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squire is the protecting power but his is the active and busy agent he in all its concerns is acquainted with all the inhabitants and their domestic history gives counsel to the old folks in their business matters and the young folks in their love affairs and the proud satisfaction of being a great man in a little world he is the too of the squire s charity which is and to do master justice he this part of his functions with great alacrity indeed i have been entertained with the mixture of bustle importance and kind which he he is of too a temperament to comfort the afflicted by sitting down and and blowing noses in concert but goes about like a consolation into every hole and corner of the village i have seen an old woman in a red cloak hold him for half an age hour together with some long tale of distress which master listened to with many a bob of the head of his dog whip and other symptoms of impatience though he afterwards made a most faithful and report of the case to the squire i have watched him too during one of his pop visits into the cottage of a who is a of the squire where he about the room without sitting down made many excellent off hand reflections with the old invalid who was propped up in his chair about the of life the certainty of death and the necessity of preparing for that awful change quoted several of scripture very but much to the of the s wife and on coming out pinched the daughter s rosy cheek and wondered what was in the young men that such a pretty face did not get a husband he has also his cabinet in the village with whom he is very busy just now preparing for the may day ceremonies among village these is the village tailor a pale faced fellow that plays the in the church choir and being a great musical genius has frequent meetings of the band at his house where they make night hideous by their he is in consequence high in favour with master and through his influence has the making or rather of all the of the hall which generally look as though they had been cut out by one of those scientific of the flying island of who took measure of their customers with a the tailor in fact might rise to be one of the men of the village was he not rather too prone to gossip and keep holidays and give and blow all his substance real and personal through his which literally keeps him poor both in body and estate he has for the present thrown by all his regular work and suffered the breeches of the village to go and while he is occupied in making of party coloured rags in imitation of flowers for the of the may pole village another of master s is the a and rather fat man with a pair of prominent eyes that like those of a he is the village wise man very and full of profound remarks on shallow subjects master often his sayings and him as rather an extraordinary man and even him occasionally in desperate cases of the dogs and horses indeed he to have been overwhelmed by the s philosophy which is exactly one observation deep consisting of such as may be gathered from the of tobacco boxes i had a specimen of his philosophy in my very first conversation with him in the course of which he observed with great solemnity and emphasis that man is a compound of wisdom and folly upon which master who had hold of my arm pressed very hard upon it and whispered in my ear that s a devilish shrewd remark i the there wiu no stick to the stone of no hang on the of no butter on the bread of a traveller for as the eagle at every flight a feather which her in her age so the traveller in every country some which him a b in his youths by buying that for a which he cannot sell again for a s among the of the village that enjoy the peculiar confidence of master is one who has struck my fancy so much that i have thought him worthy of a separate notice it is the a thin elderly man rather and somewhat indolent in manner and with an easy good humoured look not often met with in his craft i have been interested in his favour by a few anecdotes which i have picked up concerning him village he is a native of the village and was a contemporary and of ready money jack in the days of their boyhood indeed they carried on a kind of league of mutual good offices was rather and withal somewhat of a coward but very apt at his learning jack on the contrary was a bully boy out of doors but a sad at his books helped jack therefore to all his lessons jack fought all s battles and they were inseparable friends this mutual kindness continued even after they left the school notwithstanding the of their characters jack took to and and prepared himself to till his paternal acres while the other on in the path of learning until he penetrated even into the of latin and in an unlucky hour however he took to reading voyages and travels and was smitten with a desire to see the world this desire increased upon him as he grew up so early one bright sunny morning he put all his effects th in a it on his back took staff in hand and called in his way to take leave of his early jack was just going out with the plough the friends shook hands over the farm house gate jack drove his	48
team and whistled over the hills and far away and forth gaily to seek his fortune years and years passed by and young tom was forgotten when one mellow sunday afternoon in autumn a thin man somewhat advanced in life with a coat out at elbows a pair of old and a few things tied in a handkerchief and on the end of a stick was seen through the village he appeared to regard several houses attentively to peer into the windows that were open to eye the villagers wistfully as they returned from church and then to pass some time in the church yard reading the tomb stones at length he found his way to the of ready money jack but paused ere he attempted the contemplating the the picture of substantial independence before him in the porch of the house sat ready money jack in his sunday dress with his hat upon his head his pipe in his mouth and his before him the monarch of all he surveyed beside him lay his fat house dog the varied sounds of poultry were heard from the farm yard the bees from their in the garden the cattle in the rich meadow while the crammed and ample bore proof of an abundant harvest the stranger opened the gate and advanced towards the house the growled at the sight of the suspicious looking intruder but was immediately silenced by his master who taking his pipe from his mouth awaited with inquiring aspect the address of this personage the stranger eyed old jack for a moment so in his dimensions and out in gorgeous apparel then cast a glance upon his own and condition and the scanty bundle which he held in his hand then giving hia the shrunk waistcoat a to make it meet his receding and casting another look half sad half humorous at the sturdy i suppose said he mr you have forgot old times and old the latter gazed at him with look but acknowledged that he had no recollection of him like enough like enough said the stranger every body seems to have forgotten poor why no sure it can t be tom yes but it is though replied the stranger shaking his head ready money jack was on his feet in a twinkling thrust out his hand gave his ancient the of a giant and the other hand on a bench sit down there cried he tom a long conversation ensued about old times while was with the best cheer that the farm house afforded for he was hungry as well as and had the keen appetite of a poor the early play the mates then talked over their subsequent lives and adventures jack had but little to relate and was never good at a long story a prosperous life passed at home has little incident for narrative it is only poor devils that are tossed about the world that are the true heroes of story jack had stuck by the paternal farm followed the same plough that his forefathers had driven and had richer and richer as he grew older as to tom he was an of the old proverb a rolling stone no moss he had sought his fortune about the world without ever finding it being a thing oftener found at home than abroad he had been in all kinds of situations and had learnt a dozen modes of making a living but had found his way back to his native village rather poorer than when he left it his having down to a scanty bundle as luck would have it the squire was passing by the farm house that very evening and called there as is often his custom he found the two school mates still in the porch the and according to the good old song taking a cup of kindness yet for the squire was struck by the contrast in appearance and fortunes of these early ready money jack seated in state surrounded by the good things of this life with golden guineas hanging to his very watch chain and the poor pilgrim thin as a with all his worldly effects his bundle hat and walking staff lying on the ground beside him the good squire s heart warmed towards the for he is a little prone to like such half characters he cast about in his mind how he should contrive once more to anchor in his native village honest jack had already offered him a present shelter under his roof in spite of the hints and and half of the shrewd dame but how to provide for his permanent maintenance was the question luckily the squire himself that the village school was without a teacher a little further conversation convinced him that was vol ii f the as fit for that as for any thing else and in a day or two he was seen swaying the rod of empire in the very school house where he had often been in the days of his boyhood here he has remained for several years and being honoured by the countenance of the squire and the fast friendship of mr he has grown into much importance and consideration in the village i am told however that he still shows now and then a degree of restlessness and a disposition tb abroad again and see a little more of the world an inclination which seems particularly to haunt him about spring time there is nothing so difficult to conquer as the humour when once it has been fully indulged since i have heard these anecdotes of poor i have more than once mused upon the picture presented by him and his ready money jack on their coming together again after so long a separation it is difficult to determine between lots in life where each is attended with its peculiar he who never leaves his home at his the monotonous existence	48
and the traveller whose life is a constant of wonder and adventure while he who is tossed about the world looks back with many a sigh to the safe and quiet shore which he has abandoned i help thinking however that the man that stays at home and the comforts and pleasures daily springing up around him stands the best chance for happiness there is nothing so fascinating to a young mind as the idea of travelling and there is very in the old phrase found in every nursery tale of going to seek one s fortune a continual change of place and change of object promises a continual succession of adventure and gratification of curiosity but there is a limit to all our and every desire bears its death in its very gratification curiosity under repeated cease to excite surprise until at length we cannot wonder even at a miracle he who has forth into the world like poor full of sunny finds too soon how different the distant scene becomes when vi f the the smooth place as he approaches the wild place becomes tame and barren the fairy tints that him on still fly to the distant hill or gather upon the land he has left behind and every part of the landscape seems than the spot he stands on the school but to come down from great men and higher matters to my little children and poor school house again i will god willing go forward orderly as i to instruct children and young men both for learning and manners having given the reader a slight sketch of the village he may be curious to learn something concerning his school as the squire takes much interest in the education of the neighbouring children he put into the hands of the teacher on first him in office a copy of s and advised him moreover to con over that portion of old which treats of the duty of masters and which the favourite method of making boys wise by he not to break down or the school the free spirit of the boys by and fear but to lead them freely and on in the path of knowledge making it pleasant and desirable in their eyes he wished to see the youth trained up in the manners and of the of the good old times and thus to lay a foundation for the accomplishment of his favourite object the revival of old english customs and character he recommended that all the ancient holidays should be observed and that the sports of the boys in their of should be regulated according to the standard authorities laid down in a copy of whose invaluable work decorated plates was deposited in the house above all he the to from the use of an instrument of instruction which the good squire regards with as fit only for the of brute natures that cannot be reasoned with mr has followed the squire s instructions to the best of his disposition and abilities he never the boys because he is the school too easy good humoured a creature to inflict pain on a worm he is in holidays because he loves holiday himself and has a sympathy with the impatience of confinement from having divers times experienced during the time that he was seeing the world as to sports and the boys are faithfully exercised in all that are on record races prison bars trap ball ball leaping and what not the only misfortune is that having banished the honest has not studied sufficiently to find out a substitute or rather he has not the management in his nature to apply one his school therefore though one of the happiest is one of the most in the country and never was a more liked or less by his than he has lately taken a worthy of himself being another stray sheep that has returned to the village fold this is no other than the son of the musical tailor who had bestowed some cost upon his education hoping the school to see him one day arrive at the dignity of an or at least of a parish clerk the lad grew up however as idle and musical as his father and being ci by the drum and of a party he followed them off to the army he returned not long since out of money and out at the elbows the prodigal son of the village he remained for some time lounging about the place in soldier s dress with a cap on one side of his head stones across the brook or about the tavern door a to his father and regarded with great coldness by all warm something however drew honest towards the youth it might be the kindness he bore to his father who is one of the s great it might be that secret sympathy which draws men of towards each other for there is something truly in the vagabond feeling or it might be that he remembered the time when he himself had come back like this a wreck to his native place at the school any rate whatever the motive drew towards the youth they had many conversations in the village tap room about foreign parts and the various scenes and places they had witnessed during their about the world the more talked with him the more he found him to his taste and finding him almost as learned as himself he forthwith engaged him as an assistant or in the school under such admirable the school as may be supposed and if the scholars do not become in all the holiday accomplishments of the good old times to tjie squire s heart s content it will not be the fault of their teachers the prodigal son has become almost as popular among the boys as the himself his instructions are not limited to school hours and	48
having inherited the musical taste and talents of his father he has bitten the whole school with the he is a great hand at beating a drum which is often heard from the rear of the school house he is teaching half the the school boys of the village also to play the and the pipes and they weary the whole neighbourhood with their vague as they sit perched on or about the in the evenings among the other exercises of the school also he has introduced the ancient art of one of the squire s favourite with such success that the in bands about the neighbourhood with their bows and arrows upon the birds of the air and the beasts of the field and not making a into the squire s to the great indignation of the in a word so completely are the ancient english customs and habits cultivated at this school that i should not be surprised if the squire should live to see one of his poetic visions and a brood reared up worthy to robin hood and his merry gang of a village rogue if i do not think i was designed for ihe of state i am so full of that i have ordered and carried it against the stream of with as much ease as a would against the wind the in one of my visits to the village with master he proposed that we should stop at the inn which he wished to show me as a specimen of a real country inn the head quarters of village gossip i had remarked it before in my about the place it has a deep old fashioned porch leading into a large hall which serves for tap room and travellers room having a wide fire place with high backed settles on each side where the wise men of the village gossip over their ale and hold their during the long winter evenings the landlord is an easy indolent a village fellow shaped a little like one of his own beer barrels and is apt to stand at his door with his wig on one side and his hands in his pockets whilst his wife and daughter attend to customers his wife however is fully competent to manage the establishment and indeed from long rules over all the of the tap room as completely as if they were her instead of her not a ale but pays homage to her having no doubt been often in her i have already hinted that she is on very good terms with ready money jack he was a sweetheart of hers in early life and has always the tavern on her account indeed he is quite the cock of the walk at the tap room as we approached the inn we heard some one talking with great and distinguished the ominous words taxes poor s and agricultural distress it proved to be a thin fellow who had the landlord up in one corner of the porch with his hands in his pockets as usual a village listening with an air of the most vacant acquiescence the sight seemed to have a curious effect on master as he squeezed my arm and his course wide of the porch as though he had not had any idea of entering this evident induced me to notice the orator more particularly he was meagre but active in his make with a long pale face a black beard so as to bloody his shirt collar a feverish eye and a hat sharpened up at the sides into a most shape he had a newspaper in his hand and seemed to be on its contents to the thorough conviction of mine host at sight of master the landlord was evidently a little and began to rub his hands edge away from his corner and make several profound bows while the orator took no other notice of my companion than to talk rather louder than before and with as i thought something of an air of defiance master however as i have a village before said off from the porch and passed on pressing my arm within his and whispering as we got by in a tone of awe and horror that s a radical he reads i endeavoured to get a more particular account of him from my companion but he seemed unwilling even to talk about him answering only in general terms that he was a cursed busy fellow that had a confounded trick of talking and was apt to bother one about the national debt and such nonsense from which i suspected that master had been rendered wary of him by some accidental encounter on the field of argument for these are continually about in quest of warfare and never so happy as when they can a gentleman out of his saddle on subsequent inquiry my suspicions have been i find the radical has but recently found his way into the village where he to commit fearful with his doctrines he has already made two or three complete or new lights has a village shaken the faith of several others and has puzzled the brains of many of the oldest villagers who had never thought about politics or scarce any thing else during their whole lives he is lean and meagre from the constant restlessness of mind and body worrying about with newspapers and in his pockets which he is ready to pull out on all occasions he has shocked several of the villagers by talking lightly of the squire and his family and that it would be better the park should be cut up into small farms and kitchen gardens or feed good mutton instead of worthless deer he is a great thorn in the side of the squire who is sadly afraid that he will introduce politics into the village and turn it into an unhappy thinking community he is	48
a still greater grievance to master who has hitherto been able to sway the political opinions of the place without much cost of learning or logic but has been very much puzzled of late to weed out the doubts and already a village sown by this champion of reform indeed the latter has taken complete command at the tap room of the tavern not so much because he has convinced as because he has out talked all the old established the with all hia philosophy was as naught before him he has convinced and converted the landlord at least a dozen times who however is liable to be convinced and converted the other way by the next person with whom he talks it is true the radical has a violent in the landlady who is vehemently loyal and thoroughly devoted to the king master and the squire she now and then comes out upon the with all the of a cat o mountain and does not spare her own soft headed husband for to what she terms such low lived politics what makes the good woman the more violent is the perfect coolness with which the radical to her attacks drawing his face up into a provoking smile and when she has talked herself out of breath quietly asking her for a taste of her home a village the only person that is in any way a match for this is ready money jack who his stand in the tap room in defiance of the radical and all his works jack is one of the most loyal men in the country without being able to reason about the matter he has that admirable quality for a tough also th t he never knows when he is beat he has half a dozen old which he advances on all occasions and though his may them never so often yet he always brings them anew to the field he is like the robber in who though his head might be half a hundred times yet whipped it on his shoulders again in a twinkling and returned as sound a man as ever to the charge whatever does not square with jack s simple and obvious creed he sets down for french politics for notwithstanding the peace he cannot be persuaded that the french are not still laying plots to ruin the nation land to get of the bank of england the radical attempted to him one day by a vol ii g a village long passage from a newspaper but jack neither reads nor believes in newspapers in reply he gave him one of the which he has by heart from his favourite and indeed only author old and which he calls his golden rules leave princes on and tend to such doings as stand thee upon fear god and offend not the king nor his laws and keep out of the magistrate s claws when had pronounced this with great emphasis he pulled out a well filled purse took out a of gold and silver paid his score at the bar with great returned his money piece by piece into his purse his purse into his pocket which he up and then giving his a stout upon the floor and bidding the radical good morning sir with the tone of a man who he has completely done for his he walked with lion like gravity out of the house two or three of jack s admirers who were present and had been afraid to take the field themselves looked i a village upon this as a perfect triumph and winked at each other when the radical s back was turned ay ay said mine host as soon as the radical was out of let old jack alone i warrant he give him his own g the but and that swim sublime in still repeated circles screaming loud the the pie and e en the owl that the rising moon have charms for me in a grove of tall oaks and that crowns a terrace walk just on the skirts of the garden is an ancient which is one of the most important provinces in the squire s rural the old gentleman sets great store by his and will not suffer one of them to be killed in consequence of which they have increased the tree tops are loaded with their nests they have upon the great avenue and have even established in times long past a colony among the elms and pines of the churchyard which like other distant colonies the has already thrown off to the mother country the are looked upon by the squire as a very ancient and honourable line of gentry highly in their notions fond of place and attached to church and state as their building so keeping about churches and and in the venerable groves of old castles and houses sufficiently the good opinion thus expressed by the squire put me upon observing more narrowly these very respectable birds for i confess to my shame i had been apt to confound them with their cousins german the to whom at the first glance they bear so great a family resemblance nothing it seems could be more unjust or injurious than such a mistake the and are among the tribes what the and are among nations the least loving in c of their neighbourhood and the are old established high minded had their hereditary time out of mind the bat as to the poor they are a of vagabond race about the country without any settled home their hands are against every body and every body s against them and they are in every corn field master me that a female that should so far forget herself as to with a crow would inevitably be and indeed would be totally discarded by all her genteel acquaintance the squire is very watchful over the interests and	48
concerns of his neighbours as to master he even to know many of them by sight and to have given to them he points out several which he says are old heads of families and them to worthy old citizens beforehand in the world that wear cocked hats and silver in their shoes notwithstanding the protecting benevolence of the squire and their being in his empire they seem to acknowledge no and to hold no intercourse or intimacy their airy are built almost out of the reach of gun shot and not the their vicinity to the hall they maintain a most reserved and shy ness of mankind there is one season of the year however which brings all birds in a manner to a level and the pride of the which is the season of building their nests this takes place early in the spring when the forest trees first begin to show their the long ends of the branches to turn green when the wild and other of the sheltered put forth their tender and tinted leaves and the and the peep from under the hedges at this time there is a general bustle among the tribes an incessant fluttering about and a cheerful like the of the vegetable world of the life and of the year it is then that the forget their usual and their shy and lofty habits instead of keeping up in the high regions of the air swinging on the tree tops and looking down with sovereign contempt upon the the humble upon they are fain to throw off for a time the dignity of the gentleman to come down to the ground and put on the pains taking and industrious character of a they now lose their natural shyness become fearless and familiar and may be about in all directions with an air of great in search of building materials every now and then your path will be crossed by one of these busy old gentlemen worrying about with awkward gait as if troubled with the or with on his toes casting about many a look turning down first one eye then the other in earnest consideration upon every straw he meets with until some mighty large enough to a for his air castle he will seize upon it with and hurry away with it to the tree top fearing apparently lest you should dispute with him the invaluable prize like other castle these airy seem rather fanciful in the materials with which they build and to like those most which the come from a distance thus though there are abundance of dry twigs on the surrounding trees yet they never think of making use of them but go in distant lands and come sailing home one by one from the ends of the earth each bearing in his bill some precious piece of timber nor must i avoid mentioning what i grieve to say rather from the grave and honourable character of these ancient that during the season they are subject to great among themselves that they make no scruple to and plunder each other and that sometimes the is a scene of hideous and commotion ih consequence of some of the kind one of the partners generally remains on the nest to guard it from and i have seen severe when some sly neighbour has endeavoured to away a tempting that had his eye as i am not willing to admit any suspicion hastily that should throw a on the general character of so a people the i am inclined to think that these are very much by the higher classes and even punished by those in authority for i have now and then seen a whole gang of fall upon the nest of some individual pull it all to pieces carry off the spoils and even the proprietor i have concluded this to be some signal punishment inflicted upon him by the officers of the police for some or perhaps that it was a crew of carrying an execution into his house i have been amused with another of their movements during the building season the steward has suffered a considerable number of sheep to on a lawn near the house somewhat to the annoyance of the squire who thinks this an on the dignity of a park which ought to be devoted to deer only be this as it may there is a green not far from the drawing room window where the and are accustomed to towards evening for the benefit of the setting sun no sooner were they gathered here at the the time when these birds were buildings than a stately old who master assured me was the chief magistrate of this community would settle down upon the head of one of the who seeming conscious of this condescension would from and stand fixed in motionless of her august the rest of the would then come down in imitation of their leader until every had two or three of them and fluttering and upon her back whether they the submission of the sheep by a contribution upon their for the benefit of the i am not certain though i presume they followed the usual custom of protecting powers the latter part of may is the time of great among the when the young are just able to leave the nests and balance themselves on the neighbouring branches now comes on the season of shooting a terrible slaughter of the the squire of course all invasion of the the kind on his but i am told that a lamentable takes place in the colony about the old church upon this devoted the village charges with all its chivalry every idle that is lucky enough to possess an old gun or together with all the of s school take the field on the occasion in vain does the little parson interfere or in angry tones from his	48
study window that looks into the churchyard there is a continual from morning till night being no great their shots are not often but every now and then a great shout from the army of makes known the of some unlucky which comes to the ground with the emphasis of a apple d nor is the entirely free from other troubles and in so and lofty minded a community which so much ancient blood and hereditary pride it is natural to suppose that questions of etiquette will sometimes arise and affairs of honour in fact the this is very often the case bitter quarrels break out between individuals which produce sad on the tree tops and i have more than once seen a regular take place between two heroes of the their field of battle is generally the air and their contest is managed in the most scientific and elegant manner round and round each other and towering higher and higher to get the ground until they sometimes disappear in the clouds before the combat is determined they have also fierce now and then with an hawk and will drive him oflf from their by a they are also extremely of their and will suffer no other bird to the grove or its vicinity there was a very ancient and respectable old bachelor owl that had long had his lodgings in a corner of the grove but has been fairly by the and has retired disgusted with the world to a neighbouring wood where he leads the life the of a and makes nightly complaints of his ill treatment the of this unhappy gentleman may generally be heard in the still evenings when the are all at rest and i have often listened to them of a moonlight night with a kind of mysterious gratification this gray bearded of course is highly respected by the squire but the servants have superstitious notions about him and it would be difficult to get the maid to venture after dark near to the wood which he besides the private quarrels of the there are other misfortunes to which they are liable and which often bring distress into the most respectable families of the having the true spirit of the good old times they are apt now and then to issue forth from their castles on a and to lay the fields of the neighbouring country under contribution in the course of which they now and then get a shot from the rusty of the some farmer occasionally too while they are quietly taking the air beyond the park boundaries they have the to come within the reach of the of s school and receive a flight shot from some unlucky s arrow in such case the wounded adventurer will sometimes have just strength enough to bring himself home and giving up the ghost at the will hang dangling all abroad on a bough like a thief on a an awful warning to his friends and an object of great to the squire but all these incidents the have upon the whole a happy holiday life of it when their young are reared and fairly launched upon their native element the air the cares of the old folks seem over and they resume all their dignity and idleness i have envied them the enjoyment which they appear to have in their ethereal heights sporting with exultation about their lofty sometimes hovering over them sometimes partially upon the top the most branches and there with outstretched wings and swinging in the breeze sometimes they seem to take a fashionable drive to the church and amuse themselves by in airy rings about its spire at other times a mere garrison is left at home to mount guard in their strong hold at the grove while the rest abroad to enjoy the fine weather about sunset the garrison gives notice of their return their faint will be heard from a great distance and they will be seen far off like a cloud and then nearer and nearer until they all come soaring home then they perform several grand in the air over the hall and garden closer and closer until they gradually settle down upon the grove when a prodigious takes place as though they were relating their day s adventures i like at such times to walk about these dusky groves and hear the various sounds of these airy people so high above me as the gloom their conversation and they seem to be gradually dropping the asleep but every now and then there is a note as if some one was quarrelling for a pillow or a little more of the blanket it is late in the evening before they completely sink to repose and then their old neighbour the owl begins his lonely from his bachelor s hall in the wood vol ii h may day it is the choice time of the year for the now appear now the rose receives its and pretty decks the earth then to the may pole come away for it is now a holiday and as i was lying in bed this morning enjoying one of those half dreams half which are so pleasant in the country when the birds are singing about the window and the peeping through the i was roused by the sound of music on going down stairs i found a number of villagers dressed in their holiday clothes bearing a pole ornamented with and and accompanied by the village band of music under the direction of the tailor the pale fellow who plays on the they had all of or as it is called the may in may day their hats and had brought green branches and flowers to the hall door and windows they had come to give notice that the may pole was reared on the green and to invite the household to witness the sports the hall according to	48
custom became a scene of hurry and delighted confusion the servants were all with may and music and there was no keeping either the tongues or the feet of the maids quiet who were the sports of the green and the evening dance i repaired to village at an early hour to enjoy the merry making the morning was pure and sunny such as a may morning is always described the fields were white with the was covered with its fragrant blossoms the bee about every bank and the swallow played high in the air about the village it was one of those genial days when we seem to draw in pleasure with the very air we breathe and to feel happy we know not why whoever has felt the worth of worthy man or has on h n may day lovely woman will on such a day call them tenderly to mind and feel his heart all alive with long buried recollections for says the excellent romance of king arthur lovers call to their old and old and many kind that were forgotten by before reaching the village i saw the towering above the cottages with its gay and and heard the sound of music i found that there had been set up near it for the reception of company and a bower of green branches and flowers for the queen of may a fresh rosy girl of the village a band of dancers were on the green in their fantastic dresses with bells with a boy dressed up as maid and the attendant fool rattling his box to collect the the women too were already their mystery in by corners of the village reading the hands of the simple country may day girls and no doubt promising them all good husbands and tribes of children the squire made his appearance in the course of the morning attended by the parson and was received with loud he mingled among the country people throughout the day giving and receiving pleasure where ever he went the amusements of the day were under the management of the who is not merely lord of in his school but master of the to the village he was bustling about with the perplexed and anxious air of a man wh has the oppressive of other people s merriment upon his mind he had involved himself in a dozen in consequence of a which by the by master and the were at the bottom of which had for object the election of the queen of may he had met with violent opposition from a of ale who were in favour of a bar maid the daughter of the but he had been too strongly backed not to carry his may da f though it shows that these rural crowns like all others are objects of great ambition and heart burning i am told that master takes great interest though in an way in the election of these may day queens and that the is generally secured for some rustic beauty that has found in his eyes in the course of the day there were various games of strength and on the green at which a knot of village presided as judges of the lists among these i perceived that ready money jack took the lead looking with a learned and critical eye on the merits of the di and though he was very and sometimes merely expressed himself by a nod yet it was evident that his opinions far those of the most jack was hero pf th day and carried off most of the though in some of the of he was by the prodigal son who appeared much in bis element on this occasion but his most for mat day was the notorious the star light tom i was rejoiced at having an opportunity of seeing this of the moon in broad daylight i found him a tall good looking fellow with a lofty air something like what i have seen in an indian and with a certain lounging easy and almost graceful carriage which i have often remarked in beings of the order that lead an idle life and have a contempt of labour master and the old general the ground together and indulged a vast deal of harmless among the country girls master would give some of them a kiss on meeting with them and would ask after their sisters for he is acquainted with most of the farmers families sometimes he would whisper and affect to talk with them and if on the subject would turn it off with a laugh though it was evident he liked to be suspected of being a gay amongst them he had much to say to the farmers about may day their farms and seemed to know all their horses by name there was an old fellow with a round ruddy face and a night cap under his hat the village wit who took several occasions to crack a joke with him in the hearing of his companions to whom he would turn and wink hard when master had passed the harmony of the day however had nearly at one time been interrupted by the appearance of the radical on the ground with two or three of his he soon got engaged in argument in the very thick of the throng above which i could hear his voice and now and then see his meagre hand half a mile out of the sleeve elevated in the air in violent and flourishing a by way of he was these idle amusements in times of public distress when it was every one s business to think of other matters and to be miserable the honest village could make no stand against him especially as he was by his when to their great joy master and the general came drifting down may day into the field	48
of action i saw that master was for making ofi as soon as he found himself in the od of this but the general was too loyal to such talk in his and thought no doubt that a look and a word from a gentleman would be sufficient to shut up so shabby an orator the latter however was no of persons but rather seemed to in having such important he talked with greater than ever and soon drowned them in on the subject of taxes and the national debt master endeavoured to brush along in his usual manner which had always answered well with the villagers but the radical was one of those fellows that pin a man down to facts and indeed he had two or three in his pocket to support every thing he advanced by printed documents the general too found himself betrayed into a more serious action than his dignity could brook and looked may day like a mighty dutch by a petty it was in vain he swelled and looked big and talked large and endeavoured to make up by pomp of manner for poverty of matter every of the radical made him like a and seemed to let a volume of wind out of him in a word the two from the hall were completely dumb founded and too in the presence of several of master s admirers who had always loo up to him as i do not know how he and the general would have managed o draw their forces decently from the fields had there not been a match at grinning through a horse collar announced whereupon the radical retired ith great expression of contempt and as soon as his back was turned the argument was carried against him all hollow did you ever hear such a pack of general said master there s no talking with one of these when he once gets that confounded in his head may day s sir said the general wiping his forehead such fellows ought all to be transported in the latter part of the day the ladies from the hall paid a visit to the green the fair made her appearance leaning on her lover s arm and looking extremely pale and interesting as she is a great favourite in the village where she has been known from childhood and as her late accident had been much talked about the sight of her caused very manifest delight and some of the old women of the village blessed her sweet face as she passed while they were walking about i noticed the in earnest conversation with the young girl that represented the queen of may evidently endeavouring to spirit her up to some formidable undertaking at length as the party from the hall approached her bower she came forth faltering at every step until she reached the spot where the fair stood between her lover and lady the little queen then took the may day of flowers from her head and attempted to put it on that of the bride elect but the confusion of both was so great that the wreath would have fallen to the ground had not the officer caught it and laughing placed it upon the blushing brows of his mistress there was something charming in the very embarrassment of these two young creatures both so beautiful yet so in their kinds of beauty master told me afterwards that the queen of may was to have spoken a few verses which had written for her but that she had neither wit to understand nor memory to recollect them besides added he between you and i she the king s english so she has acted the part of a wise woman in holding her tongue and trusting to her pretty face among the other characters from the hall was mrs my lady s to my surprise she was escorted by old the and followed by his ghost of a but i find they are very old acquaintances being drawn together by may day some of disposition mrs moved about with dignity among the who drew back from her with more awe than they did from her mistress her mouth seemed shut as with a clasp excepting that i now and then heard the word fellows escape from between her lips as she got accidentally in the crowd but there was one other heart present that did not enter into the merriment of the scene which was that of the simple the housekeeper s niece the poor girl has continued to pine and for some time past in consequence of the obstinate coldness of her lover never was a little more severely punished she appeared this day on the green by a smart servant out of livery and had evidently resolved to try the experiment of awakening the of her lover she was dressed in her very best affected an air of great gaiety talked loud and and laughed when there was nothing to laugh at there was however an aching heavy heart in the poor baggage s may day bosom in spite of all her levity her eye turned every now and then in quest of her reckless lover and her cheek grew pale and her gaiety vanished on seeing him paying his rustic homage to the little queen my attention was now diverted by a fresh stir and bustle music was heard a distance a banner was seen advancing up the road preceded by a rustic band playing something like a m and followed by a sturdy throng of country lads the chivalry of a neighbouring and rival village nd sooner had they reached the green than they the heroes of the day to new trials f strength and activity several ensued for the honour of the respective villages in the course of these exercises young and the champion of the adverse party had an obstinate match at	48
they and strained and panted without either getting the mastery until both came to the ground and rolled upon the green just then the may day ill came by she saw her lover in fierce as she thought and in danger in a moment pride and were forgotten she rushed into the ring seized upon the rival champion by the hair and was on the point of on him her vengeance when a country the sweetheart of the prostrate upon her like a hawk and would have stripped her of her fine in a twinkling had she not also been seized in her turn a tumult ensued the chivalry of the two villages became blows began to be dealt and sticks to be flourished was carried off from the field in in vain did the of the village interfere the endeavoured to pour the soothing oil of his upon this sea of passion but was tumbled into the dust the who is a great lover of peace went into the midst of the throng as of the day to put an end to the commotion may day but was rent in twain and came out with his garment hanging in two from his shoulders upon which the prodigal son dashed in with fury to revenge the insult which his patron had sustained the tumult i caught glimpses of the cap of old like the of a about in the midst of the while mistress separated from her protector was and striking at right and left with a faded being tossed and about by the crowd in such wise as never happened to maiden before at length i beheld old ready money jack making his way into the very of the throng tearing it as it were apart and peace vi et it was surprising to see the sudden quiet that ensued the storm settled down at once into tranquillity the parties having no real grounds of hostility were readily and in fact were a little at a loss to know why and how they had got by the ears was speedily together again by his friend the tailor may pay and resumed his usual good humour mrs drew on one side to her feathers and old having repaired his took her under his arm and they swept back again to the hall ten times more bitter against mankind than ever the family alone seemed slow in recovering from the agitation of the scene young jack was evidently very much moved by the heroism of the unlucky his mother who had been summoned to the field of action by news of the was in a sad panic and had need of all her management to keep him from following his mistress and coming to a perfect reconciliation what heightened the alarm and perplexity of the good managing dame was that the matter had aroused the slow apprehension of old ready money himself who was very much struck by the interference of so pretty and delicate a girl and was sadly puzzled to understand the meaning of the violent agitation in his family vol ii i may day when all this came to the ears of the squire he was that his should have been disgraced by such a he ordered to appear before him but the girl was so frightened and distressed that she came sobbing and trembling and at the first question he asked fell again into lady who had understood that there was an affair of the heart at the bottom of this distress immediately took the girl into great favour and protection and made her peace with the squire this was the only thing that disturbed the harmony of the day if we except the discomfiture of master and the general by the radical upon the whole therefore the squire had very fair reason to be satisfied that he had rode his throughout the day without any other the reader learned in these matters will perceive that all this was but a faint shadow of the once gay and fanciful rites of may the have lost the proper feeling for these may day rites and have grown almost as strange to them as the of la were to the customs of chivalry in the days of the don indeed i considered it a proof of the discretion with which the squire rides his that he had not pushed the thing any further nor attempted to revive many of the day which in the present matter of fact times would appear affected and absurd i must say though i do it under the rose the general in which this festival had nearly terminated has made me doubt whether these rural customs of the good old times were always so very loving and innocent as we are apt to fancy them and whether the in those times were really so as they have been fondly represented i begin to fear days were never airy dreams sat for the picture and the poet s hand substance to an empty shade imposed a gay delirium for a truth grant it i still must envy them an age that favour d such a dream i the manuscript yesterday was a day of quiet and repose after the bustle of may day during the morning i joined the ladies in a small the windows of which came down to the floor and opened upon a terrace of the which was set out with delicate shrubs and flowers the soft sunshine that fell into the room through the branches of trees that the windows the sweet smell of the flowers and the singing of the birds seemed to produce a pleasing yet effect on the whole party for some time elapsed without any one speaking lady and miss were sitting by an elegant work table near one of the windows occupied with some pretty lady like work the captain was on a stool	48
at his mistress feet looking the manuscript over some music and poor who has always been a kind of pet among the ladies but who has risen vastly in favour with lady in consequence of some tender sat in one corner of the room with eyes working at some of the fair s wedding ornaments the silence was interrupted by her who suddenly proposed a task to the captain i am in your debt said she for that tale you read to us the other day i ow furnish one in return if you read it and it is just suited to this sweet may morning for it is all about love the proposition seemed to delight every one present the captain smiled assent her rung for her page and despatched him to her room for the manuscript as the captain said she gave us an account of the author of his story it is but right i should give one of mine it was written by the parson of the parish where i reside he is a thin elderly man of a delicate the manuscript tion but positively one of the most charming men that ever lived he lost his wife a few years since one of the sweetest women you ever saw he has two sons whom he himself both of whom already write delightful poetry his is a lovely place close by the church all with ivy and with the sweetest about it for you know our country are almost always fond of flowers and make their perfect pictures his living is a very good one and he is very much beloved and does a great deal of good in the neighbourhood and among the poor and then such sermons as he oh if you could only hear one taken from a text in solomon s song all about love and matrimony one of the sweetest things you ever heard he it at least once a year in spring time for he knows i am fond of it he always with me on sundays and often brings me some of the sweetest pieces of poetry all about the pleasures of me the manuscript and such subjects that make me cry so you c n t think i wish he would publish i think he has some things as sweet as any thing in or lord he fell into very ill health some time ago and was advised to go to the continent and i gave him no peace until he went and promised to take care of his two boys until he returned he was gone for above a year and was quite restored when he came back he sent me the tale i m going to show you oh here it is said she as the page put in her hands a beautiful box of satin wood she unlocked it and from among several of notes on paper cards of and copies of verses she drew out a crimson velvet case that smelt very much of from this she took a manuscript written on gilt edged and with a light blue this she handed to the captain who read the following tale which i have procured for the entertainment of the reader the soldier the war returns and the merchant from the main but i parted wi my love and ne er to meet again my dear and ne er to meet again when day is gone and night is and a are to sleep i think on them that s far the lee night and weep my dear the lee night and weep old scotch in the course of a tour that i once made in lower i remained for a day or two at the old town of which stands near the mouth of the it was the time of a f te and all the world was in the evening to dance at the fair held before the chapel of our lady of grace as i like all kinds of innocent merry making i joined the throng the chapel is situated at the top of a high hill or from whence its may be heard at a distance by the at night it is said to have given the name to the port of de grace which lies directly opposite on the other side of the the road up to the chapel went in a course along the brow of the steep coast it was shaded by trees from between which i had beautiful at the ancient towers of below the varied scenery of the opposite shore the white buildings of in the distance and the wide sea beyond the road was by groups of peasant girls in their bright crimson dresses and tall caps and i found all the flower of the neighbourhood assembled on the green that crowns the summit of the hill the chapel of dame de grace is a favourite resort of the inhabitants of and its vicinity both for pleasure and devotion at this little chapel prayers are put up by the of the port previous to their voyages and by their friends during their absence and are hung about its walls in fulfilment of vows made during times of and disaster the chapel is surrounded by trees over the is an image of the virgin and child with an inscription which struck me as being quite poetical de la pour star of the sea pray for us on a level spot near the chapel under a grove of noble trees the dance on fine summer evenings and here are held frequent and f tes which all the rustic beauty of the loveliest parts of lower the present was an occasion of the kind and tents were erected among the trees there were the usual of finery to tempt the rural and of wonderful shows to the curious were their eloquence and fortune astonishing the while whole	48
rows of grotesque saints in wood and wax work were offered for the purchase of the pious s the f te had assembled in one view all the picturesque of the pays d and the cot de i beheld tall stately caps and trim according to fashions which have been handed down from mother to ter for centuries the exact of those worn in the time of the conqueror and which surprised me by their faithful resemblance to those which i had seen in the old pictures of s and in the paintings of illuminated any one also that has been in lower must have remarked the beauty of the and that air of native elegance which among them it is to this country undoubtedly that the english owe their good looks it was from hence that the bright the fine blue eye the light hair passed over to england in the train of the conqueror and filled the land with beauty the scene before me was perfectly ing the assemblage of so many fresh and blooming faces the gay groups in fanciful dresses some dancing on the green others strolling about or seated on the grass the fine of trees in the the brow of this airy height and the broad green sea sleeping in summer tranquillity in the distance whilst i was regarding this animated picture i was struck with the appearance of a beautiful girl who passed through the crowd without seeming to take any interest in their amusements she was slender and delicate in her form she had not the bloom upon her cheek that is usual among the of and her blue eyes had a singular and melancholy expression she was accompanied by a venerable looking man whom i presumed to be her father there was a whisper among the and a wistful look after her as she passed the young men touched their hats and some of the children followed her at a little distance watching her movements sh approached the edge of the hill where there is a little platform from whence the r s people of look out for the approach of vessels here she stood for some time waving her handkerchief though there was nothing to be seen but two or three like mere on the bosom of the distant ocean these circumstances excited my curiosity and i made some inquiries about her which were answered with readiness and intelligence by a priest of the neighbouring chapel our conversation drew together several of the each of whom had something to communicate and from them all i gathered the following particulars was the only daughter of one of the higher order of s or small as they are called who lived at a pleasant village not far from in that rich pastoral part of lower called the pays d was the pride and delight of her parents and was brought up with the indulgence she was gay tender and susceptible s all her feelings were quick and ardent and having never experienced contradiction or restraint she was little practised in self control nothing but the native goodness of her heart kept her from running continually into error even while a child her was evinced in an attachment which she formed to a la the only son of a widow who in the neighbourhood their love was an of passion it had its and and quarrels and it was assuming something of a graver character as entered her and his nineteenth year when he was suddenly carried off to the army by the it was a heavy blow to his mother for he was her only pride and comfort but it was one of those sudden which mothers were perpetually doomed to feel in france during the time that continual and bloody wars were incessantly her youth it was a temporary affliction also to to lose her lover with tender embraces half childish half she parted from him the tears streamed from her blue eyes as she bound a of her fair hair round his wrist but the smiles still broke through for she was yet too young to feel how serious a thing is separation and how many chances there are when parting in this wide world against our ever meeting again weeks months years flew by increased in beauty as she increased in years and was the of the neighbourhood her time passed innocently and happily her father was a man of some consequence in the rural community and his house was the resort of the of the village held a kind of rural court she was always surrounded by companions of her own age among whom she shone much of their time was past in making lace the manufacture of the neighbourhood as they sat at this delicate and feminine labour the merry tale and song went round s none laughed with a lighter heart than and if she sang her voice was perfect melody their evenings were by the or by those pleasant social games so among the french and when she appeared at the village ball on sunday evenings she was the theme of universal admiration as she was a rural she did not want for many advantageous offers were made her but she refused them all she laughed at the pretended pangs of her admirers and over them with the caprice of youth and conscious beauty with all her apparent levity however could any one have read the story of her heart they might have traced in it some fond remembrance of her early not so deeply as to be painful too deep to be easily and they might have noticed amidst all her gaiety the tenderness that marked her manner towards the mother of she would often steal away from her youthful companions and their amusements to pass whole days with the good widow listening to her fond talk about her boy and blushing with secret	48
pleasure when his letters were read at finding herself a constant theme of recollection and inquiry at length the sudden return of peace which sent many a warrior to his native cottage brought back a young sun burnt soldier to the village i need not say how his return was greeted by his mother who saw in him the pride and staff of her old age he had risen in the service by his merit but brought away little from the wars excepting a air a gallant name and a across the forehead he brought back however a nature by the camp he was frank open generous and ardent his heart was quick and kind in its impulses and was perhaps a little softer from having suffered it was full of tenderness for he had received frequent accounts of her from his mother and the mention of her kindness vol ii k to liis lonely parent had rendered her doubly dear to him he had been wounded he had been a prisoner he had been in various troubles but he had always preserved the of her hair which she had bound round his arm it had been a kind of to him he had many a time looked upon it as he lay on the hard ground and the thought that he might one day see again and the fields about his native village had cheered his heart and enabled him to bear up against every hardship he had left almost a child he found her a blooming woman if he had loved her before he now adored her was equally struck with the improvement which time had made in her lover she noticed with secret admiration his superiority to the other young men of the village the frank lofty military air that distinguished him from all the rest at their rural the more she saw him the more her light playful fondness of former years deepened into ardent and powerful affection but was a rural she had tasted the sweets of dominion and had been rendered wilful and capricious by constant indulgence at home and admiration abroad she was conscious of her power over and delighted in it she sometimes treated him with caprice enjoying the pain which she inflicted by her from the idea how soon she would chase it away again by her smiles she took a pleasure in alarming his fears by affecting a temporary preference to some one or other of his rivals and then would delight in them by an ample measure of returning kindness perhaps there was some degree of vanity gratified by all this it might be a matter of triumph to show her absolute power over the young soldier who was the universal object of female admiration however was of too serious and ardent a na ture to be with he loved too fervently not to be filled with doubt he saw surrounded by admirers and full of animation k the among the gay at all their rural and apparently most gay when he was most dejected every one saw through this caprice hut himself every one saw that in reality she on him but alone suspected the sincerity of her affection for some time he bore this with secret impatience and distrust but his feelings grew sore and irritable and overcame his self command a slight misunderstanding took place a quarrel ensued to be and contradicted and full of the insolence of youthful beauty assumed an air of disdain she refused all explanations to her lover and they parted in anger that very evening saw her full of gaiety dancing with one of his rivals and as her eye caught his fixed on her with distress it sparkled with more than usual vivacity it was a finishing blow to his hopes already so much by secret distrust pride and resentment both struggled in his breast and seemed to rouse his spirit to all its energy he retired from her presence with the hasty determination never to see her again a woman is more considerate in affairs of love than a man because love is more the study and business of her life soon repented of her she felt that she had used her lover she felt that she had with his sincere and generous nature and then he looked so handsome when he parted after their quarrel his fine features lighted up by indignation she had intended making up with him at the evening dance but his sudden departure prevented her she now promised herself that when next they met she would amply repay him by the sweets of a perfect reconciliation and that she would never never him more that promise was not to be fulfilled day after day passed but did not make his appearance sunday evening came the usual time when all the gaiety of the village assembled but was not there she inquired after him he had left the village she now became alarmed and forgetting all and affected indifference called on s mother for an explanation she found her full of affliction and learnt with surprise and consternation that had gone to sea while his feelings were yet with her affected disdain and his heart a prey to alternate indignation and despair he had suddenly embraced an invitation which had repeatedly been made him by a relation who was fitting out a ship from the port of and who wished him to be the companion of his voyage absence appeared to him the only cure for his unlucky passion and in the temporary of his feelings there was something gratifying in the idea of having half the world between them the hurry necessary for his departure left no time for cool reflection it rendered him deaf to the of his afflicted mother he hastened to just in time to make the needful preparations for the voyage and the first news that received	48
of this sudden determination was a letter delivered by his mother returning her of affection particularly the long of her hair and bidding her a last farewell in terms more full of sorrow and tenderness than this was the first stroke of real anguish that had ever received and it overcame her the vivacity of her spirits were apt to hurry her to extremes she for a time gave way to of affliction and remorse and manifested in the violence of her grief the real of her affection the thought occurred to her that the ship might not yet have sailed she seized on the hope with eagerness and hastened with her father to the ship had sailed that very morning from the heights above the town she saw it to a speck on the broad bosom of the ocean and before evening the white sail had faded from her sight she turned full of anguish to the neighbouring chapel of our lady of grace and throwing herself on the pavement poured out prayers and tears for the safe return of her lover when she returned home the cheerfulness of her spirits was at an end she looked hack with remorse and self at her past she turned with from the of her admirers and had no longer any relish for the amusements of the village with humiliation and she sought the mother of hut was received hy her with an overflowing heart for she only beheld in one who could in her fondness for her son it seemed some of her remorse to sit by the mother all day to study her wants to her heavy hours to hang about her with the caressing of a daughter and to seek by every means if possible to supply the place of the son whom she reproached herself with having driven away in the mean time the ship made a prosperous voyage to her destined port s mother received a letter from him in which he lamented the of his departure the voyage had given him time for sober reflection if had been unkind to him he ought not to have forgotten what was due to his mother who was now advanced in years he accused himself of selfishness in only listening to the suggestions of his own passions he promised to return with the ship to make his mind up to his disappointment and to think of nothing but making his mother happy and when he does return said clasping her hands with transport it shall not be my fault if he ever leaves us again the time approached for the ship s return she was daily expected when the weather became dreadfully day after day brought news of vessels or driven on shore and the sea coast was with intelligence was received of the looked for ship having been seen in a violent storm and the greatest were entertained for her safety never left the side of s mother she watched every change of her countenance with painful solicitude and endeavoured to cheer her with hopes while her own mind was by anxiety she her efforts to be gay but it was a forced and unnatural gaiety a sigh from the mother would completely check it and when she could no longer restrain the rising tears she would hurry away and pour out her in secret every anxious look every anxious inquiry of the mother whenever a door opened or a strange face appeared was an arrow to her soul she considered every disappointment as a pang of her own and her heart under the care worn expression of the maternal eye at this suspense became she left the village and hastened to hoping every hour every moment to receive some tidings of her lover she paced the pier and wearied the of the port with her inquiries she made a daily pilgrimage to chapel of our lady of grace hung on the wall and passed hours either kneeling before the altar or looking out from the brow of the hill upon the angry sea at length word was brought that the long wished for vessel was in sight she was seen standing into the mouth of the shattered and crippled bearing marks of having been sadly tempest tossed there was a general joy diffused by her return and there was not a brighter eye nor a lighter heart than s in the little port of the ship came to anchor in the river and shortly after a boat put off for the shore the crowded down to the pier head to welcome it stood blushing and smiling and trembling and weeping for a thousand pleasing emotions agitated her breast at the thoughts of the meeting and reconciliation about to take place her heart to pour itself out and to her gallant lover for all its errors at one moment she would place herself in a conspicuous situation where she might catch his view at once and surprise him by her welcome but the next moment a doubt would come across her mind and she would shrink among the throng trembling and faint and gasping with her emotions her agitation increased as the boat drew near until it became distressing and it was s a relief to her when she perceived that her lover was not there she presumed that some accident had detained him on board of the ship and she felt that the delay would enable her to gather more self possession for the meeting as the boat the shore many inquiries were made and answers returned at length heard some inquiries after her lover her heart there was a moment s pause the reply was brief but awful he had been washed from the deck with two of the crew in the midst of a stormy night when it was impossible to render any assistance a piercing shriek broke from among the crowd and had nearly	48
fallen into the waves the sudden of feelings after such a transient gleam of happiness was too much for her harassed frame she was carried home senseless her life was for some time of and it was months before she recovered her health but she never had perfectly recovered her mind it still remained unsettled with respect to her lover s fate the subject continued my is never mentioned in her hearing but she sometimes speaks of it herself and it seems as though there were some vague train of impressions in her mind in which hope and fear are strangely mingled some imperfect idea of her lover s and yet some expectation of his return her parents have tried every means to cheer her and to banish these gloomy images from her thoughts they round her the young companions in whose society she used to delight and they will work and chat and sing and laugh as formerly but she will sit silently among them and will sometimes weep in the midst of their gaiety and if spoken to will make no reply but look up with streaming eyes and sing a dismal little song which she has learned somewhere about a it makes every one s heart ache to see her in this way for she used to be the happiest creature in the village she passes the greater part of the time with s mother whose only consolation is her society and who on her with a mother s tenderness she is the only one that has perfect influence over in every mood the poor girl seems as formerly to make an to be cheerful in her company but will sometimes gaze upon her with the most piteous look and then kiss her gray hairs and fall on her neck and weep she is not always melancholy however she has occasional intervals when she will be bright and animated for days together but there is a degree of attending these fits of gaiety that prevents their yielding any satisfaction to her friends at such times she will arrange her room which is all covered with pictures of ships and legends of saints and will wreath a white as if for a wedding and prepare wedding ornaments she will listen anxiously at the door and look frequently out at the window as if expecting some one s arrival it is supposed that at such times she is looking for her lover s return but as no one touches upon the theme or his name in her presence the current of her thoughts is mere matter of conjecture now and then she will make a pilgrimage to the chapel of dame de grace where she will pray for hours at the altar and the images with wreaths that she has woven or will wave her handkerchief from the terrace as you have seen if is any vessel in the distance upwards of a year hfe informed me had now elapsed without from her mind this singular taint of insanity still her friends hoped it might gradually wear away they had at one time removed her to a distant part of the country in hopes that absence from tke scenes connected with her story might have a effect but when her melancholy returned she became more restless and wretched than usual and secretly escaping from her friends set out on foot without knowing the road on one of her to the chapel this little story entirely drew my attention from the gay scene of the and fixed it upon the beautiful while she was yet standing on the terrace the bell was rung from the neighbouring chapel she listened for a moment and then drawing a small from her bosom walked in that direction several of the followed her in silence and i felt too much interested not to do the same the chapel as i said before is in the midst of a grove on the high the inside is hung round with little models of ships and rude paintings of and perils at sea and the of captains and that have been saved on entering paused for a moment before a picture of the virgin which i observed had recently been decorated with a wreath of artificial flowers when she reached the middle of the chapel she knelt down and those who followed her involuntarily did the same at a little distance the evening sun shone softly through the grove into one window of the chapel a perfect stillness reigned within and this stillness was the more impressive contrasted with the distant sound of music and merriment from the fair i could not take my eyes off from the poor her lips moved as she told her beads but her prayers were breathed in silence it might have been mere fancy excited by the scene that as she raised her eyes to heaven i thought they had an expression truly but i am easily affected by female beauty and there was something in this mixture of love devotion and partial insanity that was touching as the poor girl left the chapel there was vol ii h a sweet serenity in her looks and i was told that she would return home and in all probability be calm and cheerful for days and even weeks in which time it was supposed that hope in her mental malady and that when the dark side of her mind as her call it was about to turn up it would be known by her her or her lace singing plaintive songs and weeping in silence she passed on from the chapel without noticing the f te but smiling and speaking to many as she passed i followed her with my eye as she descended the winding road towards leaning on her father s arm heaven thought i has ever its store of for the hurt mind and wounded spirit and may in	48
midst of her insanity to console her for the loss of her son and the touching expressions of affection that were mingled with her most wanderings of thought until his feelings would be wound up to agony and he would entreat her to from the recital they did not dare as yet to him into s sight but he was permitted to see her when she was sleeping the tears streamed down his cheeks as he contemplated the which grief and malady had made and his heart swelled almost to breaking as he beheld round her neck the very of hair which she once gave him in token of girlish affection and which he had returned to her in anger at length the physician that attended her determined to adventure upon an experiment to take advantage of one of those cheerful moods when her was visited by hope and to endeavour to as it were the reality upon the of her fancy these moods had now become very rare for nature was sinking under the continual pressure of her mental malady and the principle of reaction was daily growing weaker every effort was tried to bring on a cheerful interval of the kind several of her most favourite companions were f e kept continually about her they gaily they laughed and sang and danced but with languid frame and hollow eye and took no part in their gaiety at length the winter was gone the trees put forth their leaves the began to build in the of the house and the robin and all day beneath the window s spirits gradually revived she began to deck her person with unusual care and bringing forth a basket of artificial flowers she went to work to a of white roses her companions asked her why she prepared the what said she with a smile have you not noticed the trees putting on their wedding dresses of blossoms has not the swallow flown back over the sea do you not know that the time is come for to return that he will be home tomorrow and that on sunday we are to be married t her words were repeated to the physician and he seized on them at once he directed e x s that her idea should be encouraged and acted upon her words were echoed through the house every one talked of the return of as a matter of course they congratulated her upon her approaching happiness and assisted her in her preparations the morning the same theme was resumed she was dressed out to receive her lover every bosom fluttered with anxiety a drove into the village is coming was the cry she saw him alight at the door and rushed with a shriek into his arms her friends trembled for the pf thi critical experiment but she did not s it for her fancy had prepared her for turn she was as one in a dream to whom a tide of for prosperity that would have overwhelmed his waking reason seems but the natural current of circumstances her conversation however showed that her senses were wandering there was an absolute of all past sorrow a wild and gaiety that at times was the next morning she awoke languid and exhausted all the of the preceding day had passed away from her mind as though they had been the mere illusions of her fancy she rose melancholy and abstracted and as she dressed herself was heard to sing one of her plaintive when she entered the parlour her eyes were with weeping she heard s voice without and started she passed her hand across her forehead and stood like one endeavouring to recall a dream entered the room and advanced towards her she looked at him with an eager searching look murmured some indistinct words and before he could reach her sank upon the floor she into a wild and unsettled state of mind but now that the first shock was over the physician ordered that should keep continually in her sight sometimes she did not know him at other times she would talk to him as if he were going to sea and would him not to part from her in anger and when he was not present she would speak of him as if buried in the ocean and wo ld sit with clasped hands looking upon the ground the picture of despair as the agitation of her feelings subsided and her frame recovered from the shock which it had received she became more placid and kept almost continually near her he formed the real object round which her scattered ideas once more gathered and which linked them once more with the realities of life but her disorder now appeared to take a new turn she became languid and and would sit for hours silent and almost in a state of if roused from this stupor it seemed as if her mind would make some attempts to follow up a train of thought but would soon become confused she would regard every one that approached her with an anxious and inquiring eye that seemed continually to disappoint itself sometimes as her lover sat holding her hand she would look in his face with out saying a word until his heart was overcome and after these transient fits of intellectual exertion she would sink again into by degrees this stupor increased her mind appeared to have subsided into a and almost calm for the greater part of the time her eyes were closed her face almost as fixed and as that of a corpse she no longer took any notice of surrounding objects there was an in this tranquillity that filled her friends with apprehension the physician ordered that she should be kept perfectly quiet or that if she evinced any agitation she should be gently like a child by some favourite tune she remained in	48
document the flutter at my approach showed that there were some secrets under discussion and i observed the into her bosom either a love letter or an old and brushing away the tears from her cheeks the girl is a good girl of a soft n nature and shows her concern at the cruelty of her lover only in tears and drooping l but with the little ladies who have her cause it up into fiery indignation and i have noticed on sunday many a glance darted at the of the enough even to melt down the silver buttons on old ready money s jacket travelling a citizen for sake to see the country would a journey take some dozen mile or very little more taking his leave with friends two months before with drinking and shaking by the hand as he had d to some new found land doctor man the squire has lately received another shock in the saddle and been almost by his neighbour the mr who rides his trot with equal zeal and is so bent upon improving and the neighbourhood that the squire thinks in a little while it will be scarce worth the that has just my worthy host is an attempt of the to have a line of established that travelling i shall from the old route and pass through the neighbouring village i believe i have mentioned that the ha is situated in a retired part of the country at a distance from any great coach road that the arrival of a traveller is apt to make every one look out of the window and to cause some talk among the ale at the little inn i was at a loss therefore to account for the squire s indignation at a measure apparently with convenience and advantage until i found that the of travelling were among his greatest in fact he rails against stage post and roads as serious causes of the corruption of english rural manners they have given he says to every hum drum citizen to his family about kingdom and have sent the follies and fashions of town whirling in coach loads to the remotest parts of the island the whole country he says is traversed by these flying every by road is by enter travelling form and the poultry and every gentleman s park and invaded by of both sexes with chairs and for drawing he over this as destroying the charm of privacy and interrupting the quiet of country life but more especially as affecting the simplicity of the and filling their heads with half city notions a great coach inn he says is enough to ruin the manners of a whole village it a of and makes and and of the common people and knowing of the country the squire has something of the old feeling he looks back with regret to the good old times when journeys were only made on horseback and the extraordinary difficulties of travelling owing to bad roads bad and highway robbers seemed to separate each village and hamlet from the rest of the world the lord of the was then a kind of monarch in the little realm travelling l around him he held his court in his paternal hall and was looked up to with almost as much loyalty and deference as the king himself every neighbourhood was a little world within itself having its local manners and customs its local history and local opinions the inhabitants were of their homes and thought less of wandering it was looked upon as an expedition to travel out of sight of the parish and a man that had been to london was a village for the rest of his life what a difference between the mode of travelling in those days and at present at that time when a gentleman went on a distant visit he forth like a knight on an enterprise and every family excursion was a how splendid and fanciful must one of those domestic have been where the l were mounted on with embroidered harness all with silver bells attended by richly attired on and followed by pages and serving men as we travelling see them represented in old the gentry as they travelled about in those days were like moving pictures they delighted the eyes and awakened the admiration of the common people and passed before them like superior beings and indeed they were so there was a hardy and exercise connected with this style that made them generous and noble in his fondness for the old style of travelling the squire makes most of his journeys on horseback though he the modern deficiency of incident on the road from the want of fellow and the rapidity with which every one else is whirled along in and post in the good old times on the contrary a on through and mire from town to town and hamlet to let conversing with and other chance companions of the road be the way with travellers tales which then were truly wonderful for every thing beyond one s neighbourhood was full of marvel travelling i and romance stopping at night at some where the bush over the door proclaimed good wine or a pretty hostess made bad wine meeting at supper with travellers like himself discussing their day s adventures or listening to the song or merry story of the host who was generally a boon companion and presided at his own board for according to old s s at my friend who here and with his shall be sure of better and with lesser cost the squire is fond too of stopping at those which may be met with here and there in ancient houses of wood and plaster or houses as they are called by with deep diamond bow windows rooms and great fire places he will prefer them to more spacious and modern and will cheerfully	48
for legends and his library contains a curious collection of old works of this kind which bear evident marks of having been much read in his great love for all that is he popular and with very grave attention to every tale however strange so that through his countenance the household and indeed the whole popular is well with and if ever a doubt is expressed of one of them the will generally observe that the squire thinks there s something in it the hall of course comes in for its share the common people having always a to furnish a great building of the kind with supernatural inhabitants th gloomy galleries of such old family t the stately chambers adorned with grotesque and faded paintings the sounds that vaguely echo about them the moaning of the wind the cries of j and from the trees and chimney tops all produce a state of mind favourable to superstitious fancies in one chamber of the hall just opposite a door which opens upon a dusky passage there is a full length portrait of a warrior in when on suddenly turning into the passage t have caught a sight of the portrait into strong relief by the dark against which it hangs i have more than n popular once been startled as though it were a figure advancing towards me to superstitious minds therefore posed by the strange and melancholy stories that are connected with family paintings it needs b jt little stretch of fancy on a moonlight night or by the flickering light of a candle to set the old pictures on the walls in motion sweeping in their robes and trains about the galleries to tell the truth the squire that he used to take a pleasure in his younger days in setting marvellous stories afloat and connecting them with the lonely and peculiar places of the neighbourhood whenever he read any legend of a striking nature he endeavoured to it and give it a local habitation among the scenes of his boyhood many of these stories took root and he says he is often amused with the odd shapes in which they will come back to him in some old woman s narrative after they have been for years among the and l popular rustic additions and among these may doubtless b numbered that of the s ghost which i have mentioned in the account of my christmas visit and another about the hard riding squire of the who is sometimes heard on stormy winter nights galloping with hound and horn over a wild a few miles distant from the hall this i apprehend to have had its origin in the famous story of the wild the favourite in german tales though by by as i was talking on the subject with master the other evening in the dark avenue he hinted that he had himself once or twice heard odd sounds at night very like a pack of hounds in cry and that once as he was returning rather late from a hunting dinner he had seen a strange figure galloping along this same but as he was riding rather fast at the time and in a hurry to get home he did not stop to ascertain what it was popular are fast away im popular in england owing to the general of knowledge and the bustling intercourse kept up throughout the country still they hard their strong holds and lingering places and a retired neighbourhood like this is apt to be one of them the parson tells me that he meets with many and notions among the common people which he has been able to draw from them in the course of familiar conversation though they are rather shy of them to strangers and par to the gentry who are apt to laugh at them he says there are several of his old who remember when the village had its bar guest or bar ghost a spirit supposed to belong to a town or village and to any impending misfortune by midnight shrieks and the last time it was heard was just before the death of mr s father who was much beloved throughout the neighbourhood though there are not wanting some obstinate insisted that it was nothing but the howling popular is of a watch dog i have been greatly however at meeting with some traces of my old favourite robin good fellow though a different from any of those by which i have heretofore heard him called the parson me that many of the believe in household called which live about particular farms and houses in the same way that robin did of old sometimes they haunt the and and now and then will assist the farmer wonderfully by getting in all his hay or corn in a single night in general however they prefer to live within doors and are fond of keeping about the great and at night after the family have gone to bed by the glowing embers when put in particular good humour by the of their lodgings and the of the they will overcome their natural and do a vast deal of household work before morning the cream the beer or all the good dame s popular all this is precisely the conduct of robin good fellow described so by milton tells how the sweat to earn his cream bowl duly set when in one ere glimpse of mom his shadowy had d the com that ten day could not end then lays him down the and stretch d out all the chimney s length at the fire his hairy strength and crop full out of door he ere the first cock his rings but beside these household there are others of a more gloomy and nature that keep about lonely at a distance from any dwelling house or about ruins and old bridges these are full of and often	48
malignant tricks and are fond of playing upon travellers there is a story among the old people of one that haunted a ruined mill just by a bridge that crosses a small stream how that late one night as a traveller was passing on horseback the jumped up behind popular him and grasped him so close round the body that he had no power to help himself but expected to be squeezed to death luckily his heels were loose with which he plied the sides of his and was with the wonderful instinct of a traveller s horse straight to the village inn had the inn been at any greater distance there is no doubt but he would have been to death as it was the good people were a long time in bringing him to his senses and it was remarked that the first sign he showed of returning consciousness was to call for a bottom of brandy these mischievous bear much resemblance in their natures and habits to those which in his calls or their dwellings be in comers of old houses least frequented or beneath of wood and these make noise in and in robin k some some call them in rooms these keep and at to wake men from their popular seeming to be ihey and keeping all long pots glasses and they will make dance about the shelves and settles as if about the kitchen and cast yet in the morning nothing found t others such houses to their use have fitted in which base have been once committed some have their fearful taken in houses ruin d and forsaken in the account of our unfortunate expedition i mentioned an instance of one of these supposed to haunt the ruined that stands in a lonely meadow and has a remarkable echo the parson me also that the belief was once very that a household kept about the i farm house of the it has long been he says that one of these good natured is attached to the family and came with them when they moved into this part of the country for it is one of the peculiarities of these household that they attach themselves to the for popular tunes of certain families and follow them in all their there is a large old fashioned fire place in the farm house which fine quarters for a chimney corner that likes to lie warm especially s ready money jack keeps up rousing fires in the winter time the old people of the village recollect many stories this that were current in their young days it was thought to have brought good luck to the house and to be the reason why the were always beforehand in the world and why their farm was always in better order their hay got in sooner and their corn better than that of their neighbours the present mrs at the time of her courtship had a number of these stories told her by the country and when married was a little fearful about living in ai house where such a was said to haunt jack however who has always treated this story with great contempt assured her that there was no spirit kept about his house s he could not at any time lay in the red sea with one flourish of his still his wife has never got completely over her notions on the subject but has a horse shoe n led on the threshold and keeps a branch of or mountain ash with its red suspended from one of the great beams in the parlour a sure protection from all evil spirits these stories however as i before observed are fast fading away and in another generation or two will probably be completely forgotten there is something however about these rural that is extremely pleasing to the imagination particularly those which relate to the good humoured race of household and indeed to the whole fairy the english have given an charm to these by the manner in which they have associated them with whatever is most home felt and in rustic oe ng and beau know a more these little r i see a r r s w i its wide hall and spacious form iu which i ii c fire side comfort iu l good was something of k love of order and in the v with which they watched over the the kitchen and the functions i ir the tidy ii h r in p t the hi m i ii i i vi the wet popular them that he did who considered them the abode of and i feel convinced that the true interests and solid happiness of man are promoted by the advancement of truth yet i cannot but mourn over the pleasant errors which it has trampled down in its progress the and the household the moonlight queen and the delicious of fairy land all vanish before the light of true philosophy but who does not sometimes turn with from the cold realities of mornings and seek to the sweet visions of the night the from fire from water and all things amiss deliver the house of an honest justice the widow the serenity of the hall has been suddenly interrupted by a very important occurrence in the course of this morning a of villagers was seen up the avenue with boys shouting in advance as it drew near we perceived ready money jack along his in one hand and with the other grasping the collar of a tall fellow whom on still nearer approach we recognised for the hero tom he was now however completely and crest fallen and his courage seemed to have in the iron of the jack o g the the whole gang of women and children came in the rear some in tears	48
others making a violent about the ears of old ready money who however on in silence with his prey their abuse as little as a hawk t at has upon a barn door hero regards the and of his whole he had passed through the village on his way to the hall and of course had made a great sensation in that most place where every event is a matter of gaze and gossip the report flew like that tom was in the forthwith abandoned the tap room s school broke loose and master and boys swelled the tide that came rolling at the heels of old ready money and his captive the uproar increased as they approached the hall it aroused the whole garrison of dogs and the crew of on the great from the dog house the and the and the the issued barking from the hall door and my lady s little dogs and from the parlour window i remarked however that the dogs made no reply to all these and but crept close to the gang looking round with a guilty air and now and then glancing up a eye to their owners which shows that the moral dignity even of dogs may be ruined by bad company i when the throng reached the front of the house they were brought to a halt by a kind of advanced guard composed of old the and two or three servants of the house who had been brought out by the noise the common herd of the village fell back with respect the boys were driven back by and his while ready money jack maintained his ground and his hold of the prisoner and was surrounded by the tailor the and several other of the village and by the the brood of who were neither to be silenced nor by this time the whole household were brought to the doors and windows and the squire to the an audience was de by ready mo ey jack who had de the prisoner in the very act of on his and had borne him off to be examined before the squire who is in the commission of the peace a kind of was immediately held in the servants hall a large chamber with a stone floor and a long table in the centre at one end of which just under an enormous clock was placed the squire s chair of justice while master took his place at the table as clerk of the court an attempt had been made by old to keep out the gang but in vain and they with the village and the household half filled the hall the old housekeeper and the butler were in a panic at this dangerous they ik the hurried away all the valuable things and articles that were at hand and even kept a watch on the lest they should carry off the house clock or the deal table old and his faithful the acted as to guard the prisoner in having at last got this terrible in their indeed i am inclined to think the old man bore some recollection of having been handled rather roughly by the in the affair of may day silence was now commanded by but it was difficult to be enforced in such a assemblage there was a continual and of dogs and as fast as it was in one comer it broke out in another the poor who like thieves could not hold up their heads in an honest house were worried and insulted by the gentlemen dogs of the establishment to make resistance the very the of my lady them with the examination was conducted with great and indulgence by the squire partly from the kindness of his nature and partly i suspect because his heart towards the who had found great favour in his eyes as i have already observed from the skill he had at various times displayed in dancing and other accomplishments proofs however were too strong ready money jack told his story in a straight forward independent way nothing by the presence in which he found himself he had suffered from various on his and poultry yard and had at length kept watch and caught the in the very act of making off with h sheep on his shoulders was repeatedly interrupted in the course of his testimony by the s mother a furious old with an tongue and who in fact was the times kept with some difficulty from flying at him tooth and the wife too of the prisoner whom i am told he does not beat above half a dozen times a week completely interested lady in her husband s behalf by her tears and and several of the other women were awakening strong sympathy among the young girls and maid servants in the back ground the pretty black eyed girl whom i have mentioned on a former occasion as the that read the fortunes of the general endeavoured to that warrior into their interests and even made some approaches to her old acquaintance master but was by the latter with all the dignity of office having assumed a look of gravity and importance suitable to the occasion i was a little surprised at first to find honest the rather opposed to his old and coming forward as a kind of advocate for the accused it seems that taken compassion on the forlorn the fortunes of tom and had been trying his eloquence in his favour the whole way from the village but without effect during the examination of ready money jack had stood like dejected pity at his side seeking every now and then by a soft word to soothe any of his ire or to any harsh expression he now ventured to make a few observations to the squire in of the s offence but poor spoke more from the heart than	48
the head and was evidently merely by a general sympathy for every poor devil in trouble and a liberal for all kinds of vagabond existence the ladies too large and small with the kind of the sex were zealous on the side of mercy and with the squire that the prisoner finding himself unexpectedly surrounded by active friends once more reared his crest and seemed disposed for a time to put on the air of injured innocence the squire the with all his benevolence of heart and his lurking weakness towards the prisoner was too conscientious to from the strict path of justice there was abundant testimony that made the proof of guilt and tom s was made out accordingly the sympathy of the ladies was now greater than ever they even made some attempts to the ire of ready money jack but that sturdy had been too much by the repeated that had been made into his by the band of tom and he was resolved he said to drive the out of the neighbourhood to avoid all further as soon as the was made out he up his and strode back to his seat of empire accompanied by his friend and followed by a of the g who hung on his rear him with mingled prayers and the the question now was how to dispose of the prisoner a matter of great moment in this peaceful establishment where so formidable a character as tom was like a hawk in a dove as the and examination had occupied a considerable time it was too late in the day to send him to the county prison and that of the village was sadly out of repair from long want of occupation old who took great interest in the affair proposed that the should be committed for the night to an upper of a kind of tower in one of the out houses where he and the would mount guard after much deliberation this measure was adopted the premises in question were examined and made secure and and his ally the one armed with a the other with an ancient turned out as to keep watch over this keep such is the momentous affair that has just taken place and it is an event of to great the moment in this quiet little world not to turn it completely labour is at a stand the house has been a scene of confusion the whole evening it has been by women with their children on their backs wailing and while the old of a mother has up and down the lawn in front shaking her head and muttering to herself or now and then breaking into a of rage her fist at the hall and ill luck upon ready money jack and even upon the squire himself lady has given repeated to the s weeping wife at the hall door and the servant maids have stolen out to confer with the women under the trees as to the little ladies of the family they are all outrageous at ready money jack whom they look upon in the light of a giant of fairy tale contrary to her usual nature is the only one that is pitiless in the affair she thinks mr quite in the the right and thinks the deserve to be punished severely for with the sheep of the in the mean time the females of the family have evinced all the kindness of the sex ever ready to soothe and the distressed right or wrong lady has had a taken to the and comforts and of all kinds have been taken to the prisoner even the little girls have sent their cakes and so that i warrant the vagabond has never so well in his life before old it is true looks upon every thing with a wary eye about with his with the air of a and will hardly allow himself to be spoken to the women dare not come within and every of a boy has been frightened from the park the old fellow is determined to lodge tom in prison with his own hands and hopes he says to see one of the crew made an example of the i doubt after all whether the worthy squire is not the greatest sufferer in the whole affair his honourable sense of duty him to be rigid but the overflowing kindness of his nature makes this a grievous trial to him he is not accustomed to have such demands upon his justice in his truly domain and it wounds his benevolent spirit that while prosperity and happiness are flowing in thus upon him he should have to inflict misery upon a fellow being he has been troubled and cast down the whole evening took leave of the family on going to bed with a sigh instead of his usual hearty and affectionate tone and will in all probability have a far more sleepless night than his prisoner indeed this unlucky affair has cast a damp upon the whole household as there appears to be an universal opinion that the unlucky will come to the gallows morning the clouds of last evening are all blown over a load has been taken from the squire s heart and every face is once more the in smiles the made his appearance at an early hour completely shame faced and crest fallen tom had made his escape in the night how he had got out of the no one could tell the devil they think must have assisted him old was so that he would not show his face but had shut himself up in his strong hold at the dog and would not be spoken with what has particularly relieved the squire is that there is very little of the s being having gone off on one of the old gentleman s best hunters family misfortunes t the night has	48
been where we lay the chimneys were blown down we have for a day or two past had a flaw of weather which has itself into this fair and month and for a time has quite the beauty of the landscape last night the storm attained its crisis the rain beat in torrents against the and the wind and about the old hall with quite a wintry vehemence the morning however dawned clear and serene the face of the heavens seemed as if newly washed and the sun shone with a brightness that was by a single nothing over head gave traces of the recent vol n p family misfortunes storm but on looking from my window i beheld sad among the shrubs and flowers the garden walks had formed the channels for little torrents trees were of their branches and a small silver stream that wound through the park and ran at the bottom of the had swelled into a yellow sheet of water in an establishment like this where the mansion is vast ancient and somewhat afflicted with the of age and where there are numerous and extensive a storm is an event of a very grave nature and brings in its train a of cares and while the squire was taking his breakfast in the great hall he was continually interrupted by some bearer of ill tidings from some part or other of his he appeared to me like the commander of a city after some grand assault receiving at his reports of sustained in the various quarters of the place at one time the misfortunes housekeeper tf ht intelligence of a chimney blown down and a desperate sprung in the roof over the picture gallery w threatened to a whole tt of his ancestors the steward came in with a story of the mischief done in the while the the loss of one of his finest whose was seen floating along the ent of the river when the squire issued forth he was before the door by the old gardener with a full of trouble i ei as i supposed the of his and the destruction of hi wall i remarked however that his intelligence a peculiar expression of concern ni t only with the squire and master but with the fair and lady who happened io be present a few reached my ear i was tale of do calamity in the and that t family ha been i p s family misfortunes less by the storm many of pity broke from the ladies i heard the expressions of poor helpless beings and unfortunate little creatures several times repeated to which the old gardener replied by very melancholy shakes of the head i felt so interested that i could not help calling to the gardener as he was retiring and asking what unfortunate family it was that had suffered so severely the old man touched his hat and gazed at me for an instant as if hardly my question family replied he there be no family in the case your honour but here have been sad mischief done in the i had noticed the day before that the high and winds which prevailed had occasioned great among these airy their nests being all filled with young who were in danger of being out of their tree rocked indeed the old birds themselves seemed to have hard work to maintain a some kept hovering and family misfortunes in the air or if they ventured to alight they had to hold fast their wings and spread their tails and thus remain on the twigs in the course of the night however an awful calamity had taken place in this most sage and community there was a great tree the in the grove which seemed to have been the kind of court end of the metropolis and crowded with the of those whom master considers the nobility and gentry a decayed limb of this tree had given way with the violence of the storm and had come down with all its air castles one should be well aware of the of the good squire and his household to understand the general concern expressed at this disaster it was quite a public calamity in this rural empire and all seemed to feel for the poor as for fellow citizens in distress the ground had been with the young which were now cherished in the and of the maid servants and family i the little ladies of the family i was with this touch of nature this feminine in the sufferings of the and the maternal anxiety of the parent birds it was too to witness the general agitation and distress that seemed to prevail throughout the community t m common cause that was made of it and th incessant hovering and fluttering and lament ing that took place in the whole i here is a of sympathy that runs through the whole race as to any misfortunes of the young and the cries of a wounded bird in the breeding season will throw a whole grove in a flutter and an alarm indeed why should i confine it to the tribe nature seems to me to have an exquisite sympathy on this subject which extends through all her works it ig an invariable attribute of the female heart to melt at the cry of early helplessness and to take an instinctive interest in the of the parent and its young on the present occasion the family misfortunes ladies of the family were full of pity and and i shall never forget the look that lady gave the general on his observing that the young birds would make an excellent or an especial good pie lovers troubles a the poor soul sat by a tree sing all a green willow her hand on her bosom her head on her knee sing willow willow willow sing all a green willow must be	48
my old song the fair having nearly recovered from the effects of her disaster it begins to be thought high time to a day for the wedding as every domestic event in a venerable and aristocratic family like this is a matter of moment the fixing upon this important day has of course given rise to much conference and debate some slight difficulties and have lately sprung up in the peculiar that are at the hall thus i have overheard a very solemn consultation lovers troubles between lady the parson and master as to whether the marriage ought not to be postponed until the coming month with all the charms of the month of may there is i find an ancient prejudice against it as a marrying month an old proverb says to wed in may is to wed poverty now as lady is very much given to believe in lucky and unlucky times and seasons and indeed is very superstitious on all points relating to the tender passion this old proverb seems to have taken great hold upon her mind she two or three instances in her own knowledge of matches that took place in this month and proved very unfortunate indeed an own cousin of hers who married on a may day lost her husband by a fall from his horse after they had lived happily together for twenty years the parson appeared to give great weight to her s objections and acknowledged the existence of a prejudice of the kind not merely confined to modern times but pre s troubles talent likewise among the in con js of this he quoted a passage from which had a great effect on lady being given in a language which she did not understand even master was staggered by it for he listened with a puzzled air and then shaking his head observed that was certainly a very wise man from this sage conference i likewise gathered other important pieces of information relative to such as that if two were in the same church on the same day the first would be happy the second unfortunate if on going to church the party should meet the funeral of a female it was an omen that the bride would die first if of a male the bridegroom if the newly married couple were to dance together on their wedding day the wife would rule the roast with many other curious and facts of the same nature all which made me more than ever upon the lovers troubled perils which this happy stated and the ignorance of mortals as to the risks they run in upon it i ah tain however from upon this topic no inclination to promote the increase of notwithstanding the due weight which the squire gives to and ancient opinions yet i am happy to find that he makes a firm stand for the credit of this loving months and brings to his aid a whole of poetical authorities all which i presume have been with the young couple as i understand they are perfectly willing to marry in may and abide the consequences in a few days therefore the wedding is to take place and the hall is in a of anticipation the housekeeper is bustling about from morning till night with a look full of business and im having a thousand arrangements to make the squire intending to keep open house on the occasion and as to the house maids lovers troubles you cannot look one of them in the face but the rogue begins to colour up and while however this leading love affair is going on with a tranquillity quite inconsistent with the rules of romance i cannot say that the under plots are equally the opening bud of love between the general and lady seems to have experienced some in the course of this genial season i do not think the general has ever been able to the ground he lost when he fell asleep during the captain s story indeed master thinks his case is completely desperate her having determined that he is quite destitute of sentiment the season has been equally to the love i fear the reader will be impatient at having this humble so often alluded to but i confess i am apt to take a great interest in the love troubles of simple girls of this class few people have an idea of the world of care and troubles that these poor have in managing the affairs of the heart we talk and write about the tender passion we give it all the of sentiment and romance and lay the scene of its influence in high life but after all i doubt whether its sway is not more absolute among females of a sphere how often could we but look into the heart should we find the sentiment throbbing in all its violence in the bosom of the poor lady s maid rather than in that of the brilliant beauty she is out for conquest whose brain is probably bewildered with ball rooms and wax light with these humble beings love is an honest concern they have no ideas of and pin money the heart the heart is all in all with them poor things there is seldom one of them but has her love cares and love secrets her doubts and hopes and fears equal to those of any heroine of romance and ten times as lovers troubles sincere and then too there is her secret love documents the broken sixpence the gilded the lock of hair the unintelligible love all up in her box of sunday finery for private how many crosses and trials is she exposed from some eyed dame or staid old of a mistress who keeps a watch over her virtue and the lover from the door but then how sweet are the little love scenes snatched at distant intervals of	48
holiday and fondly dwelt on through many a long day of household labour and confinement if in the country it is the dance at the fair or wake the interview in the churchyard after service or the evening stroll in the green lane if in town it is perhaps merely a stolen moment of delicious talk between the bars of the area every instant of being seen and then how lightly will the simple creature day afterwards at her labour poor baggage after all her crosses lovers s difficulties she what is it but to exchange a life of comparative ease and fort for one of toil and uncertainty perhaps too the lover for whom in the fondness of nature she has committed herself to fortune s turns out a worthless the di hard hearted husband of low life who taking to the ale house leaves her to a cheerless home to and bearing when i see poor going about with drooping eye and her head hanging all o one side i cannot help calling to mind the pathetic little picture drawn by r r my mother had a maid call d she was in love and he she loved proved mad and did her she had a song of willow an old thing twas hut it express d her fortune and she died singing it i hope however that a better lot is in re serve for and that she may yet rule the roast in the ancient empire of the she is not fit to battle with ss lovers troubles hearts or hard times she was i am told the pet of her poor mother who was proud of the beauty of her child and brought her up more tenderly than a village girl ought to be and ever since she has been left an orphan the good ladies of the hall have completed the softening and of her i have recently observed her holding long in the churchyard and up and down one of the lanes near the village with the i at first thought the might be touched with the tender malady so in these parts of late but i did him injustice honest it seems was a friend and of her late father the parish clerk and is on intimate terms with the family prompted therefore by his good will towards all parties and secretly perhaps by the managing dame he has undertaken to talk with upon the subject he gives her however but little encouragement has a formidable opinion of the lovers troubles feeling of old ready money and thinks if were even to make the matter up with the son she would find the father totally hostile to the match the poor therefore is reduced almost to despair and who is too good natured not to in her distress has advised her to give up all thoughts of young jack and has proposed as a substitute his learned the prodigal son he has even in the fulness of his heart offered to give up the school house to them though it would leave him once more adrift in the wide world vol ii q i the historian pray you by us and tell s a tale merry or sad shall t be as merry as you will a sad tale s best for winter i have one of and let s have that sir winter s tale as this is a story telling i have been tempted occasionally to give the reader one of the many tales that are served up with supper at the hall i mighty indeed have furnished a series almost equal in number to the nights but some were rather and tedious others i did not feel in betraying into print and many more were of the old general s relating and turned principally upon tiger hunting elephant riding m the historian and by the wonderful deeds of and the excellent jokes of major i had all along maintained a quiet post at a corner of the table where i had been able to indulge my humour undisturbed listening attentively when the story was very good and a little when it was rather dull which i consider the perfection of i was roused the other evening from a slight trance into which i had fallen during one of the general s histories by a sudden call from the squire to furnish some entertainment of the kind in my turn having been so profound a listener to others i could not in conscience refuse but neither my memory nor invention being ready to answer so unexpected a demand i begged leave to read a manuscript tale from the pen of my fellow the late mr the historian of new york as this ancient may not be better known to my readers than he was to the company at the hall a the historian word or two concerning him may not be amiss before proceeding to his manuscript was a native of new york a from one of the ancient dutch families which originally settled that province and remained there after it was taken possession of by the english in the descendants of these dutch families still remain in villages and in various parts of the country retaining with singular obstinacy the dresses manners and even language of their ancestors and forming a very distinct and curious feature in the population of the state in a hamlet whose spire may be seen from new york rising from above the brow of a hill on the opposite side of the many of the old folks even at the present day speak english with an accent and the in dutch and so completely is the hereditary love of quiet and silence maintained that in one of these drowsy little villages in the middle of a warm summer s day the of a stout the historian blue bottle fly will from one	48
but would stand at a distance and throw stones at the building and there was something fear pleasing in the sound as they rattled along the roof or sometimes struck some of out of the origin of this house was lost m the that covers the early period of the while under the government of their the states general some the haunted house reported it to have been the country residence of commonly called the one of the dutch of new others said that it had been built by a naval commander who served under van and who on being disappointed of retired from the service in disgust became a philosopher through sheer spite and brought over all his wealth to the province that he might live according to his humour and despise the world the reason of its having fallen to decay was likewise a matter of dispute some said that it was in and had already cost more than its worth in legal expenses but the most current and of course the most probable account was that it was haunted and that nobody could live quietly in it there can in fact be very little that this last was the case there were so many stories to prove it not an old woman in the neighbourhood but could furnish at least a score there was a of a negro that lived hard the haunted house by who had a whole of them to tell many of which had happened to himself i recollect many a time stopping with my and getting him to relate some the old lived in a in the midst of a small patch of potatoes and indian corn which his master had given him on setting him free he would come to us with his in his hand and as we sat perched like a row of on the rail of the fence in the mellow twilight of a summer evening he would tell us such fearful stories accompanied by such awful of his white eyes that we were almost afraid of our own footsteps as we returned home afterwards in the dark poor old many years are past since he died and went to keep company with he ghosts he was so fond of talking about he was buried in a comer of his patch the plough soon passed over his grave and it with the rest of the field and nobody thought any more of the gray headed negro by singular chance i was the haunted house strolling in that neighbourhood several years afterwards when i had grown up to be a young man and i found a knot of on a skull which had just been turned up by a they of course determined it to be the remains of some one that had been murdered and they had up with it some of the tales of the haunted house i knew it at once to be the of poor but i held my tongue for i am too considerate of other people s enjoyment ever to mar a story of a ghost or a murder i took care however to see the bones of my old friend once more buried in a place where they were not likely to be disturbed as i sat on the turf and watched the i fell into a long conversation with an old gentleman of the neighbourhood john a pleasant man whose whole life was spent in hearing and telling the news of the province he recollected old and his stories about the haunted house but he assured me he the haunted house could give me one still more strange than any that had related and on my expressing a great curiosity to hear it he sat down beside me on the turf and told the following tale i have endeavoured to give it as nearly as possible in his words but it is now many years since and i am grown old and my memory is not over good i cannot therefore for the language but i am always scrupulous as to facts d k i take the town of where i dwells all be my witness if i were not in brought up in let un bring a dog but to my that can i have beat un and without a vault or but a cat will swear upon a book i have as much as a her tail and give him or her a crown for of a tub in the early of the province of new york while it groaned under the tyranny of the english governor lord who carried his towards the dutch so far as to allow no or to in their language without his special about this time there lived in the jolly little old city of the man a kind dame known by the name of dame she was the widow of a dutch sea captain who died suddenly of a fever in consequence of working too hard and eating too heartily at the time when all the inhabitants turned out in a panic to the place against the invasion of a small french he left her with very little money and one infant son the only of several children the good woman had need of much management to make both ends meet and keep up a decent appearance however as her husband had fallen a victim to his zeal for the public safety it was universally agreed that something ought to be done for the widow f and on the hopes of this something she lived tolerably for some years in the meantime every body pitied and spoke well of her and that helped along she lived in a small house in a small street called garden street very probably from a garden which may have flourished there some time or other as her necessities every year grew greater and the talk of the	48
public about doing something for her grew less s she had to cast about for some mode of doing something for herself by way of help ing out her slender means and maintaining her independence of which she was somewhat living in a town she had caught something of the spirit and determined to venture a little in the great of commerce on a sudden therefore to the great surprise of the street there appeared at her window a grand array of kings and queens with their arms stuck a after the invariable royal manner there were also several broken some filled with sugar some with there were moreover cakes of various kinds and and holland and wooden horses with here and there gilt covered picture books and now and then a of thread or a dangling pound of candles at the door of the house sat the good old dame s cat a decent personage that seemed to every body that passed to their dress and vol ii r now and then to stretch her neck and look out with sudden curiosity to see what was going on at the other end of the street hut if hy chance any idle vagabond dog came hy and offered to be how she would up and growl and spit and strike out her she was as indignant as ever was an ancient and ugly on the approach of some but though the good woman had to come down to those humble means of yet she still kept up a feeling of family pride having descended from the of and she had the family arms painted and framed and hung over her mantel piece she was in truth much respected by all the poorer people of the place her house was quite a resort of the old wives of the neighbourhood they would drop in there of a winter s afternoon as she sat knitting on one side of her fire place her cat on the other and the tea kettle singing before it and they would gossip with her until late in the s evening there was always an arm chair for peter de sometimes called long peter and sometimes peter the clerk and of the little church who was her great and indeed the of her fire side nay the himself did not disdain now and then to step in converse about the state of her mind and take a glass of her special good cherry brandy indeed he never failed to call on new year s day and wish her a happy new year and tho good dame who was a little vain on some points always herself on giving him as large a cake as any one in town i have said that she had one son he was the child of her old age but could hardly be called the comfort for of all unlucky was the most mischievous not that the was really vicious he was only full of fun and and had that daring spirit which is in a rich man s child but in a poor man s he was continually getting into his r mother was incessantly harassed with of some which he had played off bills were sent in for windows that he had broken in a word he had not reached his year before he was pronounced by all the neighbourhood to be a wicked dog the dog in the street nay one old gentleman in a coloured coat with a thin red face and eyes went so far as to assure dame that her soil would one day or other come to the gallows yet notwithstanding all this the poor old soul loved her boy it seemed as though she loved him the better the worse he behaved and that he grew more in her favour the more he grew out of favour with the world mothers are foolish fond hearted beings there s no reasoning them out of their and in deed this poor woman s child was all that was left to love her in this world so we must not think it hard that she turned a deaf ear to her good friends who sought to prove to her that would come to a h r to do the justice too he was strongly attached to his parent he would not willingly have given her pain on any account and when he had been doing wrong it was but for him to catch his poor mother s eye fixed wistfully and sorrowfully upon him to fill his heart with bitterness and but he was a heedless and could not for the life of him resist any new temptation to fun and mischief though quick at his learning whenever he could be brought to apply himself yet he was always prone to be led away by idle company and would play to hunt after birds nests to rob or to swim in the in this way he grew up a tall boy and his mother began to be greatly perplexed what to do with him or how to put him in a way to do for himself for he had acquired such an unlucky reputation that no one seemed willing to employ him many were the that she with peter de the clerk and h b who was her prime peter was as much perplexed as herself for he had no great opinion of the boy and thought he would never come to good he at one time advised her to send him to sea a piece of advice only given in the most desperate cases but dame hey would not listen to such an idea she could not think of letting go out of her sight she was sitting one day knitting by her fire side in great perplexity when the entered with an air of unusual vivacity and he had just come	48
from a ah it had been that of a boy of s years who had been to a famous german doctor and had died of a consumption it is true there had been a whisper that the deceased had been brought to his end by being made the subject of the doctor s ments on which he was apt to try the effects of a new compound or a draught this however it is likely was a mere scandal at any rate peter de did not think it worth mentioning though had we time to r it would be a matter for speculation why a doctor s family is apt to be so lean and and a butcher s so jolly and peter de as i said before entered the house of dame with unusual alacrity he was full of a bright idea that had into his head at the funeral and over which he had chuckled as he the earth into the grave of the doctor s it had occurred to him that as the situation of the deceased was vacant at the doctor s it would be the very place for the boy had parts and could pound a and run an errand with any boy in the town and what more was wanted in a student the suggestion of the sage peter was a vision of glory to the mother she already saw in her mind s eye with a cane at his nose a at his door and an m d at the end of his name one of the established of the town the matter once undertaken was soon effected the had some influence with the doctor they having had much dealing together in the way of their separate professions and the very next morning he called and conducted the clad in his sunday clothes to undergo the inspection of dr they found the doctor seated in an elbow chair in one comer of his study or with a large volume in german print before him he was a short fat man with a dark square face rendered more dark by a black velvet cap he had a little nose not unlike the ace of with a pair of spectacles gleaming on each side of his dusky countenance like a couple of bow windows felt struck with awe on entering into the presence of this learned man and gazed about him with boyish wonder at the furniture of this chamber of knowledge which appeared to him almost as the den of a in the centre stood a footed table with and mortar and and a pair of small scales at one end was a heavy clothes press turned into a for and against which hung the doctor s hat and cloak and gold headed cane and on the top grinned a human skull along the mantel piece were glass vessels in which were and and a human preserved in spirits a closet the doors of which were taken off contained three whole shelves of books and some too of mighty dimensions a collection the like of which had never before beheld as however the library did not take up the whole of the closet the doctor s housekeeper had occupied the rest with pots of and preserves and had hung about the room among awful implements of the healing art strings of red and carefully preserved for seed peter de and his were received with great gravity and by the doctor who was a very wise dignified little man and never smiled he surveyed from head to foot above and under and through his spectacles and the poor lad s heart as these great glasses glared on hun like two the doctor heard all that peter de had to say in favour of the youthful candidate and then his thumb with the end of his tongue he began deliberately to turn over page after page of the great black volume before him at length after many and and of the chin and all that hesitation and tion with which a wise man proceeds to do what he intended to do from the very first the doctor agreed to take the lad as a to give him bed board and clothing and to instruct him in the healing art in return for which he was to have his services until his twenty first year behold then our hero all at once transformed from an unlucky running wild about the streets to a student of medicine diligently a under the of the learned doctor br it was a happy transition for his fond old mother she was delighted with the idea of her s being brought up worthy of his ancestors and anticipated the day when he would be able to hold up his head with the lawyer that lived in the large house opposite or with the himself doctor was a native of the in germany from whence in com with many of his countrymen he had taken refuge in england on account of persecution he was one of nearly three thousand who came over from england in under the protection of governor hunter where the doctor had studied how he had acquired his medical knowledge and where he had received his it is hard at present to say for nobody knew at the time yet it is certain that his profound skill and knowledge were the talk and wonder of the common people far and near his practice was totally different from that of any other physician consisting in known only to himself in the preparing and of which h was said he always consulted the stars so high an opinion was entertained of his particularly hy the german and dutch inhabitants that they always resorted to him in desperate cases he was one of those doctors that are always sudden and surprising when the patient has been given up by all the regular	48
unless as is observed the case has been left too long before it was put into their hands the doctor s library was the talk and marvel of the neighbourhood i might almost say of the entire the good people looked with reverence at a man that had read three whole shelves full of books and some of them too as large as a family bible there were many among the members of the little church as to which was the wisest man the doctor or the some of his admirers even went so far as to say that he knew more than the governor in a word it was thought that there was no end to his knowledge no sooner was received into the doctor s family than he was put in possession of the lodging of his it was a garret room of a steep dutch house where the rain on the and the lightning gleamed and the wind through the in stormy weather and where whole troops of hungry rats like don galloped about in defiance of traps and he was soon up to his ears in medical studies being employed morning noon and night in rolling or the and mortar in one corner of the while the doctor would take his seat in another corner when he had nothing else to do or expected visitors and arrayed in his morning gown and velvet cap would pore over the contents of some volume it is true that the regular of s or perhaps the drowsy of the flies would now and then lull the little man into a slumber but then his were always wide awake and regarding the book there was another personage in the house however to whom was obliged to pay though a bachelor and a man of such great dignity and importance yet the doctor was like many other wise men subject to government he was completely under the sway of his housekeeper a spare busy in a little round german cap with a huge bunch of keys at the of an exceed long waist or as it was pronounced had accompanied him in his various from germany to england and from england to the province managing his establishment and himself too ruling him it is true with a gentle hand but carrying a high hand with all the world be side how she had acquired such i do not pretend to say people it is true did talk but have not people been prone to talk ever since the world began who can tell how women generally contrive to get the upper hand a husband it is true may now and then be master in his own house but who ever knew a bachelor that was not managed by his housekeeper indeed s power was not confined to the doctor s household she was one of those that know every one s business better than they do themselves and whose all seeing eyes and all telling tongues are terrors throughout a neighbourhood nothing of any moment in the world of scandal of this little but it was known to she had her crew of that were perpetually hurrying to her little parlour with some precious bit of news nay she would sometimes discuss a whole volume of secret history as she held the street and with one is of these in the very teeth of a december blast between the doctor and the housekeeper it may easily be supposed that had a busy life of it as kept the keys and literally ruled the roast it was starvation to her though he found the study of her temper more even than that of medicine when not busy in the she kept him running hither and thither on her errands and on sundays he was obliged to accompany her to and from church and carry her bible many a time has the poor stood shivering and blowing his fingers or holding his frost bitten nose in the churchyard while and her were huddled together their heads and tearing some unlucky character to pieces with all his advantages however made very slow progress in his art this was no fault of the doctor s certainly for he took pains with the lad keeping him close to the and mortar or on the trot about town with and boxes and if he ever in his industry which he was rather apt to do the doctor would fly into a passion and ask him if he ever expected to learn his profession unless he applied himself closer to the study the fact is he still retained the fondness for sport and mischief that had marked his childhood the habit indeed had strengthened with his years and gained force from being and constrained he daily grew more and more and lost favour in the eyes both of the doctor and the housekeeper in the mean time the doctor went on wealthy and renowned he was famous for his skill in managing cases not laid down in the books he had cured several old women and young girls of a terrible complaints nearly as in the province in those days as is at present he had even restored one country girl to perfect health who had gone so far as to vol ii s a crooked pins and needles considered a desperate stage of the malady it was whispered also that he was possessed of the art of preparing love and many ap had he in consequence from of sexes but all these cases formed the mysterious part of his practice in which according to the cant phrase secrecy and honour might be depended on therefore was obliged to turn out of the study whenever such occurred though it is said he learnt more of the of the art at the key hole than by all the rest of his studies put together as the doctor increased	48
in wealth he began to extend his possessions and to look forward like other great men to the time t hen he should retire to the repose of a country seat for this purpose he had purchased a farm or as the dutch called it a a few miles from town it had been the residence of a wealthy family that had returned some time since to holland a large mansion house stood in the centre of it very much out of repair and which in consequence of certain reports had received the of the haunted house either from these reports or from its actual the doctor had found it impossible to get a tenant and that the place might not fall to ruin before he could reside in it himself he had placed a country with his family in one wing with the privilege of the farm on shares the doctor now felt all the dignity of a rising within him he had a little of the german pride of territory in his composition and almost looked upon himself as owner of a he began to complain of the fatigue of business and was fond of riding out to look at his estate his little to his lands were attended with a bustle and parade that created a sensation throughout the neighbourhood his wall eyed horse stood stamping and o p the flies for a full hour before the house then the doctor s saddle would be brought out s and adjusted then after a little while his cloak would be rolled up and to the saddle then his umbrella would be to the cloak while in the mean time a group of ragged boys that observant class of beings would gather before the door at length the doctor would issue forth in a pair of that reached above his knees and a cocked hat down in front as he was a short fat man he took some time to m into the saddle and when there he took some time to have the saddle and properly adjusted enjoying the wonder and admiration of the crowd even after he had set off he would pause in the middle of the street or trot back two or three times to give some parting orders which were answered by the housekeeper from the door or from the study or the black cook from the cellar or the from the garret window and there were generally some last words after him j as he was turning the corner the whole neighbourhood would be aroused l by this pomp and circumstance the would leave his last the would thrust out his head with a comb sticking in it a knot would collect at the s door and the word would be from one end of the street to the other the doctor s riding out to his country seat these were golden moments for no sooner was the doctor out of sight than and mortar were abandoned the was left to take care of itself and the student was off on some mad cap indeed it must be confessed the as he grew up seemed in a fair way to fulfil the of the old coloured gentleman he was the of all holiday sports and midnight ready for all kinds of mischievous and hare adventures there is nothing so troublesome as a hero on a small scale or rather a hero in a small town soon became the of all drowsy housekeeping old citizens who a hated noise and had no relish for the good too considered him as little better than a gathered their daughters under their wings whenever he approached and pointed him out as a warning to their sons no one seemed to hold him in much regard excepting the wild of the place who were by his open hearted daring manners and the who always look upon every idle do nothing as a kind of gentleman even the good peter de who bad considered himself a kind of patron of the lad began to despair of him and would shake his head as he listened to a long complaint from the housekeeper and a glass of her brandy still his mother was not to be wearied out of her affection by all the of her boy nor by the stories of his with which her good friends were continually her she had it is true very little of the pleasure which rich people enjoy in always hearing their children praised but h r she considered all this ill will as a kind of persecution which he suffered and she liked him the better on that account she s w him growing up a fine tall good looking and she looked at him with the secret pride of a mother s heart it was her great desire that should appear like a gentleman and all the money she could save went towards helping out his pocket and his wardrobe she would look out of the window after him as he forth in his best array and her heart would with delight and once when peter de struck with the s gallant appearance on a bright sunday morning observed well after all does grow a comely fellow the tear of pride started into the mother s eye ah neighbour neighbour exclaimed she they may say what they please poor will yet hold up his head with the best of them had now nearly attained his one and twentieth year and the term of medical studies was just yet it must be confessed that he knew little more of the profession than when he first entered the doctor s doors this however could not be from any want of quickness of parts for he showed amazing in other branches of knowledge which he could only have studied at intervals he was for instance a sure and won all the and at christmas	48
holidays he was a bold rider he was famous for leaping and he played tolerably on the fiddle could swim like a fish and was the best hand in the whole place at or all these accomplishments however procured him no favour in the eyes of the doctor who grew more and more and the nearer the term of approached too was for ever finding some occasion to raise a windy tempest about his ears and seldom encountered him about the house without a clatter of the tongue so that at length the of her s keys as she approached was to like the ringing of the s bell that gives notice of a theatrical thunder storm nothing but the infinite good humour of the heedless enabled him to bear all this domestic tyranny without open rebellion it was that the doctor and his housekeeper were preparing to beat the poor youth out of the nest the moment his term should have expired a short hand mode which the doctor had of providing for useless indeed the little man had been rendered more than usually irritable lately in consequence of various cares and which his country estate had brought upon him the doctor had repeatedly annoyed by the and tales which prevailed concerning the old mansion and found it difficult to prevail even upon the country man and his family to remain there rent free every time he rode out to the farm he was by some fresh complaint of strange noises and fearful sights with which the tenants s were disturbed at night and the doctor come home and and vent his upon the whole household it was indeed a sore grievance that affected him both pride and purse he was threatened with an absolute loss of the profits of his property and then what a blow to his consequence to be the landlord of a haunted house it was observed however that with all his vexation the doctor never proposed to sleep in the house himself nay he could never be prevailed upon to remain on the premises after dark but made the best of his way for town as soon as the began to about in the twilight the fact was the doctor had a secret belief in ghosts having passed the early part of his life in a country where they particularly abound and indeed the story went that when a boy he had once seen the devil upon the mountains in germany at length the doctor s on this head were brought to a crisis one morning as he j sat over a volume in his study he was suddenly startled fro i his by the bustling in of the housekeeper here s a fine to do cried she as she entered the room here s come in bag and baggage from the farm and he ll have nothing more to do with it the whole family have been frightened out of their wits for there s such and about the old house that they can t sleep quiet in their beds und cried the doctor impatiently will they never have done chattering about that house what a pack of fools to let a few rats and frighten them out of good quarters nay nay said the housekeeper her head and at having a good ghost story doubted there s more in it than rats and a l the talks about the house and then such sights have been seen in it peter de tells me that the family that sold you the house s er and went to holland dropped several strange hints about it and said they wished you joy of your bargain and you know yourself there s no getting any family to live in it peter de s a an old woman a d the doctor warrant he s been filling these people s heads full of stories it s just like his nonsense about the ghost that haunted the church as an excuse for not ringing the bell that cold night when s house was on fire send to me now made his appearance a simple country full of awe at finding himself in the very study of dr and too much embarrassed to enter in much detail of the matters that had caused his alarm he stood his hat in one hand resting sometimes on one leg sometimes on the other looking occasionally at the doctor and now and then stealing a fearful glance at the death s head that seemed him from the top of the clothes press the doctor tried every means to persuade him to return to the farm but all in vain he maintained a dogged determination on the subject and at the close of every argument or would make the same reply the doctor was a little pot and soon hot his patience was exhausted by these continual about his estate the stubborn re of seemed to him like flat rebellion his temper suddenly boiled over and was glad to make a rapid retreat to escape when the got to the housekeeper s room he found peter de and several other true ready to receive him here he himself for the restraint he had suffered in the study and opened a of stories about the haunted house that astonished all his hearers the housekeeper believed them all if it was only to spite the doctor for having received her intelligence so un courteously peter de matched them s er with many a wonderful legend of the times of the dutch and of the devil s stepping stones and of the that was hanged at island and continued to swing there at night long after the gallows was taken down and of the ghost of the unfortunate governor who was hanged for treason which haunted the old fort and the the knot dispersed each charged with intelligence the himself at a	48
meeting that was held that very day and the black cook her kitchen and spent half of the day at the street pump that place of servants dealing forth the news to all that came for water in a little time the whole town was in a with tales about the haunted house some said that had seen the devil while others hinted that the house was haunted by the ghosts of some of the whom the doctor had out of the world and tliat was the reason why he did not venture to live in it himself all this put the little doctor in a terrible he threatened vengeance on any one who should affect the value of his property by exciting popular prejudices he complained loudly of thus being in a manner of his by mere but he secretly determined to have the house by the great was his relief therefore when in the midst of his stepped forward and undertook to garrison the haunted house the had been listening to all the stories of and peter de he was adventure he loved the marvellous and his had become quite excited by these of wonder besides he had led such an uncomfortable life at the doctor s being subjected to the intolerable of early hours that was delighted at the prospect of having a house to himself even though it should be a haunted one his offer was eagerly accepted and it was determined that he should mount guard that very night his only was s s that the enterprise should be kept secret from his mother for he knew the poor soul would not sleep a wink if she knew that her son was war with the powers of darkness when night came on he set out on this perilous expedition the old black cook his only friend in the household had provided him with a little mess for supper and a rush light and she tied round his neck an given her by an african as a charm against evil spirits was escorted on his way by the and peter de who had agree no accompany him to the house and to see him safe lodged the night was and it was very dark when they arrived at t e grounds which surrounded the mansion the led the way with a lantern as they walked along the avenue of the fitful lights catching from bush to bush and tree to tree often startled the peter and made him fall back upon his followers and the doctor still closer hold of s arm observing that the ground was very slip and at one time they were nearly put to total by a bat which came flitting about the lantern and the notes of the insects from the trees and the from a neighbouring pond formed a most drowsy and concert the front door of the mansion opened with a grating sound that made the doctor turn pale they entered a tolerably large hall such as is common in american country houses and which serves for a room in warm weather from hence they went up a wide st that groaned and as they trod every step making its particular note like the key of a this led to another hall on the second story from whence they entered the room where was to sleep it was large and furnished the shutters were closed but as they were much broken there was no want of a circulation of air it appeared to have been that sacred chamber known among dutch by the name of the best bed room which is the best fur vol ii t room in the house but in which scarce any body is ever permitted to sleep its splendor however was all at an e d there were a few broken articles of furniture about the room and in the centre stood a heavy deal table and a large arm chair both of which had the look of being with the mansion the fireplace was wide and had been faced with dutch representing scripture stories but some of them had fallen out of their places and lay shattered about the hearth the had lit and the doctor looking fearfully about the room was just to be of good cheer and to pluck up a stout heart when a noise in the chimney like voices and struggling struck a sudden panic into the he took to his heels with the lantern the doctor followed hard after him the stairs groaned and as they hurried down increasing their agitation and speed by its noises the front door after them and heard them down the avenue till the sound of their feet wa s lost in the distance that he did not join in this retreat might have been owing to his possessing a little more courage than his com or perhaps that he had caught a glimpse of the cause of their dismay in a nest of chimney that came tumbling down into the fire place being now left to himself he secured the front door by a strong bolt and bar and having seen that the other were fastened he returned to his desolate chamber having made his supper from the b which the good old cook had provided he locked the chamber door and retired to rest on a in one corner the night was calm and still and nothing broke upon the profound quiet but the lonely of a from the chimney of a distant chamber the which stood in the centre of the deal table shed a feeble yellow ray dimly the chamber and making uncouth shapes and shadows on the walls from the clothes which had thrown over a chair t s with all his boldness of heart there was something in this desolate scene and he felt his spirits flag within him as he lay on his hard bed and	48
gazed about the room he was turning over in his mind his idle habits his doubtful prospects and now and then heaving a heavy sigh as he thought on his poor old mother for there is nothing like the silence and loneliness of night to bring dark shadows over the brightest mind by and by he thought he heard a sound as if some one was walking below he listened and distinctly heard a step on the great staircase it approached solemnly and slowly tramp tramp i it was evidently the tread of some heavy personage and yet how could he have got into the house without making a noise he had examined all the and was certain that every entrance was secure still the steps advanced tramp tramp tramp it was evident that the person approaching could not be a robber the step was too loud and deliberate f a robber would either be stealthy or and now the footsteps had r ascended the staircase they were slowly advancing along the passage through the silent and empty apartments the very had ceased its melancholy note and nothing interrupted their awful distinctness the door which had been locked on the inside slowly swung open as if self moved the footsteps entered the room but no one was to be seen they passed slowly and audibly across it tramp tramp tramp but whatever made the sound was invisible rubbed his eyes and stared about him he could see to every part of the dimly lighted chamber all was vacant yet still he heard those mysterious footsteps solemnly walking about the chamber they ceased and all was dead silence there was something more appalling in this invisible than there would have been in any thing that addressed itself to the it was awfully vague and indefinite he felt his heart beat against his ribs a cold sweat broke out upon his fore head he lay fm some time m a state of agitation nothing occurred to increase his alarm his light j burnt down into the and he fell asleep when he awoke it was broad daylight the sun was peering through the cracks of the and the birds were merrily singing about the house the bright cheery day soon put to flight all the terrors of the preceding night laughed or rather tried to laugh at all that had passed and to persuade himself that it was a mere of the imagination up by the stories he had heard but he was a little puzzled to find the door of his room locked on the notwithstanding that he had positively seen it swing open as the footsteps had entered he returned to town in a state of considerable perplexity but he determined to say nothing on the subject until his doubts were either confirmed or removed by another night s watching his silence was a grievous disappointment to the who had gathered at the doctor s mansion they had prepared their minds to hear tales and they were almost in a rage at being assured that he had nothing to relate the next night then repeated hia he now entered the house with some he was particular in examining the of all the doors and securing them well he locked the door of his chamber and placed a chair against it then having despatched his supper he threw himself on hid and endeavoured to sleep it was all in vain a thousand crowding fancies kept him waking the time slowly dragged on as if minutes spinning themselves out into hours as the night advanced he grew more and more nervous nd he almost started from his couch when he heard the mysterious footstep again on the staircase up it came as before solemnly and slowly tramp tramp it approached along the passage the door again swung open as if there had been neither lock nor and a strange s h looking figure stalked into the room it was an elderly man large and robust clothed in the old fashion he had on a kind of short cloak with a garment under it round the waist trunk with great or bows at the knees and a pair of boots very large at top and standing widely from his legs his hat was broad and with a feather trailing over one side his iron gray hair hung in thick masses on his neck and he had a short beard he walked slowly round the room as if examining that all was safe then hanging his hat on a beside the door he sat down in the and leaning his elbow on the table he fixed his eyes on with an and stare was not naturally a coward but he had been brought up in an belief in ghosts and a thousand stories came to his mind that he had heard about this building and as he looked at this strange personage with his uncouth garb his pale his and his fixed staring fish like eye his teeth began to chatter his hair to rise on his head and a cold sweat to break out all over his body how long he remained in this situation he could not tell for he was like one fascinated he could not take his gaze off from the but lay staring at him with his whole intellect absorbed in the contemplation the old man remained seated behind the table without stirring or turning an eye always keeping a dead steady glare upon at length the household cock from a neighbouring farm clapped his wings and gave a loud cheerful crow that rung over the fields at the sound the old man slowly rose and took down his hat from the the door opened and closed after him he was heard to go slowly down the staircase tramp tramp tramp and when he had got to the bottom	48
all was again silent lay and listened earnestly counted every listened and listened if the steps should return h exhausted with watching and agitation he fell into a troubled sleep daylight again brought fresh courage and assurance he would fain have considered all that had passed as a mere dream yet there stood the chair in which the unknown had seated himself there was the table on which he had leaned there was the on which he had hung his hat and there was the door locked precisely as he himself had locked it with the chair placed against it he hastened down stairs and examined the doors and windows all were exactly in the same state in which he had left them and there was no apparent way by which any being could have entered and left the house without leaving some trace behind said to himself it was all a dream but it would not do the more he endeavoured to shake the off from his mind the more it haunted though he persisted in a strict silence as to h r s d all that he had seen and heard yet his looks betrayed the uncomfortable night that he had passed it was evident that there was something wonderful under this mysterious the doctor took him into the study locked the door and sought to have a full and confidential communication but he could get nothing out of him took him aside into the but to as little purpose and peter de held him by the button for a fall hour in the churchyard the very place to get at the bottom of a ghost story but came off not a whit wiser than the rest it is always the case however that one truth concealed makes a dozen current lies it is like a guinea locked up in a bank that has a dozen pi er representatives before the day was over the neighbourhood was full of reports some said that watched in the haunted house with pistols loaded with silver bullets others that he had a long talk with a without a head others that doctor and the had been hunted down s r the lane and quite into town by a of ghosts of their customers some shook their heads and thought it a shame that the doctor should put to pass the night alone in that dismal house where he might be spirited away no one knew whither while others observed with a shrug that if the devil did carry oflf the it would but be his own these at length reached the ears of the good dame and as may be supposed threw her into a terrible alarm for her son to have opposed himself to danger from living foes would have been nothing so dreadful in her eyes as to dare alone the terrors of the haunted house she hastened to the doctor s and passed a great part of the day in attempting to from repeating his she told him a score of tales which her friends had just related to her of persons who had been carried off when watching alone in old houses it was all to no effect s pride as well as curiosity was he endeavoured to calm the apprehensions of his mother and to assure her that there was no truth in all the she had heard she looked at him and shook her head but finding his determination was not to be shaken she brought him a little thick dutch bible with brass to take with him as a sword wherewith to fight the powers of darkness and lest that might not be sufficient the housekeeper gave him the by way of dagger the next night therefore took his quarters for the third time in the old mansion whether dream or not the same thing was repeated towards midnight when every thing was still the same sound echoed through the empty halls tramp the stairs were again ascended the door swung open the old man entered walked round the room hung up his hat and seated himself by the table the same fear and trembling came over poor though not in so s violent a degree he lay in the same way motionless and fascinated staring at the figure which regarded him as before with a dead fixed gaze in this way they remained for a long time till by degrees s courage began gradually to revive whether alive or dead this being had certainly some object in his and he to have heard it said that spirits have no power to speak until they are spoken to up resolution therefore and making two or three attempts before he could get his tongue in motion he addressed the unknown in the most solemn form of that he could recollect and demanded to know what was the motive of his visit no sooner had he finished than the old man rose took down his hat the door opened and he went out looking back upon just as he crossed the threshold as if expecting him to follow the did not hesitate an instant he took the candle in his hand and the bible under his arm and obeyed the invitation the candle a feeble uncertain ray but still he could see the figure before him slowly descending the stairs he followed trembling when it had reached the bottom of the stairs it turned through the hall towards the back door of the mansion held the light over the but in his eagerness to catch a sight of unknown be his feeble so suddenly that it went out still there was sufficient light from the pale that fell through a narrow window to give him an indistinct view of the figure near the door he followed therefore down stairs and turned towards the place but when he had got there the unknown had	48
disappeared the door remained fast barred and bolted there was no other mode of exit yet the being whatever he might be was gone he the door and looked out into the fields it was a moonlight night so that the eye could distinguish objects at some distance he thought he saw the unknown in a that led from the door he was not mistaken but how had he got out of the house he did not pause to thinks but followed on the old man proceeded at a measured pace without looking about him his footsteps sounding on the hard ground he passed through the orchard of apple trees that stood near the house always keeping the it led to a well situated in a little hollow which had supplied the farm with water just at this well lost sight of him he rubbed his eyes and looked again but nothing was to be seen of the unknown he reached the well but nobody was there all the surrounding ground was open and clear there was no bush nor hiding place he looked down the well and saw at a great depth the reflection of the sky in the still water after remaining here for some time without seeing or hearing any thing more of his mysterious conductor he returned to the house full of awe and wonder he bolted the door his way back to bed and it was long before he could compose himself to sleep his dreams were strange and troubled he thought he was following the old man along the side of a great river until they came to a vessel that was on the point of sailing and that his conductor led him on board and vanished he remembered the commander of the vessel a short man with black hair blind of one eye and lame of one leg but the rest of his dream was very con sometimes he was sailing sometimes on shore now amidst storms and and now wandering quietly in unknown streets the figure of the old was strangely mingled up with the incidents of the dream and the whole distinctly wound up by his finding himself on board of the vessel again returning home with a great bag of money when he woke the gray cool light of dawn was the horizon and the passing the from farm to farm throughout the country he rose more harassed and perplexed than ever he was singularly confounded by all that he had seen and vol ii u and began to doubt whether his mind was not affected and whether all that was passing in his thoughts might not be mere feverish in his present state of mind he did not feel disposed to return immediately to the doctor s and undergo the cross questioning of the household he made a scanty breakfast there fore on the remains of the last night s provisions and then wandered out into the fields to on all that had befallen him lost in thought he about gradually approaching the town until the morning was far advanced when he was roused hurry and bustle around him he found himself near the water s edge in a throng of people hurrying to a pier where there was a vessel ready to make sail he was unconsciously carried along by the impulse of the crowd and found that it was a on the point of sailing up the to there was much and kissing of old women and children and great activity in carrying on board baskets of bread and cakes and provisions of all kinds notwithstanding the mighty joints of meat that over the stern for a voyage to was an expedition of great moment in those days the commander of the was hurrying about and giving a world of orders which were not very strictly attended to one man being busy in lighting his pipe and another in his i the appearance of the commander suddenly caught s attention he was short and with black hair blind of one eye and lame of one leg the very commander that he seen in his dream surprised and aroused he considered the scene more attentively and recalled still further traces of his dream the appearance of the vessel of the river and of a variety of other objects accorded with the imperfect images vaguely rising to recollection as he stood musing on these circumstances the captain suddenly called to him in dutch step on board young man or you be left behind he was startled by the summons u s he saw that the was cast loose and was actually moving from the pier it seemed as if he was by some irresistible impulse he sprang upon the deck and the next moment the was hurried off by the wind and tide s thoughts and feelings were all in tumult and confusion he had been strongly worked upon by the events that had recently befallen him and could not but think that there was some between his present situation and his last night s dream he felt as if he was under supernatural influence and he tried to assure himself with an old and favourite of his that one way or other all would turn out for the best for a moment the indignation of the doctor at his departure with out leave passed across his mind but that was matter of moment then he thought of the distress of his mother at his strange disappearance and the idea gave him a sudden pang he would have entreated to be put on shore but he knew with such wind and tide the entreaty would have been in vain then the inspiring love of novelty and adventure came rushing in full tide through his bosom he felt himself launched strangely and suddenly on the worlds and under full way to explore the regions of wonder that lay up	48
this mighty river and beyond those blue mountains that had bounded his horizon since childhood while he was lost in this whirl of thought the sails strained to the breeze the shores seemed to hurry away behind him and before he perfectly recovered his self possession the was her way past devil and and the chimney of the had faded from his sight i have said that a voyage up the in those days was an undertaking of some moment indeed it was as much thought of as a voyage to europe is at present the were often many days on the way the cautious taking in sail when it blew fresh and coming to anchor at night and stopping to send the boat ashore for milk for tea with out which it was impossible for the worthy old lady passengers to and then there were the much talked of perils of the and the in a prudent dutch would talk of such a voyage for months and even years beforehand nd never undertook it without putting his affairs in order making his will and having prayers said for him in the low dutch churches in the of such a voyage therefore was satisfied he would have time enough to reflect and to make up his mind as to what he should do when he arrived at the captain with his blind eye and lame leg would it is true bring his strange dream to mind him sadly for a few moments but of late his life had been mad up so much of dreams and realities his nights and days had been so together that he seemed to be moving continually in a delusion there is always however a kind of vagabond consolation in a man s having nothing in this world q to lose with this comforted his hearty and determined to make the most of the present enjoyment in the second day of the voyage they came to the it was the latter part of a calm day that they floated gently with the tide between these stern mountains there was that perfect quiet which over nature in the languor of summer heat the turning of a plank or the accidental falling of an oar on deck was echoed from the mountain side and along the shores and if by chance the captain gave a shout of command there were airy tongues that it from every gazed about him in mute delight and wonder at these scenes of nature s magnificence to the left the reared its height over height forest over forest away into the deep summer sky to the right forth the bold of s nose with a solitary eagle about it while beyond mountain succeeded to tain until they seemed to lock their arms together and confine this mighty river in their embraces there was a feeling of quiet luxury in gazing at the broad green here and there out among the or at high in air nodding over the edge of some bluff and their all transparent in the yellow sunshine in the midst of his admiration remarked a pile of bright snowy clouds peering above the western heights it was succeeded by another and another each seemingly pushing its and towering with dazzling brilliancy in the deep blue atmosphere and now muttering of thunder were faintly heard rolling behind the mountains the river hitherto still and reflecting pictures of the sky and land now showed a dark ripple at a distance as the breeze came creeping up it the fish wheeled and screamed and sought their nests on the high dry trees the flew to the of the rocks and all nature seemed conscious of the approaching thunder gust the clouds now rolled in volumes over the mountain tops their still bright and snowy but the lower parts of an blackness the rain began to down in broad and scattered drops the wind and curled up the waves at length it seemed as if the clouds were torn open by the mountain tops and complete torrents of rain came rattling down the lightning leaped from cloud to cloud and streamed quivering against the rocks and the forest trees the thunder burst in tremendous the were echoed from mountain to mountain they upon and rolled up the long of the each making a new echo until old bull hill seemed to back the storm for a time the rack and mist and the rain almost hid the landscape from the sight there was a fearful gloom s h r still more fearfully by the streams of lightning which glittered among the rain drops never had beheld such an absolute of the elements it seemed as if the storm was tearing and its way through this mountain and had brought all the of heaven into action the vessel was hurried on by the increasing wind until she came to where the river makes a sudden bend the only one in the whole course of its majestic career just as they turned the a violent flaw of wind came sweeping down a mountain bending the forest before it and in a moment up the river into white and foam the captain saw the danger and cried out to lower the sail before the order could be obeyed the flaw struck the and threw her on her beam ends every thing now was fright and confusion the flapping of the sails the whistling and rushing of the wind the of the and crew the shrieking of the this must have been the bend at west point passengers all mingled with the rolling and of the thunder in the midst of the uproar the at the same time the shifted the boom came sweeping the quarter deck and who was gazing at the clouds found himself in a moment in the river for once in his life one of his idle accomplishments was of use to him	48
the many hours which he had devoted to sporting in the had made him an expert swim yet with all his strength and skill he found great difficulty in reaching the shore his disappearance from the deck had not been noticed by the crew who were all occupied hy their own danger the was driven along with inconceivable rapidity she had to weather a long on the eastern shore round which the river turned and which completely shut her from s view it was on a point on the western that he landed and up the rocks he threw himself faint and exhausted at the foot of a tree by degrees the thunder gust passed over the clouds rolled away to the east where they lay piled in masses tinted with the last rosy rays of the sun the distant play of the lightning might be still seen about their dark and now and then might be heard the faint muttering of the thunder rose and sought about to see if any path led from the shore but all was savage and the rocks were piled upon each other great trunks of trees lay shattered about as they had been blown down by the strong winds which draw through these mountains or had fallen through age the rocks too were with wild vines and which completely themselves together and opposed a barrier to all every movement that he made shook down a shower from the dripping foliage he attempted to scale one of these almost perpendicular heights but though strong and he found it an undertaking often he was supported merely by crumbling of the rock and sometimes he clung to roots and branches of trees and hung almost suspended in the air the wood pigeon came his whistling flight by him and the eagle screamed from the brow of the impending as he was thus he was on the point of seizing hold of a to aid his ascent when something among the leaves and he saw a snake quivering along like lightning almost from under his hand it itself up immediately in an attitude of defiance with head jaws and quickly tongue that played like a little flame about its mouth s heart turned faint within him and he had well nigh let go his hold and tumbled down the precipice the serpent stood on the but for an instant it was an instinctive movement of defence and finding there was no attack it glided away into a of the rock s eye followed it with fearful intensity and he saw at a glance that he was in the vicinity of a nest of that lay knotted and and hissing in the chasm he hastened with all speed to escape from so frightful a neighbourhood his imagination was of this new horror he saw an in every curling vine and heard the tail of a rattle snake in every dry leaf that at length he succeeded in to the summit of a precipice but it was covered by a dense forest wherever he could gain a look out between the trees he saw that the coast rose in heights and cliffs one rising beyond another until huge mountains the whole there were no signs of cultivation nor any smoke curling amongst the trees to indicate a human residence every thing was wild and solitary as he was standing on the edge of a precipice that overlooked a deep fringed with trees his feet detached a great fragment of rock it fell crashing its way through the tree tops down into the chasm a loud or rather yell issued from the bottom of the the moment after there was the report of a gun and a ball came whistling over his head cutting the twigs and leaves and burying itself deep in the bark of a chestnut tree did not wait for a second shot but made a retreat fearing every moment to hear the enemy in pursuit he succeeded however in returning to the shore and determined to penetrate into a country so beset with savage perils he sat himself down dripping on a wet stone what was to be done where was he to shelter himself the hour of repose was approaching the birds were seeking their nests the bat began to about in the twilight and the night hawk soaring high in heaven seemed to be calling out the stars night gradually closed in and wrapped every thing in gloom and though it was the latter part of summer yet the breeze stealing along the river and among these dripping forests was chilly and penetrating especially to a man as he sat drooping and in this condition he perceived a light gleaming through the trees near the shore where the winding of the river made a deep bay it cheered him with the hopes that here might be some human habitation where he might get something to the of his stomach and what was equally necessary in his condition a comfortable shelter for the night it was with extreme difficulty that he made his way towards the light along of rocks down which he was in danger of sliding into the river and over great trunks of fallen trees some of which had been blown down in the late storm and lay so thickly together that he had to struggle through their branches at length he came to the brow of a rock that a small from whence the light proceeded it was from a fire at the foot of a great tree that h stood in the midst of a grassy interval or among the rocks the fire cast up a red glare among the gray and impending trees leaving of deep gloom that resembled to a small brook close by betrayed by the quivering reflection of the flame there were two figures moving about the fire and others before it as they were	48
between him and the light they were in complete shadow but one of them happening to move round to the opposite side was startled at perceiving by the full glare falling on painted features and glittering on silver ornaments that he was an indian he now looked more narrowly and saw guns leaning against a tree and a dead body lying on the ground began to doubt whether he was not in a worse condition than before here was the very foe that had fired at him from the he endeavoured to retreat quietly not caring to himself to these half human beings in so savage and lonely a place it was too vol ii x late the indian with that eagle quickness of eye so remarkable in his race perceived some thing stirring among the bushes on the rock he seized one of the guns that leaned against the tree one moment more and might have had his passion for adventure cured by a bullet he loudly with the indian salutation of friendship the whole party sprang upon their feet the salutation was returned and the was invited to join them at the fire on approaching he found to his consolation that the party was composed of white men as well as indians one who was evidently the principal personage or commander was seated on a trunk of a tree before the fire he was a large stout man somewhat advanced in life but hale and hearty his face was almost to the colour of an indian s he had strong but rather jovial features an nose and a mouth shaped like a s his face was half thrown in shade by a broad hat with a buck s tail in it his gray hair hung short in his neck he wore a hunting with indian and and a in the broad belt round his waist as caught a distinct view of his person and features he was struck with something that reminded him of the old man of the haunted house the man before him however was different in his dress and age he was more cheery too in his aspect and it was hard to define where the vague resemblance lay but a resemblance there certainly was felt some degree of awe in approaching him but was assured by the hearty welcome with which he was received as he cast his eyes about too he was still further encouraged by perceiving that the dead body which had caused him some alarm was that of a deer tt id his satisfaction was complete in by the which issued from a kettle suspended by a stick over the fire that there was a part cooking for the evening s he now found that he had fallen in with a x p ss often place in those among the along the the is and nothing makes men more social and than meeting in the wilderness the commander of the poured him a of cheering which he him with a merry to warm his heart and ordered one of his followers to fetch some garments firom a which was in a core close hy while those in which our hero was dripping might he dried before the fire found a he had suspected that the shot from the which had come so near giving him his when on the precipice was from the party before him he had nearly crushed one of them by the fragment of rock which he had detached and the jovial old hunter in the broad hat and buck tail had fired at the place where he saw the bushes move supposing it to be some animal he laughed heartily at the blunder it being what is considered an exceeding good joke among hunters but faith my lad said he if i had but caught a glimpse of you to take sight at you would have followed the rock is seldom known to miss his aim these last words were at once a clue to s and a few questions let him completely into the character of the man before him and of his band of the commander in the in hat and hunting frock was no less a personage than the of of whom had many a time heard he was in fact the hero of many a story being a man of singular and habits that were matters of wonder to his quiet dutch neighbours as he was a man of property had a father before him from whom he inherited large tracts of wild land and whole barrels full of he could indulge his without control instead of staying quietly at home eating and drinking at regular meal times amusing himself by his pipe on the bench before the door and then turning into a comfortable bed at night be delighted in all kinds of wild he was so happy as when on a hunting party in the wilderness sleeping under trees or bark sheds or down the river or on some lake fishing and and living the lord knows how he was a great friend to indians and to an indian mode of life which he considered true natural liberty and manly enjoyment when at home he had always several indian on who about his house sleeping like hounds in the sunshine or preparing hunting and fishing tackle for some new expedition or shooting at marks with bows and arrows over these beings had as perfect command as a over his pack though they were great to the regular people of his neighbourhood as he was a rich man no one ventured to his indeed he had a hearty joyous manner about him that made him popular he would a dutch song as he along the street hail every one a mile off and when he entered a house he would slap the good man familiarly on the back shake him by the	48
hand till he roared and kiss his wife and daughters before his face in short was no pride nor ill humour about besides his indian on he had three or four humble friends among the white men who looked up to him as a patron and had the run of his kitchen and the favour of being taken with him occasionally on his it was with a of such that he was at present on a along the shores of the in a which he kept for his own there were two white men with him dressed partly in the indian style with and hunting shirts the rest of his crew consisted of four favourite indians they had been about the river without any definite object until they found themselves in the where they had passed two or three days hunting the deer which still lingered among these mountains it is a lucky circumstance young man said that you happened to be knocked overboard to day as tomorrow morning we start early on our return and you might then have looked in vain for a meal among these mountains but come lads stir about let s see what we have for supper the kettle has long enough my stomach cries cupboard and warrant our guest is in no mood to with his there was a bustle now in the little one took off the kettle and turned a part of the contents into a huge wooden bowl another prepared a flat rock for a table while a third brought various from the which was close by and himself brought a or two of precious liquor from his own private knowing his boon companions too weu to trust any of them with the key a rude but hearty was soon spread consisting of smoking from the kettle with cold bacon boiled indian corn and mighty of good brown household bread never had made a more delicious and when he had washed it down by two or three draughts from the s and felt the jolly liquor sending its warmth through his veins and glowing round his very heart he would not have changed his situation no ot with the governor of the province the too grew and joyous told half a dozen fat stories at which his white followers laughed though the indians as usual maintained an invincible gravity this is your true life my boy said he on the shoulder a man is never a man till he can defy wind and weather range woods and sleep under a tree and on bass wood leaves and then would he sing a or two of a dutch drinking song swaying a short sh dutch bottle in his hand while his would join in chorus until the woods echoed again as the good old song has it they ah with a shout made the elements ring so soon as the office was o er to they went with true merriment and strong liquor in the midst of his however did not lose sight of discretion though he pushed the bottle without reserve to yet he always took care to help his followers himself knowing the beings he had to deal with and he was particular in but a moderate allowance to the indians the being ended the indians having drunk their liquor and smoked their pipes now wrapped themselves in their blankets stretched themselves on the ground with their feet to the fire and soon fell asleep like so many tired hounds the rest of the party remained before the fire which the gloom of the forest and the of the air from the late storm rendered extremely grateful and comforting the gradually from the of time and turned upon hunting adventures and exploits and perils in the wilderness many of which were so strange and improbable that i will not venture to repeat them lest the of and his comrades should be brought into question there were many tales told also about i e and the on its borders in which valuable kind of lore the seemed deeply as the sturdy bush sat in a twisted root of a tree that served him for a kind of arm chair dealing forth these wild stories with the fire gleaming on his strongly marked was again repeatedly perplexed by something that reminded him o the phantom of the haunted house some vague resemblance that could not be fixed upon any precise feature or but which pervaded the general air of his and figure the circumstance of s falling over board being again discussed led to the relation of divers and singular that had befallen on this great river particularly in the earlier periods of history most of which the deliberately attributed to supernatural causes stared at this suggestion but the old gentleman assured him that it was very believed by the along the river that these were under the dominion of supernatural and mischievous beings which seemed to have taken some against the dutch in the early time of the settlement in consequence of this they have ever since taken particular delight in their and indulging their upon the dutch them with head winds and all kinds of that a dutch was always obliged to be exceedingly wary and deliberate in his proceedings to come to anchor at dusk to drop his peak or take in sail whenever he saw a cloud rolling over the in to take so many precautions that he was often apt to be an incredible time in toiling up the river some he said believed these mischievous powers of the air to be evil spirits up by the indian in the early times of the province to revenge themselves on the strangers who had them of their country they even attributed to their the which the renowned when he sailed so gallantly up this river in quest of a passage and as he thought run	48
his ship which they affirm was nothing more nor less than a spell of these same to prevent his getting to china in this direction the greater part however observed accounted for all the extraordinary circumstances attending this river and the of the which it by the old legend of the storm ship which haunted point no point on finding to be utterly ignorant of this tradition the stared at him for a moment with surprise and wondered where he had passed his life to be on so important a point of history to pass away the remainder of the evening therefore he undertook the tale as far as his memory would serve in the very words in which it had been written out by an early poet of the new giving then a stir to the fire that sent up its sparks among the trees like a little he adjusted himself comfortably in his root of a tree and throwing back his head and closing his eyes for a few moments to summon up his recollection he related the following legend the storm ship in the golden age of the province of the new when it was under the sway of van otherwise called the the people of the were alarmed one afternoon just about the time of the summer by a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning the rain descended in such torrents as absolutely to up and smoke along the ground it seemed as if the thunder rattled and rolled over the very roofs of the houses the lightning was seen to play about the church of st and to strive three times in vain to strike its garret van home s new chimney was split almost from top to bottom and was struck speechless from his bald faced mare just as he the storm ship was riding into town in a word it was one of those storms that only happen once within the memory of that venerable personage known in all towns by the of the oldest great was the terror of the good old women of they gathered their children together and took refuge in the after hung a shoe on the iron point of every bed post lest it should attract the lightning at length the storm the thunder sunk into a growl and the setting sun breaking from under the fringed borders of the clouds made the broad bosom of the bay to gleam like a sea of gold the word was given from the fort that a ship was standing up the bay it passed from mouth to mouth and street to street and soon put the little capital in a bustle the arrival of a ship in those early times of the settlement was an event of vast importance to the inhabitants it brought them news from the old world from the land of their birth from which the storm ship s l they were so completely severed to the yearly ship too they looked for their supply of luxuries of finery of comforts and almost of necessaries the good could not her new cap nor new gown until the arrival of the ship the artist waited for it for his tools the for his pipe and his supply of the for his top and and the for the bricks with which he was to build his new mansion thus every one rich and poor great and small looked out for the arrival of the ship it was the great yearly event of the town of new and from one end of the year to the other the ship the the ship the continual topic of conversation the news from the fort therefore brought all the down to the battery to behold the wished for sight it was not exactly the time when she had been expected to and the circumstance was a matter of some speculation many were the groups collected about the battery there be vol ii y i the storm ship seen a of slow and gravity giving his opinion with great confidence to a crowd of old women and idle boys at another place was a knot of old weather beaten fellows who had been or in their times and were great authorities on such occasions these gave different opinions and caused great among their several but the man most looked up to and followed and watched by the crowd was van an old dutch sea captain retired from service the of the place he the ship through an ancient covered with canvas a dutch tune to himself and said nothing a hum however from van had always more weight with the public than a speech from another man in the mean time the ship became more distinct to the naked eye she was a stout round dutch built vessel with high bow and and bearing dutch colours the evening sun gilded her canvas as she came the storm ship riding over the long waving the who had given notice of her approach declared that he first got sight of her when she was in the centre of the bay and that she broke suddenly on his sights just as if she had come out of the bosom of the black the looked at van to see what he would say to this report van his mouth closer together and said nothing upon which some shook their heads and others shrugged their shoulders the ship was now repeatedly hailed but made no reply and passing by the fort stood on up the a gun was brought to bear on her and with some difficulty loaded and fired by van the garrison not being expert in the shot seemed absolutely to pass through the ship and to along the water on the other side but no notice was taken of it what was strange she had all her sails set and sailed right against wind	48
and tide which were both down the y the hip river upon this van who was likewise harbour master ordered his boat and set off to board her but after two or three hours he returned without success sometimes he would get within one or two hundred yards of her and then in a twinkling she would be half a mile off some said it was because his oars men who were rather and short stopped every now and then to take breath and spit on their hands but this it is probable was a mere scandal he got near enough however to see the crew who were all dressed in the dutch style the officers in and high hats and feathers not a word was spoken by any one on board stood as motionless as so many statues and the ship seemed as if left to her own government thus she kept on away up the river and in the evening sunshine until she faded from sight like a little white cloud melting away in the summer sky the appearance of this ship threw the go the storm ship into one of the deepest doubts that ever beset him in the whole course of his administration fears were entertained for the security of the infant on the river lest this might be an enemy s ship in disguise sent to take possession the governor called together his council repeatedly to assist him with their conjectures he sat in his chair of state built of timber from the sacred forest of the and smoked his long pipe and listened to all that his had to say a subject about which they knew nothing but in spite of all the of the and oldest heads the governor still continued to doubt messengers were despatched to different places on the river but they returned without any the ship had made no port day after day and week after week elapsed but she never returned down the as however the council seemed for intelligence they had it in abundance the captains of the seldom arrived without the storm bringing some report of having seen the strange ship at different parts of the river sometimes near the sometimes off point and sometimes in the bnt she never was reported as having been seen above the the of the it is true generally differed among themselves in their accounts of these but that may have arisen from the uncertain situations in which they saw her sometimes it was by the flashes of the thunder storm lighting up a night and giving glimpses of her across or the wide waste of bay at one moment she would appear close upon them as if likely to run them down and would throw them into great bustle and alarm but the next flash would show her far off always sailing against the wind sometimes in quiet moonlight nights she w ould be seen under ome high bluff of the all in deep shadow excepting her top sails glittering in the by the time however that the the storm ship would reach the place there would be no ship to be seen and when they had past on for some distance and looked back behold there she was again with her in the her appearance was always just after or just before or just in the midst of weather and she was known by all the and of the by the name of the storm ship these reports perplexed the governor and his council more than ever and it would be endless to repeat the conjectures and opinions that were uttered on the subject some quoted in point of ships seen off the coast of new england by and old van who had been more than once to the dutch colony at the cape of good hope insisted that this must be the flying which had so long haunted table bay but being unable to make port had now sought another harbour others suggested that if it really was a supernatural apparition as there was every natural reason to believe it the storm ship might be and his crew of the half moon who it was well known had once run in the upper part of the river in seeking a north west passage to china this opinion had very little weight with the governor but it passed current out of doors for indeed it had already been reported that and his crew haunted the mountain and it appeared very reasonable to suppose that his ship might the river where the enterprise was baffled or that it might bear the shadowy crew to their in the mountain other events occurred to occupy the thoughts aud doubts of the sage and his council and the storm ship ceased to be a subject of deliberation at the board it continued however to be a matter of popular belief and marvellous anecdote through the whole time of the dutch government and particularly just before the capture of new and the of the province by the english s about that time the storm ship was r en m tha aa ie and about and down s far as and her was supposed to be ominous of the approaching in public affairs and the of dutch since that time we have no accounts of her though it is said she still haunts the and about point nor point people who live along the river insist that they sometimes see her in summer moonlight and that in a deep still midnight they have heard the chant of her crew as if heaving the lead but sights and sounds are so along the shores and about the wide and long reaches of this great river that i confess i have very strong doubts upon the subject it is certain nevertheless that strange things have been seen in these in storms which are considered as connected with	48
the old story of the ship the captains of the river craft talk of a little the storm ship dutch in trunk and sugar hat with a speaking trumpet in his hand which they say keeps about the they declare that they have heard him in stormy weather in the midst of the turmoil giving orders in low dutch for the up of a fresh gust of wind or the rattling off of another thunder clap that sometimes he has been seen surrounded by a crew of little in broad breeches and short tumbling head over heels in the rack and mist and playing a thousand in the air or like a swarm of flies about s nose and that at such times the hurry of the storm was always greatest one time a in passing by the was overtaken by a thunder gust that came round the mountain and seemed to burst just over the vessel though tight and well yet she dreadfully until the water came over the all the crew were amazed t e the thunder mountain so called from its echoes the storm ship when it was discovered that there was a little white on the mast head which was known at once to be the hat of the of the nobody however dared to climb to the mast head and get rid of this terrible hat the continued and rocking as if she would have rolled her mast overboard she seemed in continual danger either of or of running on shore in this way she drove quite through the until she had passed s island where it is said the of the ceases no sooner had she passed this than the little hat all at once spun up into the air like a top whirled up all the clouds into a and hurried them back to the summit of the while the herself and sailed on as quietly as if in a mill pond nothing saved her from utter but the fortunate circumstance of having a horse shoe nailed against the mast a wise precaution against evil spirits the storm ship which has since been adopted by all the dutch captains that this haunted river there is another story told of this by daniel of fish hill who was never known to tell a lie he declared that in a severe he saw him seated of his riding the ashore full butt against s nose and that he was by van of who happened to be on board and who sung the hymn of st whereupon the threw himself up in the air like a ball and went off in a carrying away with him the of the s wife which was discovered the next sunday morning hanging on the weather cock of church at least forty miles off after several events of this kind had taken place the regular of the river for a long time did not venture to pass the without lowering their peaks out of homage to the of the tain and it was observed that all such as paid this tribute of respect were suffered to pass such said are a few of the stories written down by the among the which prevailed in the colonies during the early times of the seems to have been a singular one about phantom ships the superstitious fancies of men are always apt to turn upon those objects which concern their daily occupations the solitary ship which from year to year came like a in the wilderness bringing to the inhabitants of a settlement the comforts of life from the world from which y were cut off was apt to be present to their dreams whether sleeping or waking the accidental sight from shore of a sail gliding along the horizon in those as yet lonely seas was a to be a matter of much talk and speculation there is mention made in one of the early new writers of a ship by with a great horse that stood by the i have met with another story somewhere of a ship that drove on shore in fair sunny tranquil weather with sails all set and a table spread in the cabin as if to a number of guests yet not a living being on board these phantom ships always sailed in the eye of the wind or their way with great city making the smooth sea foam before their bows when not a breath of air was stirring has finely wrought up one of these legends of the sea into a little tale which within a small compass contains the very essence of this species of supernatural fiction i allude to his ship bound to s isle poet concerning this ship which he to have brought this colony of mischievous into the province from some old ghost ridden country of europe i could give you a host more if necessary for all the accidents that so often befall the river craft in the are said to be tricks played off by these of the but i see that you are nodding so let us turn in for the night the moon had just raised her silver horns above the round back of old bull hill and lit up the gray rocks and forests and glittered on the waving bosom of the river the night dew was falling and the late gloomy mountains began to soften and put on a gray tint in the light the hunters stirred the fire and threw on fresh fuel to the damp of the night air they then prepared a bed of branches and dry leaves under a ledge of rocks for while himself up in a huge coat made of skins stretched himself before the fire it was some time however before could close his eyes he lay contemplating the strange scene before him the wild woods and rocks around the fire throwing	48
on the faces of the sleeping savages and the too who so singularly yet vaguely reminded him of the nightly to the haunted house now and then he heard the cry of some animal from the forest or the of the owl or the notes of the whip poor will which seemed to abound among these or the splash of a leaping out of the river and falling back full length on its placid surface he contrasted all this with his accustomed nest in the garret room of the doctor s mansion where the only sounds he heard at night were the church clock telling the hour the drowsy voice of the out all was well the deep of the doctor s nose from below stairs or the cautious labours of some carpenter rat in the his thoughts then wandered to his poor old mother what she think of his mysterious disappearance what anxiety and distress would she not suffer this was the thought that would continually intrude itself to mar his present enjoyment it with it a feeling of pain and and he fell asleep with the tears yet standing in his eyes were this a mere tale of fancy here would be a fine opportunity for weaving in strange adventures among these wild mountains and hunters and after my hero in a variety of perils and difficulties him from them all by some miraculous contrivance but as this is absolutely a true story i must content myself with simple facts and keep to at an early hour of the next day therefore after a hearty morning s meal the broke up and our embarked in the of there being no wind for the sails the indians rowed her gently along keeping time to a kind of chant of one of the white men the day was and beautiful the river without a wave and as the vessel the water it left a long track behind the had scented the hunters banquet were already gathering and hovering in the air just where a column of thin blue smoke rising from among the showed the place of their last night s quarters as they along the of the mountains the pointed out to a bald eagle the sovereign of these regions who sat perched on a dry tree that projected over the river and with eye turned upwards seemed to be drinking in the splendor of the morning s sun their approach disturbed the monarch s meditations he first spread one wing and then the other balanced himself for a moment and then his perch with dignified composure wheeled slowly over their heads snatched up a gun and sent a whistling ball after him that cut some of the feathers from his wing the report of the gun leaped sharply from rock to rock and awakened a thousand echoes but the monarch vol ii z of the air sailed calmly on ascending higher and higher and widely as he ascended soaring up the green bosom of the mountain until he disappeared over the brow of a precipice felt in a manner by this proud tranquillity and almost reproached himself for having so insulted this majestic bird told him laughing to remember that he was not yet out of the of the lord of the and an old indian shook his head and observed that there was bad luck in killing an eagle the hunter on the contrary should always leave him a portion of his spoils nothing however occurred to them on their voyage they passed pleasantly through magnificent and lonely scenes until they came to where s island lay like a floating bower at the extremity of the here they landed until the heat of the day should or a breeze spring up that might the labour of the oar some prepared the mid day meal while others under the shade of the trees in luxurious summer looking forth upon the beauty of the scene on the one side were the vast and to the top with forests and throwing their shadows on the water that at their feet on the other side was a wide expanse of the river like a broad lake with long sunny reaches and green and the distant line of mountains waving along a clear horizon or by a cloud but i forbear to dwell on the particulars of their along the river this life across silver sheets of water wild shores on shady with the spreading tree over head the river curling its light foam to one s feet and distant mountain and rock and tree and snowy cloud and deep blue sky all mingling in summer beauty fore one all this though never in the enjoyment would be but tedious in when by the water side some of the party would go into the woods and hunt others would fish sometimes they would amuse themselves by shooting at a mark by leaping by running by and gained great favour in the eyes of hey den by his skill and in all these exercises which the considered as the highest of man r accomplishments thus did they coast on choosing only the pleasant hours for sometimes in the cool morning dawn sometimes in the sober evening twilight and sometimes when the the crisp curling waves that whispered along the sides of their little bark never had felt so completely in his element never had he met with any thing so completely to his taste as this wild life he was the very man to second in his rambling and gained continually on his affections the heart of the old bush towards the young man who seemed thus growing up in his own likeness and as they approached to the end of their voyage he could not help inquiring a little into his history frankly told him his course of life his severe medical studies his little and his very prospects the was	48
household affairs seemed to be conducted in some measure after the master s corrected perhaps by a little quiet management of the daughter s there was a great degree of simplicity and good humoured indulgence the came into the room without being called merely to look at their master and hear of his adventures they would stand listening at the door until he had finished a story and then go off on a broad grin to repeat it in the kitchen a couple of pet negro children were playing about the floor with the dogs and sharing with them their bread and butter all the looked hearty and happy and the table was set for the evening the variety and abundance of good household luxuries bore testimony to the open handed liberality of the and the notable of his daughter in the evening there dropped in several of the of the place the van and the and the and others of hey den s to hear an account of his expedition for he was the of and his exploits and adventures were favourite topics of conversation among the inhabitants while these sat together about the door of the hall and telling long twilight stories was seated entertaining the daughter on a window bench he had already got on intimate terms for those were not times of false reserve and idle ceremony and besides there is something wonderfully to a lover s suit in the delightful dusk of a long summer evening it gives courage to the most j timid tongue and hides the of the the stars alone brightly and now and then a fire fly streamed his transient light before the window or wandering into the room flew gleaming about the ceiling what whispered in her ear that long summer evening it is impossible to say his words were so low and indistinct that they never reached the ear of the historian it is probable however that they were to the purpose for he had a natural talent at pleasing the sex and was never long in company with a without paying proper court to it in the mean time the visitors one by one departed who had fairly talked himself silent sat nodding alone in his chair by the door when he was suddenly aroused by a hearty salute with which had rounded oflf one of his periods and which echoed through the still chamber like the report of a pistol the started up rubbed his eyes called for lights and observed that it was high time to go to bed though on parting for the night he squeezed heartily by the hand looked kindly in his face and shook his head for the well remembered what he himself had been at the s age the chamber in which our hero was lodged was spacious and with oak it was furnished with clothes presses and mighty of drawers well and glittering with brass ornaments these contained ample stock of family linen for the dutch had always a pride in showing off their household treasures to strangers s mind however was too full to take particular note of the objects around him yet he could not help continually comparing the free open hearted of this establishment with the sordid housekeeping at doctor s still there was something that the enjoyment the idea that he must take leave of his hearty host and pretty hostess and cast him self once more adrift upon the world to linger here would be folly he should only get deeper in love and for a poor variety like himself to to the daughter of the great hey den it was madness to think of such a thing the very kindness that the girl had shown towards him prompted him on reflection to hasten his departure it would be a poor return for the frank hospitality of his host to his daughter s heart in an attachment in a word was like many other young of exceeding good hearts and giddy heads who think after they act and act differently from what they think who make excellent over night and forget to keep them the next morning this is a fine conclusion truly of my voyage said he as he almost buried himself in a feather bed and drew the fresh white sheets up to his chin here am i instead of finding a bag of money to carry home launched in a strange place with scarcely a d in my pocket and what is worse have jumped ashore up to my very ears in love into the bargain however added he after some pause stretching himself and turning himself in bed i m in good quarters for the present at least so e en enjoy the present moment and let the next take care of itself i dare say all will work out some how or other for the best as he said these words he reached out his hand to the candle when he was suddenly struck with astonishment and dismay for he thought he beheld the phantom of the haunted house staring on him from a dusky part of the chamber a second look reassured him as he perceived that what he had taken for the was in fact nothing but a portrait that hung in a shadowy corner just behind a clothes press it was however the precise representation of his nightly visitor the same cloak and the same beard and fixed eye the same broad hat with a feather hanging over one side now called to mind the resemblance he had frequently remarked between his host and the old man of the haunted house and was fully convinced that they were in some way connected and that some especial destiny had governed his voyage he lay gazing on the portrait with almost as much awe as he had gazed on the ghostly original until the shrill house clock	48
warned him of the of the hour he put out the light but remained for a long time turning over these curious circumstances and in his mind until he fell asleep his dreams partook of the nature of his waking thoughts he fancied that he still lay gazing on the picture until by degrees it became animated that the figure descended from the wall and walked out of the room that he followed it and found himself by the well to which the old man pointed smiled on him and disappeared in the morning when he found his host standing by his bed side who vol ii a a gave him a hearty morning s salutation and asked him how he had slept answered cheerily but took occasion to inquire about the portrait that hung against the wall ah said that s a portrait of old once a of who on some popular ble abandoned holland and came over to the pro during the government of peter he was my by the mother s side and an old he was when the english took possession of new in he retired into the country he fell into a melancholy that his wealth would be i him and that he would come to e turned all his property into cash and used to hide it away he was for a year or two concealed in various places himself after by the english to strip him of his wealth and finally was found dead in his bed one morning without any one being able to discover where he had concealed the greater part of his money when his host had left the room remained for some time lost in thought his whole mind was occupied by what he had heard was his mother s family name and he recollected to have heard her speak of this very as one of her ancestors he had heard her say too that her father was s heir only that the old man died without leaving any thing to be inherited it now appeared that was likewise a and perhaps an heir also of this poor rich man and that thus the and the were connected what thought he if after all this is the interpretation of my dream that this is the way i am to make my fortune by this voyage to and that i am to find the old man s hidden wealth in the bottom of that well but what an odd round about mode of communicating the matter why the plague could not the old have told me about the well at once without me all the way to ai a a to hear a story that was to send me all the way back again y these thoughts passed through his mind while he was dressing he descended the stairs full of perplexity when the bright face of suddenly beamed in smiles upon him and seemed to give him a clue to the whole mystery after all thought he the old is in the right if i am to get his wealth he means that i shall marry his pretty thus both branches of the family will be again united and the property go on in the proper channel no sooner did this idea enter his head than it carried conviction with it he was now all impatience to hurry back and secure the treasure which he did not doubt lay at the bottom of the well and which he feared every moment might be discovered by some other person who knows thought he but this old fellow of the haunted house may be in the habit of haunting every visitor and may give a hint to some fellow than myself who will take a shorter cut to the well than by the way of t he wished a thousand times that the old ghost was laid in the red sea and his rambling portrait with him he was in a perfect fever to depart two or three days elapsed before any opportunity presented for returning down the river they were ages to notwithstanding that he was in the smiles of the pretty and daily getting more and more at length the very from which he had been knocked overboard prepared to make sail made an awkward apology to his host for his sudden departure was sorely astonished he had half a dozen excursions into the wilderness and his indians were actually preparing for a grand expedition to one of the lakes he took aside and exerted his eloquence to get him to abandon all thoughts of business and to remain with him but in vain and he at length gave up the attempt h k observing that it was a thousand so fine a young man should throw himself away however gave him a hearty shake by the hand at parting with a favourite piece and an invitation to come ta his house whenever he the pretty little said nothing but as he gave her a farewell kiss her cheek turned pale and a tear stood in her eye sprang lightly on board of the vessel they hoisted sail the wind was fair they soon lost sight of and its green hills and islands they were gaily past the mountains whose fairy heights were bright and they passed through the without any from the and his crew they swept on across bay and by point and through the and under the until in the afternoon of the third day they saw the of hanging like a cloud in the air and shortly after the of the rising out of the water s first care was to repair to his mo ther house for he was continually by the idea of the uneasiness she must experience on his account he was his brains as he went along to think how he should account for his absence without betray the secrets of	48
the haunted house in the midst of these he entered the street in which his mother house was situated when he was at beholding it a heap of ruins there had evidently l een a great fire which had destroyed several large houses and the humble dwelling of poor dame had been involved in the the walls were not so destroyed but that could distinguish some traces of the sc ne of his childhood the fire place about which he had often played still remained ornamented with dutch passages in history on which he had many a time gazed with admiration ii oi g b rubbish lay the wreck of the good s from which she had given him so many a wholesome hard by it was the family bible with brass now alas reduced almost to a for a moment was overcome by this dismal sight for he was seized with the fear that his mother had perished in the flames he was relieved however from this horrible apprehension by one of the neighbours who happened to come by and who informed him that his mother was yet alive the good woman had indeed lost every thing by this for calamity for the had been so intent upon saving the fine furniture of her rich neighbours that the little and the little all of poor dame had been suffered to without interruption nay had it not been for the gallant assistance of her old peter de the worthy dame and her cat might have shared the fate of their habitation he as it was she had been overcome with fright and affliction and lay ill in body and sick at heart the public however had showed her its kindness the furniture of her rich neighbours being as far as possible rescued from the flames themselves duly and visited and with on the injury of their property and their ladies on the agitation of their nerves the public at length began to recollect something about poor dame she forthwith became again a subject of universal sympathy every body pitied her more than ever and if pity could but have been into cash good lord how rich she would have been f it was now determined in good earnest that something ought to be done for her without delay the therefore put up prayers for her on sunday in which all the congregation joined most heartily even the and the great dutch merchant stood up in their and did not spare their voices on the occasion and it was thought the prayers of such great men could not but have their due weight doctor too visited her and gave her abundance of advice and was universally for his charity as to her old friend peter de he was a poor man whose pity and prayers and advice could be of but little avail so he gave her all that was in his power he gave her shelter to the humble dwelling of peter de then did turn his steps on his way thither he recalled all the tenderness and of his simple hearted parent her indulgence of his errors her blindness to his j and then he himself of his own idle life i ve been a sad said shaking his head i ve been a complete that s the truth of it but he briskly and clasping his hands let let her live r nd til show myself indeed a son t s as approached the house he met peter de coming out of it the old man started back aghast doubting whether it was not a ghost that stood before him it being bright daylight however peter soon plucked up heart satisfied that no ghost dare show his face in such clear sunshine now learned from the worthy the consternation and rumour to which his mysterious disappearance had given rise it had been universally believed that he had been spirited away by gentry that the haunted house and old who by the great button trees at the three mile stone that he had heard a noise in the air s he was going home l te at night which seemed just as if a fl ht of wild over head ing off towards northward the haunted house waa in looked upon with ten awe than nobody would venture to pass a night in it for the world and even the doctor had ceased to make his to it in the it required some preparation before s return could be made known to his mother the poor soul having him as lost and her spirits having been sorely broken down by a number of who daily cheered her with stories of ghosts and of people carried away by the devil he found her confined to her bed with the other member of the family the good dame s cat beside her but sadly and utterly of those whiskers which were the glory of her the poor woman threw her arms about s neck my boy my boy f art thou still alive for a time she seemed to have forgotten all her losses and troubles in her joy at his return even the sage showed signs of joy at the return of the she saw perhaps that they were a forlorn and undone family and felt a touch of that which fellow only know but in truths cats are a people they have more affection in them than the world commonly gives them credit for the good dame s eyes as she saw one being at least beside herself rejoiced at her son s return knows thee poor dumb beast said she down the coat of her favourite then herself with a melancholy shake of the head ah my poor exclaimed she thy mother can help thee no longer she can no longer help herself what will become of thee my poor boy mother said don t	48
talk in that strain i ve been too long a charge upon you it s now my part to take care of you in your old days come be of good heart you and i and will all see better d i m here you see young and sound and hearty then don t let us despair dare say things will all some how or turn out for the best while this scene was going on with the family the news was carried to of the safe return of his the little doctor scarcely knew whether to rejoice or be sorry at the tidings he was happy at having the foul reports which had prevailed concerning his country mansion thus but he grieved at having his of whom he had supposed himself fairly thus drifting back a heavy charge upon his hands while he was between these two feelings he was determined by the counsels of who advised him to take advantage of the absence of the and shut the door upon him for ever i at the hour of bed time therefore when it was supposed the would seek his old quarters every thing was prepared for his reception having talked his mother into a state of tranquillity sought the mansion of his master and raised the with a faltering hand scarcely however had it given a rap when the doctor s head ii a red cap out df one window and the housekeeper s in a white night cap out of another he was now greeted with a tremendous of hard names and mingled with pieces of advice such as are seldom ventured to be given excepting to a friend in distress or a at the in a few moments not a window in the street but had its particular cap to the shrill of and the of dr and the word went from window to ah here s come back and at his old again in short poor found he was likely to get nothing from the doctor but good advice a so abundant as even to be thrown out of the window so he was fain to beat a retreat and take up his quarters for the night under the lowly roof of honest peter de the next morning bright and early was out of the haunted house every thing looked just as he had left it the fields were grass grown and and it appeared as if nobody had traversed them since his departure with heart he hastened to the well he looked down into it and saw that it was of great depth with water at the bottom he had provided himself with a strong line such as the use on the banks of at the end was a heavy and a large fish hook with this he began to sound the bottom of the well and to angle about in the water he found that the water was of some depth there appeared also to be much rubbish stones from the top having fallen in several times his hook got entangled and he came near breaking his line now and then too he hauled up mere such as the skull of a horse an iron and a shattered iron bound bucket he had now been several hours employed without finding any thing to repay his trouble or to encourage him to proceed he began to think himself a great fool to be thus into i wild goose chase by mere dreams and was on the point of throwing line and all into the well and giving up all further one more cast of the line said he and that shall be the last as he sounded he felt the slip as it were through the of loose stones and as he drew back the line he felt that the hook had taken hold of something heavy he had to manage his line with great caution nest it should be broken by the strain upon it by degrees the rubbish that lay upon the article which he had gave way he drew it to the surface of the water and what was his rapture at seeing something like silver glittering at the end of his line almost breathless with anxiety he drew it up to the mouth of the well surprised at its great weight and fearing every instant that his hook would slip from its hold and his prize tumble again to the bottom at length he landed it safe beside the well it was a great silver of an ancient form richly and with bearings similar to those over his mo vol ii b b h r ther s mantel piece engraved on its side the lid was fastened down by several of wire loosened them with a trembling hand and on lifting the lid behold the vessel was filled with broad golden pieces of a which he had never seen before it was evident he had lit on the place where old had concealed his treasure fearful of being seen by some he cautiously retired and buried his pot of money in a secret place he now spread terrible stories about the haunted house and every one from approaching it while he made frequent visits to it in stormy days when no one was stirring in the neighbouring fields though to tell the truth he did not care to venture there in the dark for once in his life he was and industrious and followed up his new trade of with such perseverance and success that in a little while he had up wealth enough to make him in those moderate days a rich for life s it would he tedious to detail the rest of his story to tell how he gradually to bring his property into use surprise and inquiry how he sim all scruples with regard to retaining t ha and at the same time gratified his own	48
feelings by marrying the pretty and how he and mj had many a merry and expedition together i must not omit to say however that took his mother home to live with him and cherished her in her old days the good too ha d the of no longer hei her on made tlie theme of censure on th contrary he grew daily in public esteem body spoke well of him and his and the was never known tp decline his invitation to dinner ted at his own table the wicked which had once been the of town but they were now considered and the was b b h r fain to hold his sides when listening to them no one was more struck with s increasing merit than his old master the doctor and so was that he employed the doctor s his family physician only taking care that his should be always thrown out of the window his mother had often her of old to take a snug cup of tea with her in her comfortable little parlour and peter de as he sat by the fireside with one of her on his knee would many a time congratulate her upon her son turning out so great a man upon which the good old soul would wag her head with exultation and exclaim ah neighbour neighbour did i not say that would one day or other hold up his head with the best of them thus did go on cheerily and growing as he grew older and wiser and completely the old proverb about money got over the devil s back for he made good use of his wealth and became a distinguished citizen and a valuable member of the community he was a great of public institutions such as societies and catch clubs he presided at all public dinners and was the first that introduced from the west indies he improved the breed of race horses and and was so great a patron of modest merits that any one who could sing a good song or tell a good story was sure to find a place at his table he was a member too of the made several laws for the protection of game and and to the board a large silver punch bowl made out of the identical before mentioned and which is in the possession of the to this very day finally he died in a old age of an at a feast and was buried with great honours in the yard of the little dutch church in garden street where his may still be seen with a modest in dutch by his friend an ancient and excellent poet of the province the foregoing tale rests on better authority than most tales of the kind as i have it at second hand from the lips of himself he never related it till the latter part of his life and then in great confidence for he was very discreet to a of his particular at his own table over a bowl of punch and strange as the parts of the story may seem there never was a single doubt expressed on the subject by any of his guests it may not be amiss before concluding to observe that in addition to his other accomplishments was noted for being the drawer of the long bow in the whole province the wedding no more no more much honor aye the lofty and the lovely bride that all of their succeeding days may say each day appears like to a wedding day notwithstanding the doubts and of lady craft and all the grave objections that were up against the month of may yet the wedding has at length happily taken place it was celebrated at the village church in presence of a numerous company of relatives and friends and many of the the squire must needs have something of the old ceremonies observed on the occasion so at the gate of the church yard several little girls of the village dressed in white were in readiness with baskets of flowers which they before the bride and the the wedding butler bore before her the bride cup a great silver bowl one of the family from the days of the hard this was filled with rich wine and decorated with a branch of tied with gay according to ancient custom happy is the bride that the sun shines on says the old proverb and it was as sunny and a morning as heart could wish the bride looked uncommonly beautiful but in fact what woman does not look interesting on her wedding day i know no sight more charming and touching than that of a young and timid bride in her robes of virgin white led up trembling to the altar when i thus behold a lovely girl in the tenderness of her years the house of her fathers and the home of her childhood and with the confiding and the sweet self which belong to woman giving up all the world for the man of her choice when i hear her in the good old language of the yielding herself to him for better for the wedding worse for richer for poorer in sickness and in health to love honour and obey till death us do part it brings to my mind the beautiful and affecting self devotion whither thou i will go and where thou i will lodge thy people shall be my people and thy god my god the fair was supported on the occasion by lady whose heart was overflowing with its sympathy in all matters of love and matrimony as the bride approached the altar her face would be one moment covered with and the next deadly pale and she seemed almost ready to shrink from sight among her female companions i do not know what it is that makes every one serious and	48
as it were awe struck at a marriage ceremony which is generally considered as an occasion of and rejoicing as the ceremony was performing i observed many a rosy face among the country girls turn pale and i did not see a smile throughout the wedding the church the young ladies from the hall were almost as much frightened as if it had been their own case and stole many a look of sympathy at their trembling companion a tear stood in the eye of the sensitive lady craft and as to who was present she absolutely wept and sobbed but it is hard to tell half the time what these fond foolish creatures are crying about the captain too though naturally gay and was much agitated on the occasion and in attempting to put the ring upon the bride s finger dropped it on the floor which lady has since assured me is a very lucky omen even master had lost his usual vivacity and had assumed a most solemn face which he is apt to do on all occasions of ceremony he had much whispering with the parson and parish clerk for he is always a busy personage in the scene and he echoed the clerk s amen with a solemnity and devotion that the whole assemblage the wedding the moment however that the ceremony over the transition was the bride cup was passed rounds according to usage for the company to drink to a happy union every one s feelings seemed to break forth from restraint master had a world of bachelor to utter and as to the gallant general he bowed and about the lady like a mighty cock pigeon about his dame the villagers gathered in the church yard to cheer the happy couple as they left the church and the musical tailor had his band and set up a hideous discord as the blushing and smiling bride passed through a lane of honest to her carriage the children shouted and threw up their hats the bells rung a merry peal that set all the and flying and about the air and threatened to bring down the of the old tower and there was a continual pop off of rusty from every part of the neighbourhood the wedding the prodigal son distinguished himself on the occasion having hoisted a flag on the top of the school house and kept the village in a from sun rise with the sound of drum and and pipe in which species of music several of his scholars are making wonderful in his great zeal however he had nearly done mischief for on returning from church the horses of the bride s carriage took fright from the discharge of a row of old which he had mounted as a park of in front of the school house to give the captain a military salute as he passed the day passed off with great rustic tables were spread under the trees in the park where all the of the neighbourhood were with roast beef and and of ale ready money jack presided at one of the tables and became so full of good cheer as to from his usual gravity to sing a song out of all tune and give two or three shouts of laughter that almost his neighbours like so the wedding many of thunder the and the with each other in making speeches over their liquor and there were occasional and musical performances by the village band that must have frightened every and from the park even old who had got on a new dress from top to toe and shone in all the splendor of bright leather breeches and an enormous wedding favour in his cap forgot his usual became inspired by wine and and absolutely danced a on one of the tables with all the grace and of a hung upon wires equal gaiety reigned within doors where a large party of friends were entertained every one laughed at his own without attending to that of his neighbours loads of bride cake were distributed the young ladies were all busy in passing of it through the wedding ring to dream on and i myself assisted a fine little boarding school girl in putting up a quantity for her companions which i have the wedding no doubt will set all the little heads in the school for a week at least after dinner all the company great and small gentle and simple abandoned to the dance not the modern with its graceful gravity but the merry social old country dance the true dance as the squire says for a wedding occasion as it sets all the world in couples hand in hand and makes every eye and every heart dance merrily to the music according to rank old usage the of the hall mingled for a time in the dance of the who had a great tent erected for a ball room and i think i never saw master more in his element than when about among his rustic admirers as master of the ceremonies and with a mingled air of protection and gallantry leading out the queen of may all blushing at the signal honour conferred upon her in the the whole village was illuminated excepting the house of the radical the wedding s who has not shown his face during the there was a display of at the school house got up by the prodigal son which had well nigh set fire to the building the squire is so much pleased with the extraordinary services of this last mentioned worthy that he talks of him in his list of valuable and him to some important post on the estate to be if the can ever be brought into proper training there is a well known old proverb that says one wedding makes many or something to the same purpose and i should not	48
be surprised if it holds good in the present instance i have seen several among the young people that have been brought together on this occasion and a great deal of strolling about in pairs among the retired walks and of the old garden and if groves were really given to as poets would fain make us believe heaven knows the wedding what love tales the grave looking old trees about this venerable country seat might to the world the general too has very zealous in his within the last few days as the time of her s departure approaches i observed him casting many a tender look at her during the wedding dinner while the courses were changing though he was always liable to be interrupted in his adoration by the appearance of any new the general in fact has arrived at that time of life when the heart and the stomach maintain a kind of balance of power and when a man is apt to be perplexed in his affections between a fine woman and a turkey her was certainly through the whole of the first course by a dish of and there was one glance which was evidently intended to be a point blank shot at her heart and could scarcely have failed to effect a practicable breach had it not been di the wedding away to a tempting breast of lamb in which it immediately produced a formidable thus did this general go on during the whole dinner and committing an with every new dish until in the end he was so overpowered by the attentions he had paid to fish flesh and fowl to cream and that he seemed to sink within himself his eyes swam beneath their and their fir was so much that he could no longer discharge a single glance that would reach across the table upon the whole i fear the general ate himself into as much disgrace at this memorable dinner as i have seen him sleep himself into on a former occasion i am told moreover that young jack was so touched by the wedding ceremony at which he was present and so by the sensibility of poor who certainly looked all the better for her tears that he had a reconciliation with her that very vol ii c c the wedding day after dinner in one of the groves of the park and danced with her in the evening to the complete confusion of all dame domestic politics i met them walking together in the park shortly after the tion must have taken place young jack carried himself gaily and but hung her head blushing as i approached however just as she passed me and dropped a i caught a shy gleam of her eye from under her bonnet but it was immediately cast down again i saw enough in that single gleam and in the involuntary smile that about her rosy lips to feel satisfied that the little s heart was happy again what is more lady with her usual benevolence and zeal in all matters of this tender nature on hearing of the reconciliation of the lovers undertook the task of breaking the matter to ready money jack she thought there was no time like the present and attacked the sturdy old that very evening in the park while his heart the wedding was yet lifted up with the squire s good cheer jack was a little surprised at being drawn aside by her but was not to be by such an honour he was still more surprised by the nature of her communication and by this first intelligence of an affair that had been passing under his eye he listened however with his usual gravity as her represented the advantages of the match the good qualities of the girl and the distress which she had lately suffered at length his eye began to and his hand to play with the head of his lady saw that something in the narrative had gone wrong and hastened to his rising ire by the soft hearted s merit and fidelity and her great when old ready money suddenly interrupted her by exclaiming that if jack did not marry the he d break every bone in his body the match therefore is considered a settled thing dame and the housekeeper have made friends and drank tea together c c the wedding and has again recovered her good looks and good spirits and is from morning till night like a lark but the most caprice of is one that i should be almost afraid to mention did i not know that i was writing for readers well experienced in the of this most mischievous deity the morning after the wedding therefore while lady was making preparations for her departure an audience was requested by her mrs who with much of the mouth and many m requested leave to stay behind and that lady would supply her place with some other servant her was astonished what going to quit her that had lived with her so long why one could not help it one must settle in life some time or other the good lady was still lost in amazement at length the secret was gasped from the dry lips of the maiden she had the wedding been some time thinking of changing her condition and at length had given her word last evening to mr the how or when or where this singular courtship had been carried on i have not been able to learn nor how she has been able with the of her disposition to soften the stony heart of old so however it is and it has astonished every one with all her s love of match making this last of s torch has been too much for her she has endeavoured to reason with mrs but all in vain her mind w s made up and	48
by gratifying rather than the angry feelings that were then against england and here let me acknowledge my warm my thankful feelings at the effect produced by one of my trivial i allude to the essay in the sketch book on the subject of the literary between england and america i cannot express the delight i have experienced at the unexpected sympathy and approbation with which those remarks have been received on both sides of the atlantic i speak this not from any paltry feelings of gratified vanity for i attribute the effect to no merit of my pen the paper in question was brief and casual and the ideas it conveyed were simple and obvious it was the cause it was the cause alone there was a on the part of my readers to be affected my countrymen responded in heart to the filial feelings i had in their the author s farewell name towards the parent country and there was a generous sympathy in every english bosom towards a solitary individual lifting up his voice in a strange land to the injured character of his nation there are some causes so sacred as to carry with them an irresistible appeal to every virtuous bosom and he needs but little power of eloquence who the honour of his wife his mother or his country i hail therefore the success of that brief paper as showing how much good may be done by a kind word however feeble when spoken in season as showing how much good feeling actually exists in each country towards the other which only wants the slightest spark to it into a genial flame as showing in fact what i have all believed and asserted that the two nations would grow together in esteem and if and malignant spirits would but throw by their mischievous pens and s the author s farewell leave kindred hearts to the kindly impulses of nature i once more assert and i assert it with increased conviction of its truth that there exists among the great majority of my countrymen a favourable feeling towards england i repeat this assertion because i think it a truth that cannot too often be and because it has met with some contradiction among all the liberal and enlightened minds of my countrymen among all those which eventually give a tone to national opinion there exists a cordial desire to be on terms of courtesy and friendship but at the same time there exists in those very minds a distrust of good will on the part of england they have been rendered sensitive by the attacks made upon their country by the english press and their occasional on this subject has been into a settled and unnatural hostility for my part i consider this jealous the author s farewell as belonging to generous natures i should look upon my countrymen as fallen indeed from that independence of spirit which is their birth gift as fallen indeed from that pride of character which they inherit from the proud nation from which they sprung could they sit down under the of and insult indeed the very impatience which they show as to the of the press proves their respect for english opinion and their desire for english for there is never jealousy where there is not strong regard it is easy to say that these attacks are all the of worthless and treated with silent contempt by the nation but alas the of the travel abroad and the silent contempt of the nation is only known at home with england then it remains as i have formerly asserted to promote a mutual spirit of she has but to hold the language of friendship and respect and she the author s farewell is secure of the good will of every american bosom in expressing these sentiments i would utter nothing that should commit the proper spirit of my countrymen we seek no boon at england s hands we ask nothing as a favour her friendship is not necessary nor would her hostility be dangerous to our well being we ask nothing from abroad that we cannot but with respect to england we have a warm feeling of the heart the glow of that still in our blood interest apart past differences forgotten we extend the hand of old relationship we merely ask do not us from you do not destroy the ancient tie of blood do not let and drive a kindred nation from your side we would fain be friends do not compel us to be enemies there needs no better ground for than that furnished by an eminent english writer there is says he the author s farewell a sacred bond between us of blood and of language which no circumstances can break our literature must always be theirs and though their laws are no longer the same as ours we have the same bible and we address our common father in the same prayer nations are too ready to admit that they have natural enemies why should they be less willing to believe that they have natural friends to the spirits of both countries must we trust to carry such a natural alliance of affection into full effect to pens more powerful than mine i leave the noble task of the cause of national to the intelligent and enlightened of my own country i address my parting voice them to show themselves superior to the petty attacks of the ignorant and the worthless and still to look with and philosophic eye to the moral character of england as the from an article said to be by robert esq published in the review it is to be lamented that that publication should so often forget the generous text here given vol ii d d the author s farewell intellectual source pf our rising greatness while i appeal to every generous minded englishman	48
book second 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 of their high chap ii containing an account of a mighty ark which floated under the protection of st from holland to island the descent of the 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 certain heroes of chap iv how the heroes of to hell gate and how they were received there chap v how the heroes of returned somewhat wiser than they went and how the sage 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 under the protection of the contents p book third in which is recorded the golden reign of van chap i of the renowned van t his virtues as likewise his unutterable wisdom in the law case of and and the great admiration of the public chap ii containing some account of the grand council of new as also divers especial good philosophical reasons why an should be fat with other particulars touching the state of the province chap iii how the town of new arose out of mud and came to be polished and polite together with a picture of our great great grand fathers chap iv containing further particulars of the golden age and what constituted a fine lady and gentleman in the days of walter the chap v in which the reader is into a walk which ends very differently from what it commenced chap vi 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 v chap vii how these simple turned out to be notorious how they built air castles and attempted to the in the mystery of j contents chap mil how the fort was fearfully how the renowned fell into a profound doubt and how he finally book fourth containing 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 himself good for nothing chap ii in which are recorded the sage projects of a ruler of universal genius the art of fighting by and how that the van came to be at fort chap hi 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 iv philosophical reflections on the folly of being happy in times of prosperity sundry troubles on the southern how william the had well nigh ruined the province through a word as also the secret expedition of and his astonishing reward chap v how william the enriched the province by a multitude of laws and came to be the patron of lawyers and and how the people became exceedingly enlightened and unhappy under his instructions contents ix page chap vi of the great pipe and of the into which william the was thrown by reason of his having enlightened the multitude chap vii 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 book fifth containing the first part of the reign of peter and his troubles with the council chap i in which the death of a great man is shown to be no very matter of sorrow and how peter acquired a great name from the uncommon strength of his head chap ii showing how peter the himself among the and 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 national evil chap iv how peter was greatly by his the moss and his conduct thereupon chap v how the new became great in arms and of the catastrophe of a mighty together with peter s measures to the city and how he was the original founder of the battery x contents page chap vi how the people of the east country were suddenly afflicted with a evil and their judicious measures for the thereof chap vii which records the rise and renown of a commander showing that a man like a may be puffed up to greatness and importance by mere wind book sixth containing the second part of the reign 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 chap ii showing how profound secrets are often brought to light with the proceedings of peter the when he heard of the misfortune of general von chap iii containing peter s voyage up the and the wonders and delights of that renowned	48
river 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 unfortunate great men chap v in which the author very of himself after which is to be found much interesting history about peter the and his followers contents page chap vi showing the great advantage that the author has over his reader in time of battle together with divers movements which that something terrible is about to happen chap vii containing the most horrible battle ever recorded in poetry or prose with the admirable exploits of peter the chap viii in which the author and the reader while after the battle fall into a very grave discourse after which is recorded the conduct of peter after his victory book seventh containing the third part op the reign op peter the his troubles with the british nation and the decline and pall op the dutch chap i how peter relieved the sovereign people from the burden 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 the chap iii of peter s expedition into the east country showing that though an old bird he did not understand trap chap iv how the people of new were thrown into a great panic by the news of a threatened invasion and the manner in which they fortified themselves xii 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 chap viii how peter defended the city of new for several days by dint of the strength of his head chap ix containing the dignified retirement and mortal surrender of peter the chap x the author s reflections upon what has been said account of the author it was some time if i recollect right in the early part of the fall of that a stranger applied for lodgings at the independent hotel in street of which i am landlord he was a small brisk looking old gentleman dressed in a rusty black coat a pair of olive velvet breeches and a small cocked hat he had a few gray hairs and behind and his beard seemed to be of some eight and forty 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 which he carried under his arm his whole appearance was something out of the common run and my wife who is a very shrewd body at once set him down for some eminent country as the independent hotel is a very small house i was a little puzzled at first where to put 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 and l xiv account of wood and commands a very pleasant view of the new grounds on the collect together with the rear of the poor house and and the full front of the hospital so 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 passion with his hands 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 reason to make her think so for his room was always covered with scraps of paper and old books lying about at and which he never would let any body touch for he said he had laid them all away in their proper places so that he might know where to find them though for that matter he was half his time worrying about the house in search of some book or writing which he had carefully put out of the way i shall never forget what a he once made because my wife cleaned out his when his back was turned and put every thing to rights for he swore he would never be able to get his papers in order again in a upon this my wife ventured to ask him what he did with so many books and papers p and he told her that he was seeking for immortality which made her think more than ever that the poor old gentleman s head was a little cracked the xv he was a very inquisitive body arid when not in his room was continually about town hearing au the news and into every thing that was going on i this was particularly the case about election time when he did nothing but bustle about from to attending all ward meetings and committee rooms though i could never find that he took part with either side of the question on the	48
never find their way it is not a matter of surprise that mr should never have seen the numerous that were made concerning him and that he should learn of the publication of his history by mere accident he expressed much concern at its premature appearance as thereby he was prevented from making several the author xix important and alterations as well as from by many curious hints which he had collected during his travels along the shores of the sea and his at and finding that there was no longer any immediate necessity for his return to new york he extended his journey up to the residence of his relations at on his way thither he stopped for some days at for which city he is known to have entertained a great partiality he found it however considerably altered and was much concerned at the and improvements which the were making and the consequent decline of the good old dutch manners indeed he was informed that these 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 was highly indignant at finding that the ancient dutch church which stood in the middle of the street had been pulled down since his last visit the fame of mr s history having reached even to he received much flattering attention from its worthy some of whom however pointed out two or three very great errors he had fallen into particularly that of a lump of sugar over the tea tables which they assured him had been for some years past several families moreover were somewhat b xx account of that their ancestors had not been mentioned in his work and showed great jealousy of their neighbours who had been thus distinguished while the latter it must be confessed themselves vastly thereupon considering these in the light of letters patent of nobility establishing their claims to which in this republican country is a matter of no little solicitude and it is also said that he enjoyed high favour and countenance from the governor who once asked him to dinner and was seen two or three times to shake hands with him when they met in the street which certainly was going great considering that they differed in politics indeed certain of the governor s confidential friends to whom he could venture to speak his mind freely on such matters have assured us that he privately entertained a considerable good will for our author nay he even once went so far as to declare and that openly too and at his own table just after dinner that was a very well meaning sort of an old gentleman and no fool from all which many have been led to suppose that had our author been of different politics and written for the newspapers instead of wasting his talents on histories he might have risen to some post of honour and profit to be a public or even a justice in the ten pound court besides the honours and already mentioned he was much by the of particularly mr john cook who entertained him very at his library and reading room the author xxi 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 testimony of friendship made him a present of the two oldest works in his collection which were the earliest edition of the and s famous account of the new by the last of which mr greatly in this his second edition having passed some time very agreeably at our author proceeded to where it is but justice to say he was received with open arms and treated with wonderful 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 scheme 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 mould have been great danger of his taking to politics or drinking both which vices we daily see men driven to by mere and idleness it is true he sometimes employed himself in pre xxii account of a second edition of his history wherein he endeavoured to correct 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 for its which indeed is the very life and soul of history but t glow of composition had departed he had to leave many places untouched which he would fain 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 began to feel a strong desire to return to new york which he ever regarded with the warmest affection not merely because it was his native city but because he really considered it the very best city in the whole world on his return he entered into the full enjoyment of the advantages of a literary reputation he was continually to write hand bills and productions of similar import and	48
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 all which he was clearly detected u by his style he contracted moreover a considerable debt at the post 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 very cheerfully considering these as so many com the author i he was once invited to a great dinner and was even twice summoned to attend as a at the court of quarter indeed so renowned did he become that he could no longer about as formerly in all holes and corners of the city according to the bent of his humour 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 at which the old gentleman seemed not a little pleased looking upon these in the light of the praises of posterity in a word if we take into consideration all these various honours 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 rural retreat which the had granted him on the family domain in gratitude for his honourable mention of their it was pleasantly situated on the borders of one of the salt beyond s hook subject indeed to be occasionally and much in the summer time with xxiv account of the author toes but otherwise very agreeable producing abundant crops of salt grass 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 approaching he disposed of his worldly affairs leaving the bulk of his fortune to the new york historical society his and s work to the city library and his saddle bags to mr he forgave all his enemies that is to say all that bore any enmity towards him for as to himself he declared he died in good will to all the world and after several kind messages to his relations at as well as to certain of our most substantial dutch citizens he expired in the arms of his friend the his remains were according to his own request in st mark s churchyard close by the bones of his favourite hero peter and it is that the historical society have it in mind to erect a wooden monument to his memory in the green to the public to rescue from oblivion the memory of former incidents and to render a just tribute of renown to the many great and wonderful transactions of our dutch native of the city of new york produces this historical essay like 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 shadows and the night of forgetfulness was about to descend for ever with great solicitude did i long behold the early history of this venerable and ancient city gradually slipping from our grasp trembling on the lips of narrative old age and day by day dropping into the tomb in a little while thought i and those reverend dutch who serve as the tottering monuments of good old times will be gathered to their fathers their children engrossed by the empty pleasures or insignificant transactions of the present age will neglect to treasure up the recollections of the past and posterity 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 achievements of van william and peter be enveloped in doubt and fiction like those of and of king arthur and of s xxvi preface determined therefore to if possible this threatened misfortune i sat myself to work to gather together all the fragments of our ancient history which still existed and like my where no written records 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 number of learned authors i have consulted and all to but little purpose strange as it may seem though such multitudes of excellent works have been written about this country there are none which give any full and satisfactory account of the early 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 respectable 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 nor 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 return my sincere in the conduct of this work i have adopted no individual model but on the contrary have simply contented myself with and preface the of the most approved ancient like i have maintained the utmost and the to truth throughout my history i have enriched it after the	48
manner of with various characters of ancient drawn at full length and faithfully coloured i have it with profound political speculations like it with the graces of sentiment like and into the whole the dignity the grandeur and magnificence of i am aware that i shall the censure of numerous very learned and judicious critics for indulging loo 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 been by the indeed though it has been my constant wish and uniform endeavour to rival himself in observing the requisite unity of history yet the loose and manner in which many of the facts recorded have come to hand rendered 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 infancy with what they are in the present old age of knowledge and improvement preface but the chief merit on which i value myself and found my hopes for future regard is that faithful with which i have this invaluable little work carefully away the of and the of fable which are too apt to spring up and choke the seeds of truth and wholesome knowledge had i been anxious to the superficial throng who like over the surface of literature or had i been anxious to commend my writings to the of literary i might have availed myself of the obscurity that the infant 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 historian for a writer of this class an elegant critic must sustain the character of a wise man writing for the instruction of posterity one who has studied to inform himself well who has pondered his subject with care and addressed himself to our judgment rather than to our imagination thrice happy therefore is this our renowned city in having incidents worthy of swelling the theme of history and doubly thrice happy is it in having such an historian as myself to relate them for after all gentle reader cities of themselves and in fact of themselves are nothing without an historian it is the patient who records their prosperity as they rise who forth the splendour of their who their feeble as they to decay who together their preface fragments as they rot and who at length their 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 asia and awaken the fruitless inquiry of the traveller they have sunk into dust and silence they have perished from remembrance for want of an historian the may weep over their desolation the poet may wander among their arches and broken columns and indulge the visionary flights of his fancy but alas alas the modern historian whose pen like my own is doomed to confine itself to dull matter of fact seeks in vain among 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 their the torch of science has more than once been extinguished and a few individuals who have escaped by accident the thread of generations the same sad misfortune which has happened to so many ancient cities will happen again and from the same sad cause to nine of those which now flourish on the face of the globe with most of them the time for their history is gone by their origin their foundation together with the early stages of their settlement are for ever buried in the rubbish of years and the same would have been the case with this fair portion of the earth if i had not snatched it from obscurity in the very nick of time at the moment xxx preface that those matters recorded were about entering into the of 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 new york may be equally with s rome or and s 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 myself little at this moment the and of them all posted at the head of this 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 that will now and then enter into the brain of the author that as with celestial light his solitary chamber cheering his weary spirits and to in his labours and i have freely given utterance to	48
this perilous under history op taking they bad better take a short cut round 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 exceedingly 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 of the and try ad 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 of our globe and all that it contains to the of four material elements air earth fire and water with the assistance of a fifth an and principle nor must i omit to mention the great system taught by old before the siege of revived by of laughing memory improved by that king of good fellows and by the fanciful but i decline inquiring whether the ap i cap i o de iii o i m m sur p de i cap tim ap t iii p new york 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 which opinion was maintained by a host of philosophers at the head of whom stands the great that temperate sage who threw the cold water of philosophy on the form of intercourse and the doctrine of love an exquisitely refined intercourse but much better adapted to the ideal inhabitants of his imaginary island of than to the sturdy race composed of rebellious flesh and blood which the little matter of fact island we besides these systems we have moreover the poetical of old who the whole universe in the regular mode of and the opinion of others that the earth was from the great egg of night which floated in chaos and was cracked by the horns of the celestial bull to illustrate this last doctrine in his theory of the earth has favoured us with an accurate drawing and description both of the form 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 planet 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 ii cap i de i cap ad p in i cap tim de ap iii m m de l des t p et al book i oh history op but while briefly noticing long celebrated systems of ancient let me not pass over with neglect those of other philosophers which though less universal than 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 constructed himself that it might be excellent and he took great pains with the inhabitants and made them very black and beautiful and when he had finished 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 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 l 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 fashionable theories of their modern philosophy of s or indians new york and first i shall mention the great who conjectures that this globe was originally a globe of liquid fire from the body of the sun by the of 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	48
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 out at her eyes before half the hideous task was accomplished the same ingenious philosopher who in his after the for which the mischief loving swift discharged on their heads a most has distinguished himself by a very admirable 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 confusion in the arrangement of its parts the philosopher adds that the was produced by an salute from the watery tail of another doubtless through sheer envy of its improved condition thus furnishing a melancholy proof that jealousy may pre history op even among the heavenly bodies and discord interrupt that celestial harmony of the so 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 for rhyme as reason and for good natured as serious and who has recommended himself wonderfully 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 which in its flight by a similar exploded the earth r which in like guise exploded the moon and thus by a of the whole system was produced and set most in motion by the great variety of theories here alluded to every one of which if thoroughly examined will be found consistent in all its parts my readers will perhaps be led to conclude that the creation of a world is not so difficult a 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 and the philosophical chaos at his command he would engage to 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 providence in creating for the great relief of bewildered garden part i cant i york philosophers by their assistance more sudden and are effected in the system of nature are wrought in a exhibition by the wo working sword of should one of our mi in bis flights among the stars himself lost in the clouds and in danger of tumbling the abyss of nonsense and absurdity he has but to st by the beard mount of its tail and aw in triumph like an on his a witch on her to out of the sky it is an old and vulgar saying about a horseback which i would not for the world have ar to these reverend philosophers but i must confess some of them when they are mounted on one of fiery are as wild in their as was i ton of when he to manage the one drives his at full speed again sun and the world out of him with the m another more moderate makes his kind of beast of burden carrying the sun a regular si of food and a third of more d to throw his like a the world and blow it up like a powder magazine a fourth with no great delicacy to this planet and i that some day or other his con my modest pen while i write it shall turn tail upon our world and it with surely as i have already observed were be fully provided by providence for the benefit of to assist them in theories and now having several of the most theories that occur to my recollection i leave my jt mis readers at full liberty to choose among them are all serious speculations of learned men all from each and all have the same ti belief it has ever been the of one race of j history of 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 grown up 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 totally incomprehensible or which if they could be comprehended 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 settlement proclaimed that the colony should be governed by the laws of god until they had time to make better one however appears certain 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	48
cautiously admitted as additional testimony it appears i say and i make the assertion deliberately without fear of contradiction that this globe really was created and that it is composed of land and water it further appears that it is curiously divided and out into and islands among which i boldly declare the renowned island of new will be found by any one who seeks for it in its proper place new york chap iii how far that famous was 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 man we read of three sons ham and authors it is true are not wanting who affirm that the had a number of other children thus makes him father of the gigantic gives him a son called or who was the first of cakes and others have mentioned a son named from whom descended the or or in other words die dutch nation i regret exceedingly that the nature of my plan will not permit me to gratify the curiosity of my readers by the history of the great indeed such an undertaking would be attended with more trouble than many people would imagine for the good id seems to have been a great traveller in his day and to have passed under a different name in every country that he visited the for instance give us his story merely his 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 history of among 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 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 us the additional information that the ark rested on a mountain on the of china from this mass of rational conjectures and sage many satisfactory might be drawn but i shall content myself with the simple fact stated in the bible that three sons ham and it is astonishing on what remote and obscure the great affairs of this world depend and how events the most distant and to the common observer are inevitably consequent the one to the other it remains to the philosopher to discover these mysterious and is the triumph of his skill to detect and drag forth some latent chain of which at first sight appears a to the inexperienced observer thus many of my readers will doubtless wonder what the family of can possibly have with this history and many will stare when informed that the whole history of this quarter of the world has taken its character and course from the simple circumstance of the s having but three sons but to explain we are told by sundry very becoming sole heir and proprietor of the earth in fee simple after the like a good father out his estate among his children to he gave asia to ham africa and to europe now it is a thousand times to be lamented that he had but three sons for had there been a fourth he would doubtless have new york inherited america which of course would have been dragged forth from its obscurity on the occasion and thus many a hard working historian and philosopher would hare been spared a prodigious mass of weary conjecture respecting the first discovery and population of this country however having provided for his three sons looked in all probability upon our country as mere wild unsettled land and said nothing about it and to this of the may we the misfortune that america did not come into the world as early as the other quarters of the globe it is true some writers have him from this towards posterity and asserted tbat he really did discover america thus it was the opinion of mark 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 life the the pious and enlightened father a french remarkable for his aversion to the marvellous common to all great travellers is of the same opinion nay he goes still further 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 father in a tone of becoming indignation that it is an arbitrary supposition that the of were not able to penetrate into the 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 hi tory of of or should not hare communicated to his descendants the art of sailing on the ocean therefore they did sail on the ocean therefore they sailed to america 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 to the understanding is opposed by	48
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 intimate do daily become with the and other great men of antiquity as intimacy with time and as the learned are particularly inquisitive and familiar in their acquaintance with the i should not be surprised if some future writers should gravely give us a picture of men and manners as they existed before the flood far 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 this country with which unhappy themselves in their to satisfy the doubts of an incredulous world it is painful 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 satisfaction of all the world that this country new york has been discovered i shall avail myself of their useful labours to be extremely brief upon this point i shall not stop therefore 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 settled by a temporary colony from 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 endeavoured to prove to the of the learned city of philadelphia nor shall i investigate the more modern claims of the founded on the voyage of prince in the century who having never returned it has since been wisely concluded that he must have gone to america and that for a plain reason if he did not go there where else could he have gone a question which most out all further dispute laying aside therefore all the conjectures with a multitude of others equally satisfactory i shall take for granted the vulgar opinion that america was discovered on the th of october by a who has been but for what reason i cannot discern of the voyages and adventures of this i shall say nothing seeing that they are already sufficiently known nor shall i undertake to prove that this country should have been called after his name that being self evident having thus happily got my readers on this side of the atlantic i picture them to myself all impatience to enter upon the enjoyment of the land of promise and in full ex p history of that i will immediately deliver it into their possession but if i do may i ever the reputation of a regular bred historian no most curious and thrice learned readers for thrice learned ye are if ye have read all that has gone before and nine times learned shall ye be if ye read that comes after we have yet a world of work before us think you the first of this fair quarter of the globe had nothing to do but go on shore and find a country ready laid out and cultivated like a garden wherein they might at their ease no such thing they had forests to cut down to up to drain and savages to in like manner i have sundry doubts to clear away questions to resolve and to explain before i permit you to range at random but these difficulties once overcome we shall be enabled to on right merrily through the rest of our history thus my work shall in a manner echo the nature of the subject in the same manner as the sound of poetry has been found by certain shrewd critics to echo the sense this being an improve ment in history which i claim the merit of having invented chap iv showing the great difficulty philosophers have had in america and how the came to be by accident to the great relief and satisfaction of the author the next inquiry at which we arrive in the regular course of our history is to ascertain if possible how this country was originally peopled a point fruitful of incredible for unless we prove that the did absolutely come from somewhere it will be immediately asserted in this age of that they did not new york come at all and if they did not come at all then was this country never a conclusion perfectly agreeable to the rules of logic but wholly to every feeling of humanity inasmuch as it must prove fatal to the innumerable of this region to so dire a and to rescue from logical so many millions of fellow creatures how many of have been what of ink have been drained and how many heads of learned have been and for ever confounded i pause with awe when i contemplate the ponderous in different languages with which they have endeavoured to solve this question so important to the happiness of society but so involved in clouds of impenetrable obscurity historian after historian has engaged in the endless circle of argument and after leading us a weary chase through and has let us out at the end of his work just as wise as we were at the beginning it was doubtless some philosophical wild goose chase of the kind that	48
made the old poet rail in such a passion at curiosity which he most heartily as an irksome care a superstitious industry about things an humour to see what ia not to be seen and to be doing what nothing when it is done but to proceed of the claims of the children of to the original population of this country i shall say nothing as they have already been touched upon in my last chapter the next in are the descendants of thus called when he first discovered the gold mines of immediately concluded with a that would have done honour to a philosopher that he had found the ancient from whence solomon procured the gold i history of for the temple at nay even imagined that he saw the remains of of veritable construction employed in the precious ore so golden a conjecture with such fascinating extravagance was too tempting not to be immediately snapped at by the of learning and accordingly there were divers profound writers ready to swear to its and to bring in their usual load of authorities and wise to it up and declared nothing could be more clear without the least hesitation as that was the true and the jews the early of the country while and several other sagacious writers in a supposed pro of the fourth book of which being inserted in the mighty like the key stone of an arch gives it in their opinion perpetual scarce however have they completed their goodly than in a of opposite authors with de the great at their head and at one blow the whole fabric about their ears in fact outright all the claims to the first of this country all those symptoms and traces of christianity and which have been said to be found in divers provinces of the new world to the devil who has always affected to the worship of the true deity a remark says the knowing old d made by all good authors who have spoken of the religion of nations newly discovered and founded besides on the authority of the fathers of the church some writers again among whom it is with great regret i am compelled to mention de and de that the being driven from the land of promise by the jews were seized with such a j new york panic that they fled without looking behind them until stopping to take breath they found themselves safe in america as they brought neither their national language manners nor features with them it is supposed they left them behind in the hurry of their flight i cannot give my faith to this opinion i pass over the supposition of the learned who being both an and a to boot 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 more than barely mention that father the settlement of america to the to the to the to a party from to the the to the le to the to the martin d to the together with the sage of de that england ireland and the may contend for that honour nor will i bestow any more attention or credit to the idea that america is the fairy region of described by that dreaming traveller the or that it the visionary island of described neither will i stop to investigate the assertion of that each of the globe was originally furnished with an adam and eve or the more flattering opinion of dr supported by many nameless authorities that adam was of the indian race or the startling conjecture of and so highly honourable to mankind that the whole human species is accidentally descended from a remarkable family of the this last conjecture i must own came upon me very suddenly and very i have often beheld the history of in a while gazing in stupid wonder at the extravagant of a all at once by a sudden stroke of the wooden sword his shoulders little did i think at such times that it would fall to my lot to be treated with equal and that while i was quietly beholding these grave philosophers the eccentric of the hero of they would on a sudden turn upon me and my readers and with one flourish us into beasts i determined from that moment not to burn my fingers with any more of their theories but content myself with the different methods by which they transported the descendants of these ancient and respectable to this great field of warfare 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 regions southward of the straits of the learned his by a pleasant route across frozen rivers and arms of the sea through and and various writers among whom are de and anxious for the accommodation 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 from continent to continent at the distance of four or five miles from s straits for which he is entitled to the grateful 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 new york without immediately declaring against every writer who had treated of the same subject in 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	48
to the progress of sound knowledge theories are at best but productions and when once committed to the stream they should take care that like the notable pots which were fellow they do not crack each other for my part when i beheld the i have quoted gravely for unaccountable things and thus wisely about matters for ever hidden from their eyes like a blind man describing the glories of light and the beauty and harmony of colours i fell back in astonishment at the amazing extent of human ingenuity if cried i to myself these learned men can whole systems out of nothing what would be their productions were they furnished with substantial 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 decide upon their conduct while on earth have the least idea of the usefulness of their labours he will undoubtedly 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 moon 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 modern pass from to or by as posted among the stars or after the manner of the re history of who like the new england on full blooded made most journeys on the back of a golden arrow given him by the but there is still one mode left by which this country 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 v guinea and new holland the profound father in fine all these countries are peopled and it is possible some have been so by accident now if it could have happened in that manner why might it not have been at the same time and by the same means with the other parts of the globe this ingenious mode of certain conclusions from possible premises is an improvement in skill and proves the good father superior even to for he can turn 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 father the common father of mankind received an express order from heaven to people the world and accordingly it has been peopled to bring this about it was necessary to overcome all difficulties in the way and they have also been overcome pious how does he put all the herd of laborious to the blush by explaining in five words what it has cost them volumes to prove they knew nothing about they have long been picking at the lock and at the latch but the honest father at once the door by bursting it open and when he has it once he is at full liberty to pour in as many nations as he pleases this proves to a demonstration that a little piety is better than a cart load of philosophy and is a practical new york tion of that promise by faith ye shall move mountains from all the authorities here quoted and a variety of others which i have consulted but which are omitted through fear of the i can only draw the following conclusions which luckily however are sufficient for my purpose first that this part of the world has actually been peopled q d to support which we have living proofs in the numerous tribes of indians that it secondly that it has been peopled in five hundred different ways as proved by a cloud of authors who from the of their seem to have been eye witnesses to the fact that the people of this country had a variety of fathers 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 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 the writer of a history may in some respects be unto an adventurous knight who having undertaken a perilous enterprise 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 main at those questions and subtle which like fiery and bloody giants beset the entrance to my history of 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 i 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 triumph 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 of its inhabitants or yielding them an adequate compensation for their territory a question which has many fierce	48
and has given much distress of mind to multitudes of 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 country 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 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 would 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 re b v c b i c c new york semblance to human beings but the zealous and en lightened fathers who accompanied the for the purpose of the kingdom of heaven by establishing fat 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 fact was considered as fully admitted and established that the two legged race of animals before mentioned were mere detestable monsters and many of them giants which last description 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 among 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 makes no impression on them and respect as little all this i supported by the authority of m it is not easy says he to describe the degree of their indifference for wealth 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 of being thought strong than history of the objects of ambition with us honour fame reputation riches posts and distinctions are unknown among them so that this powerful spring of action the cause of so much seeming 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 to immortal honour as having reduced to practice those rigid and the mere talking about which acquired certain old the reputation of and philosophers yet were they clearly proved in the present instance to a most abject and nature totally beneath the human character but the benevolent fathers who had undertaken to turn these unhappy savages into dumb beasts by dint of argument advanced still stronger proofs for as certain of the sixteenth century and among the rest affirm the americans go naked and have no they have nothing says of the reasonable animal except the mask and even that mask was allowed to avail them but little for it was soon found that they were of a hideous copper complexion and being of a copper complexion it was all the same as if they were and are black and black said the pious fathers devoutly crossing themselves is the colour of the devil therefore so far from being able to own property they had no right even to personal freedom for liberty is too radiant a deity to such gloomy temples all which circumstances plainly convinced the righteous followers of and that these had no title to the soil that they that they were a perverse dumb black seed mere wild beasts of the forests and like them should either be subdued or new york from the foregoing arguments therefore and a variety of others equally which i forbear to it was clearly evident that this fair quarter of the globe when first visited by was a howling wilderness inhabited by nothing but wild beasts and hat the visitors acquired an property therein by the right of discovery this right being fully established we now come to the next which is the right acquired by cultivation the cultivation of the soil we are told is an obligation imposed by nature on mankind the whole world is appointed or 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 fallen to its share those people like the ancient and modern who having fertile countries disdain to cultivate the earth 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 from place to place and upon the spontaneous luxuries of nature without her generosity	48
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 therefore they were careless therefore they had no right to the soil therefore they deserved to be it is true the savages might plead that they drew all w b i o see likewise o r history op the benefits from the land which their simple wants required they found plenty of game to hunt which together with the roots and fruits of the earth furnished a sufficient variety for their and that as heaven merely designed the earth to form the abode and satisfy the wants of man so long as those purposes were answered the will of heaven was accomplished but this only proves how they were of the blessings around them they were so much the more savages for not having more wants for knowledge is in some degree an increase of desires and it is this superiority 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 should make way for the who had a thousand wants to 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 determined that the property of a country cannot be acquired by hunting cutting wood or drawing water in it nothing but precise of limits and the intention of cultivation can establish the possession now as the savages 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 new york 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 charity and is the right acquired by civilization 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 but no sooner did the benevolent inhabitants of europe behold their sad condition than they immediately went to work to and improve it they introduced among them rum gin brandy and the other comforts of life 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 much 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 faith 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 d history of ther stole nor they were sober continent 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 their good such was the obstinacy of these stubborn wretches that they refused to acknowledge the strangers as their and persisted 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 that they even proceeded from the means of persuasion to the more painful and troublesome one of persecution let loose among them whole troops of fiery and furious them by fire and sword by stake and in consequence of which measures the cause of christian love and charity was so rapidly advanced that in a very few years not one fifth 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 country	48
kindly suffered to the forests of the north or the impenetrable of south america thus i hope i have clearly proved and strikingly illustrated the right of the early to the possession of this country and thus is this gigantic question completely so having surmounted all obstacles and subdued a l opposition what remains but that i should forthwith conduct my readers into the city which we have been so long in a manner but hold before i proceed another step i must pause to take breath and recover from the excessive fatigue i have undergone in preparing to begin this most accurate of histories and in this i do but imitate the example of a renowned dutch of antiquity who took a start of three miles for the purpose of jumping over a hill but having run himself out of breath by the time he reached the foot sat himself quietly down for a few moments to blow and then walked over it at his leisure end of book first history of book second 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 of their high my great grandfather by the mother s side van when employed to build the large stone church at which stands about three hundred yards to your left after you turn off from the and which is so conveniently constructed that all the zealous christians of prefer sleeping through a sermon there to any other church in the city my great grandfather i say when employed to build that famous church did in the first place send to for a box of long pipes then having purchased a new box and a hundred weight of the best virginia he sat himself down and did nothing for the space of three months but smoke most laboriously then did he spend full three months more on on foot and in the from to to to to to the knocking his head and breaking his pipe against every church in his road then did he advance gradually nearer and nearer to until he came in full sight of the identical spot whereon i i r i new york the church was to be built then did he spend three months longer in walking round it and round it contemplating it first from one point of view and then from another now would he be by it on the canal now would he peep at it through a from the other side of the and now would he take a bird s eye glance at it from the top of one of those gigantic which protect the gates of the city the good folks of the place were on the of expectation and impatience notwithstanding all the turmoil of my great grandfather not a symptom of the church was yet to be seen they even began to fear it would never be brought into the world but that its great would lie down and die in labour of the mighty plan he had conceived at length having occupied twelve good months in puffing and and talking and walking having travelled over all holland and even taken a peep into france and germany having smoked five hundred and ninety nine pipes and three hundred weight of the best virginia tobacco my great grandfather gathered together all that knowing and industrious class of citizens who prefer 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 corner stone of the church 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 full before my eyes have i proceeded in writing this most history the honest no doubt thought my great grandfather wag doing hi 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 superfluous and that the main business the history of new york is not history of a more advanced than if i had never taken up my pen never were wise people more mistaken in their conjectures in consequence of going to work slowly and deliberately the church came out of my grandfather s hands one of the most goodly and glorious in the known world excepting that like our magnificent at washington it was begun on so grand a scale that the good folks could not afford 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 commenced of which in simple truth i sometimes have my doubts it will be found that i have pursued the latest 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 nowadays is considered one of the great triumphs of historic skill to proceed then with the thread of my story in the ever memorable year pf our lord on a saturday morning the five and twentieth day of march old style did that worthy and as he has justly been called master henry set sail from 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	48
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 eyes 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 days to have acquired its fiery hue from the constant neighbourhood of his tobacco pipe he wore a true tucked in a new york belt i and a s cocked hat on one side of his head he was remarkable for always up his breeches when he gave out his orders and his voice sounded not unlike the of a tin trumpet owing to the of hard north which he had swallowed in the course of his 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 modern painters and that they may represent him as he was and not according to their common custom with modern 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 in a neighbouring pond when they were little boys from whence it is said the first derived his bias towards a life certain it is that the old people about declared robert to be an unlucky prone to mischief that would one 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 prudent or ill natured under every misfortune he comforted himself with a of tobacco and the truly philosophic that it will be ail the same thing a hundred years hence he was skilled in the art of carving and true lovers knots on the bulk heads and history of quarter and was considered a great wit on board ship in consequence of his 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 concerning this voyage of which he wrote a history at the request of the who had an aversion to writing himself from 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 grandfather 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 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 conceit 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 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 dis new york ease of thinking a 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 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 from 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 especial guidance of providence the ship was safely conducted to the coast of america where after sundry unimportant and off and on she at length on the fourth day of september entered that majestic bay which at this day its ample bosom before the city of new york and	48
which had never before been visited by any european true it is and i am not ignorant of the fact that in a certain book of voyages by one is to be found a letter written to francis the first by one or john mm h wm s w b w n i i i history op it has been in our family 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 symptoms 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 world see i there and thereupon as was always his way when he was uncommonly pleased he did puff out such clouds of dense tobacco smoke that in one minute the vessel was out of sight of land and master was fain to wait until the winds dispersed this impenetrable fog it was indeed as my great great grandfather used to say though in truth i never heard him for he died as might be expected before i was born it was indeed a spot on which the eye might have for ever in on which some writers are inclined to found a belief that this delightful bay had been visited nearly a century previous to the voyage 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 first 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 secondly because that this john for whom i already begin to feel a most bitter enmity is a native of and every body knows the of these by which they away the laurel from the brows of the immortal called and bestowed them on their and i make no doubt they are equally ready to rob the illustrious of the credit of discovering this island adorned by the city of new york and placing it beside their discovery of south america and i my decision in favour of the pretensions of inasmuch as his expedition sailed from holland being truly and absolutely a dutch enterprise and though all the proofs in the world were introduced ou the other side i would set them at as my attention if these three reasons be not sufficient to satisfy every of this ancient city all i can say is they are descendants from their venerable dutch ancestors and totally unworthy the trouble of convincing thus therefore the title of to his renowned discovery is fully j r s new york ever and never ending beauties the bland of spread wide before them like some sweet vision of fancy or some fair creation of industrious magic its hills of smiling green swelled gently one above another crowned with lofty trees of luxuriant growth some pointing their foliage towards the clouds which were transparent and others loaded with a burden 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 column 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 after contemplating in silent wonder the gallant ship as she sat like a stately swan on a silver lake sounded the war and bounded 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 them unimportant to my history after a few days in the bay in order to refresh themselves after their our 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 though we are assured in an excellent little e history of history published in by john that it was called the and master richard who wrote some time afterwards the same so that i very much incline in favour 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 china the journal goes on to make mention of divers between the crew and the natives in the voyage up the river but as they would be impertinent to my history i shall pass over them in silence except the following dry joke played off by the old and his low robert which does such vast credit to their philosophy that cannot refrain from it our master and his mate determined to try some of the men of the whether they had any in them so they them into the cabin and gave them so much wine and that they were all and one of them had his wife with him which so modestly as any of our women would do in a strange place in the end one of them was	48
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 having satisfied himself by this ingenious experiment that the natives were an honest social race of jolly who had no objection to a drinking bout and were very merry in their cups the old chuckled to himself and thrusting a double of tobacco t in his cheek directed master to have it carefully re for the satisfaction of all the natural philosophers of the university of which done he proceeded this river is likewise laid down in s map as and river s new york si on his voyage with great self complacency after however above a hundred miles up the river he found the watery world around him began to grow more shallow and confined the current more rapid and per 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 they 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 grandfather returned down the river with a prodigious in his ear i being satisfied that there was little of getting to china unless like the blind man he returned from whence he set 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 j i to see him come back safe at a large and respectable meeting and of that as a he had performed and the had made the great river his name and it continues to r unto this very day a chap ii containing an account of a mighty ark which floated under the protection of st from holland to island 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 com for the exclusive trade on river on which they erected a trading house called fort or orange from whence did spring the great city of but i forbear to dwell on the various commercial and which took place among which was that of block who discovered and gave a name to block island since famous for its cheese and shall barely confine myself to that which gave birth to this renowned city 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 of the darkness of the age and the lamentable neglect of the noble art of book making since so cultivated by knowing sea captains and learned that an expedition so interesting and important in its results should be passed over in utter silence to my great great grandfather am i again indebted for the few facts i am enabled to give concerning it he having once more embarked for this country with a full determination as he said of ending his days new york 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 the or good woman in compliment to the wife of the president of the west india company who was allowed by every body except her husband to be a sweet tempered lady when not in liquor 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 accordingly it had one hundred feet in the beam one hundred feet in the and one hundred feet from the bottom of the stern 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 was somewhat of a religious man far from the ship with pagan such as or which 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 of the harbour of the great city of and all the bells that were not otherwise engaged rung a triple bob major on the joyful occasion my great great grandfather remarks that the voyage was uncommonly prosperous for being under the especial care of the ever st the seemed to be endowed with qualities unknown to common thus she made as much lee way as head history of way could get along very nearly as fast with the wind ahead as when it was and was particularly r at 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	48
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 admiration 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 friendly 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 had buried themselves head and ears in the on the other side where they all miserably perished to a man and their bones being collected and decently covered by the society of that day formed that singular mound called hill which rises out of the centre of the salt a little to the east of the animated by this for victory our heroes sprang ashore in triumph took possession of the soil as in the names 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 of old and on 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 set so called because one joseph a and murderer was hanged in chains on that island the d may new york tie 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 favourable to the building of in a word this spot with all the for the foundation of a great dutch city on making a faithful 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 the men women and children in goodly groups as did the animals of from the ark and formed themselves into a settlement which they called by the indian name as all the world is doubtless perfectly acquainted with it may seem somewhat 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 like and other greet cities might be perfectly extinct sunk and forgotten in its own 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 i is at present but a small village pleasantly situated among rural scenery on that part of the shore which was known in ancient le men bj into history of by the name of and commands a grand prospect of the superb bay of new york it is within but half an hour s sail of the latter place provided you have a fair wind and may be distinctly seen from the city nay it is a well known fact which i can testify from my own experience that on a clear still summer evening you may hear from the battery of new york the of the broad mouthed laughter of the dutch at who like most other are famous 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 neighbourhood of this city that they always laugh which he attributes to the circumstance of their having their holiday clothes on these in fact like the in the dark ages all the knowledge of the place and being infinitely more adventurous and more knowing than their masters carry on all the foreign trade making frequent voyages to town in loaded with and cab they are great the different changes of weather almost as accurately as an they are moreover exquisite on three in whistling they almost the powers of his 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 in casting up accounts upon their fingers they are regarded with as much veneration as were the of of when into the sacred of numbers as to the honest of like wise in the ancient maps is given to a of country extending from about to york men and sound philosophers they never look beyond their pipes nor trouble their heads about any affairs out of their immediate neighbourhood so that they in profound and ignorance of all the troubles anxieties and of this distracted planet i am even told that many among them do verily believe that holland of which they have heard so much from tradition is situated somewhere on long island that devil and the are the two ends of the world that the country is still under the dominion of their high and that the city of new york still goes by the name 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 way of social and invariably drink a of to the success of admiral von who they imagine is still sweeping the british channel with a	48
to or or or any other far country that lay beyond the great waters of the chap iv how the of to bell gate and how they were received there and now the rosy blush of mom began to mantle in the east and soon the rising sun emerging from amidst golden and purple clouds shed his rays on the tin of it was that delicious season of the year when nature breaking from the of old winter like a blooming from the tyranny of a sordid old father threw herself blushing with ten thousand charms into the arms of youthful spring every and blooming grove with the notes of love the very insects as they the dew that the tender grass of the meadows joined in the joyous the virgin bud timidly put forth its the voice of the was heard in the land and the heart of man dissolved away in tenderness oh sweet had i thine reed wherewith thou did charm the gay plains new york or oh gentle thy pastoral pipe wherein the happy of the isle so much delighted then might i attempt to sing in soft or the rural beauties of the scene but nothing save this goose wherewith to wing my flight i must fain resign all poetic of the fancy and pursue my narrative in humble prose comforting myself with the hope that though it may not steal so sweetly upon the imagination of my reader yet may it commend itself with virgin modesty to his better judgment clothed in the and simple garb of truth no sooner did the first rays of cheerful dart into the windows of than the little settle ment was all in motion forth issued from his castle the sage van and seizing a shell blew a far blast that soon summoned all his followers then did they resolutely down to the escorted by a multitude of relatives and friends who all went down as the common phrase expresses it to see them off and this shows the antiquity of those long family often seen in our city composed of all ages sizes and sexes laden with bundles and band boxes some of 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 being embarked they bid farewell to the gazing throng upon the beach who continued shouting after them even when out of hearing wishing them a happy voyage them to take good care of themselves not to get drowned with an abundance other of those sage and invaluable generally given by to such as go down to the sea in ships and adventure upon the deep waters in the mean while the cheerily urged history of their course across the crystal bosom of the bay and soon left behind them the green shores 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 when it broke through the and made its way to the ocean for in this tremendous uproar of the waters 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 opposite 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 forms the basis of these islands is exactly similar to that of the and moreover one of our philosophers who has diligently compared the agreement of their respective has even gone so far as to assure me in confidence that island was originally nothing more nor less than a on s nose leaving these wonderful little they next by governor s island since terrible from its frowning 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 it is a matter long since established by certain of oar philosophers that is to say having been often advanced and never it has grown to be pretty nigh to a settled fact that the had son was originally a lake up by the mountains of the in process of time however becoming very mighty and and the mountains and weak in the back by reason of their extreme old age it suddenly rose npon them and after a violent struggle effected its this is said to have come to pass in very remote time probably before that rivers had lost the art of running op hill the foregoing is a theory in which i do not pretend to be skilled notwithstanding that i do folly give it my belief a in the new york days did greatly abound throughout this savage and pagan country just at this time a 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 greatly rejoiced this exclaimed he if i mistake not well the is a fat well fish a among fishes his looks ease plenty and prosperity i greatly admire this round fat fish and doubt not but this is 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 the left they swept up the strait called the east river and here the rapid tide which courses through this strait seizing on the gallant tub	48
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 all their wishes and expectations thus borne away by the current they doubled that boisterous point of land since called s hook and leaving to the right the rich winding of the where our infant navy is nowadays put out to nurse they drifted into a magnificent expanse of water surrounded by pleasant shores whose was exceedingly refreshing to the eye while the were looking around them on what they conceived to be a serene and sunny lake they beheld at a distance a crew properly i m point of land f history of 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 chicken 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 distance he seized a that lay at band and turning away his head fired it most in the face of the blessed sun the weapon and gave the an kick that laid him prostrate with uplifted heels in the bottom of the boat but such was the effect 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 from that time to the present the heart of the good van who having no land of his own was a great admirer of other people s expanded at the prospect of rich unsettled country around him and falling into a delicious 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 soon have hurried him from this land of promise had not the discreet given signal to steer for shore where they accordingly landed hard by the rocky heights of that happy retreat where our jolly new york eat for the good of the city and the that are sacrificed on here seated on the green by the side of a small stream that ran sparkling among the grass they refreshed themselves after the toils of the seas by on the ample stores which they had provided for this perilous voyage thus having well fortified their powers they fell into an earnest consultation what was further to be done this was the first council dinner ever eaten at by christian and here as tradition relates did the great family between the and the which afterwards had a singular influence on the building of the city the sturdy whose eyes had been delighted with 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 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 end to the dispute by to explore still further in the route which the mysterious had so clearly pointed out whereupon the sturdy tough breeches abandoned the expedition took possession of a neighbouring hill and in a fit of great wrath peopled all that tract of country which has continued to be inhabited by the unto this very day by thb time the jolly like some wanton sporting on the side of a green hill began to roll down the of the heavens and now the tide having once more turned in their favour the resolute again committed themselves to its discretion and along the western shores were borne towards the straits of s island to history op and here the capricious 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 romantic little that the fair island of now were they hurried narrowly by the very of impending rocks with the vine and crowned with groves that threw a broad shade on the waves beneath and anon they were borne away into the and along with a rapidity that very much the sage van who as he saw the land swiftly receding on either side began exceedingly to doubt that firm was giving them the slip wherever the turned their eyes a new creation seemed to bloom around no signs of human appeared to check the delicious of nature who here in all her luxuriant variety those hills now like the with rows of vain plants of wealth and fashion were then adorned with the vigorous natives of the soil the oak the generous chestnut the graceful elm while here and there the tree reared his majestic head the giant of the forest where now are seen the gay of luxury half buried in twilight whence the oft breathes the of some city there the fish hawk built his solitary nest on some dry tree that overlooked	48
his watery domain the timid deer fed undisturbed along those shores now by the lover s moonlight walk and printed by the slender foot of beauty and a savage solitude extended over those happy regions where now are reared the stately towers of the the and the thus gliding in silent wonder through these new and unknown scenes the gallant of swept new york by the foot of a that forth boldly into the waves and seemed to frown upon them as they against its base this is the bluff well known to modern by the name of grade s point from the fair castle which like an elephant it carries upon its back and here broke upon their view a wild and varied prospect where land and water were as though they had combined to and set off each other s charms to their right lay the point of s island dressed in the fresh of living green beyond it stretched the pleasant coast of and the small harbour well known by the name of s a place infamous in latter days by rear son of its being the haunt of who these seas and water patches and insulting gentlemen when in their pleasure boats to the left a deep bay or rather creek gracefully between shores fringed with forests and forming a kind of vista through which were beheld the regions of and east here the eye with delight on a richly wooded country by shadowy intervals and waving lines of swelling above each other while over the whole the purple mists of spring diffused a hue of soft just before them the grand course of the stream making a sudden bend wound among and shores of that seemed to melt into the wave a character of gentleness and mild prevailed around the sun had just descended and the thin haze of twilight like a transparent veil drawn over the bosom of virgin beauty heightened the charms which it half concealed ah scenes of foul delusion ah gazing with simple wonder on these shores such alas are they poor easy souls who listen history of to the of a wicked world treacherous are its smiles f fatal its caresses he who to its upon a tide and his feeble bark among the of a and thus it with the of who little the scene before them drifted quietly on until they were aroused by an uncommon tossing and agitation of their vessels for now the late current began to around them and the waves to boil and foam with fury awakened as if from a dream the astonished aloud to put about but his words were lost amid the roaring of the waters and now ensued a scene of consternation at one time they were borne with dreadful among tumultuous at another hurried down boisterous now they were nearly dashed upon the hen and chickens infamous rocks more than and her and anon they seemed sinking into yawning that threatened to them beneath the waves all the elements combined to produce a hideous confusion the waters raged the winds howled and as they were hurried along several of the astonished beheld the rocks and trees of the neighbouring shores driving through the air at length the mighty tub of van was drawn into the of that tremendous called the pot where it was whirled about in giddy until the senses of the good commander and his crew were overpowered by the horror of the scene and the strangeness of the revolution how the gallant of was snatched from the jaws of this modern has never been truly made known for so many survived to tell the tale and what is still more wonderful told it in so many different ways that there has ever prevailed a great variety of opinions on the subject new york as to the and his crew when they came to their senses they found themselves on the long island shore the worthy indeed used to relate many and wonderful stories of his adventures in this time of peril which by his account did far exceed those of the sage in the straits of for he saw flying in the air and heard the yelling of and put his hand into the pot when they were whirled around and found the water hot and beheld several uncouth looking beings seated on rocks and it with huge but particularly he declared with great exultation that he saw the which had betrayed them into this peril some on the and others hissing in the these however were considered by many as mere of the s imagination while he lay in a trance especially as he was known to be given to dreaming and the truth of them has never been clearly ascertained it is certain however that to the accounts of and his followers may be traced the various traditions handed down of this marvellous strait as how the devil has been seen there sitting of the s back and playing on the fiddle how he fish there before a storm and many other stories in which we must be cautious of putting too much faith in consequence of all these terrific circumstances the commander gave this pass the name of or as it has been interpreted hell gate which it continues to bear at the present day this is a narrow strait in the sound at the distance of six miles above new york it is dangerous to shipping unless under the care of skilful by reason of numerous rocks shelves and these have received sundry such as the s back pot c and are very violent and turbulent at certain times of tide certain wise men who instruct these modern days have softened the above characteristic name into gate which means history of chap v how the heroes of returned somewhat wiser than they went and how	48
finger beside his nose gave the astonished van a very significant look then mounting his he returned over the tree tops and disappeared and van awoke from his sleep greatly in and he aroused his companions and related to them his dream and interpreted it that it was the 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 inasmuch as the volumes of its smoke should spread over a vast extent of country and they all with one voice assented to this interpretation excepting 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 city both which have strangely come to pass the great object of their perilous expedition therefore being thus happily accomplished the returned merrily to where they were received with great and here calling a general meeting of all the wise men and the of they related 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 most useful citizen and a right good when he was asleep history of chap vi containing an a t tempt at and of the of the great city of new the original name of the island wherein the of was thus thrown is a matter of some dispute and has already undergone considerable a melancholy proof of the of all things and the vanity of all our hopes of lasting fame for who can expect his name will live to posterity when even the names of mighty islands are thus soon lost in contradiction and uncertainty 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 on first given to the indians and afterwards to the island a stupid joke but well enough for a governor among the more venerable sources of information on this subject is that valuable history of the american possessions written by master richard in wherein it is called and nor must i forget the excellent little book full of precious matter of that historian john who expressly calls it this history is to be found in the library of the new york historical society t new york another still more ancient and by the countenance of our ever to be lamented dutch ancestors is that found in certain letters still which passed between the early and their neighbouring powers wherein it is called indifferently and which are evidently unimportant variations of the same name for our wise forefathers set little 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 favourite 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 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 very suitable for prose yet is there another one founded on still more ancient and authority which i particularly delight in seeing that it is at once poetical melodious and significant and this is recorded in the voyage of the great written by master who clearly and correctly calls it that is to say the island of or in other words a land flowing with milk and honey it having been solemnly resolved that the seat of empire should be transferred from the green shores of to this island a vast multitude embarked and across the mouth of the under the hazard s col history of guidance of the who was appointed protector 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 single roof a circumstance singular and almost incredible in the 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 now called the green in front around this potent fortress was soon seen a numerous of little dutch houses with roofs all which seemed most 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 sudden of the savages who wandered in about the and forests that extended over those tracts of country at present called wall street william street and pearl street no sooner was the colony once planted than it took root and for it would seem that this thrice favoured island is like a where every	48
foreign weed finds kindly nourishment and soon shoots up and to greatness and now the infant settlement 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 some for the original indian name and many of the best writers of the province did long continue to call it by the title of t the but this was by the new york as 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 renown of its in the manner that little are called after great saints and and renowned of upon which they all copy their examples and come to be very mighty men in their day and generation the state of the settlement and the rapid increase of houses gradually awakened the good from a deep into which he had fallen 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 much 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 the coast of the great had very wealthy and powerful from his which embraced the whole chain of mountains that stretch along the gulf of s bay and from part of which his descendants have been in latter ages by the powerful of the and the an ingenious plan for the city was offered by who proposed that it should be cut up and by after the manner of the most admired cities in holland to this g history of was opposed suggesting 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 city in europe to this proposition 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 circulation 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 making in argument nor have i ever seen a man convinced of error by being convicted of at least such was not the case at present ten breeches was veiy in reply and tough breeches who was a sturdy little man and never gave up the last word rejoined with increasing spirit ten breeches had the advantage of the greatest but tough breeches that invaluable coat of mail in argument called obstinacy ten breeches had therefore the most but tough breeches the best bottom so that though ten breeches made a dreadful about his ears and battered and him with hard words and sound new york 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 between the families of ten breeches and tough breeches i would not fatigue my reader with these dull matters of fact but that my duty as a faithful historian requires that i should be particular and in truth as i am now treating of the critical period 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 their first causes after the unhappy i have just mentioned i do not find that any thing further 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 brains certain it is the most silence was maintained the question as usual lay on the table the members quietly smoked their pipes making but few laws without ever any and in the mean time the affairs of the settlement went on as it pleased god as most of the council were but little skilled in the mystery of 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 fastened with brass the journal of each meeting consisted but of two lines stating in dutch that the council sat this day history of and	48
smoked twelve pipes on the affairs 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 exact as a pipe in the mouth of a true born is never liable to those accidents and that are continually putting our out of order in this manner did the profound council of new smoke and and from week to week month to month and year to year in what manner they should their infant settlement meanwhile the town took care of itself and like a sturdy which is suffered to run about wild by and and other by which your notable nurses and sage old women and the children of men increased so rapidly in strength and magnitude that before the honest had determined upon a plan it was too late to put it in execution whereupon they wisely abandoned the subject altogether chap vii how the city of new great under the protection of the there is something exceedingly in thus looking back through the long vista of departed years and catching a glimpse of the fairy of antiquity that lie beyond like some goodly landscape melted into distance they receive a thousand charms from their very obscurity and the fancy delights to fill up their outlines with graces and of its own creation thus beam on my imagination those happier days of our city when as yet new was a mere pastoral town in new york groves of and and surrounded by forests and wide spreading waters that seemed to shut out all the cares and of a wicked world in those days did this city present the rare and noble spectacle of a community governed without laws and thus being left to its own course and the care of providence increased as rapidly as though it had been with a dozen full of those sage laws that are usually heaped on the backs of young cities in order to make them grow and in this particular i greatly admire the wisdom and sound knowledge of human nature displayed by the sage the and his fellow for my part i not so bad an opinion of mankind as many of my brother philosophers i do not think poor human nature so sorry a piece of as they would make it out to be and as far as i have observed i am fully satisfied that man if left to himself would about as readily go right as wrong it is only this sounding in his ears that it is his duty to go right that makes him go the very reverse the noble independence of his nature at this intolerable tyranny of law and the perpetual interference of morality which is ever his path with finger posts and directions to keep to the right as the law and like a spirited he turns directly contrary and through mud and mire over hedges and merely to show that he is a lad of spirit and out of his leading strings and these opinions are amply by what i have above said of our worthy ancestors who never being be preached and be and guided and governed by and laws and by laws as are their more enlightened descendants did one and all themselves honestly and out of pure ignorance or in other words because they knew no better history of nor must i omit to record one of the earliest measures of this infant settlement inasmuch as it shows the piety of our forefathers and that like good christians they were always ready to serve god after they had first served themselves thus having quietly settled themselves down and provided for their own comfort they themselves of their gratitude to the great and good st for his protecting care in guiding them to this abode to this end they built a fair and goodly chapel within the fort which they consecrated to his name whereupon he immediately took the town of new under his peculiar patronage and he has ever since been and i devoutly hope will ever be the saint of this excellent city i am moreover told that there is a little book somewhere written in low dutch which says that the image of this renowned saint which the of the was elevated in front of this chapel in the very centre of what in modern days is called the green and the legend further treats of divers miracles wrought by the mighty pipe which the saint held in his mouth a of which was a sovereign cure for an an invaluable in this colony of brave as however in spite of the most search i cannot lay my hands upon this little book i must confess that i entertain considerable doubt on the subject thus by the good st the of new beheld their settlement increase in magnitude and population and soon become the metropolis of divers and an extensive territory already had the disastrous pride of colonies and those of a sound hearted empire entered into their and fort on the fort on the and fort new york on the river seemed to be the darling offspring of the venerable council thus to all appearance did the province of new advance in power and the early history of its metropolis presents a fair page by crime or calamity of painted savages still about the tangled forests and rich of the unsettled part of the island the hunter pitched his rude bower of skins and bark beside the that ran through the cool and shady while here and there might be seen on some sunny a group of indian whose smoke arose above the neighbouring trees and floated in the transparent atmosphere by degrees a mutual had grown up between these wandering beings and the of new our benevolent	48
forefathers endeavoured as much as possible to their situation by giving them gin rum and glass beads in exchange for their for it seems the kind hearted had conceived a great friendship for their savage neighbours on account of their being pleasant men to trade with and little skilled in the art of making a bargain now and then a crew of these 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 indifference sometimes in the market place the province about this time extended on the north to fort or orange now the city of situated about miles up the river indeed the province claimed quite to the river st but this claim was not much insisted on at the time as the country beyond fort was a perfect wilderness on the south the province reached to fort on the south river since called the and on the east it extended to the or fresh river now the on this last frontier was likewise erected a fort and trading house much about the spot where at present is situated the pleasant town of this was called fort or good hope and was intended as well for the purpose of trade as of defence history of the little 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 wives who would hurry their children into the house fasten the doors and throw water upon the enemy from the garret windows it is worthy of mention here that our forefathers were very particular in holding up these wild men as excellent domestic examples and for reasons that may be gathered from the history of master who tells us that for the least offence the bridegroom soundly beats his wife and turns her out of doors and another that some of them have every year a new wife whether this awful example had any influence or not history does not mention but it is certain that our were miracles of fidelity and obedience true it is that the good understanding between our ancestors and their savage neighbours was liable to occasional and i have heard my grandmother who was a very wise old woman and well in the history of these parts tell a long story of a winter s evening about a battle between the new and the indians which was known by the name of the war and which took place near a orchard in a dark which for a long while went by the name of murderer s valley the legend of this war was long current among the nurses old wives and other ancient of the place but time and improvement have almost both the tradition and the scene of battle for what was once the blood stained valley is now in the centre of this city and known by the name street the wealth and consequence of new and its at length awakened the tender solicitude of the mother country who finding it a new york and colony and that it promised to yield great profit and no trouble all at once became wonderfully 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 affection and the usual marks of protection shown by mother countries to wealthy colonies were forthwith manifested the first care always being to send rulers to the new settlement with orders to squeeze as much from 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 general of the united and the privileged west india company this renowned old gentleman arrived at new in the merry month of june the sweetest month in all the year when dan seems to dance up the transparent when the robin the and a thousand other wanton make the woods to re sound with and the luxurious little among the blossoms of the meadows all which happy persuaded the old of new who were skilled in the art of events that this was to be a happy and prosperous administration but as it would be to the consequence of the first dutch governor of the great province of 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 history of book third in which is recorded the golden reign of van chap i of the renowned van his virtues as likewise his unutterable wisdom in the law case of and and the great admiration of the public grievous 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 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 faltering 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 be fore the mighty shades such are my	48
feelings when i the family mansion of the and spend a lonely hour in the chamber where hang the portraits of my forefathers in dust like the forms they represent with new york pious reverence do i gaze on the countenances of those renowned who have preceded me in the steady march of existence whose sober and temperate blood now through my veins flowing slower and slower in its feeble until its current shall soon be stopped for ever 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 to assume the animation of life their eyes to pursue me in every movement carried away by the of fancy i almost imagine myself surrounded by the shades of the departed and holding sweet converse with the of antiquity ah born in a age abandoned to the of fortune a stranger and a weary pilgrim in thy native land with no weeping wife nor family of helpless children but doomed to wander neglected through those crowded streets and by foreign from those fair where once thine ancestors held sovereign empire let me not however lose the historian in the man nor suffer 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 who had away their lives and grown fat upon the bench of in and who had themselves with such singular wisdom and history of propriety that they were never either heard or talked of which next to being universally applauded should be the object of ambition to all sage and rulers his of t is said to be a corruption of the original 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 who 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 of his ideas there are two opposite ways by which some men get into notice 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 mysterious vacant kind of look shook his head and having smoked for five minutes with earnest new york ness observed that he had his doubts about the matter which in process of time gained him the character of a man slow of belief and not easily imposed on the person of this illustrious old gentleman was as regularly 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 was 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 the shoulders where it remained as as a ship of war in the mud of the his body was of an form particularly at bottom which was wisely ordered by providence seeing that he was a man of habits and very averse to the idle labour of walking his legs though exceeding short were 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 face that index of the mind presented a vast expanse perfectly or by any of those lines and angles which the human countenance with what is termed expression two small gray eyes feebly in the midst like two stars of lesser magnitude in a and his full fed cheeks which seemed to have taken toll of every thing that went into his mouth were curiously and with dusky red like a apple his habits were as regular as his person he daily took his four stated meals exactly an hour history of to each he smoked and doubted eight hours and he slept the remaining twelve of the four and twenty such was the renowned van a true philosopher for his mind was either elevated	48
containing a prodigious mass of soft brains whereon the ra soul lies softly and as on a feather bed and the eyes which are the windows of the are usually half closed that its may i not 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 and thus renders men and when hun new is completely silenced and put to rest whereupon a host of honest good fellow qualities and affections which had lain peeping out of the of the heart finding this asleep do pluck up their spirits turn out one and all in their holiday suits and up and down the their possessor to laughter good humour and a thousand friendly offices towards his fellow mortals as a board of formed on this model think but very little they are the less likely to differ and about favourite opinions and as they generally business upon a hearty dinner they are naturally disposed to be and indulgent in the administration of their duties was conscious of this and therefore a pitiful measure for which i can never forgive him ordered in his that no judge should hold a court of justice except in the morning on an empty stomach a rule which i warrant bore hard upon all the poor in his kingdom the more enlightened and humane generation of the present day have taken an opposite course and have so managed that the are the best fed men in the community on the fat things of the land and so heartily and that in process of time they acquire the activity of the one and the form the and the green fat of the other the consequence is as i have just said these luxurious do produce such a and repose of the soul rational and that their transactions are for monotony and the profound laws which they in their moments amid the labours of are quietly suffered to remain as dead letters and never enforced when awake in a word your fair round lied like a full fed quietly at i the house door always at home and always at hand to watch over its safety but as to a lean history of ca candidate to the office as has now and then been done i would as put a to watch the house or a ce horse to drag an ox the then as i have already mentioned were wisely chosen by weight and the or assistant were appointed to attend upon them and help them to eat but the latter in the course of time when they had been fed and into sufficient bulk of body and of brain became very eligible for the chair have fairly eaten themselves into office as a mouse eats his way into a comfortable in a goodly blue milk new england cheese nothing could equal the profound that took place between the renowned and these his worthy unless it be the sage of some of our modern they would sit for hours smoking and over public affairs without speaking a word to interrupt that perfect stillness so necessary to deep reflection under the sober sway of van and these his worthy the infant settlement vigorous gradually emerging from the and forests and exhibiting that mingled appearance of town and country customary in new cities and which at this day may be witnessed in the city of washington that immense metropolis which makes so glorious an appearance on paper it was a pleasing sight in those times to behold the honest like a of seated on the bench at the door of his house under the shade of some gigantic or overhanging willow here would he smoke his pipe of a afternoon enjoying the soft southern breeze and listening with silent to the of his the of his and the of his swine that combination of farm yard melody which may truly be said to new york have a silver sound inasmuch as it a certain assurance of profitable the modern spectator who through the streets of this city can scarcely form an idea of the different appearance they presented in the primitive days of the the busy hum of multitudes the shouts of the of fashion the rattling of accursed carts and all the spirit sounds of commerce were unknown in the settlement of new the grass grew quietly in the the sheep and about the ridge where now the take their morning stroll the cunning fox or wolf in the woods where now are to be seen the of and his righteous of money and flocks of about the fields where now the great and the patriotic tavern of echo with the of the mob in these good times did a true and equality of rank and property prevail equally removed from the of wealth and the and of poverty and what in my mind is still more to tranquillity and harmony among friends a happy equality of intellect was likewise to be seen the minds of the good of new seemed all to have been cast in one mould and to be those honest blunt sort of minds which like certain are made by the gross and considered as exceedingly good for common use thus it happens that your true dull minds are generally preferred for public employ and especially promoted to city honours your keen like being considered too sharp for common service i know that it is common to rail at the unequal distribution of riches as the great source of and heart whereas for my part i verily believe it is the sad i history of	48
of intellect that that more than any thing else and i have remarked that your knowing people who are so much wiser than any body else are keeping society in a happily for new nothing of the kind was known within its walls the very words of learning education taste and talents were unheard of a bright genius was an animal unknown a blue lady would have been regarded with as much wonder as a or a fiery no man in fact seemed to know more than his neighbour nor any man to know much more than an honest man i ought to know who has nobody s business to mind but his own the parson and the council clerk were the only men that could read in the community and the sage van always signed his name with a cross thrice happy and ever to be envied little existing in all the security of harmless unnoticed and by the world without ambition without without riches without learning and all their train of cares and as of in better days of man the were wont to visit him on earth and bless his rural so we are told in the days of new the good st would often make his appearance in his beloved city of a holiday afternoon riding among the tree tops or over the roofs of the houses now and then drawing forth magnificent presents from breeches pockets and dropping them down the chimneys of his whereas in these days of iron and brass he never shows us the light of his countenance nor ever visits us save one night in the year when he down the chimneys of the descendants of the his presents merely to the children in token of the of the parents such are the comfortable and effects of a fat government the province of the new des new york of wealth possessed a sweet tranquillity that wealth could never purchase it seemed indeed as if old had again commenced his reign and renewed the days of simplicity for the golden age says was totally destitute of gold and for that very reason was called the golden age that is the happy and fortunate age because the evils produced by the precious such as toil and the whole catalogue of crimes and were then unknown in the iron age there was abundance of gold on that very account it was called the iron age because of the hardships the labours the and the wars occasioned by the thirst of gold the genial days of van therefore may truly be termed the golden age of our city there were neither public nor private quarrels neither parties nor nor neither nor trials nor nor were there or every man attended to what little business he was lucky enough to have or neglected it if he pleased without asking the opinion of his neighbour in those days nobody with concerns above his comprehension nor thrust his nose into other people s affairs nor neglected to correct his own conduct and reform his own character in his zeal to pull to pieces the characters of others but in a word every respectable citizen eat when he was not hungry drank when he was not thirsty and went regularly to bed when the sun set and the fowls went to whether he were sleepy or not all which tended so remarkably to the population of the settlement that i am told every dutiful wife throughout new made a point of always her husband with at least one child a year and very often a brace this of good things clearly the true luxury of history of according to the favourite dutch that more than enough a feast every thing therefore went on exactly as it should do and in the usual words employed by to express the welfare of a country the tranquillity and repose reigned throughout the province chap iii how the town of new arose out of mud and came to be polished and polite together with a picture of our great great manifold are the tastes and dispositions of the enlightened who turn over the pages of history some there be whose hearts are of the of courage and whose do work and swell and foam with like a barrel of new or a train band captain fresh from under the hands of his tailor this class of readers can be satisfied with nothing but bloody battles and horrible they must be continually cities springing mines marching up to the of cannon charging through every page and in and others who are of a less martial but equally ardent imagination and who withal are a little given to the marvellous will dwell with wondrous satisfaction on descriptions of unheard of events hair breadth escapes hardy adventures and all those astonishing that just along the boundary line of possibility a third class who not to speak slightly of them are of a lighter turn and over the records of past times as they do over the pages of a novel merely for and innocent amusement do delight in e i mm new york and all the other catalogue of hideous crimes that like in do give a and to the dull detail of history while a fourth class of more philosophic habits do diligently pore over the of time to investigate the operations of the human mind and watch the gradual changes in men and manners effected by the progress of knowledge the of events or the influence of situation if the three first classes find but little to solace themselves in the tranquil reign of van i entreat them to exert their patience for awhile and bear with the tedious picture of happiness prosperity and peace which my duty as a faithful historian me to draw and i promise them that as soon as i can possibly light upon any	48
thing horrible uncommon or impossible it shall go hard but i will make it afford them entertainment this being i turn with great complacency to the fourth class of my readers who are men or if possible women after my own heart grave philosophical and fond of characters of taking a start from first causes and so hunting a nation down through all the of and improvement such will naturally be anxious to witness the first of the newly colony and the primitive manners and customs among its inhabitants during the reign of van or the i will not grieve their patience however by describing the increase and improvement of new their own will doubtless present to them the good like so many pains taking and slowly and surely pursuing their they will behold the prosperous from the rude log hut to the stately dutch mansion with brick front glazed windows and roof from the history of tangled thicket to the luxuriant garden and from the indian to the ponderous in a word they will picture to themselves the steady silent and march to prosperity incident to a city destitute of pride or ambition cherished by a fat government and whose citizens do nothing in a hurry the sage council as has been mentioned in a preceding chapter not being able to determine upon any plan for the building of their city the cows in a fit of patriotism took it under their particular charge and as they went to and from pasture established paths through the bushes on each side of which the good folks built their houses which is one cause of the rambling and picturesque turns and which distinguish certain streets of new york at this very day some it must be noted who were of ten breeches or ten vexed that his plan of digging was not adopted made a compromise with their inclinations by establishing themselves on the of those and which through various parts of the ground laid out for improvement to these may be particularly ascribed the first settlement of broad street which originally was built along a creek that ran up to what at present is called wall street the lower part soon became very busy and and a house was in process of time established at the head of it being at that day called the head of inland the of tough breeches on the other hand no less and more industrious than their rivals stationed themselves along the shore of the river and with perseverance this house has been several times repaired and at present is a small yellow brick house no broad street with the end to the street surrounded with an iron rod on which within three or four a little iron boat at new york in making little and from which originated that multitude of mud traps with which this city is fringed to these would the old repair just at those hours when the falling tide had left the beach uncovered that they might snuff up the fragrant of mud and mire which they observed had a truly wholesome smell and reminded them of the of holland to the labours and example of this latter class of are we indebted for the of artificial ground on which several of our streets in the vicinity of the rivers are built and which if we may credit the of learned of this city have been very in producing the yellow fever the houses of the higher class were generally constructed of wood excepting the end which was of small black and yellow dutch bricks and always faced on the street as our ancestors like their descendants were very much given to outward show and were noted for putting the best leg foremost the house was always furnished with abundance of large doors and small windows on every floor the date of its was curiously by iron figures on the front and on the top of the roof was perched a fierce little to let the family into the important secret which way the wind blew these like the on the tops of our pointed so many different ways that every man could have a wind to his mind and you would have thought old had set all his bags of wind adrift to about this windy metropolis the most and loyal citizens however always went according to the on the top of the governor s house which was certainly the most correct as he had a servant employed every morning to climb up and point it whichever way the wind blew in those good days of simplicity and sunshine a pas history of sion for cleanliness was the leading principle in domestic economy and the universal test f an able a character which formed the utmost ambition of our the front door was never opened except on marriages new year s days the festival of st or some such great occasion it was ornamented with a gorgeous brass curiously wrought sometimes into the device of a dog and sometimes of a lion s head and was daily with such religious zeal that it was worn out by the very precautions taken for its preservation the whole house was constantly in a state of under the discipline of and and and the good of those days were a kind of animal exceedingly to be in water that an historian of the day gravely tells us that many of his grew to have fingers like unto a duck and some of them he had little doubt could the matter be examined into would be found to have the tails of but this i look upon to be a mere sport of fancy or what is worse a wilful the grand parlour was the where the passion for cleaning was indulged without control in this sacred apartment no one was permitted to enter excepting the mistress and her confidential maid	48
figured to great advantage swung on his and appeared most out of the whale like through a barrel of fire the parties broke up without noise and without confusion they were carried home by their own carriages that is to say by the nature had provided them excepting such of the wealthy as could afford to keep a the gentlemen gallantly attended their fair ones to their respective and took leave of them with a hearty at the door which as it was an established piece of etiquette done in perfect simplicity and honesty of heart occasioned no scandal at that time nor should it at the present if our great approved of the custom it would argue a great want of reverence in their descendants to say a word against it chap iv containing further particulars of the golden age and what constituted a fine lady and gentleman in the days of walter the in this period of my history when the island of m presented a scene the very of those glowing pictures drawn of the golden reign of there was as i have before observed a happy ignorance an honest simplicity among its inhabitants which were i even able to would be but little understood by the age for which i am doomed to write even the female sex those arch upon the tranquillity the honesty the gray new york beard customs of society seemed for awhile to conduct themselves with incredible and and indeed behaved almost as if they had not been sent into the world to bother mankind philosophy and confound the universe their hair by the of art was back from their with a candle and covered with a little cap of which fitted exactly to their heads their of were striped with a variety of gorgeous the many coloured robes of though i must confess these gallant garments were rather short scarce reaching below the knee but then they made up in the number which generally equalled that of the gentlemen s small clothes and what is still more they were all of their own manufacture of which circumstance as may well be supposed they were not a little vain these were the honest days in which every woman staid at home read the bible and wore pockets ay and that too of a goodly size fashioned with into many curious devices and worn on the outside these in fact were convenient where all good carefully stored away such things as they wished to have at hand by which means they often came to be crammed and i remember there was a story current when i was a boy that the lady of van once had occasion to empty her right pocket in search of a wooden and the was discovered lying among some rubbish in one corner but we must not give too much faith to all these stories the anecdotes of these remote periods being very subject to exaggeration besides these notable pockets they likewise wore and suspended from their by red or among the more and classes history of by brass and even silver chains tokens of and industrious i cannot say much in of the of the it doubtless was introduced for the purpose of giving the stockings 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 off 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 little upon the laws of decorum in order to betray a lurking beauty or gratify an innocent love of finery from the sketch here given it will be seen that our good differed considerably in their ideas of a fine figure from 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 nor were they the less admired by the gentlemen in consequence thereof on the contrary the greatness of a lover s passion seemed to increase in proportion to the magnitude of its object and a arrayed in a dozen of was declared by a low dutch of the province to be radiant as a sun flower and luxuriant as 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 modern gallant has often room enough to accommodate half a dozen the reason of which i conclude to be that either the hearts of the gentlemen 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 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 new york and stockings was as absolutely an as is a with a store of bear skins or a with a plenty of the ladies therefore were very anxious to display these powerful attractions to the greatest advantage and the best rooms of the house instead of being adorned with of dame nature in water colours and were always hung round with abundance of garments the manufacture and the property of the females a piece of that still among the of our dutch villages such were the of the ancient city of new in simplicity of manners the renowned and so sung by dan who tells us that the princess washed the family linen and the fair her own the gentlemen in fact who figured in the circles of the gay world in these ancient times in most particulars	48
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 fair they neither drove their nor their for as yet those gaudy were not even dreamed of neither did they distinguish themselves by their brilliancy at the table and their consequent with for our forefathers were of too pacific a disposition to need those of the night 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 tranquillity of all young gentlemen were unknown in new every good made the clothes of her husband and family and even the of van himself thought it no ment to cut out her husband s history of not but what there were some two or three who manifested the first of what is called fire and spirit who held all labour in contempt about and in the sunshine what little money they could procure at cap and swore fought and their neighbours horses in short who pro to be the wonder the talk and of the town had not their career been unfortunately cut short by an affair of honour with a post far other however was the truly fashionable gentleman of those days his dress which served for both morning and evening street and was a coat made perhaps by the fair hands of the mistress of his affections and gallantly with abundance of large brass buttons half a score of breeches heightened the proportions of his figure his shoes were decorated by enormous copper a low crowned broad hat his and his hair down his back in a prodigious of skin thus equipped he would sally forth with pipe in mouth to some fair s heart not such a pipe good reader as that which did sweetly tune in praise of his but one of the true manufacture and furnished with a charge of fragrant tobacco with this would he resolutely set himself down before the fortress and rarely failed in the process of time 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 copper washed coin in that delightful period a sweet and holy calm reigned over the whole province the smoked his pipe in the substantial solace of his t new york domestic cares after her daily toils were done sat at the door with her arms crossed over her apron of snowy white without being insulted by street 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 love without fear and without reproach for what had that virtue to fear which was defended by a shield of good equal at least to the seven bull hides of the in ah and never to be forgotten age when every thing was better than it has ever been since or ever will be again when channel was quite dry at low water when the in the were all salmon and when the moon shone with a pure and whiteness instead of that melancholy yellow light which is the consequence of her sickening at the she every night witnesses in this city happy would it have been for new could it always have existed in this state of ignorance and lowly simplicity but alas the days of childhood are too sweet to last cities like men grow out of them in time and are doomed alike to grow into the bustle the cares and miseries of the world let no man congratulate himself when he the child of his bosom or the city of his birth increasing in magnitude and importance let the history of his own life teach him the dangers of the one and this history of convince him of the of the other history of chap v in which the reader is into a walk which ends very differently from what it commenced in the year of our lord one thousand eight hundred and four on a fine afternoon in the glowing month of september i took my customary walk upon the battery which is at once the pride and of this ancient and city of new york i remember well the season for it immediately preceded that remarkably cold winter in which our sagacious in a of economical pulled to pieces at an expense of several hundred dollars the wooden which had cost them several thousand and distributed rotten fragments which were worth considerably less than nothing among the shivering poor of the city never since the fall 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 and an corn of sore eyes was moreover produced which has since every winter particularly among those who undertake to burn rotten logs who warm themselves with the charity of others or who use patent chimneys on the year and month just did i take my accustomed walk of meditation on that same battery which though at present no battery the most delightful walk and 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 which like so many standing on end diffused a melancholy and shade my imagination drew a contrast new york between the surrounding scenery and what it	48
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 thai is to say a rosy passing rich in red glass beads and mock 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 true with a heavy wherewith to his shoulders through the journey of life he literally sets out on the his whole family 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 cheerfully upon his own resources as did ever a of when he into a strange country of the having 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 by a snug farm and some half a score k history of of headed who by their size seem to have sprung all at once out of the earth like a crop of but it is not the nature of this most of to rest contented with any state of enjoyment improvement is his darling passion and thus improved his lands his next care is to provide a mansion worthy the residence of a a huge palace of pine boards immediately springs up in the midst of the wilderness large enough for a parish church and furnished 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 to half finish one room within where the whole family together while the rest of the house is devoted to the of or of and potatoes and is decorated with fanciful of and dried apples the outside remaining grows black with time the family wardrobe is laid under contribution for old hats and breeches to stuff into 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 improving family within its narrow but comfortable walls stands hard by in contrast degraded into a cow house or 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 to crawl into the empty shell of a where he would no doubt have resided with great style and new york splendour tbe envy and hate of all the pains taking of his neighbourhood had he not perished with cold in one corner of his mansion being thus completely settled and to use his own words to rights one would imagine that he would begin to enjoy the comforts of his situation to read newspapers talk politics neglect his own business and attend to the affairs of the nation like a useful and patriotic citizen but now it is that his disposition begins again to operate he soon grows tired of a spot where there is no longer any room for improvement his farm air castle 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 trees again to clear corn fields again to build a palace and again to sell off and wander such were the people of who bordered upon the eastern frontier of and my readers may easily imagine what neighbours this light hearted but restless tribe must have been to our tranquil if they cannot i would ask them if they have ever known one of our regular well organized dutch families whom it hath pleased heaven to with the neighbourhood of a french boarding house the honest old cannot take his afternoon s pipe on the bench before his door but he is persecuted with the of the chattering of women and the of children he cannot sleep at night for the horrible of some amateur who chooses to the moon and display his terrible in execution by playing in on tbe the or some other soft toned instrument nor can he leave the street door open but his house is by the visits of a troop of dogs who even sometimes carry their into the the parlour history of if my readers have ever witnessed the sufferings of such a family so situated they may form some idea how our worthy ancestors were distressed by their neighbours of of these we are told penetrated into the new and threw whole villages into consternation by their and their intolerable two evil habits hitherto unknown in those parts or only known to be for our ancestors were noted as being men of truly and who neither knew nor cared aught about any body s concerns but their own many where 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 modern 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 affections 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 fashions natural to their sex seemed very well inclined to follow but that their mothers being	48
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 r new york and hence is derived the of 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 their title to it afterwards all these and many others which were constantly 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 t however as will be perceived in the bore them all with a that to their immortal credit becoming by passive endurance to this increasing mass of wrongs like the sage old woman of who by dint of carrying about a calf from the time it was born continued to carry it without difficulty when it had grown to be an ox chap viii how the fort was fearfully how the renowned fell into a profound doubt and how he finally by this time my readers must fully perceive what an task i have undertaken collecting and with painful the of past times whose events almost defy the powers of exploring a little kind of of history which had lain nearly for ages buried under the rubbish of years and almost totally forgotten up the limbs and fragments of facts and endeavouring to put them together so as to restore them to their original form and now forth the character of an history of most forgotten hero like a statue now 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 reader to depend upon the honour and of his author lest like a cunning he either impose upon him some of his own for a precious from antiquity or else dress up the fragment with such false that it is scarcely possible to distinguish the truth from the fiction with which it is enveloped this is a grievance which i have more than once had to lament in the course of my wearisome among the works of my fellow who have strangely disguised and distorted the facts respecting this country and particularly respecting the great province of new as will be perceived by any who will take the trouble to compare their romantic out in the of fable with this history i have had more of the kind to encounter in those parts of my history which treat of the transactions on the eastern border than in any other in consequence of the troops of who have those quarters and have shown the honest people of no mercy in their works among the rest mr declares that the dutch were always mere now to this i shall make no other reply than to proceed in the steady of my history which will contain not only proofs that the dutch had clear title and possession in the fair valleys of the and that they were thereof but likewise that they have been ever since by the of the of new england and in this i shall be guided by a spirit of truth and and a regard to immortal fame for x would not i new york hour my work by a single falsehood or prejudice though it should gain our forefathers the whole country of new england it was at an early period of the province and previous to the arrival of the renowned that the cabinet of purchased the lands about the and established for their and protection a fortified post on the banks of the river which was called fort and was situated hard by the present fair city of the command of this important post together with the rank title and of were given in charge to the gallant van or as some will have it j van a most soldier of that j class of which we have such numbers on parade days who are famous for eating all they kill he was of a very appearance and would have been an exceeding tall man had his legs been in proportion to his body but the latter being long and the former uncommonly short it gave him the uncouth appearance of a tall man s body mounted upon a little man s legs he made up for this construction of body by throwing his legs to such an extent when he marched that you would have sworn he had on the identical seven league boots of the jack the giant and so high did he tread on any great military occasion that his soldiers were alarmed lest he should himself under foot but notwithstanding the of this fort and the appointment of this ugly little man of war as a commander the continued those daring which i have hinted at in my last chapter and taking advantage of the character which the cabinet of van soon acquired for profound and tranquillity did the of the and themselves down within the very of fort history of on beholding this outrage the long van proceeded as became a prompt and officer he immediately protested against these in low dutch by way of inspiring more and forthwith despatched a copy of the protest to the governor at new together with a long and bitter account of the of the enemy this done he ordered his men one and all to be of good cheer shut the gate of the fort smoked three pipes went to bed	48
tranquillity of this most tranquil of rulers his venerable had just breathed and smoked his last his lungs and his pipe having been exhausted together and his peaceful 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 fathers and governed in his stead end of book third history of book fourth containing the chronicle op 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 himself good for nothing when the lofty is about to enter on his description of the plague that one of his modern the reader that his 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 x 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 fact but a kind of a register of the crimes and miseries that man has inflicted on his fellow man it is a huge on human nature to which we add page after page volume after volume as if we were building up a monument to the honour rather than the of our species if we turn over the pages of these that man has written of himself what smith s vol i new york are the characters dignified by the of 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 mankind warriors who have hired themselves to the trade of blood not from motives of virtuous patriotism or to protect the injured and but merely to gain the glory of being and successful in their fellow beings what are the great events that constitute a glorious era the fall of the desolation of happy countries splendid cities smoking in their ruins the works of art tumbled in the the shrieks and groans of whole nations ascending unto 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 dying the wonderful economy of nature to trace the mu 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 historian while the poet and historian were destined to record the achievements of heroes these and many similar reflections naturally arose in my mind as i took up my pen to commence the reign of history of william for now the stream of our history which hitherto has rolled in a tranquil current is about to depart for ever from its peaceful haunts and through many a turbulent and rugged scene like some sleek ox which having fed and in a rich field lies sunk in luxurious repose and will bear repeated and blows before it its limbs and from its so the province of the being long and grown under the prosperous reign of the was reluctantly awakened to a melancholy conviction that by patient its had become so numerous and that it was to than endure them the reader will now witness the manner in which a peaceful community advances towards a state of war which it is too apt to approach as a horse does a drum with much and parade but with little progress and too often with the wrong end foremost who in ascended the chair to borrow a favourite though clumsy of modern waa in form feature and character the very reverse of van his renowned he was of very re table descent his father being of in the ancient town of and our hero we are told made very curious into the nature and operations of those machines when a which 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 a bar or and expressed the hereditary disposition of his family which for nearly two centuries had kept the windy town of in hot water and pro more and than any ten families in the place and so truly did inherit this family that he had scarcely been a year new york in the discharge of his government before he was i sally known by the of william the j he was a brisk little old gentleman who had dried and withered away partly through the natural process of years and partly from being and burned 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 fat as she grows old the of her life is very precarious but if she she lives for ever such	48
likewise was the case i 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 of our city in a broad skirted coat with buttons nearly as large as the shield of an old fashioned 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 of were into a dusky doubtless in consequence of the neighbourhood of two fierce little gray eyes through which his soul beamed as fervently as a tropical sun blazing through a pair of burning glasses the corners of his mouth were curiously into a kind of fret work not a little resembling the wrinkled of an irritable dog in a word he was one of the most positive restless ugly little men that ever put himself in a nothing such were the personal of william the but it was the sterling riches of his mind that raised 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 certain of our american u a history of which seem to manufacture of arts by some patent machine here 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 far as to attain a very familiar acquaintance by name at least with the whole family 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 learning 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 distinctions which he not realize that he could never think clearly on any subject however simple through the whole course of his life afterwards this i must confess 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 swimming he who sports and on the surface makes more noise and and more attention than the industrious pearl who in search of treasures to the bottom the universal of william were the subject of great marvel and admiration new york 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 little 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 of the illustrious were very much v in his way and had he been a less learned man it is he would have been a much greater governor ha 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 fragments 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 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 affairs of the province as every body knows what a glorious opportunity a governor a president or even an emperor has of his enemies in his speeches messages and where he has the talk all on his own side they may be sure the high william did not suffer so favourable an occasion to escape him of l history of that gallantry of tongue common to all able before he commenced it is recorded that he took out his pocket handkerchief and gave a very blast of the nose according to the usual custom of great this in 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 famous who when he the roman his tones by an or pitch pipe this preparatory being performed he commenced by expressing an humble sense of his own want of talents his utter of the honour conferred upon him and his humiliating to discharge the important duties of his new station in short he expressed so contemptible an opinion of himself that many simple country members present ignorant that these were mere words of course always used on such occasions were very uneasy and even felt that he should accept an office for which he was so inadequate	48
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 of ancient greece and the wars of home and together with the rise and fall of sundry about which the assembly knew no more than their great who were yet thus having after 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 soon worked himself into a fearful rage against the whom he compared to the who rome and and who the fairest plains of europe nor did he forget to mention in terms of new york the insolence with which they had 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 obliged to have recourse to a dreadful engine of lately invented awful in its effects but b necessity in a word he was resolved to conquer the by i for this purpose he had prepared a tremendous instrument of the kind ordering commanding and the forthwith to remove depart and withdraw from the districts regions and under pain of suffering all the and in such case made and provided c this he assured them would at once the enemy from the face of the country and he pledged his as a governor that within two months after it was published not one stone should remain on another in any of the towns which they had built the council remained for some time silent after he had finished whether struck dumb with admiration at the brilliancy of his project or put to sleep by the length of his the history of the times doth not mention suffice it to say they at length gave a general of acquiescence the was immediately despatched with due ceremony having the great seal of the province which was about the size of a attached to it by a broad red governor having thus his indignation felt greatly relieved the council die put on his cocked hat and small clothes and mounting a tall raw i history of trotted out to his country seat which was situated in a sweet swamp now called dutch street but more commonly known by the name of dog s misery here like the good he from the toils of taking lessons in government not from the but from the honoured wife of his bosom wh 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 species of government neither laid down in nor in short it partook of the nature of a pure tyranny and is familiarly government an absolute sway which though exceedingly common in these modern 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 with a man on sore points of the kind by that it was a government of his own election to which he submitted through choice adding at the same time a profound which he had found in an ancient author that he who would to govern should first learn to obey new york chap ii in which are recorded the sage projects of a ruler of universal genius the art of fighting by and how that the van came to be at fort never was a more comprehensive a more or what is still better a more economical measure devised than this of the by an expedient likewise so humane so gentle and pacific there were ten chances to one in favour of its succeeding but then there was one chance to ten that it would not succeed as the ill natured would have it that single chance carried the day the was perfect in all its parts well constructed well written well sealed and well 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 a shameful end a fate which am informed has befallen but tool many of its 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 on the contrary he flew in a passion whenever any one dared to question its and swore that though it was slow in yet when once it began to work it would soon the land of these time however that test of all experiments both in philosophy and politics at length convinced the great that his was and that notwithstanding he had waited four years in a state of constant irritation yet he was still further off than	48
ever from the object of his i t history of 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 fair settlement of the red hills within the of their high while the patches of were a continual to the garrison of van upon beholding therefore the of his measure the sage 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 that 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 bill forbidding and all commerce and between any and every of the said yankee and the said fortified post of fort and ordering 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 from 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 movements or by the immense distance at which he was t i i new york from the seat of government is a matter of uncertainty some have ascribed it to the of his messengers who as i have before noticed were chosen from the shortest and of his garrison as least likely to be worn out on the road and who being little men generally travelled fifteen miles a day and then laid by a whole week 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 influenced all its public transactions 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 his most and soldiers who had accidentally themselves on some fat salmon caught in the river he further stated that the enemy persisted in their taking no notice of the fort or its inhabitants but themselves down and forming all around it so that in a little while he should find himself enclosed and by the enemy and totally at their mercy but 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 in the night which the had broken up and intended to and have beaten the servants of the high and mighty the honored which were upon master s lands from lands with sticks and history or in hostile manner and amongst the rest struck ever a hole in his head with a stick that the blood ran very strongly upon his body but what is still more those of sold a that belonged to the honored under pretence that it had eaten of grass when they had not any foot of inheritance they proffered the for if the would have given s for damage which the denied because man s as men use to say can upon his master s the receipt of this melancholy intelligence the whole community there was something in it that spoke to the dull and touched the feelings even of the vulgar who generally require a kick in the rear to awaken their dignity i have known my profound fellow citizens bear without murmur a thousand essential of their rights merely because they were not immediately 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 fate of their fellow citizen the being impressed carried and sold into awakened a of sympathy from every bosom the governor and council by the of thin name is no doubt in some old dutch of the time we find the name of who is unquestionably the unfortunate hero above alluded to col pass new york the multitude now sat themselves earnestly to deliberate upon what was to be done had at length fallen into temporary some were for sending the a tribute as we make peace to the petty powers or as the indians sacrifice to the devil others were for buying them out but this was opposed as it would be acknowledging their title to the land they had seized a variety of measures were as usual in such cases proposed discussed and abandoned and the council had at last to adopt the means which being the most common and obvious had been overlooked for your amazing acute are for ever looking through which only enable them to i see such objects as are far off and but i which them to see such things as are in their i reach and obvious to all simple folks who are content to look with the	48
naked eyes heaven has given them the i profound council as i have said in their pursuit after jack o accidentally stumbled on the very sure they were in need of which was to raise a body of troops and despatch them to the relief and i of the garrison this measure was carried into such prompt operation that in less than twelve months the whole expedition consisting of a and twelve men was ready to march and was for that purpose in the public square now known by the name of the green just at this juncture the whole community was thrown into consternation by the sudden arrival of the gallant van who came straggling into town at the head of his crew of and bringing the melancholy tidings of his own defeat and the capture of the post of fort by the ferocious the fate of this important fortress is an impressive warning to all military it was neither carried by storm nor famine no practicable breach was history of effected by cannon or mines no magazines were blown up by red hot shot nor were the or the garrison destroyed by the bursting of in fact the place was taken by a no less singular than effectual and one that can never fail of success whenever an opportunity occurs of putting it in practice happy am i to add for the credit of our illustrious ancestors that it was a which though it the vigilance yet left the bravery of the van and his garrison perfectly free from reproach it appears that the having heard of the regular habits of the garrison watched a favourable opportunity and silently introduced themselves into the fort about the middle of a day when its having themselves with a hearty dinner and smoked out their pipes were one and all most at their posts little 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 distinction a strong garrison was immediately established in the fort consisting of twenty long sided hard with stuck in their hats by way of and feathers long rusty pieces for hasty dumb fish pork and for stores and a huge was hoisted on the end of a pole as a standard liberty caps not having as yet come into fashion new york 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 language cannot express the prodigious fury into which the was thrown by this provoking intelligence for three good hours the rage of the little 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 he kept up a constant firing for three whole days the man woman and child body and soul for a set of twist and a thousand other names of which unfortunately for 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 notion crew that they might stay at fort and rot before he would dirty his hands by attempting to drive them away m proof of which he ordered the new raised troops to be marched forthwith into winter quarters although it was not as yet quite governor faithfully kept his word and his as faithfully 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 waters fell into the hands f history of 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 good ancestors as was that of among the ancient and all the sage old women of the province used it as a wherewith to frighten their children into obedience the eyes of all the province were now turned upon their governor to know what he would do for the protection of the common in these days of darkness and peril great apprehensions prevailed among the reflecting part of the community especially the old women that these terrible warriors of not content with the conquest of fort would march on to new and take it by storm and as these old ladies through means of the governor s who as has been already hinted was the better horse had obtained considerable influence in public affairs keeping the province under a kind of government it was determined that measures should be taken for the effective of the city now it happened that at this time there in new one van a jolly fat dutch of a pleasant famous for his long wind and his huge whiskers and who as the story goes could so upon his instrument as to produce an effect upon all within hearing as though ten thousand were singing most i the nose him did the illustrious pick out as the man 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 champion described by mr editor new york of all the world and most fitted to be the champion of new and to garrison its fort making little doubt but that his instrument would be as effectual and offensive in	48
war as was that of the or the more classic horn of it would have done one s heart good to have seen the governor snapping his fingers and with delight while his sturdy up and down the his trumpet in the face of the whole world like a thrice editor insulting all the and powers on the other side of the atlantic nor was he content with thus strongly the fort but he likewise added exceedingly to its strength by furnishing it with a formidable battery of guns a flag staff in the centre which the whole city and moreover by building a great on one of the this last to be sure was somewhat of a novelty in the art of but as i have already observed william was notorious for and experiments and traditions do affirm that he was much given to mechanical inventions patent carts that went before the horses and especially for which machines he had acquired a singular in his native town of all these scientific of the little governor were cried up with ecstasy by his as proofs of his universal genius but there were not wanting ill natured who at him as his mind pursuits and that time to and which should have been occupied in the more important concerns of the province nay they even went so far as to hint once or twice that his head was de that this stood on the south east and it is likewise to be seen together with the flag staff in s view of new to his history o turned by his experiments and that he really thought to manage his government as he did his mills by mere wind such is the and to which enlightened rulers are ever subject notwithstanding all the measures therefore of william the to place the city in a posture of defence the inhabitants continued in great alarm and despondency but fortune who seems always careful in the very nick of time to throw a bone for hope to feed upon that the may be kept alive did about this time crown the arms of the province with success in another quarter and thus cheered the drooping hearts of the forlorn 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 is companion with despair and despair a of infamous death among the numerous of the moss of which for some time past had occasioned such great i should particularly have mentioned a settlement made on the eastern part of long island at a place which from the peculiar excellence of its shell fish was called bay this was attacking the province in a most sensible part and occasioned great agitation at new it is an fact well known to that the high road to the affections is through the throat and this may be accounted for on the same 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 well and that a man is never so disposed to flatter to please and serve another as when he is feeding at his expense which is one reason why your rich men who give frequent dinners have such abundance of sincere and faithful new york friends it is on this principle that our knowing leaders of parties secure the affections of their by them with and fishes and the of the greasy mob by treating them with bull and oxen i have known many a man in this same city acquire considerable importance in society and a large share of the good will of his fellow citizens when the only thing that could be said in his was that he gave a good dinner and kept excellent wine since then the heart and the stomach are so nearly allied it follows that what affects the one must affect the other now it is an equally fact that of all to the stomach there is none more grateful than the marine animal known commonly by the vulgar name of and in such great reverence has it ever been held by my fellow citizens that temples have been to it time out of mind in every street lane and alley throughout this well fed city it is not to be expected therefore that the seizing of bay a place with their favourite delicacy would be by the inhabitants of new an attack upon their honour they might have even the of a few citizens might have been passed over in silence but an outrage that affected the of the great city of new and threatened the of its was too serious to pass the whole council was unanimous in opinion that the should be immediately driven by force of arms from bay and its vicinity and a was accordingly despatched for the purpose under command of one or i e the head so called because he was a man of mighty deeds famous throughout the whole extent of for his skill at m history of and for size he would have been a match for the champion slain by of was a man of few words but prompt actions one of your straight going officers who march directly forward and do their orders without making any parade about it he used no extraordinary speed in his movements but steadily on through and and and and the mighty town of and various other renowned cities of which by some unaccountable of the have been strangely to long island until he arrived in the neighbourhood of bay here was he encountered by a tumultuous host of warriors headed by preserved fish and and return strong and and	48
and determined cock at the sound of whose 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 select men of the settlement armed with no other weapon but their tongues and that they had issued forth with j no other intent than to meet him on the field of argument i he succeeded in putting them to the with little and completely broke up their settlement without waiting to write an account of his victory on the spot and thus letting the enemy slip through his fingers while he was securing his own as a more experienced general would have done the brave thought of nothing but his enterprise and utterly driving the from the island this hardy enterprise he performed in much the same manner as he had been accustomed to drive his oxen for as the fled before him he pulled up his breeches and steadily after them and would have driven them into the new york sea had they not begged for quarter and agreed to pay tribute the news of this achievement was a to the spirits ot 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 full account of which had been into his memory when a at the a grand triumph therefore was to who made his triumphant entrance into town riding on a five which like roman had served the enemy for standards were carried before him fifty cart loads 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 procession was by martial music from the trumpet of van the champion accompanied by a select band of boys and performing ob the national instruments of rattle bones and shells the citizens devoured the spoils in sheer gladness of heart every man did honour to the conqueror by getting devoutly 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 was permitted to paint the head of the on his sign this is one of those trivial that now and then occur in the coarse of this otherwise history how could notes be when as yet banks were unknown in this country and oar simple had not even dreamed of those inexhaustible mines of paper print m history of chap vi philosophical reflections on the folly of being happy in times of prosperity sundry troubles on the southern how william the had well nigh ruined the province through a word as also the secret expedition of and his astonishing reward if we could but get a peep at the of dame fortune where like a notable landlady she regularly up the and accounts of mankind we should find that upon the whole good and evil are pretty nearly balanced in this world and that though we may for a long while in the very lap of prosperity the time will at length come when we must pay off the reckoning fortune in fact is a and withal a most inexorable for though she may indulge her in long and them with her yet sooner or later she brings up her with the of an experienced and out her scores with their tears since says good old in his of philosophy since no man can retain her at his pleasure and since her flight is so deeply lamented what are her but sure of approaching trouble and calamity 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 moments of anxiety and apprehension well knowing that according to the system of things happiness is at best but transient and that the higher he is elevated by the capricious breath of fortune the lower must be his proportion new york ate depression whereas he who is overwhelmed by calamity has the less chance of fresh as a man at the bottom of a ladder runs yery little risk of breaking his neck by tumbling to the top this is the yery essence of true wisdom which consists m knowing when we ought to be miserable and was discovered much about the same time with that invaluable secret that every thing is vanity and vexation of spirit in consequence of which your wise men have ever been the of the human race it as an mark of genius to be distressed without reason since any man may be miserable in time of misfortune but it is the philosopher alone who can discover cause for grief in the very hour of prosperity according to the principle i have just advanced we find that the colony of new which under the reign of the renowned van had flourished in such alarming and fatal serenity is now paying for its former welfare and the enormous debt of comfort which it contracted foes it from different quarters the city of new while yet in its infancy is kept in constant alarm and its commander william the answers the vulgar but expressive idea of a man in a of troubles while busily engaged his bitter enemies the on one side we find him suddenly in another quarter and by other a co of under the conduct of peter and to that queen of	48
had settled themselves and erected a fort on south or river within the boundaries claimed by the government of the new his tory is mute as to the particulars of their first landing and their real pretensions to the soil and this is the more to be lamented as this same colony of will hereafter history of be found most materially to affect not only the interests of the but of the world at large in whatever manner therefore this vagabond colony of first took possession of the country it is certain that in they established a fort and according to the off hand usage of his declared himself governor 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 true spirited he immediately broke into a violent rage and calling together his council the most in the longest speech that had ever been heard in the colony since the memorable dispute of ten breeches and tough breeches having thus given vent to the first of his indignation he had resort to his favourite measure of and despatched one hot in the first year of his reign informing peter that the whole territory on the south river had time out of mind been in possession of the dutch having been beset with and sealed with their blood the latter sentence would convey an idea of war and were we not relieved by the information that it merely related to a in which some half a dozen had been killed by the indians in their benevolent attempts to establish a colony and promote civilization by this it will be seen that william 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 class and which has helped to swell the grandeur of many a mighty self important but windy chief magistrate nor can i resist in this place from observing how much my beloved country is indebted to new york this same figure of for supporting certain of her greatest characters and who by dint of big words periods and windy doctrines are kept afloat on the surface of society as ignorant are up by blown the against concluded by ordering the self governor and his gang of immediately to leave the country under penalty of the high displeasure and inevitable vengeance of the government of the strong measure however does not seem to have had whit more effect than its which had thundered against the the resolute held on to the territory they had taken possession of whereupon matters 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 his 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 consequently are ever full of temporary and up the public welfare and the national affairs 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 little discretion there is very little doubt but he would have made the greatest governor of his size on record the renowned governor of the island of alone history op the great defect of s policy was that though no man could be more ready to stand forth in an hour of emergency yet he was so intent upon guarding the national pocket that he suffered the enemy to break its head in other words whatever precaution for public safety he adopted he was so intent upon rendering it cheap that he invariably rendered it ineffectual all this was a remote consequence of his profound education at the where having acquired a of knowledge he was ever after a great of continually dipping into books 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 injury and delusion 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 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 neither the that famous 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 painful 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 car new york a mystery sublime and and the letters of which he he been stolen by the constituted their great name or jove in short in all my and from the of to the works of and mother bunch i have not discovered the least of an origin of this word nor have i discovered any word of sufficient to it not to keep my reader in any suspense the word which had so wonderfully arrested the attention of william the and which in	48
german characters had a particularly black and ominous aspect on being fairly translated into the english is no other than economy a term which by constant 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 effect in closing the hearts the drawing the purse strings and the breeches pockets of all philosophic nor are its effects on the eyes less wonderful it produces a of the an obscurity of the a of the and an of the an of the and a of the that the organ of vision loses its strength and and the unfortunate patient becomes or in plain english perceiving only the amount of immediate expense without being able to look farther and regard it in with the ultimate object to be effected so that to quote the words of the eloquent a at his nose is of greater magnitude than an oak at five hundred yards distance such are its operations and the results are still more astonishing by its magic influence shrink into into and history of chap v how william the enriched the province by a multitude of laws and came to be the patron of lawyers and and how the people became exceedingly enlightened and unhappy under his instructions among the many and fragments of exalted wisdom which have floated down the stream of time from venerable antiquity and have been carefully picked up by those humble but industrious who along the shores of literature we find the following sage of the anxious to preserve the ancient laws of the state from the additions and improvements of profound country members or for popularity he ordained that whoever proposed a new law should do it with a about his j neck so that in case his proposition was rejected they just hung him up and there the matter ended this institution had such an effect that for more than two hundred years there was only one trifling alteration in the criminal code and the whole race of lawyers starved to death for want of employment the consequence of this was that the being by an overwhelming load of excellent laws and by a standing army of and s officers lived very lovingly together and were such a happy people that they scarce make any figure throughout die whole history for it is well known that none but your unlucky nations make any noise in the world well would it have been for william the had he in the course of his universal stumbled upon this precaution of the good new york on the contrary he conceived that the true policy of a was to laws and thus secure the property the persons and the morals of the people by sur them in a manner with men traps and spring guns and even the sweet walks of private hfe 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 until in time they became too numerous to be remembered and remained like those of certain modern mere dead letters revived occasionally for the purpose of individual oppression or to ignorant petty courts consequently began to appear where the law was administered with nearly as much wisdom and as in those august the s and courts of the present day the was generally favoured as being a customer and bringing business to the shop the of the rich were winked at for fear of the feelings of their friends but it could never be laid to the charge of the that they suffered vice to under the disgraceful rags of poverty about this time may we date the first introduction of capital a goodly gallows being erected on the about where stairs are at present a little to the east of the battery hard by also was erected another of a very strange uncouth and description but on which the ingenious william valued himself not a little being a punishment entirely of his own invention it was for of not a whit inferior to that of so renowned in bible history but the marvel of the contrivance was that the instead of being both the may be seen in the sketch of to the work history of suspended by the neck according to venerable custom was hoisted by the and was kept for an hour together dangling 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 the 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 gallows birds 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 hint for a kind of or by which our forefathers 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 matter of and much does it grieve me that the limits of my work will not suffer me to on both with the they deserve let it suffice then to say that in a little while the blessings of innumerable laws became apparent it was soon found necessary to have a certain class of men to and confound them divers accordingly made their	48
appearance under whose protecting care the community was soon set together by the ears i would not here be thought to any thing to the profession of the law or to its dignified members well am i aware that we have in this ancient new york city innumerable worthy gentlemen who have embraced that honourable order not for the sordid love of filthy nor the selfish of renown but through no other motives than a fervent zeal for the correct administration of justice and a generous and disinterested devotion to the interests of their fellow citizens sooner would i throw this pen into the flames and cork up my for ever than even for a nail upon the dignity of this truly benevolent class of citizens on the contrary i allude solely to that crew of who in these latter days of evil have become so numerous who the skirts of the profession as did the knights the honourable order of chivalry who under its commit their on society who by and and like swarm most where there is most corruption nothing so soon the passions as the facility of gratification the courts of law would never be so constantly crowded with petty and disgraceful suits were it not for the herds of lawyers that them these with the passions of the lower and more ignorant classes who as if poverty were not a sufficient misery in itself are always ready to it by the bitterness of they are in law what are in medicine exciting the malady for the purpose of by the cure and the cure for the purpose of the where one the constitution the other 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 once with the law under the of one of these is for ever after himself with his neighbours and himself with successful history of my readers will excuse this into which x have been betrayed but i could not avoid giving a cool account of an too in this excellent city and with the effects of which i am acquainted to my cost having been nearly ruined by a which was decided against me and my ruin having been completed by another which was decided in my favour it has been remarked by the observant writer of the manuscript that under the administration of the disposition of the inhabitants of new experienced an essential change so that they became very and the constant of temper into which the little governor was thrown by the on his and unfortunate to experiment and occasioned him to keep his council in a continual worry and the council being to the people at large what or heaven is to a they threw the whole community into a and the people at large being to the city what the mind is to the body the unhappy they most upon new that in certain of their of consternation and perplexity they several of the most crooked distorted and abominable streets lanes t and with which this metropolis is v but the worst of the matter was that just about this the mob since called the sovereign people like s ass began to grow more enlightened than its and exhibited a strange desire of governing itself this was another effect of the universal of william the in some of his among the rubbish of antiquity he was struck with admiration at the institution of public tables the where they discussed topics of a general and interesting nature at the schools of the philosophers new york where they engaged in profound upon politics and morals where gray were taught the of wisdom and youths learned to become little men before they were boys there is nothing said the ingenious shutting up life book there is nothing more essential to the well management of a country than education among the people the basis of a good government should be laid in the public mind now this was true enough but it was ever the fate of william the that when he thought right he was sure to go to work wrong in the present instance he could scarcely eat or sleep until he had set on foot societies among the simple citizens of new this was the one thing wanting to complete his confusion the honest dutch though in truth but little given to argument or yet by dint of meeting often together themselves with strong drink their brains with tobacco smoke and listening to the of some half a dozen soon became exceedingly wise and as is always the case where the mob is enlightened exceedingly discontented they found out with wonderful quickness of the fearful error in which they had indulged in themselves the happiest people in creation and were fortunately convinced that all circumstances to the contrary notwithstanding they were a very unhappy and consequently ruined people in a short time the of new form ed themselves into sage of political daily met together to groan over political affairs and make j themselves miserable to these unhappy with the same eagerness that have in all ages abandoned the and more peaceful paths of religion to crowd to the howling of we are naturally prone to discontent and after imaginary causes of like n i i history of we our own shoulders and seem to take a vast satisfaction in the music of our own groans nor is this said for the sake of daily experience shows the truth of these observations it is next to a farce to offer consolation or to think of the spirits of a man groaning under ideal but nothing is more easy than to render him wretched though on the of felicity as it is an task	48
to a man to the top of a though the merest child can him off thence in the sage i have noticed the philosophic reader will at once perceive the faint of those called popular meetings in our day thither resort all those and of low degree who like rags hang loose upon the back of society and are ready to be blown away by every wind of doctrine abandoned their and hastened thither to give lessons on political economy left their and suffered their own fires to go out while they blew the and stirred up the fire of 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 have thrown the whole province in an uproar i should not forget to mention that these popular meetings were always held at a noted tavern for houses of that description have always been found the most congenial of politics with those genial streams which give strength and to we are told that the ancient had an admirable mode of treating any question of importance they first upon it when drunk and afterwards it when sober the of america who dislike new york having two minds upon a subject both determine and act upon it drunk by which means a world of cold and tedious speculations is with and as it is universally allowed that when a man is drunk he sees double it follows most that he sees twice as well as his sober neighbours chap vi of the great pipe plot and of the into which william the was thrown by reason of his having enlightened the multitude as has already been made manifest was a great upon a small scale he was of an active or rather a busy mind that is to say 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 been of a restless turn worrying hither and thither himself about little matters with an air of great importance and anxiety laying up wisdom by the morsel and often toiling and puffing at a grain of seed under the full conviction that he was moving a mountain thus we are told that once upon a time in one of his fits of mental bustle which he termed deliberation he framed an unlucky law to the universal practice of smoking this he proved by demonstration to be not merely a heavy tax on the public pocket but an incredible of time a hideous of idleness and of course a deadly to the n history op and morals of the people ill fated had he lived in this enlightened and loving age and attempted to the liberty of the press he could not have struck more closely on the of the million the were in as violent a turmoil as the constitutional gravity of their would permit a mob of citizens had even the to before the governor s house where setting themselves resolutely down like a army before a fortress they one and all fell to smoking with a determined perseverance that seemed as though it were their intention to smoke him into terms the william issued out of his mansion like unto a spider and demanded to know the cause of this assemblage and this lawless to which these sturdy made no other reply than to back most in their seats and puff away with fury whereby they such a cloud that the governor was fain to take refuge in the interior of his castle the governor immediately perceived the object of this unusual tumult and that it would be impossible to sup r press a practice which by long indulgence had become a second nature and here i would observe partly to explain why i have so often made mention of this practice in my history that it was connected with all the affairs both public and private of our ancestors the pipe in fact was never from the mouth of the true born it was his companion in solitude the of his hours his his his joy his pride in a word he seemed to think and breathe through his pipe when william the himself of all these matters which he certainly did although a little too late he came to a compromise with the multitude the result was that though he continued to permit the new york custom of smoking yet did he the fair long pipes which were used in the days of van t de noting ease tranquillity and of and in place thereof did introduce little short pipes two inches in length which he observed could be stuck in one corner of the mouth or twisted in the and would not be in the way of business by this the multitude seemed somewhat appeased and dispersed to their thus ended this alarming which was long known by the name of the pipe plot and which it has been somewhat observed did end like most other plots and in mere smoke but mark oh reader the deplorable consequences that did afterwards result the smoke of these little pipes continually ascending in a cloud about the nose penetrated into and the dried up all the kindly moisture of the brain and rendered the people that used them as and as their re little governor nay what is more from a good race of folk they became like our worthy dutch farmers who smoke short pipes a lantern race of men not was this all for from hence may we	48
magistrate they how ever like a true mob did their best to help along public affairs their governor incessantly by him on with and and then his fiery spirit with reproaches and like a knot of sunday managing an unlucky devil of a so that may be said to have been kept either on a worry or a hand gallop throughout the whole of his administration new york chap vii 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 it was asserted by the wise men of ancient times who were intimately acquainted with these matters that at the gate of s palace lay two huge the one filled with blessings the other with misfortunes and it verily seems as if the latter had been completely and left to the unlucky province of among the many internal and external causes of tion the incessant of the upon his were continually adding fuel to the temper of william the numerous accounts of these may still be found among the records of the times for the on the were especially careful to their vigilance and zeal by striving who should send home the most frequent and of complaints as your faithful servant is running with complaints to the parlour of all the petty and of the kitchen all these tale bearings were listened to with great 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 citizens to swallow those amusing stories with which our papers are daily filled about british at sea on shore spanish in the promised land of and above all internal plots and we are told by the good in his life of that the terrible defeat of the in was first mentioned in the shop of a at the history of whereupon with the customary of his tribe he ran up into to have the first telling of the story and threw the whole into consternation not being able however to his tale the unlucky was put upon the wheel and whirled about as a reward for his trouble until he was by the arrival of other evidence such was the manner in which busy and of fearful news were treated in whereas in our more enlightened country we support whole herds of for no other purpose than to gratify a public appetite for news and any man who can up a full sounding story of a plot or conspiracy may command his own price for it i have known two or three of these tales of terror to be bought up by government for the sovereign people to amuse themselves withal which goes further to prove what i have before asserted that your enlightened people love to be miserable far be it from me to however that our worthy ancestors indulged in on the contrary they were daily suffering a repetition of cruel wrongs not one of which but was a sufficient reason according to the of national dignity and honour for throwing the whole universe into hostility and confusion oh ye powers into what indignation did every one of these throw the philosophic william letter after letter protest after protest after pro from among a multitude of bitter still on record i select a few of the most and leave my readers to judge if oar ancestors were not in getting into a very passion on the occasion jane some of have taken a ont of the or common and shot it op out of hate or other prejudice causing it to starve for in the july the english did drive the s out of the of into daily with new york i bad latin worse english and hideous low i dutch were exhausted in rain upon the inexorable and the four and twenty letters of the which excepting his champion the sturdy van composed the only standing army he had at his command were never off duty throughout the whole of his administration nor did the remain a whit behind his patron the gallant in his fiery zeal but like a faithful champion and 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 violent and disturbing their rest at all times and sea sons which caused him to be held in very great regard the public and him as we do for reasons that have just been mentioned j 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 days anxious to draw the honey of wisdom i may fare somewhat like that worthy who in with the of a dead lion drew a swarm of bees about his ears thus while the many of the or yankee tribe it is ten chances to one but i offend the morbid of certain of their unreasonable descendants who may fly out and raise such a about this unlucky head of mine that i i fm reproaches blows beating the people with all disgrace that thej could i imagine may the english of have violently out loose a horse of the honored s that stood bound npon the common or j may the s horses npon the s f ground were driven away by them of and and the j beaten with and sticks again they sold a young belonging to the which had on the s land has col state p p history of shall need the tough hide of an or an to protect me from their should such be the case i should deeply and sincerely not my misfortune in giving offence but the wrong headed of an	48
ill natured generation in taking offence at any thing i say that their ancestors did use my ancestors ill is true and i am very sorry for it i would with all my heart the fact were otherwise but as i am the sacred events of history i d not one nail s breadth of the honest truth though i were sure the whole edition of my work should be bought up and burned by the common of and in now that these gentlemen have drawn me out i will make bold to go further and observe that this is one of the grand purposes for which we impartial are sent into the world to wrongs and render justice on the heads of the guilty so that though a powerful nation may wrong its neighbours with temporary yet sooner or later an historian springs up who ample on it in return thus these moss of the east little thought i ll warrant it while they were the province of and driving its unhappy governor to his wits end that an historian should ever arise 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 shall 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 admitted i conduct myself with great humanity and moderation to resume then the course of my history appearances to the eastward began now to assume a more formidable aspect than ever for i would have you note that hitherto the province had been chiefly by its immediate neighbours the people of particularly of if we may judge from ancient f new york was the strong hold of these sturdy from whence they forth on their daring carrying terror and into the the and of our ancestors about the year the people of the east try the colonies of new and new haven gathered together int a mighty and after and for many days like a political hive of bees in time at length settled themselves into a formidable under the title of the united colonies of new england by this union they pledged themselves to stand by one another in all perils and and to in all measures offensive and against the surround ing savages among which were included our honoured ancestors of the and to give more strength and system to this a general assembly or grand council was to be held composed of representatives from each of the provinces on receiving accounts of this combination the fiery was struck with vast consternation and for the first time in his whole life forgot to at hearing an unwelcome piece of intelligence which a venerable historian of the times was especially noticed among the sage of new the truth was on turning over in his mind all that he had read at the about and he found that this was an exact imitation of the famous council by which the states of greece were enabled to attain such power and and the very idea made his heart to for the safety of his empire at the he insisted that the whole object of this was to drive the out of their fair and always flew into a great rage if any one presumed to doubt the probability of his conjecture nor was he wholly in such a suspicion for at the history of 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 indians such guns that they burst at the first discharge and 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 forward it was remarked by many he never held up his head but appeared quite crest fallen his subsequent reign therefore affords but scanty food for the historic pen we find the grand council continually in power and threatening to the mighty but province of while kept constantly firing off his and like a shrewd sea captain firing off so many and in order to break and a water but alas they had no more effect than if they had been so many blank the last document on record of this learned philosophic but unfortunate little man is a long letter to the council of the wherein in the bitterness of his heart he rails at the people of new haven or red hills for their contempt of his protest at them for within the province of their high from this letter which is a model of writing with and classic figures my limits will barely allow me to extract the following passage certainly when we the inhabitants of new of col s papers u has col state papers new york us we seem to s of the lamb or the of the man who out to his mother with her oh mother her lest she first take up that practice against you but being taught by precedent passages we received such an answer to our protest from the inhabitants of new haven as we expected the eagle always the fly yet notwithstanding we continue on our purpose of pursuing our own right by just arms and righteous means and hope without scruple to execute the express commands of our to show that this last sentence was not a mere empty menace he concluded his letter	48
by protesting against the whole 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 province of the new thus end the of the reign of william the for henceforth in the troubles the and the confusion of the times he seems to have been totally overlooked and to have slipped for ever through the fingers of scrupulous history indeed for some cause or other which i cannot divine there appears to have been a combination among to sink his very name into oblivion in consequence of which they have one and all even to speak of his exploits this shows how important it is for great men to cultivate the favour of the learned if they are ambitious of honour and renown insult not the said a wise to his son lest thou offend thine historian and many a mighty man of the time had he observed so obvious a might have escaped divers cruel of the pen which have been drawn across his character it has been a matter of deep concern to me that such darkness and obscurity should hang over the latter days of the illustrious for he was a mighty and great lit w history of tie man worthy of being utterly renowned seeing that he was the first that introduced into this land the art of fighting by and defending a country by and an and humane mode of warfare since revived with great applause and which promises if it can ever be carried into full effect to save great trouble and treasure and spare infinitely more than either the discovery of or the invention of it is true that certain of the early provincial poets of whom there were great numbers in the taking the advantage of the mysterious exit of william the j have that like he was translated to the skies and forms a very fiery little star somewhere on the left of the while others equally fanciful declare that he had experienced a fate similar to that of the good king arthur who we are assured by ancient was carried away to the delicious of fairy land where he still exists in worth and vigour and will one day or another return to rescue poor old england from the hands of paltry and restore the gallantry the honour and the which prevailed in the glorious days of the round table all these however are but pleasing the visions of those dreaming the poets to which i would not have my judicious reader attach any neither am i disposed to yield any credit to the the old believed that king arthur was not dead bat carried the into some en t place where he for a time and then and in as great authority as ever the suppose that he shall come jet and all for this is the of jn he say d that his shall be and said for men thereof yet have and for ever more for men not whether that he or is de i new york assertion 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 misfortune to break his neck from 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 faith is contained in a very obscure tradition which declares 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 together with 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 furnace heat until he at length became as completely burnt out as a dutch family pipe which has passed through three generations of hard in this manner did the but william the undergo a kind of animal away like a rush light so that when grim death finally him out there was scarce left enough of him to bury end of book fourth history of book fifth containing the first part of thb reign of peter and his troubles with the council chap i in which the death of a great man is shown to be no very matter of sorrow and how peter acquired a great name from the uncommon strength of his head to a profound philosopher like myself who am apt to see clear through a subject where the penetration of ordinary people extends but half way there is no fact 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 world and it is equally certain that even that small space is quickly supplied when we leave it vacant of what consequence is it said the elegant that individuals appear or make their exit the world is a theatre whose scenes and actors are continually changing never did philosopher speak more correctly and i 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	48
of the monarch it is merely said new he slept with his fathers and his successor reigned in his stead the world to tell the private truth cares but little for their loss and if left to itself would soon forget to grieve and though a nation has often been drowned in tears on the death of a great man yet it is ten chances to one if aa individual tear has been shed on the occasion excepting from the forlorn pen of some hungry author it is the historian the and die poet who have the whole burden of grief to sustain who kind souls like in england act the part of chief who a nation with sighs it never heaved and it with tears it never of shedding thus while the patriotic author is weeping and howling in prose in blank verse and in rhyme and collecting the drops of public sorrow into his volume as into a it is more than probable his fellow citizens are eating and drinking and dancing as utterly ignorant of the bitter made in their name as are those men of straw john and richard of the for whom they are generously pleased on divers occasions to become the most glorious and praise worthy hero that ever nations might have into oblivion among the rubbish of his own monument did not some historian take him into favour and his name to posterity and much as the william worried and and while he had the of a whole colony in his hand i question seriously whether he will not be obliged to this history for all his future his exit occasioned no in the city of new or its vicinity the earth trembled not neither did any stars shoot from their the heavens were not in black as poets would fain persuade us they have been on the unfortunate death of a hero th o history op rocks hard hearted melted not into tears nor did the trees hang their heads in silent sorrow and as to the sun be laid the next night just as long and showed as jolly a face when he arose as he ever did on the same day of the month in any year either before or since the good people of new one and all declared that he had been a very busy active bustling little governor that he was the father of his country that he was the noblest work of god that he was a man take him for all in all they never should look upon his like again together with sundry other civil and affectionate speeches that are regularly said on the death of all great men after which they smoked their pipes thought no more about him and peter succeeded to his station peter was the last and like the renowned van he was also the best of our ancient dutch w outer having surpassed all who preceded him and or as he was called by the old dutch who were ever prone to names having never been equalled by any successor he was in fact the very man fitted by nature to the desperate fortunes of her beloved province had not the those most potent and of all ancient and immortal destined them to confusion to say merely that he was a hero would be doing him great injustice he was in truth a combination of heroes for he was of a sturdy raw make like so famous for his in the little with a pair of round shoulders that would have given his hide for meaning his lion s hide when he undertook to ease old of his load he was moreover as describes not only terrible for the force of his arm but likewise of his voice which sounded as though it came out of a barrel and like new york the self same warrior ji u contempt for the sovereign people and an iron aspect which was itself to make the very of his with terror and dismay all this martial of appearance was heightened by an accidental advantage with which i am surprised that neither nor have any of their heroes for it is worth all the and wounds in the and or s into the bargain this was nothing less than a wooden leg which was the only prize he had gained in bravely lighting the battles of his country but of which he was so proud that he was often heard to declare he valued it more than all his other limbs put together indeed so highly did he esteem it that he had it gallantly and relieved with silver devices which caused it to be related in divers histories and legends that he wore a silver leg like that warrior he was somewhat subject to bursts of passion which were rather unpleasant to his and attendants whose he was apt to after the manner of his illustrious peter the great by their shoulders with his walking staff but the resemblance for which i most value him was that which he bore in many particulars to the renowned though i cannot find that he had read or or or bacon or or tom yet did he sometimes manifest a and sagacity in his measures that one would hardly expect from a man who did not know greek and had never studied the true it is and i confess it with sorrow that he had an unreasonable aversion to experiments and was fond of governing his province after the simplest manner but then he contrived to keep it in see the histories of masters and history of better order than did the though he had all the philosophers ancient and modern to assist and him i must likewise own that he made but very few laws but then again he took care that those few	48
were rigidly and enforced and i do not know but justice on the whole was as well administered as if there bad been volumes of sage acts and yearly made and daily neglected and forgotten he was in fact the very reverse of his being neither tranquil and like walter the nor restless and like william the but a man or rather a governor of such uncommon activity and decision of mind that he never sought or accepted the advice of others depending confidently upon his single head as did the heroes of upon their single arms to work his way through all difficulties and dangers to tell the simple truth he wanted no other requisite for a perfect than to think always right for no one can deny that he always acted as he thought and if he j wanted in he made up for it in perseverance an excellent quality since it is surely more dignified for a ruler to be and consistent in error than wavering and contradictory in endeavouring to do what is right this much is certain and it is a worthy the attention of all both great and small who stand shaking in the wind without knowing which way to steer a ruler who acts according to his own will is sure of pleasing himself while he who seeks to satisfy the wishes and of others runs a great risk of pleasing nobody the clock that stands still and points in one direction is certain of being right twice in the four and twenty hours while others may keep going continually and continually be going wrong nor did this virtue escape the of the good people of on the contrary so high an opinion had they of the independent new york mind and of their new governor that they universally called him hard or peter the a great compliment to his under i standing if from that i have said thou dost not gather worthy reader that peter was a tough sturdy weather beaten obstinate bon hearted generous spirited old governor either i have written to but little purpose or thou art very dull at drawing conclusions this most excellent governor whose character i have thus attempted feebly to commenced his ad on the th of may a remarkable stormy day distinguished in all the of the time which have come down to us by the name of windy friday as he was very jealous of his personal and official dignity 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 state of the elements together with its being that unlucky day of the week termed hanging day did not fail 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 fortune telling did declare outright that they were of a disastrous administration an event that came to be and which proves beyond dispute the wisdom of attending to those furnished by dreams and visions the flying of birds falling of stones and of on which the and rulers of ancient times placed such reliance or to i history of those of stars of the moon of dogs and of candles carefully noted and interpreted by the of our day who in my humble opinion are the legitimate and of the ancient science of this much is certain that governor succeeded to the chair of state at a turbulent period when foes thronged and threatened from without when and stiff opposition reigned within when the authority of their high the lords states general though founded on the broad dutch bottom of though supported by economy and defended by speeches yet to its very centre and when the great city of new though fortified by flag and seemed like some fair lady of easy virtue to lay open to attack and ready to yield to the first chap ii showing how peter the himself among the rats and on entering into office and the perilous mistake he was guilty of in his dealings with the the very first movements of the great peter on taking the reins of government displayed the of his mind though 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 the members of which had acquired the unreasonable habit of thinking and speaking for themselves during the preceding reign he determined at once to put a stop to such grievous scarcely therefore had he entered new york upon his authority than he turned out of office all those spirits that composed the cabinet of j william the in place of whom he chose unto him self from those fat respectable families that had flourished and under the easy reign of walter the all these he caused to be furnished with abundance of fair long pipes and to be with frequent dinners them to smoke and eat and sleep for the good of the nation while he took all the burden of government upon his own shoulders an arrangement to which they all gave hearty acquiescence nor did he stop here but made a hideous among the inventions and of his learned his flag 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 system of the immortal sage of the honest folk of new began to now for the fate of their champion the who had acquired prodigious favour in the	48
eyes of the women by means of his whiskers and hi trumpet him did peter the cause to be brought into his presence and him for a moment from head to foot with a countenance that would have appalled any thing else than a of brass who 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 much said peter that thou art some how thou acquire this history of honour and dignity v u marry sir replied the other like many a great man before me simply by sounding my own trumpet ay is it so the governor why then let us have a relish of thy art whereupon he put his instrument to his lips and sounded a charge with such a tremendous outset such a and such a triumphant that it was enough to make your heart leap out of your mouth only to be within a mile of it like as a war worn while sporting in peaceful plains if by chance he hear the strains of martial music up his ears and and and at the noise so did the heroic soul of the mighty peter joy to hear the of the trumpet for of him might truly be said what was recorded of the renowned st george of england there was nothing in all the world that more rejoiced his heart than to hear the pleasant sound of war and see the soldiers forth their weapons casting his eyes more kindly therefore 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 straightway conceived a vast kindness for him and him from the troublesome duty of defending and alarming the city ever after retained him about his person as his chief favourite confidential and squire instead of disturbing the city with disastrous notes he was instructed to play so as to delight the governor while at his as did the of in the days of glorious chivalry and on all public occasions to rejoice the ears of the people with warlike melody thereby keeping alive a noble and martial spirit many other alterations 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 people new york with such that they were all fain to hold their tongues stay at home and attend to their business that party and distinctions were almost forgotten and many of and shops were utterly ruined for want of business indeed the critical state of public affairs at this time demanded the utmost vigilance and the formidable council of the which had caused so much to the unfortunate still continued its forces and threatened to link within its union all the mighty and powers of the east in the very year following the of governor a grand departed from the city of providence famous 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 are still mr will and captain of hand presented this request to the in our request and motion is in of hand that the of hand may be into combination with all the united colony es 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 there is certainly something in the very of this document that might well inspire apprehension hu ok history of the name of alexander however has been warlike in every age and though its is in some measure softened by being coupled with the gentle of still like the colour of scarlet it bears an exceeding great resemblance to the sound of a trumpet from the style of the letter moreover and the ignorance of displayed by the noble captain in his own name we may picture to ourselves this mighty man of like a second strong in arms potent in the field and as great a scholar as though he had been educated among that learned people of who us could not count beyond the number four but whatever might be the threatening aspect of famous peter was not a man to be kept in a state of and vague apprehension he liked nothing so much as to meet danger face 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 neither in bad latin nor yet by about wolves and and yet had more effect than all the elaborate and of his learned put together in consequence of his urgent the great of the east agreed to enter into a final of and settlement of boundaries to the end that a perpetual and happy peace might take place between the two powers for this purpose governor two to with from the grand council of the league and a treaty was concluded at on ing the intelligence of this event the whole community was in an uproar of exultation the trumpet of the sturdy van sounded all day with joyful from the of fort and at night the city new york was illuminated with two hundred and fifty candles besides a barrel of tar which was burned before the governor s house the cheering aspect of public affairs and now my	48

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