemy most seized van and his sturdy by the of the neck them to the gate of the fort and dismissed them with a kick on the as charles the twelfth dismissed the heavy after the battle of only taking care to give two to van as a signal mark of a strong garrison was immediately established in the fort consisting of twenty long sided hard with stuck in their hats by d and feathers long rusty pieces for hasty dumb fish pork and for stores and a huge was hoisted the end of a pole as a liberty caps not having as yet come into new york chapter iii wrath of the t f nd the great of the because of the affair of fort and moreover how the did ly the city together with the exploits language cannot express the prodigious fury into which the was thrown by this provoking intelligence for three good hours the rage of the hide man was too great for words or rather the words were too great for him and he was nearly choked by some dozen huge nine dutch oaths that crowded all at once into his having blazed off the first de he kept up a constant firing for three whole the man woman and child body and soul for a set of and a thousand other names of which unfortunately for	48
posterity history does not make particular mention finally he swore that he would have nothing more to do with such a questioning eating watering horse crew that they might stay at fort and rot before he would dirty his hands by attempting to drive them away in proof of which he ordered the new raised troops to be marched forthwith into winter quarters although it was not as yet quite governor kept his word and his as kept their post and thus the glorious river and all the gay valleys through which it rolls together with the salmon and other fish within its history of waters fell into the hands of the victorious by whom they are held at this very day great despondency seized upon the city of new in consequence of these melancholy events the name of yankee became as terrible among our an as was that of j the and all the sage old of the province us it as a wherewith to frighten children into obedience the eyes of all the province were now turned upon their governor to know what he would do for the tion of the common in these n peril great apprehensions ed th reflecting part of the the that these terrible warriors of c thi conquest of fort would i march on new and take ii by an as these old ladies through means of the governor s as has been already hinted was the better had obtained considerable influence in public s ing the province u der a kind of it was determined that measures should be taken for the effective of the city now it happened that at this there in new one van a jolly fit dutch of a pleasant for his long wind and his huge and who as die story goes could so upon his instrument as to produce an effect upon all within hearing as though ten thousand were singing most al david de in his bet year makes mention of one a in fort who gave name to s hook and who was doubtless this same described by mr ml him did the le tlie all worlds and most to be the champion of new and to garrison its fort making little doubt that his instrument would be as in war as of the or ihe more classic horn of it would have done one s heart good to hare seen the snapping his and with delight while his sturdy up and down the arts t his die of the whole w wm like a editor all the and on the side of the nor was be content with thus strongly the but be likewise added exceedingly to its strength by it with a formidable battery of a in the i ver the whole city and moreover by building a gi eat one of the this last to be sure was somewhat novelty in the art of but as i have already william was notorious for and experiments and traditions do affirm that he was much to ca l patent smoke carts that went before die horses and especially for which he had acquired a singular in his na town of au these of the w i e cried up with by his as proofs of his universal genius but there were not wanting s who at him as his mind in frivolous pursuits ai time to de tries that this stood on the and it is likewise to be seen together with the in s y of new u fixed o hi x history of and which should have been in the of nay thi so as to or twice that his bead turned by his e q and that he r thought to manage his government as he did his mills i mere wind l and to notwithstanding all measures of the to place the d in a die inhabitants continued in at alarm and despondency but fortune who always careful in the time to throw a bone for hope to feed that die may be did about this time crown the arms of the province with success in quarter and thus cheered the drooping hearts of the otherwise there is no knowing to what they might have gone in the excess of their for grief says the profound historian of the seven of f is companion despair and despair a of infamous death among the numerous of the moss of which for some time past had occasioned such great should particularly hare mentioned a made on the eastern of long island at a place the peculiar f its shell fish was called bay this was ihe province in a most sensible part and great agitation at new it is an fact well known to that the high road to the affections ir the and this may be accounted for on tbe principles which i have already quoted in my on fat nor is the fact unknown to the world at large and hence do we observe that the way to gain the hearts of the million is to feed them hand that a man is never so disposed to flatter to and new york s serve another as when he is feeding at his expense which is one reason your who give frequent dinners have such abundance of sincere and it is on this principle that our knowing ers of parties secure the affections of their by them with and fishes and the of the greasy by treating them with bull and oxen i have known many a man in this same acquire considerable importance in society and a large share of the good will of his citizens when the only thing that could be said in his was that he gave a good dinner and excellent wine since then the heart and the are so nearly al lied it	48
follows that what affects the one must the other now it is an fact that of all i to the there is none more g than the marine animal known commonly by the vulgar of and in such great reverence has it ever been h by my fellow citizens that temples have been to it time out of mind in every street lane and throughout this well fed ci it is not to be expected that the seizing of bay a place delicacy would be by the inhabitants of an attack upon might have even the of a few citizens might have been passed over in silence but an outrage that the of the great city of new and threatened the was too serious to pass the whole council was unanimous in that the in should be immediately driven by force of bay and its vicinity and a was accordingly patched for the purpose under command of one or t e history of the head so called because he was a man of m deeds throughout the whole extent ci for his skill at and far he would have been a match for the banish champion slain by of to was a man of few words of your straight going officers who directly forward and do their orders without any parade about it he no extraordinary d in m but steadily on through and and and and the mighty of and various other renowned cities of by some unaccountable of the have been to island until he in die neighbourhood of bay h te was he encountered by a tumultuous host of warriors headed by preserved fish and and strong and and and determined cock i at the sound of whom names the courageous verily believed that the whole parliament of praise god had been let loose to him finding however that this formidable body was composed merely of the men of the settlement armed with no other weapon but their tongues and that they had issued forth with no other intent than to meet him on the field of argument succeeded in putting them to the with little and completely broke up their settlement without wa ing to write an account of his victory on the spot and letting the enemy slip through his fingers while he was securing his own as a more experienced general would have the brave thought of nothing but his and utterly driving the firom the island this hardy he performed in much the same manner as he had been accustomed to drive his oxen for as the fled before him he new i t up his breeches after and would have driven them into the se had they not begged for quarter and agreed to pay tribute hie news of this achievement was a live to the spirits of the citizens of new to gratify them still more the governor resolved to astonish them with one of those gorgeous spectacles known in the days of classic antiquity a foil i count of which had been into his memory school boy at the a grand triumph therefore was to brink who made his triumphant entrance into town riding on a five which uke roman had served the enemy for standards were carried before cart of five hundred of a hundred of two of and various other treasures were exhibited as the spoils and tribute of the while three notorious of notes were led captive to grace the hero s triumph the was by martial music fix m the trumpet of van the champion accompanied by a select band of boys aiid performing aa the national instruments of rattle bones and the citizens devoured the i in sheer gladness of heart every man did honour to the conqueror by getting de drunk on new england rum and the learned calling to mind in a momentary fit of enthusiasm and generosity that it was customary among the to honour their victorious with public statues passed a gracious decree by which every this u one of those trivial that now and then occur in the o of this otherwise history how could notes b when as yet banks were unknown in this our simple had not even of those inexhaustible mines of history of k per td the head of the on his sign i chapter iv en happy in tr on the southern how william the had nigh ruined ihe through a word as also the secret expedition of and his astonishing if we co but get a peep at the of dame tune where like a notable landlady he regularly the and accounts of mankind should find that upon the whole good and evil are pretty nearly balanced in this world i and that though we y for a long while in the very lap of prosperity the time will at length wh we must pay off the reckoning fortune in ct is a and withal a most inexorable for though she may indulge her r in l ng and them with her yet oo er or later she brings up her with the of an experienced and i ashes out her scores with their tears since says good in his of philosophy since no man can retain her at his pleasure and her flight is so deeply lamented what are her but sure of approaching trouble and calamity i there is nothing that more moves my contempt at the stupidity and want of reflection of my fellow men than to behold them rejoicing and indulging in security and self confidence in times of prosperity to a wise man who is blessed with the light of reason those are the very of a well knowing that new york to the of happiness is at best but ent and that the higher he is elevated by the breath of fortune the lower must be ate	48
depression whereas he who is of fresh as a man at the bottom of ladder runs very little risk of breaking his neck by tumbling to the top the very essence of true wisdom which consists in knowing when we ought u be j and was di ix much about the same time with that secret that thing is and of q in consequence of which your wise men have ev been the of the human race it as an in mark of genius to be distressed without since any man may be miserable in time of o but is the philosopher alone who can discover cause lor grief in the veiy hour of prosperity according to the principle have just advanced we that the colony of new which under the re of the renowned van had flourished in such and serenity is now paying for its and the enormous debt of which it contracted foes it from the of new yet in its infancy is kept alarm and its commander william the answers the but expressive idea of f in a of troubles while busily engaged his bitter enemies he on one side we find him suddenly in another quarter and by other a of the conduct of peter an to queen of had settled themselves and erected south or river within the boundaries claimed by the government of the new his is mute as to the of their first landing an history of their red pretensions to the soil and the be lamented as thi same colony of will be found most materially to affect not only the if the but of the world at large in whatever manner therefore this of first took possession of the country it is that in they a and ae to the off usage of his declared himself of all the adjacent country under the name of the province of new no sooner did this reach the ears of the than like a lane spirited he broke into a violent rage and calling together his council the most in the longest speech ever been heard in the colony since the of ten breeches and tough breeches having vent to the first of his he had resort to his measure of and one hot in the first year of his reign peter that the territory on the south river had time out of mind been in possession ei the having been fi and sealed with their blood the latter sentence would convey an idea of war and were we not relieved the information that it merely related to a fi y in whidi half a dozen had been killed by die indians in their benevolent attempts to establish a colony and promote by this it will be seen that william j though a very small man delighted in big expressions and was much given to a figure in generally cultivated by your little great men called a figure which has been found of infinite service among many of his and which has helped to the grandeur of many a mighty important but windy magistrate nor can resist in this place new york observing how much my beloved country is indebted to this same figure of for certain of her greatest and who by dint of big words periods and windy doctrines are kept afloat on the surface of as are up by blown the against concluded by ordering the self governor and his gang of to leave the country under penalty of the high displeasure and inevitable vengeance of the government of the this strong measure however does not seem to have had a whit more than its which had been thundered against the the resolutely held on to the territory they had taken possession of whereupon mi rs for the present remained in that should put up with this insolent obstinacy in the would appear with his temperament but we find that about this time the little man had bis hands full and with one annoyance and another was kept continually on the there is a certain description of active who by shrewd management contrive always to have a hundred irons on the every one of which must be immediately attended to who are ever full of and up the public and the national a s so as to make nine holes where they mend one stopping and with whatever comes first to hand like the i have mentioned old clothes in broken windows of this class of was william the and had he only been blessed with powers equal to his zeal or his zeal been by a discretion there is very doubt but he would have made the greatest governor of his size on record the renowned governor of the island of alone y history of the great defect of s was no man be more ready to stand forth m m hour of emergency yet he was so intent upon the national that he suffered the enemy to its head in other words whatever precaution fer safety he adopted he was so upon r it cheap that he rendered it all this was a consequence of his at the where having acquired a he was ever after a great of continually dipping into bo s without ever studying to the bottom of any subject so that he had the of all kinds of authors in his in some of these he stumbled over a grand political word which with his customary facility he immediately into his great scheme of government to the and m of the honest province of and the eternal of all rulers in vain have i over the of the the of the jews the of the a the magic of the the of the english the of the or the of the indians to discover where the little man first laid his eyes on this terrible word r the that famous	48
volume ascribed to the nor the pages of the containing the mysteries of the recorded by the learned yield any light to my inquiries nor am i in the least by my in the of the wandering jew though it enabled elm to make a ten days journey in twenty four hours neither can i perceive the slightest in the or sacred name of four letters the word of the hebrew a mystery sublime and york aad the letters ef which he he having been the constituted their great name or jove in all my and the to the works of and mother i have not discovered the least of an origin of this word nor have i discovered any word of sufficient to it not to my reader in any suspense the word which had so arrested the attention of william the and which in german characters had a particularly black and ominous aspect on being translated into the english is no other than a term which by use and frequent mention has ceased to be formidable in our eyes but which has as terrible as any in the of when pronounced in a national assembly it has an immediate ct in closing the hearts the drawing the purse the s is nor are its effects on the eyes less it produces a of the an of the a of the and an of the an f the a of that the of loses its and and the unfortunate patient becomes or in plain english perceiving the amount of immediate without being able to look farther and regard it in with the ultimate to be effected so that to quote the words of the a at his nose of magnitude than an oak at five hundred yards distance are its operations and the results are still more by its magic influence shrink into tes into and into gun boats as the ships of at the history of command of the protecting changed into s and protected themselves by so the mighty navy of america by the word of economy into small and itself in a mill this all potent word which served as his in politics at once explains the whole system cf pit empty threats paper war carried on by the and we may trace its operations in an which he fitted out in in a moment of great wrath consisting of two and thirty men under the command of as admiral of the fleet a d commander in chief of the forces this formidable expedition which can only be by some of the daring of our infant navy about the bay and up the sound was intended to drive the from the ef which they had recently taken possession and which was claimed as part of the province of for it appears that at this time our infant colony was in that state so much by ambitious nations that is to say the government had a vast extent of territory part of which it enjoyed and the greater part of whidi it had continually to quarrel about admiral was a man of great met tie and and no way dismayed at the character of the enemy who were represented as a gigantic race of men who lived on cakes and bacon drank and apple and were exceedingly e q at biting tar and and a variety of other accomplishments which they had borrowed from their cousins german and the to whom they have ever borne considerable notwithstanding all these alarming representations the admiral entered the most with his fleet and arrived without disaster or opposition at the place of destination new york here he attacked the enemy in a vigorous speech in low dutch which the wary had previously put in his pocket wherein he courteously commenced by calling them a pack of lazy drinking cock fighting horse racing slave driving tavern haunting breeding and concluded by ordering them to the country immediately to which they most replied in plain english they d see him d d first now this was a reply for which neither nor had made any calculation and finding himself totally unprepared to answer so terrible a with suitable hostility he concluded that his wisest course was to return home and report progress he accordingly sailed back to new where he was received with great honours and considered as a pattern for all having achieved a most at a trifling expense of treasure and without losing a single man to the state he was called the of his country an liberally bestowed on all great men his two having done their duty were laid up or dry in a now called the basin where they quietly in the mud and to his name they erected by a magnificent monument on the t of hill which lasted three whole years when it fell to pieces and was burnt for fire wood a corruption of s or s so from one who lived upon that hill in the early of the history of chapter v the ike hy and came to he ike patron of and how the became exceedingly enlightened and under hu among the many and fragments of exalted wisdom which have floated down the stream of time from ve antiquity and have been carefully up those humble but industrious who the shores of literature we find the following sage of the r anxious to preserve the laws of the state from the and improvements of profound country members or for popularity he ordained that whoever proposed a new law should do it with a about his neck so that in case his proposition was r they just hung him up and there the matter ended institution had such an that for than two hundred years there was only one trifling m the and the whole race of lawyers starved to death for	48
want of the consequence of this was that the being by an load of excellent laws and by a standing army of and s officers lived very lovingly together and were such a hi people that they scarce make any figure out the whole history for it is well known that none but your unlucky nations make any in the world weu would it have been for william the had he in the course of his universal stumbled upon this precaution of the good on the new york contrary he conceived that the true policy of a was to laws and thus secure the property the and the morals of the people by surrounding them in a manner with men traps and spring guns and even the sweet walks of private ufe with hedges so that a man could scarcely turn without the risk of some of these thus was he continually petty laws for every petty offence that occurred in time they became too numerous to be remembered and remained like those of certain modem i mere dead letters revived occasionally for the purpose of individual oppression to ignorant petty courts began to appear where the law was with nearly as much wisdom and as in those august the s nd courts of the present day the was generally favoured as being a customer and business tp the shop the of the rich were dis winked at for fear of the feelings of their but it could never be laid to the charge of the that they suffered to under tbe disgraceful rags poverty about this may we date the first of ci a goodly gallows being erected on the about where stairs are at a to the east of the battery hard by was erected another of a very strange uncouth and description but on which the ingenious valued himself not little being a entirely of his own invention it was for of not a whit to that of so renowned in bible history but the bath the v be seen in the b of p fi to the history of marvel if the contrivance was that the instead of being suspended by the neck according to venerable was hoisted by the and was kept or tn hour together dan ng and between heaven and earth to the infinite entertainment and doubtless great of the multitude of respectable citizens who usually attend upon of the kind it is incredible how the little governor chuckled at beholding and sturdy beggars thus swinging by the and cutting in die air he had a thousand and to utter upon these occasions he called them his lions his wild fowl his high his spread his his and finally his which ingenious though originally confined to who had taken the air in this strange manner has since grown to be a cant name given to all for legal elevation this punishment moreover if we may credit the of certain grave gave the first for a kind of or by which our up their breeches and which has of late years been revived and continues to be worn at the present day such were the admirable improvements of william in criminal law nor was his civil code less a mat ter of and much does it grieve ine the limits of my work will not me to cm both with the they deserve let it suffice then to say that in a little while the blessings of laws became apparent it was found necessary to have a certain of men to and them divers accordingly made their appearance under whose protecting care the was soon set together by the ears i would not here be thought to any thing to the of the law or to its dignified new well tn i aware that we have ia this city innumerable gentlemen who have honourable order not for the sordid love of filthy nor the selfish of renown but no than a fin vent zeal for the correct of justice and a and devotion to the interests of their citizens i would i throw this pen into the flames and cork up my for ever than even for a nail breadth the dignity of this truly ben of citizens on the contrary i allude solely to crew f who in these latter days of evil have ber so numerous who the skirts of the sion as did the knights the honourable pf chivalry who under its ir on society who by s and and like swarm most their ia most corruption nothing so soon the as the of gratification the courts of law would never be constantly crowded with petty and disgraceful suits were it not for the herds of p lawyers that them these with the passions of the lower and more ignorant classes who aa if poverty were not a sufficient misery in itself are always ready to it by the bitterness of they are in law what re in the malady for the purpose of by die cure the cure for the purpose of the where one the constitution the the purse and it may likewise be observed that a patient who has once been under the hands of a is ever after in and himself with and an ignorant man who has with the law under the of one of is for ever after history of and with all this into which i h ve been betrayed i not avoid giving a account of an ar too in excellent d and the of which i am acquainted to lay been nearly by a which un decided against me and my having by another which was decided in my your it has been the observant writer of the mat under the of the di of the inhabitants rf ne j ms an essential change so that veiy and tha constant	48
of temper which the mr w thrown by the cm his and to experiment and occasioned him to keep his council in a continual and the council being to the people at large what or is to a they threw the whole into a t and the people at large being to the what the mind is to the body the unhappy they most upon new that in certain of of consternation and perplexity they al ai the most crooked distorted and abominable lanes and with which this metropolis is but the worst of the matter was that just about this time the mob since called the sovereign people like s ass began to grow more enlightened than its rider and exhibited a strange desire of governing itself this was another of the universal of the in some of his the rubbish of antiquity he was struck with i ion at the institution of public tables among the lace where they discussed topics of a general and york disputed i of l tc iii b tb were boys there is said ii the i n essential to t be of a than among the tbe basis of a good be laid m die public mind now w as bi t it was yer the of william the that when he thought right he was go to wm k wrong in the pi he scarcely eat or until he had set i g societies the simple fi of t is was the one thing to complete bis the hi nest dutch though in truth but little to t r wc y yet by d nt of meeting often together with drink g their and ing to the hai of ome hav a do n les soon exceedingly wise and as is case where is enlightened ly they found out quickness of the in which they had m el happiest people i creation were fortunately all circumstances tp the contrary notwithstanding they were a very unhappy de ruined people short time the of new sage political r an political and make to y with eagerness that have in all abandoned the and mi re paths of to crowd to the howling of we are naturally prone to discontent and af iso op ter imaginary causes of like we our own shoulders and seem to take a in the music of our own groans nor is said for the sake of daily experience shows the these observations it is next to a e to oar consolation or to think of the spirits of a mail groaning under ideal but nothing is more easy than to render him wretched though the df as it is an task to a man to the top of a though the merest child can him off in the sage i have noticed the philosophic will at once perceive the faint of those mt called popular meetings m our day thither resort all those and of low d ee who like rags hang loose upon die back of so and are ready to be blown away by every wind of doctrine abandoned their and to give lessons on political left and suffered their own fires to go out while they blew the and stirred up the fire of tion and even though but the and patches the ninth parts of humanity neglected their own measures to attend to the measures of government nothing was wanting but half a dozen newspapers and patriotic to have completed this public illumination and to thrown the whole province in an uproar i i should not forget to mention that these popular me t were always held at a noted tavern for houses of that description have always been found the most congenial politics with those genial streams which give strength and to we are that the ancient had an admirable mode of treating any question of importance t they first upon it when drunk and afterwards it when the of america who dislike hav york ing two upon a subject both determine and act up ob it by which means a world of cold and tedious is and as it is universally al that when a man is drunk he sees it follows that he sees twice as well as his sober chapter vi great pipe md of the i was thrown reason of his having the as has already been made was a great upon a scale he was of an active en rather a busy mind that is to his was one of those small but brisk minds that make up by bustle and constant motion for the want of great scope and power he had when quite a been impressed with the advice of solomon go to the ant thou consider her ways and be wise in to which he had ever of a restless ant like turn worrying hither and thither himself about little matters an air of great importance and laying up wisdom by the morsel and toiling and puffing at a grain of seed under the conviction that he was moving a mountain thus we are told that once a time in one of hip fits mental bustle which he termed deliberation h an unlucky law to the universal practice of this he proved by lion to be not merely a heavy tax on the public but an incredible of time a hideous of idleness and of course a deadly to the prosperity and morals of the ill ted had ha by of t d the of he i gravity of their would of ous citizens had even the to before the governor s house setting themselves resolutely down like a army before a fortress they one and all fell to a determined perseverance that seemed as though it were their intention to him into terms the william issued out of his like a spider and i to	48
know the cause of this assemblage and this lawless to which these sturdy made no other reply than to back most in and puff away such a that the mm to lake refuge in the interior of his castle the immediately perceived the object this unusual tumult and that it would be impossible to si press a practice by long indulgence had a second natures would observe to plain have so often made mention my it o the b public and private of our the i pe in was never the mouth o ike true bom it was of his his his joy his pride in a word he seemed and through his pipe the himself f ih these which he certainly did although a little too he came to a compromise with the ing the result was that though he ta the custom of yet h long pipes new york of van de noting ue t and m did introduce short pipes two inches in length which he observed could be in one of the mouth or twisted in the hut band and would not be in the way of business by this the seemed somewhat appeased and dispersed to their thus ended this alarming was loi known by the name of the pipe it has been somewhat observed did end like most other plots and in mere smoke but mark oh reader i the deplorable consequences that did result the smoke of these pipes continually ascending in a cloud about the nose penetrated into and the dried up all the kindly moisture of the brain and rendered thi people that used them as and as their renowned little nay what is more ft g od race of folk they became like our worthy dutch who smoke short pipes a lantern smoke dried race of men nor was this all for from hence may we date the tim of parties in this province certain of the more wealthy and important to the ancient formed a kind of aristocracy which went by the tion of the long while the lower orders to the which ihey found to be more ent in their and to leave of action were tb name pipes a third party likewise sprang up i from both die others headed by the descendants of the robert the companion of the great these entirely discarded the use of pipes and took to tobacco and b ice they were called it i worthy of that this last has since history of come tp be invariably applied to those or that will sometimes spring up between two great parties as a mule ia produced between a and here i would remark the great benefit of these ty distinctions by which the people at large are saved die vast trouble of thinking mankind into three classes those who think for themselves those who let others think for them and those who will neither do one nor the other the second class however the great mass of society and hence is the origin by which is meant a large body of people some few of whom think and all the rest talk the former who are called the leaders out and discipline the latter teaching them what they must approve what they must what they must whom they must support hut above all whom they must hate for no man can be a right good unless he be a determined and thorough going but the le are thus properly ken to the harness and it is table to see with what and harmony they ward through mud and mire at the will of their drivers the dirt carts of at their heels how many a patriotic member of have i seen who would never have how to make up his mind on any aod might have run a great risk of right by accident had he not had others to think for him and a file leader to vote after thus then the enlightened inhabitants of the toes being divided into parties were enabled to and to oppose and hate one another ao and now the great business of politics went bravely m the parties in separate beer houses and smoking at each other with to the great support of tb state md new york is ef the tavern who than the rest went and began to one with v hard names and to be found in the dutch language or that he was hi he the character or the pocket of adversary but however might differ between themselves all parties agreed on point to at every measure of whether rt t or wrong for as the governor was by his station independent of their power and was not their choice and as he had not decided in of either neither of them was interested in his success in the prosperity of the country while der his william the sage of the ant manuscript doomed to contend too knowing to be and to over li people too wise to be governed i all his against his enemies were baffled and set at t and all his measures for the public safety were at by the people did he propose an efficient body of troops for internal the mob that is to say those bond of the who have nothing to immediately took the alarm that their interests were in danger that a standing wa a pf on the pockets of society a rod of iron in the hands of government and that a government with military force at its command would inevitably swell into a did he as was but too commonly the case until the moment of emergency and hastily collect a handful of the measure was at as feeble and inadequate as ling with the public dignity and safety and as l the public funds on impotent did	48
he to the measure of he was laughed a ii history of at by the did he it by it and by his own way he himself he waa and distracted by of numerous and meetings of a ah of all he attended to the by incessantly changing his he of them a ir trials and by listening to the of the mob and endeavouring things he in sober truth did i would not it supposed however these and good an idea would do an to his spirit on the contrary he never received a piece of course of his life without first getting into a with the but i have ever observed that your men like small boats with large sails are upset or blown out of their course by governor who though in temperament as hot as an did mind the of waa subjected to perpetual and t wn f y t to be carried away by the last piece of that was blown was it him his power was not en the greasy as yet tlie did not possess tbe important their they however like a true mob did beat to helps along their governor by go liim on with and then his spirit with r and a of sunday managing an of so that may be said kept either on a or a hand f the whole of his administration new t f i i vii l a do mu of border war ike fa c m and of william the i i it was asserted by the wise men of tunes acquainted these matters that at the i f s two huge the one filled with the with and it verily seems as been and left the unlucky province of internal and external causes of tion the upon his r ere fuel to tbe per of r j of still be among the of the for the the were especially their and zeal by striving who the most frequent and bud a iii is in tlie parlour of all the and of the kitchen all these to wrath by the passionate and his subjects who were to the full as eager to hear and to believe these frontier as are my fellow to swallow those amusing stories with which our pi ers are daily filled about british at sea french ms on shore spanish in the promised land of aiid above all internal plots and we are told by the good in his of that the terrible defeat of the in was first im of in the shop of a at the n with the ar ot his he ran up into to have the first telling of the ly and threw the whole into not being able however to his tale the put the wheel and whirled about as ward for his trouble he was by the al of other evidence such was the manner in which busy and were treated in whereas in our more enlightened we support whole herds of no other purpose than to gratify a public iq for news and any man who can up il story of a plot or conspiracy may command his own price for iu i have known two or three of these tales of terror to be bought up by for the sovereign people to amuse withal which goes further to prove what i have asserted that your enlightened people love to be far be it firom me to however that our thy ancestors indulged in i on the contrary they were daily suffering a repetition of wrongs not one of which but was a sufficient reason according to the of national dignity and for throwing the wh de universe into hostility land oh ye powers i into what indignation did every of from among a multitude of bitter still on record i select a few of the most and leave my readers to judge if our ancestors were not in getting into a very oh the june some of have a out of die or common and shut it up out of hate or other pr ui c causing it to starve for hunger in the i t july the did drive the out of the of into i new york throw the philosophic william letter after protest after protest after pro bad latin worse english and hideous low dutch were exhausted in vain upon the inexorable and the nd twenty letters of the which excepting his champion the sturdy van composed the only standing army he had at his were never off duty throughout the whole of his administration nor did the remain a whit behind his patron the gallant in his fiery but like a champion and preserve of the public safety on the arrival of every fresh article of news he was sure to sound his trumpet from the with most disastrous notes throwing the people into nt and disturbing their rest at all times and seasons which caused him to be held in very great regard the public and him as we do for that have just been mentioned i am well aware of the perils that me in this part of my history while with curious hands but pious heart among the remains of former day anxious to draw the honey of wisdom i may are somewhat like that worthy who in with the of a dead lion drew a swarm of bees about his ears thus while the many with blows beating the people with all disgrace that they could imagine the english of have violently cut loose a of the honored s that stood bound upon the common or the s horses upon the companies ground were driven by them of or and the beaten with and sticks again they sold a young belonging to the companies which had on the companions	48
land man history op of the or yankee it i l n to ae but i offend morbid who may find mm a head of mine tbe tough hide of an or an to me from their be the case should ly and my in offence but the of an iu b taking offence at any thing i say thai their ancestors use my ancestors ill is true and i am or h i with all my heart the t were i am the sacred events of not one nail s breadth of the honest truth sue the whole of my work should be bought up and burnt by the common of hi now that these gentlemen drawn me out i will make bold to go further and observe that this k one of the grand purposes for which we are sent into the to wrongs and d justice on the heads of the guilty so that a nation may its neighbours with yet sooner or later an historian up who ample cm it in v thus moss f the east warrant it while they were the province of and driving its unhappy go to his wits end that an historian should ever and give them their own with interest since then i am but performing my duty as an historian in the wrongs of our ancestors i make no further apology and indeed when it is considered that i have all these ancient of the east in my power and at the mercy of my pen i trust that it will be admit ted i conduct myself with great humanity and moderation to resume then the course of my history appearances new york to the eastward b to assume a aspect than ever for i would have you note that th h d been chiefly by its immediate the of of jf we may judge from was th strong hold of th se sturdy moss whence tl forth on their daring terror nd into the the hen i oo ts and pig pf x ut the year the people c the east ii h the of new m and new gathered together into a and after and for many d like a hive of bees in time a length into a formidable under tt title pf the united colonies of n nd by thi union they pledged themselves to stand hy one in lu perils and operate in c surround ag which we pf the aad to give i a or was to be held of representatives from each of the provinces on ii accounts of this the was struck with vast consternation aad for th t time in his whole life forgot to at hearing an unwelcome piece of which a v of the times was especially deed the sage of new truth was on turning over in his mind all that he had read at the about and he found that this was an es act imitation of the by which the states of greece were enabled to attain such po er and and the very idea history of his heart to for the safety his empire he insisted that the whole object of was to drive the out of their and always flew into rage if presumed to doubt the of his conjecture nor was he wholly in such a suspicion for very first annual meeting of the grand council held at boston which governor the of this truly classic league strong representations were made against the for as much as that in their dealing with the indians they carried on a traffic in guns and a trade and injurious to the not but what certain of the did likewise a little in this traffic but then they always sold the such guns that they burst at the first consequently hurt no one but these pagan savages the rise of this potent was a death blow to the glory of william the for from that day it was remarked by many he never held up his head appeared quite crest his subsequent r therefore but scanty food for the historic wc find the grand council continually in power and threatening to the mighty but defence of while constantly firing ofi his and like a shrewd sea captain firing ofi so many and in order to break and a water but alas they had no more effect than if they md q many blank col s papers new a the last document oh record of this learned but unfortunate little man is a long letter to the council of the wherein in the of his heart he at the people of new haven or red hills for their contempt of his protest at them for within the province of their high n from this letter which is a model of writing with and figures my limits will barely allow ine to extract the passage certainly when we heart the inhabitants of of us we seem to s of the lamb or the of th man who out to his mother with her oh mother re vile her lest she first take up that practice against but being taught by precedent passages we received such an answer to our protest firom the inhabitants of r haven as we expected the eagle always the yet notwithstanding we on our purpose of pursuing our own right by just arms and righteous means and hope without scruple to execute the express f our to show that this last sentence a mere he concluded his letter by protesting against die council as a of and inasmuch as they held their meeting at new haven or the red hills which he claimed as being within the fro of the new thus end the of the reign of william the for henceforth in the troubles th and the pf the	48
times he seem have been totally overlooked and to have slipped the fingers of scrupulous z col p history of or other which i cannot divine there appears lo have been a among to sink his name into in consequence of which one and all even to of his this shows how important it is for great men to cultivate tie of the learned if they are ambitious of honour and renown insult said a wise to his sob lest thou offend thine and a man of the time had he observed so obvious a might have escaped divers cruel the which have been drawn across his it has been a matter of deep to me that darkness and obscurity should hang over the latter days of the illustrious for he was a mighty and great httle man worthy of being utterly renowned seeing that he was die first that introduced into this land the art of fighting by and defending a country by and an and humane mode of since revived with great applause and whidi promises if it can ever be carried into to save great trouble and treasure and spare more than either j he discovery of t the invention os it is true that t c th early provincial poets of there were great numbers in the taking the advantage of the mysterious exit of william the have that like he was translated to the skies and forms a very fiery uttle star somewhere en the left of the while others equally declare that he had a similar to that ti the good king arthur who we are assured hy was carried away tb the delicious of hind where he still exists in w and vigour and will one day or another return to rescue poor old england from the hands of paltry and the gallantry the honour and the new york hi j which in the of die round table all these are pleasing the ed web x dreaming the poets to which i not have my read any li neither am i disposed to yield any credit to die as of an ancient and rather historian who that the ingenious was by the blowing down of one of his nor to that of a writer of later times who that he fell a victim to a philosophical experiment which he had for many years been vainly striving to accomplish having the to break his neck fix m the garret window of the in an ineffectual attempt to catch by fresh salt upon their tails the most probable account and to which i am inclined to give my is contained in a very obscure which that what with the constant troubles on his the incessant and projects going on in his own the and sage pieces of advice from divers respectable meetings of the sovereign people th the disposition of his council who were sure to differ from him on every point and uniformly to be in the wrong all these i say did operate to keep his mind in a kind of heat until he at became as completely burnt out as a dutch family the old believed thai king arthur dead but by the into some place where he for a time and then and in as great authority as ever the suppose that he shall come and all for this is the of he say d that his shall be and said for men there if yet have and for ever for men not whether that he or is de j history of ripe which has passed three of in this manner did the but m william the tes undergo a kind of animal away like a rush light so that when grim death finally him out there was scarce left of him to i of book i r f i j j ii k l i j v j v the t part or r ot and hi with the chapter in which the death of a great man is shown no matter of sorrow and how peter ac a great name from the uncommon strength of his head o a profound h v like who am a t to n t through a subject where the hi of ordinary people extends but there is no more simple and manifest than that the death of a great man is a matter of very little importance much as we may think of ourselves and much as we may excite the empty of the million it is certain that the greatest among us do actually fill but an exceeding small space in the and it is equally certain even that space is quickly supplied when we leave it vacant of what consequence is it said the elegant that or make their the world is a theatre whose scenes and actors are continually changing ver did philosopher speak more correctly and only wonder that so wise a remark could have existed so many ages and mankind not have laid it more to heart sage follows on in the footsteps of sage one hero just steps out of his car to make way for the hero who comes after him and of the monarch it is merely said history of he slept with his and his successor reigned in his stead the world to tell the private truth cares but little fit their loss and if left to itself would soon forget to and though a nation has often been drowned in tears on the death of a great man yet it is ten to one if an individual tear has been shed on the excepting from the forlorn pen of some author it is the historian the and the poet who have the whole burden of grief to sustain who kind souls like	48
the of all l both great and small who stand shaking in the wind without knowing which way to a ruler who acts according to his own will is sure of ing him while he who seeks to satisfy the wishes and of others runs a great risk of pleasing nobody the clock that still and in one di is certain of being right twice in ihe four and ty while others may keep going and continually be going nor this virtue escape the discern ment of the good of s on c toe history of i so high an opinion bad they of the i mind and vigorous of their new governor they called him hard or the a great compliment to his under standing if from all that i have said thou dost not gather thy reader that peter was a tough sturdy weather beaten obstinate fi t ed hearted generous spirited old governor either have written to but little purpose or thou art very dull at drawing conclusions this most excellent governor whose character i liave thus attempted feebly to his administration on the th of may a remarkably stormy day distinguished in all the of the time whidi have come down to us by the name of windy am he was very jealous of his personal and official he was into office with great ceremony the goodly chair of the renowned van being carefully preserved for such occasions in like manner as the chair and stone were preserved at in scotland for the of the i must not omit to mention that the ten state of the elements together with its being that unlucky day c the week termed hanging day did not to excite much grave speculation and divers very reasonable apprehensions among the more ancient and enlightened inhabitants and several of the sex who were to be not a little skilled in the mysteries of and for tune telling did declare outright that they were of a disastrous an event that came to be lar and which proves beyond dispute the wisdom of attending to those ii y l furnished by di and visions the flying of birds of and g of on which tjie new york m and of ancient times placed such reliance or ta of of the moon of dogs and of candles carefully noted and by the of oar day who in my humble are the legitimate and present ers of the ancient science of this much is certain that governor succeeded to the of state at a turbulent period when fi es thronged and threatened from without when and stiff po reigned within when the authority of their high the lords states general on the broad dutch bottom of though supported by economy and defended by i yet to its very centre and when the great city of new though fortified by flag and seemed like some lady of easy virtue to lay open to attack and ready to yield to the first chapter ii showing how the among the rats and on entering into office and the perilous mis take he was guilty of in his dealings with the the very first movements of the great peter on taking the reins government displayed the of his mind they occasioned not a little marvel and uneasiness among the people of the finding himself constantly interrupted by the opposition and annoyed by the sage advice of his council die members of which had acquired the habit of thinking and themselves during the preceding reign he determined at once to put a stop to such grievous scarcely therefore had he entered upon e history of he turned out of all those that the of the hi place of whom he chose unto those respectable had and under the easy reign cf walter the all these he to be ith abundance of mr long pipes and to be frequent dinners to and eat sleep for the good of the nation while he took the burden of government upon his own an arrangement to which they all gate hearty nor did he here but made a hideous root die intentions and of his learned his and which like mighty giants guarded the of new to the whole of guns up his patent gallows where were suspended by the and in a word turning the whole philosophic and win mill system of the immortal sage of the honest folk of new began to now for the te of their champion the peter who had acquired prodigious favour in the eyes of the women by means of his and his trumpet him did peter the cause to be brought into his presence and him for a mom it from head to foot with a countenance that would have appalled any thing else than a of brass and what art thou said he replied the other in no wise dismayed for my name it is van for my i am the son of my mother for my profession i am champion and garrison of this great city of new i doubt me said pet that thou art some bow acquire this new honour and sir the other like before me simply by a e is it so tb governor why let us have a relish of thy art whereupon he put his to his lips and sounded a a outset such a ver and that it was enough to your leap out of your mouth only to be within k mile of it like as a war worn while in plains if by chance he hear the strains of martial up his and and and at the noise so did the heroic soul of the mighty peter joy to hear the of the for of him mi t truly be said what was recorded of the st ge ge of	48
there was in all the world that more rejoiced his heart than to hear the plea sound of war and see the soldiers forth their casting his eyes kindly there fore upon the sturdy van and finding him to be a jolly fat little man shrewd in his discourse yet of great discretion and wind he a vast kindness for him and him from the troublesome duty of defending and alarming ihe ever after retained him about his per bon as his du favourite confidential and instead of the with he was to play so as to the nor while at as did of in the of glorious nd on all public to rejoice the ears of the people with warlike melody there by keeping alive a and martial spirit many other and both for the better and for the worse did the governor make of which my time will not serve me to record the particulars suffice it to say he soon contrived to make the province feel that he was its master and treated the sovereign pe le history of with such that they were all their stay at and attend to their that par and t i on s were forgotten and many of and shops were for want indeed the critical state of public at this time demanded the utmost vigilance and ik formidable council of the which so much to the unfortunate still its forces and threatened to link within its union all the mighty and powers of die east in the very year following the of a grand departed fix m the of providence for its dusty streets and women in behalf of the plantation of island praying to be admitted into the league the following mention is made of this application in certain records of that assemblage of which still mr will and captain of hand presented this request to the m request and motion is in of band that the of hand may be combination with all the united of new england in a and league of friendship and of and defence advice and upon all just occasions for our safety and c will has col new t there is something in the very c this th t might well inspire i the name of alexander has been in every age and though its is in softened being coupled with the gentle of still like the colour of scarlet it bears an great resemblance to the sound of a trumpet from the of the letter moreover and the soldier like ignorance of displayed by the noble captain in his own name we may lecture ta ourselves this mighty man of like a second in arms potent in the field and as great a s though he had been educated among that learned people of who us could not beyond the number four but whatever might be the threatening aspect of this peter was not a man to be t in a state of and vague apprehension he liked nothing so much as to meet danger ce to face and take it by the beard determined therefore to put an end to all these petty on the borders he wrote two or three letters to the grand council which though in bad latin nor yet by about wolves and and yet had more than all the elaborate and of his learned put in consequence of his urgent pr k n the y of the east agreed to enter into a final of and of boundaries to the end that a id happy peace might take two for this purpose governor two to with the grand of the league and a treaty was solemnly concluded at on receive ing the intelligence of this event the whole was in an uproar of exultation the trumpet of the sturdy history of van sounded all day with joyful of fort and at night the with two hundred and fifty candles besides a barrel of ur which was burnt the governor s house on the cheering aspect of it and now my worthy reader is doubtless like and good peter g with the idea his feelings will no longer be by i of stolen horses broken heads and d the other catalogue of heart that these border wars but if be should in such expectations it is a proof that he is but in the ways of t ai of which i his serious hi to my next wherein i will show that peter has committed a great error in and by a peace has materially the tranquillity of province chapter iii various speculations on war and thai a treaty of peace is a great national evil it was the opinion of that poetical her that war was the original state of man wh as being a beast of prey engaged in a constant state of hostility with his own species and that this ferocious spirit was tamed and bj society the same hi has been by the learned nor have there been other philosophers to admit and defend it t chap new york s for my part though fond of these speculations so complimentary to human nature yet in this instance i am inclined to take the by believing with that though war may have been the favourite amusement and industrious employment of our yet like many other excellent habits so r from being it been cultivated and confirmed by refinement and and in t proportion as we that state of perfection which is the of modem philosophy the first conflict between man and man was the mere exertion of physical force by weapons his arm was his his fist was his and a ken head the catastrophe of his the battle pf strength was succeeded by the more rugged one of stones and clubs and war assumed a aspect as man advanced in refinement as his faculties	48
expanded and his became more exquisite he grew rapidly more ingenious and experienced in the art of his fellow beings he invented a thousand devices to defend and to assault the the and the the sword the dart and the him to the wound as well as to the blow urging on in the brilliant and career of invention he and his powers defence and injury the the the and the give a horror and to war and its glory by increasing its desolation still though d with machinery that tp ac at ue et tf l i s d history of reach the limits of destructive to power of injury even with the of revenge still deeper must be in with furious lie into die of the earth he toils midst mi deadly the sublime discovery f ham upon the world and finally the art ain by seems to the of war with and this indeed is grand this indeed papers of mind and that divine it of lesson which us the our ia the brutes content themselves the native force which providence has ass ned th the angry bull with his horns as did his before the lion the and the seek with their and their to gratify their fury and even the subtle serpent the and uses the same as did his before die man alone blessed with the discovery to discovery es and his powers of destruction the weapons of itself and tasks creation io assist him in brother worm in proportion as the art of war has increased in has tiie art of preserving peace in equal and as we have discovered in this age of wonders and inventions that is the moat engine in war so have we the no k ingenious mode of maintaining peace by perpetual f a treaty or to speak more a therefore according to the of experienced learned in matters an to accommodate to ascertain xi it aiid to establish an of kind but a ne w york ll rf between powers which shall and take in the it is a cunning endeavour to b r and the of advantages a nation would have in the same manner that a and becomes an excellent worthy citizen himself with his out of that property he would formerly have seized with op i violence in fact the only when two nations can be said to be in a stale of perfect is when a n is and a then as there are no entered into no b to restrain the will no specific limits to awaken that jealousy of right hi our nature as each par has some advantage to hope and other then it is that the two nations are so gracious and friendly to each other their ministers the highest mutual regard exchanging fine and in all those little d and that do so the good humour of the respective nations thus k may be said that there is so good an understanding between two nations as when there is a misunderstanding and that so long ail are on no terms they are on the best terms in the w i do not by any means pretend to claim the merit of having made the above political discovery it has in fact long been secretly acted upon by certain enlightened is together with divers other notable theories privately copied out of the common place book illustrious gentleman who has been member of and the unlimited of heads of department to this principle may be ascribed the ingenuity that has been of late years in and hence the cunning measure of ap u history op t as some political er in r and and in the art of argument or some errors and may be a refusing to his its and hence too that most notable expedient so popular with our of sending out n brace of who having each an individual will to consult character to and interest to promote you may as well look and between two with one mistress two dogs with one bone or two naked with one pair ol breeches this therefore is breeding and in consequence of the goes on inasmuch a no prospect of its ever coming to a close nothing is lost by these and obstacles but time and in a tion according to the theory i have all time is in reality so much time gained what does modem political economy abound i now all that i have here advanced is so true that i almost blush to take up the time of my ers with treating of matters which must many a time have stared them in the ce but the proposition to which i would most earnestly call their attention is this that though a be the most of all national transactions yet a treaty of peace is a great political evil and one of the most sources of war i have rarely seen an instance of any special contract between individuals that did not produce and often downright between them nor did i ever know of a treaty between two nations that did not occasion continual how many worthy country neighbours have i known who after living in peace and good fellowship for years have been thrown into a state of distrust and by some ill agreement about fences runs of water new york stray cattle and how many well meaning nations who would otherwise have remained in the most disposition towards each other have been brought to swords points about the or of some treaty which in an evil hour they had concluded by way of making their more sure at best are but complied with so long as interest requires their fulfilment consequently they are binding on the weaker party only or in plain truth they are not binding at all no nation wiu go	48
could even have to have s head to have kicked the van and his ragged regiment out of doors carried ery into activity and every hen on the ce of the earth with perfect but this wanton attack upon one of the most gallant and heroes oi modem times is too even for me to and has with a single the patience of the historian and the forbearance of the oh reader it was false i swear to thee it was i k thou hast any respect for my word f the character for which i have endeavoured to maintain throughout this work has its due weight with thee thou wilt not give thy faith to this tale of for i pledge my honour and my immortal to the that the gallant peter was not only innocent of this foul conspiracy but would have suffered his right arm or even his wooden leg to with slow and everlasting flames rather than attempt to destroy his enemies in any other way than open generous war re those that to his honest by such an peter he perhaps had never heard of a knight yet had he as true a heart of chivalry as ever beat at the round table of king arthur there was a spirit of native gallantry a noble and generous through his rugged manners which altogether gave tokens of a heroic mind he was in truth a hero rf chivalry struck off by the hand of nature at a single heat and though she had taken no further care to polish and her he stood forth a miracle of her skill e g history of f not to be a in ii which i e the in tm d die of i hich he laid r hi the f hb i believe must la a ef bi wi hardy g forth with r among was the of and if my on ia sion style the sober becomes tlie laborious of events as apology that though a gray arrived at the bottom of ihe of i still retain some portion of that celestial fire in the eye of youth when the w and achievements of ancient blessed and nine times blessed be the good st i have escaped the ice of that too often the sympathies of age like a spirit sits at the of the heart genial sentiment and every glow no sooner then did this scoundrel us honour reach the ear of peter than he in a manner which would have to his credit even though he had studied for its in the ry of don qui himself he immediately d e his and squire van with orders to ride and day as herald tb the an them m terms f for ear to the of against the of a christian and a and that as to the and bloody plot alleged against him whoever it to be new york slid ti t e d fi the m of fm of m if t if i k n ii ig mm of to meet him jn i i trust the of his j being with due van a of the whole with a and ii l in ihe of captain who al in an of astonishment at done he mounted a tall mare he always rode and trotted merrily towards the r through and and all tbe other border towns his like a very devil so that the sweet valleys and banks of the with the warlike melody f stopping occasionally to eat dance at y and bundle with the of those puts whom he rejoiced exceedingly with his soul instrument but he grand council being of men had io idea of running a with such a fiery hero the l on the contrary they sent him in the the most mild and provoking terms in which they assured him that guilt w s to i r perfect by the testimony of divers md respectable indians and with this truly amiable for of the barbarous charged will weigh little in ba evidence that we must j a d seek due an ff in of i im history of i am that the above has been by of the who seem to have inherited the bitter d ancestors to the and good their them these declare that requested to have the against him by to be appointed the pose and yet ed he to to in there is but the of he indeed most when that he found a deaf ear was turned to his challenge to submit conduct to ae inspection a court of but he ex to find it an august composed ci gentlemen the and of the and of the province of new ne the a ia where he might be tried by his in a manner of his rank and whereas let me perish if did not send to the two lean sided p mounted on with under their and green under as though th were about to beat the county court to another in search of a law suit the peter as might be expected took no notice of these cunning who with professional fell to and about in quest of ex m divers simple indians and old women with their cross questioning until they had contradicted and themselves most horribly as is too often done in our courts of justice thus having their errand to their own satisfaction they returned to the grand council with their and saddle full of stories and for all which the great peter did not care a tobacco but i warrant me had they at to off same william the hei would have to eh v of die a time the of were the of me to agree upon thing at moment one of some t who endeavour by blowing of par	48
the of i red hot with and and wh have just to know that no time so for getting on the e b backs as when they are in a state of turmoil and attending to every body s business but their of who was called a great po because he had secured a seat in by all his he i say conceived this a fit opportunity to strike a blow should secure bis popularity among his who lived on the of and were die greatest in excepting the scotch border like a second peter the therefore he stood forth and preached up a against peter and his devoted he made a speech which lasted six hours according to the ancient custom in these parts in whidi he the dutch as a race of who neither believed in nor tlie sovereign virtues of horse who left their country for the of gain not like for the enjoyment of of fc te ne t ho in were a race mere and inasmuch as they never eat ood cm devoured i flesh without and held in utter contempt this speech had th desired effect for die council ber f history awakened by the and that it was tp d i m war against n sa r y that the people pi measure and ii ik the were preached from the days and e of good who as as the doctrine of s am j of this is the the drum healing up in our and of it has since been called frequent our union a cunning is often foimd under the with an outside au an inside all political s things ave y sons and on an s eh and of a devout sermon the folk often a political thrust down with a from chapter v the new became in a tf io ok io f ike n a that the as i h ie already w e y in t ne d r whole with almost as much d the sage d new york ms ey as does the i t i have je tbat censure tke of this sl at h in that he hurried the expenses of without were by waiting until the enemy at the door but they should that peter hai not tjie hj of an into the mo f p and was to tain of the old among which he believed thai to render a country respected abroad k was necessary to make it formidable at home and that a f its for peace and security own strength than on the justice or good will of il he proceeded therefore all to put the and metropolis in a strong posture of defence among the few of ingenious inventions whidi l ie days william the were those of public safe laws by the were to turn out twice with such as it pleased god were put under the of very man who though on ordinary occasions the little men in the world were and court when they had on heads and swords by their skies the of these warriors the made marvellous m the of they were taught to to the right to to e left to o p empty to turn n comer without any great up or to march through sun and rain history of from one end of the town to the other without until in the end they became so that they find off without so much as turning their could hear the largest field piece without stopping their ears or into much and would even go through all the and perils of a summer da s parade without having their ranks much by desertion i true it is the genius of this truly pacific people so little given to war that during the intervals which occurred between field days they generally contrived to forget all the they had received so that when they re appeared on parade they scarcely the butt nd of the from the and the right shoulder for the left a mistake whidi however was soon by their left arms but whatever might be their and awkwardness the sagacious declared them to be of but in since as he observed one f g would be of more instruction to them than a hundred pa for though two thirds of them might be food powder yet such of the other third as did not run away would become most experienced the great had no particular veneration br the ingenious experiments and institutions of his shrewd and among other things held the system in very considerable contempt which he was c ea heard to call in for he was sometimes fi nd of a joke governor s broken reed as however the present emergency was pressing he was obliged to avail himself of such means of defence as were next at hand and appointed a general inspection and parade of the train bands but oh i and and all ye other powers of war both great and small what a turning out was here i here came men without and officers without men long pieces and short new york of all sorts and sizes some with out others without locks others without stocks and many without lock stock or barrel boxes shot powder horns swords crow bars and all mingled like one of our continental armies at the breaking out of the revolution this sudden of a pacific community into a band of warriors is doubtless what is meant in modem days by putting a nation in and fixing it in an attitude in which and attitude it makes as martial a figure and is likely to itself with as much as the renowned when suddenly equipped to defend his island of the sturdy peter eyed this ragged with some such aspect as a man would eye the devil but knowing like a wise	48
man that all he had to do was to make the best out of a he determined to give his heroes a having therefore them through the manual exercise over and over again he ordered the to strike up a quick march and his sturdy boots backwards and forwards about the streets of new and the fields adjacent until their short legs and their t sides again but this was not all the martial q of the old governor caught fire fix m the music of the and he resolved to try the of his troops and give them a taste of the hardships of iron war to this end he them as the shades of evening fell upon a hill formerly called s hill at some distance fix m the town with a intention of them into the discipline of and of the next day the toils and perils of the field but so it came to pass that in the night there fell a great and heavy rain which in torrents upon the camp and the mighty army strangely melted away before it so that g t f history of to sh d hit ma i upon the p t r and his one was to be found of all the that had the night before thb his h ve a of less than peter ha he considered it as a matter of but he regarded the h ten times than ever and to ll with a good of ine he kept in of whom he that tt possessed the indispensable in of the next care of the e a to and new for this he to be built a strong that reached across die island from river to being int to protect die not merely from the sudden of but likewise fit m the of the savages some traditions it is true have ascribed the c this wall to a later period but they are wholly t r a in the towards the of the s reign wall as a very strong and piece tf and the admiration of all the es in tke ne and it moreover the in an antique view of new ti n after the above period is a of thk wall which the of wall street so called in of this one gate called the land opened upon broad bit by where at stands ih nd r water about where t e lee is at opening upon or as it is called smith then a valley with a creek or extending up what we mi new york ing circumstance of a drove of stray cows breaking through the grand wall of a dark t by which the whole com rf new was thrown into a terrible panic in addition to this great wall he cast up several out to fort to protect the sea at the point of the island these consisted of formidable mud after the manner of the dutch common in those with in process of time came to be by a carpet of grass and and their high by wide among whose foliage the little birds about rejoicing the ear with their melodious notes the old ers would repair of an m to smoke their pipes under the shade of their branches the golden sun as he gradually sunk into the an emblem of that tranquil end toward which th while the young men and the of tp m would take moonlight stroll among the silver beams of the calm bosom of the bay or light up the white sail of de gliding bark and hon of affection such was the of th wi tht which though es of war has ever been t the delights of peace the walk ag the rt of the invalid sunday re of the dusty scene of a boyish the of many f tender he con c the the pf n r york p and the pride of the lovely island of b history of chapter vi how the people of the country were a evil and their judicious the thereof having provided for the temporary of new and guarded it against any surprise the gallant peter took a hearty pinch of and snapping his fingers set the great council of and their champion the at defiance it is impossible to say notwithstanding what might have been the issue of this affair had not the council been all at once involved in sad perplexity and as much sown among its members as was stirred up in the camp of the warriors of greece hie council of the league as i have shown in my last chapter had already announced its hostile and already was the mighty colony of new and the town of otherwise called for its and and the great trading house of and all the other towns in a prodigious turmoil up th rusty pieces and shouting aloud for war by which they anticipated easy and gorgeous from the dutch villages but this joyous soon silenced by the conduct of the colony of struck with the gallant spirit of the brave old v ter and convinced by the and heroic warmth of his they to believe guilty of the infamous plot most laid at his door with a generosity for which i would them immortal honour they declared that no determination of the grand council of the league should bind the general new york court of to join in an offensive war which should appear to such general court to be unjust this immediately involved the colony of and the other combined colonies in very serious and and would ho doubt dissolution of the but that the of finding that they could not if by the loss of so important a member as were to abandon for the present their hostile against the such is the and the of those composed of a number of sturdy self willed	48
trade and soon became expert in the art of turning a penny however a tinge of the old is even unto this day in their characters occasionally start up among them in aj and the people at large show a a cleverness and a of wisdom that strongly of and it has been remarked that whenever any stones fall from the moon the greater part of them are sure to tumble into new ng hind chapter vii which records the rise and renown of a commander showing that a man like a may be puffed up to great ness and importance by mere wind when treating of those times the unknown writer of the manuscript breaks out into a ve g history of in of the good st to whose care he the that broke oat in the of the and the that in the whereby the hostile his against the ie were fer a time and his city of new preserved from imminent peril and deadly war re darkness and lowering over the valleys of the east the pleasant of the no longer echoed the of rustic and were seen in gliding eveiy wild brook and dreary strange made by forms were heard in desert a nd the so occupied in and die knowing old women that had produced these appearances that for a while the province of and its were totally forgotten the great peter finding that nothing was to be apprehended from his eastern turned himself about with a praise worthy tliat ever distinguished him to put a stop to the of ae these my attentive reader recollect had begun to be very troublesome towards the ht ter part of the reign of william the having set the of that little governor at naught and put the to a non i peter however as has already been shown was a governor of different habits and turn of mind out more he immediately issued orders for a corps of troops to be stationed on the southern under the command of general this had to during the r of and if his york tones was second in command to the when he and bis ragged regiment were put of fort hope by the in of been in such a memorable and of having i more wounds on a certain honourable part that shall be nameless than any of his comrades he was ever after considered as a who had seen some service certain it is he enjoyed the unlimited c ce and friendship of william the who would sit for hours and listen with wonder to his of surprising he had never gained and dreadful battles from which he had run away and the governor was once heard to declare that had he lived in ancient times he might have claimed the of being not merely uke a a mighty man of but in the cabinet a that is to say very of speech and long which as nobody in new aught of the ancient heroes in question passed totally it was by honest old that heaven had into some men at tl ir birth a of gold into others of silver while were furnished out with abundance of brass and iron now of this last was undoubtedly the great general von and from the display he continually made thereof i am inclined to think that dame nature who will be partial had blessed him with enough of those valuable materials to have fitted up ordinary but what is most to be admired is that he contrived to pass off all his brass and copper upon who was no great judge of base coin as pure and genuine gold the consequence was that upon the resignation of van who after the of fort retired like a ve history of general to live under the shade of his mighty copper captain was promoted to this he filled with great importance always of the armies of the new though to tell the armies or army consisted of a of hen stealing bottle su was the character of the warrior af by peter to defend his southern nor may it be uninteresting to my reader to have a glimpse of he was not very tall but a full man whose bulk did not so much arise his being fat as windy being so completely with own importance that he resembled one of those of wind which in an incredible fit of generosity gave to that wandering warrior his dress with his character for he had almost as much brass and copper without as nature had stored away within his coat was crossed and aod with of copper lace and the body with a crimson of the size and a fishing net doubtless to keep his heart through his ribs his head and whiskers were powdered from the midst of which his blooded glowed like a fiery and his soul seemed ready to out at a pair of large eyes which projected like those of a i swear to thee worthy reader if report not this warrior i would give all the money in my to have seen him cap a pie in martial to the middle to the to the ears to the crowned an cocked hat and with a belt ten inches broad fi om which a of a that i dare not mention thus equipped he about new york s bitter a man of war as the of more he forth armed at all points to the of notwithstanding all the great and qualities renowned general i must confess he was not exactly the kind of man that the gallant peter would have chosen to command his but the truth is that in those days the province did not ar bound as at present in great military characters like so many people every little village out instead of soldiers and themselves in	48
the corn field of the field of battle who have surrendered the toils of war fer the more useful but arts of peace and so blended the laurel with the live that you may have a general for a landlord a colonel for a stage driver and your horse shod by a obtain of neither had peter an opportunity rf choosing like modern rulers firom a loyal band of of no mention being made in the histories of the times of any such class of being retained in pay by government either as or body guards the general von ther was appointed to the command of the new troops chiefly because there were no for the station and partly because it would have been a breach of military f had but in how he look d and big i you would have him to be some egyptian p a he all cow and for fear they did flee for tbey took him to be some strange hedge want ss history of etiquette to have a younger ana head on whidi the peter would died than have committed no sooner did this thrice copper marching orders than he conducted his to the southern fr through wild lands and deserts over mountains across floods and through impenetrable forests en perils according to hia own than did the great in his retreat with his ten thousand all a he established on the south or a named fort honour of a pair of coloured trunk breeches of the governor as this fort will be found to to very important and interesting events h may be while to notice that it was afterwards called and was the original of the present town of new castle an for i o there neither being nor ever been a castle or any thing of the kind upon tlie did not fer this menacing movement of the on the contrary prints at that time governor of new issued a protest against what he termed an his but the von had become too well in the nature of and while he served under william the to be in any wise by such paper fortress being finished it would have done any man s heart good to behold into what a magnitude he swelled he would stride in and out a dozen times a lay it in fix nt and m rear on this side and on that then would he dress himself in and backwards and forwards for hours together cm the top of his little like a cock pigeon va new york s pouring on the top of his in a word unless my li readers have noticed with curious eye the petty commander of one of our little military posts i ling with all the vanity of new and the derived from commanding a handful of i despair of giving them any adequate idea of the dignity of general von it is recorded in the romance of pierce forest that a young knight being by king der did gallop into an and the trees with such might and main that the whole court was convinced that he was the most potent and courageous gentleman on the ce of the earth in like manner the great von would ease off that which like wind is so apt to grow in the of new made soldiers them to box and broken headed quarrels at times when he found his martial spirit hot within him he would sally forth into the and out his would lay about him most by r belong down whole of which he termed gigantic and if he a colony of honest big quietly themselves in the sun ah would he roar have i caught ye at last r so saying with me sweep of his sword he would the unhappy vegetables from their to their by which warlike his being in some sort he would return to his garrison with a full conviction that he was a very of military he next ambition of general von po was to be thought a strict well knowing that e is the soul of all military enterprise he enforced it with the most precision g every man to turn out his toes and hold up his head on parade history of and the breadth of their to au had any shirts to their backs one day in the course of bis in the bible the pious himself could not exceed him in outward religion encountered the of and his melancholy end the general in an evil hour issued orders for ending the hair of both and throughout the garrison now it came tp that among his officers was one a who had cherished through the course a long life a rugged of hair the of a dog with an like the handle of a pan and so to his head that his eyes ax generally stood and his eyebrows were drawn iq to the top of his forehead it may m be supposed that the possessor of so goodly an would resist ce an order it to the himself could not have held his locks more and on hearing the general orders he discharged a of soldier like oaths and and swore he would break any man s head who to with his tail it than ever and it about the garrison as fiercely as the tail of the skin of old became an affair of the utmost importance the commander in chief was too enlightened an officer not to perceive that the discipline of the garrison the and good order of the armies of the the consequent safety of the whole province and ultimately the dignity and prosperity of their high the lords states general but above all the dignity of i great general von all the of that stubborn he determined that old	48
should be publicly new york of his glories in presence of the whole m the old man as resolutely stood on the where r upon the general as became a great man was highly exasperated and the of td and tried by a court martial for desertion and all the other list of es noticed in the articles of war ending with a in an three feet long contrary to orders then came on and trials and and the whole country was in a fer ment about this as it is well that the commander of a distant frontier post has the power of acting aft r his own will there i little doubt but that the would have been hanged or shot at least had he not luckily ill of a fever through mere and and most deserted fr mi earthly command with beloved locks his obstinacy remained to the veiy last moment when he directed that be be carried to his grave with his ki sticking out of a hole in his coffin obtained the general credit as an excellent but it is he was ever after to bad dreams and fearful an the night when the of old would by the bedside erect a a pump l is the end of book fifth h th the the i his a on r i u ji fu vo r im m most and have i shown tiie tbe administration of the under the mild of rather the i y of expectation but the from a r the its thrilling note and the rude dash of troubles the gallant war starts from from golden ease where in the time of he sought sweet solace after all his toils no more in s lap he for his lady s brows no more with flowers his shining word nor through the live long lazy summer s day forth his soul in to roused he the from his back the robe of peace and clothes his limbs in of steel o er his dark brow where late the waved where wanton roses breathed love he the beaming and nodding history of new york u i pride his fiery ii i i w j f non city tf i a in i heroic writers talk of war thi give it t noble and imposing as and a like and ob ei ns the they had never seen or heard of in the md that a a modem general or an admiral in the or an tht this flourish that the all of a ud eh it necessary da his made whidi too long had in its and himself to hardy toils war ih which his so delighted i at this ld him in my tion rat ei i i fa om his goodly portrait still up in the mansion of the ar in au the of a his of blue decorated i how buttons hia to tlie turned at the corners and gallantly behind so as to t of a t pair trunk a m still al it among warriors of our day and which is in to the of hei who scorned to defend hi rear his ee i exceeding terrible and by a of black his hair ting bi in locks and in tail his waist a shining stock of black leather supporting his chin and a s op but fierce hat stuck with a gallant and fiery ur hia left eye such wa k rt of the and wh ci ed his i p with wooden leg with a little ia in r to strengthen his position his tight hand a his left upon the ef sword hb head dressing to the t with a add hard frown his brow be presented ther one of the ut ter looking and figures that ever up on canvas proceed we now to inquire the of warlike the disposition of the en the south or river has been duly in the of the reign cf endured with t which is the o stone or to the left hand neighbour of true courage been repeated and the who were of that class of ai to christianity who read the bible whenever it with their interests the golden and when their neighbour them to him on the one cheek they generally him oa the other whether turned to them oc their repeated had been among the sources of vexation that to keep the of in a constant fever and it was only owing to the circumstance that he had always a hundred things to do at once did not take such vengeance their but they had now a of character to deal with and they were soon guilty of s piece of treachery that threw his honest in a ment and all further tbe the province of being of for of ct some wi exists was by and wh not been rather knock mi t have r the of son or ia ha was no less thai mighty as he was i in ct there is very httle doubt bad or five centuries he would have he i one of those wicked giants took such a cruel pleasure in pocket ing distressed when about and them up in enchanted castles without a toilet a change of linen or any other convenience in of whidi they fell under the high pleasure of and all and ts were instructed to attack aiid t any they mi t happen to find above six et i which is doubtless one reason that the race of is nearly extinct and the of so no sooner did governor rising enter upon his office than he immediately cast his eyes the important post of fort and formed the righteous tion of taking it into possession	48
fr remained to was the mode of carrying his into effect and here i must do him the justice te say that he a humanity rarely to be met with among leaders and which i have never seen equalled in modem times excepting the english in their glorious at willing to spare the sion of blood and the miseries of open war re he be every thing like hostility or regular siege and resorted to the less but more l expedient of t under pretence of paying a j sit to general von at his new post of history of he made requisite in up ma and tke royal to noise ai i ii oh wh at his post who ha to go out by his with the whidi he borrowed from one of his i indeed would have been answered by fort had they not unfortunately out of the deficient in have in all ages been liable and which the in th present at fort on had been about two years and general its mighty had with matters of much importance highly satisfied with this to his salute fort to a second he its commander was delighted with which he considered as so many acts of homage paid unto hia he in state attended by a of thirty a and for a petty governor of petty in those of primitive simplicity and to the foil as g an army as generally the in the rear of our frontier at the present day the number in ct might have had not the mind of the great von been so completely engrossed with an all idea of him that he had not room to admit a ht besides in ct he considered the of s followers as a compliment to i s apt are great men to stand between themselves and the sun and the by their own shadow new york it be ad how w a by from so a ihe should re e hi r as to appear ta tiie greater aad make the j most the main was ordered immediately to out and of which the garrison po t suits were equally distributed f tbe soldiers one tall fellow appeared in in coat intended for a small the skirts of which reached little below his waist the buttons were between his and the sleeves half to his wrists so that hia hands looked like a couple of huge and the being large enough to meet in front was linked together by made of a pair of red another had old cocked hat stuck on the of head and decorated with a bunch of cock s tails a third had a pair of rusty hanging about his heels while a fourth who was a short duck legged little was q ed in a huge pair of the general s cast off breeches whidi he up with one hand while he grasped hia ther the rest were in lar style excepting three who had no shirts and but a pair and half of breeches between wherefore they were sent to the to keep out of view there ia ih thing in which the talents of a commander are more completely than in thus setting matters off to the greatest advantage and it is for this reason that our frontier posts at the sent day that of for example display their best suit of r x the back of the who in sight of travellers his men being thus gallantly arrayed those who lacked and and every man being ordered to in his shirt tail and pull up his general von first took a sturdy history of draught of foaming ale which like the of was his invariable practice on all great o which done he put himself at their bead the which served as a to be laid down and issued forth from his castle like a mighty just refreshed with wine but when the two heroes met then began a scene of warlike parade and courtesy that be all description rising who as i hinted was a shrewd cunning grey much before his time in consequence of saw at one glance the ruling pas on of the t and humoured him in all his were accordingly drawn up m bt of each other they carried arms and they arms they gave the standing salute and le passing they rolled their drums they flourished and they waved their colours they to the left to the right and they to the ey wheeled forward and they wheeled and they wheeled into they marched and they marched by grand divisions by single and by sub by by sections and by in quick time in slow time and in no time at all fix having gone through all the of two great including the eighteen of all that they could or imagine of including sundry strange the like of which were never seen before or since ing among certain of our newly raised the two great and their respective troops t length to a dead halt completely exhausted by the toils of m i i as as he to make him strong and he drank by the tale six pots of ale and a of new york war n er did two train band captains or two heroes in the renowned of tom thumb or any other h and fighting tragedy their gallows duck legged with more glory and self these military compliments being finished general von escorted his illustrious visitor with great ceremony into the fort attended him throughout the showed him the horn works half and various other out works or rather the places they ought to be erected and where they might be erected if he pleased plainly that it was a place oi	48
the skirts of society like and every garrison and country village has one or more of this kind whose life is a kind of whose existence is without motive who comes from the ix knows where who lives the lord knows how and seems to be made for no other purpose but to keep up the ancient and honourable order of idleness this philosopher was supposed to have some indian blood in his veins which was manifested by a certain indian complexion and cast of countenance but more especially by his and habit he was a tall fellow swift oi foot and long he was generally equipped in a half indian dress with belt leg and his hair hung in strait gallows about his ears and added not a little to his it is an old remark that persons of indian mixture are half civilized half savage and half devil a half being expressly provided for their particular convenience it is for similar reasons and probably with equal truth that the back wood men of are st half man half horse and half by the on the and held accordingly in great respect and tlie above character have presented itself to the garrison as to they familiarly it is he acknowledged to no was an utter enemy to work in of ho id the hit to in s history of it in no of but i the depending upon a g drunk whenever he could and stealing he could lay his hands on every day or was to get a sound for some of his mi which however as it broke no bone i p made very light o and not to repeat the whenever opportunity presented in of some he would garrison and be absent for a month at a about the woods and with a bag fi piece on his shoulder laying in or himself down on the edge of a pond c fish together and bearing no to that notable bird the mud when lie p his crimes had forgotten or he he would back to the fort with a bundle of ov a bunch of poultry which perchance he had and would exchange them for liquor with which having weu soaked his he would lay in the sun and enjoy all the luxurious of that philosopher he was the terror of all the yards in the into which he made and he would his sudden appearance at at with the whole ne at his uke a scoundrel thief of a fox detected in hia and hunted to his such was this and from the total he showed to the world or its concerns and from his truly indian and no one would have that he would have been the of the treachery of when the was going on which proved so fatal to the brave von and his watchful garrison about from room to room being a kind of privileged or useless hound whom nobody no v u ll s i t new york but h a few words his eyes and ears were always openly and in die course his he the whole plot c the his own how he should turn the matter to his own advantage he played the perfect jack f both that is to he of every thing in robbed both stuck the copper bound hat of die von on his head whipped a pair of s under h am and took to heel b re the and confusion a t he garrison i finding completely m this he directed fails flight to w native places new f from whence i he had formerly l een obliged tb in of ing been in the act of sheep after w mai in the through s ii swimming rivers and i hardships g ji back man or the de f heat f and as ia starved died ta on to te he had ever hit c this disastrous m these tidings the peter seat as stout kin arthur at the news was brought him o the the grim ba i u word he he against the of the a of ne head tobacco into his left his and strode and down the as history of was with him when in a passion a hideous north west but as i have before shown he not a to vent his in idle his ban measure after the of wrath had subsided wn to stump up stairs to a huge wooden chest which as his from whence he drew forth that suit of described in the preceding in these he arrayed himself like in the of maintaining au the while a most appalling silence knitting bis brows and drawing his breath through his teeth being hastily equipped he strode down into the jerked down his sword from over the fireplace where it was usually suspended but before be it on his he drew it from its and as his eye along the rusty blade a grim smile stole over his iron it was the first smile that had visited his countenance for five long weeks but every one who it that there would soon be warm work in tbe province i thus armed at all points with war depicted ii each feature his very cocked hat an air of defiance he instantly put himself on the and despatched van ar hither mud thither this way and that way through all the muddy streets and crooked lanes of the city by sound of pet his to in instant done by way of matters according to tom of people in a hurry he kept in shifting from chair to chair head out of eveiy window and up and down stairs with his wooden leg in such brisk and incessant modem that as we informed by an historian of the times the continual clatter bore no small resemblance to the music	48
oft a flour barrel a summons so and from a man of the go new york s was not to be with the for repaired to the chamber where the ant entered in martial style and took his chair like another among his the seated themselves with the utmost and lighting their long pipes gazed with f fled composure on his and his being as all should be not or taken by surprise the governor looking around for a moment with a lofty and air and resting one hand on the of his sword and flinging the other fi ith in a free and spirited manner addressed in a short but soul stirring am extremely sorry that i have not the advantages of and others of my who w e furnished as i ain told with the speeches of all their great and taken down in short hand by the most accurate of the time whereby they were enabled wonderfully to their histories and delight their readers with su strains of not such important i cannot possibly pronounce what was the tenor of governor s speech whether he with maiden hinted to his hearers that there wa a speck of in the horizon f that it would be necessary tp resort to the trial of which could do each other most harm or any r delicate of language whereby the odious of war is so by modem as a gentleman handles his weapons with gloves lest he should soil his dainty fingers am bold however to say from the tenor of peter s character that be did not his rugged subject in and and other sickly of phrase but spoke forth like a man of nerve and vi who scorned to shrink in words from those dan r b history of gen be stood ready to in this is certain that he concluded by mi ct an his troops in and these from their quarters at fort to this hardy of his council as were awake gave their usual signal of and as to the rest who had asleep about the middle of the their usual custom in the afternoon they made not the least objection and now was seen in the fair city of new a prodigious bustle and preparation for iron war parties marched hither and thither upon all the the and of the and its who had any ambition of sixpence and immortal fame into the bargain to in the cause ct glory for i would have you note that your warlike heroes who in the rear of are generally of that illustrious class of gentlemen who are equal for d army or the the or the post for whom dame fortune had cast an even die whether they shall make their exit by the sword or the and whose shall at all events be a lo example to their but notwithstanding all this martial and ti mi the ranks of honour were but so averse were the peaceful of new from in foreign or home which rounded all their earthly ideas be holding the great peter whose heart was ab on fire with and sweet revenge determined to wait no for the of these citizens bnt to muster his merry of tlie who t up among and and savage beasts like ear of in as desperate adventures and e new york ti the thus im squire van to hare his state and duly being per he attended service at the great church of st like a true and pious and then leaving orders with his council to the chivalry of the out and appointed against his return departed upon his v up the waters of the chapter ul up ike aud the and of thai river now did the soft breezes of the south steal sweetly over the of nature the panting of summer into genial and warmth when that miracle of and virtue the peter spread his canvas to the wind and d parted the fair island of the in which he embarked was adorned with pen and of gorgeous which fluttered gaily in the wind or ed their ends in the bosom of the stream the bow and of this majestic were gallantly after the dutch with figures of little with on their heads and bearing in their hands of the like of which are not to be found in any book c bo being the flowers which flourished in the g den age and exist no longer unless it be in the of ingenious of wood and of thus rarely decorated in si le the of the history of x of the did the peter forth upon the bosom of tbe which as it rolled its broad waves to tbe ocean seemed to pause for a while and swell with pride as if conscious of the illustrious it sustained but trust me far other was the scene pre to the contemplation of the crew from that may be witnessed at this day w and savage majesty reigned on the of thb mi ty the hand of cultivation had not as yet laid low the dark forests and tamed the features of the nor had the frequent sail of commerce yet broken in upon the profound and awful solitude of ages here and there might be seen a rude perched among the cliffs of the mountains with its curling of mounting in the transparent atmosphere but so situated that the of the savage children on the margin of die dizzy heights fell as faintly on the ear as do the notes of the lark when lost in the vault of heaven now and then from die brow of some rocky precipice the wild deer would look timidly down upon die splendid as it passed below and then tossing his in the air would bound away into the of the forest through such scenes did the stately vessel of peter pass now did they	48
skirt the of the rocky heights of which spring up like walls reaching from the waves unto the heavens and were fashioned if tradition may be believed in times long past by the mighty spirit to protect his ite from the eyes of mortals now did they career it gaily across the vast expanse of bay whose wide extended shores present a vast variety of scenery here the bold ed with trees advancing into the bay there tbe long slope sweeping up from the shore in and in the precipice at a distance a long waving line of rocky height threw their gigantic shades across the water now would they where some modest little interval opening a these scenes yet retreating as it were for protection the embraces of the mountains displayed a rural paradise with sweet and pastoral beauties the velvet lawn the the stealing through the fresh and vivid on whose banks was situated some little indian village or the hide cabin of some solitary hie different periods of the revolving day seemed each with cunning magic to a charm over the now would the jovial sun break from the east from the of the eastern hills and sparkling the landscape with a thousand gems while along the borders of the river were seen heavy mist which like disturbed at his approach made a rolling in sullen up the mountains at such times all was brightness and life and gaiety i the atmosphere seemed of an indescribable and the birds broke forth in wanton and the breezes the vessel merrily on her course but when the sun sunk amid a flood of glory in the west the heavens and the earth with a thousand gorgeous then all was calm and silent and the late swelling sail hung against the the simple seaman with folded arms leaned against the lost in that involuntary musing which the sober grandeur of nature commands in the of her children the vast bosom of the was like an mirror reflecting the golden splendour of the heavens excepting that now and then a bark would steal across its surface filled with painted savages whose history of gay feathers glared brightly as perchance of the setting sun upon them fi m the mountains but when the hour cf twilight spread its magic around then did the e of nature assume a fugitive charms which to the worthy heart that in the glorious works of its maker are the mellow light that pr just served to tinge with colours tbe features of the scenery the deceived but ed eye sought vainly to discern in the broad masses of shade the separating line between the land and water or to distinguish the fading objects that seemed sinking into chaos now did the busy ly the of vision producing with industrious craft a creation of her own under her the rocks frowned upon the watery waste in the semblance of lofty towers and high trees assumed the forms of mi ty giants and the inaccessible of the mountains seemed peopled with a thousand shadowy beings now broke forth from the shores the notes of an variety pf insects who filled the air with a strange but not concert while ever and anon was heard the melancholy of the whip poor who perched on some lone tree wearied the ear of night with his incessant the mind soothed into a melancholy by the solemn of the scenes listened with pensive stillness to catch and each sound that vaguely echoed from the now and then startled perchance by the of some straggling savage or the dreary howl of some stealing forth upon his nightly thus happily did they pursue their until they entered upon those the high where it would seem that the gigantic had v new york tes their war with heaven up on and vast masses of rock in wild but in very different is the history of these mountains these in ancient days before die poured his waters from the lakes formed one vast prison within whose rocky bosom the confined the rebellious spirits who at control here bound in chains or in pines or crushed by ponderous rocks they groaned for many an age at length the conquering in his irresistible career towards the ocean burst open their prison house rolling his tide triumphantly through its ruins still however do many of them about their old and these it is according to venerable leg that cause the echoes which throughout these which are nothing but their angry when any noise the of their repose for when the elements are agitated by tempest when the winds are up and the thunder rolls then ue is the and howling of these troubled spirits the mountains to with their hideous uproar at such times it is said that they think the great is returning once more to plunge them in gloomy and renew their but all these ir and glorious scenes were lost the gallant his mind but thoughts of iron war and proud of hardy deeds of arms neither did his honest crew trouble their vacant heads with any romantic speculations of the kind the pilot at the quietly smoked his pipe thinking of nothing either past present or to come those of his who were not under the were listening with open mouths to van who seated on the was relating history of to them the history of those of flies that sparkled like gems and upon the robe of night these according to tradition were a race of who these parts long before the memory of man that race emphatically called who for their innumerable sins against the and to an awful warning to the sex were doomed to the earth in the shape of these threatening and terrible little enduring the internal tor ments of that fire which they formerly carried in their hearts and breathed forth in	48
their words but now ate to bear about for ever in their tails i and now i am going to tell a fact which i doubt much my readers will hesitate to believe but if they do they are me not to believe a word in this whole history for nothing which it contains is more it most be known then that the nose of the was of size boldly from countenance like of being wit i and other precious stones the true s king of fellows ch jolly to all who house it heartily at the now thus it happened that bright and early in the morning the good having washed his was leaning over the quarter railing of the contemplating it in the wave below just at this moment the illustrious sun breaking in all his splendour from behind one of the high d the did dart one of his most potent beams full upon the nose of the of brass the reflection of which shot straightway down hot the water and killed a mighty that was sporting beside the vessel this huge monster being with infinite labour hoisted on board furnished a luxurious to all the crew being pf t k new york ing about where it a little of and this on my was the first time that was eaten iu these parts by christian people when this astonishing miracle came to be made known to peter and that he tasted of the unknown fish he as may well be supposed exceedingly and as a monument thereof he gave the name of nose to a stout in the neighbourhood and it has continued to be called s nose ever since that time but hold whither an i wandering by the mass if i attempt to accompany the good peter on this voyage i shall never make an end for never was there a voyage so with marvellous incidents nor a river so with beauties worthy of being recorded even now have it on the point of my pen to relate how his crew were most horribly on going on shore above the by a gang of merry devils and on a huge flat rock which projected into the river and which is called the to this very day but no it becomes thee not to idle thus in thy historic way ring that while dwelling with the fond of age over these scenes to thee by the recollections of thy youth and the charms of a thousand tales which the simple ear of thy childhood recollect that thou are trifling with those fleeting moments which should be devoted to is not time shaking with hand his almost the learned treating of the country about in a letter whidi was written some time after the settlement thereof says there b in t ie river great plenty of whidi we do not make use of but the indians them l s history of f hasten to task lest tlie last sands be nm ay history of die let us commit the peter his brave and his loyal crew to the protection of the st who i have no doubt will prosper him in voyage while we await his return at the great city chapter iv the army assembled ai ihe the interview between peter the and general von and touching w great men while thus the peter was with flowing sail iq the shores of the and all the little dutch upon its borders a great and of warriors was at the city of new and here that invaluable fragment of antiquity the is more than commonly particular by which means i am enabled to record the illustrious host that in the public square in front os the lent at present the green in the centre then was pitched the tent oi the men of battle of the who being the inmates the metropolis composed the life guards of the governor these were commanded by the who had acquired such at bay they displayed as a standard a ram new york t on a field the arms of the and and the ous origin of the on their right hand might be the of that renowned m michael f who it over the ir regions of and the lands south even unto the and was more of island his standard was by hia van consisting of a huge upon a sea green field being the bearings of his metropolis he brought to the camp a stout force of heavily armed being each in ten pair of breeches and by broad with short pipes twisted in their hat bands these were the men who in the mud along the shores of being of the race of genuine and i ere to have at a little distance was the tribe of warriors who the neighbourhood of hell these were commanded by the and the van hard as their names th ere terrible looking fellows clad in broad skirted was the great seal of the new as may still be seen in ancient records t what is related in the ms i have found men tion made of this illustrious in another manuscript which be or tlie squire michael a dutch about th by deed purchased island n b the same michael had what the dutch called a at on the shore opposite new and his in was named van a person of the same name in owned hook and a large farm at and is a from van t so called the tribe of indians that inhabited these parts at present thej are the r mountains s history of of chat ok cloth hi and bore as a needles in a flame field hard was the tent of the men of battle borders of the and were da sour	48
aspect by reason on in the first of that order of called fly and if tradition did likewise introduce the step in trouble th were commanded bj the and hid a band of f men who a l ave on but i refrain from pursuing this minute which goes on to describe the warriors of and we i hawk and and sundry other places well known in history and for now does the of martial music the of new sounding from beyond the walls of the ca y bat alarm was in a little time relieved for lo the midst of a vast cloud of dust they recognized the breeches and splendid silver li of peter glaring in the sun beams and beheld him at the head of a formidable army which he had along the banks of the and here the excellent but writer of the manuscript breaks out into a brave and glorious description of the forces as they through the gate of the city that stood by the head of first of all came the van who tbe i the winding bay named from the winding of its this has since been by the into the the basin which our navy f now new york were short large trunk and are renowned ar s they were the first of or u ib their rear marched an of most fer f and bin in liquor r f after them the van of mounted goodly of these were hunters of came the i r ry the van of birds as their name to these if report n ay be the of slap or cakes then the van of greek these came armed and being a race of first between the of and the se of intellect and that the shortest way to get knowledge into the head waa to hammer it into the r then the van of s nose who carried their liquor in round little by reason they not it out of their having such rare long noses then the of and there distinguished by many triumphant such ns patches king out of their holes and the like and by being great lovers of pigs tails these were the ancestors of the renowned con man of that name then the van of great and players upon the jew sharp these two and two singing the great song of the of hollow these gave birth to a jolly race of who first discovered the magic of a of wine into a pint bottle then the van who lived on the wild banks of the and were great i wild ducks being much spoken of fear skill in history of n k vi t shooting with the long then the van of and who were the first that did em with the left foot they were gallant bush and hunters of by moonlight then the vm of potent of eggs and noted running of horses and running up of scores at they were the t that ever winked with it once lastly came the of the town of where the folk lay stones die houses in windy weather lest they should be blown these derive their name as some say m to shake and er a indicating thereby that tbey were sturdy of but in truth it to nod and books plainly that they were great or over books from them did descend the writer of this history such was the of sturdy bush that pound in at the grand gate of new the manuscript indeed of many more whose i omit to mention seeing that it me to hasten to matters of greater moment nothing could die joy and martial pride of the lion hearted peter as he this mighty host of warriors and he no longer the gratification of his for revenge upon the scoundrel at fort but before i hasten to record those events which will be found in the of this history let me pause to notice the te of von the in chief tf the armies of the new such is the inherent of human nature that scarcely did the news become public of his deplorable discomfiture at fort than a thousand were set afloat in new wherein it was that he had in reality a treacherous understanding with the i iii ml new n be had long been in the practice of privately com with the together with divers hints about secret service money to all which deadly charges i do not give a more credit than i think they deserve certain it is that the general his character by the most vehement oaths and and put every man out of the ranks of honour who dared to doubt his integrity moreover on returning to new r dam he up and down the streets with a crew of hard at his heels sturdy bottle whom he and and who were ready to him through all the courts of justice heroes of own fierce broad shouldered looking not one of whom but looked as though he could eat up an ox and pick his teeth with the horn these life guard men au his quarrels were ready to fight all his battles and at every man that turned up his nose at the general as though they would him alive their conversation was with oaths like minute guns and every was rounded ofi by a thundering tion like a patriotic toast honoured with a discharge of all these had a considerable effect in convincing certain profound many of whom began to think the general a hero of unutterable and of soul particularly as he was continually protesting on the honour of a a sounding nay one of the members of the council went so as to propose they should him by an	48
statue of plaster of paris but the peter the was not thus to be deceived sending privately for the commander of au the armies and having heard all his story with the customary pious oaths and a comrade cried he though l history of your own account you are the most brave i right lad honourable man in the whole province yet do you lie der the misfortune of being and in now though it is certainly hard to punish a man for his misfortunes and though it is very possible you are totally innocent of the crimes laid to your charge yet as heaven at present doubtless for some wise purpose sees fit to withhold all proofs of your innocence be it from me to its sovereign will beside i cannot consent to venture my armies with a whom they despise or to trust the re of my people to a champion whom they distrust retire therefore my friend from the irksome toils and cares of public life with this comforting reflection that if you be guilty you are but enjoying your just reward and if innocent that you are not the first great and good man who has most been and in wicked world doubtless to be better treated in a better world where there shall neither be error nor persecution in the mean time let me never see your ce again for i have a horrid to the countenances of unfortunate great men like yourself chapter v in the author courses very of himself after which is to he found much interesting history about peter the and his followers as my readers and myself are about entering on as many as ever a of ran their heads into it is meet that like those hardy we should join hands bury all and swear to stand by one another in or new york wo to the end of the my readers must doubtless perceive how completely i have altered my tone and since we first set out together i warrant they t en thought me a cynical impertinent little son of a for i scarcely ever gave them a civil word nor so much as touched my when i had oa i to address them but as we along together m e high road of my history i gi began to to grow more courteous and occasionally to enter into discourse until at length i came to ive a most social kind of regard for them this is just my way i am always a little cold and reserved at first particularly to people whom i neither know nor care for i and only to be completely won by long in besides why should i have been to the crowd of bow d ye that around me at my first appearance many were merely attracted by a new face and having stared me full in the walked off without saying a word while others lingered through the preface and having gratified their curiosity soon dropped ofi one by one but more especially to try their i had recourse to an expedient similar to one which we are told was used by that flower of chivalry king arthur who before he admitted any knight to his intimacy first required that he should show himself superior to danger or hardships by unheard of some dozen giants wicked not to say a word of and fiery on a similar principle i led my readers at the first sally into two or three chapters where they were most and by a host of pagan philosophers and writers though naturally a very grave man yet could i scarce re ain fi om smiling right at seeing the utter confusion and dismay of my va m history of dropped down dead asleep cm the field others threw down my in the middle of ae first chapter took to their heels and never ceased until they had fairly run it out of when thej stopped to take breath to tell their friends what troubles they had undergone and to warn all others from venturing on so an expedition every page my ranks more and more and of the vast that first set out but a comparatively few made shift to in battered condition through the five chapters would you have had me take such sunshine faint hearted to my at our first acquaintance no no i reserved my fer those who deserved it for those who bore me company in despite of difficulties dangers and and now as to those who to me at present i take them by the hand worthy and thrice beloved readers brave and well tried comrades who have faithfully followed my footsteps all my wanderings i salute you from my myself to stand by you to the last and to conduct you so heaven speed this weapon which i now b between my fingers triumphantly to the end of this our undertaking but hark while we are thus talking the city b is in a bustle the gallant host of in the een are striking th r the brazen trumpet of c makes file to with the beat the standards of the of hell gate and of wave proudly in the air and now behold are busily employed the top sail and two t which are to the army of the li honours the new the entire population of the and c turned out to behold the chivalry of as it the streets previous to many a handkerchief was waved out of the windows many a fair nose was blown in melodious sorrow on the mournful occasion the grief of the fair and of could not have been more f the of the gallant tribe of than was that of the kind hearted ones of new on the departure of their warriors every love sick maiden fondly	48
rested in the the earth and nature seems to labour with tiie great event this is his sublime manner of setting out thus he a war between two as calls them petty and thus he a little subject by treating it in and noble method in like manner having my readers into very teeth of peril having followed the and his band into foreign regions r by and stunned by the horrid din of arms at this important moment while darkness and doubt hang o er each chapter i hold it meet to hai them and them for the events that are to follow and here i would one great advantage as the historian i possess over my reader that though i cannot save the life of my favourite hero vol i p xx ss nor l the event of a battle th which ul h often taken by the french writers of the nt reign i hold to be utterly of a scrupulous historian yet i can now and then make him bestow on his enemy a sturdy back stroke sufficient to fell a in truth he may never have done any thing of the kind r i can drive his clear round and round the field as did make that fine fellow like a round the walls of for which if ever they have encountered one another in the fields i ll warrant the prince of poets has had to make the most humble i am aware that many conscientious readers will be ready to cry out foul play p whenever i render a little assistance to my hero but i consider it one of those es exercised by of all ages and one which has never been disputed in fact an historian is as it were bound in honour to stand by his hero the of the latter is to his hands and it is his duty to do the best by it he can never was there a general an admiral or any other commander who in giving an account of any battle that he had fought did not sorely the enemy and i have no doubt that had my heroes written the history of their own they would have dealt much harder blows than any that i standing forth therefore as the guardian of their fame it me to do them justice they would have done themselves and if i happen to be a little hard upon the i give leave to any of their descendants who may write a history of the state of ta take fair and peter as hard as they please therefore stand by for broken h and bloody noses i r my pen has long for a battle siege after siege have i carried on without blows or but now i have at length t a chance and i vow to heaven and history of st that let the of the times please neither nor any other of them ao did ever record i fight than that in which my are now about to engage and you oh most excellent readers whom for i could cherish in the corner of my heart be not uneasy trust the te of our to for by the come what may iii stick by hard to the last i ll make him drive about these vile as did the renowned of the lake a herd of and if he does let me never draw my pen to fight another in behalf of a brave man if i don t make these pay for it no sooner had peter arrived before than he proceeded without delay to and immediately on running his first despatched van to summon the fortress to surrender van was received with all due fi at the and conducted a smell of salt fish and to the a substantial hut built of pine logs his eyes were here uncovered and he found himself in the august presence of governor this as i have before noted was a very man and was clad in a coarse coat round the waist with a belt which caused the enormous skirts and pockets to set off with a very warlike sweep his ponderous legs were in a pair of coloured jack boots and he was in the attitude of the of before a bit of broken looking glass himself with a dull this c caused him to make a series of horrible that heightened the terrors of his oh van c s being announced the grim commander paused for new york moment in the midst of one of his most favoured and after him over the with a kind of grin on his resumed his at the glass this iron harvest being he turned once more to the and demanded the purport of his errand van delivered in a few words being it kind of short hand speaker a long message from his the whole history of the province with a of and of claims and with a demand of instant surrender which done he turned aside took his nose between his thumb and finger and blew a blast not unlike the flourish of a trumpet of defiance which it had doubtless learned fi om a long and intimate neighbourhood with that melodious instrument governor heard him through trumpet and all but with infinite impatience leaning at times as was his usual custom on the of his sword and at a huge steel watch chain or snapping his fingers van having finished he replied that peter and his summons might go to the d whither he hoped to send him and his crew of before supper time then his brass sword and throwing away the he but i will not thee again until i make a of the smoke dried hide of this then having flung a fierce defiance in die teeth	48
of his by the lips of his messenger the latter was to the with all the civility due to the squire and of so great a commander and being again was courteously dismissed with a of die nose to assist him in his message no sooner did the gallant peter receive this insolent than he let fly a tremendous of red hot tions that would have battered h q history of and blown up the powder magazine about ears of the fiery had not the been strong and the magazine perceiving that the works this blast that it was utterly impossible as it really was in those days to carry on a war with words he ordered his merry men all to prepare for an immediate assault but here a strange murmur broke out among his be with the tribe of the van those men of the and spreading man to man accompanied with certain looks and discontented murmurs for once in his life and r did the great peter turn pale for he verily thought his warriors were to in this hour of trial and thus for ever the of the province oi new but soon did he discover to his great joy that in this suspicion he deeply wronged this most army for the cause of this a and uneasiness simply was that the hour of dinner was at hand and it would have almost broken the hearts of these regular dutch warriors to have broken in upon the invariable routine of their b bits beside it was an established rule among always to fight upon a foil stomach and to may be attributed the circumstance that they same to be so renowned in arms and now are the hearty men of the and their no less hearty comrades all engaged under the trees stoutly with the contents of their and taking such affectionate embraces of their and as though they verily believed they were to be the last and as i foresee we shall have hot work in a page or two i advise my rs to do the same for which purpose i will bring this chapter to a dose giving them my word of honour that no advantage shall be taken of this to surprise or in any way tbe honest while i their vigorous new york at chapter containing the most horrible battle ever recorded in poetry of ike t the now had the snatch d si huge i and finding themselves wonderfully and thereby prepared to take the field expectation say writer of the manuscript stood on the world forgot to round or rather still that it might witness the ay like round watching die combat of two flies his the eyes mankind ai usual in cases were turned upon fort the sun like a little man in a crowd at a about the heavens his head here to get a peep between the clouds that in his way filled their the went without dinners either that they might buy paper and goose or because they could not g any thing tb itself even posterity stood mute g in g of on the the who had seen service at die of now mounted their feather bed clouds and sailed over die plain or mingled among the in all to have a finger in the pie sent off his to a noted to have it up for the occasion swore by her she d the and in semblance of a eyed the of fort accompanied by as a s widow of cracked reputation the noted history of man stuck two into his a and gallantly at as a while ed in their rear as a legged most out of tune on tbe the ok eyed who had a pair of black eyes in one her curtain old displayed her haughty beauties as ia up her skirts her fists and most hero in exceeding bad dutch having hot studied the language by way of keeping np the soldiers while halted as a fix ted lately to be a captain of all horror bustling preparation war reared his loud his iron and his crest of and the y out hosts here stood stout firm aa a with and to the d ia in mud his cf two and a loaded to the and a stationed it each with lighted match in hand waiting the word his in lined die breast work in grim having his fiercely and his hair back and so stiffly that he grinned the like a death s head there came on the hard ko ig a second without fear or his brows knit his his breath held hard rushing on like ten thousand of his squire van at his heels with his trumpet with red and yellow the c his at die came on his sturdy comrades like the w york i of there were van aod the van and the ten van ne se the van the v n the van b the van and the van the van the van the van the van the van and the van were the van homes the van hooks the van the van the van and the van the the h the the the pools and the there came the the the the the the i the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the ten and the tough vith a host of whose names are top to be written or if they be written it would be impossible for man to utter r all fortified with it mighty d to use the words of poet of wrath and for an instant the mighty peter paused in the midst of bis career and mounting on a stump addressed his troops in eloquent low dutch them to fight	48
like aiid assuring them that if they conquered they should get plenty of if they fell they should be allowed the satisfaction while dying of r that it was in the service of their country and they were dead of seeing their names inscribed in the of re wn and handed down in company with all the great men of the year for the admiration of posterity y he to them on the word pf governor o history of and they knew him too well to doubt it for a that if he caught any s son of them or playing he d his hide till he made un run out of it like a shake in spring time th out his he it three us head ordered van to sound a d shouting the word st and the dashed forwards his m had employed the interval in pipes instantly stuck them in their mouths puff and charged gallantly under cover of he smoke the garrison ordered by the cunning not to fire until they could distinguish ef their eyes stood in horrid silence on the covert way until the eager had ascended the then did they pour into them such a tremendous the very hills around and were terrified even unto an of water that certain burst forth from their sides which to run unto the present day not a but would have bitten the dust that fire had not die kindly taken care that the should one and all observe their usual custom of shutting their eyes and turning away their heads at the moment of discharge the followed up fire by and tooth and nail upon the fi e with furious and now might be seen ef ta of which nor song have ever a parallel here was beheld the sturdy his quarter staff like the terrible giant his oak tree for he scorned to any other weapon and a time upon heads of whole of there the van posted at a distance like the of and it most with the new york i for they were so justly renowned at a if n i the tea in the fight the great song of st but as to the of they were absent from the battle having been sent out on a party to lay die neighbouring water patches in a of field might be seen the of s were horribly perplexed in a between two little hills by reason of the length of their noses there were the of and so for kicking the left foot but their dull availed them little at present being short of i ind in consequence of the hearty dinner they had eaten and they would have been put to had they not been by a gallant corps of of the who advanced to their assistance on one foot nor must i omit to mention the achievements of van who for a good quarter of an hour stubborn fight with a little whose hide he most and had he not come into the battle with no other weapon but his trumpet would in e put him to an end but now the combat on came the mighty and the fighting men of the after them thundered the van of together with the van and the van bearing down all before them then the and the pressing forward with many a oath at the head the warriors of hell in their thunder lightning and lastly the standard and body guards of peter bearing the great of the and now commenced the horrid din the desperate the ity the frantic history ot tke and self of war and panted and ed were darkened wit a tempest of mi went the the broad the crash went the v eyes and the horrors of the scene i am r head over heels and b wore the and cried ihe the works shouted hard peter fire the mine reared h d the trumpet of van su became of of fury and shouts of triumph in one hideous the earth shook as if struck with a stroke trees shrunk aghast and withered at die sight rocks in the ground like and even creek turned from its course and ran up a mountain in breathless terror long hung the contest doubtful for though a heavy shower of rain sent by the cloud compelling jove some cooled their as doth a bucket of water thrown on a group of fighting yet did they but pause for a moment to return with to the charge each other with black and bloody just at this juncture was seen a vast and dense column of smoke slowly rolling towards the scene of battle which for a while made even the furious to stay their arms in mute astonishment but the wind a moment the cloud from the midst thereof emerged the banner of the immortal michael this noble came en leading a solid of fed who had remained behind partly as a corps de and partly to die enormous dinner had eaten these did smoking their pipes with ao as to that has be n mentioned but being short of leg and of great and the protecting of the army of new having left the and into neighbouring tavern to themselves with it pot of beer a had well nigh io he l the scarcely had the of the attained the of battle before the instructed by of blows full at their tobacco pipes astounded at this unexpected assault and totally at seeing their pipes broken the fell into vast confusion already they begin to fly like a drove of they throw their own army in an uproar bearing down a whole of little the sacred banner on which is e the gigantic of is trampled in the dirt the pluck up new spirits and pressing on their rear apply	48
their feet i with a vigour that their motion nor doth the himself to receive divers grievous and of leather i but what oh muse was tlie rage oi the gallant peter when firom a he saw his army yield with a voice thunder did he roar after his warriors putting up such a war as did the stem when the troops were on the point of burning all his the men of up new courage when they heard their leader they dreaded his displeasure of which they stood in more awe than of all the in but the daring peter not waiting for their aid plunged sword in hand into the of the foe then did he display some such history of a as have been known me die of the ht the enemy before with he driving the like dogs into own but as he advanced the which upon the upon his rear and hung upon his one ca one ride drove his sword at the hero s heart hit die protecting power that watches over the sa tf of all great and good men turned aside the hostile blades sod directed it to a an iron endowed like the of supernatural powers no doubt in consequence of its decorated with a p of the blessed st thus was die dreadful blow but not to the great peter a loss of wind like as a bear when by worrying turns fiercely round his teeth and the foe so our hero turn upon the treacherous the miserable sought in flight for safely but the peter seizing him by an ie firom head ah i roared he here is what shall s meat of thee so saying he whirled his sword and made a that would have him had he like a hundred heads but that the pitying steel struck and shaved the for ever from hia at that v ry moment a cunning perched on the summit of a neighbouring mound his it and have sent the gallant a ghost to haunt the js shores bad hot the who had just stopped to her saw the great peril of her due sod despatched old his in the veiy nick of tone just as the match descended to the new york gave such a lucky blast as blew all the from the hole thus the horrid fight when the stout the from the top of a little perceived his troops beaten and kicked by the invincible peter language cannot describe the with which he was at the sight he only stepped for a moment to himself of five thousand and then drawing his down to the field of combat with such thundering strides as is said by to have taken when he strode down the to his at the no sooner did these two rival heroes come ce to ce than they each made a prodigious start such as is made by your most experienced stage then did they regard each other for a moment with bitter aspect like two ram cats on the very point of a then did they throw themselves in one attitude then in another striking their swords on the ground first on the ri ht side then on the left at last at it they went like five hundred houses on fire words cannot tell the of strength and displayed on this an encounter compared to which the battles of of with of with the or of that renowned knight sir of the mountains with the giant were all gentle sports and holiday at length the peter watching his opportunity aimed a blow with the foil intention of his adversary to the very but raising his sword it ofi so that glancing on one side it shaved away a huge that he always carried swung on one side pursuing its course it severed off a deep pocket stored with bread and cheese all which history of rolling among the armies occasioned a between the and and m k the general battle to wax ten times more than era enraged to see his military stores thus u waste the stout collecting all his forces mighty blow full at the hero s crest in vain did his cocked hat oppose its course the biting through the stubborn ram and would in v an have cracked his crown but that the skull was of hardness that the weapon shivered into pieces shedding a thousand sparks like beams of k his the stunned with the blow the peter up his eyes and beheld thousand besides and stars dancing about the at length missing us footing by reason of his wooden leg down he came oi his seat tf honour with a crash that shook the surrounding and would have his system had he not been received into a cushion than velvet which providence or or st or some kindly cow had i the in despite of that noble cherished by all true knights that play is a hastened to take advantage of the hero s fall but just as he was stooping to give the blow the ever i peter bestowed him a sturdy over the with his wooden leg that set some dozen of bells ringing triple in his the bewildered staggered with the blow and in the mean time the wary peter a pocket pistol lying hard by which had dropped from the of his faithful squire and van during his furious encounter with tne discharged it full at the head of the let not my reader mistake it was not a weapon loaded with powder and ball but a the to wi the in ho sir all i new york little sturdy stone charged to the with a of true dutch courage which the knowing van always carried about him by way of his the hideous sung through the air and true to its course as was the mighty fragment of a	48
are sitting down here smoking our pipes permit me to indulge in a reflection which at this moment passes across my mind how vain how fleeting how uncertain are all those gaudy after which we are panting and toiling in this world of fair the wealth which the has with so many weary days so many sleepless nights a heir may away in the noblest monuments which pride has ever reared to a name die hand of time will shortly tumble into ruins and even the brightest gained by of arms may and be ever by the n of mankind how many illustrious heroes says die good who were once the pride and glory of the age hath the silence of new york s buried in eternal oblivion and this it wag that induced the l when they went to battle so ti to sacrifice to the that their i should be recorded had not ho i his lofty the elegant the of had remained and such too c after all the toils and perils he had after all the a gallant actions he had achieved such too had nearly been i die fate of the peter but that i for e stepped in and engraved his name on the ble of history just as the time was silently i brushing it away for ever i the more i reflect the more am i at the j important character of the historian he is the sovereign j to decide upon the renown or of his fellow men he is the patron of kings and on whom t it depends whether they shall live in after ages or be gotten as were their ancestors before them the tyrant j may while the object of his tj exists but the historian possesses superior might for his power extends even beyond the grave the shades of d and long heroes anxiously bend down from above while he writes watching movement of his pen whether it shall pass by their s with neglect or them on the pages of renown even the drop of ink that hangs trembling oil his pen which he may either dash upon the floor or waste in idle tbat very drop which to him is not worth the twentieth part of a may be of value to some departed may half a score in one who would hare given worlds had they possessed them to the glorious let not my readers e however that i am in or am anxious to die importance of my tribe oa the contrary i when i on the q e his history of assume i to think what tions and we occasion in the i swear t thee honest reader as i am a man i weep at idea why let me ask are so illustrious daily tearing themselves away from the embraces the smiles of the of fortune and exposing to miseries of war why are kings aad whole countries in short what all great men of all ages and countries to commit so many and and inflict so many miseries upon mankind and on themselves but the mere hope some historian will kindly take them into notice and admit them into a comer of his volume for in short mighty object of all their toils their hardships and is nothing but immortal fame and what is immortal fame why half a page of dirty paper i alas alas how humiliating the idea that the renown of so great a man as peter should depend upon the pen of so little a man as and now having refreshed ourselves after the ana perils of the field it us to return once more to the scene of conflict and inquire what were the of this renowned conquest the fortress of being the fair and in a manner the key to new its capture was speedily followed by the entire of the province this was not a by the gallant and courteous of the peter though a man terrible in battle yet in the hour of victory was he with a spirit generous merciful and humane he not over his enemies nor did he make defeat more by for like that mirror of virtue the renowned he was more anxious to do great actions than to talk of them after they were done he put no man to death ordered no houses to be burnt down permitted new york no to be on the property of the and even gave one ol his officers a severe i with his walking staff for having been detected i in die act of a hen he moreover issued a inviting the a to submit to the authority of their high f but declaring with that whoever refused should be lodged at the public expense in a goodly castle provided for the purpose and have an armed to wait on them in the bargain in of these beneficent terms about thirty stepped forward and took the oath of in reward for which they were graciously permitted to remain on the banks of the where their descendants reside at this very day but i am told by divers observant travellers that they have never been able to get over the chap looks of their ant and do still from ther to son manifest of the sound given them by the sturdy the whole country of new having thus yielded to the arms of the triumphant peter was reduced to a x called south river and placed under th of a lieutenant governor subject to the control of the supreme government at new this great was called william or rather man who derived his as did of from the dimensions of his nose which projected from the centre of his countenance like the ef a he was die great of the tribe of the one of the most	48
ancient and honourable of the province the members of which do the origin of their dignity not as your noble families in england would do by having a glowing in their but by one history of and all wearing a right goodly stuck in tl middle of their faces was this perilous with the loss of only two men van i s tall spare who was knocked overboard by the boom of a in a flaw of wind and t van who was suddenly carried off by au however were as bravely the service of their country true it is peter had one of his limbs terribly being shattered to pieces in the act of the fortress but as it was fortunately his wooden leg the wound was promptly aod effectually healed and now nothing remains to this branch of my but to mention that this hero an his army returned to the under the shade of their as did the young under the moving forest of thus did they m e a solemn and entry into new bearing with them the conquered k and the remnant of his battered crew who for it that the had only fallen into a nd at the end of the from whence he was speedily restored by a wholesome of the nose these ci heroes were lodged according to the of the governor at the public expense in a and spacious castle being the prison of state of the immortal conqueror of bay was appointed governor and which has ever ance remained in the possession of his descendants this castle though very much altered and if ip being stands at the of pearl t ing s i new york it i a pleasant and goodly sight to witness tho joy of the people of at t ing their once more returned fr n i this war in the ss the old women thronged round van who the whole history of the campaign with ma i ss c saving that he took the credit of ti n g the whole bi self and p thi stout he f s entitled to seeing that it was effected by bis own the throughout the town gave holiday tp their little who followed in after the drums with paper caps on their heads and sticks in their breeches thus taking the first lesson in the art of wan as to the sturdy they at the heels of pe ter wherever he went waving their greasy hats in the air and shouting hard for it was indeed a day of roaring and a huge dinner was prepared at the in honour of the where i in one glorious con the great and the little of new am there were the and his ous the with their at their elbows the officers at the elbows of the and so on to the lowest grade of illustrious on of police every having his rag at his side to finish his pipe drink off his heel and laugh at his flights of immortal in short for a city feast is a city feast all the world over and has been a city feast ever since the creation the dinner went off much uie same as do our great and fourth of july loads of fish flesh and fowl were devoured of liquor drank thousands of pipes smoked and many a dull joke honoured with much sided laughter q m history of new york i not omit to to this peter w indebted another of his for so delighted were die honest with his that they him with the name of it that is to peter the great or as it was translated by the people of new de pig an which he maintained even unto the day of his death end of book sixth j i it containing the third of ths of the ea the nation a i the ine and fall of tiie dutch chapter l how peter relieved ike people from the but then of taking care of the sundry particulars of his conduct in time jl he history of the reign of peter a melancholy picture of the incessant cares and inseparable from aiid may serve as a solemn warning to all who are of the seat of power though crowned with by conquest and returning in triumph to his metropolis his ex was checked by the sad that had taken during short al o his absence the pi unfortunately for their own comfort had taken a draught of the of power during the of william the and though upon the accession of peter they felt with a certain instinctive perception which as as cattle k that the of t had passed into stronger yet could th y lu help ai id and the bit in silence by some and to be the destiny of most countries and more especially of your sm history of always to be governed by the man in the nation so that yoa will find an out die whole hat will to yoa errors in and you in the end that had he been at the head of matters have gone on a times mare strange that seems to be so generally should be so administered talent of so bestowed should be denied to the only man in die to w it is requisite thus it was in the present instance not a man all die herd of in new but was an on topics of state and could have directed better than peter but so severe was the old governor in his disposition tliat be would never suffer one of the multitude of able by wh mn he was surrounded to intrude his and save die country from destruction scarcely had he on his expedition against the than the old of william s began to thrust	48
their heads above water and to gather in meetings to discuss the of the at these the busy and their made a very considerable figure these worthy were no longer the id well ed tranquil that presided in the peace fill days of van on the being elected by the people they formed in a manner a sturdy between the mob and the they were great for popularity and fi r the rights of the resembling in dis interested zeal the wide mouthed of ancient or those virtuous of modem days em y the of the ke v york n the of these profound it is fi i the multitude i became in matters above i and all at once felt in like those ous in the glorious times of i illumination and without any previous or p experience became instantly capable o directing u the i movements of government nor must i neglect to tion a number of wrong headed old i ers who had come over when boys in the crew of the and were up as by the mob to suppose that a man who had helped to discover a country did not know how it ought to be governed wa preposterous in the extreme it would have been deemed as much a at the present day to question the political talents and universal of our old heroes of and to doubt that he who had fought for a government however stupid he be was not competent to fill any station under it but as peter had a singular inclination to govern his province without the assistance of his subjects he felt highly on his return to find the a they had assumed during his absence his first measure therefore was to restore perfect order by the dignity of the sovereign people he accordingly watched his opportunity and one when the enlightened mob was gathered together listening to a patriotic speech firom an inspired the peter like his great of all the all at once appeared among them with a countenance sufficient to a the whole meeting was thrown into consternation the orator seemed to have re a stroke in the very middle of a sublime sentence and stood aghast with open mouth and trembling knees whilst the words horror tyranny liberty ri ts taxes death destruction and a of other patriotic history of phrases came from his throat before he had power to close l s lips the shrewd peter took no no ce of the throng around him but advancing to die y and drawing out a huge silver watch which might have served in times of as a town and which is still retained by his descendants as a curiosity requested the orator to mend it and set it orator humbly confessed it was utterly out as he was ui with the nature of its construction nay but said peter try your ingenuity man you see i rings and wheels and how easily the hand may stop it and pull it to pieces and it not be equally easy to as to stop it the orator declared that his trade was wholly he was a poor and had never with a watch in his life that there were men skilled in the art whose business it was to attend to those matters but for his part he should only mar the and put the whole in confusion why master of cried peter turning suddenly upon him with a countenance tliat almost the of shoes into a perfect dost thou pretend to with the movements of government to and correct and patch and a complicated the principles of which are above thy comprehension and its simplest operations too subtle for thy understanding when thou not correct a trifling error in a common piece of the whole mystery of which is open to thy inspection hence with thee to the leather and stone which are ns of thy head thy shoes and confine to the for which heave has fitted thee but his voice until it made the ring if ever i catch thee or any of thy tribe again with the of government by st but i ll have every mother s of ye d alive and your hides stretched for drum heads that ye may make a noise to some purpose new york this threat and the voice in which it uttered caused the whole multitude to with fear the hair of the orator rose on his head like his swine s and not a knight of the his heart died within him and he felt as though he could have verily escaped through the eye of a needle but though this measure produced the desired effect iii the to order yet it tended to re the of the great peter among the many accused him of entertaining highly i sentiments and of leaning too much in e die indeed to be some for such aa accusation as he always carried soldier like port and was lar m his dress dressing himself not in uniform but rich apparel and was especially for hav ing hi sound leg which was a very comely on arrayed in a red and high of t simplicity of manners yet there wa some thin about him that rude ie encouraged bank and even social e he likewise some of and etiquette he received the common ef of visitors mi the before his door according to the custom of dutch rs but when fi received in his it th appear in clean by no s be footed and to take their ts off public oi k appeared with great pomp of ii for truth his station required as little show aiid always rode t church in a ij red s these s of state and ceremony occasion r r the i	48
b i of dutch houses with benches on each side ia history of discontent among the vulgar thej accustomed to find easy access to former nm and in particular had cm terms of extreme ity with william tes they therefore were impatient of these dignified whidi ed intrusion but peter had his own of thi g in these matters and was a the dignity of office he always maintained that government to be die least popular which is most open to popular access and control and that the very against court and the reserve of men in powers would soon despise rulers among whom they found even themselves to be of such at least had been the case administration of william the who b at on making himself popular had listened to every s suffered every body to have a n ce to his person it all hours and in a word treated every one as his ik equal by means every and public was enabled to measure wits with and to find out the true dimensions not only of bis person but his mind and what great man can stand such scrutiny it is the mystery that great men that gives them half their greatness we are always inclined to think highly of those who hold themselves aloof oar examination there is a kind of reverence for office which leads us to the me and abilities of men in power and to suppose that they must be constituted different from other men and indeed is as necessary in politics as in religion it certainly is of the first importance that a country be governed by wise men but then it is almost important that the people should believe them to be wise for this belief alone can produce willing to keep up therefore this desirable confidence m new york si f ers e people should be allowed to ee as little of them as possible he who access to finds out by what foolishness the world is h that there is in as well a in every thing that many a me which is by the million to be the result of great wisdom and deep is the e of n e or of hair that rulers ve their ind errors as well as men after au are not r to their creatures as he at first imagined i e t even l s o vn bay e had some weight with them thus a ve into confidence confidence and produces contempt peter on the co t by himself with dignity and was looked up to with great reverence as he never gave his for any thing he d l t e public always gave credit for y ery every movement however wa a matter of speculation and his very red excite some as different firom the stockings of men to these times may we the e of p e and aristocratic f i i l i back with reverence to the early planting of t mighty dutch which vigorous root p d branch ed put so jn our state the which has flowed down through a sion pf steady virtuous generations since the times of of must certainly be pure and worthy and if so then are the van the in a work many years after the here treated of by c w a m it is mentioned that was counted the richest in new york and was said to have whole indian money or and had a son and daughter p to the dutch custom should divide it equally r s history of van the van homes the the tile the and all the true descendants of the ancient die intimate and real lords of the soil i have been led to m thus the claims of our genuine dutch i have noticed with great sorrow and m have been some i at aside in latter day bj it is really to many great families have sprung up of late years pride themselves excessively on the score of thus he who can look up to his without not a little importance he who talk of his grandfather is still more who can look back to his great grandfather without is absolutely intolerable in his pretensions to bless us what a piece of work is here between these of an hour and these of a day but from what i have in the former part of this chapter i would not have my reader imagine the great peter was a governor ruling with a rod of on the where the dig of authority not he with i generosity and courteous condescension in he though i fear my more enlightened republican readers will consider it a proof of his ignorance and that in preventing the cup of social life from being dashed with the he promoted the tranquillity and happiness of the and by minds from subjects they could not understand and which only tended to their passions he enabled them to attend more and to their useful citizens and more attentive to and i so far from having any unreasonable he de new york iq to see the and the man rejoice and for this purpose was a great of holidays and amusements under his reign was first introduced the custom of eggs at or new year s day was also observed with extra and ushered in by the ringing of bells and firing of guns every house was a temple to the jolly god of brandy true and were set afloat on the occasion and not a poor man in but made it a point to get drunk out of a principle of pure economy taking in liquor enough to serve him for half a year afterwards it would have done one s heart good also to have seen the peter seated among the old and their wives	48
of a saturday afternoon under the great trees that s h their shade over the battery watching the young men and women as they danced on the green here he would smoke his pipe crack his joke and forget the rugged toils of war in the sweet of peace he would occasionally give a nod of approbation to those of the young men who and kicked most vigorously and now and then give a hearty in all honesty of soul to the that held out longest and tired down all her which he considered as in of her being the best once it is true the harmony of the meeting was rather interrupted a young of great figure in the gay world and who having lately come firom holland of course led the in the city made her appearance in more than half a and these too of most alarming an universal ran through the assembly the old ladies all shod ed in the extreme the young ladies blushed and felt excessively for the poor thing and even the governor himself was observed to be a little troubled in mind to complete the astonishment of the good folks she undertook in the course of a to de or ft was ic l si were a link and peter who was a of mat the in die of kid long e and with die of die ladies one be m to die bottom he o i d c ic d die and indeed die use no in tf m f g and and and pain of his high to it what was the graces these were the only be ever die sex and these were considered by them as and resisted with that becoming q by the gentle sex whenever their are in peter if he attempted to push the matter any further there was danger of their leaving off altogether so like a wise man experienced in the ways of women he peace and suffered ever after to wear their and cut their as high as they pleased t t chapter a peter wm much hy the mass the east and the giants of and how a dark t end horrid was carried on in the v against the prosperity of the we ai now approaching towards the of our and if i be not mistaken in we shall have a world of business to despatch in the chapters it is with some as it is with certain e individuals they have a wonderful facility at ting into i have always remarked that those are most liable to get ih who have the least talent at getting out this is doubtless owing to the excessive df those states for i have likewise noticed that this and quality is always most most confined which accounts for its in little states little men and ugly little women more especially when one that the province of the though of prodigious importance in the eyes of its inhabitants and its historian was really of no very great con in the eyes of the rest of the world thi t it had but little wealth or other spoils to reward the of it and that it had nothing to expect from running into war save an exceeding good beating cm pondering these things i say one would utterly despair of finding in its history either battle or or any other of those which give importance to nation and entertainment to the reader but on the contrary we find so is this province that it has drawn upon itself a host of enemies has had as history of b u va at co many as would gratify the ambition of the most warlike nation and is in sober sadness a very distressed and wo little province all which was no doubt kindly ordered by providence to give interest and to this pathetic history but i forbear to enter into a detail of the and that for a long while after the on the continued to insult the di and disturb the repose of the si it in to say that the hostility of the people of the east which had so been firom breaking out as my readers must ty tbe sudden of and the in die council of now again displayed in a thousand grievous and bitter upon the scarcely a month passed but what the dutch on the were alarmed by the sudden of an army from this advance resolutely through the country like a of the deserts the women and children mounted in carts loaded with pots and as g t y meant to boil the honest alive and them so many at the tail of these carts would stalk f crew of long sided with on their shoulders and on their backs bent upon the country in despite of its settling down would in a short time the unfortunate them out ci those rich and in which oar dutch are so for themselves it is notorious that wherever men of the east get a footing the honest gradually disappear retiring like tbe indians before the being totally by the talking disposition of their new all these audacious cm the of ic is ar v w tt ir new york high were accompanied as has before een hinted by a world of nd which would doubtless have die peter to immediate had he not mt the same time been perplexed by distressing counts from who commanded the at south river the restless who had so graciously l een suffered to remain about the already began to how signs of and but what was a claim was laid to the territory as property of lord by a who lived over the colony of or merry land as it was called because the inhabitants not having the fear of the lord before their eyes	48
were prone to get and make merry with and a le nay so hostile was this bully that he threatened unless his were instantly complied with to march at the head of a force of the roaring boys of merry land together with a great and mighty train of giants who the banks of the and to lay waste and the whole country of south river by this it is manifest that this boasted colony like ail great of territory soon became a greater evil wo find v curious and accounts of these people who were doubtless the ancestors of the present made by master in his interesting the he are a people strange in behaviour and attire their voice sounding from them as if out a cave their tobacco pipes were three quarters of a yard carved at the great end with a bird or other sufficient to beat out the of a horse and how many are beaten out or men smoked out and brains in bj our lesser pipes at home the of one of their was measured three quarters of a about the rest of his limbs matter history of to the conqueror than the loss of it was to the and caused greater uneasiness and trouble than territory of the new besides thus wisely orders that one evil shall balance the conqueror who the property of his who wrongs a nation and a country he may acquire increase of empire and immortal yet his own inevitable he takes to a cause of endless anxiety he witb his late sound domain a loose part a rotten member which is an source of internal son and and external and happy is that m which united loyal in all its parts and concentrated in its strength se no idle acquisition of and which content to be and has no tion to be great it a man well organized in all his system sound in health and of vigour by useless tr and fixed in an attitude but the nation pf territory whose are scattered feebly united and weakly ic is like a senseless among golden open to every attack and unable tp e th r be vainly to at the time of receiving the alarming south river the great peter was busily employed in ing certain indian troubles that had broken out about and was moreover meditating how to relieve his borders on the he however sent word to to be pf good art to t incessant vigilance and to let him know if wm a more threatening appearance in which case he repair with his warriors of the to spoil the merriment pf these merry fi exceedingly to have a bout hand to hand with some half a score of these having never encountered a new york f as n whole unless we may so call the and he was but a little on nothing further however occurred to the of and his and his remained at home it soundly a upon cakes bacon and j and horses b add fighting for which they greatly i at of this peter was very w u pleased i for notwithstanding his to measure weapons with these monstrous of the yet he i had already as much employment nearer home as he i turn his hands tp li de did he think worthy soul i that this southern calm was but the to a t most terrible and then which was soon to burst forth and the city i of new now so it wa that this excellent was bis little laws and not only giving them but them while he was ling the rounds of his beloved province from e to place to and while busy at one corner of his all the rest getting into an uproar at this very i say a dark and plot was ing against him in that nursery of monstrous projects british cabinet the news of his achievements on th x el ware according to a sage old historian of new had occasioned not a little and m the courts of europe and the s me profound writer a us that the c of england began great jealousy and at the power of the and the of its sturdy agents the historian were sent by the am council of the east to entreat the assistance pf the british cabinet in this mighty e l sterling also asserted his right to long island and lit the same time lord whose agent as ha s sm history of before been had so laid his before the tb e rf which he complained were and detained from him by these daring rs of ae i thus did the unlucky empire of the in imminent danger of the of and being torn limb limb to be shared its savage neighbours but while these were their and waiting for the signal to tooth and nail upon this delicious little dutch empire the lion who sat as all at once laid ins mighty upon the spoil and settled tbe claims of parties by none of them for we are told that his majesty charles the second not to be perplexed by these several pretensions made a pr large tract of north america including the of new to his brother the duke of a truly royal since none but great have a t to give away what does not belong to them that this gift might not be merely his majesty on the th of march ordered should be forthwith prepared to the city of by land and water and put his brother in complete possession of the thus are situated the of the the so far from of the in which their interests are are smoking their pipes and thinking at all the of the province at this moment in foil like the of an hundred while the active	48
p r who all the labour of thinking and acting is some method of bringing the grand to terms in the meanwhile an h an the horizon it ra e york the ears ni and put the of their stout hearted governor completely to the trial but come what i here pledge my that in all warlike and subtle he shall i himself with the gallant bearing and honour of a obstinate old forward then to the out stars on the renowned of the and may the blessings of st go honest chapter iii of peter s expedition into the east country that though an old bird he did not understand trap great nations resemble great men in this particular that their greatness is seldom known until they get in trouble therefore has been wisely the ordeal of true greatness which like gold never receive its real estimation until it has passed through the furnace in proportion therefore as a nation a community or an individual possessing the quality of greatness is involved in and in proportion does it rise in grandeur and even hen sinking under calamity makes like a house on fire a more glorious display than ever it did in the fairest period of its prosperity the vast empire of china though with population and and the wealth of nations has throng a succession of drowsy ages and were it not for its internal and the of its ancient government by the might have presented nothing but ah uninteresting detail of dull monotonous prosperity and bu history of mm might have passed into oblivion with a herd of had they not been fortunately d by a the renowned city of has acquired only from its ten distress and final paris rises in importance by the plots and which have ended in the exaltation of the napoleon and even the mighty london itself has through the records of time celebrated for nothing of moment excepting the the great fire and s plot thus cities and seem to creep along in silent obscurity under the pen of the historian until at length they burst forth in some tremendous calamity and snatch as it were immortality fi om the explosion i the above principle being admitted my reader will plainly perceive that the city of new and its dependent province are on the high road to greatness dangers and threaten from every side and it is really a matter of astonishment to how so small a state has been able in so short a time to itself in so many difficulties ever the province was first taken by the nose at the fort of good hope in the days of van has it been increasing in historic importance and never could it ha e had a appropriate to conduct it to the of grandeur than peter in the fiery heart of this iron headed old warrior sat all those five kinds of courage described by and had the philosopher mentioned five hundred more to the back of them i verily believe he would have been found master of them all the only was that he was deficient in the better part of called discretion a cold blooded virtue which could not exist in the tropical climate of his mighty soul hence it he was continually hurrying into those unheard of that of to ki and hence it wa that conceived a project worthy of the of la himself this was no other than to repair in person to the great ef the the sword in one hand and die olive branch in the other to require for the innumerable of treaty which in an evil hour he had formed to put a stop to repeated on the eastern border or else to throw his and appeal to arms on declaring this resolution in his council the venerable members were seized witli vast astonishment for once in their lives they ventured to setting forth the of exposing his sacred person in the midst of a strange and barbarous people with other all which had about as much influence upon the determination of the peter as though you were to endeavour to turn a rusty a broken therefore to his presence his van he commanded him to hold himself in readiness to accompany him the following morning on this his enterprise now the was a little stricken in years yet by dint of keeping up a good heart and never known or sorrow having never been married he was still a hearty wag and of great c city in the this last was ascribed to his living a jolly life on those at the which peter had granted to him for his gallantry at fort be this as it may there was nothing that more delighted this command of the great peter for he could have followed the stout hearted old governor tp the world s end with love and loyalty and he moreover stiu history of tke fix and and other di of the east country and dainty recollection of kind whom he exceedingly to encounter then did this mirror other but his upon one of ever recorded in ihe of for a single w to venture openly nation of foes but all tor a to think of with the council of new england never was there known s more desperate undertaking ever since i have entered the df this but hitherto t has he kept me in a state and with the toils nd dangers he is oh i for a chapter of ail re van that i might se m it as oo a bed is it not enough peter i have once already rescued thee firom the of these to thine aid l it not enough that i have followed like a spirit t die horrid battle of fort i l i have been incessantly to my to keep	48
thee safe and sound t now off with my the shower of blows that fell upon i now ng thee from a deadly thrust by now skull with v when even hy stubborn ram to the sword of ae p and now not merely thee off alive but triumphant from the of the gigantic e by the desperate means of a paltry stone this enough but must thou stiu be into new difficulties and in thy and thy historian new york s and now the ruddy faced like a ber draws aside the curtains of the ni t and out his bed the red haired startled at being caught so late in the embraces of dame with a stable oath he his en footed and and lashes and up the like a post boy half an hour be his time and now behold that of me and the peter a raw arrayed in foil and on his that brass sword had wrought such deeds on the banks of the hard after him his van mounted on a broken wall eyed his which had laid low the mighty under his arm ad his trumpet in his right hand decorated with a gorgeous banner c which is the t bearer of the see them proudly issuing out of gate like an iron clad hero of with his faithful squire at his heels the following them with their eyes and shouting many a parting and hearty cheering farewell hard i farewell honest l f pleasant be your way ring prosperous your the hero that ever drew a sword and the that ever shoe leather legends are silent about the that our in this their adventurous travel the t which gives the of a pleasant heroic poem written on the occasion by wh appears to was moreover of the latin school in there are two pieces of in d of upon his marriage with old ms history of have been poet of manuscript us to behold the great peter and his loyal the morning son and rejoicing in the clear of nature as they it the pastoral of which in those days was a sweet and valley with many a bright wild refreshed by many a and to and there by a little dutch cottage under sloping hill and almost buried in ing trees now did they enter the of where they encountered many grievous difficulties and pe at one place they were assailed by a di try and who mounted on goodly hung upon their rear fix several miles them exceedingly with and questions more especially the peter whose r d excited not a little marvel at another place hard by the le town of they were set upon by a great and mighty of church who demanded them five shillings for travelling on and threatened to carry them captive to a church whose peer d above the trees but these the peter put to with little difficulty that they their and off in ble confusion leaving their cocked hats behind in die ry of th flight but not so easily did he escape the of a man of who with perseverance and repeated him out of his goodly leaving him in place thereof a but all these hardships they pursued their now called blooming about four miles from new york new york s h g the course of the soft e gentle wave says the through a fertile tide and r reflecting the of g and now the rural if the echoing the busy hum of ey an now with song of the peasant at every town would who was noted warlike order the sturdy to sound a courteous salutation though the manuscript that the inhabitants were thrown into great dismay when they heard of his i for the fame of his achievements on the had spread through out the east country and they dreaded l t be had come to take vengeance on their manifold but the good peter rode towns with a aspect waving his hand with and ns for he verily believed that the old clothes which these ingenious people had thrust into broken windows and the of dried apples and which ornamented the fronts of their were so many in honour of his approach as it was the custom in the days of chivalry to compliment renowned heroes by of and gorgeous furniture the women crowded to the doors to upon him as he passed so much does in arms delight the gentle sex the little children too ran after him in troops staring with wonder at his his breeches and the silver of his wooden leg nor must i omit to mention the joy which many betrayed at the jovial van who had delighted them so much with his trumpet when he bore the great peter s challenge to the the kind hearted alighted from his mare and kissed them all with infinite loving kindness and was right pleased to see a crew of crowding around him for his blessing t history of each rf whom be patted on the head bin be a boy and gave him a to the but little mention of the s es this that he was with find respect by the great of the talked him to death with i will not detain t bj dwelling on his with the grand council suffice it to mention it was like all a great deal was said and very lone i one led to b at which it took a to at tiie end of h the parties themselves just were at first that they had entangled in a host of questions of etiquette add a distrust of each other that rendered their tions ten times more difficult than ever in the midst of all these the brain and the ire of the sturdy peter who was perhaps of ail men in	48
die world least fitted for he privately received the first of the dark conspiracy which had been in the cabinet of england to this was added the intelligence that a hostile had already sailed fit m england destined to reduce the province of new and that the grand council of had engaged to co operate by sending a great army o new by land unfortunate peter did i r ith sad upon this ill expedition did i hot tremble i saw thee with no other bnt thine own i for certain of the of this see has col state it is singular that smith is entirely silent with to this memorable expedition of peter s if r butt a i other but a did i id thus sally forth to contend with all the knowing powers of new england oh how did the sturdy old warrior rage and roar when he found himself thus f nt like a lion in the hunter s toil now did he determine to draw his sword and to fight his way through all the countries of the east now did he resolve to break in upon the council of the and put every mother s son of them to death at length as his wrath subsided he resorted to thou less glorious from the council his knowledge of their he privately a messenger with to his at new them of the impending danger co them immediately to put the city iu posture of ce while in the mean time he would endeavour to his enemies and come to their assistance this done he felt sly relieved rose slowly shook himself like and issued forth from his den in much the same manner as t despair is described to have issued from doubting castle in the history of the grim s progress and now much does it grieve me that i must leave the peter in this imminent but it to hurry back and see what js going on at new for greatly do i fear that city i already in a turmoil such was ever the fate of peter while doing one thing with heart and soul he was too apt to leave every thing else at and while like a of he was absent attending to those things in which in modem days are trusted to and and his little territory at home was sure to h i history of get in an all was owing ho strength of intellect whidi him to but l and which had liim the of peter the chapter iv the people of new were thrown into a great by the news of a threatened invasion and the manner in which themselves there is no sight more truly interesting to a than to contemplate a community every has a voice in where every individual thinks himself the of the nation and where ever individual thinks it his duty to himself for the good of his country i say there is nothing more to a philosopher than to see such a community in a bustle of war such a of tongues such a of patriotism such running hither and thither every body in a hurry every body up to the ears in le every body in the way and every body interrupting ik industrious neighbour who is busily in doing nothing it is like witnessing a great fire where man is at work like a hero some dragging about empty en others with full and ig the contents into the boots of their neighbours and others ringing the church bells all night by way of putting oat fire little like sturdy little knights ing a breach up and down ladder and through tin trumpets by way of directing the attack here one busy fellow in his great zeal to save the of the unfortunate catches up an chamber and it ofi with an air of as new york l s f he bad rescued a pot cf money lo g china out of the win to save the flames while those who do nothing else to as t the great calamity run and down the streets with open throats keeping up an incessant cry j fire fire when the news arrived at says the grave and profound though i own the story is rather that philip was about to attack them the were thrown into violent alarm some ran to fur up their aims others rolled stones to build up the walls every body in short was and every body was in the way of his neighbour alone was the only man who could find nothing to do whereupon not to be idle when the re of his country was at stake he tucked up his robe and fell to rolling hb tub with might and main up and down the in like manner did every mother s son in the patriotic community new on receiving the of peter busy himself most in putting things in confusion and assisting the general uproar every man the manuscript flew to arms i by which is meant that not one of our honest dutch citizens would venture to church or to market without an old fashioned spit of a sword dangling at his side and a long dutch on his shoulder nor would he go out of a night without a nor turn a comer without first peeping cautiously lest he should come unawares upon a army and we are informed that who was considered by the old women almost as brave a man as the governor actually had two pound mounted in his entry one pointing out at the front door and the other at the back but the most measure resorted to on this occasion and one which has ance been of history of was to ms these i have already im extremely to peter but a this a moment	48
of was not to they br ke out with intolerable violence hither therefore vi repaired and there seemed to be a competition among them who should h e aod exceed the others in bursts patriotism and in resolutions to and defied the government in these sage and all meetings it was that they were this most the dignified the most iii and the most upon the fact of the earth that was so universally and readily carried was immediately proposed whether it were not possible and to britain upon which sixty nine members spoke most in tbe affirmative and only one arose s a est some doubts who as a punishment for his presumption was immediately seized by the and and which punishment being equivalent to the rock he was afterwards considered as ai outcast from society and his opinion went for the question therefore being carried in the it was recommended to the grand council to pass it into a law which was accordingly by this measure the hearts of the people at large were and they and indeed the first pf alarm having in some subsided the old hai g all the money could their hands on d their husbands getting with what was left the community b su to stand on the offensive songs were ip low dutch and sung t i i e ng most i quarter new york ss and addresses were made wherein it was proved to a certainty that the te of old england depended up cm the of the new to strike a blow at the very of great britain a multitude of the wiser inhabitants and having purchased all the british find they made thereof a huge and in the patriotic glow of the moment every man present i had a hat or breeches of english led it and it most into the i to the loss and ruin of the in of this great they erected a on the spot with a device on the top intended to re resent the province of great britain under the of an eagle picking the island c old england out of the globe but either through the of the br his ill timed it bore a striking re semblance to a goose vainly striving to get hold of a chapter v how the grand co of the new came to r gift f i h with a great of it need but very little penetration in any one ao with the character and habits of that most and monarch the sovereign people to discover notwithstanding all the bustle and talk of that stunned him in die last chapter the renowned city of new ami is in sad reality not a whit bet prepared for defence than before now though the history of people having gotten over the and enemy immediately at hand had tongue for whidi your is so run into the opposite extreme and dint of and had actually talked into the opinion that they were the most powerful people under the sun were the of peter somewhat m that point they dreaded moreover lest that should return and find that instead of orders they had wasted time in to the of the mob than which well there was nothing he held in more exalted contempt to make up therefore as speedily as lost time a grand of the and was to talk over the critical state of the ih and devise measures for its safety two were agreed upon in this venerable first that the to be put in a state of defence and secondly that as the danger was there should be no time lost which points being settled they immediately fell to making long speeches and one another in endless and for about this time was this unhappy city first visited bj that talking so universally in tha country and which so invariably itself wherever a number of wise men breaking out in long windy speeches caused as by the foul air which is ever ui a now it was moreover that they first introduced the method of measuring the merits of an by hour glass he being considered the orator spoke longest on a question for which excellent invention it is recorded we are indebted to the same profound dutch critic who judged of books by their size this sudden passion for endless so little new york and our was supposed by certain learned to ha e been together with other l pi from their savage who were noted for their long and who would never undertake any a ir of the importance without previous their and old but the real cause the people in their to the grand were in choosing them for their talents at talking without whether they the more rare difficult and oft times important talent of holding tongues the consequence wa that this body was composed of the most men in the community as they considered themselves placed there to talk every man concluded that his duty to his and what is more his p u with them required that ha should on every whether he understood it or not there was an ancient mode of burying a by every throwing his shield of earth on the until a mighty was formed so whenever a s brought forward in this assembly every member pressing forward to throw on his of wisdom the subject was quickly buried a huge mass of we are told in the nights of when were admitted into the school of they were for two years silence and were neither permitted to ask questions nor make remarks after they had thus acquired the art of ing their tongues they were gradually permitted to make inquiries and finally to communicate their own opinions what a pity is it that while up the rubbish and rags pf antiquity we should these precious gems to	48
lie unnoticed what a would this wise r tion pf have if v ss history of introduced in md it have tended to in tlie t of the i r thus however did dame whom the b antiquity have as n woman to mischievous pleasure in the i of new the old of long d es and short pipes which had been h by the grasp of peter now f top with violence not that the original of still existed but it has ever b the h party names and party to long after die li principles that gave rise to them have far u to complete the public and be tiie h word economy which one hai thought was dead and buried with william the was once more set afloat like the apple of discord hi the grand according to which of policy it was deemed more expedient to throw twenty thousand upon an of d fence than thirty thousand on a good and substantial the province thus making a clear saving of ten but when they to discuss the mode t f then began a war of words that all the members being as i observed in parties were enabled to proceed with v stem and regularity in the discussion of the questions them whatever was proposed by a long pipe was opposed by the whole tribe of pipes who true considered it th ir to effect the tlie long their second to themselves and their third to consult the welfare of the his at least was the creed of the most upright among the party for as to the great mass they out of the question altogether i new york in great foi pf s it i t r th of ts fo r ce th t out i o ie c ha ev r of b f i or ha e b n of unless i be in very i that threw the s st of the a completely ip the g still l nothing could decided on for so i formidable host of ca tl r red by one p they were de i by the other the simple stood f in expectation pf mighty e th t was to be f au thi ng but they gazed in vain fin r it that the grand council f determined to protect the province a did the noble and gigantic his army by it with his tongues indeed there was a portion of the consisting of old who th pipes and said nothing excepting to negative every plan of defence that was offered these were of that class of wealthy old citizens who having a fortune button up their pockets shut their mouths look rich and are good for nothing all the rest of like some which having swallowed a pearl its shell settles down in the mud and parts with its life sooner than its treasure every plan of defence seemed to these worthy old gentlemen with ruin an armed force was a of upon the public property to out a naval to throw their money into the sea to was to bury it in the dirt in short they settled it as a sovereign so long as pockets were no matter how much they were a kick left no a broken head cured itself but an empty purse was of all the to heal and in which nature did nothing to the pa thus did this venerable assembly of lavish away that time which the of affairs rendered invaluable history of in and agreeing except on the point with namely that there was no time to be lost and at length st taking ia their distracted situation and to p reserve them from so ordered that in the midst c one of most on the of and defence when they had nearly to in of not being able to convince each die was happily settled by a messenger who into the chamber and informed them that the hostile fleet had arrived and was actually advancing up the bay thus was all further necessity of either or completely and thus was the grand council saved a world of words and the province a wm of expense a most absolute and of chapter vi the troubles of new to showing the bravery in time of peril of a people n ho defend themselves resolutions like as an assemblage of cats engaged in and one with hideous in s es and on the point of breaking forth into a general are suddenly put to and by the startling appearance of a house dog so was the no less council of new astounded and totally dispersed by the sudden arrival of the enemy every member made the best c his way home along as fast as his short l s could new york their and aa he went with and terror when he arrived at his he the street door and buried himself in the a der without daring to peep out lest he should have his head carried off by a cannon haul the people all crowded into the market place with the instinct sheep who seek for sa ty in each other s company when the and his dog are absent and the wolf ia round the far from finding relief however they only increased other s terrors each man looked in his neighbour s in search of encouragement but only found in its a confirmation of his own dismay not a word now was to be heard of conquering great britain not a whisper about the sovereign virtues of economy while the old women heightened the general gloom by their te and calling for protection on st and pe ter oh how did they the absence of the lion hearted peter and how did they long for the comforting presence of	48
van indeed a gloomy uncertain hung over the te of these adventurous heroes day after day had the alarming message firom the governor bringing any tidings of his safety many a conjecture was as to what had him and his loyal squire had they not been devoured alive by the of and cape were not put to the question by the great council of were they not smothered in by the terrible men of in the midst of this consternation and when horror like a night mare sat brooding upon the little of new the ears of the multitude suddenly startled by a strange and distant sound it approached it grew louder and louder and history of now it at the ci gate the public could not be mistaken in the well known sound a of jo burst from lips as the gallant peter covered dust and followed by his came into the market place the first of the having subsided they gathered round the as he dismounted his horse overwhelming him with greetings congratulations la breathless accents he related to them the marvellous adventures h which the governor and himself had gone in making their escape from the of the terrible but though the manuscript with its customary where any thing touching the great peter is is very particular as to the incidents of i treat yet the particular state of the will not allow me to indulge in a recital thereof let it suffice to say that while peter was anxiously revolving in his mind how he could make good his escape with honour and dignity certain of the ships sent out for the conquest of the touched at eastern ports to obtain needful supplies and to call on the grand council of the league for its promised upon hearing of this the peter perceiving a s delay were made a secret and though much did it his lofty soul to be obliged to turn his back even upon a of foes many and divers perilous did sustain as they ed without sound of trumpet through e fair regions of th e already was the country in an uproar with hostile and they were obliged to take a large circuit in th flight ng through the of the devil s from whence the peter forth one day a lion and put to route a whole l on of consisting of three generations of a new york s s who were already on their way to take possession of some corner of the new nay the fill had difficulty at sundry times to pi vent him in the excess of his wrath from descending down the mountains and sword in hand upon certain of the border towns who were forth their the first movements of the governor on his was to mount the from whence he with aspect the hostile this had already c me to an anchor in the bay and consisted of two stout having on board as john ua three hundred red coats having taken this survey he sat himself down and wrote an to the commander demanding his reason of in the harbour without obtaining so to do this letter was in the most and courteous terms though i have it from authority that his teeth were and he had a bitter grin upon his all the w he wrote having despatched hi letter the n peter to and fro about the town with a most war be countenance his hands thrust into his breeches and whistling a low dutch tune whidi bore no small resemblance to the music of east wind a storm is the very dogs as they eyed him away in dismay while all the old and ugly df howling at heels him to save them om murder robbery and pitiless the of col ho commanded the rs was in terms of court with the ter of the the right title of bis british majesty to the province where he affirmed the dutch to be mere and demanding that the town c should be forthwith rendered into his history of obedience and promising at same time life liberty estate and free trade to e dutch who should readily submit to his s government peter read over this friendly wa some such harmony of aspect as we may suppose a who has long been upon his i soil reads the loving letter of john that of an action of the old governor however was not to be taken by surprise but thrusting the summons into his breeches pocket he stalked three across the room took a pinch of snuff with great and then waving his hand promised to send an answer the next morning in the mean time he called a general council of war of his and not for the purpose of asking their advice for that as has been already shown he valued not a rush but to make known unto them his sovereign determination and require their prompt before however he his council he resolved upon three important points never to give up the city without a little hard fighting for he deemed it highly to the dignity of so renowned a ci to suffer itself to be captured and stripped without receiving a few into the bargain secondly i that the majority of his grand council was composed of utterly destitute of true bottom and that he would not therefore suffer them to see the summons of col lest the easy terms it held out might induce them to for a surrender his orders being duly it was a piteous sight to behold the late who had the whole british empire in their peeping out of their hiding places and then crawling cautiously forth through narrow lanes and starting at every little dog that as though new york it had been a of british rs and in the excess of their panic ing	48
into soldiers at their having however in despite of numerous perils and difficulties of the kind ar safe without the loss of a sin e man at the hall of assembly they took their seats and awaited in fearful si the arrival of the governor in a few wooden leg of the peter was heard in regular and stout hearted upon the staircase he entered the chamber arrayed in full suit of and his not on his but tucked under his arm as the governor never equipped himself ki this manner unless something of martial na working within his fearless his regarded him as a very bearing fire and sword in his iron countenance and forgot to light their pipes in breathless suspense the great peter was as eloquent as he was indeed these two rare qualities seemed to go hand in hand in his composition and unlike most great states men whose are only confined to the field of argument he was always ready to enforce his words by no less hardy deeds his speeches were ge o marked by a simplicity approaching to and by decision addressing the grand council he touched briefly upon the perils and hardships he had sustained in escaping from his foes he next reproached the council for wasting in idle debate and party that time which should have been to their country he was particularly indignant at who conscious of security had disgraced the of the province by impotent and a noble aud a enemy cowardly who were incessant in their and at the lion while distant or asleep x history of bat he approached were the first u i way he now called on those who had been so in their threats against great britain to stand sod support their by their actions for it was not that the spirit of a nation he proceeded to the golden days of former prosper y which were only to be gained by their enemies by force of arms is always more sure and that which is patched up by temporary he endeavoured moreover to arouse their martial fire by reminding them of the time when before the walls of fort he had led them on to he strove likewise to awaken their confidence by them of the protection of who had hitherto maintained them in safety amid all the savages of the wilderness the and of the east and the giants of merry land finally he informed them d the insolent summons he had received to surrender but concluded by swearing to defend the province as long as heaven was on his side and he had a wooden to stand upon which noble sentence he by a with the broad side of his sword up xi die table that totally his the who had long been accustomed to the governor s way and in had been brought into as perfect discipline as were ever the soldiers c the great saw that there was no use in saying a word so lighted their pipes and smoked away in silence like bt and discreet but the being less under the governor s control considering themselves as representatives of the sovereign people and being moreover with considerable importance and self which they had acquired at those notable schools of wisdom and morality the popular were not so easily satisfied up fresh spirit when they new york there was some chance of escaping from their it without the disagreeable alternative of fights ing they requested a copy of the is to surrender that they might show it to a general meeting of the so insolent and a request would have been to have roused the of the tranquil van what thai must have been its effect upon the great who was not only a a governor and a wooden legged soldier to boot but withal a man of the most disposition he burst forth into a blaze of noble indignation to which the rage of was a mere fit not a mother s son of them should see a syllable of it that they deserved every one of them to be hanged drawn and for daring to question the of government that as to their advice or he did not care a of tobacco for either that he had long been harassed and by their cowardly but that they might go home and go to bed like old women for he was determined to defend the colony himself without the assistance of them or then so saying he tucked his sword under his arm cocked his hat upon his head and up his indignantly out of the council chamber every body making room for him as he passed no sooner had he gone than the busy called a public meeting in front of the house appointed as one a mighty baker in the land and formerly of the cabinet of william the he was looked up to with great reverence by the who considered him a man of dark knowledge seeing he was the first that new year cakes with the mysterious of the x ck and breeches and such like devices this great who still the of history die s fc ty in of been kicked oat of cabinet al die time of his the reins of e r nm addressed die greasy in what is called a patriotic m which he them of the to of the s r to of his denying the a sight rf the summons wliich he had no doubt contained conditions highly to the honour and advantage of the province he then proceeded to of his in high sounding terms to the dignity and grandeur of his station comparing him to sad those other great men of who are generally quoted by popular cm similar occasions assuring the people that the history of the world did not contain a outrage to equal	48
the present for cruelty tyranny and blood that it would be recorded in letters of fire on the blood stained of history ages would roll back with sudden horror when they came to view it that the of time by the way your and writers take strange liberties with the of time though some would have us believe that time is an old gentleman that the of time as it was with horrors would never produce a parallel with a variety of other soul stirring and figures which i cannot neither indeed need i for they were exactly the same that are used in ail popular and patriotic at the present day and may be in under the general tide of the speech of this inspired being finished the meeting fell into a kind of popular whidi produced not only a string of right wise resolutions but likewise a most resolute memorial addressed to the governor at his conduct which was no sooner handed to him than he handed it into the and thus new of an invaluable document that might have as a precedent to the enlightened and of the present day in their sage with politics i i chapter vii a of the and how peter like a second suddenly dis solved a parliament now did the high minded de shower down a load of upon his for a set of self willed obstinate who would neither be convinced nor persuaded and determined to have nothing more to do with them but to consult merely the opinion of his which he knew from experience to be the best in the world inasmuch as it never differed from his own nor did he omit now that his was in to bestow some thousand left handed compliments upon the sovereign p whom he rs led at for a herd of who had no relish for the hai illustrious of battle r but would rather stay at home and eat and sleep in e than gain immortality and a broken head by in a ditch resolutely bent however upon defending his beloved city in despite even of itself he called unto him his van who was his right hand man in all times of emergency him did he to take his war trumpet and mounting his horse to beat up the country night and day sounding the alarm along the s history of pastoral borders of the tke wild the rugged ef we hawk and the mighty men of battle of iv pan bay and the brave boys of town and hollow together with all the other warriors of the round about charging them one and all to their powder horns shoulder their pieces aod march merrily down to the m now there was nothing in all the world the divine sex that van loved better than errands this kind so just stopping to take a dinner and to his side his bottle well charged with heart inspiring he issued firom the city gate that out n what is at sent called broad way as usual a strain that rung in echoes through the winding streets of new alas never more were they to be by the melody of their favourite it was a dark and stormy night when the good arrived at the creek river which the island of from the main land tlie wind was high the elements in an uproar and no could be found to the adventurous of brass across the water for a short time he like an impatient ghost upon the brink and th i himself of the ui of errand took a hearty embrace of his stone swore most that he would swim across en in spite of the devil and plunged into the stream scarce had he half way over when he was observed to e violent j a corruption of top so called om a tribe of indians which boasted fighting men see history new york s if with the i of the waters he put his trumpet to his mouth and giving a vehement blast sunk for ever to the bottom the potent of his trumpet like the ivory horn of the renowned when in the glorious i rung r and wide through the country alarming the neighbours rounds who hurried in amazement to the here an old dutch for his and who had been a witness of the fact related to them the melancholy a with the fearful addition to which i am slow giving belief that he saw the in the shape of a huge moss seize the sturdy by the leg and drag him beneath the waves certain it is the place with the adjoining which projects into the has been called den or ever the restless ghost of the unfortunate still the surrounding and his trumpet has often been heard by the neighbours of a stormy night mingling with the howling of the blast nobody ever attempts to swim over the creek after dark on the a bridge has been built to guard against such accidents in and as to moss they are held in such that no true will admit them to his table who loves good fish and hates the devil such was the end of van a man deserving of a better he lived and sounds ly like a true and jolly bachelor until the day of death but though he was never married yet did he leave behind some two or three dozen children in different parts of the fine uttle fix m whom if legends speak true and they ai e not apt to lie did descend the innumerable race of who and defend this country and who are paid by the people for keeping up a constant history of and making them miserable would inherited the worth as they do the wind	48
of their t the tidings of this lamentable catastrophe imparted a pang to the bosom of peter than did even the invasion of his beloved it came home to those sweet affections that grow dose the heart and are nourished by its as some lone pilgrim wandering in trodden while the tempest through his locks and dreary night is gathering around sees stretched cold and lifeless his faithful dog the sole companion of his who had shared his solitary meal and so often licked his hand in humble gratitude so did the generous hearted hero of the contemplate the end of his he had been the humble attendant of his footsteps he had cheered ih many a heavy hour by his honest g and had followed him in loyalty and through many a scene of peril and he was gone for ever and that too at a when every cur seemed from his side this peter this was th moment to try thy fortitude and this was the moment when thou indeed shine peter the the glare of day had long the horrors of the last stormy night still all was dull and gloomy tlie late jovial hid his face behind clouds peeping out now and then for an instant as if anxious yet fearful to see what was going on in his this was the morning when the great peter was to give his reply to the of the already was he with his council sitting in grim state brooding over the fate of his favourite and anon boiling with indignation as the of his flashed upon his mind while new york in this state of irritation a arrived in all haste from the subtle governor o him in the most affectionate and disinterested manner to surrender the province and the dangers and to which a refusal would subject him what a moment was this to intrude advice upon a man who never took advice in his whole life the fiery old governor strode up and down the chamber with a vehemence that made the of his to with awe railing at his unlucky te that thus made him the constant butt of subjects and just at this ill chosen juncture the who were now completely on the watch and had heard of the arrival of mysterious came marching in a resolute body into the room with a of and at their heels and abruptly demanded a perusal of the letter thus to be broken in upon by what he esteemed a rascal and that too at the very moment he was grinding under an irritation abroad was too much for the of the peter he tore the letter in a thousand pieces threw it in the face of the nearest broke his pipe over the head of the next hurled his box at an unlucky who was just making a retreat out at the door and finally the meeting die by kicking them down stairs with his wooden leg as soon as the could recover firom the into which their sudden exit had thrown them and had taken a little time to breathe they protested against the conduct of the governor which they did not hesitate to pronounce highly and somewhat they then called a public r i jl iii i g f smith s history of n y y j history of meeting where they read the protest and addressing tlie assembly in a set speech related at length and with appropriate colouring and exaggeration the and of the governor declaring that their own parts they did not value a straw the kicked and by the timber toe of his but they felt for the dignity of the people thus rudely insulted by the outrage committed on the seats of honour of their representatives the latter part of the had a violent effect upon the of the as it came home at once to that of feeling and jealous pride of character in all true who though they may bear without murmur yet are jealous of their dignity and there is no knowing to what act of they might have been provoked against the peter had not the greasy been more afraid of their sturdy old than were of st the english or the d chapter defended the of s day b dint of ike of his head is something exceedingly sublime and in the spectacle which the present crisis of our presents an illustrious and venerable little d th metropolis of an extent of try by a host of and old women governed by a determined and warrior and fortified by mud and resolutions by sea gi red by land and threat new york with without while its are int aiid did historic p n la of complicated distress unless it be the strife that distracted the during the of where parties ere each other s at the moment when the victorious of had down their were fire and sword into the yery of the ten l having as has been recorded put his grand council to the and thus de himself from a multitude of impertinent despatched a reply to the of the he asserted the right and title of their high the lords states general to the province of new and trusting in the ri of his cause set the british nation at defiance my to my readers and myself firom these disastrous scenes prevents me fit m j ing the whole of thi gallant letter which concluded in these and affectionate terms as touching the threats in your conclusion we have nothing to only thai we fear nothing but what it as just as shall lay things being in his gracious and we may as well be preserved by him with small as by a great which makes us to wish	48

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