PS ^' « ./ "Bmmtff^ '^';/^fL^»^%^^'S»j»*» t » « « » I I II. ......j..u« .i.i Second Thoughts .20 •^4 The New Magdalen. . . .20 80. ;:;, Divorce, Margaret Lee .20 :j Life of Washington.. . .20 81. ,•,'• Social Etiquette .15 82. •:6 Single Heart and Dou- 8J. ble Face, Chas. Reade .10 ??0 Irene, by Carl Dctlef.. .20 84. i>Ai Vice Versa, P. Anstey .20 .'il Krnest Maltravers .2() 85. ;]■> T;ie Haunted FTouj^e. .10 86. m John Halifax, Mulock .20 87. Hi 800 Leagues on the 88. Amazon, by Verne.. .10 8:). m The Cryptogram .. .10 90. Wi. Life of Marion .20 91. Paul and Virginia .10 ;- ■ ' 146. V. 147. Tl 148. Ca: y 14^). J;. 150. B.i, I I Barnaoy ituuijo I'l if 151. Felix Holt, bj^ Kl\o. . . lo2. Richelieu, by Ljiton 153. Sunrise, Black, P'tl. Do, Part II 154. Tour of the World in Eighty Days, Verne 155. Mystery of Orcfval . . . 156. Lovel, the Widower . 15T. Romantic Adv- ' of aMilkmaic' 158. David Coppeii; Do. Part II 159. Charlotte Temple.. 160. Rienzi, Lytton, Par- Do.. Pare It 161. Promise of Marriage. 162. Faith and Unfaith. . 163. The Ha^jpy Man 164. Barry Lyndon S^-z FMR FACES, And fair, in the litera.. and met pleasing sense, are those kept fkesu and ruRE by the use of eyoHArs oahbolio toilet soap This article, which for the past fifteen years has had I ho commendntioxi of ever, lady who uses it, is made from the bett oils, c:)mbiaed with just the proper a.nount of glycerine and chemically pure carbolic aciU, f;nd is the realizatiou of a 1*EjR- FECT SOAP. It will positively keep the skin fresh, clear, and white; removing tan, freckles and discolorations from the skin; healing all eruptions; prevent chap- ping or roughnct^s ; aUay irritation and soreness ; and overcome all unpleasant effects from perspiration. Is pleasantly perfumed ; and neither when using or afterwards is the slight- est odor of the acid perceptible. 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It has been chemically analyzed by the Board of Health of New York City and p'ouounced entirely free from any material injurious to the health or skin Oyer tv^-o mjllion ladies have u-ed this delightful toilet preparation and iri every mstanre It has eiven entire patisfaction. Ladies, if you desire to bebeauti- '^"^•/r«l'-^"^^'^ ?h^^^^ ^^ ^-^WTK atriai,andbea.nvinied of itsvvoa- derf ul efhcacy. Sold by Fancy Goods Dealers and Druggists everywhere. Price, 75c, per Bottle. Depot, 83 John St., N. Y. LOVELL'S LIBRARY, AHEAD OF ALL COMPETITORS. The improvements being constantly made in ''Lovell's Library " have placed it in the Front Rank of cheap publi- cations in this country. The publishers propose to still further improve the series by having B£TT£R PAPER, BETTER PRINTING, LARGER TYPE, and more attractive cover than any other series in the market. SEE ■^i^Sm.A.T IS S-A.I3D OF IT: The following extract from a letter recently received shows the appreciation in which the Library is held by those who most constantly read it: '* Mercantile Library, } "Baliimore. August 29, 1883. f ** Will you kindly send me two copies of your latest list ? I am glad to see that you now issue a volume every day. Your Library we find greatly preferable to the 'Seaside ' and ' Franklin Square ' Series, and even better than the ISmo. form of the latter, the page being of better shape, the lines better leaded, and the words better spaced. Altogether your series is much more in fav^r with our subscribers than either of its rivals. *'S. C. DONALDSO:^, Assistant Librarian.'' JOHN W. LOVELIi tlO., Publishers, 14 &; le "Vesey Street, 3^T©"w• 'STorlt. WOLFEET'S EOOST, AND MISCELLANIES. BY WASHINGTON IRVING. NEW YORK: JOHN W. LOVELL, COMPANY, 14 & 16 Vesey Street. V ~,%^ WOLFERT'S ROOST AND MISCELLANIES, A CHEONICLE OF WOLFERT'S ROOST. TO THE EDITOR OF THE KNICKERBOCKER. Sir : I have observed that as a man advances in life, he ia subject to a kind of plethora of the mind, doubtless occasioned ]jy the vast accumulation of vv^sdom and experience upon the brain. Hence he is apt to become narrative and admonitory, that is to say, fond of telhng long stories, and of dohng out advice, to the small profit and great annoyance of his friends. As I have, a great horror of becoming the oracle, or, more technically speak-* ing, the " bore," of the domestic circle, and would much rather* bestow my wisdom and. tediousness upon the world at large, X have always sought to ease off this surcharge of the intellect by means of my pen, and hence have inflicted divers gossiping volumes upon the patience of the public. I am tired, however, of writing volumes; they do not afford exactly the relief I re-, quire; there is too much preparation, arrangement, and parade, in this set form of coming before the public. I am growing too indolent and unambitious for any thing that requires labor or display. I have thought, therefore, of securing to myself a snug corner in some periodical work w^here I might, as it were, loll at my ease in my elbow-chair, and chat sociably with the public, as with an old friend, on any chance subject that might l)op into my brain. In looking around, for tliis purpose, upon the various excel- lent periodicals with which our country abounds, my eye was struck by the title of your work— " The Knickerbocker." My lieart leaped at the ;rir;ht. G W0LFERT8 BOOST AND MISCELLANIES. DiEDRiCH Knickerbocker, Sir, was one of my earliest and most valued friends, and the recollection of him is associated with some of the pleasantest scenes of my youthful days. To explain this, and to show how I came into possession of foundry of his posthumous works, which I have from time to time given to the world, permit me to relate a few particulars of our early mtercourse. I give them with the more confi- dence, as I know the interest you take in that departed worthy, whose name and effigy are stamped upon your title-page, and as they will be found important to the better understanding and rehshing divers communications I may have to make to you. My first acquaintance with that great and good man, for such I may venture to call him, now that the lapse of some thirty years has shrouded his name with venerable antiquity, and the popular voice has elevated him to the rank of the classic historians of yore, my first acquaintance with him was formed on the banks of the Hudson, not far from the wizard region of Sleepy Hollow. He had come there in the course of his researches among the Dutch neighborhoods' for materials for his hnmortal history. For this purpose, he was ransacking the archives of one of the most ancient and historical man- sions in the country. It was a lowly edifice, built in the time of the Dutch dynasty, and stood on a green bank, over- shadowed by trees, from which it peeped forth upon the Great Tappan Zee, so famous among early Dutch navigatoi's. A bright pure spring welled up at the foot of the green bank ; a wild brook came babbling down a neighboring ravine, and threw itself into a little woody cove, in front of the mansion. It was indeed as quiet and sheltered a nook as the heart of man could require, in which to take refuge from the cares and troubles of the world ; and as such, it had been chosen in old times, by Wolf ert Acker, one of the privy councillors of the re- nowned Peter Stuyvesant. This worthy but ill-starred man had led a weary and worried life, throughout the stormy reign of the chivalric Peter, being one of those unlucky wights with whom the world is ever at variance, and who are kept in a continual fume and fret, by the wickedness of mankind. At the time of the subjugation of the province by the English, he retired hither in high dudgeon ; with the bitter determination to bury himgelf from the world, and Hve here in peace and quietness for the remainder of his days. In token of this fixed resolution, he inscribed over his door the . f avvorite Dutch motto, "Lust in T^ust," (pleasure in A CBROmCLE OF WOLFERTS ROOST. 7 repose.) The mansion was thence called *' Wolf ert's Rust "-^ Wolfert's Rest ; but in process of ti:»ae, the name was vitiated into Wolfert's Roost, probably from its quaint cock-loft look, or from its having a weather-cock perched on every gable. Tills name it continued to bear, long after the unlucky Woifert vras driven forth once more upon a wrangling woild, by the tongue of a termagant wife; for it passed into a. proverb through the neighborhood, and has been handed dovv-n by tra- dition, tliat the cock of the Roost was the most hen-pecked bird :.n the country. This primitive and historical mansion has since passed through many changes and trials, which it may be my lot hereafter to notice. At the time of the sojourn of Dicdrich Knickerbocker it was in poss»!;ssion of the gallant family of the Van Tassels, who have figured so conspicuously in his writings. What appears to have given it pecuhar value, in his eyes, was the rich treasury of historical facts here secretly hoarded up, like buried gold ; for it is said that Woifert Acker, when he re- treated from New Amsterdam, carried off with him many of the records and journals of the province, pertaining to the Dutch dynasty ; swearing that they should never fall into the hands of the Enghsh. These, like the lost books of Livy, had baffled the research of former historians ; but these did I find the indefatigable Diedrich diligently deciphering. Ke was already a sage in yes'.rs and experience, I but an idle stripling ; yet he did not despise my youth and ignorance, but took me kindly by the hand, and led me gently into those paths of local and traditional lore wliich he was so fond of exploring. I sat with him in his little chamber at the Roost, and watched the antiquarian patience and perseverance with which he deciphered those venerable Dutch documents, worse than Herculanean manuscripts. I eat with him by the spring, at the foot of the green bank, and hstened to his heroic tales about the wor- thies of the olden time, the paladins of New Amsterdam. I accompanied him in his legendary researches about Tarrytown and Sing-Sing, and explored with him the spell-bound recesses of Sleepy Hollow, I was present at many of his conferences with the good old Dutch burghers and their wives, from whom he derived many of those marvellous facts not laid do\^Ti in books or records, and which give such superior value and authenticity to his history, over all others that have been writ- ten concerning the New Netherlands. But let me check my proneness to dilate upon this f avorito 8 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. theme ; I may recur to it hereafter. Suffice it to say, the inti- macy thus formed, continued for a considerable tune ; and in company with the worthy Diedrich, I visited many of the places celebrated by his pen. The currents of our Mves at length diverged. He remained at home to complete his mighty work, while a vagrant fancy led me to wander about the world. Many, many years elapsed, belore I returned to the parent soil. In the interim, the venerable historian of the New Netherlands had been gathered to his fathers, but his name had risen to renown. His native city, that city in which he so much delighted, had decreed all manner of costly honors to his memory. I found his effigy imprinted upon new-year cakes, and devoured with eager relish by holiday urchins; a great oyster-house bore the name of "Knickerbocker Hall;" and I narrowly escaped the pleasure of being run over by a Knicker- bocker omnibus ! Proud of having associated with a man who had achieved such greatness, I now recalled our early intimacy with tenfold pleasure, and sought to revisit the scenes we had trodden to- gether. The most important of these was the mansion of the Van Tassels, the Roost of the mifortunate Wolfert. Time, which changes all tilings, is but slow in its operations upon a Dutchman's dwelling. I found the venerable and quaint little edihce much as I had seen it during the sojourn of Diedrich. Tliere stood his elbow-chair in the comer of the room he had occupied; the old-fashioned Dutch writing-desk at which he had pored over the chronicles of the Manhattoes ; there Avas the old wooden chest, with the archives left by Wolfert Acker, many of which, however, had been fired off as waddmg from the long duck gim of the Van Tassels. The scene around the mansion was still the same ; the green bank ; the spring beside which I had listened to the legendary narratives of the histo- rian ; the wild brook babbhng down to the woody cove, and the overshadowing locust trees, half shutting out the prospect of the great Tappan Zee. As I looked round upon the scene, my heart yearned at the recollection of my departed friend, and I wistfully eyed the mansion which he had inhabited, and which was fast moulder- ing to decay. The thought struck me to arrest the desolating hand of Time ; to rescue the historic pile from utter ruin, and to make it the closing scene of my wanderings ; a quid} home, where I might enjoy "lust in rust" for the remainder of my days. It is true, the fate of the unlucky Wolfert passed across A CnRONICLE OF WOLFEUTS ROOST. 9 my mind ; but I consoled myself -svith the reflection that I was a bachelor, and that I had no termagant wife to dispute the sovereignty of the Roost with me. I have become possessor of the Roost ! I have repaired and renovated it with religions care, in the genuine Dutch style, and have adorned and illustrated it with simdry reliques of the glorious days of the New Netherlands. A venerable weather- cock, of portly Dutch dimensions, which once battled with the wind on the top of the Stadt-House of New Amsterdam, in the time of Peler Stuyvesant, now erects its crest on the gable end of my edifice ; a gilded horse in full gallop, once the weather- cock of the gi'cat Vander Hoyden Palace of Albany, now glit- ters in the sunsliine, and veers with every breeze, on the peaked turret over my i^ortal ; my sanctum sanctorum is the chamber once honored by the illustrious Diedrich, and it is from his elbow-chair, and his identical old Dutch writmg-desk, that I pen this rambling epistle. Here, then, have I set up my rest, surrounded by the recol- lections ci early days, and the mementoes of the historian of the ilanliattoes, with that glorious river before me, which flows Y/ith such majesty through his works, and which has ever beem to me a river of delight. I thank God I was born on the banks of the Hudson! I think it -an invaluable advantage to be born and brought up in the neighborhood of some grand and n»oble object in nature; a river, a lake, or a mountain. We make a friendship with it, we in a manner ally ourselves to it for life. It remains an object of our pride and affections, a rallying point, to call us home again after all our wanderings. " The things which we have learned in our childhood," says an old writer, " grow up with our souls, and unite themselves to it." So it is with the scenes among which we have passed our early days ; they in- fluence the whole course c£ our thoughts and feelings ; and I fancy I can trace much of what is good and pleasant in my ovvm > eterogeneous compound to my early companionship with this glorious river. In the warmth of my youthful enthusiasm, I used to clothe it with moral attributes, and almost to give it a soul. I admired its frank, bold, honest character; its noble sincerity and perfect truth. Here was no specious, smiling surface, covering the dangerous sand-bar or perfidious rock; but a stream deep as it was broad, and bearing with honorable faith the bark that trusted to its waves. I gloried in its simple, quiot, majestic, epic flow; over straight forwai'd. Once, in- 10 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. deed, it turns aside for a moment, forced from its course by opposing mountains, but it struggles bravely through them, and immediately resumes its straightforward march. Behold, thought I, an emblem of a good man's course through life; ever simple, open, and direct; or if, overpowered by adverse circumstances, he deviate into error, it is but momentary ; he soon recovers his on^vard and honorable career, and continues it to the end of his pilgrimage. Excuse this rhapsody, into wliich I have been betrayed by a revival oi early feelings. The Hudson is, in a manner, my first and last love ; and after all my wanderings and seeming infi- dehties, I return to it with a heart-felt preference over all the other rivers in the world. I seem to catch new life as I bathe in its ample billows and inhale the yuxQ breezes of its hills. It is time, the rom^xice of youth is past, that once spread illusions over every scene. I can no longer picture an Arcadia in every green valley; nor a fairyland among the distant mountains; nor a peerless beauty in every villa gleaming among the trees ; but though the illusions of youth have faded from the land- scape, the recollections of departed years and departed pleas- ures shed over it the mellow charm of evening sunshine. Permit me, then, Mr. Editor, through the medium of your work, to hold occasional discourse from my retreat ^\ith the busy world I have abandoned. I have much to say about wiiat I have seen, heard, felt, and thought through the course of a varied and rambling life, and some lucubrations that have long been encumbering my portfolio; together with divers remi- niscences of the venerable histoi'iati of the New Netherlands, that may not be unacceptable to those who have taken an interest in his writings, and are desirous of any thing that may cast a light back upon our early history. Let your readers rest assured of one thing, that, though retired from the world, I am not disgusted with it ; and that if in my communings with it I do not prove very wise, I trust I shall at least prove very good-natured. Which is all at present, from Yours, etc., Geoffrey Crayon. TO THE EDITOR OF THE KNICKERBOCKER. Worthy Sir: In a preceding communication, I have given you some brief notice of Wolf ert's Roost, the mansion where I A CHRONICLE OF WOLFEBTS ROOST. H first had the good fortune to become acquainted with the ven- erable historian of the New Netherlands. As this ancient edi- fice is hkely to be the place whence I shall date many of my lucubrations, and as it is really a very remarkable little pile, intimately connected with all the great epochs of our local and national history, I have thought it but right to give some farther particulars concerning it. Fortunately, in rummaging a ponderous Dutch chest of drawers, which serves as the archives of the Roost, and in which are preserved many inedited manuscripts of Mr. Knickerbocker, together with the precious records of New- Amsterdam, brought hither by Wolf ert Acker at the downfall of the Dutch dynasty, as has been already mentioned, I found in one corner, among dried pump- kin-seeds, bunches of thyme, and pennyroyal, and crumbs of new-year cakes, a manuscript, carefully wrapped up in the fragment of an old parchment deed, but much blotted, and the ink grown foxy by time, which, on inspection, I discovered to be a faithful chronicle of the Roost. The hand-writing, and certain internal evidences, leave no doubt in my mind, that it is a genuine production of the venerable historian of the New- Netherlands, written, very probably, during his residence at the Roost, in gi^atitude for the hospitality of its proprietor. As such, I submit it for publication. As the entire chronicle is too long for the pages of your Magazine, and as it contains many minute particulars, which inight prove tedious to the general reader, I have abbreviated and occasionally omitted some of its details ; but may hereafter furnish them separately, should they seem to be required by the curiosity of an enlight- ened and document-hunting public. Respectfully yours, Geoffrey Crayon. A CHRONICLE OF WOLFERT'S ROOST. FOUND AMONG THE PAPERS OF THE LATE DIEDRICH KNICKER- BOCKER. About five-and-twenty miles from the ancient and renowned city of Manhattan, formerly called New- Amsterdam, and vul- garly called New- York, on the eastern bank of that expansion of the Hudson, known among Dutch mariners of yore, as the 12 WOLFEUrS BOOST AM) MISCELLANIES. Tappan Zee, being in fact the great Mediterranean Sea of the NeAv-Netherlands, stands a little old-fashioned stone mansion, all made up of gable-ends, and as full of anglei and comers as an old cocked hat. Though but of small dimensions, yet, like many small people, it is of mighty spmt, and values itself gi-eatiy on its antiquity, being one of the oldest edifices, for its size, in the whole country. It claims to be an ancient seat of empire, I may rather say an empire in itself, and hke all em- pires, great and small, has had its grand historical epochs: In speaking of this doughty and valorous little pile, I shall call it by its usual appellation of " The Roost;" though that is a name given to it in modern days, since it became the abode of the wliite man. Its origin, in truth, dates far back in that remote region com- monly called the fabulous age, in which vulgar fact becomes mystified, and tinted up with delectable fiction. The eastern shore of the Tappan Sea was inhabited in those days by an unsophisticated race, existing in all the simplicity of nature ; that is to say, they lived by hunting and fishing, and recreated themselves occasionally with a httle tomahawking and scalp- ing. Each stream that floAvs down from the hills into the Hudson, had its petty sachem, who ruled over a hand's-breadth of forest on either side, and had his seat of government at its mouth. The chieftain who ruled at the Roost, was not merely a great warrior, but a medicine-man, or prophet, or conjurer, for they all mean the same thing, in Indian parlance. Of his fighting propensities, evidences still remain, in various arrow- heads of fiint, and stone battle-axes, occasionally digged up about the Roost : of his wizard powers, we have a token in a spring which weUs up at the foot of the bank, on the very margin of the river, which, it is said, was gifted by him with rejuvenating powers, something like the renowned Foimtain of Youth in the Floridas, so anxiously but vainly sought after by the veteran Ponce de Leon. This story, however^ is stoutly contradicted by an old Dutch matter-of-fact tradition, which declares that the spring in question was smuggled over from HoUand in a churn, by Femmetie Van Slocum, wife of Goosen Garret Van Slocum, one of the first settlers, and that she took it up by night, unknown to her husband, from beside their farm-house near Rotterdam; being sure she should find no water equal to it in the new country— and she was right. The wizard sachem had a great passion for discussing terri- torial questions, and settling boundary lines ; this kept him in A GBBONIGLE OF WOLFERTS BOOST. 13 continual feud -with the neighboring sachems, each of whom stood up stoutly for his hand-breadth of territory ; so that there is not a petty stream nor ragged hill in the neighborhood, that has not been the subject of long talks and hard battles. The sachem, however, as has been observed, was a medicine-man, as well as warrior, and vindicated his claims by arts as well as arms ; so that, by dint of a Httle hard fighting here, and hocus- pocus there, he managed to extend his boundary-line from field to field and stream to stream, until he found himself in legiti- mate possession of that region of hiUs and valleys, bright fountains and limpid brooks, locked in by the mazy windings of the Neperan and the Pocantico.* This last-mentioned stream, or rather the valley through which it flows, was the most difficult of all his acquisitions. It lay half way to the strong-hold of the redoubtaole sachem of Sing-Sing, and was claimed by him as an integral part of his domains. Many were the sharp conflicts between the rival chieftains for the sovereignty of this valley, and many the ambuscades, surprisals, and deadly onslaughts that took place among its fastnesses, of which it grieves me much that I can- not furnish the details for the gratification of those gentle but bloody-minded readers of both sexes, who dehght in the romance of the tomahawk and scalping-knife. Suflace it to say that the ■wizard chieftain was at length victorious, though his victory is attributed in Indian tradition to a great medicine or charm by which he laid the sachem of Sing-Sing and his warriors asleep among the rocks and recesses of the valley, where they remain asleep to the present day with their bows and war-clubs beside them. This was the origin of that potent and drowsy spell which still prevails over the valley of the Pocantico, and which has gained it the well-merited appellation of Sleepy HoUow. Often, in secluded and quiet parts of that valley, where the stream is overhung by dark woods and rocks, the ploughman, *As EVERT one may not recognize these boundaries by their original Indian names, it may be -well to observe, that the Neperan is that beautiful stream, vul . garly called the Saw-Mill River, which, after winding gracefully for many miles through a lovely valley, shrouded by gi-oves. and dotted by Dutch farm-houses, empties itself into the Hudson, at the ancient dorp of Yonkers. Ihe Pocantico is that hitherto nameless brook, that, rising among woody hills, winds in many a wizard maze through the sequestered haunts of Sleepy Hollow. We owe it to the indefatigable researches of Mr. KNicKERBOCKiiR, that those beautiful streams are rescued from modern common-place, and reinvested with their ancient Indian names. The correctness of the venerable historian may be ascertained, by refer- ence to the records of the original Indian grants to the Herr Frederick Philipsen, preserved in the coimty clerk's office, at White Plains. on some calm and sunny day as he slioats to his oxen, is sur- prised at hearing faint shouts from the hill-sides in reply; being, it is said, the spell-boimd warrL:»rs, who half start from their rocky couches and gi^asp then- weapons, but sink to sleep again. The conquest of the Pocantico was the last triumph of the wizard sachem. Notmthstanding all his medicine and charms, he fell in battle in attempting to extend his boundary hne to the east so as to take in the httle wild valley of the Sprain, and his grave is still shown near the banks of that pastoral stream. He left, however, a great empire to his successors, extending along the Tappan Zee, from Yonkers quite to Sleepy Hollow; all wliich delectable region, if every one had his right, would still acknowledge allegiance to the lord of the Roost — whoever he might be.* The wizard sachem was succeeded by a Hne of chiefs, of whom nothing remarkable remains on r*rCord. The last who makes any figure in history is the one who ruled here at the time of the discovery of the country by the white man. This sachem is said to have been a renowned trencherman, who maintained almost as potent a sway by dint of good feeding as his warlike predecessor had done by hard fighting. He dili- gently cultivated the growth of ousters along the aquatic borders of his territories, and founded those great oyster-beds which yet exist along the shores of the Tappan Zee. Did any dispute occur between him and a neighboring sachem, he in- vited him and all his principal sages and fighting-men to a solemn banquet, and seldom failed of feeding them into terms. Enormous heaps of oyster-shells, which encumber the lofty banks of the river, remain as monuments of his gastronomical victories, and have been occasionally adduced through mistake by amateur geologists from town, as additional proofs of the deluge. Modern investigators, who are making such indefati- gable researches into our early history, have even affirmed that this sachem was the very individual on whom Master Hendrick Hudson and his mate, Robert Juet, made that sage and * In recording the contest for the sovereignty of Sleepy Hollow, I have called one sachem by the modern name of his castle or strong-hold, viz. : Sing-Sing. This, I would observe for the sake of historical exactness, is a corruption of the old Indian name,* O-sin -sing, or rather 0-sin-song; that is to say, a place where any thing may be had for a song— a great recommendation for a market town. The modern and melodious alteration of the name to Sing-Sing is said to have been made in compliment to an eminent Methodist singing-master, who first introduced into the neighborhood the art of singiBg through the nose. D. K. A CHR02sICLE OF WOLFERTS ROOST. 15 astounding experiment so gravely recorded by the latter in his narrative of the voyage: "Our master and his mate deter- mined to try some of the cheefe men of the country whether they had any treacherie in them. So they took them down into the cabin and gave them so much wine and aqua vitse that they were all very merrie ; one of them had his wife with him, which sate so modestly as any of our countrywomen would do in a strange place. In the end one of them was drunke ; and that was strange to them, for they could not tell how to take it."* How far Master Hendrick Hudson and his worthy mate car- ried their experiment with the sachem's wife is not recorded, neither does the curious Robert Juet make any mention of the after-consequences of this grand moral test; tradition, how- ever, affirms that the sachem on landing gave his modest spouse a hearty rib-roasting, according to the connubial disci- phne of the aboriginals ; it farther affirms that he remained a hard drinker to the day of his death, trading away all his lands, acre by acre, for aqua vitoe ; by which means the Eoost and all its domains, from Yonkers to Sleepy Hollow, came, in the regular course of trade and by right of purchase, into the possession of the Dutchmen. Never has a territorial riglit in these new countries been more legitimately and tradefully established ; yet, I giieve to say, the worthy government of the New Netherlands was not suffered to enjoy this grand acquisition unmolested ; for, in the year 1654, the losel Yankees of Connecticut — those swapping, bargaining, squatting enemies of the Manhattoes — made a daring inroad into this neighborhood and founded a colony called Westchester, or, as the ancient Dutch records term it, Vest Dorp, in the right of one Thomas Pell, who pretended to have purchased the whole surrounding coimtry of the Indians, and stood ready to argue their claims before any tribunal of Christendom. This happened during the chivalrous reigTi of Peter Stuyve- sant, and it roused the u'e of that guni^owder old hero ; wiio, v.^thout waiting to discuss claims tend tit/es, pounced at once upon the nest of nefarious squatters, carried off tv\-enty-five of t}iem in chains to the Manhattoes, nor did he stay his hand, nor give rest to his wooden leg, until he had driven every Yankee back into the bounds of Connecticut, or obhged him * See Juefs Jourual. Purchas rilgrim. 16 woLFjarrs uo-ust am) miscellanies.- to acknowledge allegiance to their High Mightinesses. He then established certain out-posts, far in the Indian country, to keep an eye over these debateable lands; one of these border-holds was the Roost, being accessible from New Amster- dam by water, and easily kept supplied. The Yankees, how- ever, ha.d too great a hankering after this delectable region to give it up entirely. Some remained and swore allegiance to the IManhattoes ; but, while they kept this open semblance of fealty, they went to work secretly and vigorously to inter- marry ?md multijTjy, and by these nefarious means, artfully propagated themselves into possession of a wide tract of those open, arable parts of Westcliester county, lying along the Sound, where their descendants may be found at the present day ; while the mountainous regions along the Hudson, with the valleys of the Neperan and the Pocantico, are tenaciously held by the lineal descendants of the Copperheads. The chronicle of the venerable Diedrich here goes on to relate how that, shortly after the above-mentioned events, the whole province of the New Netherlands was subjugated by the British ; how that Wolf ert Acker, one of the wrang;ling coun- cillors of Peter Stuyvesant, retired in dudgeon to this fastness in the wilderness, determining to enjoy "lust in rust" for the remainder of his days, whence the place first received its name of WoKert's Roost. As these and sundry other matters have been laid before the public in a preceding article, I shall pass them over, and resume the chronicle where it treats of matters not hitherto recorded: Like many men who retire from a worrying world, says Diedrich Knickerbocker, to enjoy quiet in the country, Wol-. fert Acker soon found himself up to the ears in trouble. He had a termagant wife at home, and there was what is profanely called "the deuce to pay," abroad. The recent irruption of the Yankees into the bounds of the New Netherlands, had left behind it a doleful pestilence, such as is apt to follow the steps of invading armies. Tliis vvt^s the deadly plague of witchcraft, which had long been prevalent to the eastward. The malady broke out at Vest Dorp, and threatened to spread throughou't the country. The Dutch burghers along the Hudson, from Yonkers to Bleepy Hollow, hastened to nail horse-shoes to their doors, which have ever pe<.';a foraid of sovereign ^rtue to repel A CHRONICLE OF WOLFUJETS ROOST. 17 tMs awful visitation. This is the origin of the horse-shoes which may still be seen nailed to the doors of barns and farm- houses, in various parts of this sage and sober-thoughted region. The evn, however, bore hard upon the Roost; partly, per- Iiaps, from its having in old times been subject to supernatural iniiuences, during the sway of the Wizard Sachem ; but it has always, in fact, been considered a fated mansion. The unlucky Wolfert had no rest day nor night. When the weather was quiet all over the country, the v/ind w^ould howl and whistle round his roof; witches would ride and whirl upon his weather- cocks, and scream down liis chinmeys. His cows gave bloody milk, and liis horses broke bounds, and scampered into the woods. There were not wanting evil tongues to whisper that Woliert's termagant wife had some tampering with the enemy ; and that she even attended a witches' Sabbath in Sleepy Hol- low ; nay, a neighbor, who lived hard by, declared tha.t he saw her harnessing a ramj^ant broom-stick, and about to ride to the meeting; though others presume it was merely flourished in the course of one of her curtain lectures, to ^xYq energy and emphasis to a period. Certain it is, that Wolfert Acker nailed a horse-shoe to the front door, during one of her nocturnal excursions, to prevent her return; but as she re-entered the house without any difficulty, it is probable she was not so mTicli of a witch as she was represented.* After the time of Wolfert Acker, a long interval elapses, about which but little is known. It is hoped, however, that the antiquarian researches so diligently making in every part * HiSTonrcAL Note. — The annexed extracts from tlie early colonial records, re- late to tlie irruption of witchci-aft into Westchester county, as mentioned in the chronicle: " Ji'LY 7, lOro.— Katharine Harryson, accused of witchcraft on complaint of Tho- mas Hunt and Edward Vv'aters, in behalf of the town, who pray that she may be ilriven from the town of Westchester. Tlio woman appears before the comicil. .... She was a native of England, and had lived a year in Weathersiield. Con- nacticut, whoi'e she had been tried for witchcraft, found jruilty by the jury, nc- ci.'itted by the bench, and released out of prison, upon condition she v.'ould remove. Aiiair adjourned. " August 24.— Affair taken up again, Avhen. being: heard at large, it was referred to the general court of assize. AYoman ordered to give security for good behavior,'' etc. In another place is the following entry: "Order given for Katharine Harryson, charged with witchcraft, to leave West- chester, as the inhabitants are uneasy at b.er residing there, and she is ordered to go off." 18 WOLFBRT'S BOOST AND MISCELLANIES. of this new country, may yet throw some light upon what may be termed the Dark Ages of the Roost. The next period at which we find this venerable and eventful pile rising to importance, and resuming its old belligerent char- acter, is during the revolutionary war. It was at that time owned by Jacob Van Tassel, or Van Texel, as the name was originally spelled, after the place in Holland which gave birth to this heroic line. He was strong-built, long-limbed, and as stout in soul as in body ; a fit successor to the warrior sachem of yore, and, like hun, delighting in extravagant enterprises and hardy deeds of arms. But, before I enter upon the ex- ploits of this worthy cock of the Roost, it is fitttag I should throw some hght upon the state of the mansion, and of the surrounding country, at the time. The situation of the Roost is in the very heart of what was the debateable gi^ound between the American and British Mnes, luring the war. The British held possession of the city of New STork, and the island of ^Manhattan on which it stands. The Americans drew up toward the Highlands, holding their hoad- quartf rs at Peekskill. The intervening country, from Croton River to Spiting Devil Creek, v/as the debateable land, subject to be harried by friend and foe, like the Scottish borders of yore. It is a rugged country, with a liae of rocky hills extend- ing through it, like a back bone, sending ribs on either side ; but among these rude hills are beautiful wiuding vaUeys, like those watered by the Pocantico and the Neperan. In the fast- nesses of these hills, and along these valleys, exist a race of hard-headed, hard-handed, stout-hearted Dutchmen, descend- ants of the primitive Nederlanders. Most of these were strong whigs throughout the war, and have ever remained obstinately attached to the soil, and neither to be fought nor bought out of their paternal acres. Others were tories, and adherents to the. old kingly rule ; some of whom took refuge within the British lines, joined the royal bands of refugees, a name odious to the American ear, and occasionally returned to harass their an- cient neighbors. In a httle while, this debateable land was overrun by preda- tory bands from either side; sacking hen-roosts, plundering farm-houses, and driving off cattle. Hence arose those two great orders of border chivalry, the Skinners and the Coav- boys, famous in the heroic annals of Westchester county. The former fought, or rather marauded, under the American, the latter under the British banner ; but both, in the hm^ry of their A CHRONICLE OF W0LFERT8 ROOST. 19 military ardor, were apt to err on the safe side, and rob friend as well as foe. Neither of them stopped to ask the politics of horse or cow, which they drove into captivity ; nor, when they wi'ung the neck of a rooster, did they trouble their heads to ascertain v/hether he were crowing for Congress or King George. While this marauding system prevailed on shore, the Great Tappan Sea, which washes this belligerent region, was domi- neered over by British frigates and other vessels of war, an- chored here and there, to keep an eye upon the river, and maintain a communication betAveen the various military posts. Stout galleys, also, armed with eighteen-pounders, and navi- gated with sails and oars, cruised about like hawks, ready to pounce upon their prey. All these were eyed with bitter hostility by the Dutch yeo- manry along shore, who were indignant at seeing their great Mediterranean ploughed by hostile prows ; and would occasion- ally tlu'ow up a mud breast- work on a point or promontory, mount an old iron field-piece, and fire away at the enemy, though the greatest harm was apt to happen to themselves from the bursting of their ordnance ; nay, there was scarce a Dutclnnan along the river that would hesitate to fire with his long duck gun at any British cruiser that came within reach, as he had been accustomed to fire at water-fowl. I have been thus particular in my account of the times and neighborhood, that the reader might the more readily com- prehend the smTOunding dangers in this the Heroic Age of the Roost. It was conmianded at the time, as I have already observed, hj the stout Jacob Van Tassel. As I wish to be extremely accurate in this pa,rt of my chronicle, I beg that this Jacob Van Tassel of the Roost may not be confounded with another Jacob Van Tassel, commonly known in border story by the name of "Clump-footed Jake," a noted tory, and one of the refugee band of Spiting Devil. On the contrary, he of the Roost was a patriot of the first water, and, if we may take his own word for granted, a thorn in the side of the enemy. As the Roost, from its lonely situation on the water's edge, might be liable to attack, he took measures for defence. On a row of hooks above his fire-place, reposed his great piece of ord- nance, ready charged and primed for action. This was a duck, or rather goose-gun, of unparalleled longitude, with which it was said he could kill a wild goose, though half-way 20 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. across the Tappan Sea. Indeed, there are as many wonders told of this renowned gun, as of the enchanted weapons of the heroes of classic story. In different parts of the stone Avails of his mansion, he had made loop-holes, through which he might fire upon an assail- ant. His wife was stout-hearted as himself, and could load as fast as he could fire ; and then he had an ancient and redoubtable sister, Nochie Van Wurmer, a match, as he said, for the stout- est man in the country. Thus garrisoned, the little Roost was fit to stand a siege, and Jacob Van Tassel was the man to defend it to the last charge of powder. He was, as I have already hinted, of pugnacious propensities ; and, not content with being a patriot at home, and fightmg for the security of his own fireside, he extended his thoughts abroad, and entered into a confederacy with cerfcam of the bold, hard-riding lads of Tarry town, Petticoat Lane, and Sleepy Hollow, who formed a kind of Holy Brotherhood, scouring the country to clear it of Skinner and Cow-boy, and all other bor- der vermin. The Roost was one of their rallying points. Did a band of marauders from Manhattan island come sweeping through the neighborhood, and driving off cattle, the stout Jacob and his compeers were soon clattering at their heels, and fortunate did the rogues esteem themselves if they could but get a part of their booty across the lines, or escape themselves without a rough handling. Should the mosstroopers succeed in passing with their cavalgada, with thundering tramp and dusty whirlwind, across Kingsbridge, the Holy Brotherhood of the Roost would rein up at that perilous pass, and, wheehng about, would indemnify themselves by foraging the refugee region of Morrisania. When at home at the Roost, the stout Jacob was not idle; but was prone to carry on a petty warfare of his OAvn, for his private recreation and refreshment. Did he ever chance to espy, from his look-out place, a hostile ship or galley anchored or becalmed near shore, he would take down his long goose-gun from the hooks over the fire-place, sally out alone, and lurk along shore, dodging behind rocks and trees, and watching for hours together, like a veteran mouser intent on a rat-hole. So sure as a boat put off for shore, and came witliin shot, bang! went the great goose-gun; a shower of slugs and buck-shot whistled about the ears of the enemy, and before tiie boat could reach the shore, Jacob had scuttled up some woody ravine, and left no trace beliind. A CIIROMCLH OF WOLFLUTS ROOST. 21 About tliis time, the Roost experienced a vast accession of warlike importance, in being made one of the stations of the ■water-guard. This was a kind of aquatic corps of observation, composed of long, sharp, canoe-shaped boats, technically called whale-boats, that lay lightly on the water, and could be rowed with great rapidity. They were manned by resolute fellows, skilled at pulling an oar, or handling a musket. These lurked about in nooks and bays, and behind those long promontories which run out into the Tappan Sea, keeping a look-out, to give notice of the approach or movements of hostile ships. They roved about in pairs; sometimes at night, with muffled oars, gliding like spectres about frigates and guard-ships riding at anchor, cutting off any boats that made for shore, and keeping the enemy in constant uneasiness. These musquito-cruisers generally kept aloof by day, so that their harboring places might not be discovered, but would pull quietly along, under shadow of the shore, at night, to take up their quarters at the Roost. Hither, at such time, would also repair the hard-riding lads of the liilis, to hold secret councils of war with the ''ocean chivalry;" and in these nocturnal meetings were concerted many of those daring forays, by land and water, that resounded throughout the border. The chronicle here goes on to 'recount divers wonderful stories of the wars of the Roost, from Avhich it would seem, that this little warrior nest carried the terror of its arms into every sea, from Spiting Devil Creek to Antony's Nose ; that it even bearded the stout island of Manhattan, invading it at night, penetrating to its centre, and burning down the famous Delancey house, the conflagration of which makes such a binze in revolutionary history. Nay more, in their extravagant dar- ing, these cocks of the Roost meditated a nocturnal descent upon Nev;- York itself, to swoop upon the British commandei^, Howe and Clinton, by surprise, bear them off captive, and per- haps put a triumphant close to the war ! All these and many similar exploits are recorded by the worthy Diedrich, with his usual minuteness and enthusiasm, whenever the deeds in arms of his kindred Dutchmen are in question ; but though most of these warlike stories rest upon the best of all authority, that of the warriors themselves, and though many of them are still current among the revolutionary patriarchs of this heroic neighborhood, yet I dare not expose 22 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. them to the increduhty of a tamer and less chivah'ic age. Suffice it to say, the frequent gatherings at the Roost, and the hardy projects set on foot there, at length drew on it the fiery indignation of the enemy ; and this was quickened by the conduct of the stout Jacob Van Tassel ; with whose valorous achievements we resume the course of the chronicle. This doughty Dutchman, continues the sage Diedrigh Knickerbocker, was not content with taking a share in all the magnaminous enterprises concocted at the Roost, but still con- tinued his petty warfare along shore. A series of exploits at length raised his confidence in his prowess to such a height, that he began to think himself and his goose-gun a match for any thmg. Unluckily, in the course of one of his prowlings, he descried a British transport agromid, not far from shore, with her stern swung toward the land, within point-blank shot. The temptation was too great to be resisted; bang! as usual, went the great goose-gun, shivering the cabin windows, and driving all hands forward. Bang! bang! the shots were repeated. The reports brought several sharp-shooters of the neighborhood to the spot ; before the transport could bring a gun to bear, or land a boat, to take revenge, she was soundly peppered, and the coast evacuated. This was the last of Jacob's triumphs. He fared like some heroic spider, that has un^vittingly ensnared a hornet, to his immortal glory, perhaps, but to the utter ruin of his web. It was not long after this, during the absence of Jacob Van Tassel on one of his forays, and when no one was in garrison but his stout-hearted spouse, his redoubtable sister, Nochie Van Wurmer, and a strapping negro wench, called Dinah, that an armed vessel came to anchor off the Roost, and a boat full of men pulled to shore. The garrison flcAv to arms, that is to say, to mops, broom-sticks, shovels, tongs, and all kinds of domestic weapons; for, unluckily, the great piece of ordnance, the goOse-gun, was absent with its owner. Above all, a vigorous defence was made with that most potent of female weapons, the tongue. Never did invaded hen-roost make a more vocifer- ous outcry. It was all in vain. The house was sacked and plundered, fire was set to each corner, and in a few moments its blaze shed a baleful Hght far over the Tappan Sea. The invadei-s then pounced upon the blooming Laney Van Tassel, the beauty of the Roost, and endeavored to bear her off to the boat. A CHRONICLE OF WOLFERTS ROOST. 23 But here was the real tug of war. The mother, the aunt, and the strapping negro wench, all flew to the rescue. The struggle continued down to the very water's edge ; when a voice from the armed vessel at anchor, ordered the spoilers to let go their hold; they relinquished their prise, jumped into their boats, and pulled off, and the heroine of the Roost escaped with a mere riunpling of the feathers. The fear of tiring my readers, who may not take such an interest as myself in these heroic themes, induces me to close here my extracts from this precious chronicle of the venerable Diedrich. Sufflce it briefly to say, that shortly after the catastrophe of the Roo3t, Jacob Van Tassel, in the course of one of his forays, fell into the hands of the British ; was sent prisoner to New York, and was detained in captivity for the greater part of the war. In the mean time, the Roost remained a melancholy ruin ; its stone walls and brick chim- neys alone standing, blackened by fire, and the resort of bats and owlets. It was not untfl the return of peace, when this beUigerent neighborhood once more resumed its quiet agricul- tural pursuits, that the stout Jacob sought the scene of his tri- umphs and disasters; rebuilt the Roost, and reared again on high its glittering weather-cocks. Does any one want further particulars of the fortunes of this eventful little pile? Lot him go to the fountain-head, and drink deep of historic truth. Reader 1 the stout Jacob Van Tassel still lives, a venerable, gray-headed patriarch of the rev- olution, now in his ninety-fifth year I He sits by his fireside, in the ancient city of the Manhattoes, and passes the long win- ter evenings, surrounded by Ms children, and grand-children, and great-grand-children, all listening to his tales of the border wars, and the heroic da,ys of the Roost. His great goose-gun, too, is still in existence, having been preserved for many years in a hollow tree, and passed from hand to hand among the Dutch burghers, as a precious relique of the revolution. It is now actually in possession of a contemporary of the stout Jacob, one almost his equal in years, who treasures it up at his house in the Bowerie of Nevr-Amsterdam, hard by the ancient rural retreat of the chivalric Peter Stuyvcsant. I am not without hopes of one day seeing this formidable piece of ordinance restored to its proper station in the ai'senal of the Boost. 24 WOLFEHTS liOOST AND MiSiJELLAMKS. Before closing this historic document, I cannot but adreii: to certain notions and traditions concerning the venerable pile in question. Old-time edifices are apt to gather odd fancies and superstitions about them, as they do moss and weather-stams ; and this is in a neighborhood a little given to old-fashioned notions, and who look upon the Roost as somewhat of a fated mansion. A lonely, rambling, down-hill lane leads to it, over- hung Y/ith trees, with a wild brook dashing along, and crossing and re-crossing it. This lane I f oiin J some of the good people of the neighborhood shy of treading at night ; why, I could not for a long time ascertain ; until I le.irned that one or two of the rovers of the Tappan Sea, shot by the stout Jacob during the war, had been buried hereabout, in unconsecrated ground. Another local superstition is of a less gloomy kind, and one which I confess I am somewhat disposed to cherish. The Tap- pan Sea, in front of the Roost, is about three miles wide, bor- dered by a lofty line of waving and rocky hills. Often, in the still twilight of a sinnni-jr evening, when the sea is like glass, with the opposite hills throwing their purple shadows half across it, a low sound is heard, as of the steady, vigorous pull of oars, far out in the middle of the stream, though not a boat is to be descried. This I should have been apt to ascribe to some boat rowed along under the shadows of the western shore, for sounds are convoyed to a great distance by v.^ater, a,t such quiet iiours, and I can distinctly hear the baying of the watch-dogs at night, from the farms on the sides of the opposite mountains. The ancient traditionists of the neighborhood, however, religiously ascribed these sounds to a jiKlrpnent upon one Rumbout Van Dam, of Spiting Devil, \vho ■ianced and drank late one Saturday night, at a Dutch quilting frolic, at Kakiat, and set off alone for home in his boat, on the verge of Sunday moi-ning ; swearing he would not land till he reached Spiting Devil, if it took him a month of Sundays. He was never seen afterward, but is often heard plying his oars across the Tappan Sea, a Flying Dutchman on a small scale, suited to \h.Q size of his cruising-gi^ound ; being doomed to ply between :-r.akiat and Spiting Devil till the day of judgment, but never to reach the land. There is one room iv^ the mansion which almost overhangs the river, and is repufed to be haunted by the ghost of a young lady who died of love and gTeen apples. I have been awakened at night by the sound of oars and the tinkling of guitars beneath the window ; r.nd seeing a boat loitermg in the SLEEPY HOLLOW. 25 moonlight, have been tempted to believe it the Flying Dutch- man of Spiting Devil, and to try whether a silver bullet might not put an end to his unhappy cruisings ; but, happening to recollect that there was a living young lady in the haunted room, who might bo terrified by the report of fire-arrns, I have refrained from pulling tiigc^er. As to the enchanted fountain, said to have been gifted hj the wizard sachem with supernatural powers, it still wells up at tho foot of the bank, on the margin of the river, and goes by tho name of the Indian spring; but I have my doubts as to its rejuvenating powers, for though I have drank oft and copi- ously of it, I cannot boast that I find myself growing younger. Geofihrey Ceayon. SLEEPY HOLLOW. BY GEOFFREY CRAYON, GENT. Having pitched my tent, probably for the remainder of my days, in the neighborhood of Sleepy Hollow, I am tempted to give some few particulars concerning^ that spell-bound region ; especially as it has risen to historic importance under the pen of my revered friend and master, the sage historian of the New Netherlands. Beside, I find uhe very existence of the place has been held in question by many; who, judging from its odd name and from the odd stories current among the vulgar con- cerning it, have rashly deemed the whole to be a fanciful crea- tion, hke the Lubber Land of mariners. I must confess there is some apparent cause for doubt, in consequence of the color- ing given by the worthy Diedrich to his descriptions of the Hollow ; who, in this instance, has departed a little from his usually sober if not severe style ; beguiled, very probably, by his predilection for the haunts of his youth, and by a certain lurking taint of romance whenever any thing connected with the Dutch was to be described. I shall endeavor to make up for this amiable error on the part of my venerable and venSr- ated friend by presenting the reader with a more precise and statistical account of the Hollow ; though I am not sure that I shall not be prone to lapso in the end into the very error I am spealdng of, so potent is the witchery of the theme. I bcheve it was the very peculiarity of its name and the idea 20 WGLFlCin":^ ilOGoT AND 2I1^CL:L LADIES. of something mystic and dreamy comiected with it that first led me in my boyish rambhngs into Sleepy Hollow. The character of the valley seemed to answer to the name; the slumber of past ages apparently reigned over it; it had not awakened to the stir of imj)rovement Vv^hich had put all the rest of the world in a bustle. Here reigned good, old long-forgotten fashions; the men were in home-spun gai'bs, evidently the product of their own farms and the manufacture of their own wives ; the women were in primitive short gowns and petticoats, with the venerable sun-bonnets of Holland origin. The lower part of the valley was cut up into small farms, each consisting of a httle meadow and corn-field; an orchard of sprawling, gnarled apple-trees, and a garden, where the rose, the marigold, and the hollyhock were permitted to skirt the domains of the capacious cabbage, the aspiring pea, and the portly pumpkin. Each had its prolific little mansion teeming with children ; with an old hat nailed against the wall for the housekeeping wren ; a motherly hen, under a coop on the gi'ass-plot, clucking to keep around her a brood of vagrant chickens ; a cool, stone well, with the moss-covered bucket suspended to the long bal- ancing-pole, according to the antediluvian idea of hydraulics ; and its spinning-wheel humming within doors, the patriarchal music of home manufacture. The Hollow at that time was inhabited by families which had existed there from the earliest times, and which, by fre- quent intermarriage, had become so interwoven, as to make a kind of natural commonwealth. As the families had grown larger the farms had gi^own smaller; every new generation requiring a new subdivision, and few thinking of swarming from the native hive. In this way that happy golden mean had been produced, so much extolled by the poets, in which there was no gold and very little silver. One thing which doubtless contributed to keep up this amiable mean was a general repugnance to sordid labor. The sage inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow had read in their Bible, which was the only book they studied, that labor was originally inflicted upon man a.s a punishment of sin ; they regarded it, therefore, with pious ^horrence, and never humiliated themselves to it but in cases of extremity. There seemed, in fact, to be a league and covenant against it throughout the Hollow as against a common enemy. Was any one compelled by dire necessity to repair his house, mend his fences, build a barn, or get in a harvest, he considered it a great evil that entitled him to call in the 8LEEPY HOLLOW, 27 assistance oi his friendr He accordingly proclaimed a ' bee ' or rustic gathering, whereupon all his neighbors hurried to his aid h]?:e faithful alUes; attacked the task with the desperate energy of lazy men eager to overcome a job; and, when it was accomphshed, fell to eating and drinking, fiddling and danc- ing for very joy that so great an amount of labor had been van- quished with so httle sweating of the brow. Yet, let it not be supposed that this worthy community wa3 without its periods of arduous activity. Let but a flock of wild pigeons fly across the vaUey and all Sleepy HoUoav was wide awake in an mstant. The pigeon season had arrived I Every gun and net was forthwith in requisition. The flail was thrown down on the barn floor ; the spade rusted in the garden ; the plough stood idle in tiie furrow ; every one was to the hill- side and stubble-field at daybreak to shoot or entrap the pigeons in their periodical migrations. So, likewise, let but the word be given that the shad were ascending the Hudson, and the worthies of the Hollow were»to be seen launched in boats upon the river setting great stakes, and stretching their nets hke gigantic spider-webs half across the stream to the great annoyance of navigators. Such are the wise provisions of Nature, by which she equahzes rural affairs. A laggard at the plough is often extremely industrious with the fowhng-piece and fisliing-net ; and, whenever a man is an indifferent fanner, he is apt to be a first-rate sportsman. For catching shad and wild pigeons there were none throughout the country to compare with the lads of Sleepy Hollow. As I have observed, it was the dreamy nature of the name that first beguiled me in the holiday rovings of boyhood into this sequestered region. I shunned, however, the populous parts of the Hollow, and sought its retired haunts far in the foldings of the hills, whore the Pocantico "winds its wizard stream" sometimes silently and darkly through solemn wood- lands ; sometimes sparkling betwceen grassy bordera in fresh, green meadows ; sometimes stealing along the feet of rugged heights under the balancing sprays of beech and chestnut trees. A thousand crystal springs, with which this neighbor- hood abounds, sent down from the hill-sides their whimperinf^ rills, as if to pay tribute to the Pocantico. In this stream I first essayed my unskilful hand at angling. I loved to loiter along it with rod in hand, watching my float as it whirled amid the eddies or drifted into dark holes under twisted roots and simken logs, where the largest fish are apt to lurk. I 28 WOLFEBTS ROOST A^J) MISCELLANIES. delighted to follow it into the brown Becesses of the woods ; to tlirow by my fishing-gear and sit upon rocks beneath towering oaks and clambering grape-vinos; bathe my feet in the cool current, ?*nd Hsten to the sinxLmer breeze playing among the tree-toi3s. My boyish fancy clothed all nature around me with ideal charms, and peopled it with the fairy beings I had read of in poetry and fable. Here it was I gave full scope to my incipient habit of daydreaming, and to a certain propensity, to weave up and tint sober realities with my own whims and imaginings, which has sometimes made life a little too much like an Arabian tnle to me, and this "working-day world" rather like a region of romance. The great gathering-place of Sleepy Hollow in those days was the church. It stood outside of the Hollow, near the great highway, on a green bank shaded by trees, with the Pocantico sweeping round it and emptying itself into a spacious mill- pond. At that time the Sleepy Hollow church was the only place of worship for a wide neighborhood. It was a venerable edifice, partly of stone and partly of brick, the latter having been brought from Holland in the early days of the province, before the arts in the New Netherlands could aspire to such a fabrication. On a stone above the porch were inscribed the names of the founders, Frederick Filipsen, a mighty patroon of the olden time, who reigned over a v/ide extent of this neigh- borhood and held his seat of power at Yonkers; and his Avife, Katrina Van Courtlandt, of the no less potent line of the Van Courtlandts of Croton, who lorded it over a great part of the Highlands. The capacious pulpit, with its wide-spreading sounding- board, were likewise early importations from Holland ; as also the communion-table, of massive form and curious fabric. The same might be said of a weather-cock perched on top of the belfry, and which was considered orthodox in all windy matters, until a smaU pragmatical rival vv^as set up on the other end of the church above the chancel. This latter bore, and still bears, the initials of Frederick Filipsen, and assumed great airs in consequence. The usual contradiction ensued that always exists among church weather-cocks, which can never be brought to agree as to the point from which the wind blows, having doubtless acquired, from their position, the Christian propensity to schism and controversy. Behind the church, and sloping up a gentle acchvity, was its capacious burying-ground, in wliich slept the earhest fathers SLEEPY HOLLOW, 29 of this rural neighborhood. Here were tombstones of the rudest sculpture; on which were inscribed, in Dutch, the names and vii-tues of many of the first settlers, with their portraitures curiously carved in similitude of cherubs. Long rows of grave-stones, side by side, of similar names, but various dates, showed that generation after generation of the same families had followed each other and been garnered together in this last gathering- place of kindred. Let me speak of this quiet grave-yard with all due rever- ence, for I owe it amends for the heedlessness of my boyish days. I blush to acknowledge the thoughtless frolic with which, in company with other whipsters, I have sported within its sacred bounds during the intervals of worship; chasing butterflies, plucking vrild floAvers, or vying with each other who could leap over the tallest tomb-stones, until checked by the stern voice of the sexton. The congregation was, in those days, of a really rural char- acter. City fashions were as yet unknown, or unregarded, by the country people of the neighborhood. Steam-boats had not as yet confounded town with country. A weekly market-boat from Tarrytown, the "Farmers' Daughter," navigated by the worthy Gabriel Requa, was the only communication between all these parts and the metropolis. A rustic belie in those days considered a visit to the city in much tlie same light as one of our modern fasliionable ladies regards a visit to Europe; an event that may possibly take place once in the course of a life- time, but to be hoped for, rather than expected. Hence the array of the congi'egation v/as chiefly after the primitive fash- ions existing in Sleepy Hollow ; or if, by chance, there was a departure from the Dutch sun-bonnet, or the appaiifcion of a bright gown of flowered calico, it caused quite a sensation throughout the church. As the dominie generally preached by the hour, a bucket of water was providently placed on a bench near the door, in summer, with a tin cup beside it, for the solace of those who might be athirst, either from the heat of the weather, or the drouth of the sermon. Around the pulpit, and behind the communion-table, sat the elders of the church, reverend, gray -headed, leathern-visaged men, whom I regarded with awe, as so many apostles. They Were stern in their sanctity, kept a vigilant eye upon my giggling companions and myself, and shook a rebuking finger at any boyish device to relieve the tediousness of compulsory devotion. Vain, however, were all then* efforts at vigilance. 30 woLFERTs noo.rr a^d miscellanies. Scarcely had the preacher held forth for half an hour, on one of his interminable sermons, than it seemed as if the drowsy influence of Sleepy Holiow breathed into the place; one by one the congregation sank into slumber; the sanctified eldei-s leaned back in their pews, spreading their handkerchiefs over their faces, as if to keep off the flies ; while the locusts in the neighboring trees would spin out their sultry summer notes, as if in imitation of the sleep-provoking tones of the dominie. I have thus endeavored to give an idea of Sleepy Hollow and its church, as I recollect them to have been in the days of my boyhood. It was in my stripling days, when a few years had passed over my head, that I revisited them, in company with the venerable Diedrich. I shall never forget the antiquarian reverence with which that sage and excellent man contem- plated the church. It seemed as if all his pious enthusiasm for the ancient Dutch dynasty swelled within his bosom at the sight. The tears stood in his eyes, as he regarded the pulpit and the communion-table ; even the very bricks that had come fi'om the mother country, seemed to touch a fihal chord within his bosom. He almost bowed in deference to the stone above the porch, containing the names of Frederick Filipscn and Eatrina Van Courtlandt, regarding it as the linking together of those patronymic names, once so famous along the banks of the Hudson; or rather as a key-stone, binding that mighfcy Dutch family connexion of yore, one foot of which rested on Yonkers, and the other on the Croton. Nor did he forbear to notice with admiration, the windy contest which had been carried on, since time immemorial, and with real Dutch x>er- sevcrance, between the two weather-cocks; though I could easily perceive he coincided with the one which had come from Holland. To<'ether we paced the ample church-yard. With deep veneration would he turn down the weeds and brambles that obscured the modest brown grave-stones, half sunk in earth, on which were recorded, in Dutch, the names of the patriarchs of ancient days, the Ackers, the Van Tassels, and the Van Warts. As we sat on one of the tomb-stones, he recounted to mo the exploits of ruBxij of these worthies ; and niy heart smote rae, when I heard of their great doings in days of yore, to thinlt how heedlessly I had once sported over their graves. From the church, the venerable Diedrich proceeded in his researches up the Hollow. The genius of the place seemed to hail its future historian. AU nature was ahvc with gratular SLEEPY HOLLOW. 31 tion. The quail whistled a greeting from the corn-field; the robin carolled a song of praise from the orchard; the loqua- cious catbird flew from bush to bush, with restless wing, pro- claiming his approach in every variety of note, and anon would whisk about, and perk inquisitively into his face, as if to get a knowledge of his physiognomy ; the wood-pecker, also, tapped a tattoo on the hollow apple-tree, and then peered knowingly round the trunk, to see how the great Diedrich rehshed his salutation; while the ground-squirrel scampered along the fence, and occasionally whisked his tail over his head, by way of a huzza 1 The worthy Diedrich pursued his researches in the vaUey with characteristic devotion ; entering familiarly into the vari- ous cottages, and gossiping with the simple folk, in the style of their own simphcity. I confess my heart yearned with admiration, to see so gi'eat a man, in his eager quest after knowledge, humbly demeaning himself to curry favor with the humblest ; sitting patiently on a three-legged stool, patting the children, and taking a purring grimalkin on his lap, while he conciliated the good-will of the old Dutch housewife, and drew from her long ghost stories, spun out to the humming accompaniment of her wheel. His greatest treasure of historic lore, however, was dis- coveeed in an old goblin-looking mill, situated among rocks and waterfalls, ^vLth clanking wheels, and rushing streams, and all kinds of uncouth noises. A horse-shoe, nailed to the door to keep off witches and evil spirits, showed that this mill was subject to awful visitations. As we approached it, an old negro thrust his head, all dabbled with flour, out of a hole above the water-wheel, and grinned, and rolled his eyes, and looked like the very hobgoblin of the place. The illustrious Diedrich fixed upon him, at once, as the very one to give liim that m- valuable kind of information never to be acquired from books. He beckoned him from his nest, sat with liim by the hour on a broken mill-stone, by the side of the waterfall, heedless of the noise of the water, and the clatter of the mill ; and I verily beheve it was to his conference with this African sage, and the precious revelations of the good dame of the spinning-wheel, that we are indebted for the surprising though true history of Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman, which has since astounded and edified the world. But I have said enough of the good old times of my youthful days ; let me speak of the Hollow as I found it, after an ab- 32 WOLFE RTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. sence of many years, vriien it was kindly given me once more to revisit the haunts of my boyhood. It was a genial day, as I approached that fated region. The warm sunshine was tem- pered by a slight haze, so as to give a dreamy e:Sect to the landscape. IS^ot a breath of air shock the foliage. The broad Tappan Sea wa.s without a ripple, and the sloops, with droop- ing sails, slept on its grassy bosom. Columns of smoke, from burning brush-wood, rose lazily from the folds of the hills, on the opposite side of the river, and slow^ly expanded in mid-air. The distant lowing of a cow, or the noontide crowing of a cock, coming faintly to the ear, seemed to illustrate, rather than dis- turb, the drowsy quiet of the scene. I entered the hollow with a beating heart. Contrary to my apprehensions, I found it but little changed. The march of intellect, which had made such rapid strides along every river and highway, had not yet, apparently, turned down into this favored valley. Perhaps the wizard spell of ancient days still reigned over the place, binding up the faculties of the in- habitants in happy contentment with things as they had been handed down to them from yore. There were the same httle farms and farmhouses, with their old hats for the housekeep ing wren; their stone wells, moss-covered buckets, and long balancing poles. There were the same little rills, wliimpering down to pay their tributes to the Pocantico ; while that wizard stream still kept on its course, as of old, through solemn wood- lands and fresh green meadows : nor were there wanting joy- ous holiday boys to loiter along its banks, as I have done ; throw their pin-hooks in the stream, or launch their mimic barks. I watched them with a kind of melancholy i^leasure, wondering whether they were under the same spell of the fancy that once rendered this valley a fairy land to me. Alas! alas I to me every thing now stood revealed in its simple reality. The echoes no longer answered with wizard tongues ; the dream of youth was at an end ; the spell of Sleepy/ Hollov7 was broken I I sought *the ancient church on the foliov^^ing Sunday. There it stood, on its green bank, among the trees; the Pocantico swept by it in a deep dark stream, where I had so often angled ; there exandcd the mill-pond, as of old, with the cows under the vvollows on its margin, knee-deep in water, chewing the cud, and lashing the flies from their sides with their tail^. The hand of improvement, however, had been busy with the venerable pile. The pulpit, fabricated in Holland, had been superseded by one of modem construction, and the front of the SLEEPY HOLLOW. 33 semi-Gothic edifice was decorated by a semi-Grecian portico. Fortunately, the two weather-cocks remained undisturbed on their perches at each end of the churcli, and stiQ kept up a diametrical opposition to each other on all points of windy doc- trme. On entering' the church the changes of time continued to be apparent. The elders round the pulpit were men whom I had left in the gamesome frolic of their youth, but who had suc- ceeded to the sanctity of station of which they once had stood so much in awe. What most struck my eye was the change in the female part of the congregation. Instead of the primitive garbs of homespun mnnnfacture and antique Dutch fashion, I beheld French sleeves, ii-ench capes, and French collars, and a fearful-fluttering of i'rench ribbands. When the service was ended I sought the church-yard, in wliich I had sported in my unthinkmg days of boyhood. Several of the modest brown stones, on which were recorded in Duich the names and virtues of the patriarchs, had disap- peared, and had been succeeded by others of white marble, with urns and wreaths, and scraps of Enghsh tomb-stone poetry, marking the intrusion of taste and literature and the Enghsh language in this once unsophisticated Dutch neighbor- hood. As I was stumbling about among these silent yet eloquent me- morials of the dead, I came upon names famihar to me ; of those who had paid the debt of nature during the long interval of my absence. Some, I remembered, my companions in boyhood, who had sported with me on the very sod under which they Were now'mouldering ; others who in those days had been the flower of the yeomanry, figuring in Sunday finery on the church green; others, the white-haired elders of the sanctu- ary, once arrayed in awful sanctity around the pulpit, and ever ready to rebuke the ill-tim.ed mirth of the wanton strip- ling who, now a man, sobered by years and schooled by vicissitudes, looked down pensively upon their graves. ' ' Our fathers," thought I, "where are they! — and the prophets, can they live for ever I" I was disturbed in my meditations by the noise of a troop of idle urchins, who came gambolling about the place where I had so often gambolled. They were checked, as I and my play- mates had often been, by the voice of the sext-on, a man staid in years and demeanor. I looked ^vistfully in his face ; had I met him any where else, I should probably have passed him 34 W0LFERT8 ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. by without remark; but here I was alive to the traces of for- mer times, and detected in the demure featm-es of this guar- dian of the sanctuary the lurking lineaments of one of the very playmates I have alluded to. We renewed our acquaintance. He sat down beside me, on one of the tomb-stones over which we had leaped in our juvenile sports, and we talked together about our boyish days, and held edifying discourse on the in- stabihty of all sublunary things, as instanced in the scene around us. He was rich in historic lore, as to the events of the last thirty yeai*s and the circumference of thirty miles, and from Mm I learned the appalhng revolution that was taking place throughout the neighborhood. All this I clearly perceived he attributed to the boasted march of intellect, or rather to the all-pervading influence of steam. He bewailed the times when the only communication with town was by the weekly market- boat, the "Farmers' Daughter," which, under the pilotage of the worthy Gabriel Requa, braved the perils of the Tappan Sea. Alas! Gabriel and the "Farmer's Daughter" slept in peace. Two steamboats now splashed and paddled up daily to the little rural port of Tarry town. The spirit of speculation and improve- ment had seized even upon that once quiet and unambitious lit- tle dorp. The whole neighborhood was laid out into town lots. Instead of the little tavern below the Mil, where the farmers used to loiter on market days and indulge in cider and ginger- bread, an ambitious hotel, with cupola and verandas, now crested the sunmiit, among churches built in the Grecian and GotMc styles, showing the gi-eat increase of piety and pohte taste in the neighborhood. As to Dutch dresses and sun-bon- nets, they were no longer tolerated, or even thought of; not a farmer's daughter but now went to town for the fashions; nay, a city milliner had recently set up in the village, who threatened to reform the heads of the whole neighborhood. I had heard enough ! I thanked my old playmate for his in- telhgence, and departed from the Sleepy Hollow church with the sad conviction that I had beheld the last lingerings of the good old Dutch times in this once favored region. If any tMng were wanting to confirm this impression, it would be the intelligence Avhich has just reached me, that a bank is about to be established in the aspiring little port just mentioned. The fate of the neighborhood is therefore sealed. I see no hope of averting it. The golden mean is at an end, The coun- try is suddenly to be deluged with wealth. The late simple farmei-s are to become bank directors and drink claret and THE BIRDS OF SPRING. 35 champagne; and their wives and daughters to figure in French hats and feathers ; for French wines and French fashions com- monly keep pace with paper money. How can I hope that even Sleepy Hollow can escape the general inundation? In a little while, I fear the slumber of ages will be at end; the strum of the piano will succeed to the hiun of the spinning- wheel; the trill of the Italian opera to the nasal quaver of Ichabod Crane ; and the antiquarian visitor to the HoUow, in the petulance of his disappointment, may pronounce aU that I have recorded of that once favored region a fable. Geoffrey Ceayon. THE BIRDS OF SPRING. BY GEOFFREY CRAYON, GENT. My quiet residence in the country, aloof from fashion, poli- tics, and the money market, leaves me rather at a loss for im- portant occupation, and drives me to the study of nature, and other low pursuits. Having few neighbors, also, on whom to keep a watch, and exercise my habits of observation, I am fain to amuse myself with prying into^the domestic concerns and peculiarities of the animals around me ; and, during the present season, have derived considerable entertainment from certain sociable little birds, almost the only visitors we have, during this early part of the year. Those who have passed the winter in the country, are sensi- ble of the dehghtful influences that accompany the earliest indications of spring; and of these, none are more delightful than the first notes of the binls. There is one modest little sad-colored bird, much sesembling a wren, which came about the house just on the skirts of winter, when not a blade of gi^ass was to be seen, and when a few prematurely warm days had given a flattenng foretaste of soft weather. He sang early in the dawning, long before sun-rise, and late in the evening, just before the closing in of night, his matin and his vesper hymns. It is true, he sang occasionally throughout the day; but at these still hours, his song was more remarked. He sat on a leafless tree, just before the window, and warbled forth his notes, free and simple, but singularly sweet, with some- thing of a plaintive tone, that heightened their effect. 06 WOLFERT'S ROOST AND MISGELLANIES. The first morning that he was heard, was a joyous one among the young folks of my household. The long, death- hke sleep of v/inter was at an end; nature was once more awakening; they now promised themselves the immediate ap- pearance of buds and blossoms. I was reminded of the tem- pest-tossed crew of Columbus, when, after their long dubious voyage, the field bkds came singing round the ship, though still far at sea, rejoicing them with the belief of the im- mediate proximity of land. A sharp return of Avinter ahnost silenced my httle songster, and dashed the hilarity of the household; yet still he poured forth, now and then, a few plaintive notes, between the frosty pipings of the breeze, like gleams of simshine between wintry clouds. • I have consulted my book of ornithology in vain, to find out the name of this kindly little bird, who certainly deserves honor and favor far beyond his modest pretensions. He comes hke the lowly violet, the most unpretending, but welcomest of flowers, breathing the sweet promise of the early year. Another of our feathered visitors, who follows close upon the steps of winter, is the Pe-wit, or Pe-wee, or Phoebe-bird ; for he is called by each of these names, from a fancied re- semblance to the sound of his monotonous ndte. He is a so- ciable httle being, and seeks the habitation of man. A pair of them have built beneath my porch, and have reared several broods there for two years past, their nest being never dis- turbed. They arrive early in the spring, just when the crocus and the snow-drop begin to peep forth. Their fii'st chirp spreads gladness through the nouse. " The Phoebe-birds have come !" is heard on all sides; they are welcomed back like mem- bei'B Oi! the family, and speculations are made upon where they have been, and what countries they have seen during their long absence. Their arrival is the more cheering, as it is pro- nounced, by the old weather-wise people of the country, the sure sign tliat the severe frosts are at an end, and that the gardener may resume his labors with confidence. About this time, too, arrives the blue-bird, so poetically yet truly described by Wilson, His appearance gladdens the whole landscape. You hear his soft warble in every field. He sociably approaches your habitation, and takes up his resi- dence in 5. our vicinity. But why should I attempt to describe him, when I have Wilison's own gi-aphic verses to place him before the reader? TLE BIRDS OF SPllIJSO. 37 When winter's cold tempests and snows are no more, Green meadows and brown furrowed fields re-appearing: Tlie fishermen hauling theii- shad to the shoi-e, And cloud olf^avin'^ C^e.^e to the lakes are a- steering; When first the lone butterfly Hits on the wing, When red glow the maples, so fresh and so pleasing, O then comes the blue-bird, the herald of spring, And hails with his warblings the charms of the season. The loud-piping frogs.make the marshes to ring; Then warm glows the sunshine, and warm glows the weather; The blue woodland flowers just beginning to spring, And spice-wood and sassafras budding together; O then to your gardens, ye housewives, repair, Yom- walks border up, sow and plant at your leisure; The blue bird will chaut from liis box such an air, That all your hard toils will seem truly a pleasure 1 He flits through the orchard, he visits each tree, The red fluwering peach, and the apple's sweet blossoms; He snaps up destroyers, wherever they be. And seizes the caitiffs that lurk in their bosoms; He drags tlie vile grub from the corn it devours. The worms from the webs where they riot and welter; His song and his services freely are ours. And all that he asks is, in summer a shelter. The ploughman is pleased when he gleams in his train, Now searching the furrows, now mounting to cheer him; The gard'ner delights in his sweet simijle strain. And leans on his spade to survey and to hear him. The slow lingering school-boys forget they'll be chid. While gazing intent, as he warbles before them, In mantle of sky-blue, and bosom so red. That each little loiterer seems to adore him. The happiest bird of our spring, however, and one that rirals the European lark, in my estimation, is the Bobhncon, or Bobhnk, as he is commonly called. He arrives at that choice portion of our year, which, in this latitude, answers to the de- scription of the month of May, so often given by the poets. With us, it begins about the middle of May, and lasts until nearly the middle of June. Earlier than this, winter is apt to return on its traces, and to blight the opening beauties of the year; and later than this, begin the parching, and panting, and dissolving heats of summer. But in this genial interval, na- ture is in all her freshness and fragrance; "the rains are over and gone, the flowers appear upon tjie earth, the time of the singing of bu'ds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in the land." The trees are now in their fullest fohage and brightest verdure; the woods are gay with the clustered flowers of the lam^el ; the air is perfumed by the sweet-briar B8 WOLFEBTS BOOST AND MISCELLANIES. and the "svild rose ; the meadows are enamelled with clover- blossoms ; while the young apple, the peach, and the plum, be- gin to swell, and the cherry to glow, among the green leaves. This is the chosen sea^son of revelry of the Boblink. He comes amidst the pomp and fragrance of the season ; his life seems all sensibility and enjoyment, all song and sunshine. He is to be found in the soft bosoms of the freshest and sweetest meadows; and is most in song when the CJ over is in blossom. He perches on the topmost twig of a tree, or on some long flaunt- ing weed, and as he rises and sinks with the breeze, pours forth a succession of rich tinkhng notes ; crowding one upon another, Hke the outpouring melody of the skylark, and possessing the same rapturous character. Sometimes he pitches from the summit of a tree, begins his song as soon as he gets upon the w]^T<^, and flutters tremulously down to the earth, as if over- come with ecstasy at his own music. Sometimes he is in pursuit of his paramour; always in full song, as if he would win her by his melody ; and always with the same appearance of intoxication and delight. Of all the birds of our groves and meadows, the BobUnk was the envy of my boyhood. He crossed my path in the sweetest weather, and the sweetest season of the year, when all nature called to the fields, and the rural feeling throbbed in every bosom ; but when I, luckless urchin ! was doomed to be mewed up, during the livelong day, in that purgatory of boyhood, a school-room. It seemed as if the little varlet mocked at me, as he flew by in full song, and sought to taunt me with his happier lot. Oh, how I envied Mm ! No lessons, no tasks, no hateful school; nothing but holiday, frolic, green fields, and fine weather. Had I been then more versed in poetry, I might have addressed him in the words of Logan to the cuckoo: Sweet bird I thy bower is ever green, Thy sky is ever clear; Thou hast no sojtow in thy note, No winter in thy year. Oh! could I fly, I'd fly with thee; ■SVe'd make, on joyful wiug:. Our annual visit round the globe, Companions of the spring! Farther observation and experience have given me a different idea of this little feathered voluptuary, which I will venture to impart, for the benefit of my school-boy readers, who ma^y regard him v/ith the same unqualified envy and admiration which I once indulged. I have shown him only as I saw him THE BIRDS OF SPRING. 39 at first, in what I may call the poetical part of his career, when he in a manner devoted himself to elegant pursuits and enjoy- ments, and was a bu-d of music, and song, and taste, and sensibility, and refinement. While this lasted, he was sacred from injury; the very school-boy would not fling a stone at him, and the merest rustic would pause to hsten to his strain. But mark the difference. As the year advances, as the clover- blossoms disappear, and the spring fades into summer, his notes cease to vibrate on the ear. He gradually gives up his elegant tastes and habits, doffs his poetical and professional suit of black, assumes a russet or rather dusty garb, and enters into the gross enjoyments of common, vulgar birds. He becomes a bon-vivant, a mere gourmand; thinking of nothing but good cheer, and gormandizing on the seeds of the long grasses on wliich he lately s^vung, and chaunted so musically. He begins to think there is nothing like ''the joys of the table," if I may be allowed to apply that convivial phrase to his indulgences. He now grows discontented with plain, every-day fare, and sets out on a gastronomicai tour, in search of foreign luxuries. He is to be found in myriads among the reeds of the Delaware, banqueting on their seeds; grow 3 corpulent with good feeding, and soon acquires the unlucky renown of the ortolan. Where- ever he goes, pop ! pop ! pop ! the rusty firelocks of the country are cracking on every side ; he sees his companions falling by thousands around him; he is the recd-hird^ the much-sought- for tit'bit of the Pennsylvanian epicure. Does he take warning and reform? Not he! He wings his flight still farther south, in search of other luxuries. We hear of him gorging himself in the rice swamps ; filling liimself with rice almost to bursting; he can hardly fly for corpulency. Last stage of his career, we hear of him spitted by dozens, and served up on the table of the gourmand, the most vaunted of southern dainties, the rice-bird of the Cpvrolinas. Such is the story of the once musical and admired, but finally sensual and persecuted Boblink. It contains a moral, worthy the attention of all little birds and little boys ; warning them to keep to those refined and intellectual pursuits, which raised him to so high a pitch of popularity, during the early part of his career ; but to eschew all tendency to that gross and dissi- pated indulgence, which brought this mistaken little bii^i to an untimely end. Which is all at present, from the well-wisher of little boys and Kttle birds, Geoffrey Crayon. 40 WOLFEUrS ROOSl AND MISCELLANIES,' RECOLLECTIONS OF THE ALHAMBRA. BY THE AUTHOR OF THE SKETCH-BOOK. During a summer's residence in the old Moorish palace of the Alhambra, of which I have akeady given numerous anecdotes to the pubhc, I used to pass much of my time in the beautiful hall ot the Abencerrages, beside the fountain celebrated in the tragic story of that devoted race. Here it was, that thirty-six cavalier? of that heroic line were treacherously sacrificed, to appease the jealousy or allay the fears of a tyrant. ' The foun- tain which now throws up its sparkhng jet, and sheds a dewy freshness around, ran red with the noblest blood of Granada, and a deep stain on tne marble pavement is still pointed out, by the cicerones of the pile, as a sang-uinary record of the massacre. I have regarded it with the same determinad faith with which I have regarded the traditional stains of Rizzio's blood on the floor of the chamber of the unfortunate Mary, at Holyrood. I thank no one for endeavoring to enlighten my creduhty, on such points of popular belief. It is like breaking up the shrine of the pilgrhn ; it is robbing a poor traveller of half the reward of his toils ; for, strip traveUing of its historical illusions, and what a mere fag you make of it I For my part, I gave myself up, during my sojourn in the Alhambra, to all the romantic and fabulous traditions connected with the pile. I lived in the midst of an Arabian tale, and shut my eyes, as much as possible, to every thing that called me back to every-day life ; and if there is any country in Europe where one can do so, it is in poor, wild, legendary, proud-spirited, romantic Spain ; where the old magnificent barbaric spirit still contends against the utilitarianism of modern civilization. In the silent and deserted halls of the Alhambra; surrounded with the insignia of regal sway, and the still vivid, though dilapidated traces of oriental voluptuousness, I was Ji the strong-hold of Moorish story, and every thing spoke and breathed of the glorious days of Granada, when under tlie dominion of the crescent. When I sat in tlie hall of the Aben- cerrages, I suffered my mind to conjure up all that I had read of that illustiious line. In the proudest days of Moslem domi- nation, the Abencerrages were the soul, of e>v_iy tiling noble and chivalrous. The veterans of the fainilv, who sat in the ' BECOLLECTWys OF THE ALIIAMBRA. 41 royal council, were the foremost to devise those heroic enters prises, which carried dismay into the territories of the Cliris- tians ; and what the sages of the family devised, the young men of the name were tiie foremost to execute. In all services of hazard ; in all adventurous forays, and hair-breadth hazards ; the Absncerrages were sure to win the brightest laurels. In those noble recreations, too, which bear so close an affinity to wai' ; in the tilt and tourney, the riding at the ring, and the daring bull-fight ; still the Abencerrages carried off the palm. None could equal them for the splendor oi' their array, the gallantry of their devices; for their noble bearing, and glorious horsemanship. Their open-lmnded munificence made them the idols of the populace, wliile their lofty magnanimity, and perfect faith, gained them golden opinions from the generous and high-minded. Never were tl!*ey known to decry the merits of a rival, or to betray the confidings of a friend; and the " word of an Abencerrage" was a guarantee that never admitted of a doubt. And then their devotion to the fair! Never did Moorish beauty consider the fame of her charms established, until she had an Abencerrage for a lover ; and never did an Abencerrage prove recreant to his vows. Lovely G-ranada ! City of delights 1 Who ever bore the favors of thy dames more proudly on their casques, or championed them more gallantly in the chivalrous tilts of the Vivarambla? Or who ever made thy moon-lit balconies, thy gardens of myrtles and roses, of oranges, citrons, and pomegranates, respond to more tender serenades? I speak with enthusiasm on this theme ; for it is connected with the recollection of one of the sweetest evenings and sweetest scenes that ever I enjoyed in Spain. One of the greatest pleasures of the Spaniards is, to sit in the beautiful summer evenings, and listen to traditional baUads, and tales about the wars of the Moors and Christians, and the " buenas andanzas" and "grandes hechos," the "good fortunes" and " great exploits" of the hardy warriors of yore. It is worthy of remark, also, that many of these songs, or romances, as they are called, celebrate the prowess and magnanimity in war, and the tenderness and fidelity in love, of the Moorish cavaliers, once their most formidable and hated foes. But centuries have elapsed, to extinguish the bigotry of the zealot ; and the once detested warriors of Granada are now held up by Spanish pc*ets, as the mirrorg of chivalric \?irtuo. Such was the amusement of the evening in question. A 49 WOLFLRTS BOOST AND MI8CELLANTES, number of us were seated in the Hall of the Abencerrages, listening to one of the most gifted and fascinating beings that I had ever met with in my wanderings. She was young and beautiful ; and hght and ethereal ; full of fire, and spirit, and l^ure enthusiasm. She wore the fanciful Andalusian dress; touched the guitar with speaking eloquence; improvised with wonderful facihty ; and, as she became excited by her thome, or by the rapt attention of her auditors, would pour forth, in the richest and most melodious strains, a succession of couplets, full of striking description, or stirring narration, and composed, as I was assured, at the moment. Most of these were suggested by the place, and related to the ancient glories of Granada, and the prowess of her chivalry. The Abencerrages were her favorite heroes ; she felt a woman's admiration of their gallant courtesy, and high-souled honor; and it was toucliing and in- spiring to hear the praises of that generous but devoted race, chaaited in this fated hall of their calamity, by the lips of Spanish beauty. Among the subjects of which she treated, was a tale of Mos- lem honor, and old-fashioned Spanish courtesy, which made a strong impression on me. She disclaimed aU merit of inven- tion, however, and said she had merely dilated into verse a popular tradition; and, indeed, I have since found the main facts inserted at the end of Conde's History of the Domination of the Arabs, and the story itself embodied in the form of an episode in the Diana of ]\Iontemayor. From these sources I have drawn it forth, and endeavored to shape it according to my recollection of the version of the beautiful minstrel; but, alas ! what can supply the want of that voice, that look, that form, that action, which gave magical effect to her chant, and held every one rapt in breathless admiration! Should this more travestie of her inspired numbers ever meet her eye, in ' her stately abode at Granada, may it meet with that indul- gence which belongs to her benignant nature. Happy should I be, if it could awaken in her bosom one kind recollection of the lonely stranger and sojourner, for whose gratification she did not think it beneath her to exert those fascinating powers which were the delight of briQiant circles ; and who will ever recall with enthusiasm the hanpy evening passed in listening to her strains, in the moon-Ut halls of the Alhambra. Geoffrey Crayon. THE ABb:2fVERRAGB. 43 THE ABENCERRAGE. A SPANISH TALE. On the summit of a craggy hill, a spur of the mountains of Ronda, stands the castle oi" Allora, now a mere ruin, infested by bats and owlets, but in old times one of the strong border holds of the Christians, to keep watch upon the frontiers of the warhke kingdom of Granada, and to hold the Moors in check, ifc was a post always confided to some well-tried commander; and, at the time of which we treat, was held by Rodrigo de Narvaez, a veteran, famed, both among Moors and Christians, not only for his hardy feats of arms, but also for that magnani- mous courtesy which should ever be entwined with the sterner virtues of the soldier. The castle of Allora was a mere part of his command ; he was Alcayde, or military governor of Antiquera, but he passed most of his time at this frontier post, because its situation on the borders gave more frequent opportunity for those adventurous exploits which were the delight of the Spanish chivalry. His garrison consisted of fifty chosen cavahers, all well mounted and well appointed : with these he kept vigilant watch upon the Moslems; patrolling the roads, and paths, and defiles of the mountains, so that nothing could escape his eye ; and. now and then signalizing himself by some dashing foray into the very Vega of Granada. On a fair and beautiful night in summer, when the freshness of the evening breeze had tempered the heat of day, the worthy Alcayde sallied forth, with nine of his cavaliers, to patrol the neighborhood, and seek adventures. They rode quietly and cautiously, lest they should be overheard by Moor- ish scout or traveller ; and kept along ravines and hollow ways, lest they should be betrayed by the gfittering of the full moon upon their armor. Coming to where the road divided, the Alcayde directed five of his cavaliers to take one of the branches, while he, with the remaining four, would take the other. Should either party be in danger, the blast of a horn was to be the signal to bring their comrades to their aid. The party of five had not proceeded far, when, in passing through a defile, overhttifti^ with trees, they heard the voice of a man, singing. They immediately concealed themselves in a grove, on the l^row of a declivity, up which the stranger 44 WOLFERTB ROOST AND MISCELLANIES, Tvoiild have to ascend. The moonhght, which left the grove in deep shadow, lit up the whole person of the Avayfarer, as he advanced, and enabled them to distinguish his dress and appear- ance with perfect accuracy. He was a Moorish cavaher, and his noble demeanor, graceful carriage, and splendid attire showed him to be of lofty rank. He was superbly mounted, on a dappje-gray steed, of powerful frame, and generous spirit, £md magnificently caparisoned. His dress was a marlota, or tunic, and an Albernoz of crimson damask, fringed v/ith gold. His Tunisian turban, of many folds, was of silk and cotton, striped, and bordered with golden fringe. At his girdle hung a Gcimetar of Damascus steel, with loops and tassels of silk and gold. On his left arm he bore an ample target, and his right hand grasped a long double-pointed lance. Thus equipped, he sat ncgUgently on liis steed, as one who dreamed of no danger, gazing on the moon, and singing, with a sweet and manly voice, a Moorish love ditty. Just opi)Osite the place where the Spanish cavaliers were concealed, was a small fountain in the rock, beside the road, to wliich the horse tm^ned to drink ; the rider threw the reins on his neck, and continued his song. The Spanish cavahers conferred together; they were all so pleased with the gallant and gentle appearance of the Moor, that they resolved not to harm, but to capture him, which, in his negligent mood, promised to be an easy task; rushing, therefore, from their concealment, they thought to surround and seize him. Never were men more mistaken. To gather \xp his reins, wheel round liis steed, brace his buckler, and couch his lance, was the work of an instant ; and there he sat, fixed like a castle in his saddle, beside the fountain. The Christian cavaliers checked their steeds and recon- noitred him warily, loth to come to an encounter, which must. cad in his destruction. The Moor now held a parley : " If you be true knights, " said lie, 'and seek for honorable fame, come on, singly, and 1 am ready to meet each in succession ; but if you be mere lurkers of the road, intent on spoil, coine all at once, and do your Yv-orst !" The cavaliers communed for a moment apart, when one, ad- vancing singly, ^exclaimed: "Although no law of chivalry obhges us to risk the loss of a prize,- ^iien clearly in our power, yet we willingly grant, as a courtesy, what we might refuse as aright. Valiant Moor! defend thyself !" THE ABENCERBAGE. 45 So saying, he wheeled, took proper distance, couched his lance, and putting spurs to his horse, made at the stranger. The latter met him in mid career, transpierced him with his lance, and threw him headlong from his saddle. A second and -a third succeeded, but were unhorsed with equal facility, and ^ thrown to the earth, severely wounded. The remaining two, ^^-seeing then* comrades thus roughly treated, forgot all compact -}oi courtesy, and charged both at once upon the Moor. He ■•parried the thrust of one, but was wounded by the other in the 'thigh, and, in the shock and confusion, dropped his lance. Thus disarmed, and closely pressed, he pretended to fly, and was hotly pursued. Having drawn the two cavahers some dis- tance from the spot, he suddenly wheeled short about, v/ith one of those dexterous movements for which the Moorish horse- men are renowned ; passed swiftly between them, swung him- eelf down from his saddle, so as to catch up his lance, then, hghtly replacing himself, turned to renew the combat. Seeing him thus fresh for the encounter, as if just issued from his tent, one of the cavahers put his hps to his horn, and blew a blast, that soon brought the Alcayde and his four com- panions to the spot. The vahant Narvaez, seeing three of liis cavaliers extended on the earth, and two others hotly en&caged with the Moor, was struck with admiration, and coveted a contest with so ac- complished a warrior. Interfering in the fight, he called upon his followers to desist, and addressing the Moor, with courteous words, invited him to a more equal combat. The latter readily- accepted the challenge. For some time, their contest was fierce and doubtful, and the Alcayde had need of all his . skiU and strength to ward off the blows of his antagonist. The Moor, however, was exhausted by previous fighting, and by loss of blood. He no longer sat his horse firmly, nor man- aged him with his wonted skill. Collecting aU his strength for a last assault, he rose in his stirrups, and made a violent thrust with his lance; the Alcayde received it upon his shield, and at the same time wounded the Moor in the right arm ; then clos- ing, in the shock, he grasped him in his arms, dra-gged him from his saddle, and fell with him to the earth : when putting his knee upon his breast, and his dagger to his throat, " Cava- lier," exclaimed he, "render thyself my prisoner, for thy hfe is in my hands !" "Kill me, rather," replied tiie Moor, "for death would be less grievous than loss of liboiiy." 46 WOLFERT'S ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. The Alcayde, however, with the clemency of the truly bi'ave, assisted the Moor to rise, ininistored to his wounds with his own hands, and had liim conveyed with great cai*e to the cas- tle of Allora. His woimds were slight, and in a few days were nearly cui-ed ; but the deepest wound had been inflicted on his spirit. He was constantly buried in a profound melancholy. The Alcayde, who had conceived a great regard for him, treated him more as a friend than a captive, and tried in every way to cheer him, but in vahi ; he was always sad and moody, and, when on the battlements of the castle, would keep liis eyes turned to the south, with a fixed and wistful gaze. "How is this?" exclaimed the Alcayde, reproachfully, "that you, who wei*e so hardy and fearless in the field, should lose all spirit in prison? If any secret grief preys on your heart, con- tide it to me, as to a fi-iend, and I promise you, on the faith of a cavaher, that you shall have no cause to repent the dis- closure." The Moorish knight kissed the hand of the Alcayde. ' ' Noble cavalier," said he "that I am cast down in spirit, is not from my wounds, which are slight, nor from my captivity, for your kindness has robbed it of all gloom ; nor from my defeat, for to be conquered by so accomplished and renowned a cavalier, is no disgrace. But to explain to you the cause of my giief, it is necessary to give you some particulars of my story ; and this I am moved to do, by the great sympathy you have manifested toward me, and the magnanimity that shines through all your auctions." "Know, then, that my name is Abendaraez, and that I am of the noble but unfortunate line of the Abencerrages of Granada. You have doubtless heard of the destruction that fell upon our race. Charged with treasonable designs, of wliich they wore entirely imiocent, many of them Vv^ere beheaded, the rest ban- i'.hed ; so that not an Abencerrage was permitted to remain in Granada, excepting my father and my uncle, whose innocence -vas proved, even to the satisfaction of their persecutors. It was decreed, however, that, should they have childi'en, the f'ons should be educated at a distance from Gi'anada, and the daughters should be married out of the kingdom. " Conformably to this decree, I was sent, while yet an infant, to be reared in the fortress of Cartama, the worthy Alcayde of which was an ancient friend of my father. He had no chil- ^kon, and ivceived me into Idb ramily as his own child, treating uiQ with the kindness ^ylH ;:?. fi'ectioit of a father : r»p.d I {rrewnu in THE ABiSNGERRAGE. 47 the belief that >e really was such. A few years afterward, his wife gave birth to a daughter, but his tenderness toward me con- tinued undiminished. I thus grew up with Xarisa, for so the infant daughter of the Alcayde was called, as her own brother, and thought the growing passion which I felt for her, was mere fraternal affection. I beheld her charms unfolding, as it were, leaf by leaf, like the morning rose, each moment disclosing fresh beauty and sweetness. "At tiiis period, I overheard a conversation between the Alcayde and his confidential domestic, and found myself to be the subject. ' It is time, ' said he, ' to apprise him of his parent- age, that he may adopt a career in Hfe. I have deferred the communication as long as possible, through reluctance to inform him that he is of a proscribed and an unlucky race.' " This intelligence would have overwhelmed me at an earlier period, but the intunation that Xarisa was not my sister, oper- ated like magic, and in an instant transformed my brotherly affection into ardent love. " I sought Xarisa, to impart to her the secret I had learned. I foimd her in the garden, in a bower of jessamines, arranging her beautiful hair by the mirror of a crystal fountain. The radiance of her beauty dazzled me. I ran to her with open arms, and she received me with a sister's embraces. When we had seated ourselves beside the fountain, she began to upbraid me for leaving her so long alone. "In reply, I informed her of the conversation I had over- heard. "Aie recital shocked and distressed her. * Alas ! ' cried she, ' then is our happiness at an end ! ' " * How ! ' exclaimed I ; ' wilt thou cease to love me, because I am not thy brother? ' " ' Not so,' rephed she ; ' but do you not know that when it is Once known we are not brother and sister, we can no longer be permitted to be thus always together? ' "In fact, from that moment our intercourse took a newphar- aeter. We met often at the fountain among the jessamines, but Xarisa no longer advanced with open arms to meet me. She became reserved and silent, and would blush, and cast down her eyes, when I seated myself beside her. My heart became a prey to the thousand doubts and fears that ever attend upon true love. I was restless and uneasy, and looked back with regret to the unreserved intercourse that had existed between us, when we supposed ourselves brother and sister; vet I would not have had the relationship true, for the world. 48 W0LFERT8 ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. " While matters were in this state between us, an order came from the King of Granada for the Alcayde to take command of the fortress of Coyn, which Hcs dii-ectly on the Christian fron- tier. He prepared to remove, with all his family, but signified that I should remain at Cartama. I exclaimed against the separation, and declared that I could not be parted from Xarisa. ' That is the very cause,' said he, ' why I leave thee behind. It is thue, Abendaraez, that thou shouldst know the secret of thy birth ; that thou art no son of mine, neither is Xarisa thy sister.' * I know it all,' exclauned I, ' and I love her with tenfold the affection of a brother. You have brought us up together; you have made us necessary to each other's hap- piness ; our hearts kave entwined themselves with our gi'owth ; do not now tear them asunder. Fill up the measure of your kindness ; be indeed a father to me, by giving me Xarisa for my wife.' "The brow of the Alcayde darkened as I spoke. 'Have I then been deceived?' said he. 'Have those nurtured in my very bosom been conspirmg against me? Is this your return for my paternal tenderness? — to beguile the affections of my child, and teach her to deceive her father? It was cause enough to refuse thee the hand of my daughter, that thou wert of a proscribed race, who can never approach the walls of Granada; this, however, I might have passed over; but never will I give my daughter to a man who has endeavored to win her from me by deception,' ' ' AU my attempts to vidicate myself and Xarisa were unavail- ing. I retired in anguish from his presence, and seeking Xarisa, told her of this blow, which was worse than death to me. ' Xarisa, ' said I, ' we part for ever ! I shall never see thee more ! Thy father wiU guard thee rigidly. Thy beauty and his wealth will soon attract some happier rival, and I shall be for- gotten ! ' " Xarisa reproached me with my want of faith, and promised me eternal constancy. I still doubted and desponded, until, moved by my anguish and despair, she agreed to a secret union. Our espousals made, wo parted, with a promise on her part to send me word from Coyn, should her father absent him- self from the fortress. The very day after our secret nuptials, I beheld the whole train of the Alcayde depart from Cartama, nor would he admit me to his presence, or permit me to bid farewell to Xarisa. I remained at Cartama, somewhat pacified in spirit by this secret bond of union ; but every thing around THE ABENCEREAQE. 49 me fed my passion, and reminded me of Xarisa. I saw the windows at which I had so often beheld her. I wandered through the apartment she had inhabited; the chamber in which she had slept. I visited the bower of jessamines, and lingered beside the fountain in which she had dehghted. Every thing recalled her to my imagination, and filled my heart with tender melancholy. "At length, a confidential servant brought me word, that her father was to depart that day for Granada, on a short absence, inviting me to hasten to Coyn, describing a secret portal at which I should apply, and the signal by which 1 would obtain admittance. 'If ever you have loved, most valiant Alcayde, you may judge of the transport of my bosom. That very night I arrayed myself in my most gallant attire, to pay due honor to my bride ; and arming myself against any casual attack, issued forth pri- vately from Oartama. You know the rest, and by what sad fortune of war I found myself, instead of a happy bridegroom, in the nuptial ' ower of Coyn, vanquished, wounded, and a prisoner, withing the waUs of Allora. The term of absence of the father of Xarisa is nearly expired. Within three days ho will return to Coyn, and our meeting wiU no longer be possible. Judge, then, whether I grieve without cause, and whether I may not well be excused for showing impatience imder confine- ment." Don Rodrigo de Narvaez was greatly moved by this recital ; for, though more used to rugged war, than scenes of amorous softness, he was of a kind and generous nature. " Abenderaez," said he, "I did not seek thy confidence to gratify an idle curiosity. It grieves me much that the good fortune which delivered thee into my hands, should have marred so fair an enterprise. Give me thy faith, as a true knight, to return prisoner to my castle, within three days, and I will gi'ant thee permission to accomplish thy nuptials." The Abencerrage would have throAvn himself at his feet, to pour out protestations of eternal gratitude, but the Alcayde prevented him. Calling in his cavaliers, he took the Abencer- rage by the right hand, in their presence, exclaiming solemnly, "You promise, on the faith of a cavalier, to return to my castle of Allora within three days, and render yourself my prisoner?" And the Abencerrage said, "I promise." . ./_ Then said the Alcayde, "Go! and may good fortune attend 50 WOLFERTS HOOST AND MISCELLANIES, you. If you require any safeguard, I and my cavaliers are ready to be your companions." The Abencerrage kissed the liand of the Alcayde, in grateful acknowledgment. "Give me," said he, "my own armor, and my steed, and I require no guard. It is not Mkely that I shall again meet with so valorous a foe. " The shades of night had fallen, when the tramp of the dapplc- gTay steed sounded over the drawbiidge, and immediately afterward the light clatter of hoofs along the road, bespoke the fieetness with which the youtliful lover hastened to his bride. It was deep night when the Moor arrived at the castle of Coyn. He silently and cautiously walked his panting steed under its dark walls, and having nearly passed round them, came to the portal denoted by Xarisa. He paused and looked around to see that he was not observed, and then knocked three times with the butt of his lance. In a little while the portal was timidly unclosed by the duenna of Xarisa. "Alas! senor," said she, "what has detained you thus long? Every night have I watched for you ; and my lady is sick at heart with doubt and anxiety." The Abencerrage hung his lance, and shield, and scimitar against the wall, and then followed the duenna, with silent steps, up a winding stair-case, to the apartment of Xarisa. Vain would be the attempt to describe the raptures of that meeting. Time, flew too s^vLftly, and the Abencerrage had nearly forgotten, until too Jate, his promise to return a prisoner to the Alcayde of Allora. The recollection of it came to him with a pang, and suddenly awoke him from his dream of bliss. Xarisa saw his altered looks, and heard with alarm his stifled sighs; but her countenance brightened, when she heard the cause. " Let not thy spirit be cast down," said she, throwing her white arms around him. "I have the keys of my father's treasures; send ransom more than enough to satisfy the Chris- tian, and remain with me." . ..."-No^" said Abondaraez. " I have given my word to return m person, and Uke a true knight, must fulfil my promise. After that, fortune musfc do with me as it pleases." "Then," said Xarisa, "I will accompany thee. Never shall you return a prisoner, and I remain at liberty." The Abencerrage was transported with joy at this new proof of devotion in his beautiful biide. All preparations wore speedily made for their departure. Xarisa mounted behind the Moor, on his powerful steed ; they left the castle walls before THE ABEjS'VEBRAGE. 51 daybreak, nor did they pause, until they arrived at the gate of the castle of AUora, which was flung wide to receive them. AUghting in the court, the Abencerrage supported the ste|36 of bis trembhng bride, who remained closely veiled, into the pres- ence of Rodrigo de Narvaez. " Behold, vahant Alcaydel" said he, " the way in wliich an Abencerrage keeps his word. I pro- mised to return to thee a prisoner, but I deliver two captives into your power. Behold Xarisa, and judge whether I grieved without reason, over the loss of such a treasure. Receive us as your own, for I confide my hie and her honor to your hands." The Alcay de was lost in admiration of the beauty of the lady, and the noble spu-it of the Moor. "I know not," said he, ' ' wliich of you surpasses the other ; but I know that my castle is graced and honored by your presence. Enter into it, and consider it your own, while you deign to reside with me." For several days the lovers remained at Allora, happy in each other's love, and in the friendship of the brave Alcayde. The latter wrote a letter, full of courtesy, to the Moorish king of Granada, relating the v\^hole event, extolling the valor and good faith of the Abencerrage, and craving for liim the royal countenance. The king was moved by the story, and was pleased with an opportunity of showing attention to the wishes of a gallant and chivalrous enemy ; for though he had often suffered from the prowess of Don Rodigro de Narvaez, he admired the heroic character he had gained throughout the land. Calhng the Al- cayde of Coyn into his presence, he gave him the letter to read. The Alcayde turned pale, and trembled with rage, on the perusal. "Restrain thine anger," said the king; "there is nothing that the Alcayde of Allora could asli, that I would not grant, if in my power. Go thou to Allora; pardon thy children; take them to thy home. I receive this Abencerrage into my favor, and it will be my delight to heap benefits upon you all." The kindling ire of the Alcayde was suddenly appeased. He hastened to Allora ; and folded his children to his bosom, who would have fallen at his feet. The gallant Rodrigo de Nar- vaez gave liberty to his prisoner without ransom, demanding merely a promise of his friendship. He accompanied the youth- ful couple and their father to Coyn, where their nuptials were celebrated with great rejoicings. When the festivities were over, Don Rodrigo de Narvaez returned to his fortress of Allora. After his departure, the Alcayde of Qc'Yw nddrossed lti3 . 52 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES: children: "To your hands," said he, **I confide the disposi- tion of my wealth. One of the first things I charge you, is not to forget the ransom you owe to the Alcayde of Allora. His magnanimity you can never repay, but you can prevent it from wronging him of his just dues. Give him, moreover, your entii-c friendship, for he merits it fuUy, though of a different faith." The Abencerrage thanked him for his generous proposition, which so truly accorded with his own wishes. He took a large sum of gold, and enclosed it in a rich coffer ; and, on his own part, sent six beautiful horses, superbly caparisoned ; with six shields and lances, mounted and embossed with gold. The beautiful Xarisa, at the same time, wrote a letter to the Alcayde, filled with expressions of gratitude and friendship, and sent hun a box of fragrant cypress-wood, containing linen, of the finest quahty, for his person. The vahant Alcayde dis- j)Osed of the present in a characteristic manner. The horses and armor he shared among the cavaliers who had accompanied him on the night of the skirmish. The box of cypress-wood and its contents he retained, for the sake of the beautiful Xarisa ; and sent her, by the hands of a messenger, the sum of gold paid as a ransom, entreating her to receive it as a .wedding present. This courtesy and magnanimity raised the character of the Alcayde Rodrigo de Narvaez still higher in the estima- tion of the Moors, who extolled him as a perfect mirror of chi- valric virtue ; and from that time forward, there was a con- tinual exchange of good offices between them. THE ENCHAMTED iSLAlill). 53 THE ENCHANTED ISLAND. BY THE AUTHOR OF THE SKETCH-BOOK. Break, Phantsie, from thy cave of cloud. And wave thy purple >vings. Now all thy figures are allowed, Aiid various shapes of things. Create of airy forms a stream; It must have blood and nought of phlegm; And though it be a walking dream, Yet let it like an odor rise To all the senses here, And fall hke sleep upon their eyes. Or music on their ear.— Ben Jonson. '* There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy," and among these may bo placed that marvel and mystery of the seas, the island of St. Brandan. Every school-boy can enumerate and call by name the Canaries, the Fortunate Islands of the ancients; which, according to some ingenious speculative minds, are mere cwrccks and remnants of the vast island of Atalantis, men- tioned by Plato, as having been swallowed up by the ocean. Whoever has read the history of those isles, Avill remember the wonders told of another island, still more beautiful, seen occasionally from their shores, stretching away in the clear bright west, with long shadowy promontories, and high, sun- gilt peaks. Numerous expeditions, both in ancient and modern days, have launched forth from the Canaries in quest of that island ; but, on their approach, mountain and promontory have gradually faded away, until nothing has remained but the blue sky above, and the deep blue water below. Hence it was termed by the geographers of old, Aprositus, or the Inaccessi- ble ; while modern navigators have called its very existence in question, pronouncing it a mere optical illusion, hke the Fata Morgana of the Straits of Messina; or classing it with those unsubstantial regions known to mariners as Cape Flyaway, and the Coast of Cloud Land. Let not, however, the doubts of the worldly-wise sceptics of modem days rob us of aU the glorious realms owned by happy creduUty in dsiys of yore. Be assured, O reader of easy faith 1 — ^thou for whom I delight to labor— be assured, that such an island does actually exist, and has, from time to time, been 54 WOLVERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. revealed to the gaze, and trodden by the feet, of favored mortals. Nay, though doub^^ed bj historians and philosophers, its existence is fully attested by the poets, who, being an in- spired race, and gifted with a kind of second sight, can see in.to the mysterie^ of nature, hidden from the eyes of ordinary mortals. Tt 'his gifted race it has ever been a region of fancy and romance, teeming with all kinds of wonders. Hero once bloomed, and perhaps stiQ blooms, the famous garden of the Hesperides, with its golden fruit. Here, too, was the enchanted garden of Armida, in which that sorceress held the Christian paladin, Einaldo, in dehcious but inglorious thraldom; as is set forth in the immortal lay of Tasso. It was on this island, also, that Sycorax, the w4tch, held sway, when the good Pros- pero, and his infant daughter Miranda, were wafted to its shores. The isle was then " full of noises, Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not." Who does not know the tale, as told in the magic page of Shakspeare? In fact, the island appears to have been, at different times, under the sway of different pov/ers, genii of earth, and air, and ocean ; who made it theii' shadowy abode ; or rather, it is tlie retiring place of old worn-out deities and dynasties, that once ruled the poetic world, but are now nearly shorn of aU their attributes. Here Neptune and Amphitrite hold a dimi- nished court, Hke sovereigns in exile. Their ocean-ehariot lies bottom upward, in a cave of the island, ahnost a perfect wreck, while their pursy Tritons and haggard Nereids bask listlessly, Hke seals about the rocks. Sometimes they assume a sliadow of their ancient pomp, and glide in state about the glassy sea; while the crew of some tall Indiaman, that lies becalmed with flapping sails, hear with astonishment the' meUow note of the Triton's sheU sweUing upon the ear, as the invisible pageant sweeps by. Sometimes the quondam mon- arch of the ocean is permitted to make himself visible to mortal eyes, visiting the ships that cross the hue, to exact a tribute from new-comers ; the only remnant of his ancient rule, and that, alas! performed with tattered state, and tarnished splendor. On the shores of tliis wondrous island, the mighty kralsen heaves his bulk, and wallows many a rood ; here, too, the sea- Lorpent lies coiled i;p, durinf; the intervals of hfe much ron THE ENCHANTED ISLAND. 55 tested revelations to the eyes of true believers ; and here, it is said, even the Flying Dutchman finds a port, and casts his anchor, and furls his shadowy sail, and takes a short repose from his eternal wanderiiAgs. Here all the treasures lost in the deep are safely garnered. The caverns of the shores are piled with golden ingots, boxes of pearls, rich bales of oriental silks ; and their deep recesses sparkle with diamonds, or flame with carbuncles. Here, in deep bays and harbors, hes many a spell-bound ship, long given up as lost by the ruined merchant. Here, too, its crew, long bewailed as swallowed up in ocean, lie sleeping in mossy grottoes, from age to age, or wander about enchanted shores and groves, in pleasing oblivion of all things. Such are some of the marvels related of tliis island, and which may serve to throw some light on the following legend, of unquestionable truth, which I recommend to the entire beUef of the reader. THE ADELANTADO OF THE SEVEN CITIES. A LEGEND OF ST. BRANDAN. In the early part of the fifteenth century, when Prince Henry of Portugal, of worthy memory, was pusliing the ca:"ecr of discovery along the western coast of Africa, and the world was resounding with reports of golden regions on the main land, and new-found islands in the ocean, there arrived at Lisbon an old bewildered pilot of the seas, who had been driven by tempests, he knew not whither, and who raved about an island far in the deep, on which he had landed, and which he had found peopled vnih. Christians, and adorned with noble cities. The inhabitants, he said, gathered round, and regarded him with suL'prise, having never before been visited by a ship. They told him they were descendants of a band of Christians, who fled from Spain when that country was conquered by the Moslems. They were curious about the state of their father- land, and grieved to hear that the Moslems still hold possession of the kingdom of Granada. They would have talicn the old navigator to church, to convince him of their orthodoxy; but, either through lack of devotion, or lack of faith in their words, he declined their invitation, and preferred to return on board of his sliip. He was properly punished. A furious storm 56 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. arose, drove liim from his anchorage, hurried him out to sea, and he saw no more of the unknown island. This strange story caused great marvel in Lisbon and else- where. Those versed in history, remembered to have read, in an ancient chronicle, that, at the time of the conquest of Spain, in the eighth century, when the blessed cross was cast down, and the crescent erected in its place, and when Christian churches were turned mto Moslem mosques, seven bishops, at the head of seven bands of pious exiles, had fled from the peninsula, and embark«3d in quest of some ocean island, or dis- tant land, where they might found seven Christian cities, and enjoy their faith unmolested. The fate of these pious saints errant had hitherto remained a mystery, and their story had faded from memory ; the report of the old tempest-tossed pilot, however, revived this long-for- gotten theme ; and it was determined by the pious and enthusi- astic, that the island thus accidentally discovered, was the identical place of refuge, whither the wandering bishops had been guided by a protecting Providence, and where they had folded their flocks. This most excitable of worlds has always some darhng object of chimerical enterprise: the "Island of the Seven Cities" now awakened as much interest and longing among zealous Chris- tians, as has the renowned city of Timbuctoo among adven- turous travellers, or the North-east Passage among hardy navigators ; and it was a frequent prayer of the devout, that these scattered and lost portions of the Christian family might be discovered, and reunited to the great body of Christendom. No one, however, entered into the matter with half the zeal of Don Fernando de Ulmo, a young cavaHer of high standing in the Portuguese court, and of most sanguine and romantic temperament. He had recently come to his estate, and had run the round of all kinds of pleasures and excitements, when this new theme of popular talk and wonder presented itself. The Island of the Seven Cities becanob© now the constant sub- ject of his thourihts by day and his dreams by night ; it even rivalled his passion for a beautiful girl, one of the greatest belles of Lisbon, to whom he was betrothed. At length his imagination became so inflamed on the subject, that he deter- mined to fit out an expedition, at his own expense, and set sail in quest of this sainted island. It could not be a cruise of any great extent ; for according to the calculations of the tempest- tossed pilot, it must be somewhere in the latitude of the Cana- i THE ENCHANTED ISLAND. 57 ries; which at that tune, when the new world was as yet undiscovered, formed the frontier of ocean enterprise. Don Fernando apphed to the crown for countenance and protection. As he was a favorite at court, the usual patronage was readily extended to him ; that is to say, he received a conunission from the king, Don loam II. , constituting him Adelantado, or mih- tary governor, of any country he might discover, with the single proviso, that he should bear ail the expenses of the dis- covery and iDay a tenth of the profits to the crown. Don Fernando now set to work in the true spirit of a projec- tor. He sold acre after acre of solid land, and invested the proceeds in ships, guns, anununition, and sea-stores. Even his old family mansion in Lisbon was mortgaged without scruple, for he looked forward to a palace in one of the Seven Cities of which he was to be Adelantado. This was the age of nautical romance, when the thoughts of aU speculative dreamers were turned to the ocean. The scheme of Don Fernando, therefore, drew adventurers of every kind. The merchant promised himseK new marts of opulent traffic ; the soldier hoped to sack and plunder some one or other of those Seven Cities ; even the fat monk shook off the sleep and sloth of the cloister, to jom in a crusade which promised such increase to the possessions of the church. One person alone regarded the whole project with sovereign contempt and growling hostility. This was Don Ramiro Al- varez, the father of the beautiful Serafina, to whom Don Fer- nando was betrothed. He was one of those perverse, matter- of-fact old men who are prone to oppose every thing speculative and romantic. He had no faith in the Island of the Seven Cities ; regarded the projected cruise as a crack-brained freak ; looked with angry eye and internal heart-burning on the con- duct of his intended son-in-law, chaffering away solid lands for lands in the moon, and scoffingly dubbed him Adelantado of Lubberland. In fact, he had never really relished the intended match, to which his consent had been slowly extorted by the tears and entreaties of his daughter. It is time he could have no reasonable objections to the youth, for Don Fernando was the very flower of Portuguese chivalry. No one could excel him at the tilting match, or the riding at the ring ; none was more bold and dexterous in the bull-fight ; none composed more gallant madrigals in praise of his lady's charms, or sang them with sweeter tones to the accompaniment of her guitar ; nor could anv one handle the castanets and dance the bolero with 58 WOLFERTS ROOST A2i'D MISCELLANIES. more captivating grace. All these admirable qualities and endowments, however, though they had been sufficient to win the heart of Seraiina, were nothing in the eyes of her um-eason- able father. O Cupid, god of Love ! why will fathers always be so unreasonable I The engagement to Serafina had threatened at first to throw an obstacle in the way of the expedition of Don Fernando, and for a time perplexed him in the extreme. He was passionately attached to the young lady ; but he was also passionately bent on this romantic enterprise. How should he reconcile the two passionate inclinations? A simple and obvious arrangement at length presented itself: marry Serafina, enjoy a portion of the honeymoon at once, and defer the rest until his return from the discovery of the Seven Cities ! Be hastened to make known this most excellent arrange- ment to Don Ramiro, when the long-smothered wrath of the old cavalier burst forth in a storm about his ears. He re- proached him with being the dupe of wandering vagabonds and wild schemers, and of squandering all his real possessions in pm-suit of empty bubbles. Don Fernando was too sanguine a projector, and too young a man, to listen tamely to such language. He o.cted with what is technically called ' ' becoming spirit. " A high quarrel ensued ; Don Ramiro pronounced hun a mad man, and forbade all farther intercourse with his daughter, until he should give proof of returning sanity by abandoning this mad-cap enterprise; while Don Fernando flung out of the house, more bent than ever on the expedition, from the idea of triumphing over the incredulity of the gray- beard when he should return successful. Don Ramiro repaired to his daughter's chamber the moment the youth had departed. He represented to her the sanguine, unsteady character of her lover and the chimerical nature of his schemes ; showed her the propriety of suspending all inter- course with him until he should recover from his present hallucination ; folded her to his bosom with parental fondness, kissed the tear that stole down her check, and, as he left the chamber, gently locked the door ; for although he was a fond father, and had a high opinion of the submissive temper of his cliild, he had a still higher opinion of the conservative virtues of lock and key. Whether the damsel had been in any wise shaken in her faith as to the schemes of her lover, and the existence of the Island of the Seven Cities, by the sage repre- sentations of her father, tradition does not sav : hwt it is cei-taiii THE ENCHANTED ISLAND. 59 that she became a firm believer the momient she heard him turn the key in the lock. Notwithstanding the interdict of Don Eamiro, therefore, and his shrewd precautions, the intercourse of the lovers continued, although clandestinely. Don Fernando toiled all day, hurrying forward his nautical enterprise, while at night he would repair, beneath the grated balcony of his mistress, to carry on at equal pace the no less interesting enterprise of the heart. At length the preparations for the expedition were completed. Two gal- lant caravels lay anchored in the Tagus, ready to sail with the morning dawn ; while late at night, by the pale light of a wan- ing moon, Don Feruando sought the stately mansion of Alvarez to take a last farewell of Serafina. The customary signal of a few low touches of a guitar brought her to the balcony. She was sad at heart and full of gloomy forebodings ; but her lover strove to impart to her his own buoyant hope and youthful confidence. ' ' A few short months, " said he, ' ' and I shall return in triumph. Thy father will then blush at his incredulity, and will once more welcome me to his house, when I cross its threshold a wealthy suitor and Adelantado of the Seven Cities." The beautiful Serafina shook her head mournfully. It was not on those points that she felt doubt or dismay. She believed most implicitly in the Island of the Seven Cities, and trusted devoutly in the success of the enterprise ; but she had heard of the inconstancy of the seas, and the inconstancy of those who roam them. Now, let the truth be spoken, Don Fernando, if he had any fault in the world, it was that he was a little too inflammable; that is to say, ahttle too subject to take fire from the sparkle of every bright eye : he had been somewhat of a rover among the sex on shore, what might he not be on sea? Might he not meet with other loves in foreign ports? Might he not behold some peerless beauty in one or other of those seven cities, who might efface the image of Serafina from his thoughts? At length she ventured to hint her doubts ; but Don Fernando spurned at the very idea. Never could his heart be false to Serafina! Never could another be captivatmg in his eyes! — never— never ! Repeatedly did he bend his knee, and smite his breast, and caU upon the silver moon to witness the sincerity of his vows. But might not Serafina, herself, be forgetful of her plighted faith? Might not some wealthier rival present, while he was tossing on the sea, and, backed by the authority of her father, win the treasure of her hand? 60 WOLFERT'S BOOST AND MISCELLANIES. Alas, how little did he know Serafina's heart ! The more her father should oppose, the more would she be fixed in her faith. Though years should pass before his return, he would find her true to her vows. Even should the salt seas swallow him up, (and her eyes streamed with salt tears at the very thought,) never would she be the wife of another — never— never ! She raised her beautiful white arms between the iron bars of the balcony, and tavoked the moon as a testimonial of her faith. Thus, according to immemorial usage, the lovers parted, with many a vow of eternal constancy. But will they keep those vows? Perish the doubt! Have they not caUed the constant moon to witness? With the morning dawn the caravels dropped down the Tagus and put to sea. They steered for the Canaries, in those days the regions of nautical romance. Scarcely had they reached those latitudes, when a violent tempest arose. Don Fernando soon lost sight of the accompanying caravel, and was driven out of all reckoning by the fury of the storm. For several weary days and nights he was tossed to and fro, at the mercy of the elements, expecting each moment to be swallowed up. At length, one day toward evening, the storm subsided ; the clouds cleared up, as though a veil had suddenly been with- drawn from the face of heaven, and the setting sun shone gloriously upon a fair and mountainous island, that seemed close at hand. The tempest-tossed mariners rubbed their eyes, and gazed almost incredulously upon this land, that had emerged so suddenly from the murky gloom ; yet there it lay, spread out in lovely landscapes; enlivened by villages, and towers, and spires, while the late stormy sea rolled in peaceful billows to its shores. About a league from the sea, on the banks of a river, stood a noble city, with lofty walls and towersr, and a protecting castle. Don Fernando anchored off the mouth of the river, which appeared to form a spacious harbor. In a little while a barge was seen issuing from the river. It was evidently a barge of ceremony, for it was richly though quaintly carved and gilt, and decorated with a silken awning and flutter- ing streamers, while a banner, bearing the sacred emblem of the cross, floated to the breeze. The barge advanced slowly, hnpelled by sixteen oars, painted of a bright crimson. The oarsmen were luicouth, or rather antique, in their garb, and kept stroke to the regular cadence of an old Spanish ditty. Be- neath the awning sat a cavalier, ui a rich though old-fashioned doublet, with an enormous sombrero and feather. TUE ENCHANTED J8LAND. 61 When the barge reached the caravel, the cavaher stepped on board. He was tall and gaunt, with a long, Spanish visage and lack-lustre eyes, and an air of lofty and somewhat pompous gravity. His mustaches were curled up to his ears, Ms beard was forked and precise ; he wore gauntlets that reached to his elbows, and a Toledo blade that strutted out behind, wliile, in front, its huge basket-hilt might have served for a por- ringer. Thrusting out a long spindle leg, and taking off his sombrero with a grave and stately sweep, he saluted Don Fernando by name, and welcomed him, in old Castilian language, and in the style of old Castilian courtesy. Don Fernando was startled at hearing himself accosted by name, by an utter stranger, in a strange land. As soon as he could recover from his surprise, he inquired what land it was at which he had arrived. "The Island of the Seven Cities !" CoLild this be true? Had he indeed been thus tempest-driven upon the very land of which he was in quest? It was even so. The other caravel, from which he had been separated in the storm, had made a neighboring port of the island, and an- nounced the tidings of this expedition, which came to restore the country to the gi'«at community of Christendom. The whole island, he was told, was given up to rejoicings on tlie happy event ; and they only awaited his arrival to acknowledge allegiance to the crown of Portugal, and hail him as Adelantado of the Seven Cities. A grand fete was to be solemnized that very night in the palace of the Alcayde or governor of the city ; who, on beholding the most opportune arrival of the caravel, had despatched his grand chamberlain, in his barge of state, to conduct the future Adelantado to the ceremony. Don Fernando could scarcely beheve but that tbis was aU a dream. He fixed a scrutinizing gaze upon the grand chamber- lain, who, having delivered his message, stood in buckram dig- nity, drawn up to his full stature, curling his whiskers, stroking his beard, and looking down upon him with inexpressible lofti- ness through his lack-lustre eyes. There was no doubting the word of so grave and ceremonious a hidalgo. Don Fernando now arrayed himseK in gala attire. He "\^ould have launched his boat, and gone on shore with his own men, but he was informed the barge of state vras expressly provided for his accommodation, and, after the fete, would bring him back to his ship ; in which, on the following day, he might enter 02 WOLFERT'S ROOST AND MISCELLANIES, the harbor in befitting style. He accordingly stepped into the barge, and took his seat beneath the awning. The grand chaniberkiin seated himself on the cushion opposite. The rowers bent to their oars, and renewed their mournfxil old ditty, and the gorgeous, but unwieldy barge moved slowly and solemnly through the water. The night closed in, before they entered the river. They swept along, past rock and promontory, each guarded by its tower. The sentinels at every post challenged them as they passed by. " Who goes there ?" "The Adelantado of the Seven Cities." " He is welcome. Pass on. " On entering the harbor, they rowed close along an armed galley, of the most ancient form. Soldiers with cross-bows wore stationed on the deck. ''Who goes there ?" was again demanded. *' The Adelantado of the Seven Cities." " He is welcome. Pass on." They landed at a broad flight of stone steps, leading up, be- tween two massive towers, to the water-gate of the city, at which they knocked for admission. A sentinel, in an ancient steel casque, looked over the wall. "Who is there ?" " The Adelantado of the Seven Cities." The gate swung slowly open, gi'ating upon its rusty hinges. They entered between two rows of iron-clad warriors, in bat- tered armor, with cross-bows, battle-axes, and ancient maces, and with faces as old-fashioned and rusty as their ai^mor. They saluted Don Fernando in military style, but with perfect silence, as he passed between their ranks. The city was illuminated, but in such manner as to give a more shadowy and solemn eiiect to its old-time architecture. There were bonfires in the principal streets, with groups about them in such old-fashioned garbs, that they looked like the fantastic figures that roam the streets in carnival time. Even the stately dames who gazed from the balconies, which they had hung with antique tapestry, looked more like effigies dressed up for a quaint mummery, than like ladies in their fashionable attire. Every thing, in short, bore tlie stamp of former ages, as if the world had sud- denly rolled back a few centuries. Nor was this to be wondered at. Had not the Island of the Se^-en Cities been for several hundred years cut off from all communication ^vith the rest of the world, and was it not natural that the inhabitants should THE ENCHANTED ISLAND. 63 retain many of the modes and customs bronght here by their ancestors ? One thing certainly they had conserved; the old-fashioned Spanish gi-avity and stateliness. Though this was a time of public rejoicing, and though Don Fernando, was the object of their gratulations, every thing was conducted with the most solemn ceremony, and \Therever he appeared, instead of accla- mations, he was received with profound silence, and the most formal reverences and swayings of their sombreros. Arrived at the palace of the Alcayde, the usual ceremonial was repeated. The chamberlain knocked for admission. " Who is there ? " demanded the porter. " The Adelantado of the Seven Cities." " He is welcome. Pass on." ; ; Tlie grand portal was thrown open. The chamberlain led the '^ay up a vast but heavily moulded marble stair-case, and so through one of those interminable suites of apartments, that are the pride of Spanish palaces. All were furnished in a style of obsolete magnificence. As they passed through the cham- bers, the title of Don Fernando was forwarded on by servants stationed at every door ; and every where produced the most profoimd reverences and courtesies. At length they reached a magnificent saloon, blazing with tapers, in which the Alcayde, and the principal dignitaries of the city, were waiting to receive their illustrious guest. The grand chamberlain presented Don Fernando in due form, and falling back among the other oflScers of the household, stood as usual curling liis whiskers and stroking his forked beard. Don Fernando was received by the Alcayde and the other dignitaries with the same stately and formal courtesy that he had every where remarked. In fact, there was so much form and ceremonial, that it seemed difficult to get at any thing social or substantial. Nothing but bows, and compliments, and old-fashioned courtesies. The xllcayde and his courtiers resem- bled, in face and form, those quaint worthies to be seen in the pictures of old illuminated manuscripts; while the cavaliers and dames who thronged the saloon, might have been taken for the antique figures of gobehn tapestry suddenly vivified and put in motion. The banquet, wliich had been kept back until the arrival of Don Fernando, was now announced; and such a feastj such unknown dishes and obsolete dainties ; with the peacock, that bird of state and ceremony, served up in full plumage, in a 64 W0LFKRT3 ROOST AND MISCELLANIES, golden disli, at the head of the table. And then, as Don Fer- nando cast his eyes over the ghttering board, what a vista of odd heads and head-dresses, of formal bearded dignitaries, and stately dames, with castellated locks and towering plumes ! As fate would have it, on the other side of Don Fernando, was soated the daughter of the Alcayde. She was arrayed, it is true, in a dress that might have been worn before the flood ; but then, she had a melting black Andalusian eye, that was perfectly irresistible. Her voice, too, her manner, her move- ments, all smacked of Andalusia, and showed how female fas- cination may be transmitted from age to age, and clime to clime, without ever losing its power, or going out of fashion. Those who knoAV the witchery of the sex, in that most amorous region of old Spain, may judge what must have been the fasci- nation to which Don Fernando was exposed, when seated beside one of the most captivating of its descendants. He was, as has already been hinted, of an inflammable temperament; with a heart ready to get in a light blaze at every instant. And then he had been so wearied by pompous, tedious old cavaliers, with their formal bows and speeches ; is it to be wondered at that he turned with delight to the Alcayde's daughter, all smiles, and dimples, and melting looks, and melting accents ? Beside, for I wish to give him every excuse in my power, he was in a par- ticularly excitable mood, from the novelty of the scene before him, and his head was almost turned with this sudden and complete realization of all his hopes and fancies ; and then, in the flurry of the moment, he had taken frequent draughts at the wine-cup, presented him at every instant by oflScious pages, and all the world knows the effect of such draughts in giving potency to female charms. In a word, there is no concealing the matter, the banquet was not half over, before Don Fernan- do vv^as making love, outright, to the Alcayde's daughter. It was his old habitude, contracted long before his matrimonial engagement. The young lady hung her head coyly ; her eye rested upon a ruby heart, sparkling in a ring on the hand of Don Fernando, a parting gage of love from Serafina. A blush crimsoned her very temples. She darted a glance of doubt at the ring, and then at Don Fernando. He read her doubt, and in the giddy intoxication of the moment, drew off the pledge of his affianced bride, and shpped it on the fibiger of the Alcayde's daughter. At this moment the banquet broke up. The chamberlain with lus lofty demeanor, and his lack-lustre eyes, stood before THIC ENCHANTED ISLAND. 65 him, and announced that the barge was waiting to conduct him back to the caravel. Don Fernando took a formal leave of the Alcayde and his dignitaries, and a tender farewell of the Al- cayde's daughter, with a promise to throw himself at her lect on the following day. He was rowed back to his vessel in the same slow and stately manner, to the cadence of the same mournful old ditty. He retired to his cabin, his brain whirling with all that he had seen, and his heart now and then giving him a twinge as he recollected his temporary infidelity to tbo beautiful Serafina. He flmig himself on his bed, and soon fell into a feverish sleep. His dreams were wild and incoherent. How long he slept he knew not, but when he a^voke he found himself in a strange cabin, with persons around him of whom he had no knowledge. He rubbed his eyes to ascertain whether he were really awake. In reply to his inquiries, he was in- formed that he was on board of a Portuguese ship, bound to Lisbon; having been taken senseless from a wreck drifting about the ocean. Don Fernando was confounded and perplexed. He retraced every thhig distinctly that had happened to him in the Island of the Seven Cities, and until he had retired to rest on board of the caravel. Had his vessel been driven from her anchors, and wrecked during his sleep? The people about him could give him no information on the subject. He talked to them of the Island of the Seven Cities, and of all that had befallen liim there. They regarded his words as the ravings of delirium, and in their honest solicitude, administered such rough reme- dies, that he was fain to drop the subject, and observe a, cautious taciturnity. At length they arrived in the Tagus, and anchored before the famous city of Lisbon. Don Fernando sprang joyfully on shore, and hastened to liis ancestral mansion. To his surprise, it was inhabited by strangers ; and when he asked about his family, no one could give him any information concerning them. He now sought the mansion of Don Ramiro, for the tempo- rary flame kindled by the bright eyes of the Alcayde's daughter had long since burnt itself out, and his genuine passion for Serafina had revived with all its fervor. He approacned the balcony, beneath whioh he had so often serenaded her. Did his eyes deceive him? No ! There was Serafina herseK at the balcony. An exclamation of rapture burst from him, as he raised his arms toward her. She cast upon him a look of indig- 66 WOLFERTS BOOST AND MISCELLANIES. nation, and hastily retiring, closed the casement. Conld she have heard of his flirtation with the Alcayde's daughter? He would soon dispel every doubt of his constancy. The door was open. He rushed up-stairs, and entering the room, threw Iiim- self at her feet. She shrank back with affright, and took refuge in the arms of a youthful cavalier. " What mean you, Sir," cried the latter, " by this intrusion?" "What right have you," replied Don Fernando, "to ask the question?" " The right of an affianced suitor I" Don Fernando started, and turned pale. ' ' Oh, Serafina ! Serafinal" cried he in atone of agony, "is this thy plighted constancy?" "Serafina? — what mean you by Serafina? If it be this young;^ lady you intend, her nam« is Maria." "Is not this Serafina Alvarez, and is not that her po^-t^-^ It?" cried Don Fernando, pointing to a picture of liis mistress. " Holy Virgin I" cried the young lady; " he is talking of my great-grandmother !" An explanation ensued, if that could be called on explana- tion, which plunged the unfortunate Fernando into tenfold perplexity. If he might beheve his eyes, he saw before him his beloved Serafina; if he might believe his ears, it was merely her hereditary form and features, perpetuated in the person of her great-granddaughter. His brain began to spin. He sought tho office of the Minister of Marine, and made a report of his expedition, and of the Island of the Seven Cities, which he had so fortunately discov- ered. No body knew any thing of such an expedition, or such an island. He declared that he had undertaken the enterprise under a formal contract with the crown, and had received a regular commission, constituting him Adelantado. This must be matter of record, and he insisted loudly, that the books of the department should be consulted. The wordy strife at length attracted the attention of an old, gray-headed clerk, who sat perched on a high stool, at a high desk, with iron- rimmed spectacles on the top of a thin, pinched nose, copying records into an enormous folio. He had wintered and sum- mered in the department for a great part of a century, until he had almost grown to be a piece of the desk at which he sat ; his memory was a mere index of official facts and documents, and his brain was little better than red tape and parchment. After peering down for a time from his lofty perch, and ascer- TEE EIsCHANTED ISLAND. 67 taining the matter in controversy, he put his pen behind his ear, and descended. He remembered to have heard something from his predecessor about an expedition of the kind in ques- tion, but then it had sailed during the reign of Don loam II., and he had been dead at least a hundred years. To put the matter beyond dispute, however, the archives of the Torve do Tombo, that sepulchre of old Portuguese documents, were dili- gently searched, and a record was found of a contract between the crown and one Fernando de Ulmo, for the discovery of the Island of the Seven Cities, and of a commission secured to him as Adelantado of the country he might discover. "There!" cried Don Fernando, triumphantly, "there you have proof, before your own eyes, of what I have said. I am the Fernando de Ulmo speciHed in that record. I have discov- ered the Island of the Seven Cities, and am entitled to be Adelantado, according to contract." The story of Don Fc" nando liad certainly, what is pronounced the best of historical foundation, documentary evidei^ce; but when a man, in the bloom of youth, talked of events that had taken place above a century previously, as having happened to himself, it is no wonder that he was set down for a mad man. The old clerk looked at him from above and below his spec- tacles, shrugged his shoulders, stroked his chin, reascended his lofty stool, took the pen from behind liis ears, and resumed his daily and eternal task, copying records into the fiftieth volume of . series of gigantic fohos. The other clerks winked at each other shrewdly, and dispersed to their several places, and poor Don Fernando, thus left to himseh, flung out of the office, almost driven wild by these repeated perplexities. In the confusion of his mind, he instinctively repaired to the mansion of Alvarez, but it was barred against him. To break the delusion under which the youth apparently labored, and to convince him that the Serafina about whom he raved was really dead, he was conducted to her tomb. There she lay, a stately matron, cut out in alabaster ; and there lay her husband beside her ; a portly cavaher, in armor ; and there knelt, on each side, the effigies of a numerous progeny, proving that she had been a fruitful vine. Even the very monument gave proof of the lapse of time, for the hands of her husband, which were folded as if iQ prayer, had lost their fingere, and the face of the once lovely Serafina was noseless. Don Fernando felt a transient glow of indignation at behold- ing this monumental proof ot the inconstancy of his mistress ; 68 W0LFERT8 ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. but who could expect a mistress to remain constant during a whole century of absence? And what right had he to rail about constancy, after what had passed between him and the Alcayde's daughter? The unfortunate cavalier performed one pious act of tender devotion; he had the alabaster nose of Serafma restored by a skiKul statuary, and then tore liimself from the tomb. He could now no longer doubt the fact that, somehow or other, he had skipped over a whole century, during the night he had spent at the Island of the Seven Cities ; and he was now as complete a stranger in his native city, as if he had never been there. A thousand times did he wish himseli back lo that wonderful island, with its antiquated banquet halls, where he had been so courteously received ; and now that the once young and beautiful. Serafina was nothing but a great-grand- mother in marble, with generations of descendants, a thousand times would he recall the melting black eyes of the Alcayde's daughter, who doubtless, Mke himself, was still flourishing in fresh juvenihty, and breathe a secret wish that he were seated by her side. He would at once have set on foot another expedition, at his own expense, to cruise in search of the sainted island, but his means were exhausted. He endeavored to rouse others to the enterprise, setting forth the certainty of profitable results, of which his own experience furnished such unquestionable proof. Alas ! no one would give faith to his tale ; but looked upon it as the feverish dream of a shipwrecked man. He persisted in his efforts ; holding forth in all places and all com- panies, until he became an object of jest and jeer to the light- minded, who mistook his earnest enthusiasm for a proof of insanity; and the very cliildren in the streets bantered him Avith the title of "The Adelantado of the Seven Cities." Finding all his effoi-ts in vain, in his native city of Lisbon, he took shipping for the Canaries, as being nearer the latitude of his former cruise, and inhabited by people given to nautical K^.'Iventure. Here he found ready hsteners to his story; for the old pilots and mariners of those parts were notorious island- hunters and devout behevers in all the wonders of the sens; Indeed, one and all treated his adventure as a common occur- rence, and turning to each other, "ivith a sagacious nod of 1 lie head, observed, "He has been at the Island of St. Brandan." They then went on to inform Mm of that great marvel and enigma of the ocean ;* of its repeated appearance to the inhabi- NATIONAL NOMENCLATURE. 69 tants of their islands; and of the many but ineffectual expe- ditions that had been made in search of it. They took him to a promontory of the island of Palma, from whence the shadowy St. Brandan had oftenest been descried, and they pointed out the very tract in the west where its mountains had been seen. Don Fernando listened with rapt attention. He had no longer a doubt that this mysterious and fugacious island must be the same with that of the Seven Cities ; and that there must be some supernatural influence connected with it, that had operated upon himself, and niade the events of a night occupy the space of a century. He endeavored, but in vain, to rouse the islanders to another attempt at discovery ; they had given up the phantom island as indeed inaccessible. Fernando, however, was not to be dis- couraged. The idea wore itself deeper and deeper in his mind, until it became the engrossing subject of his thoughts and object of his being. Every morning he would repair to tho promontory of Palma, and sit there throughout the hve-long day, in hopes of seeing the fairy mountains of St. Brandan peering above the horizon ; every evening he returned to hi 3 home, a disappointed man, but ready to resume his post on tho following morning. His assiduity was all in vain. He grew gray in his ineffec- tual attempt ; and was at length found dead at his post. His grave is still shown in the island of Palma, and a cross is erected on the spot where he used to sit and look out upon the sea, in hopes of the reappearance of the enchanted island. NATIONAL NOMENCLATURE. TO THE EDITOR OP THE KNICKERBOCKER. Sir: I am somewhat of the same way of thinking, in regard .0 names, with that profound philosopher, Mr. Shandy, the eider, who maintained that some inspired high thoughts and heroic aims, while others entailed irretrievable meanness and vulgarity ; insomuch that a man might sink under the insigni- ficance of his name, and bo absolutely "Nicodemused into nothing." I have ever, therefore, thought it a great hardship for a man to be obliged to struggle through life with some ri-t 70 WOLFERTS BOOST AMD MISCELLANIES. diculoiMS or ignoble Christian name, as it is too often falsely- called, inflicted on him in infancy, when he could not choose for himself ; and would give him free liberty to change it for one more to his taste, when he had arrived at years of dis- cretion. I have the same notion with respect to local names. Some at once prepossess us in favor of a place ; others repel us, by milucky associations of the mind; and I have known scenes worthy of being the very haunt of poetry and romance, yet doomed to irretrievable vulgarity, by some ill-choseia name, wliich not even the magic numbers of a Halleck or a Bryant could elevate into poetical acceptation. This is an evil unfortunately too prevalent thi'oughout our country. Nature kas stamped the land with features of subli- mity and beauty ; but some of our noblest mountains and love- liest streams are ira danger of remaining for ever unhonored and unsung, from bearing appellations totally abhorrent to the Mftse. In the first place, our country is deluged with names taken from places in the old world, and applied to places having no possible aflBnity or resemblance to their namesakes. This betokens a forlorn poverty of inventioM, and a second-hand spirit, content to cover its nakedness with borrowed or cast-olf clothes of Europe. Then we have a shallow affectation of scholarship : the whole catalogue of ancient worthies is chaken out from the back of Lempriere's Classica»r Dictionary, and a wide region of wild country sprinkled over with the names of the heroes, poets, and sages of antiquity, jumbled into i3he most whimsical juxta- position. Then we have our pohtical god-fathers ; topographi- cal engineers, perhaps, or persons employed by govermnent to survey and lay out townships. These, forsooth, glorify the patrons that give them bread ; so we have the names of the great official men of the day scattered over the land, as if they were the real " salt of the earth," with which it was to be sea- soned. WeU for us is it, v^hen these official great men happen to have names of fair acceptation ; but wo unto us, should a Tubbs or a Potts be in power : we are sure, in a little wliile, to find Tubbsvilles and Pottsylvanias springing up in every direction. Under these melancholy dispensations of taste and loyalty, therefore, Mr. Editor, it is with a feeling of dawning hope, that I have lately perceived the attention of persons of intelligence beginning to be awakened on this subject. I trust if the mat- NATIONAL NOMENCLATURE. 71 ter should once be taken up, it will not be readily abandoned. We are yet young enough, as a country, to remedy and reform much of what has been done, and to release many of our rising towns and cities, and our noble streams, from names calculated to vulgarize the land. I have, on a former occasion, suggested the expediency of searching out the original Indian names of places, and wherever they are striking and euphonious, and those by which they have been superseded are glaringly objectionable, to restore them. They would have the meiit of originality, and of belonging to the country; and they would remain as reliques of the native lords of the soil, when every other vestige had disappeared. Many of these names may easily be regained, by reference to old title deeds, and to the archives of states and counties. In my own case, by examining the records of the county clerk's office, I Iip ve discovered the Indian names of various places and objects in the neighborhood, and have found them infinitely superior to the trite, poverty-stricken names which had been given by the settlers. A beautiful pas- toral stream, for instance, Avhick winds for many a mile through one of the loveliest little valley«3 in the state, has long been known by the common-place name of the ' ' Saw-mill River. " In the old Indian grants, it is designated as the Neperan. Another, a perfectly wizard stream, which ^vinds through the wildest recesses of Sleepy Hollow, bears the hum-drum name of Mill Creek : in the Indian grants, it sustains the euphonious title of the Pocantico. Similar researches have released Long-Island from many of those paltry and vulgar names which fringed its beautiful shores ; their Cow Bays, and Cow Necks, and Oyster Ponds, and Mus- quito Coves, which spread a spell of vulgarity over the whole island, and kept persons of taste and fancy at a distance. It would be an object worthy the attention of the historical societies, which are springing up in various parts of the Union, to have maps executed of their respective states or neighbor- hoods, in which all the Indian local names should, as far as possible, be restored. In fact, it appears to me that the nomen- clature of the country is almost of sufficient importance for the foundation of a distinct society; or rather, a corresponding association of persons of taste and judgment, of all parts of the Union. Such an association, if properly constituted and com- posed, comprising especially all the literary taler.t of the country, though it might not have legislative poA/er in its 72 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. enactments, yet would have the all-pervading power of the press ; and the changes in nomenclature Avhich it might dictate, being at once adopted hy elegant writers in prose and poetry, and interwoven with the hterature of the country, would ulti- mately pass into popular currency. Should such a reforming association arise, I beg to recommend to its attention all those mongrel names that have the adjec- tive New prefixed to 1 hem, and pray they may be one and all kicked out of the country. I am for none of these second-hand appellations, that stamp us a second-hand people, and that are to perpetuate us a new country to the end of time. Odds my life ! Mr. Editor, I hope and trust we are to live to be an old nation, as well as our neighbors, and have no idea that our cities, when they shall have attained to venerable antiquity, shall still be dubbed Neiv-Yovk^ and A'e?o-London, and new this and neio that, like the Pont-Neuf, (the New Bridge,) at Paris, which is the oldest bridge in that capital, or like the Vicar of Wakefield's horse, which continued to be called "the colt," until he died of old age. Speaking of New-York, reminds me of some observations which I met with some time since, in one of the pubhc papers, about the name of our state and city. The writer proposes to substitute for the present names, those of the State of Ontario, and the City of ]\Ianhattan. I concur in his suggestion most heartily. Though bom and brought up in the city of New- York, and though I love every stick and stone about it, yet I do not, nor ever did, relish its name. I hke neither its sound nor its significance. As to its significance^ the very adjective new gives to our great conunercial metropoHs a second-hand char- acter, as if referring to some older, more dignified, and impor- tant place, of which it was a mere copy ; though in fact, if I am rightly informed, the whole name commemorates a grant . by Charles II. to his brother, the duke of York, made in the spirit of royal munificence, of a tract of country which did not belong to him. As to the sound, what can you make of it, either in poetry or prose? New- York ! Why, Sir, if it were to share the fate of Troy itself ; to suffer a ten years' siege, aad be sacked and plundered ; no modern Homer would ever be able to elevate the nan.e to epic dignity. Now, Sir, Ontario would be a name worthy of the empire state. It bears with it the majesty of that internal sea which washes our northwestern shore. Or, if any objection should be made, from its not being completely embraced within our NATIONAL NOMENCLATURE. 73 boundaries, there is the Mohegan, one of the Indian names for that glorious river, the Hudson, which would furnish an excel- lent state appellation. So also New- York might be called Man- hatta, as it is na med in some of the early records, and Manliat- tan used as the adjective. Manhattan, however, stands well as a substantive, and " MarJiattanese, " which I obsei've Mr. Cooper has adopted in some of his writings, would be a very good appellation for a citizen of the commercial metropohs. A word or two more, Mr. Editor, and I have done. We want a NATIONAL NAME. We Want it poetically, and we want it poli- tically. With the poetical necessity of the caec I shall not trouble myself. I leave it to our poets to tell how they manage to steer that collocation of words, '' Tlie United States of North America," down the swelling tide of song, and to float the whole raft out upon the sea of heroic poesy. I am now speak- ing of the mere purposes of common life. How is a citizen of this repubhc to designate himself? As an American? There are two Americas, each subdivided into various empires, rapidly rising in unportance. As a citizen of the United States? It is a clumsy, lumbering title, yet still it is not dis- tinctive ; for we have now the United States of Central Amer- ica; and heaven knows how many " United States" may spring up under the Proteus changes of Spanish America. Tliis may appear matter of smaU concernment ; but any one that has travelled in foreign countries must be conscious of the embarrassment and circumlocution sometimes occasioned by the want of a perfectly distinct and explicit national appella- tion. In France, when I have announced myself as an Ameri- can, I have been supposed to belong to one of the French colonies ; in Spain, to be from Mexico, or Peru, or some other Spanish- American country. Repeatedly have I found myself involved in a long geographical and poHtical definition of my national identity. Now, Sir, meaning no disrespect to any of our co-heu-s of this grea.t quarter of the world, I am for none of this coparceny in a name that is to mingle us up with the riff-raff colonies and off-sets of every nation of Europe. The title of American may serve to tell the quarter of the world to which I belong, the same as a Frenchman or an Englishman may call himself a European ; but I want my own pccuKar national name to rally under. I want an appellation that shall tell at once, and in a way not to be mistaken, that I belong to this very portion of America, geograpliical and political, to which it is my pride J.j WOLFERT'S BOOST A2\I) MISCELLANIES. and happiness to belong; that I am of the Anglo-Saxon race which founded this Anglo-Saxon empire in the wilderness ; and that I have no part or parcel with any other race or empire, Spanish, French, or Portuguese, in either of the Americas. Such an appellation, Sir, would have magic in it. It would bind every part of the confederacy together as with a key- stone; it would be a passport to the citizen of our republic throughout the world. We have it in our power to furnish ourselves v/ith such a national appellation, from one of the grand and eternal fea- tures of our country; from that noble cham of mountains which formed its back-bone, and ran through the ' ' old con- federacy," when it first declared our national independence. I allude to the Appalachian or Alleghany mountains. We might do this without any very inconvenient change in our present titles. We might still use the phrase, ' ' The United States," substituting Appalachia, or Alleghania, (I should pre- fer the latter,) in place of America. The title of Appalachian, or Alleghanian, would still announce us as Americans, but would specify us as citizens of the Great Republic. Even our old national cypher of U. S. A. might remain unaltered, desig- nating the United States of Alleghania. These are crude ideas, Mr. Editor, hastily thrown out to elicit the ideas of others, and to call attention to a subject of more national importance than may at first be supposed. Very respectfully yours, Geoffrey Crayon. DESULTORY THOUGHTS ON CRITICISM. "Let a man write nover so wc;l, thei-e are no\v-a-daj^s a sort of persons they call critics, tliat. e^rad, have no more wit in them than so many hobby-horses: but they'll lau^h at yon, Pii\ and find fault, and censui-e things, that, egad, I'm sure they are not able t<> do themselves; a sort of envious persons, that emulate the glories of persons of patts, and think to build their fame by calumniation of per- rons that, egad, to my knowledge, of all persons in the world, are in nature rhe persons that do as much despise all that, as— a— In fine, I'll say no more of 'era !" — EaHEARSAL. All the world knows the story of the tempest-tossed voyager, who, coming upon a strange coast, and seeing a man hanging in chains, hailed it with joy, as the sign of a civilized country. In like manner wo may hail, ao a proof of the rapid advance- DESULTORY THOUGHTS ON CRITICISM. 75 ment of civilization and refinement in this country, the in- creasing number of dehnquent authors daily gibbeted for the edification of the public. In this respect, as in every other, we are "going ahead " with accelerated ^ elocity, and promising to outstrip the superannu- ated countries of Europe. It is really astonishing to see the number of tribunals incessantly springing up for the trial of hterary offences. - Independent of the high courts of Oyer and Terminer, the great quarterly reviews, we have innumerable minor tribunals, montiily and weekly, down to the Tie-poudre courts in the daily papers ; msomuch that no culprit stands so little chance of escaping castigation, as an unlucky author, guilty of an unsuccessful attemi^t to please the pubhc. Seriously speaking, however, it is questionable whether oui> national hterature is sufficiently advanced, to bear this excess of criticism ; and whether it would not thrive better, if allowed to spring up, for some time longer, in the freshness and vigor of native vegetation. When the worthy Judge Coulter, of Virginia, opened court for the first time in one of the upper counties, he was for enforcing all the rules and regulations that had grown into use in the old, long-settled counties. "This is all very well," said a shrewd old farmer; "but let me teU you. Judge Coulter, you set your coulter too deep for a new soil." For my part, I doubt whether either writer or reader is benefited by what is commonly called criticism. The former is rendered cautious and distrustful ; he fears to give way to those kindling emotions, and brave sallies of thought, which bear him up to excellence; the latter is made fastidious and cynical; or rather, he surrenders hi-s own independent taste and judgment, and learns to like and dislike at second hand. Let us, for a moment, consider the nature of this thing called criticism, v/hich exerts such a sway over the literary world. The pronoun we, used by critics, has a most imposing and delusive sound. The reader pictures to himself a conclave of learned men, deliberating gravely and scrupulously on the merits of the book in question; examining it page by page, comparing and balancing their opinions, and when they have united in a conscientious verdict, publishing it for the benefit of the world : Avhereas the criticism is generally the crude and hasty production of an individual, scribbling to while away an idle hour, to oblige a book-seller, or to defray current -expenses. How often is it the passing notion of the hour, affected by 76 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. accidental circumstances ; by indisposition, by peevishness, by vapors or indigestion ; by personal prejudice, or party feeling. Sometimes a work is sacrificed, because the reviewer wishes a satirical article ; sometimes because he wants a humorous one ; and sometimes because the author reviewed has become oft'cn- sively celebrated, and offers high game to the hterary marks- man. How often would the critic himself, if a conscientious man, reverse his opinion, had he time to revise it in a more sunny moment ; but the press is waiting, the printer's devil is at his elbow ; the article is wanted to make the requisite variety for the number of the review, or the author has pressing occasion for the sum he is to receive for the article, so it is sent off, all blotted and blurred ; with a shrug of the shoulders, and the consolatory ejaculation: "Pshaw! curse it! it's nothing but a review !" The critic, too, who dictates thus oracularly to the world, is perhaps some dingy, ill-favored, ill-mannered varlet, who, were he to speak by word of mouth, would be disregarded, if not scoffed at ; but such is the magic of types ; such the mystic operation of anonymous writing; such the potential effect of the pronoun we^ that his crude decisions, fulminated through the press, become circulated far and wide, control the opinions of the world, and give or destroy reputation. Many readers have grown timorous in their judgments since the all-pervading currency of criticism. They fear to express a revised, frank opinion about any new work, and to rehsh it honestly and heartily, lest it should be condemned in the next review, and they stand convicted of bad taste. Hence they hedge their opinions, like a gambJer his bets, and leave an opening to retract, and retreat, and qualify, and neutraMzt every unguarded expression of dehght, until their very praise declines into a faintness that is damning. Were every one, on the contrary, to judge for himself, and spovik his mind frankly and fearlessly, we should have more true criticism in the world than at present. Whenever a per- son is pleased with a work, he may be assured that it has gooc qualities. An author who pleases a variety of readers, must possess substantial powers of pleasing; or, in other words, intrinsic merits ; for otherwise we acknowledge an effect, and deny the cause. The reader, therefore, should not suffer him- self to be* readily shaken from the conviction of his o\nti feelings, by the sweeping censures of psoudo critics. The author he has DESULTORY THOUGHTS ON CRITICISM. 77 admired, may be chargeable with a thousand faults ; but it is nevertheless beauties and excellencies that have excited his admiration ; and he should recollect that taste and judgment are as much evinced in the perception of beauties among defects, as in a detection of defects among beauties. For my part, I honor the blessed and blessing spirit that is quick to dis- cover and extol all that is pleasing and meritorious. Give mo the honest bee, that extracts honey from the humblest weed, but save me from the ingenuity of the spider, which traces its venom, even in the midst of a flower-garden. If the mere fact of being cJiai'geable with faults and imper- fections is to condemn an author, who is to escape? The great- est writers of antiquity have, in this v/ay, been obnoxious to cx'iticism. Aristotle himself has been accused of ignorance; Aristophanes of impiety and buffoonery ; Virgil of plagiarism, and a want of invention ; Horace of obscurity ; Cicero has been, said to want vigor and connexion, and Demosthenes to be deficient in nature, and in purity of language. Yet these have all survived the censures of the critic, and flourished on to a glorious immortality. Every now and then the world is startled by some new doctrines in matters of taste, some levelling attacks on established creeds; some sweeping denunciations of whole generations, or schools of writers, as they are called, who had seemed to be embalmed and canonized in public opinion. Such has been the case, for instance, with Pope, and Dryden, and Addison, who for a time have almost been shaken from their pedestals, and treated as false idols. It is singular, also, to see the fickleness of the world with respect to its favorites. Enthusiasm exhausts itself, and pre- pares the way for dislike. Tlie public is always for positive sentiments, and new sensations. When wearied of admiring, it dehghts to censure; thus coining a double set of enjoyments out of the same subject. Scott and Byron are scarce cold in their graves, and already we find criticism beginning to call in ques- tion those powers which held the world in magic thraldom. Even in our own country, one of its greatest geniuses has had some rough passages with the censors of the press ; and instant- ly criticism begins to unsay all that it has repeatedly said in Ms praise ; and the public are almost led to believe that the pen which has so often dehghted them, is absoiutel.y destitute of the power to delight ! If, then, such reverses-in opinion as to matters of taste can be so readily brought about, when may an author feel himself 78 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES, secure? Where is the anchoring-ground of popularity, when he may thus be driven from his moorings, and foimdered even in harbor? The reader, too, when he is to consider himself rale in admiring, when he sees long-established altars over- thrown, and his household deities dashed to the ground ! There is one consolatory reflection. Every abuse carries with it its own remedy or palhation. Thus the excess of crude and hasty criticism, which has of late prevailed throughout the literary world, and threatened to overrun our country, begins to produce its own antidote. Where there is a multiplicity of contradictory paths, a man must make his choice ; in so doing, he has to exercise his judgment, and that is one great step to mental independence. He begins to doubt all, where aU differ, and but one can be in the right. He is driven to trust to his own discernment, and Ms natural feelings ; and here he is most Hkely to be safe. The author, too, finding that what is con- demned at one tribunal, is applauded at another, though per- plexed for a time, gives way at len^h to the spontaneous impulse of his genius, and the dictates of his taste, and T^Tites in the waj" most natural to himself. It is thus that criticism, which by its severity may have held the Httle world of writers in check, may, by its very excess, disarm itself of its terrors, and the hardihood of talent become restored. G. C. SPANISH ROMANCE. TO THE EDITOR OF THE KNICKERBOCKER. Sir: I have already given you a legend or two drawn from ancient Spanish sources, and may occasionally give you a few more. I love these old Spanish themes, especially when they have a dash of the Morisco in them, and treat of the times when the Moslems maintained a foot-hold in the peninsula. They have a high, spicy, oriental flavor, not to be found in any other themes that are merely European. In fact, Spain is a country that stands alone in the midst of Europe ; severed in habits, manners, and modes of thinking, from all its conti- nental neighbors. It is a romantic country; but its romance has none of the sentimentahty of modem European romance ; it is chiefly derived fr-om the brilliant regions of the East, and from the high-minded school of Saracenic chivalry. sPAmsn ROMANCE. 79 The Arab invasion and conquest brought a higher civilization and a nobler style of thinking into Gothic Spain. The Arabs were a quick-witted, sagacious, proud-spirited, and poetical people, and w^ere imbued with oriental science and hterature. Wherever they established a seat of power, it became a rally- ing place for the learned and ingenious ; and they softened and refined the people whom they conquered. By degrees, occu- pancy seemed to give them a hereditary right to their foot- hold in the land ; they ceased to be looked upon as invaders, and were regarded as rival neighbors. The peninsula, broken up into a variety of states, both Christian and ]\Ioslem, became for centuries a great campaigning ground, wiiere the art of war seemed to be the principal business of man, and was carried to the highest pitch of romantic chivalry. The oiiginal ground of hostihty, a difference of faith, gradually lost its rancor. Neighboring states, of opposite creeds, were occasionally linked together in alliances, offensive and defensive ; so that the cross and crescent were to be seen side by side fighting against some common enemy. In times of peace, too, the noble youth of either faith resorted to the same cities. Christian or Moslem, to school themselves in military science. Even in the temporary truces of sanguinary wars, the warriors who had recently striven together in the deadly conflicts of the field, laid aside their animosity, met at tournaments, jousts, and other mih- tary festivities, and exchanged the courtesies of gentle and generous spirits. Thus the opposite races became frequently mingled together in peaceful intercourse, or if any rivalry took place, it was in those Mgh courtesies and nobler acts which be- speak the accomplished cavaher. Warriors of opposite creeds became ambitious of transcending each other in magnanimity as well as valor. Indeed, the chivalric virtues were refined upon to a degree sometimes fastidiou.s and constrained; but at other times, inexpressibly noble and affecting. The annals of the times teem with illustrious instances of hight-wrought courtesy, romantic generosity, lofty disinterestedness, and punctilious honor, that warm the very soul to read them. These have furnished themes for national plays and poems, or have been celebrated in those all-pervading ballads which are as the life-breath of the people, and thus have continued to exercise an influence on the national character which centuries of vicissitude and decline have not been able to destroy; so that, with all their faults, and they are many, the Spaniards, even at the present day, are on many points the most high- 80 WOLFEBTS BOOST AND MISCELLANIES. minded and proud-spirited people of Europe. It is true, the romance of feeling derived from the sources I have mentioned, has, lilvO all other romance, its affectations and extremes. It renders the Spaniard at times pompous and grandiloquent; i:)rone to carry the " pundonor," or point of honor, beyond the bounds of sober sense and sound morality; disposed, in the midst of poverty, to affect the " grande cabahero," and to look down with sovereign disdain upon " arts mechanical," and all the gainful pursuits of plebeian life ; but this very inflation of spirit, while it fills his brain with vapors, lifts him above a thousand meannesses; and thcmgh it often keeps him in in- digence, ever protects him from vulgarity. In the present day, when popular Uterature is running into the low levels of life and luxuriating on the vices and follies of mankind, and when the universal pursuit of gain is tramphng down the early growth of poetic feeling and wearing out the verdure of the soul, I question whether it would not be of service for the reader occasionally to turn to these records of prouder times and loftier modes of thinking, and to steep him- self to the very lips in old Spanish romance. For my own part, I have a shelf or two of venerable, parch- ment-bound tomes, picked up here and there about the pe- ninsula, and filled with chronicles, plays, and ballads, about Moors and Christians, which I keep by me as mental tonics, in the same way that a provident housewife has her cupboard of cordials. Whenever I find my mind brought below par by the commonplace of every-day life, or jarred by the sordid collisions of the world, or put out of tune by the shrewd selfishness of modern utilitarianism, I resort to these venerable tomes, as did the worthy hero of La Mancha to his feooks of chivalry, and refresh and tone up my spirit by a deep draught of their contents. They have some such effect upon mo af? Falstaff ascribes to a good Sherris sack, " warming the blood and filhng the brain Avith fiery and delectable shapes." I here subjoin, Mr. Editor, a small specimen of the cordia*"^ I liavc mentioned, just drawn from my Spanish cupboard, whicli I recommend to your palate. If you find it to your taste, you may pass it on to your readers. Your correspondent and well-wisher, Geoffrey Crayon. SPAmSII liOMANCE. 81 LEGEND OF DON MUMO 8ANCH0 BE EINOJOSA. BY THE AUTHOR OF THE SKETCH-BOOK. In the cloisters of the ancient Benedictine convent of San Domingo, at Silos, in Castile, are the mouldering yet magni- ficent monuments of the once powerful and chivalrous family of Hinojosa. Among these, reclines the marble figure of a knight, in complete armor, with the hands pressed together, as if in prayei-. On one side of his tomb is sculptiu-ed in relief a band of Christian cavaliers, capturing a cavalcade of male and female Moors; on the other side, the same cavaliers are repre- sented kneeling before an altar. The tomb, like most of the neighboring monuments, is almost in ruins, and the sculpture is nearly unintelligible, excepting to the keen eye of the anti- quary. The story connected with the sepulchre, however, is still preserved in the old Spanish chronicles, and is to the fol- lowing purport. In old times, several hundred years ago, there was a noble Castilian cavaher, named Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa, lord of a border castle, which had stood the brunt of many a Moor- ish foray. He had seventy horsemen as his household troops, all Oi the ancient Castilian proof; stark warriors, hard riders, and men of iron ; with these he scoured the Moorish lands, and made his name terrible throughout the borders. His castle hall was covered with banners, and scimetars, and Moslem helms, the trophies of his proAvess. Don Munio was, moi-e- ovcr, a keen huntsman; and rejoiced in hounds of all kinds, steeds for the chase, and hawks for the towering sport of faJconry. When not engaged in warfare, his delight was to beat up the neighboring forests ; and scarcely ever did ho ride forth, without hound and horn, a boar-spear in his hand, or a hawk upon his fist, and an attendant train of huntsmen. His wife, Donna Maria Palacin, was ol" a gentle and timid na- ture, httle fitted to be the spouse of so hardy and adventurous a Icnight ; and many a tear did the poor lady shed, when he salHod forth upon his daring enterprises, and many a prayer did she offer up for his safety. As this doughty cavalier was one day hunting, he stationed himself in a thicket, on the borders of a green ,gladc of the 89 WOLFERTS ROOST AM) MlSCELLA^'lh:S. forego, and dispersed his followers to rouse the game, and drive it toward his stand. He had not been here long, when a cavalcade of Moors, of both sexes, came prankling over tho forest lawn. They were unarmed, and magnificently dressed in robes of tissue and embroidery, rich shawls of India, brace- lets and anklets Qf gold, and jewels that sparkled in the sun. At the head of this gay cavalcade, rode a youthful cavalier, superior to the rest in dignity and lof tmess of demeanor, and in splendor of attire; beside him was a damsel, whose veil, blown aside by the breeze, displayed a face of surpassing beauty, and eyes cast down in maiden modesty, yet beaming with tenderness and joy. Don Munio thanked his stars for sending him such a prize, and exulted at the thought of bearing home to his wife the glittering spoils of these infidels. Putting his hunting-horn to his lips, he gave a blast that nmg through the forest. His huntsmen came running from all quarters, and the astonished Moors were surrounded and made captives. The beautiful Moor wi-ung her hands in despair, and her female attendants uttered the most piercing cries. The young Moorish cavalier alone retained self-possession. He inquired the name of the Chiistian knight, who commanded this troop of horsemen. When told that it was Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa, his countenance hghted up. Approaching that cavalier, and kissing his hand, ' ' Don Munio Sancho, " said he, "I have heard of your fame as a tiiie and valiant knight, ter- rible ui arms, but schooled in the noble ^-ii'tues of chivalry. Such do I trust to find you. In ms you behold Abadil, son of a ]\Ioorish Alcayde. I am on the way to celebrate my nuptials with this lady ; chance has tmown us in your power, but I confide in your magnanimity. Take all our treasure and jewels; demand what ransom you think proper for our pcr- BOi-'j, but suffer us not to be insulted or dishonored." When the good knight heard this appeal, and beheld the beauty of the youthful pair, his heart was touched with ten- derness and courtesy. "God forbid," said he, "that I should disturb such happy nuptials. My prisoners in troth slmll > c be, for fifteen days, and immured within my castle, where I claim, as conqueror, the right of celebrating your espousals." So saying, he despatched one of his fleetest horsemen in advance, to notify Donna Maria Palacin of the coming of this bridal party; while lie and his huntsmen escorted the caval- cade, not as captors, but as a guard of honor. As they drew SPAmSH nOMANCE. 83 near to the castle, the banners were hung out, ?ind the trum- pets sounded from the battlements; and on their nearer ap- proach, the draw-bridge was lowered, and Donna Maria came forth to meet them, attended by her ladies fmd knights, her pages and her minstrels. She took the young bride, Allifra, in her arms, kissed her mth the tenderness of a sister, and con- ducted her into the castle. In the mean time, Don Munio sent forth missives in every direction, and had viands and dainties of all kinds collected from the country round ; and the wedding of the Moorish lovers was celebrated with all possible state and festivity. For fifteen days, the castle was given up to joy and revelry. There w^e tiltings and jousts at the ring, and bull- fights, and banquets, and dances to the sound of minstrelsy. When the fifteen days were at an end, he made the bride and bridegroom magnificent presents, and conducfced them and their attendants safely beyond the borders. Such, in old times, were the courtesy and generosity of a Spanish cava- lier. Several years after this ovent, the King or Castile sum- moned his nobles to assist him in a campaign against the Moors. Don Munio Sancho was among the first to answer to the call, with seventy horsemen, aU staunch and well-tried warriors. His wife, Donna Maria, hung about his neck. *' Alas, my lord!" exclaimed she, "how often wilt thou tempt thy fate, and when will thy thirst for glory be appeased !" " One battle more," replied Don Munio, "one battle more, for the honor of Castile, and I here make a vow, that when this is over, I will lay by my sword, and repair with my cavaliers in pilgrimage to the sepulchre of our Lord at Jerusalem." The cavaliers all joined with him in the vow, and Donna Maria felt in some degree soothed in spirit : still, she saw with a heavy heart the departure of her husband, and watched his banner with wistful eyes, until it disappeared among the trees of the forest. The King of Castile led his army to the plains of Almanara, where they encountered the Moorish host, near to [Jcles. Tlie battle was long and bloody ; the Christians repeatedly wavered, and were as often rallied by the energy of their commanders. Don Munio was covered with wounds, but refused to leave the field. The Christians at length gave way, and the king was hardly pressed, and in danger of being captured. Don Munio called upon his cavaliers to follow him to the rescue. " Now is the time," cried he. " to^prove .your loyalty, 84 JVOLFERT'S BOOST AND MISCELLANIES. "1 Fall to, like brave men I We fight for the true faith, and if we lose our lives here, we gain a better Ufe hereafter." Rushing with his men between the king and his pursuers, they checked the latter in their career, and gave time for their monarch to escape; but they fell victims to their loyalty. They all fought to the last gasp. Don Munio was singled out by a powerful Moorish knight, but having been wounded in the right arm, he fought to disadvantage, and was slain. The battle being over, the Moor paused to possess himself of the spoils of this redoubtable Christian warrior. When he unlaced the hehnet, however, and beheld the countenance of Don Munio, he gave a groat cry, and smote his breast. "Wo is me!" cried ho; "I have slain n\j benefactor! The flower of knightly virtue ! the most magnanimous of cavahers !" While the battle had been raging on the plain of Salmanara, Donna Maria Palacin remained in her castle, a prey to the keenest anxiety. Her eyes were ever fixed on the road that led from the country of tho Moors, and often she asked the watchman of the tower, " What seest thou?" One evening, at the shadowy hour of tmhght, the warden sounded his horn. "I see," cried he, "a nmuerous train wind- ing up the valley. There are mingled Moors and Christians. •Bhe banner of my lord is in the advance. Joyful tidings !" ex^ claimed the old seneschal: "my lord returns in triumph, and brings captives !" Then the castle courts rang with shouts of joy ; and the standard was displayed, and the trumpets were sounded, and the draw-bridge was lowered, and Donna Maria went forth with her ladies, and her knights, and her pages, and hor minstrels, to welcome her lord from the wars. But as the train drew nigh, she beheld a sumptuous bier, covered with black velvet, and on it lay a warrior, as if taking his repose : he lay in his r.rmor, with his helmet on his head, and his sword in his hand, as one who had never been conquered, and around the bier were the escutcheons of the house of Hinojosa. A number of Moorish cavahiers attended the bier, with em- bloms of mourning, and with dejected countenances: and thoii- loader cast himself at the feet of Donna Maria, and hid his faoo in liis hands. She beheld in him the gallant Abadil, whom slie lio.d once welcomed with his bride to her castle, but who now came with the body of her lord, whom he had unknowingly clain in battle ! SPANISH ROMANCE. 35 The sepulchre erected in the cloisters of the Convent of San Domingo was achieved at the expense of the Moor Abadil, as a feeble testimony of his grief for the death of the good knight Don Munio, and his reverence for his memory. The tender and faithful Donna Maria soon followed her lord to the tomb. On one of the stones of a smaU arch, beside liis sepulchre, is the following simple inscription: ^' Hie Jacet Maria Palacin, uxor Munonis Sancij cle Finojosa .•" Here hes Maria Palacin, wife of Munio Sancho de Hinojosa. The legend of Don Munio Sancho does not conclude with his death. On the same day on which the battle took place on the plain of Sahnanara, a chaplain of the Holy Temple at Jerusa- lem, while standing at the outer gate, beheld a train of Chris- tian cavaliers advancing, as if in pilgrimage. *Ihe chaplain was a native of Spain, and as the pilgrims approached, he knew the foremost to be Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa, with whom he had been well acquainted in former times. Hasten- ing to the patriarch, he told him of the honorable rank of the pilgrims at the gate. The patriarch, therefore, wont forth with a grand pirocession of priests and monks, and received the pilgrims with all due honor. There were seventy cava- liers, beside their leader, all stark and lofty warriors. They carried their helmets in their hands, and their faces were deadly pale. They greeted no one, nor looked either to the right or to the left, but entered the chapel, and kneeling be- fore the Sepulchre of our Saviour, performed their orisons in silence. When they had concluded, they rose as if to depart, and the patriarch and his attendants advanced to speak to them, but they were no more to be seen. Every one mar- velled what could bo the meaning of this prodigy. The patri- arch carefully noted down the day, and sent to Castile to learn tidings of Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa. He received for reply, that on the very day specified, that worthy knight, with seventy of his foUowc .'S, had been slain in battle. These, therefore, must have been the blessed spirits of those Chris- tian warriors, come to fulfil their vow of a pilgrimage to tlio Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. Such was Castihan faith, in the olden time, which kept its word, even beyond the grave. If any one should doubt of the miraculous apparition cf these phantom knights, let him consult the History of the Kings of Castile ar4 Leon, by the learned and pious Fray Prudencio de Sandoval, Bishop of Pamplona, where he will find it recoj'ded in the History of the King Don Alonzo VI., on 86 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. the hundred and second page. It is too precious a legend to be Hghtly abandoned to the doubter. COMMUNIPAW. TO THE EDITOR OF THE KNICKERBOCKER. Sir : I observe, with pleasure, that you are performing from time to time a pious duty, imposed upon you, I may say, by the name you have adopted as your titular standard, in fol- lowing in the footsteps of the venerable Knickerbocker, ancl gleaning every fact concerning the early times of the Manhat- toes which may have escaped liis hand. I trust, therefore, a few particulars, legendary and statistical, concerning a place which figures conspicuously in the early pages of his history, will not be unacceptable. I allude, Sir, to the ancient and renowned village of Communipaw, which, according to the veracious Diedrich, and to equally veracious tradition, was the first spot where our ever-to-be-lamented Dutch progeni- tors planted their standard and cast the seeds of empire, and from whence subsequently sailed the memorable expedition under Oloffe the Dreamer, which landed on the opposite island of Manhatta, and founded the present city of New- York, the city of dreams and speculations. Communipaw, therefore, may truly be called the parent of New- York ; yet it is an astonishing fact, that though immedi- ately opposite to the great city it has produced, from whence its red roofs and tin weather-cocks can actually be descried peering above the surrounding apple orchards, it should be almost as rarely visited, and as little known by the inhabi- tants of the metropolis, as if it had been locked up among the Rocky Mountains. Sir, I think there is something unnatural in this, especially in these times of ramble and research, w'-^en our citizens are antiquity-hunting in every part of the world. Cariosity, like charity, should begin at home; and I would enjoin it on our worthy burghers, especially those of the real Knickerbocker breed, before they send their sons abroad to Avonder and grow wise among the remains of Greece and Rome, to let them make a tour of ancient Pavonia, from Wee- hawk even to the Kills, and meditate, with fihal reverence, on the moss-errown mansions of Communipaw. COMMUMPA W. 87 Sir, I regard this much-neglected village as one of the most remarkable places in the country. The intelligent traveller, as he looks down \ygoxi it from the Bergen Heights, modestly nestled among its cabbage-gardens, while the great flaunting city it has begotten is stretching far and wide on the opposite side of the bay, the mtellip-ont traveller, I say, will be filled with astonishment ; not. Sir, at the village of Communipaw, which in truth is a very small village, but at the almost incredible fact that so small a village should have produced so great a city. It looks to him, mdeed, like some squat httle dame, with a tall grenadier of a son strutting by her side ; or some simple-hearted hen that has unwittingly hatched out a long- legged turkey. But this is not alt for Avliich Communipaw is remarkable. Sir, it is interesting on another account. It is to the ancient province of the New-Netherlands and the classic era of the Dutch dynasty, what Herculaneum and Pompeii are to an- cient Rome and the glorious days of the empire. Here every thing remains in statu quo, as it was in the days of Oloffc the Dreamer, Walter the Doubter, and the other worthies of the golden age ; the same broad-brimmed hats and broad-bottomed breeches: the same knee-buckles and shoe-bucldes ; the same close-quiUed caps and Hnsey-woolsey shoiii-gowns and petti- coats ; the same implements and utensils and forms and fash- ions ; m. a word, Communipaw at the present day is a ptcture of what New- Amsterdam was before the conquest. The "in- telligent traveller" aforesaid, as he treads its streets, is struck with the primitive character of every thing around him. In- stead of Grecian temples for dweUing-houses, with a great column of pine boards in the way of every window, he beholds high peaked roofs, gable ends to the street, with weather-cocks at top, and v/indows of all sorts and sizes ; large ones for the grown-up members of the family, and little ones for the little folk. Instead of cold marble porches, with close-locked doors and brass knockers, he sees the doors hospitably open; the worthy burgher smoldng his pipe on the old-fashioned stoor in front, with his " vrouw" knitting beside him; and the cat and her kittens at their foet sleeping in the sunshine. Astonished at the obsolete and -'old world " air of ever;>^ thing around him, the intelligent traveller demands how all this has come to pass. Herculanemn and Pompeii remain, it is true, unaffected by the varying fashions of centuries ; but they were buried by a volcano and preserved in ashes. What channed 88 WOLFERTS BOOST AND MISCELLANIE. spell has kept this wonderful httle place unchanged, though in sight of the most changeful city in the universe? Has it, too, been buried under its cabbage-gardens, and only dug out in modern days for the wonder and edification of the world? The reply involves a point of history, worthy of notice and record, and reflecting immortal honor on Conmiunipaw. At the time when ]?i'ew- Amsterdam was invaded and con- quered by British foes, as has been related in the history of the venerable Diedrich, a great dispersion took place among the Dutch inhabitants. Many, Hke the illustrious P^ter Stuyves- ant, buried themselves in lural retreats in the Bowerie ; othei-s, like Wolfert Acker, took refuge in various remote parts of the Hudson ; but there was one staunch, unconquerable band that determined to keep together, and preserve themselves, like seed corn, for the future fructification and perpetuity of the Knickerbocker race. These were headed by cne Garret Van Home, a gigantic Dutchman, the Pelayo of the New-Nether- lands. Under his guidance, they retreated across the bay and buried themselves among the marshes of ancient Pavonia, as did the follower» of Pelayo among the mountains of Asturias, when Gpain was overrun by its Arabian invaders. The gallant Van Home set up his standard at Communipaw, and invited all those to rally under it, who were true Neder- landers at heart, and determined to resist all foreign intei-mix- ture 'or encroachment. A strict non-intercourse was observed with the captured city; not a boat ever crossed to it from Communipaw, and the Enghsh language was rigorously tabooed throughout the village and its dependencies. Every man was sworn to wear his hat, cut liis coat, build his house, and har- ness his horses, exactly as his father had done before him ; and to permit nothing but the Dutch language to be spoken in his household. As a citadel of the place, and a strong-hold for the preserva- tion and defence of every thing Dutch, the gallant Van Hom.o erected a lordly mansion, with a chimney perched at every corner, which thence derived the aristocratical name of " The House of the Four Chimneys." Hither he transferred many of the precious r cliques of Ne w- Amsterdam ; the great round- crowned hat that once covered the capacious head of Wal- ter the Doubter, and the identical shoe with which Peter the Headstrong kicked his pusillanimous councillors down-stairs. St. Nicholas, it is said, took this loyal hoiise under his especial protection ; and a Dutch soothsayer predicted, that as long as coM:J:u^'IPAW. 89 it should stand, Communipa-y would be safe from the intrusion either of Briton or Yankee. In this house would the gaUant Van Home and his compeers hold frequent council.s of war, as to the possibility of re-conquer- ing the province from the British ; and hero would they sit for hours, nay, days, together smoking their pipes and keeping watch upon the growing city of New-York ; groaning in spirit Avhenevcr they saw a new house erected or ship launched, and persuading themselves that Admiral Van Tromp would one day or other arrive to sweep out the invaders with the broom which he carried at his mast-head. Years rolled by, but Van Tromp never arrived. The British strengthened themselves in the land, and the captured city flourished under their domination. Still, the worthies of Oom- munipaw would not despair; something or other, they were sure, would turn up to restore the power of the Hogen Mogens, the Lord States-General ; so they kept smoking and smo.iing, and watching and watching, and turning the same few thoughts over and over in a perpetual circle, which is commonly called deliberating. In the mean time, being henmied up within a narrow compass, between the broad bay and the Bergen hills, they grew poorer and poorer, until they had scarce the where- withal to maintain their pipes in fuel during their endless deliberations. And now must I relate a circumstance which will call for a little exertion of faith on the part of the reader ; but I can only say that if he doubts it, he had better not utter his doubts in Com- munipaw, as it is among the religious behef s of the place. It is, in fact, nothing more nor less than a miracle, worked by the blessed St. Nicholas, for the rehef and sustenance of this loyal connnimity. It so happened, in this time of extremity, that in the course of cleaning the House of the Four Chimneys, by an ignorant housewife who knew nothing of the historic value of the rel- iques it contained, the old hat of Walter the Doubter and the executive shoe of Peter the Headstrong were thrown out of doors as rubbish. But mark the consequence. The good St. Nicholas kept watch over these precious reliques, and wrought out of them a wonderful providence. The hat of Walter the Doubter falling on a stercoraceous heap of compost, in the rear of the house, began forthwith to vegetate. Its broad brim spread forth grandly and exfoliated, and its round crown swelled and crimped and consoHdated 00 WOLFERTS ROOST A2\l) MISCELLANIES. until the whole became a prodigious cabbage, rivalling in mag- nitude the capacious head of the Doubter. In a word, it was the origin of that reno-vvned species of cabbage known, by all Dutch epicures, by the name of the Governor's Head, and which is to this day the glor;>- oi Communipaw. On the other hand, the shoe of Peter Stuyvesant being thrown into the river, in front of the house, gradually hardened and concreted, and became covered with barnacles, and at length turned into a gigantic oyster, being the progenitor of that illus- trious species known throughout the gastronomical world by the naiuc of the Governor's Foot. These miracles Avere the salvation of Communipaw. The sages of the place immediately saw in them the hand of St. Nicholas, and understood their mystic signification. They set to Avork with all diligence to cidtivate and multiply these gi-eat blessings; and so abiuidantly did the gubernatorial hat and shoe fi'uctif y and increase, that in a little time gi-eat patches of cabbages were to be seen extending from the village of Com- munipaw quite to the Bergen Hills ; Avhile the whole bottom of the bay in front became a vast bed of oystei-s. Ever since that time this excellent community has been divided into two great classes : those who cultivate the land and those who cultivate the water. Tlie former have devoted themselves to the nurture and edification of cabbages, rearing them in all their varieties; while the latter have formed parks and plantations, under water, to which juvenile oysters are transplanted from foreign parts, to finish their education. As these great sources of profit multiplied upon their hands, the worthy mhabitants of CommunipaAv began to long for a market at Avhich to dispose of their superabundance. This gradually produced once more an intercourse Asdth New- York ; but it was always carried on by the old people and the negroes ; never would they permit the young folks, of either sex, to visit the city, lest they should get tainted with foreign manners and bring home foreign fashions. Even to this day, if you see an old burgher in the market, with hat and garb of antique Dutch fashion, you may be sure he is one of the old unconquered race of the '' bitter blood," who maintain their strong-hold at Com- munipaw. In modem days, the hereditary bitterness against the English has lost much of its asperity, or rather has become merged in a new source of jealousy and apprehension : I allude to the inces- sant and wide-spreading irruptions from New-England. Word COMMUNIPAW, 91 has been continually brought back to Communipaw, by those of the community who return from their trading voyages in cabbages and oysters, of the alarming power which the Yan- kees are gaining in the ancient city of New -Amsterdam ; elbow- ing the genuine Knickerbockers out of all civic posts of honor and profit; bargaining them out of their hereditary home- steads; pulhng down the venerable houses, with crow-step gables, which have stood since the time of the Dutch rule, and erecting, instead, granite stores, and marble banks; in a word, evincing a deadly determination to obliterate every vestige of the good old Dutch times. In consequence of the jealousy thus awakened, the worthy tradei's from Communipaw confine their deahngs, as much as possible, to the genuine Dutch families. If they furnish the Yankees at all, it is with inferior articles. Never can the latter procure a real "Governor's Head," or "Governor's Foot," though they have offered extravagant prices for the same, to grace their table on the annual festival of the New-England Society. But what has carried this hostility to the Yankees to the highest pitch, was an attempt made by that all-pervading race to get possession of Communipaw itself. Yes, Sir ; during the late mania for land speculation, a daring company of Yankee projectors landed before the village ; stopped the honest burgh- ers on the public highway, and endeavored to bargain them out of their hereditary acres ; displayed lithographic maps, in which their cabbage-gardens were laid out into town lots ; their oyster-parks into docks and quays ; and even the House of the Four Chimneys metamorphosed into a bank, which was to enrich the whole neighborhood with paper money. Fortunately, the gallant Van Homes came to the rescue, just as some of the worthy burghers were on the point of capitulat- ing. The Yankees were put to the rout, with signal confusion, a,nd have never since dared to show their faces in the place. The good people continue to cultivate their cabbages, and rear their oysters ; they know nothing of banks, nor joint stock com- panies, but treasure up their money in stocking-feet, at the bottom of the family chest, or bury it in iron pots, as did their fathers and gTandfathers before them. As to the House of the Four Chimneys, it still remains in the. great and tall family of the Van Homes, Here are to be seen, ancient Dutch corner cupboards, chests of drawers, and mas- sive clotheii-presses, quaintly carved, and carefuUy waxed and 92 WOLFEBTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. polished ; together with divers thick, black-letter volumes, with brass clasps, printed of yore in Leyden and Amsterdam, and handed down from generation to generation, in the family, but never read. They are preserved in the archives, among sun- dry old parchment deeds, in Dutch and Enghsh, bearing the seals of the early governors of the province. In this house, the primitive Dutch holidays of Paas and Pinxter are f aitlif ully kept up ; and New- Year celebrated with cookies and cherry -bounce ; nor is the festival of the blessed St. Nicholas forgotten, when all the children are sure to hang up their stockings, and to have them filled according to their deserts; though, it is said, the good saint is occasionally per- plexed in his nocturnal visits, which chimney to descend. Of late, this portentous mansion has begun to give signs of dilapidation and decay. Some have attributed this to the visits made by the young people to the city, ^nd their bringing thence various modern fashions; and to their neglect of the Dutch language, which is gradually becoming confined to the older persons in the community. The house, too, was greatly shaken by high winds, during the prevalence of the speculation mania, especially at the time of the landing of the Yankees. Seeing how mysteriously the fate of Communipaw is identified with this venerable mansion, we cannot wonder that the older and wiser heads of the community should be filled with dismay, whenever a brick is toppled down from one of the chimneys, or a weather-cock is blown off from a gable-end. The present lord of this historic pile, I am happy to say, is calculated to maintain it ia all its integrity. He is of patri- archal age, and is worthy of the days of the patriarchs. He has done his utmost to iucrease and multiply the true race in the land. His wife has not been inferior to him in zeal, and they are surrounded by a goodly progeny of children, and grand-children, and great-gi'and-children, who promise to per- petuate the name of Van Home, until time shall be no more. So be it ! Long m?iy the horn of the Van Homes continue to be exalted in the land ! Tali as they are, may their shadows never be less ! May the House of the Four Chimneys remain for ages, the citadel of Communipaw, and the smoke of its Chimneys continue to ascend, a sweet-smelling incense in the hose of St. Nicholas ! With great respect, Mr. Editor, Your ob't servant, Hermanus Vanderdonk. GONSPIUACT OF THE COOKED HATS. 93 CONSPIRACY OF THE COCKED HATS. TO THE EDITOR OF THE KNICKERBOCKER. Sir: I have read with great satisfaction the valuable paper of your correspondent, Mr. Hermanus Vanderdonk, (who, I take it, is a descendant of the learned Adrian Vanderdonk, one of the early historians of the Nieuw-Nederlands,) giving sundry particulars, legendary and statistical, touching the venerable village of Communipaw and its fate-bound citadel, the House of the Four Chimneys. It goes to prove what I have repeatedly maintained, that we.live in the midst of history and mystery and romance ; and that there is no spot in the world more rich in themes for the writer of historic novels, heroic melodramas, and rough-shod epics, than this same business-looking city of the Manhattoes and its environs. He who would find these elements, however, must not seek them among the modeiii improvements and modern people of tliis moneyed metropolis, but must dig for them, as for Kidd the pirate's treasures, in out-of-the-way places, and among the ruins of the past. Poetry and romance received a fatal blow^t the overthrow of the ancient Dutch dynasty, and have ever since been gradually withering under the growing domination of the Yankees. They abandoned our hearths when the old Dutch tiles were super- seded by marble chimney-pieces ; when brass andirons made way for polished grates, and the crackling and blazing fire of nut-wood gave place to the smoke and stench of Liverpool coal; and on the downfall of the last g:\ble-end house, theii- requiem was tolled from the tower of the Dutch church in Nassau-street by the old bell that came from Holland. But poetry and romance still live unseen among us, or seen only by the enlightened few, who are able to contemplate this city and its environs through the medium of tradition, and clothed with the associations of foregone ages. Would you seek these elements in the country, Mr. Editor, avoid all t-irnpikes, rail-roads, and steamboats, tliQse abomina- ble inventions by which the usurping Yankees are strengthen- ing themselves in the land, and subduing every thing to utility and common-place. Avoid all towns and cities of white clap- board palaces and Grecian temples, studded Avith "Academics," *' Seminaries," and "Institutes," which glisten along our bays 94 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES, and rivers; these are the strong-holds of Yankee usurpation;' but if haply you light upoci some rough, rambling road, wind- ing between stone fences, gray with moss, and overgrown withj elder, poke-berry, mullein, and sweet-briar, with here and! there a low, red-roofed, whitewashed farm-house, cowering among app-'le and cherry trees ; an old stone church, with elms, willows, and button-woods, as old-looking as itself, and tomb- stones almost buried in their own graves ; and, perad venture, a small log school-house at a cross-road, where the English is still taught with a thickness of the tongue, instead of a twang of the nose ; should you, I say, hght upon such a neighborhood, Mr. Editor, you may thank your stars that you have found one of the lingering haunts of poetry and romance. Your correspondent. Sir, has touched upon that subhme and affecting feature in the history of Communipaw, the retreat of the patriotic band of Nederlanders, led by Van Home, whom he justly terms the Pelayo of the New-Netherlands. He has given you a i)icture of the manner in which they ensconced themselves in the House of the Four Chimneys, and awaited with heroic patience and perseverance the day that should see the flag of the Hogen Mogens once more floating on the fort of New- Amsterdam. Your correspondent, Su', has but given you a ghmpse over the threshold ; I will now let you into the heart of the mystery of this most mysterious and eventful village. Yes, sfr, I will now " unclasp a secret book; And to your quick conceiving discontents, I'll read you mattft- deep and dangerous. As full of peril and adventurous spirit, As to o'er v.alk a current, roaring loud, On the unsteadfast footing of a spear." Sir, it is one of the most beautififl and interesting facts con- nected with the history of Communipaw, that the early feel- ing of resistance to foreign rule, alluded to by your corre- spondent, is stiU kept up. Yes, sir, a settled, secret, and detei*- mined conspiracy has been going on for generations among tliis indomitable people, the descendants of the refugees from New-Amster^ liOOUT AJSD MISCELLAJS'IES. afloal3, mitil they should reach the American coast; and wearied with fruitless toil, determined, in their despair, to give up cill farther attempt, shut down the hatches, and abandon them- selves to Providence. Some, who had spirituous liquors, or "comfortable waters," as the old record quaintly terms them, brought them forth, and shared them with their comrades, and they all drank a sad farewell to one another, as men who were soon to part company in this world. In this moment of extremity, the worthy admiral, who kept sleepless watch from the high stern of the vessel, gave the thrilhng cry of "land!" All rushed on deck, in a frenzy of joy, and nothing now was to be seen or heard on board, but the transports of men who felt as if rescued from the grave. It is true the land in sight would not, in ordinary circum- stances, have inspired much self-gratulation. It could be nothing else but the group of islands called after their dis- coverer, one Juan Bermudas, a Spaniard, but stigmatized among the mariners of those days as "the islands of devils!" "For the islands of the Bermudas," says the old narrative -of this voyage, " as every man knoweth that hath heard or read of them, were never inhabited by any Christian or heathen people, but Avere ever esteemed and reputed a most prodigious and inchanted place, affording nothing but gusts, stormes, and foul weather, which made every navigator and mariner to avoide them, as ScyUa and Charybdis, or as they would shun the Divell himself."* Sir George Somers and his tempest-tossed comrades, how- ever, hailed them with rapture, as if they had been a terres- trial paradise. Every sail was spread, and every exertion made to urge the foundering ship to land. Before long, she struck upon a rock. Fortunately, the late 'tormy Avinds had subsided, and there was no surf. A swelhng wave lifted her from off the rock, and bore her to another ; and thus she was borne on from rock to rock, until she remained wedged be- tween two, as firmly as if set upon the stocks. The boats were immediately lowered, and, though the shore v/as above a mile distant, the whole crew were landed in safety. Every one had now his task assigned him. Some made all haste to unload the ship, before she should go to pieces ; some constructed wig^vams of palmetto leaves, and others ranged the island in quest of wood and water. To their surprise and * "A Plainc D>:^nTii;t^ou of tha B...iiuidas. THE BERMUDAS. Il3 joy, they found it far different from the desolate and frightful place they had been taught, by seamen's stories, to expect. It v/as well- wooded and fertile ; there were birds of various kinds, and herds of swine roaming about, the progeny of a number that had swam ashore, in former years, from a Spanish wreck. The island aboimded with turtle, and great quantities of their eggs were to be found among the rocks. The bays and inlets were full of fish; so tame, that if any one stepped into the water, they would throng around him. Sir George Somers, in a little while, caught enough with hook and hne to furnish a meal to his whole ship's company. Some of them were so large, that two were as much as a man could carry. Craw- fish, also, were taken in abundance. The air was soft and salubrious, and the sky beautifully serene. Waller, in his " Summer Islands," has given us a faithful picture of the climate : " For the kind spring, (which but salutes us here,) Inhabits these, and courts them all the year: Ripe fruits and blossoms on the same trees live; At once they promise, and at once they givo: So sweet the air, so moderate the clime, None sickly lives, or dies before his time. Heaven sure has kept this spot of earth uncursed, To shew how all things were created first." We may inagine the feelings of the shipwrecked mariners, on finding themselves cast by stormy seas upon so happy a coast ; where abundance was to be had without labor ; where what in other climes constituted the costly luxuries of the rich, were within every man's reach ; and where hf e promised to be a mere holiday. Many of the conamon sailors, especially, de- clared they desired no better lot than to pass the rest of their lives on this favored island. The conunanders, however, were not so ready to console themselves with mere physical comforts, for the severance froxn the enjoyment of cultivated life, and all the objects of honorable ambition. Despairing of the arrival of any chance ship on these shunned and dreaded islands, they fitted out the long-boat, makmg a deck of the ship's hatches, and having manned her with eight picked men, despatched her, under the command of an able and hardy mariner, named Raven, to proceed to Virginia, and procure shipping to be sent to their relief. While waiting in anxious idleness for the arrival of the 114 WOLFERTS llOOST AIs'D MISC'h'L LAMES. looked-for aid, dissensions arose between Sir George Somers and Sir Thomas Gates, originating, very probably, in jealousy of the lead which the nautical experience and professional station of the adnuial gave him in the present emergency. Each commander, of course, had his adherents : these dissen- sions ripened into a complete scliism ; and this handful oi ship- wrecked men, thus thrown together, on an uninhabited island, separated into two parties, and Uved asunder in Ijitler feud, as men rendered fickle by prosperity instead of being brought into brotherhood by a conunon calamity. Weeks and months elapsed, without bringing the looked-for aid from Virginia, though that colony was within but a few days' sail. Fears were now entertained that the long-boat had been either swallowed up in the sea, or wrecked on some savage coast ; one or other of which most probably was the case, as nothing was ever heard of Raven and his comrades. Each party now set to work to build a vessel for itself out of the cedar with which the island alx)unded. The wreck of the Sea- Vulture furnished rigging, and various other articles ; but- they had no iron for bolts, and other fastenings ; and for want of pitch and tar, they payed the seams of their vessels with lime and turtle's oil, which soon dried, and became as hard as stone. On the tenth of May, 1610, they set sail, ha\'ing been about nine months on the island. They reached Virginia without faj-ther accident, but found the colony in great distress for pro- %dsions. The account they gave of the abundance that reigned in the Bermudas, and especially of the herds of swine that roamed the island, determined Lord Delaware, the governor of Virginia., to send thither for supplies. Sir George Somers, with his wonted promptness and generosity, offered to under- take what was still considered a dangerous voyage. Accord-, ingly, on the nineteenth of June, he set sad, in his own cedar vessel of thirty tons, accompanied by another small vessel, commanded by Captain Argall. The gallant Somers was doomed again to be tempest-tossed. His companion vessel was soon driven back to port, but he kept the sea ; and, as usual, remained at his post on deck, in aU weathers. Ilis voyage was long and boisterous, and the fatigues and exposures which he undei^went, were too much for a frame impaired by age, and by previous hardships. He arrived at Bermudas completely exhausted and broken down. His nephew. Captain Mathew Somers, attendt^d liim in his THE BERMUDAS. 115 illness with affectionate assiduity. Finding his end approach- ing, the veteran called his men together, and exhorted them to be true to the interests of Virginia ; to procure provisions with all possible despatch, and hasten back to the rehef of the colony. With this dying charge, he gave up the ghost, leaving nis nephew and crew overwhelmed with grief and consternation. Their first thought was to pay honor to his remains. Opening the body, they took out the heart and entrails, and buried them, erecting a cross over the grave. They then embalmed the body, and set sail with it for England; thus, while paying empty honors to their deceased conunander, neglecting his ear- nest wish and dying injunction, that they should return with relief to Virginia. The httlebark arrived safely at Whitechurch, in Dorsetshire, with its melancholy freight. The body of the worthy Somers was interred with the mihtary honors due to a brave soldier, and many volleys were fired over his grave. The Bermudas have since received the name of the Somer Islands, as a tribute to his memory. The accounts given by Captain Mathew Somers and his crew of the delightful climate, and the great beauty, fertility, and abundance of these islands, excited the zeal of enthusiasts, and the cupidity of speculators, and a plan was set on foot to colo- nize them. The Vii^ginia company sold their right to the islands to one hundred and twenty of their own members, who erected themselves into a distinct corporation, under the name of the "Somer Island Society;" and Mr. Eichard More was sent out, m 1612, as governor, with sixty men, to found a colony: and this leads me to the second branch of this research. THE THREE KINGS OF BERMUDA. AND THEIR TREASURE OF AMBERGRIS. At the time that Sir George Somers was preparing to launch his cedar-built bark, and sail for Virginia, there were three cul- prits among his men, who had been guilty of capital offences. One of them was shot ; the others, named Christopher Carter and Edward Waters, escaped. Waters, indeed, made a very narrow escape, for he had actually been tied to a tree to be executed, but cut the roiie with a knife, which he had con- lie WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISGELLAJSIES. cealed about his person, and fled to the woods, where he was joined by Carter. These two worthies kept themselves con- cealed in the secret parts of the island, until the departure of the two vessels. When Sir George Somers revisited the island, in quest of supplies for the Virginia colony, these cul- prits hovered about the landing-place, and succeeded in per- suading another seaman, named Edward Chard, to join them, giving liim the most seductive pictures of the ease and abun- dance in which they revelled. When the bark that bore Sir George's body to England had fad 3d from the watery horizon, these three vagabonds walked forth in their majesty and might, the lords and sole inhabi- tants of these islands. For a time their little commonwealth went on prosperously and happily. They built a house, sowed com, and the seeds of various fruits; and having plenty of hogs, wild 5owl, and fish of all kinds, with turtle in abundance, carried on their tripartite sovereignty with gi-eat harmony and much feasting. All kingdoms, however, are doomed to revo- lution, convulsion, or decay ; and so it fared with the empire of the three kings of Berm-^la, albeit they were monarchs without subjects. In an evil hour, in their search after turtle, among the fissures of the rocks, they came upon a great treas- ure of ambergris, which had been cast on shore by the ocean. Beside a number of pieces of smaller dimensions, there was one great mass, the largest that had ever been known, weighing eighty pounds, and which of itself, according to the market value of ambergris in those days, was worth about nine»or ten thousarid pounds ! Fron? ^-lat moment, the happiness and harmony of the three kings (f Bermuda were gone forever. While poor devils, with nothir'; to share but the common blessings of the island, whic?i idministered to present enjoyment, but had notliing of conv?\'tible value, they were loving and united: but here was actVr'l wealth, which would make them rich men, whenever they could transport it to a market. Adieu the delights of the island ! They now became flat and insipid. Each pictured to himself the consequence he might now aspire to, in civilized life, could he once get there mth this mass of ambergris. No longer a poor Jack Tar, frolicking in the low taverns of Wapping, he might roll through London in his coach, and perchance arrive, Uke Whittington, at the dignity of Lord Mayor. With riches came envy and covetousness. Each was now THE BERMUDAS. jl7 for assuming the supreme power, and getting the monopoly of the ambergris. A civil war at length broke out : Chard and Waters defied each other to mortal combat, and the kingdom of the Bermudas was on the point of being deluged with royal blood. Fortunately, Carter took no part in the bloody feud. Ambition might have made Imn view it with secret exultation ; for if either or both of his brother potentates were slain in the conflict, he would be a gainer in purse and ambergris. But he dreaded to be'ifef t alone in this uninhabited island, and to find himself the monarch of a solitude: so he secretly purloined and hid the weapons of the belligerent rivals, who, having no means of carrying on the war, gradually cooled down into a sullen armistice. The arrival of Governor More, with an overpowering force of sixty men, put an end to the empire. He took possession of the kingdom, in the name of the Somer Island Company, and forthwith proceeded to make a settlement. The three kings tacitly relinquished their sway, but stood up stoutly for their treasm-e. It was determined, however, that they had been fitted out at the expense, a?nd employed in the service, of the Virginia Company ; that they had found the ambergis while in the service of that company, and on that company's land ; that the ambergis, therefore, belonged to that company, or rather to the Somer Island Cor.ipany, in consequence of their recent purchase oi the island, and all their appurte- nances. Having thus legally established their right, and being moreover able to back it by might, the company laid the lion's paw upon the spoil; and nothing more remains on historic record of the Three Eangs of Bermuda, and theii' treasm'e of ambergris. The reader will now determine whether I am more extrava- gant than most of the commentators on Shakspeare, in my surmise that the story of Sir George Somers' shipwreck, and the subsequent occurrences that took place on the uninhabited island, may have furnished the bard with some of the elements of his drama of the Tempest. The tidings of the shipwreck, and of the incidents connected with it, reached England not long before the production of this drama, and made a great sensation there. A narrative of the whole matter, from which most of the foregoing particulars are extracted, was published at the time in London, in a pamphlet form, and could not fail to be eagerly pei-used by Shakspeare, and to make a vivid 118 WOLFKRTS ROObT AJSU Ml^CJi^LLANmS. impression on his fancy. His expression, in the Tempest, of "the still vext Bermoothes," accords exactly with the storm- beaten character of those islands. The enchantments, too, with which he has clothed the island of Prospero, may they not be traced to the wild and superstitious notions entertained about the Bermudas? I have already cited two passages from a pamphlet pubhshed at the time, showing that they were esteemed "a most prodigious and inchanted place," and the ' ' habitation of divells ;" and another pamphlet, puUished shortly afterward, observes : ' ' And whereas it is reported that this land of the Barmudas, with the islands about, (which are many, at least a hundred,) are inchanted and kept with evil gnd wicked spirits, it is a most idle and false report." * The description, too, given in the same pamphlets, of the real beauty and fertihty of the Bermudas, and of their serene and happy climate, so opposite to the dangerous and inhospi- table character with which they had been stigmatized, accords with the eulogium of Sebastian on the island of Prospero : •'Thou^li this island seem to be desert, iiniiihabirable, ard almost inaccessible, it must needs be of subtle, tender, and delicate temperance. The air breathes upon us hei-e most sweetly. Here is every thing advantageous to life. How lush and lusty the grass looks: how green:"' I think too, in the exulting consciousness of ease, security, and abundance felt by the late tempest-tosised mariners, while revelling in the plenteousness of the island, and their inclina- tion to remain there, released from the labors, the cares, and the artificial restraints of civilized hfe, I can see something of the golden coimnon wealth of honest Gonzalo : " Had I plantation of this isle, my loi'd, And were the king of it, what would I do? r the commonwealth I would by contraries Execute all things: for no kind of traffic Would I admit : no name of magistrate ; Letters should not be known; riches, poverty, And use of service, none; contract, succession. Bourn, bound of land, tilth, vineyard, none: No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil: No ococpatiou ; all men idle, all. All things in common, nature should produce, Without sweat or endeavor: Treason, felony, Sword, pike, knife, gun, or need of any engine, WouM I not have ; but nature should bring forth, Of its own kind, all foizon. all abundance, To feed my innocent people "' •^ . ^ * *• Ncwes from the Barmudas:' 1612. AYO AND THIS MERCHANTS DAUGHTER. HO But above all, in the three fugitive vagabonds who remained in possession of the island of Bermuda, on the departure of their comrades, and in their squabbles about supremacy, on the finding of their treasure, I see typified Sebastian, Trinculo, and their worthy companion Caliban; "Trinculo, the king and all our company being drowned, we will inherit here." " Monster, I will kill this man ; his daughter and I will be king and queen, (save our graces!) and Trinculo and thyself shall be viceroys." I do not mean to hold up the incidents and characters in the narrative and in the play as parallel, or as being strikingly similar: neither would I insinuate that the narrative suggested the play ; I would only suppose that Shakspeare, being occupied about that time on the drama of the Tempest, the main story (,• which, I believe, is of Italian origin, had many of the fanci- ful ideas of it suggested to his mind by the shipwi^eck of Sir George Somers on the '* still vext Bermothes," and by the popular superstitions connected with these islands, and sud- denly put im circulation by that event. PELAYO AND THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER. BY THE AUTHOR OF THE SKETCH-BOOK. It is the common lamentation of Spanish historiographers, that, for an obscure and melancholy space of time immediately succeeding the conquest of their country by the Moslems, its history is a mere wilderness of dubious facts, groundless fables, and rash exaggerations. Learned men, in cells and cloisters, have worn out their lives in vainly endeavoring to connect inconginious events, and to account for startling improbabilities, recorded of this period. The worthy Jesuit, Padre Abarca, declares that, for more than forty years during which he had been employed in theological controversies, ho had never found any so obscure and inexplicable as those which rise out of this portion of Spanish history, and that the only fiiiit of an indefatigable, prolix, and even prodigious study of the subject, was a melancholy and mortifying state of indecision.* *pAi?RK Pedro Abarca. Anales de Arag-on. Anti Regno, §2. 120 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. During this apocryphal period, flourished Pelayo, the dehv- erer of Spain, whose name, hke that of William Wallace, will ever be linked with the glory of his country, but linked, in like manner, by a bond in which fact and fiction are inextricably interwoven. The quaint old chronicle of the Moor Rasis, which, though wild and fanciful in the extreme, is frequently drawn upon for early facts by Spanish historians, professes to give the birth, parentage, and whole course of fortune of Pelayo, without the least doubt or hesitation. It makes him a son of the Duke of Cantabria, and descended, both by father and mother's side, from the Gotliic kings of Spain. I shall pass over the roman- tic story of his childhood, and shall content myself with a scene of his youth, which v,^as spent in a castle among the Pyrenees, under the eye / his widowed and noble-minded mother, who caused him to be instructed in everything befitting a cavalier of gentle birth. While the sons of the nobility were revelhng amid the pleasures of a licentious court, and sunk in that vicious and effeminate indulgence which led to the perdition of unhappy Spain, the youthful Pelayo, in his rugged mountain school, was steeled to all kinds of hardy exercise. A great part of his time was spent in hunt- ing the bears, the Avild boars, and the wolves, with which the Pyrenees abounded; and so purely and chastely was he brought up, by his good lady mother, that, if the ancient chronicle from which I draw my facts may be rehed on, he ha-d attained his one-and-twentieth year, without having once sighed for woman ! Nor were his hardy contests confined to the wild beasts of the forest. Occasionally he had to contend with adversaries of a moi'e formidable character. The skirts and defiles of these border mountains were often infested by marauders from the Gallic plains of Gascony. The Gascons, says an old chronicler, Vv^ere a people who used smooth words when expedient, but force when they had power, and were ready to lay their hands on every thing they met. Though poor, they were proud ; for there was not one who did not pride himself on being a hijo- dalgo, or the son of somebody. At the head of a band of these needy hijodalgos of Gascony, was one Arnaud, a broken-down cavalier. He and four of his foUow^ers were well armed and mounted ; the rest were a set of scamper-grounds on foot, furnished with darts and javehns. They Avcre the terror of the border ; here to-day and gone to- PEL A TO AM) THE MERCUA^'TIS VAVGETEll ]91 morrow ; sometimes in one pass, sometimes in another. They would make sudden inroads into Spain, scour the roads, pkm- der the country, and were over the mountains and far away before a force could be collected to pursue them. Now it happened one day, that a wealthy burgher of Bor- deaux, who was a merchant, trading with Biscaj", set out on a journey for that province. As he intended to sojourn there for a season, he took with him his wife, who was a goodly darme, and his daughter, a gentle damsel, of marriageable age, an^i exceeding fair to look upon. He was attended by a trusty cle^'k from his comptoir, and a man servant; while another servant led a hackney, laden with bags of money, with which he intencied to purchase merchandise. When the Gascons heard of this wealthy morchan!: and his convoy passing through the mountains, they thanked their stars, for they considered all peaceful men of traffic as lawful spoil, sent by providence 'mr the benefit of hidalgos like them- selves, of valor and gentle blood, who lived by the sword. Placing themselves in ambush, in a lonely defile, by Avhich the travellers had to pass, they silently awaited their comuig. In a little VyThile they beheld them approaching. The merchant was a fair, portly man, in a buff surcoat and velvet cap. His looks bespoke the good cheer of his native city, and he was mounted on a stately, well-fed steed, while his wife and daugh- ter paced gently on palfreys by his side. The travellers had advanced some distance in the defile, when the Bandoleros rushed forth and assailed them. The merchant, though but little used to the exercise of arms, and unwieldy in kis form, yet made valiant defence, having his wife and daughter and money-bags at hazard. He was wounded in two places, and overpowered ; one of his servants was slain, the other took to flight. The freebooters then began to ransack for spoil, but were dis- api)ointed at not finding the wealth they had expected. Put- ting their swords to the t)reast of the trembhng merchant, they demanded where he had concealed his treasure, and learned from liim of the hackney that was following, laden with monej^. Overjoyed at this intelligence, they bound their captives to trees, and awaited the arrival of the golden spoil. On this same day, Pelayo was out with liis huntsmen among the mountains, and had taken his stand on a rock, at a narrow pass, to await the sallying forth of a wild boar. Close by him was a page, conducting a horse, and at the saddle-bow hung 122 WOLFERTS BOOST AND MISCELLANIES. his armor, for he was always prepared for fight among these border mountains. While thus posted, the servant of the mer- chant came flying from the robbers. On beholding Pelayo, he fell on his knees, and implored his life, for he supposed him to be one of the band. It was some time before he could be re- lieved from his terror, and made to tell his story. When Pelayo heard of the robbers, he concluded they were the crew of Gascon hidalgos, upon the scamper. Taking his armor from the page, he put on his helmet, slung his buckler round his neck, took lance in hand, and mounting his steed, compelled the trembling servant to guide him to the scene of action. At the same time he ordered the page to seek his huntsmen, and summon them to his assistance. When the robbers saw Pelayo advancing through the forest, with a single attendant on foot, and beheld his rich armor sparkling in the sun, they thought a new prize had fallen into their hands, and Arnaud and two of his companions, mounting their horses, ad«ranced to meet him. As they approached, Pelayo stationed himself in a narrow pass between two rocks, where he could only be assailed in front, and bracing his buck- ler, and lowering his lance, awaited their coming. ' ' Who and what are ye," cried he, ' ' and what seek ye in this land?" "We are huntsmen," replied Amaud, ''and lo! our game runs into our toils !" "By my faith," rephed Pelayo, "thou wilt find the game more readily roused than taken : have at thee for a villain !" So saying, he put spurs to his horse, and ran full speed upon him. The Gascon, not expecting so sudden an attack from a single horseman, was taken by surprise. He hastily couched his lance, but it merely glanced on the shield of Pelayo, who sent his own through the middle of his breast, and threw him out of his saddle to the earth. One of the oth«r robbers made at Pelayo, and wounded him shghtly in the side, but received a blow from the sword of the latter, which cleft his skul-cap, and sank into his brain. His companion, seeing hun fall, put spurs to his steed, and galloped off through the forest. Beholding several other robbers on foot coming up, Pelayo returned to his station between the rocks, where he was as- sailed by them all at once. He received two of their darts on his buckler, a javelin razed his cuirass, and glancing down, wounded his horse. Pelayo then rushed forth, and struck one of the robbers dead: the others, beholding several himtsmen PELAYO AND THE MERCHANTS DAUGHTER. 123 advancing, took to flight, but were pursued, and several of them taken. The good merchant of Bordeaux and his family beheld this scene with trembling and amazement, for never had they looked upon such feats of arms. They considered Don Pelayo as a leader of some rival band of robbers ; and when the bonds were loosed by which they were tied to the trees, they fell at his feet and implored mercy. The females were soonest undeceived, especially the daughter; for the damsel was struck with the noble countenance and gentle demeanor of Pelayo, and said to herself : ' ' Surely nothmg evil can dwell in so goodly and gra- cious a form." Pelayo now somided his horn, wliich echoed from rock to rock, and was answered by shouts and horns from various parts of the mountains. The merchant's heart misg-ave him at these signals, and especially when he beheld more than forty men gathering from glen and thicket. They were clad in hunt- ers' dresses, and armed with boar-spears, darts, and hunting- swords, and many of them led hounds in long leashes. All this was a new and wild scene to the astonished merchant ; nor were his fears abated, when he saw his .servant approaching with the hackney, laden with money-bags; "for of a cer- tainty," said he to himself, "this will be too tempting a spoil for these wild hunters of the moimtains." Pelayo, however, took no more notice of the gold than if it had been so much dross ; at which the honest burgher mar- velled exceedingly. He ordered that the wounds of the mer- chant should be dressed, and his own examined. On taking off his cuirass, his wound was found to be but shght ; but his men were so exasperated at seeing his blood, that they would have put the captive robbers to instant death, had he not for- bidden them to do them any harm. The huntsmen now made a great fire at the foot of a tree, and bringing a boar which they had Idlled, cut off portions and roasted them, or broiled them on the coals. Then draw- ing forth loaves of bread from their wallets, they devoured their food half raw, with the hungry rehsh of himtsmen and mountaineers. The merchant, his wife, and daughter, looked at all this, and wondered, for they had never beheld so savage a repast. Pelayo then inquired of them if they did not desire to eat ; they were too much in awe of him to decline, though they felt a loathing at the thought of partaking of this hunter's fare ; 124 WOLFERT'S ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. but he ordered a linen cloth to be spread under the shade of a great oak, on the grassy margin of a clear ninning stream ; and to their astonishment, they were served, not with the flesh of the boar, but with dainty cheer, such as the merchant had scarcely hoped to find out of the walls of his native city of Bordeaux, The good burgher was of a community, renowned for gas- tronomic prowess: his fears having subsided, his a j petite was now awakened, and he addressed lumself manfully to the viands that were set before hmi. His daughter, how- over, could not eat : her eyes were ever and anon stealing to gazf^ on Pelayo, whom she regarded with gratitude for his pro- tection, and admiration for his valor; and now that he had laid aside his nelmet, and she beheld his lofty countenance, glowmg with manly beauty, she thought him something more than mortal. The heart ef the gentle doiizella, says the aacient chroni«ler, was kind and yielding ; and had Pelayo thought fit to ask the greatest boon that love and b«auty «®uld bestow — doubtless meaning her fair hand — she could not have had the cruelty to say hiim nay. Pelayo, however, had no such thoughts : the love of woman had mover yet entered his heart ; and though he regarded the damsel as the fairest maiden he had ever beheld, her beauty caused no perturbation in his bi'east. When the repast was over, Pelayo offered to conduct the merchant and his family through the defiles of the mountains, lest they should be molested by any of the scattered band of robbers. The bodies of the slain marauders were buried, and the coi'pse of the servant was laid upon one of the horses cap- tured in the battle. Having formed their cavalcade, they pur- sued their way slowly up one of the steep and winding passes of the Pyrenees. Toward sunset, they arrived at the dwelhng of a holy hermit. It was hewn out of the living rock ; there was a cross over the door, and before it was a great spreading oak, with a sweet spring of water at its foot. The body of the faithful servant who had fallen in the defence of his lord, was buried close by the wall of this sacred retreat, and the hermit promised to per- form masses for the repose of his soul. Then Pelayo obtained from the holy father consent that the merchant's wife and daughter should pass the night Avithin his cell ; and the hermit made beds of moss for them, and gave them his benediction ; but the damsel found little rest, so much were her thoughts PELAYO AND THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER. 125 occupied by the youthful champion who had rescued her from death or dishonor. Pelayo, however, was visited by no such wandering of the mmd ; but, wrapping himself in his, mantle, slept soundly by the fountain under the tree. At midnight, when ev«ry thing was buried in deep repose, he was awakened from his sleep and beheld the hermit before him, with the beams of the moon shining upon his silver hair and beard. ''This is no time," said the latter, "to be sleeping; arise and list«n to my words, and hear of the great work for which thou art chosen !" Then Pelayo arose and seated himself on a rock, and the hermit continued his discourse. " Behold," said he, " the ruin of Spain is at hand ! It wiU be deUvered into the hands of strangers, and will become a prey to the spoiler. Its children will be slain or carried into capti- vity ; or such as may escape these evils, will harbor with ihe beaslfe of the forest or the eagles of the mountain. The thorn aiiid feramble will spring up where now are seen the corn- field, the vine, and the olive ; and himgry wolves will roam in place of peaceful flocks and herds. But thou, my son ! tarry not thou to see these things, for thou canst not prevent them. Depart on a pilgrimage to the sepulchre of our blessed Lord in Palestine ; purify thyself by prayer ; enroll thyself in the order of chivalry, and prepare for the great work of the redemption of thy country ; for to thee it wiU be given to raise it from the depth of its affliction. " Pelayo would have inquu-ed farther into the evils thus fore- told, but the hermit rebuked his curiosi«ty. " Seek not to know more," said he, "than heaven is pleased to reveal. Clouds and darkness cover its designs, and pro- phecy is never permitted to lift up but in part the veil that rests upon the Suture." The hermit ceased to speak, and Pelayo laid himself down again to take repose, but sleep was a strangcv to his eyes. When the first rays of the rising sun shone upon the tops of the mountains, the travellers assembled round the fountain beneath the tree and made their morning's repast. Then, having received the benediction of the hermit, they departed in the freshness of the day, and descended along the hollow defiles leading into the interior of Spain. The good merchant was refreshed by sleep and by his morning's meal ; and when he beheld his wife and daughter thus secure by his side, and 126 WOLFERT'S ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. the hackney laden with his treasure close behind him, his heart was light in his bosom, and he carolled a chanson as he went, and the woodlands echoed to his song. But Pelayo rode in silence, for he revolved in his mind the portentous words of the hermit ; and the daughter of the merchant ever and anon stole looks at him full of tenderness and admiration, and deep sighs betrayed the agitation of her bosom. At length they came to the foot of the moimtains, where the forests and the rocks terminated, and an open and secure country lay before the travellers. Here they halted, for their roads were widely different. When they came to part, the merchant and his wife were loud in thanks and benedictions, and the good burgher*would fain have given Pelayo the largest of his sacks of gold ; but the young man put it aside with a ainile. " Silver and gold," said he, " need I not, but if I have deserved aught at thy hands, give me thy prayers, for the p«.'ayers of a good man are above all price." In the mean time the daughter had spoken never a word. M length she raised her eyes, which were filled with tears, and locked timidly at Pelayo, and her bosom throbbed: and after a violent struggle between strong aifection and virgin modesty, her heart relieved itself by words. * "*Sen«»r," said she, "I know that I am unworthy of the notice of so noble a cavalier ; but suffer me to place this ring upon a finger of that hand which has so bravely rescued us from death; and when you regard it, you may consider it as a memorial of your own valor, and not of one who is too humble to be remembered by you. " With these words, she drew a ring from her finger and put it upon the finger of Pelayo ; and having done this, she blushed and trembled at her own boldness, and stood as one abiished, with her eyes cast down upon the earth. Pelayo was moved at the words of the simple maiden, and at the touch of her fair hand, and at her beauty, as she stood thus trembling and in tears before him; but as yet he knew nothing of woman, and his heart was free from the snares of love. "Amiga," (friend,) said he, "I accept thy present, and will wear it in remembrance of thy goodness ;" so saying, he kissed her on the cheek. The damsel was cheered by these words, and hoped that she had awakened some tenderness in his bosom; but it was no such thing, says the grave old chronicler, for his heart was tup: KNIGUT OF MALTA. 127 devoted to higher and more sacred matters; yet certain it i ;, that he always guarded well that ring. When they parted, Pelayo remained with his hmitsmen on v. cliff, watching that no evil befell them, until they were ic.ii beyond the skirts of the mountain; and the damsel often turned to look at him, until she could no longer discern him, for the distance and the tears that dimmed her eyes. And for that he had accepted her ring, says the ancient chronicler, she considered herself wedded to him in her heart, and would never marry ; nor could she be brought to look with eyes of affection upon any other man; but for the true love wliich she bore Pelayo, she hved and died a virgin. And she composed a book which treated of love and chivalry, and the temptations of this mortal life; and one part discoursed of celestial matters, and it was called "The Contemplations of Love;" because at the time she wrote it, she thought of Pelayo, and of his having accepted her jewel and called her by the gentle appellation of "Amiga." And often thinking of him in tender sadness, and of her never having beheld hun more, she would take the book and would read it as if in his stead ; and while she repeated the words of love which it contained, she would endeavor to fancy them uttered by Pelayo, and that he stood before her. THE KNIGHT OF liklALTA. TO THE EDITOR OF THE KNICKERBOCKER Sir: In the course of a tour which I made in Sicily, in the days of my juvenility, I passed some little time at the ancient city of Catania, at the foot of Mount ^tna. Here I became acquainted with the Chevalier L , an old Knight of l>Iciltn. It was not many years after the time that Napoleon had dis- lodp^ed the knights from their island, and he still wore the insignia of his order. He was not, however, one of those reiiques of that once chivalrous body, who had been described as "a few worn-out old men, creeping about certain parts of Europe, with the Maltese cross on their bi:oasts ;" on the contrary, though advanced in life, his form ^vas still light and vigorous : iio had a pale, thin, intellectual visage, with a high forehead, and a bright, visionary eye. He seemed to take a fancy to me. 128 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. as I certainly did to him, and we soon became intimate. I visited him occasionally, at his apartments, in the wing of an old palace, looking toward Mount ^tna. He was an antiquary, a virtuoso, and a connoisseur. His rooms were decorated \vith mutilated statues, dug up from Grecian and Eoman ruins ; old vases, lachrymals, and sepulchral lamps. He had astronomical and chemical instruments, and black-letter books, in various languages. I found that he had dipped a little in chimerical studies, and had a hankering after astrology and alchymy. He affected to beheve in dreams and visions, and delighted in the fanciful Rosicrucian doctrines. I cannot persuade myself, however, that he really believed in all these : I rather think he loved to let his imagination carry him away into the boundless fairy land which they unfolded. In company with the chevaher, I took several excursions on horseback about the environs of Catania, and the picturesque skirts of Mount ^tna. One of these led through a village, which had sprung up on the very tract of an ancient eruption, the houses being built of lava. At one time we passed, for some distance, along a narrow lane, between two high dead convent walls. It was a cut-throat-looking place, in a country where assassinations are frequent; and just about midway through it, we observed blood upon the pavement and the walls, as if a murder had actually been committed there. The chevalier spurred on his horse, until he had extricated himself completely from this suspicious neighborhood. He then observed, that it reminded him of a similar blind alley in Malta, infamous on account of the many assassinations that had taken place there; concerning one of which, he related a long and tragical story, that lasted until we reached Catania. It involved various circumstances of a wild and supernatural character, but which he assured me were handed down in tradition, and generally credited by the old inhabitants of Malta. As I like to pick up strange stories, and as I was particularly struck with several parts of this, I made a minute of it, on my return to my lodgings. The memorandum was lost, with several others of my traveUing papers, and the story had faded from my mind, when recently, in perusing a French memoir, I came sudderJy upon it, di-essed up, it is true, in a very different manner, but agreeing in the leading facts, and given upon the word of that famous adventurer, the Count Cagliostro. I liave amused myself, during a snowy day in the country, THE KNIGHT OF MALTA. ^ 129 by rendering it rouglily into English, for the entertainment of a youthful circle romid the Chi'istmas fire. It was well received by my auditoi^, who, however, are rather easily pleased. One proof of its merits is that it sent some of the youngest of them quaking to their beds, and gave them very fearful dreams. Hoping that it may have the same effect upon your ghost- hunting readers, I offer it, Mr. Editor, for insertion in your Magazine. I would observe, that wherever I have modified the French version of the story, it has been in conformity to some recollection of the narrative of my friend, the Knight of Malta. Yoiu' obt. servt., GrEOPFREY CRAYON. TEE GRAND PRIOR OF MINORCA, A VERITABLE GHOST STORY. *'E1eep my wits, heaven! They say spirits appear • To melancholy minds, and the graves open !"— Fletcher. About the middle of the last century, while the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem still maintained something of then* ancient state and sway in the Island of Malta, a tragical event took place there, which is the grouD.dwork of the following narrative. It may be as weU to premise, that at the time we are treating of, the order of Saint John of Jerusalem, grown excessively wealthy, had degenerated from its originally devout and war- like character. Instead of being a hardy body of "monk- knights," sworn soldiers of the cross, fighting the Paynim in the Holy Land, or scouring the Mediterranean, and scourging the Barbary coasts with their galleys, or feeding the poor, and attending upon the sick at their hospitals, they led a life of luxury and Hbertinism, and were to be found in the most voluptuous courts of Europe. Thf3 order, in fact, had become a mode of providing for the needy branches of the Catholic aristocracy of Europe. "A commandery," we are told, was a splendid provision for a younger brother; and men of rank, however dissolute, provided they belonged to the highest aristo- cracy, became Knights of Malta, just as they did bishops, or (^olonels of regiments, or court chamberlains. After a brief residence at Malta, tJie Icnights passed iho rest of their time in 130 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. their own countries, or only made a visit now and then to the island. While there, having but little military duty to per- form, they beguiled their idleness by paying attentions to the fair. There was one circle of society, however, into which they could not obtain currency. This was composed of a few fami- lies of the old Maltese nobility, natives of the island. These families, not being permitted to enroll va\y of their membei*s in the order, affected to hold no intercourse with its chevaliers ; admitting none into their exclusive coteries but the Grand Master, whom they acknowledged as their sovereign, and the members of the chapter Avhich composed his council. To indemnify themselves for this exclusion, the chevaliers caiTJed their gallantries into the next class of society, composed of those who held civil, administrative, and judicial situations. The ladies of this class were called honorate, or honorables, to distinguish them from the inferior orders; and among them were many of superior grace, beauty, and fascination. Even in this moro hospitable class, the chevaliers were not all equally 'favored. Those of Germany had the decided j»re- ferenco, owing to their fair and fresh complexions, and the kindhness of their manners: next to these came the Spanish cavaliers, on account of their profound and courteous devotion, and most discreet secrecy. Singular as it may seem, the che- valiei-s of France fared the worst. The Maltese ladies dreaded their volatility, and their proneness to boast of their amoui-s, and shimned all entanglement with them. They were forced, therefore, to content themselves ^vith conquests among females of the lower orders. They revenged themselves, after the gay French manner, by making the " honorate" the objects of all kinds of jests and mystifications ; by prying mto then- tender affairs with the more favered chevahers, and making them the theme of song and epigram. About this time, a French vessel arrived at Malta, bringing out a distinguished pereona^e of the order of Saint John of JeniBalem, the Commander de Foulquerre, who came to solicit the post of connnander-in-chief of the galleys. Ho was descended from an old and warrior line of French nobihty, his ancestors having long been seneschals of Faitou, and claiming descent from the first counts of Angouleme. The arnval of the commander caused a little imeasiness among the peaceably inclined, for he bore the character, in the island, of being fiery, aiTogant, -and quaiTelsome. TTf> li^id THE KNIGHT OF MALTA. 13X already been three times at Malta, and on each visit had signal- ized himself by some rash and deadly affray. As he was now thirty-five years of age, however, it was hoped that time might have taken off the fiery edge of his spirit, and that he might prove more quiet and sedate than formerly. The commander set up an establishment befitting his rank and pretensions ; for he arrogated to himself an importance greater even thain that of the Grand Master. His house immediately became the rallying place of all the young French chevaliers. They informed him of all the slights they had experienced or imagined, and indulged their petulant and satirical vein at the expense of the honorate and their admirers. The chevaliers of other nations soon found the topics and tone of conversation at the commander's irksome and offensive, and gradually ceased to visit there. The commander remained the head of a national clique, who looked up to him as their model. If he was not as boisterous and quarrelsome as formerly, he had become haughty and overbearing. He was fond of talking over his past affairs of punctilio and bloody duel. When walking the streets, he was genei^ily attended by a ruffling train of young French cavaliers, who caught his own air of assumption and bravado. These he Avould conduct to the scenes of his deadly encounters, point out the very spot where each fatal lunge had been given, and dwell vaingloriousiy on every particular. Under his tuition, the young French chevaliers began to add bluster and arrogance to their former petulance and levity; they fired up on the most trivial occasions, particularly with those who had been most successful with the fair ; and would put on the most intolerable drawcansir airs. The other che- valiers conducted themselves with all possible forbearance and reserve ; but they saw it would be impossible to keep on long, in this manner, without coming to an open rupture. Among the Spanish cavaliers was one named Don Luis de Lima VasconceUos. He was distantly related to the Grand Master; and had been enrolled at an early age among his pages, but had been rapidly promoted by him, until, at the ago of twen-ty-six, he had been given the richest Spanish comman- dery in the order. He had, moreover, been fortunate with the fair, with one of whom, the most beautiful honorata of Malta, he had long maintained the most tender correspondence. The character, rank, and connexions of Don Luis put him on a par with the imperious Commander de Foulquerre, and pointed him out ns a leader and champion to his countrymen. 132 ~ WOLFERl'^S ROOST AND MlSCELLASsIES. The Spanish chevaliers reipaired to him, therefore, in a body; represented all the grievances they had sustained, and the evils they apprehended, and urged him to use his influence with the commander and his adherents to put a stop to the growing abuses. Don Luis was gratified by this mark of confidence and esteem on the part of his countrymen, and promised to have an inter- view with the Commander de Foulquerre on the subject. He resolved to conduct himself -vith the utmost caution and deli- cacy on the occasion ; to represent to the commander the evil consequences which might result from the inconsiderate con- duct of the young French chevahers, and to entreat him to exert the great influence he so deservedly possessed over them, to restrain their excesses. Don Luis was aware, however, of the peril that attended any interview of the kind with this im- perious and fractious man, and apprehended, however it might commence, that it would terminate in a duel. Still, it was an affair of honor, in which Castilian dignity was concerned; beside, he had a lurking disgust at the overbearing manners of De Foulquerre, and perhaps had been somewhat offended by certain intrusive attentions which he had presumed to pay to the beautiful honorata. It was now Hoiy Week ; a time too sacred for worldly feuds and passions, especially in a commmiity under t>e dominion of a religious order; it was agreed, therefore, that the dangerous mterview in question should not take place until after the Easter holidays. It is probable, from subsequent circumstan- o«s, that the Commander de Foulquerre had some information of this arrangement among the Spanish chevahers, and was determined to be beforehand, and to mortify the pride of their champion, Avho was thus preparing to read him a lecture. He chose Good Friday for his purpose. On this sacred day, it is customary in Catholic coimtries to make a tour of all the- chm'ches, offering up prayers in each. In every Catholic church, as is well kno^^vn, there is a vessel of holy watet' near the door. In this, every one, on entering, dips liis fingers, and makes therewith the sign of the cross on his forehead and breast. An office of gallantrj^, among the young Spaniarc>3, is to stand near the door, dip their hands in the holy vessel, and extend thei:i courteously and respectfully to any lady of their acquaintance who may enter; who thus receives the saci'ed water at second hand, on the tips of her fingers, and proceeds to cross herself, with all duo decorum, rho Spaniards, who TEE KNIQHT OF MALTA. I33 are the most jealous of lovers, are impatient when this piece of devotional gallantry is proffered to the object ot their affections by any other hand: on Good Friday, therefore, when a lady makes a tour of the churches, it is the usage among them for the inamorato to follow her from church to church, so as to present her the holy water at the door of each ; thus testifying his own devotion, and at the same time preventing the officious services of a rival. On the day in question, Don Luis followed the beautiful honorata, to whom, as has already been observed, he had long been devoted. \t the very first church she visited, the Commander de Foulquerre was stationed at the portal, with several of the young French chevaliers about him. Before Don Luis could offer her the holy water, he was anticipated by the commander, who thrust himself between them, and, while he performed the gallant office to the l-^iy, rudely turned his back upon her admirer^ and trod upon his feet. The insult was enjoyed by the young Frenchmen who were present : it was too deep and grave to be forgiven by Spanish pride ; and at once put an end to all Don Luis' plaas of caution and forbear- ance. He repressed his passion for the moment, however, and waited until all the parties left the church ; then, accosting the commander with an air of coolness and unconcern, he inquired after his health, aiad asked to what church he proposed making his second visit. " To the Magisterial Church of Saint John." Don Luis offered to conduct him thither, by the shortest route. His offer was accepted, apparently without suspicion, and they proceeded together. After walking somte distance, they entered a long, narrow lane, witL out door or window opening upon it, called the ' ' Strada Stretta, " or narrow street. It was a street in which duels were tacitly permitted, or sonnived at, in Malta, and were suffered to pass as accidental encounters. Every where else ^'^^r^-r were prohibited. This restriction had b^en instituted to diminish the number of duels, formerly so fre- quent in Malta. As a farther precaution to render these en- counters less fatal, it was an offence, punishable with death, for any one to enter this street armed with either poniard or pistol. Kt was a lonely, dismal street, just wide enough for two men to stand upon their guard, and cross their swords; few persons ever traversed it, unless with some sinister design; and on any preconceii;ed duello, the seconds posted themselves at each end, to stop all passengers, and prevent interruption. In the present instance, the parties had scarce entered the 134 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. street, when Don Luis drew his sword, and called upon the commander to defend himself. De Foulquerre was evidently taken by surprise: he drew back, and attempted to expostulate ; but Don Luis persisted in defying him to the combat. After a second or two, he likewise drew his sword, but im- mediately lowered the point. ' ' Good Friday !" ejaculated he, shaking liis head : ' ' one word with you ; it is full six years since I have been in a confes- sional : I am shocked at the state of my conscience ; but within three days— that is to say, on Monday next " Don Luis would listen to nothing. Though naturally of a peaceable disposition, he had been stung to fury, and people of that character, when once incensed, are deaf to reason. He compelled the commander to put himself on his guard. The latter, though a man accustomed to brawl in battle, was singu- larly dismayed. Terror wis visible in all his features. He placed liimself with his back to the wall, and the weapons were crossed. The contest was brief and fatal. At the very first thrust, the sword of Don Luis passed through the body of his antagonist. The commander staggered to the wall, and leaned against it. '' On Good Friday !" ejaculated he again, with a failing voice, and despairing accents. ''Heaven pardon you!" added he; "take my sword to Tetefoulques, and have a hundred masses performed in the chapel of the castl6, for the repo3e of my soul !" With these words he expired. The fury of Don Luis was at an end. He stood aghast, gaz- ing at the bleeding body of the commander. He called to mind thQ prayer of the deceased for three days' respite, to make his peace with heaven; he had refused it; had sent him to the grave, witli all his sins upon his head ! His conscience smote him to the core ; he gathered up the sword of the commander, which he had been enjoined to take to tetefoulques, and hur- ried from the fatal S^rada Stretta. Tiie duel of couree made a gi^eat noise in Malta, but had no injurious effect upon the worldly fortunes of Don Luis. He made a full declaration of the whole matter, before the proper authorities ; the Chapter of the Order considered it one of tbosc casual encounters of the Strada Stretta, which were mourned over, but tolerated ; the pubhc, by whom the late commander had been genei-ally detested, declared that he had deserved his fate. It was but three days after the event, that Don Luis was THE KNIGHT OF MALTA. 135 advanced to one of the highest dignities of the Order, being in- vested by the Grand ]\Iaster with the priorship of the kingdom of IMmorca. From that time forward, however, the whole character and conduct of Don Luis underwent a change. Ho became a prey to a dark^molancholy, which nothing could assuage. The most austere 'piety, the severest penances, had no effect in allaying the horror wliich preyed upon his mind. He was absent for a long time from Malta; having gone, it was said, on remote pil- gi-images : when he returned, he was more haggard than ever. There seemed something mysterious and inexplicable in this disorder of his mind. The following is the revelation made by himself, of the horrible visions, or chimeras, by which he was haunted : ' ' When I had made my declaration before the Chapter, " said he, ' ' and my provocations were publicly known, I had made my peace with man; but.it was not so with God, nor with my confessor, nor with my ov^n conscience. My act vfas doubly criminal, from the day on which it was committed, and from my refusal to a delay of three days, for the victim of my resent- ment to receive the sacraments. His despairing ejaculation, ' Good Friday ! Good Friday ! ' continually rang in my ears. * Why did I not grant the respite ! ' cried I to myself ; ' was it not enough to kill the body, but must I seek to kill the soul ! ' "On the night of the following Friday, I started suddenly from my sleep. x\n unaccountable horror was upon me. I looked wildly around. It seemed as if I were not in my apart- ment, nor in my bed, but in the fatal Strada Stretta, lying on the pavement. I again saw the commander leaning against the wall ; I again heard his dying words: ' Take my sword to Tetcfoulques, and have a hundred masses performed in the chapel of the castle, for the repose of my soul ! ' " On the follo^ving night, I caused one of my servants to sleep in the same room with me. I saw and heard nothing, either on that night, or any of the nights following, until the n^xt Friday; when I had again the same vision, mththis difference, that my valet seemed to be lying at some distance from me on the pavement of the Strada Stretta. The vision continued to be repeated on every Friday night, the commander always appearing in the same manner, and uttering the same words: ' Take my sv»^ord to Tetefoulques, and have a hundred masses performed in the chapel of the castle for the repose of my soul!' 136 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. " On questioning my servant on the subject, he stated, that on these occasions he dreamed that he was lying in a very narrow street, but he neither sa^s^ nor heard any thing of the commander. "I knew nothing of tliis Teljefoulques, whither the defunct was so urgent I should carry his sword. I made inquiries, therefore, concerning it among the French chevaliers. They informed me that it was aa old castle, situated about four leagues from Poitiers, in the midst of a forest. It had been built in old times, several centuries since, by Foulques Taille- fer, (or Fulke Hackiron,) a redoubtable, hard-fighting Count of Angouleme, who gave it to an illegitimate son, afterward created Grand Seneschal of Poitou, which son became the pro- genitor of the Foulquerres of Tetefoulques, hereditary Sene- schals of Poitou. They farther informed me, that strange sto- ries were told of this old castle, in the surrounding country, and that it contained many curious reliques. Among these, were the arms of Foulques Taillefer, together with all those of the v/arriors he had slain; and that it was an immemorial usage with the Foulquerres to have the weapons deposited there wliichthey had wielded either in war or in single combat. This, then, was the reason of the dying injunction of the com- mander respecting his sword. I carried this weapon with me, wherever I went, but still I neglected to comply with his re- quest. " The visions still continued to harass me with undiminished horror. I repaired to Pome, where I confessed myself to the Grand Hardinal penitentiary, and informed him of the terrors ■with which I was haunted. He promised' me absoHition, after I should have performed certa,in acts of penance, the principal of which vms, to execute the dying request of the connnander, by carrying the sword to Tetefoulques, and having the hundred masses performed in the chapel of the castle for the repose of his soul. "I set out for France as speedily as possible, and made no delay in my journey. On arriving at Poitiers, I found that the tidings of the death of the commander had reached there, but had caused no more affliction than among the people of Malta. Leaving my equipage in the town, I put on the garb of a pilgrim, and taking a guide, set out on foot for Tetefoulques. Indeed the roads in this part of the country were impracticable for carria,gcs. "I foimd the castle of Tol^efoulques a.grand biit -lo--^-- r-.'-.n THE KNIGHT OF MALTA. 137 dilapidated pile. All the gates were closed, and there reigned over the whole place an air of almost savage loneliness and desertion. I had understood that its only inhabitants were the concierge, or warder, and a kind of hermit who had charge of the chapel. After ringing for some time at the gate, I at length succeeded in bringing forth the warder, who bowed with reverence to my pilgrim's garb, f begged him to conduct me to the chapel, that being the end oi' my pilgrimage. We found the hermifc there, chanting the funeral service ; a dismal sound to one who came to perform a penance for the death of a member of the family. When he had ceased to chant, I informed him that I came to accomphsh an obligation of con- science, and that I wished him to perform a hundred masses for the repose of the soul of the commander. He replied that, not being in orders, he was not authorized to perform mass, but that he ^vould willingly undertake to see that my debt of conscience was discharged. I laid my offering on the altar, and would have placed the sword of tne commander there, likewise. 'Hold!' said the hermit, with a melancliol}- shako of the head, 'this is no place for so deadly a weapon, that has so often been bathed in Christian blood. Take it to the armory ; you will find there tropliies enough of like character. It is a place into which I never enter.' " The warder here took up the theme abandoned by the peace- ful man of God. He assured me that I would see in the armory the swords of all the warrior race of Foulquerres, together with those of the enemies over whom they had triumphed. This, he observed, had been a usage kept up since the time of Mellusine, and of her husband, Geoffrey a la Grand-dent, or Geoffrey with the Great-tooth. *' I followed the gossiping warder to the armory. It was a great dusty hall, hung round with Gothic-looking portraits, of a stark hne of warriors, each with his weapon, and the wea- pons of those he had slain in battle, hung beside his picture. The most conspicuous portrait was that of Foulques Taillefer, (Fulke Hacku-on,) Count of Angouleme, and founder of the castle. He was represented at full length, araied cap-rx-pie, and grasping a huge buckler, on which were emblazoned three lions passant. The figiu-c was so striking, that it seemed ready to start from the canvas : and I observed beneath this picture, a trophy composed of many v/eapons, proofs of the numerous triumphs of this hard-fighting old cavaHer. Beside the wea- pons connected with the portraits, there were swords of ail 133 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. !-hapes, sizes, and centuries, hung round the haH ; with piles of armor, placed as it Avere in effigy. " On each side of an immense chimney, were suspended the portraits of the first seneschal of Poitou (the illegitunate son of Foulques Taiiief er) and his wife Isabella de Lusignan ; the pro- genitors of the grim race oi Foulquerres that frowned around. They had the look of being perfect likenesses ; and as I gazed on thsm, I fancied I could trace in their antiquated features some family resemblance to their unfortunate descendant, whom I had slam ! This was a dismal neighborhood, yet the armory was the only part of the castle that had a habitable air ; so I asked the warder whether ho could not make a fire, and give me something for supper there, and prepare me a bed in one comer. " ' A fire and a supper you shall have, and that cheerfully, most worthy pilgrim,' said he; 'but as to a bed, I advise you to come and sleep in my chamber. ' " ' Why so? ' inquired I ; ' why shall I not sleep in this hall? ^ " • I have my reasons; I will make a bed for you close to mine.' " I made no objections, for I recollected that it was Friday, and I dreaded the return of my vision. He brought in billets Ox wood, kindled a fire in the gTcat overhanging chimney, and then went forth to prepare my supper. I drew a heavy chair before the fire, and seating myself m it, gazed muzingly round upon the portraits of the Foulquerres, and the antiquated armor and weapons, the mementos of many a bloody deed. As the day declined, the smoky draperies of the hall gradually becamj3 o'li founded with the dark ground of the paintings, and the hirid gk^ams from the chimney only enabled mc to see vis^es staring at me from the gathering darkness.* All this was dismal in the extreme, and somewhat appalling; perhaps it was the state of my conscience that rendered me peculiarly sensitive, and prone to fearful imaginings. " At length the warder brought in my supper. It consisted of a dish of trout, and some crawfish taken in the fosse of the castle. He procured also a bottle of wine, which ho informed me was wine of Poitou. I requested him to invite the hermit to join me in my repast ; but the holy man sent back word that he allowed himself nothing but roots and herbs, cooked with water. I took my meal, therefore, alone, but prolonged it as much as possible, and sought to cheer my drooping spirits by the vnxiQ of Poitou, which I found very tolerable. THE ENIQHT OF MALTA. 139 "When supper was over, I prepared for my evening devo- tions. I have always been very punctual in reciting my brevi- ary ; it is the prescribed and bounden duty of all chevaliers of the religious orders; and I can answer for it, is taithfully performed by those of Spain. I accordingly drew forth from my pocket a small missal and a rosary, and told the warder he need only designate to me the way to his chamber, where I could come and rejoin liim, when I had finished my prayers. "He accordingly pointed out a winding stair-case, opening from the hall. 'You will descend this stair-case,' said he, ' until you come to the fourth landing-place, where you enter a vaulted passage, terminated by an arcade, with a statue of the blessed Jeanne of France ; you cannot help finding my room, the door of which I will leave open ; it is the sixth door from the landing-place, I advise you not to remain in this hall after midnight. Before that hour, you will hear the hermit ring the bell, in going the rounds of the corridors. Do not linger here after that signal.' " The warder retired, and I commenced my devotions. I continued at them earnestly ; pausing from time to time to put wood upon the fire. I did not dare to look much around me, for I felt myself becoming a prey to fearful fancies. The pic- tures appeared to 'become animated. If I regarded one atten- tively, for any length of time, it seemed to move the eyes and lips. Above all, the portraits of the Grand Senesclial and liis lady, which hung on each side of the great chimney, the pro- genitors of the Foulquerres of Tetefoulque, regarded me, I thought, with angry and baleful eyes: I even fancied they exchanged significant glance."; with each other. Just then a terrible blast ofwind shook all the casements, and, rushing through the hall, made a fearful rattling and clashing among the armor. To my startled fancy, it seemed something super- natural. "At length I heard the bell of the hermit, and hastened to quit the hall. Taking a sohtary light, which stood on the sup- per-table, I descended the winding stair-case ; but before I had reached the vaulted passage leading to the statue of the blessed Jeanne of France, a blast of wind extinguished my taper. I hastily remounted the stairs, to light it again at the chimney ; but judge of my feelings, when, on arriving at the entrance to the armory, I beheld the Seneschal and his lady, who had descended from their frames,- sgRHd seated themselves on eacfe side of th^ firo-i-ilaro ! 140 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES, " I '' ' Madam, my love,' said the Seneschal, with great formality, and m. anticfaatcd phrase, 'what think you of the presump- tion ot this Gastilian, who comes to harbor himself and make wassail in tiiis our castle, after having slain our descendant, the commander, and that without granting him time for con- fession? ' " ' Truly, my lord,' answered the female spectre, with no less stateliness of manner, and with great asperity of tone ; ' truly, my lord, I opine that this Castihan did a grievous wrong in ttds encounter; and he should never be suffered to depart hence, wrrthout your throwing^ him the gauntlet.' I paused to hear no more, hut rushed again down-stairs, to seek the chamber of the warder, it was impossible to find it in the darkness, and in the perturbation of my mind. After an hour and a half of fruitless search, and mortal horror and anxieties, I endeavored to per- suade myself that the day was about to break, and listened impatiently for the crowing of the cock ; for I thought if I could hear liis cheerful note, I should be reassured ; catching, in the disordered state of my nerves, at the popular notion that ghosts never appear after the first crowing of the cock. "At length I ralhed myself, and endeavored to shake off the vague terrors which haunted me. I tried to persuade myself that the two figures which I had seemed to see and hear, had existed only in my troubled imagination. I still had the end of the candle in my hand, and determined to make another effort to re-light it, and find my way to bed ; for I was ready to sink with fatigue. I accordingly sprang up the stair-case, three steps at a time, stopped at the door of the armory, and peeped cautiously in. The two Gothic figures were no longer in the chimney comers, but I neglected to notice whether they had reascended to their frames. I entered, and made desper- ately for the fire-place, but scarce had I advanced three strides, when I\Iessire Foulques Taillefer stood before me, in the centre of the haU, armed cap-a-pie, and standing in guard, with the point of his sword silently presented to me. I would have retreated to the stair-case, but the door of it was occupied by the phantom figure of an esquire, who rudely flung a gauntlet in my face. Driven to fury, I snatched down a sword from the wall : by chance, it was that of the commander which I had placed there. I rushed upon my fantastic adversary, and seemed to pierce him through and through; but at the same time I felt as if something gararoed my heart, burning 3ik& a rod-hot iron, jly h'ood inuDdated the hall, and T " " • --- -v->- J TEE KNIGHT OF MALTA. J[4X **When I recovered consciousness, it was broad day, and I found myscK in a small chamber, attended by the warder and ihe hermit. The former told me that on the previous night, he had awakened long alter the midnight hour, and perceiving that I had not come to his chamber, he had furnished hunself with a vase of holy water, and set out to seek me. He found nie stretched senseless on the pavement of the ai'mory, and bore me to this room. I spoke of m.j wound, and of the quan- tity of blood that I had lost. He shook his head, and knew nothing about it: and to my surprise, on examination, I found myself perfectly sound and imharmed. The wound and blood, therefore, had been all delusion. Neither the warder nor the hermit put any questions to me, but advised me to leave the castle as soon as possible. I lost no time in comiDlying with then* counsel, and felt my heart relieved fi'om an oppressive weight, as I left the gloomy and fate-bound battlements of Tetefoulques beiiind me. "I arrived at Bayonne, on my way to Spain, on the follow- ing Friday. At midnight I was startled from my sleep, as I had formerly been ; but it was no longer by the vision of the dying commander. It was old Foulques Taillefer who stood before me, armed cap-a-pie, and presenting the point of his sword. I made the sign of the cross, and the spectre vanished, but I received the same red-hot thrust in the heart which I had felt in the armory, and I seemed to be bathed in blood. I would have called out, or have arisen frorji my bed and gone in quest of succor, but I could neither speak nor stir. This agony en- dured until the crowing of the cock, when I fell asleep again ; but the next day I was ill, and in a most pitiable state. I have continued to be harassed by the same vision every Fri- day night ; no acts of penitence and devotion have been able to relieve me from it ; and it is only a lingering hope in divine mercy, that sustains me, and enables me to support so lamen- table a visitation. " The Grand Prior of Minorca wasted gradually away under this constant remorse of conscience, and this horrible incubus. He died some time after having revealed the preceding particu- lars of his case, evidently the victim of a diseased imagination. The above relation has been rendered, in many parts literally, from the Fiench memoir, in which it is given as a true story: ir so, it is one of. those instiincori in which truth is more I'omiintic thon fictijon G. C. 142 WOLFEUrS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES, LEGEND OF THE ENGULPHED CONVENT. BY GEOFFREY CRAYON, GENT. At the dark and melancholy period when Don Roderick tha Goth and his chivalry were overthrown on the banks of the Gnadalete, and all Spain was overrun by the Moors, great was the devastation of churches and convents throughout that pious kingdom. The miraculous fate of one of those holy piles is thus recorded in one of the authentic legends of those days. On the summit of a hill, not very distant from the capital city of Toledo, stood an ancient convent and chapel, dedicated to the invocation of Samt Benedict, and inhabited by a sister- hood of Benedictine nuns. This holy asylum was confined to females of noble lineage. The younger sisters of the highest tamilies were here ^ven in religious marriage to their Saviour, in order that the portions of their elder sisters might be in- creased, and they enabled to make suitable matches on earth, or that the family wealth might go undivided to elder brothers, and the dignity of their ancient houses be protected from decay. The convent was renowned, therefore, for enshrining within its walls a eisterhood of the purest blood, the most im- maculate vktue, and most resplendent beauty, of all Gothic Spain. When the Moors overran the kingdom, there was nothing that more excited their hostility than these virgin asylums. The very sight of a convent-spire was sufficient to set their Moslem blood in a foment, and they sacked it with as fierce a zeal as though the sacking of a nunnery were a sure passport to Elysium. Tidings of such outrages committed in various parts of the. kingdom reached this noble sanctuary and filled it with dis- may. The danger came nearer and nearer; the infidel hosts were spreading all over the country; Toledo itself was cap- tured ; there was no flying from the convent, and no security within its walls. In the midst of this agitation, the alarm was given one day that a great band of Saracens were spurring across the plain. In an instant the whole convent was a scene of confusion. Some of the nuns wrun^ their fair hands at the ^vindows; ethers waved their veils and uttered shrieks from the tops of tjie towers, vainly hoping to draAV relief from a country over- ) LEGEND OF THE ENGULPHED CONVSTNT. I43 run by the foe. The sight of these innocent doves thus flutter- ing about their dove-cote, but increased the zealot fury of the whiskered Moors. They thundered at the portal, and at evejy blow the ponderous gates trembled on their hinges. The nuns now crowded round the abbess. They had been accustomed to look up to her as all-powerful, and they now hn- plored her protection. The mother abbess looked with a rueful eye upon the treasures of beauty and vestal virtue exposed to such imminent peril. Alas ! how was she to protect them from the spoiler ! She had, it is true, experienced many signal inter- positions of providence in her individual favor. Her early days had been passed amid the temptations of a court, where her virtue had been purified by repeated trials, from none of which had she escaped but by a miracle. But were miracles never to cease? Could she hope that the marvellous protection shown to herself would be extended to a vv'hole sisterhood? There was no other resource. The Moors were at the thresh- old ; a few moments more and the convent would be at their mercy. Summoning her nuns to follow her, she hurried into the chapel ; and throwing herself on her knees before the image of the blessed Mary, "Oh, holy Lady!" exclaimed she, "oh, most pure and immaculate of virgins ! thou seest our extremity. The ravager is at the gate, and there is none on earth to help us ! Look down with pity, and grant that the earth may gape and swallow us rather than that our cloister vows should suf- fer violation!" The Moors redoubled their assault upon the portal ; the gates gave way, with a tremendous crash ; a savage yell of exulta- tion arose ; when of a sudden the earth yawned ; down sank the convent, v/ith its cloisters, its dormitories, and all its nuns. The chapel tower was the last that sank, the bell ringing forth a peal of triumph in the very teeth of the infidels. Forty years had passed and gone, since the period of this miracle. The subjugation of Spain was complete. The Moors lorded it over city and country; and such of the Christian population as remained, and were permitted to exercise their religion, did it in humble resignation to the ]\roslem sway. At this time, a Christian cavalier, of Cordova, hearing that a patriotic band of his countrymen had raised the standard of the cross in the mountains of the Asturias, resolved to join them, and unite in breaking the yoke cf bondage. Secretly 144 WOLFEUTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. arming himself, and caparisoning Ins steed, he set forth from Cordova, and pursued his course by unfrequented mule-paths, and along the dry channels made by \vinter torrents. Kis spirit burned with indignation, whenever, on commandiag a view over a long sweeping plain, he beheld the mosque swell- ing in the distance, and the Ai-ab hoi*semen careering about, as if the rightf id lords of the soil. Many a deep-dra\vn sigh, and heavy groan, also, did the good cavalier utter, on pass- ing the ruins of churches and convents desolated by the con- querors. It was on a siUtry midsummer evening, that this wander- ing cavaher, in skirting a hill thickly covered with forest, heard the faint tones of a vesper bell sounding melodiously in the air, and seeming to come from the summit of the hill. The cavalier crossed himself with wonder, at this miwonted and Christian sound. He supposed it to proceed from one of those humble chapels and herixdtages permitted to exist through the indulgence of the Moslem conquerors. Tui'ning his steed up a narrow path of the forest, he sought this sanctuary, in hopes of finding a hospitable shelter for the night. As he advanced, the trees threw a deep gloom ai'ound him, and the bat flitted across his path. The bell ceased to toll, and all was silence. Presently a chou* of female voices came steading sweetly through the forest, chanting the evening service, to the solemn accompanunent of an organ. The heart of the good cavalier melted at the sound, for it recalled the happier days of his country. Urging forward his weary steed, he at length ar- rived at a broad grassy area, on the summit of the hill, sur- rounded by the forest. Here the melodious voices rose in full chorus, like the swelling of the breeze ; but whence they came, he could not tell. Sometimes they were before, sometimes behind him ; sometimes in the air, sometimes as if from within the bosom of the earth. At length they died away, and a holy stilhiess settled on the place. The cavalier gazed around with bewildered eye. There was neither chapel nor convent, nor hum.ble hermitage, to be seen ; nothing but a mos?-grown stone pinnacle, rising out of the centre of the area, surmounted by a cross. Tlic green- sward around appeared to have been sacred from the tread of man or beast, and the surrounding trees bent toward the cross, as if in adoration. . The cavalier felt a sensation of holy awe. He alighted ar.d LEGEND OF TEE ENGULPIIEB CONVENT. 145 tethered his steed on the skirts of the forest, where he might crop the tender herbage ; then approaching the cross, ho knelt and poured forth his evening prayers before this rehque of the Christian days of Spain. His orisons being concluded, he laid himself down at the foot of the pinnacle, and reclin- ing his head against one of its stones, fell into a deep sleep. About midnight, he was awakened by the toUing of a bell, and found himself lying before the gate of an ancient con- vent. A train of nuns passed by, each bearing a taper. The cavaher rose and followed them into the chapel; in the cen- tre of which was a bier, on which lay the corpse of an aged nun. The organ performed a solemn requiem : the nuns join- ing in chorus. When the funeral service was finished, a melodious voice chanted, ^' Requiescat in paceP^ — "May sho rest in peace !" The hghts immediately vanished ; the whole passed away as a dream; and the cavalier found himself at the foot of the cross, and beheld, by the faint rays of the lising moon, his steed quietly grazing near him. When the day dawned, the cavalier descended the hill, and following the course of a small brook, came to a cave, at the entrance of which was seated an ancient man, clad in hermit's garb, with rosary and cross, and a beard that descended to his girdle. He was one of those holy anchorites permitted by the Moors to live unmolested in dens and caves, and humble her- mitages, and even to practise the rites of their religion. The cavalier checked his horse, and dismounting, knelt and craved a benediction. He then related all that had befallen him in the nip:ht, and besought the hermit to explain the mystery. "What thou hast heard and seen, my son," replied the other, "is but type and shadow of the woes of Spain." He then related the foregoing story of the miraculous de- liverance of the convent. "Forty years," added the holy man, "have elapsed since this event, yet the bells of that sacred edifice are still heard, from time to time, sounding from under ground, together with the pealing of the or ran, and the chanting of the choir. The Moors avoid this neighborhood, as haunted ground, and the whole place, as thou mayest perceive, has becoine covered with a thick and lonely forest." The cavalier listened with wonder to the story of this en- gTilphed convent, as related by the holy man. For three days and nights did they keep vigils beside the cross ; but notliing rnore was to be seen of nun or convent It is supposed -that, 146 W0LFERT8 ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. forty years having elapsed, the natural lives of all the iiuns were finished, and that the cavalier had beheld the obsequies of the last of the sisterhood. Certain it is, that from that time, bell, and organ, and choral chant have never more been hoard. The mouldering pinnacle, surmounted by the cross, still remains an object of pious pii2:nmage. Some say that it anciently stood in front of the convent, but others assert that it was the spire of the sacred edifice, and that, when the main body of the building sank, this remained above ground, like the top-mast of some tall ship that has foundered. These pious believeis maintain, that the convent is miracu- lously preserved entire in the centre of the mountain, where, if proper excavations were made, it would be found, with all its treasures, and monuments, and shi'ines, and rehques, and the tombs of its virgin nuns. Should any one doubt the truth of tliis marvellous inter- position of the Virgin, to protect the vestal purity of her votaries, let him road the excellent work entitled " Espaila Triumphante," written by Padre Fray Antonio de Sancta ]\Iaria, a bare-foot friar of the Carmehte order, and he mil doubt no longer. THE COUNT VAN HORN. During the minority of Louis XV., while the Duke of Orleans was Regent of France, a young Flemish nobleman, the Count x^ntoine Joseph Van Horn, made his sudden ap- pearance in Paris, and by his character, conduct, and the sub- sequent disasters in which he became involved, created a great sensation in the high circles of the proud aristocracy. He was about twenty-two years of age, tali, finely fonned, with a pale, romantic countenance, and e3^e3 of remarkable brilliancy and wildness. He was of one of the most ancient and higlily-esteemed families of European nobility, being of the line of the Princes of Hoi-n and Overique, sovereign Counts of Hautekerke, and hereditary Grand Veneurs of the empire. The family took its name from the little town and seigneurie of Horn, in Brabant ; and was known as early as the eleventh century among the little dynasties of the Netherlands, and THE COUNT VAN HORN. 147 since that time by a long line of illustrious generations. At fche peace of Utrecht, when the Netherlands passed under sub- jection to Austria, the house of Van Horn came under the domination of the emperor. At the time we treat of, two of the branches of this ancient house were extinct ; the third and only surviving branch was represented by the reigning prince, Maximilian Emanuel Van Horn, twenty-four years of age, who resided in honorable and courtly style on his hereditary do- mains at Baussigny, in the Netherlands, and liis brother, the Count Antoine Joseph, who is the subject of this memoir. The ancient house of Van Horn, by the intermariiage of its various branches with the noble families of the continent, had become widely connected and interwoven with the high aris- Docracy of Europe. The Count Antoine, therefore, could claim relationship to many of the proudest names in Paris. In fact, be was grandson, by the mother's side, of the Prince de Ligne, and even might boast of affinity to the Regent (the Dul^e of Orleans) himself. There were circumstances, however, con- nected with his sudden appearance in Paris, and his previous story, that placed him in what is termed "a false position;" a word of baleful significance in the fashionable vocabulary of France. The young count had been a captain in the service of Aus- tria, but had been cashiered for irregular conduct, and for disrespect to Prince Louis of Baden, commander-in-chief. To check him in his wild career, and bring him to sober reflection, his brother the prince caused him to be arrested and sent to the old castle of Van Wert, in the domains of Horn. . This was fche same castle m which, in former times, John Van Horn, Stadtholder of Gueldres, had imprisoned his father ; a circum- stance which has furnished Rembrandt with tho subject of an admirable painting. The governor of the cnstle Avas one Van Wert, grandson of the famous John Van Wert, the hero of many a popular song and legend. It was the intention of the prince that his brother should be held in honorable durance, for his object was to sober and improve, not to punish and aiilict him. Van Wert, however, was a stern, harsh man of violent passions. He treated the youth in a manner that pri- soners and offenders were treated in the strong-holds of the robber counts of Germany in old times; confined him in a dungeon and inflicted on him such hardships and indignities that the irritable temperament of the young count was roused to continual furv. which ended in insanity. For six months 148 WOLFERTS R008T AND MISCELLAmES, was tha unfortunate youth kept in this horrible state, without his brother the prince being infoimed of his melancholy condi- tion or of the cruel treatment to which he was subjected At length, one day, m a paroxysm of frenzy, the count knocked down two of hLs gaolers with a beetle, escaped from the castle of Van Wert, and eluded all pursuit; and after roving about in a state of distraction, made his way to Baussigny and appeared like a sceptre before his brother. The prmce was shocked at his wretched, emaciated appear- aiice and his lamentable state of mental ahenation He re- ceived him with the most compassionate tenderness; lodo-ed him m his own room, appointed three servants to attend and watch over him day and night, and endeavored by the most soothing and affectionate assiduity to atone for the^past act of rigor with which he reproached hunself. When he learned however, the manner in which his unfortunate brother had been treated in confinement, and the course of brutalities that had led to his mental malady, he was roused to indignation His first step was to cashier Van Wert from his command. That violent man set the prmce at defiance, and attempted to maintain himself in his government and his castle by instigat- ing the peasants, for several leagues round, to revolt. His insurrection might have been formidable against the power of a petty prince; but he was put under the ban of the empire and seized as a state prisoner. The memory of his grandfather, the oft-sung John Van Wert, alone saved him from a gibbet' but lie was imprisoned in the strong tower of Hom-op-Zee.' There he remained until he was eighty-two years of age, sav- age, violent, and unconquered to the last; for we are told that he never ceased fighting and thumping as long as he could close a fist or wield a cudgel. In the mean time a course of kind and gentle treatment and wholesome regimen, and. above all, the tender and afl^ectionate assiduity of his brother, the prince, produced the most salutary efi"ects upon Count Antoine. He gradually recovered his reason; but a degree of violence seemed always lurking at the bottom of his character, and he required to be treated with the greatest caution and mildness, for the least contradiction exas- perated him. In this state of mental convalescence, he began to find the supervision and restraints of brotherly affection insupportable; so he loft the Netherlands furtively, and repaired to Paris' whither, in fact, it is said he was called by motives of interest TEE COUNT VAN HORN. 1'49 to make arrangements concerning a valuable estate which he inherited from his relative, the Princess d'Epinay. On his arrival in Paris, he called upon the Marquis of Crequi, and other of the high nobihty with whom he was comiected. He was received with great courtesy ; but, as he brought no letters from his elder brother, the prince, and as various cu'- cumstances of his previous history had transpired, they did not receive him into iheir famihes, nor introduce hmi to theii- ladies. Still they feted liim in bachelor style, gave him gay and. elegant suppers at their separate apartments, and took hiin; to their boxes at the theatres. He was often noticed, too, at the doors of the most fashionable churches, taking his stand among the young men of fashion; and at such times, his tall, elegant figure, his pa]e but handsome countenance, and his flashing eyes, distinguished him from among the crowd ; and the ladies declared that it was almost impossible to support his ardent gaze. The Count did not afflict himself much at his limited circu- lation in the fastidious circles of the high aristocracy. He rehshed society of a wilder and less ceremonious cast; and meeting with loose companions to his taste, soon ran into all the excesses of the capital, in that most licentious period. It is said that, in the course of his wild career, he had an intrigue with a lady of quality, a favorite of the Regent ; that he was surprised by that prince in one of his interviews ; that sharp words passed between them; and that the jealousy and ven- geance tlmis awakened, ended only with his hfe. About this time, the famous Mississippi scheme of Law was at its height, or rather it began to threaten that disastrous catastrophe wliich convulsed the whole financial world. Every effort was making to keep the bubble inflated. The vagi-ant population of France was swept off from the streets at night, and conveyed to Havre de Grace, to be shipped to the pro- jected colonies ; even laboring people and mechanics were thus crimped and spirited away. As Count Antoine was in the habit of sallying forth at night, in disguise, in pursuit of his pleasures, he came near being carried off by a gang of crimps ; it seemed, in fact, as if they had been lying in wait for him, as he had experienced very rough treatment at their hands. Complaint was made of his case by his relation, the Marquis de Crequi, who took much interest in the youth; but the Mar- quis received mysterious intimations not to interfere in the matter, but to ad^.ise the Count to quit Paris immediately: 150 WOLFELirS ROOST AND MISCELLANIEa. " If he lingers, he is lost !" This has been cited as a proof that vengeance was dogging at the heels of the unfortunate youth, and only watching ior an opportunity to destroy him. Such opportunity occurred but too soon. Among the loose companions with whom the Coimt had become intimate, were two who lodged in the same hotel with him. One was a youth only twenty years of age, who passed himself off as the Cheva- hcr d'Etampcs, but whose real name was Lestang, the prodi- gal son of a Flemish b.aiker. The other, named Laurent de iviille, a Piedmontese, vv'as a casliiercd captain, and at the tune an esquire in tjie servic e of the dissolute Princess de Carignan, Avho kept gambling-tables in her palace. It is probable that gambling propensities had driven these young men together, and that their losses had brought them to desperate measures : certain it is, that all Paris was suddenly astounded by a mur- der which they were said to have committed. What made the crime more startling, was, that it seemed comiected with the great Mississippi scheme, at that time the fruitful source of all kinds of panics aiid agitations. A Jew, a stock-bi'oker, who dealt largely in shares of the bank of Law, founded on the Ivlississippi scheme, was the victim. The story of his death is variously related. Tlie daikest account states, that the Jew was decoyed by these young men into an obscure tavern, under pretext of negotiating with him for bank shares to the amount of one hundred thousand crowns, which he had with him in his pocket-book. Lestang kept watch upon the stairs. The Count and De Mille entered with the Jew into a chamber. In a little while there were heard cries and struggles from within. A waiter passing by the room, looked in, and seeing the Jew weltering in his blood, shut the door again, double- locked it, and alarmed the house. Lestang rushed down- stairs, made his way to the hotel, secured liis most portable effects, and fled the country. The Count and De Mille en- deavored to escape by the window, but were both taken, and conducted to prison. A circumstance which occurs in this part of the Count's story, seems to point Jiim out as a fated man. His mother, and his brother, the Prince Van Horn, had received intelh- gence some time before at Baussigny, of the dif^solute life the Count was leading at Paris, and of his losses at play. They despatched a gentleman of the prince's household to Paris, to pay the debts of the Count, and persuade him to return to FlanderF*. ; or. if ho should rofnop. to obtain an order from the 1 THE COUNT VAjY UOBK 151 Regent for him to quit the capital. Unfortunately the gentle- man did not arrive at Paris until the day after the murder. Tiie news of the Count's arrest and imprisonment on a charge of murder, caused a violent sensation c-i^ong the high aristocracy. All those coimected with him, who had treated hhn hithei'to with indifference, found their dignity deeply in- volved in the question of his guilt or hmocence. A general convocation was held at the hotel of the Idarquis de Crequi, of all the relatives and aUies of the house of Horn. It was an as- semblage of the most proud and aristocratic personages of Paris. Inquiries were made into the circumstances of the affair. It was ascertained, beyond a doubt, that the Jew was dead, and that he had been killed by several stabs of a pon- iard. In escaping by the window, it was said that the Count had fallen, and been immediately taken ; but that De lliUe had fled through the streets, pursued by the populace, and had Vepn arrested at some distance from the scene of the murder ; that the Count had declared himself innocent of the death of the Jew, and that he had risked his own life in endeavoring to protect him ; but that De Mille, on being brought back to the tavern, confessed to a plot to murder the broker, and rob hhn of liis pocket-book, and inculpated the Count in the crime. Another version of the story was, that the Count Van Plorn had deposited with the broker, bank shares to the amount of eighty-eight thousand livres ; that he had sought him in this tavern, which was one of his resorts, and had demanded the shares; that the Jew had denied the deposit; that a quarrel had ensued, in the course of which the Jew struck the Count in the face; that the latter, transported with rage, had snatched up a knife from a table, and wounded the Jew in the shoulder; and that thereupon De Mille, who was present, and who had likewise been defrauded by the broker, fell on him, and despatched him with blows of a poniard, and seized upon his pocket-book ; that he had offered to divide the con- tents of the latter with the Count, pro rata, of what the usurer had defrauded them ; that the latter had refused the proposi tion with disdain, and that, at a noise of persons approach- ing, both had attempted to escape from the premises, but had been taken. Regard the story in any way they might, appearances were terribly against the Count, and the noble assemblage was in great consternation. What was to be done to ward off so foul a disgrace and to save their illustrious Escutcheons from this 152 WOLFERTS BOOST AND MISCELLANIES. murderous stain of blood? Their first attempt was to prevent the affair from going to trial, and their relative from being dragged before a criminal tribunal, on so horrible and de- grading a charge. They applied, therefore, to the Regent, to intervene his power ; to treat the Count as having acted under an access of his mental malady ; and to shut him up in a mad- house. The Eegent was deaf to their solicitations. He re- plied, coldly, that if the Comit was a madman, one could not get rid too quickly of madmen who were furious in their in- sanity. The crime was too public and atrocious to be hushed up or slurred over ; justice must take its course. Seeing there was no avoiding the humihating scene of a public trial, the noble relatives of the Count endeavored to pre- dispose the minds of the magistrates before whom he was to be arraigned. They accordingly made urgent and eloquent representations of the high descent, and noble and powerful coiihexions of the Count; set forth the circumstances of Ms early history; his mental malady; the nervous irritability to which he was subject, and his extreme sensitiveness to insult or contradiction. By these means they sought to prepare the judges to interpret every thing in favor of the Count, and, even if it should prove that he had inflicted the mortal blow an the usurer, to attribute it to access of insanity, provoked by insult. To give full effect to these representations, the noble con- clave determined to bring upon the judges the dazzling rays of the whole assembled aristocracy. Accordingly, on the day that the trial took place, the relations of the Coimt, to the number of fifty-seven persons, of both sexes, and of the high- est rank, repaired in a body to the Palace of Justice, and took their stations in a long corridor which led to the court-room. Here, as the judges entered, they had to pass in review this array of lofty and noble personages, who saluted them mourn- fully and significantly, as they passed. Any one conversant with the stately pride and jealous dignity of the French noblesse of that day, may imagine the extreme state of sensi- tiveness that produced this self-abasement. It was confidently Ijresumed, however, by the noble suppliants, that having once brought themselves to this measure, their influence over the tribunal would bo irresistible. There was one lady present, however, i\Iadame de Beauffremont, who was affected with the Scottish gift of second sight, and related such dismal and sinister apparitions as passing before her eyes, that many of TEE COUNT VAN HORN. 153 her female companions were filled with doleful presenti- ments. Unfortunately for the Count, there was another interest at work, more powerful even than the high aristocracy. The all- potent Abbe Dubois, the grand favorite and bosom counsellor of the Regent, was deeply interested in the scheme of Law, and the prosperity of his bank, and of course in tiie security of the stock-brokers. Indeed, the Eegent himself is said to hav(3 dipped deep in the Mississippi scheme. Dubois and Law, therefore, exerted their influence to the utmost to have the tragic affair pushed to the extremity of the law, and the mur- der of the broker punished in the most signal and appalling manner. Certain it is, the trial was neither long nor intricate. The Count and his fellovv^ prisoner were equally incidpated in the crime ; and both were condemned to a death the most hor- rible and ignominious— to be broken alive on the wheel! As soon as the sentence of the court was made public, all the nobility, in any degree related to the house of Van Horn, went into mourning. Another grand aristocratical assemblage was held, and a petition to the Regent, on behalf of the Count, was drawn out and loft with the Marquis de Crequi for signature. This petition set forth the previous insanity of the Count, and showed that it was a hereditary malady of his family. It stated various circumstances in mitigation of his offence, and implored that his sentence might be commuted to perpetual imprisonment. Upward of fifty names of the highest nobihty, beginning with the Prince de Ligne, and including cardinals, arch- bishops, dukes, marquises, etc., together with ladies of equal rank, were signed to this petition. By one of the caprices of human pride and vanity, it became an object of ambition to get enrolled among the illustrious suppliants ; a kind of testi- monial of noble blood, to prove relationship to a murderer! The Marquis de Crequi was absolutely besieged by applicants to sign, and had to refer their claims to this singular honor, to the Prince de Ligne, the grandfather of the Count. Many who were excluded, were higlily incensed, and nmnerous feuds took place. Nay, the affronts thus given to the morbid pride of some aristocratical families, passed from generation to genera- tion ; for, fifty years afterward, the Duchess of Mazarin com- plained of a slight which her father had received from the Mar- quis de Crequi ; which proved to be something connected with the signature of this petition. ..::.... 354 W0LirEB2"S BOOST AND MISCELLANIES, This important document being completed, the illustrious body of petitioners, male and f emaJe, on Saturday evening, the eve of Palm Sunday, repaired to the Palais Roj^al, the resi- dence of the Regent, and were ushered, with great ceremony but profound silence, into his hall of council. They had ap- pointed four of their number as deputies, to present the peti- tion, viz, : the Cardinal de Rohan, the Duke de Havre, the Prince de Ligne, and the Marquis de Crequi. After a little while, the deputies were summoned to the cabinet of the Re- gent. They entered, leaving the assembled petitioners in a state of the greatest anxiety. As time slowly wore away, and the evening advanced, the gloom of the company increased. Sev- eral of the ladies prayed devoutly; the good Princess of Ar- magnac told her beasls. The petition was received by the Regent with a most unpropi- tious aspect. " In asking the pardon of the criminal," said ho, "you display more zeal for the house of Van Horn, than for the service of the king." The noble deputies enforced the peti- tion by every argument in their power. They supplicated the Regent to consider that the infamous punishment *in question woLild reach not merely the person of the condemned, not merely the house of Van Horn, but also the genealogies of princely and illustrious families, in whose armorial bearings might be found quarterings of this dishonored name." " Gentlemen," replied the Regent, " it appears to me the dis- gi'ace consists in the crime, rather than in the punishment." The Prince de Ligne spoke with warmth: "I have in my genealogical standard," said he, "four escutcheons of Van Horn, and of course have four ancestors of that house. I must have them erased and effaced, and there would be so many blank spaces, like holes, in my heraldic ensigns. There is not a sovereign family which woiild not suffer, through the rigor of your Royal Highness; nay, all the world knows, that in the thirty-two quarterings of Madame, your mother, there is an escutcheon of Van Horn. " " Very well," replied the Regent, " I will share the disgrace with you, gentlemen." Seeing that a pardon could not be obtained, the Cardinal de Rohan and the Marquis de Crequi left the cabinet : but the Prince de Ligne and the Duke de Ha^n-e remained behind. The honor of their houses, more than the life of the unhappy Comit, was the great object of their solicitude. They now en- deavored to obtain a minor ^ace. They represented that in rSB COUNT VAN EOITN. i55 the Netherlands, and in Germany, there was an important dif ference in the pubhc mind as to the mode of inflicting the pun- ishment of death upon persons of quality. That decapitation had no influence on the fortunes of the family of the executed, but that the punishment of the wheel was such an infamy, that the uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters of the criminal, and his whole family, for three succeeding .generations, were excluded from all noble chapters, princely abbeys, sovereign bishoprics, and even Teutonic commanderies of the Order of Malta. They showed hov/ this would operate immediately upon the fortunes of a sister of the Count, who was on the point of being received as a canoness into one of the noble chapters. While this scene was going on in the cabinet of the Regent, the illustrious assemblage of petitieiaers remained in the hall of council, in the most gloomy state of suspense. The re-entrance from the cabinet of the Cardinal de Rohan and the Marquis de Crequi, with pale, downcast countenances, had struck a chill into every heart. Still they lingered until near midnight, to learn the result of the after application. At length the cabi- net conference was at an end. The Regent came forth, and sa- luted the high personages -^f the assemblage in a courtly man- ner. One old lady of quahty, Madame de Guyon, whom he had known in his infancy, he kissed on the cheek, calling her his "good aunt." He made a most ceremonious salutation to the stately J^Iarchioness de Crequi, telling her he was charmed to see her at the Palais Royal; " a compliment very ill-timed," said the Marchioness, ' ' considering the circumstance which brought me there. " He then conducted the ladies to the door of the second saloon, and there dismissed them, with the most ceremonious pohteness. The application of the Prince de Ligno and the Duke de Havre, for a change of the mode of punishment, had, after much difficulty, been successful. The Regent had promised solemnly to send a letter of commutation to the attorney-gen- eral on Holy Monday, the 25th of j\Iarch, at five o'clock in the morning. Accordhig to the same promise, a scaffold would be arranged in the cloister of the Conciergerie, or prison, wliere the Count would be beheaded on the same morning, imme- diately after having received absolution. This mitigation of the form of punisinnent gave but little consolation to the great body of petitioners, who had been anxious for the pardon of the youth ; it was looked upon as all-important, however, hj the 156 WOLFERTS ROOST AND MISCELLANIES. Prince de Ligne, who, as has been before observed, was ex- quisitely aUve to the dignity of liis lamily. The Bishop of Bayeux and the Marquis de Crequi visited the unfortunate youth in prison. He had just received the com- munion in the chapel of the Conciergerie, and was kneeling before the altar, listening to a mass for the dead, which was peri'ormed at liis request. He protested his innocence of any intention to murder the Jew, but did not deign to allude to the accusation of robbeiy. He made the bishop and the Marquis promise to see his brother the prince, and inform him of this his dying asseveration. Two other of Ms relations, the Prince Rebecq-Montmorency and the Slarshal Van Isenghien, visited liim secretly, and of- fered liim poison, as a means of evading the disgrace of a public execution. On his refusing to take it, they left him with liigh indignation. " Miserable man I" said they, ''you are fit only to perish by the hand of the executioner !" The Marquis de Crequi sought the executioner of Paris, to bespeak an easy and decent death for the unfortunate youth. "Do not make him suffer," said he; " uncover no part of Mm but the neck ; and have his body placed in a coffin, before you deliver it to his family." The executioner proims-ed all that was requested, but declined a rouleau of a hundred louis-d'ors wMch the Marqui'? would have put into his hand. "I am paid by the king for fulfilling my office, " said he ; and added that he had already refused a lili:e sum, offered by another relation of the Marquis. The Marquis de Crequi returned home in a state of deep afflic- tion. There he found a letter from the Duke de St. Simon, the faimliar friend of the Regent, repeating the promise of that prince, that the pumshment of the wheel should be commuted to decapitation. "Imagine," says the Marchioness de Crequi, who in her memoirs gives a detailed account of this affair, " imagine what we experienced, and what was our astonishment, our grief, and indignation, when, on Tuesday, the 26th of March, an hour after midday, word was brought us that the Count Van Horn had been exposed on the wheel, in the Place de Greve, since half -past six in the morning, on the same scaffold with the Piedmontese de Mille, and that he had been tortured previous to execution 1" One more sce«ie of aristocratic pride closed this tragic story. The Marquis de Crequi, on receiving this astounding news, im- I THE COHTNT Y AN HORN, . 157 mediately arrayed himself in the uniform of a general officer, with his cordon of nobility on the coat. He ordered six valets to attend him in gi-and livery, and two of his carriages, each with six horses, to be brought forth. In this sumptuous state, he set off for the Place de Greve, wheic he had been preceded by the Princes de Ligne, de Rohan, de Croiiy, and the Duke de Havre. The Count Van Horn was already dead, and it was believed that the executioner had had the charity to give him the coup de grace, or " death-blow," at eight o'clock in the morning. At five o'clock in the evening, when the Judge Commissary left hio post at the Hotel de Ville, these noblemen, with their own hands, aided to detach the mutilated remains of their relation ; the Marquis de Crequi placed them in one of his carriages, and bore them off to his hotel, to receive the last sad obsequies. The conduct of the Regent in this affair excited general indignation. His needless severity was attributed by some to vindictive jealousy ; by others to the persevering machinations of Law. The house of Van Horn, and the high nobility of Flanders and Germany, considered themselves fiagi-antly out- raged : many schemes of vengeance were talked of, and a hatred engendered against the Regent, that followed him through life, and was wreaked with bitterness upon his memory after his death. The following letter is said to have been written to the Regent by the Prince 'Van Horn, to whom the former had adjudged the confiscated effects of the Count : "I do not complain, Sii', of the death of my brother, but I complain that your Royal Highness has violated in his person the rights of the kingdom, the nobihty, and the nation, I thank you for the confiscation of his effects; but I should think my- self as much disgraced as he, should I accept any favor at your hands. I hope that God and the King may render to vou as strict justice as you have rendered to my unfortunate brother,'''' 9 -OK- BUMBLEPUPPY? Ten Lectures addressed to Children, By PEMBRIDGE. I vol., i2mo., cloth, limp, r Aho in Lovell's Library, No. i8i, '** Whist, or Bumblepuppy ? is one of the most enter- taining and at the same time one of the soundest books on whist ever \vritten. Its drollery may blind some readers to the value of its advice; no man who knows anything about whist, however, will fail to read it with interest, and few will fail to read it with advantage. Upon the ordinary rules of whist, Pembridge supplies much sensible and thoroughly amusing comment. The best player in the world may gain from his observations, and a mediocre player can scarcely find a better counsellor. There is scarcely an opinion expressed with which we do not coincide." — London Sunday Times. *'We have been rather lengthy in our remarks on this book, as it is the best attempt we have ever seen to shame very bad players into trying to improve, and also because it abounds with most sensible maxims, dressed up in a very amusing and palatable torm." — Londoii Field. JOHN W. LOVELL CO., 14 & IG'Vesey St., New York. LO VELL'S LIBRARY.-C ATALOGU ii 165. Eyre's Acquittal 10 217. 166. 20,000 Leagues Uuder | 218: tiie Sea, by Yerue . . .20 i 219. 107. Anti-Slavery Days.... .20 168. Beauty's Daughters.. .20 220. 169. Beyond the Sunrise... .30 221. 170. Hard Times, Dickens .20 222. 171. Tom Cringle's Log. . . .20 223. 172. Vanity Fair 30 173. Underground Russia. .20 224. 1,4. Widdlemarch, Eliot.. .20 Do., Part II 20 223. "). SirTom.MrsOiiphant .20 22G. ,0. Pulham, by Lvtton. . . .20 22r. 177. The Story of Ida 10 178. Madcap Violet, Black .20 228. 179. The Little Pilgrim 10 180. Kilmeuy, by Black . . .20 220. l;;i. Whist or Bumble- :;:.iJ. puppy?. 10 231. ^82. The Beautiful Wretch .20 183. Her Moihers Sin 20 2"2 184. Green Pastures and ;i33. Piccadilly, Black ... .20 185. The Mvsterious Island .15 234. Do., Part II. 15 235. Do., Part III 15 186. Tom Brown at Oxford .15 23G. Do., Pajt II 15 187. Thicker than Water.. .20 2?7. 188. In Silk Attire, Black. .20 2S6. 189. Scottish Chiefs, P'tl.. 20 Do., Part II 20 239. 190. Willy Reilly, Carletou .20 240. 191. The Nautz Family. .. .20 241. 193. Great Expectations... .20 212. 193. Pendenuis, Thackeray .20 213. Do., Part II 20 2-14. 194. Widow Bedott Papers .20 195. Daniel Deronda, Eliot. .20 245. Do., Part II 20 196. AltioraPeto,01iphant .20 2^16. 107. By the Gate of the Sea .15 193. Tales of a Traveller.. .20 247. 199. Life and Voyages of 248. Columbus P'tl. .20 249. Do. (Irving), Part II.. . .20 2.50. 200. The Pilgrim's Progress .20 201. Martin Chuzzlewit. . . .20 251. Do., Part H.. 20 202. Theophrastus Such ... .10 252. 203. Disarmed. M.Edwards .15 204. Eugene Aram, Lytton .20 253, 203. The Spanish Gypsy 254. and Other Poems 20 255. 206. Cast Up by the Sea. . . .20 207. Mill on the Floss, P't I .15 256. Do. (Eliot), Part II 15 257. 208. Brother Jacob, Eliot. .10 258. 209. The Executor 20 259. 210. American Notes 15 2)1. The Newcomes, Parti .20 260. Do.,PartII 20 261. 212. The Privateersman. . . .20 213. The Three Feathers. .20 262. 214. Phantom Fortune 20 283. 215. Red Eric, Ballantyne. .20 264. 216. Lady Silverdale's 265. Sweetheart, Black... .lo 206. The Four Macnicols. Mr, Pisistratus Brown Dombey & Son, Part I Do,, Paitll.. Book of Suobs , , , , Grimm's Fairy Tales. . The Disowned, Lytton Little Dorrit, Dickens. Do„PartII Abbotsford and New- stead Abbey, Irving. Oliver Goldsmith The Fire Bni>ade Rifle and Hound in Ceylon Our Mutual Friend . . . Do. Part II Paris Sketches Belinda, Brougliton. . . Niclioias Nickleby. . . , Do., Part II Monarch Miuciug Lane Eight Years Wander- ing in Ceylon, Baker Pictures from Italy Adventures of Philip. Do., Part II Knickerbocker His^ tory of New York . . . The Boy at Mugby — The Virginians, P 1 1. Do., Part II Erling the Bold Kenelm Chillingly Deep Down Samuel Brohl& Co... . 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When the Ship Comes Home 10 One False, both Fair.. .20 Mudf og Papers 10 My Novel, by Bulwer- Lytton. 3 parts 60 Conquest of Granada.. .20 Sketches by Boz 20 A Christmas Carol 15 lone Stewart, Linton . . .20 Harold, Lytton, Parti .L"i Do,,PartII 15 DoraThorne , 20 Maid of Athens 20 The Conquest of Spain .10 Fitzboodle Papers 10 Bracebridge Hall 20 T h e Uncommercial Traveler " .'. 20 Roundabout Papers... .20 Rossmoyue, Duchess. .20 A Legend of the Rhine .10 Cox's Diary 10 Beyond Pardon, 20 Somebody's Luggage, and Mrs. Lirrtper's Lodgings 10 Godolpiiiu, Lytton 20 Salma^imdi, Irving 20 Famous Funny Fel- lows, Clemens 20 Irish Sketches 20 The Battle of Life 10 Pilgrims of the Rhine .15 Random Shots, Adeler .20 Men's Wives 10 Mystery of Edwin Drood, by Dickens. . . .20 Reprinted Pieces from C, Dickens... 20 Astoria, by W. Irving. .20 Novels by Eminent Hands 10 Spanish Voyages 20 No Thoroughfare 10 Character Sketches... .10 Christmas Books 20 A Tour on the Prairies ,10 Ballads of Thackeray.. .15 Yellowplush Papers. . . .10 Life of Mahomet, P't I .l.'> Do., Part II 15 Sketches and Travis in Loudon, Thack'ray .10 Life of Goldsmith '-;0 Capt. Bonneville 20 Golden Girls, Alan Muir .20 English Humorists ... .15 Moorish Chronicles, . . .10 Winifred Power 20 Great Hoggarty Dia- mond If Pausanias, Lytton 15 The New Abelard 20 A Real Queen 20 The Rose and the Ring .20 Wolfert's Roost, Irving .10 Mark Seaworth 20 seaut MB irmvE food. Vitilized Phos-phites, COMPOSED OF THE NERVE-GIVING PRINCIPLES OF THE OX-BRAIN AND WHEAT-GERM. It restores the energy lost by Nervousness or Indigestion ; relieves Lassitude and Neuralgia; refreshes the nerves tired by worry, excite- ment, or excessive brain fatigue ; strengthens a failing memory, and gives renewed vigor in all diseases of Nervous Exhaustion or Debility, it is the only PREVENTIVE FOR CONSUMPTION. It aids wonderfully in the mental and bodily growth of infants and children. Under its tise the teeth come easier., the bones grow better, the skin plumper and smoother; the brain acquires more readily, and rests amd sleeps more sweetly. An ill-fed brain lea/ms no lessons, and is excusdbie if peevish. It gives a happie/r and better childhood. ** It is "writli the utmost confidence tliat I recommend this excellent pre- paration for the relief of indigestion and for general debility; nay, T do more than recommend, 1 really urge all invalids to put it to the test, for in sev- eral cases personally known to me signal benefits have been derived from its use, I have recently watched Its effects on a young friend who has Buffered from indigestion all her life. After taking the Vitalized Phos- phites for a fortnight she said to me; ' I feel another person; it is a pleas- ure to live.* Many hard-working men and women — especially those engaged in brain work — would be saved from the fatal resort to chloral and other destructive stimulants, if they would have recourse to a remedy so simple and so efficacious. " Emily Faithfull. Phtbicians have prescribed over 600,000 Packages bbcaubb thbt KMOw its Composition, that it is not a secret rbmbdt. awd THAT THE FORMULA 18 PRINTED ON EVERY LABEL For Sale \»y DrusTgrlsts or by ]lf all, #i. F. CE0SB7 CO., 664 and 666 Sixth Arenue, New York. ■'■ A'\.n A.U '^-A'y^ A 'a' ■: ^'A A A r^ ^ A i A C/^ :=^ CONGRESS m^^'^^ i^A',/.- ^iv^/,,;■^^'^«/^,/^;^A . A/»/lA' . - = ' mM^mm^fimm -aA.\. A,,/!/^'fl ^v. m^nM^^ m.A^ mm ^mmf: '■\''^^^^f,^^^''\A,,hkhf^hk,l ^'^^mm^:^t1^